1.01 The Pilot

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Week 2 of the Rewind Imperative.

Please join us in watching a vintage Big Bang episode every week and relive the very best of this show. On and around Thursday March 19, 2015, we will be re-watching:

The Pilot
Originally aired September 24, 2007
Written by Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady


CBS rejected the original pilot but an audience survey was positive about Sheldon and Leonard, so they asked him to resubmit another. The Katie character was very unpopular and was removed and replaced with Penny. Gilda was also dropped and they created nerds Howard and Raj. The transformation was incredible, so I have to say Lorre is a bit of a wizard. Without his vision the show might never have gone into production. CBS loved it and signed them for 13 episodes.

Please note: Rewind Imperative polls are open to non-members.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Behind the scenes during The Pilot.

An early promotional vid.





Don't forget to watch and report back here

[queenoftheDales]

I watched this pilot from my dvds rather than my dvr as TBS cut it up all to hell.

I think the change of how the sperm bank scenario is much better in this version of the pilot as opposed to the other 2 unaired ones. It just seems more in character when you look back at it and the guys don't look like idiots asking for their sperm back. (TBS cut out all talks of the sperm bank scene, even the couple of lines when the duo is walking up the stairs.)

I'm glad tptb didn't have Penny completely creeped out by them. (TBS cut out the line about masturbating for money and goes straight to the boys apartment scene)

From the beginning Sheldon stole the show. JP's lines and delivery were interesting to say the least. It's hard to tell that Sheldon wasn't supposed to be the main focus of this show. Leonard's character is a dime a dozen. He's nervous and geeky and short and squinty with glasses (probably to gain sympathy for the nice guy, I assume). While Sheldon's character was something new, different. Maybe that's why he became so popular on this show. The only time Sheldon seemed awkward was when Penny sat in his seat and was he floating around until Leonard told him to sit.

I thought Howard and Raj were better characters than Leonard too, and that's saying a lot seeing as Raj didn't do much talking.

To be honest, I didn't like Penny in the beginning. I mean she wasn't a bad character or anything, she just seemed like a plot device for the episode. And good lord did they have to make her so damn ditzy? She was really nice to the guys compared to Evil!Katie from the unaired pilot, so that is big a step up.

Also, do I detect a bit of sarcasm from Sheldon during the tv retrieval scene? (And Kaley trying not to laugh during the tag scene with Howard singing )


This wasn't the first episode of this series that I watched. In fact, I didn't watch the pilot and a few other episodes until I downloaded it after watching The Pancake Anomaly. Had I watched the pilot when it first aired I would have thought the show wasn't going to last long for me; a handful of episodes at best because that ditzy blond thing would have gotten on my nerves.

My favorite scene




Not bad for a sitcom pilot.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Sheldon: So if a photon is directed through a plane with two slits in it and either slit is observed it will not go through both slits. If it’s unobserved it will, however, if it’s observed after it’s left the plane but before it hits its target, it will not have gone through both slits.

Leonard: Agreed, what’s your point?

Sheldon: There’s no point, I just think it’s a good idea for a tee-shirt.

Even before you see the guys coming around the corner, the very first voice you hear is Sheldon’s AND HE’S RANTING. Not the annoying squeal we have now, but a tirade of science that seems to be leading to a eureka moment, but instead ends with a joke. To me, those first 20 seconds paraphrase the entire show. The way the dialogue rolls off Jim's tongue, how genius they were and how all of a sudden it's funny. I'd never imagined that a show could take scientific terms, and equations and weave them into a joke.

Of course the writers are just establishing their intellect and next comes Leonard’s turn with the crossword. Impressive but Sheldon has already stolen the show. His moral code over genetic fraud, the news of his childhood experiments on the way up the stairs, the nervous trot across the hall when Leonard wants to invite this stranger into their lives, his confident at besting Leonard over the whiteboards, it just keeps coming…

I agree about Penny. She was vacuous and her lines were seriously limited, but we see a glimpse of the fun Penny when she’s talking about being a vegetarian. The conversation with Leonard is not bad, but it’s already obvious to me that it’s her lines with Sheldon are that much more engaging. When she starts crying and he tells her "yes" she is crazy I’m in heaven. The honesty! All I can think is ‘Where has he been her whole life!’ To me there wasn't much to set the obviously interested Leonard apart from any other sitcom nerd trying his luck. He was pleasant but Sheldon was too attractive and too interesting already.

After that, the next high point is definitely Howard and Raj. Simon had it nailed right from the start. There's something so charming about Simon, no one can do cheesy, try-too-hard and be as likeable as he can. We didn't hear much from Raj but they already felt like a double act.

I gave it 2

[Tuesday Pajamas]

...and here comes the gifs

[FlyingSolo]

...and here comes the gifs

Just look at the way Sheldon looks at Penny! He looks shy and yet intrigued at seeing Penny for the first time. I love how he gazes at her like that. It's noticeable in many of the Sheldon/Penny scenes later on as well. I don't EVER see his eyes sparkle while looking at Amy, even through their romantic scenes. How the Sheldon/Amy fans see any chemistry between these two at all baffles me to no end.

EDIT: He also slightly smirks before looking back up. What's up with that?!

[Gamma]

I have to agree with pilot Penny being way too ditzy. But she was pleasant and kind so that already put her miles ahead of Katie. Its good that they added some snark to her character and also made her less of an airhead(of course after the other two girls came they made her worse than ditzy, they implied over and over that she was stupid)

You can see in her interactions with the guys that she has Leonard pegged right off but she is not as sure about the other guys. That's why to me her interactions with Leonard are the least interesting- they are way too predictable. Just look at him grab the attention back to himself when Penny admires Sheldon's whiteboard for too long.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Leonard was, as I wrote previously just pleasant. They really didn't give him enough personality. The shower scene was probably his strongest but Sheldon was so outstanding throughout this first episode, that Leonard was almost forgettable. I agree that Howard also upstaged him.

What makes a person ship? Sheldon was mind blowing!! SIMPLE! and to top it off he was also boyishly good looking. His indifference towards Penny simply made for a more interesting starting point. The story arc could have been monumental because they had further to go! Leonard and Penny barely had a seasons in them. I do not know how the writers got away with keeping these two together, and revisiting it after they split them up, it still doesn't work.

[Jomi25]

I think I've watched the pilot episode one too many times. This is the Sheldon I liked. He sounded so smart and superior. And the lines he had were great! I loved those complicated science lines from him. Jim's delivery with Vintage Sheldon is just perfect! I also have to agree that Penny seemed a little bit much of a dumb blonde here. But she was fun and vibrant and definitely a lot more pleasant than the Katie girl. It's good they redeemed her in future episodes. How they've dumbed her down even more in the last couple of seasons is just frustrating and infuriating. Seeing the current Penny and putting her side-by-side with old school Penny just makes me sad for the character. Same goes for Sheldon.

I have to admit I've rewatched watched this ep a lot just to see that little whiteboard moment. I loved how Sheldon seemed like he wanted to impress Penny with his whiteboard. I loved the subtlety of that moment. I also loved the awkwardness of Sheldon, Leonard and Penny's first meeting, plus the scenes where Sheldon and Leonard try to get Penny's old TV back. And Raj and Howard were great! Simon was really awesome in this, his skill with impressions is just great. As for Leonard, he was more likeable in here. I think I liked him better when he was just pining for Penny. He and Penny definitely worked better as friends.

Those GIFs, BTW! Whatchu lookin' at, Sheldon?

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Very true, 'Superior Sheldon' was never smug, he was just smarter than most and didn't understand why no one else was. I literally hate the smug git he is now, and that breaks my heart.

There was definitely a bit of flirting going on there, which was underlined by how much he then challenged Leonard. They were competing and I'm sure ditzy Penny must have been able to see it. She knows about charming the boys. It was a big imposition to ask Leonard to get her TV. She knew she had them eating out of her hand.

Oh and I forgot the hugs, Sheldon getting hugged in his pants is brilliant, he squirms at the contact. There's some great physical comedy in JPs performance. He's got that walk already.