Season 8 Musings

[Trust No One]

Y'know, this made me think. If TPTB originally conceived of this show as a vehicle for JG, where Leonard and his pursuit of Penny were the main focus, then why add the Shamy and the H/B? If Leonard's the protagonist and the leading man, then seemingly they wouldn't want anything to distract from that; they wouldn't want other shippy/romance types of plotlines upstaging him.

If Lenny is the main event and JG is the golden boy, then what is the point of Shamy and H/B? It's almost like TPTB realized that Sheldon was the breakout character, but didn't understand the reasons why, so they started giving him more prominence, but in all the wrong ways. They think people like the Lenny, so they just decided to triple it?

Even if one accepts the idea that the Lenny is this show's central focus and Sheldon is supposed to be a secondary character, surely that's all the MORE reason why JG should get the romantic storylines and the other three guys should be left unattached, so that they can be used for the "nerdy hijinks" storylines. I feel like that was the original plan.

TPTB aren't even following their own gameplan. There isn't any gameplan. They're just fumbling around in the dark.

I find it laughable when canons actually believe that TPTB have some Master Plan™ and all this "character development" was carefully, intentionally plotted-out, starting from Day 1. No, these people are making it up as they go along, and then they create this mythology about "growth" and "character development" just to cover their ass and explain-away any continuity errors.

I know HQers really, really hate the Lenny, but at least it was there from the beginning and didn't involve brand-new characters suddenly appearing out of nowhere, three or four years into the game. If this show had ended after three or four seasons, as I believe it should have, then I don't know what that would mean for the Lenny, but at least they wouldn't be getting married, etc.

It seems incredible that TPTB would be *so* out of touch with viewer reactions that they still, after 8 years, believe that this is The Johnny Galecki Hour. But if it were, at least we wouldn't have Shamy or H/B. I know that's no comfort to people who (with good reason) hate the Lenny, but I'm just thinking out loud...

Another random thought: imagine, if you found someone who had zero prior knowledge of this show, and you showed them Season 1, and kept that person in a total vacuum, not reading/hearing/seeing any other comments, articles, opinions, etcetera, about the show. IMO, that person would never, never, never predict the the current state of the show, and the events of S3/4 onwards. They just wouldn't. Why? Because these developments aren't natural. They're not a natural outgrowth of what came before, they're worst kind of artificial tinkering by a God-like author/showmaker.

Also, and this might be wishful thinking on my part, but if you showed this same person just the first few eps of S1, and then showed them a particularly egregious ep. from S6 or S7, I think they wouldn't conclude it was the same show, at all. They'd think it was some type of SNL-style parody, or a different show with a few of the same actors.

(I also think nobody would describe Howard as creepy, if you showed them just the first few eps of S1 and kept them sequestered from outside opinions. But I'm obviously biased, on that topic.)

ETA: I still think the H/B wedding was a way of keeping the romance-lovers appeased, because TPTB know they can't roll out the Lenny and Shamy weddings, yet, or else their show and their money are over, so they have to throw the shippy types a bone, in the meantime. As the saying goes, "this oughta hold the little bastards for a while." It was possibly also a test to see if the audience would accept this sort of thing. And most fangirls don't care about Howard, so he's expendable.

It is very strange Louise that all these other Ships were added instead of just leaving the Lenny. I think it comes down to Johnny not being able to carry a show and TPTB know it. They need JP to carry most of the load it just has to happen without the Shenny.

[Nutz]

Sheldon for all his social problems skills and neurotic tendencies still was able to attend College at 12, guest lecture in Europe at 15 (as well as receive the Stevenson Award), had two PhDs by 17, was able to get/hold down a job and an apartment (all on his own), and was in the first three seasons was a premier Scientist on the fast track to a Nobel Prize.

Go now to season 7 where he needs to be lojacked because he follows balloons, can't make a basic game console desision, has embarrassed himself and his University by making mistake after mistake for the last three years, and has become a fanboy of great scientists instead of their equal.

The people that believe Sheldon has "grown" are obviously mentally unstable. The thought that these people are allowed to vote and procreate scares the crap of out me.

[Trust No One]

Sheldon for all his social problems skills and neurotic tendencies still was able to attend College at 12, guest lecture in Europe at 15 (as well as receive the Stevenson Award), had two PhDs by 17, was able to get/hold down a job and an apartment (all on his own), and was in the first three seasons was a premier Scientist on the fast track to a Nobel Prize.

Go now to season 7 where he needs to be lojacked because he follows balloons, can't make a basic game console desision, has embarrassed himself and his University by making mistake after mistake for the last three years, and has become a fanboy of great scientists instead of their equal.

The people that believe Sheldon has "grown" are obviously mentally unstable. The thought that these people are allowed to vote and procreate scares the crap of out me.

TPTB only idea about growth is getting a boyfriend or girlfriend. Single people cannot show growth.

[Louise]

This show has gotten very materialistic with all the emphasis on whose job is better, who has more money, what do they spend it on, who has a new car, who has this or that, etc. Not just H/B, but Lenny, too.

Who the hell thinks that's entertaining subject-matter for a comedy?

TPTB seem to view all relationships as a competition, with a winner and a loser. Everyone's constantly trying to one-up each other. I would hope that most friend-groups do not spend so much mental energy obsessing about who is "better", who has more, whose status is higher, whose job is more prestidgious, whose resume is longer, who can grab the most cash, etc.

Sure, there was *some* of that jockeying for position amongst the four guys in the earlier seasons. Yes, concerns about status *are* a real part of people's lives, and I'm not saying that fiction shouldn't address issues of class, etc. But this stuff is so ugly, petty, mean-spirited. It's just not FUNNY. I don't need to see people screaming and bickering, putting each other down, acting like a pack of dogs trying to establish who is dominant or inferior.

TPTB no longer have the finesse to pull off some *actual* satire about the inner workings of academia, or competition amongst scientists, or how the world of science is affected by funding and other practical concerns, etc. Those are legit topics of discussion.

But it's really gross when the characters' primary focus is scoring points off each other and being "better" than their friends and loved ones. Yes, of course people should be mindful of their financial situation and deal with it accordingly and discuss it with their partner/family. But that's BORING, and I don't need to hear about it on a sitcom, and I certainly don't need to see this constant, desperate pissing-contest over "my job/money/degree/title is better than yours."

I never really liked the "Dr...Dr...Mr." jokes because, again, it's comparing apples to oranges and it's an unrealistic view of how the working world actually functions in real life. There are lots of people in technical fields without a traditional degree. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were both college dropouts. Nowadays, graduating from a traditional four-year college is NOT a guarantee of success, as many people of *my* generation have learned the hard way. Howard doesn't *NEED* a Phd in order to do what he does, just like college classes wouldn't necessarily make Penny a better actress. (or more worthy of respect as a human being.)

It's not fun to watch the characters use money/status to control a relationship and basically blackmail their friends or lovers.

I dunno. The classism and the emphasis on "mine, mine, mine" is getting ugly.

I know these are real concerns in people's lives, but of ALL the things the show could choose to focus on, why this? Why can't the characters have FUN?

Don't the viewers want a bit of escapism, or do they truly want to see the misery and tedium of their own everyday lives, reflected back at them?

[Louise]

[Tuesday Pajamas]

What a great post ^.

Notice how Penny is still in the middle in Season 4. Not anymore bleedin Amy is always in the spot now. That is Penny's SPOT.

[SpaceAnJL]

Fascinating to watch the seating dynamics change. Yeah, Queen P has been ousted from Her Spot, which I think just underlines the whole Princess Pushy Front and Centre thing the writers have going on with their Pet.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Fascinating to watch the seating dynamics change. Yeah, Queen P has been ousted from Her Spot, which I think just underlines the whole Princess Pushy Front and Centre thing the writers have going on with their Pet.

I know it horribly blatant how they seat them in their couples. Real couples don't ALWAYS sit next to each other when they visit friends. But it's as if they can't stop underlining who they SHOULD be with. And has everything to do with the fact before Amy it was Shenny that was the most popular ship. Not Lenny! There have always been more female fans of this show than male and Shenny's were the majority... enter Amy.

I just love looking at those gifs and seeing the 'obvious' combo of Leonard and Penny and thinking Nahhhh! I really had nothing against Leonard but Sheldon was a GOD! and they were such strong individuals.

[devilbk]

Now they are cardboard, two-dimensional script spouters.

[Idle Miscreant]

Not sure where to put this, but fuck it, this'll do. Regarding the convo in the grumblebox, and previous manifold instances where we've brought this up, about the show's recent propensity towards TELLING not SHOWING. (Stuart's little dead-man paean to the wonders of the Lennui, for example)

This is an excerpt from the brilliantly arsy little book by the cranky and erudite Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman, on "How Not To Write A Novel". It reminds me terribly of the current TBBT trend...



SAID THE FASCINATING MAN. (Where the author tells you what you think of his dialogue)

"It broke in through the window, bringing with it a characteristic fishy odor," said the gifted raconteur. "Soon we were all pressed up against the wall, trying to save ourselves," he added terrifyingly.
"What was it? A burglar with really bad breath?" asked the hilarious boy.
"No," said the stranger with a mesmerizing facility with words. "It was not."
"Was it a fish?" the girl said eloquently.
"No! No fish, this!" the man said poetically.

Do not try to manipulate the reader into finding a character's dialogue fascinating , amazing, frightening, or humorous by announcing it has these qualities. If the dialogue isn't fascinating, claiming that it is will annoy the reader. Even when the quality asserted really exists, pointing it out undermines the effect.

THE CHEERLEADER (Wherein a sidekick exists solely to admire the hero)

"I'll really miss you when I go, Melinda," said Ephemera, the temp. "These seven hours we've spent together have been the most fun I had in a long time. Temping sucks."
"Oh, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Melinda joked.
Ephemera took a second to get it, then erupted in gales of laughter. Her eyes gleamed with mirth and admiration as she said, "Such a pretty girl, and with a sense of humor too!"
"Yeah, but it is too bad you have to go back to the temping twilight zone," Melinda said. "Anyway, no peace for the wicked."
The temp sighed appreciatively. "Wow, that's so true," she said. "I never looked at it in quite that way before."
"And you can often do more in humble surroundings."
"Wow, you're right. I have a feeling this conversation is going to change my view of things forever."

The author here is replacing actual witty or profound remarks from the protagonist with a bit character who is so easily impressed that she appears mildly psychotic. This is a subtle instance of "The Underpants Gnomes": the author knows what kind of person she wants the character to be, but she is not doing the work to get the reader from here to there. Making another character laugh louder does not make the dialogue funnier. Characters like this often have the same relationship to the "Onanism" plot that blow-up dolls have to actual onanism.
The writer here has two options: she can work harder, or she can allow that the character is only as clever or funny as the character actually is.