11-08-2014, 09:49 AM
In The Prom Equivalency we have Bernadette and Amy wanting to rewrite their bad high school prom experiences. Penny, on the other hand, doesn't see what the big deal is. After all, it was just high school. Sure, she was popular then as opposed to now where her social base has shrunk significantly to just the gang but she also knows that what happened at high school has no bearing on adulthood. Life goes on. But she can't convince her friends and so the prom idea is born to fruit.
Amy is always the sad tale, this time with a mop (a la Cinderella) at the prom clean up wishing that her handsome prince would take her to the ball. On second thought, I believe in Snow White there was a dance sequence with her and her mop with the forest animals making a composite 'prince'. The writers seem to be taking a page from the Disney catalog what with Amy being Snow White in The Contractual Obligation Implementation, waiting for her Prince Sheldon to bring her to life with a kiss. As an aside, it was interesting at Disney World that both Bernadette and Amy were tickled pink wearing their princess costumes while Penny looked rather bored and disheveled. Obviously, being a princess isn't Penny's dream. Perhaps she is the 'mature' one of the group after all.
I found the whole prom premise to be absolutely juvenile. That grown scientists would actually overlook all of their academic, professional and personal successes as adults in order to rewrite their prom experience is immensely sad. What I don't like is the power this suggests high school bullies and experiences have over the lives of these people over a decade later. The gang have risen above all the teenage crap and have become reasonable successes—something which Leonard's high school bully pointed out as an irony given how as adults Leonard was the success and he, the loser. These people shouldn't be having a prom, they should be having cocktails, saluting who they've become and what the future awaits them.
The Stuart/Howard story line is a thing of absolute pettiness. Howard is mad because of Stuart's close relationship with his mother and yet when Stuart brings cousin Jeanie, Howard accuses him of 'two-timing' his mother. Granted, Stuart could have been more sensitive to the situation and not brought Jeanie given her history with Howard but as she told Howard in the limo, 'it was a long time ago'. I.E. Here's another incident when something was done in adolescence and continues to have an impact to this day. What is Jeanie supposed to do, never be seen in public with Howard again? To her it was no big deal. For Howard, it was humiliation. It's not difficult to see who was the adult in the situation.
What doesn't help is Raj's admission that he told Emily that Howard had slept with his cousin. Raj is turning into a colossal douche. First he's telling Emily he was 'intimate' with Penny and now relates something truly embarrassing about Howard. Doesn't Raj get the idea that what he's doing is talking down his friends? Emily becomes the audience and her laughing at the comments is exactly what TPTB expect the show's audience to do—find humour at another's expense. Only viewers like me who miss the days of friendly, inclusive humour find Raj to be one seriously sukky, sukky friend.
As for the Shamy, Sheldon is ready to abort the night after seeing Amy in her prom dress. He thought she looked pretty and knowing thanks to Penny and Leonard the expectation for post prom coitus Sheldon retreats to his room. It's a turning point as the relationship of the mind has transformed into the carnal. It's kind of funny considering that Shamys argued against there being any chemistry between Sheldon and Penny because he is attracted to intelligence. Amy is intellectual and that's what he likes about her. However, as the march towards coitus continues, there has been a marked reduction to near zero of intellectually stimulating evenings together. I can only surmise that this occurs off-camera which is a shame. I mean if Shamy is to be held up as an unorthodox couple shouldn't their intellectual connection be front and center in their on-air relationship? The writers, it seems, don't want the 'boring science-y stuff'; they want 'romance' as defined by Amy's coming into her social/sexual prime and her attempt to drag Sheldon along with her, making him someone he didn't know he apparently 'wanted to be'.
But what is Sheldon now? He's unrecognizable as early seasons Sheldon. His quirks come and go as the writers see fit. As he 'grows' he has become downright mean, especially to Amy. Since the writers this season have made it known that Sheldon can now tell when people are making fun of him, i.e. he's become more aware, then it's curious that his comments are now crueler than ever.
Sheldon's 'evolution' has always been problematic but tonight's 'I love you' really highlighted what's gone wrong with the show. His panic attack subsides when he tells Amy he loves her. Love was the only thing that explained his feelings for her. It's logical. Only when you place it next to how he normally treats her on-camera it's anything but. Basically, he fell in love with Amy off-camera and that's really lousy writing. I don't want to be *told* that Lenny is a great couple by Stuart or that Shamy is together like two peas in a pod. I want to see it for myself. If I was a fan of either ship I'd want to experience their moments of connection. The moments are few and when they do occur are so *this is a 'Moment'. Insert 'awwws' here *. They miss the natural beat that good writing provides and the writers were more than capable of doing when this was a friendship show.
Of course there is another more poignant example of flowing to a 'natural beat' but the Shamys are rather loathe to mention the Shenny connection. The rapport between Jim and Kaley ignited the screen as Sheldon's glares practically melted through walls even as Penny responded with her pumpkin grins. What works beyond the fact that both are good actors is that they had a strong sense of who their characters were. As the seasons have gone on I'd argue that all of the characters have declined significantly but particular attention must be drawn to Sheldon and Jim Parson's inability to maintain the illusion of the quirky physicist.
I had troubles with the 'I love you' moment because when the line was delivered it wasn't by Sheldon. I don't know what Jim Parsons sounds like in person as I don't watch interviews but if I had a guess as to what I heard last night it was Jim doing an impression of what he thought a 'more mature' Sheldon would sound like as opposed to him transforming himself into Sheldon and acting accordingly. Sheldon Cooper has passion, whether it's for trains, his Meemaw or his science. Jim is capable of generating this spark with adversaries like Kripke or Wheaton or Leslie and most definitely with Penny but seemed lost when he delivered his monumental line to Amy. There was no passion. And no, I don't mean the "oh Marsha!" "Oh Bob!" kind. I mean there was no *connection* between Mayim and him.
To be fair, Mayim did her best with the scene. She knew it was a BIG MOMENT for Amy and she expressed shock but it seemed overacted because the chemistry between her and Jim was all wrong. She was left to fend for herself as she had to react to his lack-luster 'I love you, too' pitch.
I remember Jim once saying that he does his best to play Sheldon the way he's written and directed only I find that he's playing less of Sheldon and more of 'Jim Parsons'. The writing has shifted from demonstrating nuances of characterization to keeping characters in line so as to fulfill the conditions necessary for the romantic 'master plan' of the show. This wouldn't be so problematic if the writers were actually good at the romance part, but they're not. What strikes me most about this episode is that it tries so hard to be significant, to be a moment, and it fails miserably.
Amy did get what she wanted and by extension the Shamys, but the writers fucked it up. For me it had the same anticlimactic feel as the Lenny engagement. The writers seem to have lost the ability to put proper sentiment into 'game-changing' moments. Remember when Leonard asked Penny out and she accepted? The audience was ecstatic. You could feel the relief and joy, practically envision the audience members hi-fiving each other and fist-pumping.
The Shamys had the Sheldon kiss after an entire episode of treating Amy horribly. Now after a drawn-out episode with a nonsensical plot about accomplished thirty-somethings wanting to rewrite their prom experiences they had the 'I love you, too' delivered by Jim Parsons instead of Sheldon.
For Shenny, all it took was a single napkin to set the audience ablaze.
And they say Shenny is a forced, unrealistic relationship....
Amy is always the sad tale, this time with a mop (a la Cinderella) at the prom clean up wishing that her handsome prince would take her to the ball. On second thought, I believe in Snow White there was a dance sequence with her and her mop with the forest animals making a composite 'prince'. The writers seem to be taking a page from the Disney catalog what with Amy being Snow White in The Contractual Obligation Implementation, waiting for her Prince Sheldon to bring her to life with a kiss. As an aside, it was interesting at Disney World that both Bernadette and Amy were tickled pink wearing their princess costumes while Penny looked rather bored and disheveled. Obviously, being a princess isn't Penny's dream. Perhaps she is the 'mature' one of the group after all.
I found the whole prom premise to be absolutely juvenile. That grown scientists would actually overlook all of their academic, professional and personal successes as adults in order to rewrite their prom experience is immensely sad. What I don't like is the power this suggests high school bullies and experiences have over the lives of these people over a decade later. The gang have risen above all the teenage crap and have become reasonable successes—something which Leonard's high school bully pointed out as an irony given how as adults Leonard was the success and he, the loser. These people shouldn't be having a prom, they should be having cocktails, saluting who they've become and what the future awaits them.
The Stuart/Howard story line is a thing of absolute pettiness. Howard is mad because of Stuart's close relationship with his mother and yet when Stuart brings cousin Jeanie, Howard accuses him of 'two-timing' his mother. Granted, Stuart could have been more sensitive to the situation and not brought Jeanie given her history with Howard but as she told Howard in the limo, 'it was a long time ago'. I.E. Here's another incident when something was done in adolescence and continues to have an impact to this day. What is Jeanie supposed to do, never be seen in public with Howard again? To her it was no big deal. For Howard, it was humiliation. It's not difficult to see who was the adult in the situation.
What doesn't help is Raj's admission that he told Emily that Howard had slept with his cousin. Raj is turning into a colossal douche. First he's telling Emily he was 'intimate' with Penny and now relates something truly embarrassing about Howard. Doesn't Raj get the idea that what he's doing is talking down his friends? Emily becomes the audience and her laughing at the comments is exactly what TPTB expect the show's audience to do—find humour at another's expense. Only viewers like me who miss the days of friendly, inclusive humour find Raj to be one seriously sukky, sukky friend.
As for the Shamy, Sheldon is ready to abort the night after seeing Amy in her prom dress. He thought she looked pretty and knowing thanks to Penny and Leonard the expectation for post prom coitus Sheldon retreats to his room. It's a turning point as the relationship of the mind has transformed into the carnal. It's kind of funny considering that Shamys argued against there being any chemistry between Sheldon and Penny because he is attracted to intelligence. Amy is intellectual and that's what he likes about her. However, as the march towards coitus continues, there has been a marked reduction to near zero of intellectually stimulating evenings together. I can only surmise that this occurs off-camera which is a shame. I mean if Shamy is to be held up as an unorthodox couple shouldn't their intellectual connection be front and center in their on-air relationship? The writers, it seems, don't want the 'boring science-y stuff'; they want 'romance' as defined by Amy's coming into her social/sexual prime and her attempt to drag Sheldon along with her, making him someone he didn't know he apparently 'wanted to be'.
But what is Sheldon now? He's unrecognizable as early seasons Sheldon. His quirks come and go as the writers see fit. As he 'grows' he has become downright mean, especially to Amy. Since the writers this season have made it known that Sheldon can now tell when people are making fun of him, i.e. he's become more aware, then it's curious that his comments are now crueler than ever.
Sheldon's 'evolution' has always been problematic but tonight's 'I love you' really highlighted what's gone wrong with the show. His panic attack subsides when he tells Amy he loves her. Love was the only thing that explained his feelings for her. It's logical. Only when you place it next to how he normally treats her on-camera it's anything but. Basically, he fell in love with Amy off-camera and that's really lousy writing. I don't want to be *told* that Lenny is a great couple by Stuart or that Shamy is together like two peas in a pod. I want to see it for myself. If I was a fan of either ship I'd want to experience their moments of connection. The moments are few and when they do occur are so *this is a 'Moment'. Insert 'awwws' here *. They miss the natural beat that good writing provides and the writers were more than capable of doing when this was a friendship show.
Of course there is another more poignant example of flowing to a 'natural beat' but the Shamys are rather loathe to mention the Shenny connection. The rapport between Jim and Kaley ignited the screen as Sheldon's glares practically melted through walls even as Penny responded with her pumpkin grins. What works beyond the fact that both are good actors is that they had a strong sense of who their characters were. As the seasons have gone on I'd argue that all of the characters have declined significantly but particular attention must be drawn to Sheldon and Jim Parson's inability to maintain the illusion of the quirky physicist.
I had troubles with the 'I love you' moment because when the line was delivered it wasn't by Sheldon. I don't know what Jim Parsons sounds like in person as I don't watch interviews but if I had a guess as to what I heard last night it was Jim doing an impression of what he thought a 'more mature' Sheldon would sound like as opposed to him transforming himself into Sheldon and acting accordingly. Sheldon Cooper has passion, whether it's for trains, his Meemaw or his science. Jim is capable of generating this spark with adversaries like Kripke or Wheaton or Leslie and most definitely with Penny but seemed lost when he delivered his monumental line to Amy. There was no passion. And no, I don't mean the "oh Marsha!" "Oh Bob!" kind. I mean there was no *connection* between Mayim and him.
To be fair, Mayim did her best with the scene. She knew it was a BIG MOMENT for Amy and she expressed shock but it seemed overacted because the chemistry between her and Jim was all wrong. She was left to fend for herself as she had to react to his lack-luster 'I love you, too' pitch.
I remember Jim once saying that he does his best to play Sheldon the way he's written and directed only I find that he's playing less of Sheldon and more of 'Jim Parsons'. The writing has shifted from demonstrating nuances of characterization to keeping characters in line so as to fulfill the conditions necessary for the romantic 'master plan' of the show. This wouldn't be so problematic if the writers were actually good at the romance part, but they're not. What strikes me most about this episode is that it tries so hard to be significant, to be a moment, and it fails miserably.
Amy did get what she wanted and by extension the Shamys, but the writers fucked it up. For me it had the same anticlimactic feel as the Lenny engagement. The writers seem to have lost the ability to put proper sentiment into 'game-changing' moments. Remember when Leonard asked Penny out and she accepted? The audience was ecstatic. You could feel the relief and joy, practically envision the audience members hi-fiving each other and fist-pumping.
The Shamys had the Sheldon kiss after an entire episode of treating Amy horribly. Now after a drawn-out episode with a nonsensical plot about accomplished thirty-somethings wanting to rewrite their prom experiences they had the 'I love you, too' delivered by Jim Parsons instead of Sheldon.
For Shenny, all it took was a single napkin to set the audience ablaze.
And they say Shenny is a forced, unrealistic relationship....
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