Maybe this belongs in a different thread, but I think we should make a list of fun-sounding words that TPTB could've used for episode titles, instead of using "Vortex", and "Insufficiency" over and over again. This will show just how lazy TPTB are:
(I know this is prob. just a quirk of mine, being annoyed by the repetitive episode titles, but...) These might also serve as prompts for fanfic writers...
The _______ Invention.
The _______Calculation.
The _______Functionality.
The _______Schism.
The ________ Fallacy.
The _________Prognosis.
The _________Strategem.
The _______ Specimen.
The ________Dichotomy.
The _________Infusion.
The _______Simulacrum.
The ________Deduction.
The ________Analysis.
The ________Inference.
The ________Panacea.
The _______Deconstruction.
The________Amalgamation.
The _______Concept.
The _______Endeavor.
The _________Denouement.
The ________Entropy.
The ______Synthesis.
The _________Fission.
The ______Element.
The ______Particle.
The ______Catastrophe.
The _______Synergy.
The _____Prophecy
The ______Realization
Go for it!
ETA: OMG, "The Pasadena Panacea"!! How was there never an episode with this fabulous title??? XD
It's not okay for Penny or Howard if they *do* want sex.
It's okay to want sex if you are Amy or possibly Leonard.
It's okay for Amy and Leonard to pressure someone for sex.
It's not okay for Howard to engage in a much milder form of this same behavior, stemming more from social ignorance than from aggression or malice.
It's not okay to be a virgin, but it's not okay to be very experienced, either.
It's okay for Amy to seem vaguely attracted to Penny. It's not okay if Raj might possibly be gay or bisexual, so let's concoct some creepy one-dimensional girlfriend for him, ASAP, before anyone gets the wrong idea. In both cases, any references to bisexuality are solely a vulgar joke and not an actual possibility.
It's okay for Amy to make crude comments about her own body and other people's bodies.
It's okay for Bernadette to get engaged to someone whose sexual morals or standards of behavior are different from her own, then act surprised and blame *him* for the discrepancy.
It's okay for Leonard to value sex with Penny over friendship with Sheldon, or behaving with loyalty and integrity towards Sheldon. (sometimes)
It's okay for Amy to trick someone into touching her, it's not okay for Howard to say "You look ravishing today."
It's okay for Leonard to elbow his way into Howard's date with Stephanie, it's okay for Stephanie to go along with this.
It's okay for Bernadette to *marry* someone she doesn't seem strongly attracted to, then call him a pervert when his sex drive is higher than hers.*
Hanging out with male strippers in Vegas is a more worthwhile activity than board games.
Drinking and gossiping are more mature and respectable activities than board games.
It's not okay for Howard to have strippers at his bachelor party; it's okay for Bernadette to be drunkenly grabbing at male strippers in Vegas.
It's okay for Bernadette to flaunt her previous boyfriend in front of Howard and then tell him "the past is the past" and forbid him to mention it. It's not okay for Howard to have slept with various people long before he and Bernadette even met.
It's "lying" if you fail to tell your spouse/partner every detail of your own sexual history.
It's okay to use people's sexual history or lack thereof against them, in order to coerce or embarrass them or win an argument.
Penny is engaged to someone she doesn't seem particularly attracted to or contented with; this is okay.
Sheldon is in a relationship with someone he doesn't seem attracted to AT ALL; this is okay.
The idea that Howard and Raj might be genuinely attracted to each other is solely a ridiculous joke and not an actual possibility.
The idea that Sheldon and Penny might be attracted to each other is ridiculous and inappropriate. Making sexual comments involving toddlers is A-Okay.
It's okay to be in a relationship without mutual attraction but it's not okay to have a purely platonic relationship.
If you are unhappy with your relationship, the burden is on *you* to make things better, but it's never okay to break up. Problems are the fault of one person, not something that both partners need to work on, together. Every situation has a winner and a loser.
You have to stick with the very first person you've ever dated, forever. It's like an arranged marriage; but it's enforced by your circle of friends instead of your parents or your culture.
It's okay to interfere in your friends' relationships.
Find the first person who will even reluctantly tolerate you, and hold on like you're drowning, because you don't deserve anything better.
Any questions?
*There *are* examples of scenes where B seems keen on being intimate with H, but on the whole she seems to regard his sex drive as a nuisance and doesn't seem to view him as an awesome lover or anything.
(03-25-2015, 02:04 AM)Louise Wrote: This show's logic:
It's not okay for Sheldon to *not* want sex.
It's not okay for Penny or Howard if they *do* want sex.
It's okay to want sex if you are Amy or possibly Leonard.
It's okay for Amy and Leonard to pressure someone for sex.
It's not okay for Howard to engage in a much milder form of this same behavior, stemming more from social ignorance than from aggression or malice.
It's not okay to be a virgin, but it's not okay to be very experienced, either.
It's okay for Amy to seem vaguely attracted to Penny. It's not okay if Raj might possibly be gay or bisexual, so let's concoct some creepy one-dimensional girlfriend for him, ASAP, before anyone gets the wrong idea. In both cases, any references to bisexuality are solely a vulgar joke and not an actual possibility.
It's okay for Amy to make crude comments about her own body and other people's bodies.
It's okay for Bernadette to get engaged to someone whose sexual morals or standards of behavior are different from her own, then act surprised and blame *him* for the discrepancy.
It's okay for Leonard to value sex with Penny over friendship with Sheldon, or behaving with loyalty and integrity towards Sheldon. (sometimes)
It's okay for Amy to trick someone into touching her, it's not okay for Howard to say "You look ravishing today."
It's okay for Leonard to elbow his way into Howard's date with Stephanie, it's okay for Stephanie to go along with this.
It's okay for Bernadette to *marry* someone she doesn't seem strongly attracted to, then call him a pervert when his sex drive is higher than hers.*
Hanging out with male strippers in Vegas is a more worthwhile activity than board games.
Drinking and gossiping are more mature and respectable activities than board games.
It's not okay for Howard to have strippers at his bachelor party; it's okay for Bernadette to be drunkenly grabbing at male strippers in Vegas.
It's okay for Bernadette to flaunt her previous boyfriend in front of Howard and then tell him "the past is the past" and forbid him to mention it. It's not okay for Howard to have slept with various people long before he and Bernadette even met.
It's "lying" if you fail to tell your spouse/partner every detail of your own sexual history.
It's okay to use people's sexual history or lack thereof against them, in order to coerce or embarrass them or win an argument.
Penny is engaged to someone she doesn't seem particularly attracted to or contented with; this is okay.
Sheldon is in a relationship with someone he doesn't seem attracted to AT ALL; this is okay.
The idea that Howard and Raj might be genuinely attracted to each other is solely a ridiculous joke and not an actual possibility.
The idea that Sheldon and Penny might be attracted to each other is ridiculous and inappropriate. Making sexual comments involving toddlers is A-Okay.
It's okay to be in a relationship without mutual attraction but it's not okay to have a purely platonic relationship.
If you are unhappy with your relationship, the burden is on *you* to make things better, but it's never okay to break up. Problems are the fault of one person, not something that both partners need to work on, together. Every situation has a winner and a loser.
You have to stick with the very first person you've ever dated, forever. It's like an arranged marriage; but it's enforced by your circle of friends instead of your parents or your culture.
It's okay to interfere in your friends' relationships.
Find the first person who will even reluctantly tolerate you, and hold on like you're drowning, because you don't deserve anything better.
Any questions?
*There *are* examples of scenes where B seems keen on being intimate with H, but on the whole she seems to regard his sex drive as a nuisance and doesn't seem to view him as an awesome lover or anything.
Wow Louise you totally nailed it! I'd love for the Shamy's or Lenny's to try to deny any of these points you listed.
The following 1 user Likes Trust No One's post: • Louise
Y'know, I don't think I've watched a single frame of S8, not even a Youtube clip, but it's really strange when even the *screencaps* start to have a distinctly different feel to them. Different from Classic BBT, I mean.
The Rewind project has reminded me that those earliest eps had such a feeling of freshness and youthfulness to them. To me, this was a story about young people who are just starting out in life, and now the characters' lives seem to have plateaued, personally and professionally.
(One might say it's a downward spiral, not a plateau, but what I mean is there's a *static* feeling, a feeling that the various story-threads are literally over and yet the show continues to air, like they are literally just killing time now.)
I find that I don't even want to look at screencaps/pictures anymore, if they're recent. This show was always colorful, but the overall look has gotten noticeably pastel, sort of Easter egg-colored. Except for the scenes which are strangely dark and dimly lit, like the Thermalization ep. IDK, am I making sense?
For me, personally, this show is so definitely over, that to see new screencaps/photos is almost surreal and shocking. It's like I've so thoroughly convinced myself the show is over, that it's like "wait, no, what is this?" I mean, I still tend to think Raj has curly hair, for example.
These visual differences brought me to a question: at what point does this "new" show become so thoroughly different that it is really and truly a spin-off, a different animal, so to speak? How many of the recurring jokes/tropes/themes are still in use? Almost none. We could even make a list. (I'm not suggesting this, I'm just saying it's possible.)
If none of the classic, memorable, formative jokes/situations/themes are present anymore, how can they even expect us to consider this the same show? That's not a snarky or rhetorical question, I mean it literally. If TPTB say "This is the Big Bang Theory", on what evidence is that statement founded? That they have the same actors? The same actor can play many different roles in a lifetime; that proves nothing. Anthony Hopkins played CS Lewis but he also played Hannibal Lecter. So what?
Wow, I am rambling a LOT. But I guess my point is, something strange has definitely occurred with this show, if I don't even want to look at photos anymore, even photos where nothing obviously negative is occurring. And it's not simply because the actors are aging*, etc. If I haven't watched a single scene of S8, but I can *feel* that something is awry, then something is awry.
IDK. Maybe this is a sign that I'm starting to let it go. I'd like to think that the characters we loved wouldn't allow themselves to be treated this way.
I'm very glad that the Shennies were able to have 8.16, but even if there was going to be an ep. where something equally momentous happened with *my* favorite characters, I don't think I'd have either the courage or the inclination to watch it, at this point.
*I don't think any of them have aged much except Galecki, but I have a feeling that could change rather suddenly, if we're looking at 2 or 3(!!!) more years. I've heard the saying that people's aging becomes noticeable in ten-year increments.
This is a fairly good example of how Jim changed (or rather as we learned, was made to change) his Sheldon voice from the delightful odd piping of Seasons 1-3 to the slower and more twangy Season 4, and thence to the voice he's used for the past 3 years, which is essentially rather similar to his own voice. (I love Parsons' voice, but it's confusing to hear it emerging from Sheldon)
I miss Sheldon's Vintage voice. It was an enormous part of his character, and helped in establishing his innocence and alienness.
The louder, slower, masculine twang of Season 5 and beyond makes him far too abrasive and human. And certainly not human in a good way. I wish they'd let him tighten up his voice, face and posture again, and get back the strange, otherworldly mannerisms.
"WHERE THE HELL'S MY PARACHUTE?"
The following 1 user Likes Idle Miscreant's post: • Toad
For those of you interested in such things (and the rest of you will just have to suffer), here are some Demo numbers on a lurid graph. I find Demo numbers and same day viewers more helpful than overall ratings in understanding the televisual zeitgeist. (And just pretend I didn't type that incredibly wanky phrase.)
We’ve always maintained that the permanent introduction of two extra cast members in Season 4 (and ones specifically crafted to be girlfriends rather than characters for their own sake) initially knocked the wind out of the show, and these graphs do seem to support that. Season 4 began ominously with Sheldon on a date, of all things, and ended with a barrage of girls' nights, dinner parties and relationship business. Some brilliantly written episodes and Sheldon still behaving like Sheldon keeps Season 4 in the Vintage years in my wonky, wine-stained book, but even I don't watch about half of it.
Certainly, through the inherent high quality of its writers, and charm of its actors, the show swiftly clawed its way back up after this loss in ratings, and has maintained (up until now) a steady level of popularity.
But what I suspect happened, (and am about to completely unqualifiedly expound on) is that Season 4 lost a portion of the more geek-minded crowd, the purists in particular, who fled once they caught wind of change. The subsequent three years gained back these lost numbers (plus some) in the form of Rom-com viewers, and these new additions jostled uneasily with the original loyal fanbase, who had become fond of the characters, and stuck by them regardless of this considerable change in tone to the whole show. Loyalty and comfort of habit will keep people watching a show long past their delight in it dimming.
Over these three years, more purists dropped out to be replaced with Rom-commers, keeping the ratings on an even keel.
What is occurring now, and what I suspect will continue to occur, is that this core, loyal fanbase who has put up with three years of relationships they didn’t ask for, are now growing very tired of it, and are beginning to grumble and desert. Eventually this will only leave the Rom-com “shipping” crowd of Season 5 and beyond. The problem is that I understand this Rom-com crowd is still less than half of the total audience.
So if they lose the geeks and friendship/character fans whilst catering to the “shippers”, then the whole boat might fall off the map.
My question is why was it necessary to alter what was working perfectly in the first place?
Between Season 2 and 3, TBBT gained roughly five million viewers. In one year. It took another FOUR years to gain the next few million. Yet Season 3 is still higher in the overall Demo than Seasons 5, 7 & 8. So I just wonder if they might not have gained more viewers, and FASTER, if they'd stuck to the same formula of Season 2 and 3.
Which was; Five cast members with occasional supporting characters.
Fewer and longer scenes.
Three main types of storyline:
1) Sheldon/Penny A Plot, Leonard/Howard/Raj B Plot.
2) Leonard/Sheldon/Raj/Howard project + Penny interjections.
3) Sheldon-Centric, with Sheldon hellbent on achieving or understanding something, and the rest reeling in horror/trying to get away.
The point is, these three main structures provide comfortable set-ups which people can rely upon. Within these structures, unlimited variation is then possible, much like Gilligan's attempts to get off the island.
1) Opportunity for meeting of worlds, intellect/intuition, order/chaos, mind/heart, with Sheldon learning from Penny and vice versa.
2) Opportunity to explore current scientific notions and geekery.
3) Opportunity to make observations upon humanity, through Sheldon's observation of it.
The show at its best always dealt with these three concepts. And with these character combinations. Ie – Sheldon/Penny, Sheldon/Leonard, Raj/Howard, The Four + Penny.
Polls bear this out. Ask Joe Public his favourite TBBT episode – they invariably answer; When Penny gives Sheldon the napkin, when Sheldon drives Penny to hospital (and the guys get stoned in the desert), when Sheldon teaches Penny physics, when Penny has to sing Soft Kitty etc…
The TOP TEN TBBT episodes on IMDb contain five Sheldon & Penny episodes, and the rest are gang related, Sheldon-centric, or one-offs like Staircase.
Season 2 is the highest rated TBBT season on IMDb, with an 8.4 average (Season 1 & 3 tie for second with an 8.3 average). It is the “Shenny” season, with 34 solely Sheldon & Penny scenes, over 16 episodes.
Season 8 is the lowest rated, with a 7.4 average. It has had ONE “Shenny” episode. (The bulk of Season 8 has been Sheldon/Amy, with almost 30 scenes, and otherwise heavy on Leonard/Penny and Howard/Bernadette. Relationships, essentially.) ALL the lowest rated episodes are from Season 8, and there has been constant kvetching from the galleries.
Personally, and grimly, I’m not really sure anything, even a return to Sheldon/Penny episodes, would bring back the Vintage years now, as Sheldon has been changed too greatly, possibly beyond the point of salvation. It seems he’s passed beyond some sort of sitcom event horizon. But it’d be nice if they gave it a try, eh!
"WHERE THE HELL'S MY PARACHUTE?"
The following 3 users Like Idle Miscreant's post: • Toad, Gamma, Nutz
Gripe, I think you underestimate the effect of syndication. I think the number of romcommers is actually much lower. I think the audience was buoyed by people introduced to the show through the plethora of reruns, I know that some HQers were. And some of those people are leaving the first run show but still watching the reruns.
I'd wondered about syndication, but wasn't sure when the effects of it kicked in. So you think gradually over Seasons 5,6,7? Interesting...And these syndication-introduced fellows then don't stick around for long, finding the new seasons not to their liking, but a new syndication-prompted wave takes over, so the ratings remain stable? Or have I confused myself?
Morelo took over in S6 and he even admits the part of the success of that season was down to the show getting syndication two years earlier.
The show was picked up for syndication in 2010 which means they began re-running S1-3, (as S4 was being aired) on other networks. I know this is when it picked up most of the UK fans. S4 went down in the ratings, but it's believed by many that the show gained popularity back because of syndication. All these new fans discovered the show, even though they lost a chuck of their audience during 4.
![[Image: 2lcqv6s.jpg]](http://i58.tinypic.com/2lcqv6s.jpg)
