An Un-unravelable Web?

[Louise]

The thing is, most happy and stable relationships aren't preceded by seven or eight years of hesitation and breakups. Are they???

IDG this idea that it's "more realistic" for two characters to spend the entire run of the series on this "will they, won't they" stuff. I don't believe this philosophy that it's somehow deeper, more true to life, more emotionally honest to portray two characters spending *years* vacillating and having conflicts before finally getting together. Better than what, exactly?

Is this really any more realistic than a fairy tale where the two characters fall in love instantly? How many people have heard their parents say "yes, we went back and forth for ten years, then we finally settled down and were perfectly happy from that point onward"?? Not mine.

It's so tedious. It also assumes that marriage is the goal of any "real" relationship. Characters can't just be casually dating, or even living together without being married.

We can have jokes about incest, pedophilia, STDs, and spitting in people's mouths, but we can't have characters who are together without a formal commitment, without marriage as the "finish line"?

I go when I hear the cast and writers start rhapsodizing about how "deep", and rich, and meaningful, and realistic, and truthful, these tedious ships are. So pretentious.


They're stretching out the ships because they want their ten years' worth of $$$. Plain and simple.

[lewstonewar]

The thing is, most happy and stable relationships aren't preceded by seven or eight years of hesitation and breakups. Are they???

IDG this idea that it's "more realistic" for two characters to spend the entire run of the series on this "will they, won't they" stuff. I don't believe this philosophy that it's somehow deeper, more true to life, more emotionally honest to portray two characters spending *years* vacillating and having conflicts before finally getting together. Better than what, exactly?

Is this really any more realistic than a fairy tale where the two characters fall in love instantly? How many people have heard their parents say "yes, we went back and forth for ten years, then we finally settled down and were perfectly happy from that point onward"?? Not mine.

It's so tedious. It also assumes that marriage is the goal of any "real" relationship. Characters can't just be casually dating, or even living together without being married.

We can have jokes about incest, pedophilia, STDs, and spitting in people's mouths, but we can't have characters who are together without a formal commitment, without marriage as the "finish line"?

I go when I hear the cast and writers start rhapsodizing about how "deep", and rich, and meaningful, and realistic, and truthful, these tedious ships are. So pretentious.


They're stretching out the ships because they want their ten years' worth of $$$. Plain and simple.

It's hard to believe 'Mike and Molly' is made by the same guy. I just started watching it in syndication. What I have seen so far l like and I don't really care for sitcoms anymore.

...looked it up. just his production company someone else created it. maybe that explains it.

[wellplayedpenny]

Dvdtalk Review Season Two September 15 2009

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/38886/big...eason-the/

Memorable Lines:
With a little beefing of characters, a geek chic set makeover for the apartment, and added nerdiness onto Sheldon's persona, it quickly transformed into a very smartly-written and uproarious show that appeals to both nerds and non-nerds alike -- though more towards the nerd, like myself

... Penny has gradually eased into the group as a friend instead of standing apart as just the "hot girl", which backs some of the tone off of the worship-like attention she's received -- and that's very welcome. Her friendship with Sheldon develops more than with anyone else this season, strangely enough, which has some clever effects on the group's dynamic.

One of its biggest strengths lies in its ability to pinpoint the funnier elements in each nerd-laden character, and then push those buttons profusely in a way that never grows stale.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments

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Blogcritics Review Season Two Dvd September 15 2009

http://blogcritics.org/dvd-review-the-big-bang-theory2/

Memorable Lines:
During the first season, a lot of emphasis was put on the possible romance between [Leonard and Penny], so it was a little strange that they threw the two together so quickly just to rip them apart in the very next episode. Even stranger is that the show is much better off with them separated but continues to have awkward moments when they make references about the time they were dating yet it was only one date.

The more you get to know about [Sheldon's] idiosyncrasies and phobias the more the show begins to revolve around him. In order for the rest of his friends to function, Sheldon must first be appeased. In many shows this could make for an annoying character, but while he may be annoying to his friends, the audience finds him incredibly likeable and entertaining. He approaches everything with such sincere innocence and with complete honesty that you can’t help but like him.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments

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Heralddispatchblogs Review Season Two September 17 2009

http://herald-dispatchblogs02.blogspot.c...niest.html

Memorable Line:
Leonard gets a girlfriend. Raj hits on a Terminator. Howard runs the Mars Rover into a ditch. Penny dates the owner of the comic book store. And Sheldon learns to drive. All that happens while the guys learn about life, love, relationships and a bunch of scientific stuff I don’t understand. But fortunately, you don’t have to understand it to find it funny.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments

[wellplayedpenny]

TVaddict Jim Parsons Emmy nod September 18 2009

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2009/09/18/ex...y-chances/

Memorable Line:
“The obvious thing that I would love to see at some point is some sort of relationship, even a friendship that calls some emotion to the forefront.” says Parsons. “I don’t think it will happen this year.”

Mood of the Masses:
"Making a character who has so many annoying quirks lovable is a testament to his acting ability. He brings humanity to what could be a robotic character if not played well. I know people who are similar to Sheldon and they are lovable. It's nice to see a portrayal that is so spot on." (Ann Morris)

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NYTimes Chuck Lorre September 18 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/arts/t....html?_r=0

Memorable Lines:
Week after week from August through April, Mr. Lorre, 56, beats a path between the two sets [BBT/TAAHM], their respective writers’ rooms and editing bays, overseeing details as small as the color of one character’s blazer and the print on a beach towel.

“I think Chuck has come to appreciate — as much as those of us who believe in him — just how good he is,” said Peter Roth, president of Warner Brothers Television.

This summer “The Big Bang Theory,” with its gentler, less racy story lines, continued to build its audience, which totaled about 10 million a week last season. ... "clearly ‘Big Bang Theory’ is absolutely on the right trajectory in the ratings to be a tremendous hit.” (Leslie Moonves, chief executive, CBS)

Mr. Lorre said he knew from the beginning of “Big Bang” that he had underwritten the character of Penny, the eye candy next door played by Kaley Cuoco. Last season her intellectual strengths and emotional vulnerabilities gained depth, and the belly shirts and short shorts of the early days often gave way to sweatpants and T-shirts.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

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Huffingtonpost Simon Helberg November 19 2009

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenna-busc...90600.html

Memorable Lines:
*The show is incredibly popular. As a geek myself, I get it. But what do you think it is about this show that gives it such a wide appeal?

Well, I think that everybody is kind of a nerd at heart. We're all nerds, and this show kind of calls that out. It's fun to root for the underdog, which I think our show is really about, these outsiders. And I think people, in general, grow up thinking there's this pocket of nerds and this pocket of really cool people. But when everyone goes home, they're all kind of nerdy. This has become a place to kind of feel like you're not alone with your geekiness. And it's just quick and funny and colorful...but on a psychological level it's touched some nerve with people's inner-nerdiness.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

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Movieline Johnny Galecki September 28 2009

http://movieline.com/2009/09/28/johnny-g...interview/

Memorable Line:
JG: I think the show is really about how passionate people get, and these characters happen to be passionate about science. I do hear that a lot. People come up to me and say, "My husband is just like that with baseball." It's that one thing that you're passionate about, that you end up developing tunnel vision for and everything else tends to fall by the wayside. Passion is appealing and universal.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

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NYTimes Big Bang Theory October 4 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/arts/t...ss&emc=rss

Memorable Lines:
“What we all liked was the relationship between these two guys [Leonard and Sheldon], one who wants his world to be bigger and the other who wants his world to be smaller,” Mr. Prady said.

...Mr. Galecki said, “It went from a show that I think may have made fun of intelligent people half of the time to a show that defends intelligent people 99 percent of the time.”

[Jim Parsons]: “I feel like there’s still a strong segment out there that may not be sold on the concept of four nerds and the pretty girl next door,” he said. “I get that. I think there’s a lot more going on that doesn’t really fit in that description. It really doesn’t tell you 10 percent of why you would be interested, truly.”

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

[wellplayedpenny]

USAToday Network Sitcoms November 6 2009

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/tele...4_ST_N.htm

Memorable Lines:
The most popular series have always been those that allow us to invest in the characters, to pretend, for a half-hour, that their problems and victories matter....

Our longing to connect also explains the revival of another twist on the family sitcom, the Dick Van Dyke/Mary Tyler Moore notion of friends and co-workers as extended family. The idea thrives on CBS' hilariously endearing Big Bang, which sent Sheldon home to his mom just so he could realize his real home was with his friends.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

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Thetvaddict Johnny Galecki November 16 2009

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2009/11/16/5-...y-galecki/

Memorable Lines:
[JG]: “Knowing that that kind of romantic dynamic has been done before and done really really well, the scenes between Penny and Leonard were always looked at very carefully and rehearsed the most cautiously and stringently,” revealed the actor. “But the good thing is that Leonard and Penny aren’t together because viewership is dwindling, it’s being done for creative reasons and I trust the writers to handle the relationship with care.”

Relationships may come and go, but friendship lasts forever. Which is why, fans of television’s most dynamic duo can sleep easy, Galecki doesn’t believe anything can break them up. “At least not for more than a couple of days,” joked Galecki. “I think as much as Leonard and Sheldon drive each other crazy they really do like each other and have kind of become two different sides of the same brain. I think they’d be afraid to function without one another.”

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

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TVguide Wolowitz Girlfriend November 22 2009

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Big-Bangs-Wo...12445.aspx

Memorable Lines:
*TVGuide.com: Do you know how long his arc with Bernadette is? Is she the one?

Helberg: It's certainly open-ended at this point. He hasn't blown it enough yet to scare her away. But he blows it every time. He's always doing something stupid. It's not even stupidity; he's just lost. [Laughs] He really tries, but he's missing some of those social contracts that many people have and he's full-force all the time. There's no subtlety to him. I think he's innocent and a romantic at heart.

*TVGuide.com: If this becomes serious [with Bernadette], he needs to stop chasing girls. Can he do that?

Helberg: I can see him not gathering those boundaries and not picking up on that — that flirting is not OK. We haven't dealt with that yet, but it is in his nature to chase girls. It would be kind of fascinating to see if that goes away because he's so taken with her or if he's still got the compulsion to do it anyway. He's got a lot to learn, which is interesting because we haven't seen him learn much the whole run of the show. They're brilliant and set in their ways. It'll be nice to see him grow or [see] if he's incapable of it.

*TVGuide.com: Has he ever had a second, third or fourth date before with the same woman?

Helberg: I think he has had a second date. This is probably the most reciprocal relationship he's been in. I think he's had women use him, I think he's used women. I think he pays for women. [Laughs] But he's doing all right for himself now.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments

[Louise]

Interesting. I tend not to watch interviews with Helberg, or care what he says about the character, because it's become clear that the actors are just going along with whatever and not analyzing the characters as intensely and deeply as we do. Maybe that sounds pretentious, but you see what I mean.

The thing is, I don't believe Howard *has* shown much "growing and learning" just by marrying B. Like we all keep saying, these characters have regressed.

After B. is introduced, his character becomes inconsistent, IMO, because now the character is being used in service of the plot, rather than vice versa. IMO they made him *more* obnoxious, in some ways, in order to make B. look better by comparison and to set up this phony "redemption" story.

If we accept the post-A&B era as valid (which I don't), then I don't see how the guys have actually become more socially aware; they've just repressed the parts of themselves that were deemed unacceptable.

It's like someone else said recently, in regards to Sheldon: you make the character *more* childish, so that you can then claim "growth." It's a trick.

There are just so many things wrong with this show's approach; I could rant for pages and pages and it would never be enough, because there are so many different points to address.

The only way to demonstrate social competence and personal betterment is by getting married??? Bwuh?

There's nothing especially appealing about Bernadette, so the message here is: Howard is so desperate for love that he'll fall apart for the first woman who shows him even the slightest attention. That's a positive message? I think it's kinda troubling, to say the least.

Bernadette has no personality; she just toggles between "cute blonde" and "monstrous caricature", so I really don't see what kind of emotional or psychological need she's fulfilling in Howard. She's there and she's female. Period. She just fills an empty slot labeled "girlfriend."

If we're to believe Dr.Beverly; Howard and Raj were each other's main source of companionship, and they fulfilled each other's emotional needs. So, maybe the pursuit of girls was more about the thrill of the chase, than about any deep desire for a "real relationship", whatever that is. Who knows?


That's the problem with this show: each character's "happily ever after" looks exactly the same.

IIRC, by the end of Season 2, the show had already backed-off on the "overly sexual Howard" jokes, a bit. He's (somewhat) able to be in Penny's presence without pestering her and going into sexual overdrive. That's a big step. This was long before Bernadette; hence my claim that they actually regressed the character in order to accomodate this Bernadette storyline.

It would be a big step if Howard was able to be in an attractive woman's presence without over-reacting. But several seasons later, we're still being fed the message that he's this pathetic creep who will "never do any better" than Bernadette; so he should just be grovelingly grateful that any woman will even look at him. The whole H/B storyline rests on this idea that he doesn't deserve her, that she's the "normal one" of the two; he needs to "earn" her, that the burden of making the relationship work rests on him, etc. I find it all extremely distasteful. And she simply doesn't seem *real*, so I find it impossible to believe that such a vivid and complex character as Howard would be fascinated with her.

I don't get it. This new character pops up out of nowhere, and all of a sudden we're supposed to side with her? And the other characters are supposed to side with her, too, and badger H. into marrying her?

It's really pretty galling, when you think about it. When B. was introduced, we'd already known and loved Howard for two and a half seasons, and now we're expected to believe he's not worthy of some random one-dimensional nobody whom we, the audience, have no reason to care about? Bitch, I don't know you. Go away.

That's such an ugly message, and it's very inconsistent characterization. Howard had already cooled it on the sexual stuff a little bit, BEFORE the introduction of B. That would be a very natural outcome of him and Penny getting to know each other better and feeling more comfortable in each other's presence. IMO the writers did not handle the Penny-Howard conflict well, at all, but eventually it seems like they reached a truce.

It all goes back to this issue of "if the characters don't mend their ways, they'll end up alone, blah, blah." I don't care what happens to the characters when they're 50. They're fictional, and if this show had ended after S1 or S2, I'm sure we'd all assume that the characters would be okay, one way or another.

Maybe some people just aren't cut out to be monogamous, and/or aren't cut out to have long-term relationships. Vintage!Howard might be one of them. Maybe it's possible that for some people, love and sex are two separate things.

Obviously it would be a good thing if he learned to communicate with women better and not freak out around them, but hurrying into marriage doesn't solve that issue, at all. If anything, it just continues an unhealthy level of obsession with females: first his mother is the center of the universe, then Bernadette is the center of the universe. How is that an improvement?

It just goes back to this show's insistence that "traditional monogamous relationship >>>>>> everything."

Ugh. IDK, I don't even like to talk about these issues, because the H/B relationship and the way they've handled his character is so riddled with mixed messages and weird ideas and backwards thinking.

TL;DR: I don't think the H/B relationship represents any kind of "growth" for Howard, and I don't think the guys have actually demonstrated an improvement in their social skills, in later seasons.

TL;DR again: yes, in a real-world context, it would be good if Howard learned to not get over-excited every time a woman crosses his path. But...this is a sitcom. And, I honestly believe Vintage!Howard may've been a person who isn't cut out to be married, at all. And...that's okay. This show just won't admit that more than one type of lifestyle can exist.

For good or for ill, I could really see Vintage!Howard as someone who simply isn't cut out for "serious" relationships and gets his emotional fulfillment elsewhere.

[wellplayedpenny]

DigitalSpy Johnny Galecki December 7 2009

http://www.digitalspy.ca/british-tv/inte...g5eHDLE506

Memorable Lines:
[JG]: Chuck told me at the end of the first season that Penny and Leonard are going to give it another shot at dating. It's not going to go well, of course, because we’re doing a comedy, but it's not going to be Leonard’s fault either, so I love that.

*Do you like the idea of the two of you finally being happy together? Leonard getting a second chance?
"Second, or third, or fourth, I don’t know what chance number we’re on now! If we were with lesser writers, I’d be concerned that it was too soon, or too late, but these guys are great and they’re aware that similar dynamics have been done before on television and have been done really well on television before too, and those are the scenes that we really take close care in rehearsing. We rehearse those scenes between Leonard and Penny more than any other because they’re really specific in what you want to suggest. So it’s tricky, but I’d love to jump in with both feet to the whole thing."

[JG]: I think what it boils down to, at least for these characters anyway, is people who are so impassioned to do something that they want to immerse themselves in it entirely. When you do that you miss out on some other things such as social graces or certain lessons. That’s still appealing - it’s still attractive, passion in any way, shape or form.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments

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HeroComplex Guest Essay December 14 2009

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/uncategor...-theory-2/

Memorable Lines:
“The Big Bang Theory” has the potential to become a true classic of TV comedy, but it stands apart from most traditional three-camera shows because of what it is not…
“The Big Bang Theory” is not a family sitcom with a wise and knowing (or bumbling and oblivious) father, nor does it feature a single parent. It is not about East Coast friends who are beautiful or urban or beautifully urban. It does not focus on characters defined by their ethnic and/or social class. It is not about aliens or high school students or teachers, and it is not about doctors (not of the medical profession, at least). And it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, about Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms. Middle Class, Middle America, Middlebrow — the kind of characters that a vast audience can (supposedly) most relate to most easily.

Their lack of social skills comes not just from their mental superiority, but also from the fact that they are nerds — they collect comics books, adore video games and gobble up sci-fi and fantasy movies. They take no shame in this; no, they embrace it as their culture, a culture as complex, interesting, and worthy as any other culture on this planet (or any other planet, for that matter).

The show spends far more time showing them in nerd mode than in science settings; you’re more likely to see them at their favorite comic book store on new-release day than to watch them conduct experiments or pore over data because, well, the other option might be mind-numbingly dull. But their career pursuits are shown in subtle ways during brief moments, which is when we see their passion for their work, the thrill and pride they display when they apply their finely honed minds to the latest challenge. If nerdism is their culture, science is their tribe.

The writers of the series have sculpted full portraits of their characters and polished them with a giddy exploitation of their human frailties as well as compassion for them.

Mood of the Masses: General praise for the show.

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NYPost Kaley Cuoco January 24 2010

http://nypost.com/2010/01/24/beauty-and-...z0djJIejHl

Memorable Lines:
“Penny has always been the audience’s point of view and the ambassador into the world of our guys,” says Bill Prady, one the series’ executive producers.

“Penny handles Sheldon like no one else,” says Cuoco. “She’s wonderful and sweet, but she also has a backbone. She says what’s on her mind.”

Conversely, “Bang” fans want Penny and the socially-oblivious, germ-phobic Sheldon to get together. “It’s a very strange idea,” says Cuoco.

Asked if a woman exists out there for Sheldon, Cuoco says, “No. Unless it’s like a robot that Sheldon builds and can control.”

Mood of the Masses: No Comments.

[wellplayedpenny]

IGN Jim Parsons January 29 2010

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2010/01/29/ba...don-speaks

Memorable Lines:
[JP]:My thing, and I've always said this, and I'm not trying to defer attention or anything like that, is the writing....I've heard it said that it's a writer's medium, and I completely believe that...and in our case specifically, we only have what they bring. [laughs] We can only play with what they've written, as it were. And we're in a very fortunate circumstance where what they're writing is sincerely funny, you know? And maybe 'sincere' is sort of the key word there. There is a great sincerity in what we're doing here...in deference to the format itself. We're trying to do nothing that different than anything that's been done before. But we're trying to do it as best we can.

[JP]:I do think of the scenes and this dialogue very specifically in a musical way. And it's much more self conscious, I have to say. I am able to consciously realize that I'm doing it. The way that they're writing this, and it's what I felt from day one with this...it wasn't the story that grabbed me, though it was lovely. And it wasn't even the characters themselves as far as who made them what they are. When I first saw the audition sides for this show, I really wanted to leap at the opportunity to get to execute this dialogue. And it was all about the rhythms they put in there. And one of the things the writers are so good at is utilizing, not just scientific terms, but especially in the case of Sheldon, just so many damn words in general, but putting them in a format that has a song to it.

I think there is a musicality to any conversation in general. Some a bit more melodic than others, depending who you're talking to. [laughs] It's most especially accentuated here. It's definitely highlighted, maybe in any comedy. But most certainly in this one, I think. And it's one of the great joys. And it's one of the ways in which, as an actor, in this show at least, I know when something is not going right. Nine times out of ten I'm right about it. Because suddenly you can't access the rhythm. And either they're about to rewrite something that's going to make it fall into place...or you've got more days of rehearsal and suddenly you're going to feel it...I frequently say, 'That scene sings like a song.'

[JP]: I think any comedy writer has a certain rhythm and I think that Chuck, specifically, has a very...[laughs]...he knows how to make the twenty-two minutes of television play by in the right way. I think it's the reason that his shows repeat so well in audience numbers. Because I feel like the stories are good and the things you discover the first time you watch the stories are lovely. But perhaps its best quality is that the episode itself goes by like a song. Even if you know what's going to happen because you've seen it once or twice before, it's still so much fun to watch. And I think that has to do with the rhythm of it. It's like a favorite song. You know the song, you know where it's going, but it's still enjoyable because you like hearing certain notes hit. You like hearing certain rhythms hit.

[JP]: I think [Lorre] views Sheldon finding love or the desire for Sheldon to find love as a bit of an attempt to normalize Sheldon. And see the more normal side of Sheldon and oh, he is like us. ...He's very interested in continuing to celebrate how different Sheldon is than the general populace. And he really likes exploring this version of Sheldon, where Sheldon has essentially kind of opted out of the romance scene. He's not taking time for it. In fact, he's kind of deemed it something that for him, at this point, is sort of a waste of time. There is so much more for him to do, he sees, specifically in science in this case, but whatever.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments

[Idle Miscreant]

[JP]: I think [Lorre] views Sheldon finding love or the desire for Sheldon to find love as a bit of an attempt to normalize Sheldon. And see the more normal side of Sheldon and oh, he is like us. ...He's very interested in continuing to celebrate how different Sheldon is than the general populace. And he really likes exploring this version of Sheldon, where Sheldon has essentially kind of opted out of the romance scene. He's not taking time for it. In fact, he's kind of deemed it something that for him, at this point, is sort of a waste of time. There is so much more for him to do, he sees, specifically in science in this case, but whatever.

The whole article is lovely. I've always liked Jim's take on musicality in speech. The rhythm of Sheldon's dialogue was what first drew me to the character.

So what's happened? Our perpetual question...What changed Lorre's mind?

[wellplayedpenny]

UCLANewsroom David Saltzberg February 26 2010

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/making-...ions-83027

Memorable Lines:
[DS]: If I publish a paper and I have 100 people reading it, I'm very happy. This television show has 12 million people watching it. That's enormous. When you consider that the trend these days is to have a lot less science reporting, this may be the only way we have to reach a large audience about what's new in science.

Mood of the Masses: No Comments