SHAMY WARNING: 8.19 The Skywalker Incursion (April 2)

[Gamma]

Blech, what an episode. Howard should have kept the Tardis and got rid of Bernadette. She was way beyond obnoxious tonight. If you look at the apartment they live in there is nothing that says that Howard lives there. Its all very feminine and decorator bland. You would think in his childhood house he could have a room for his collectables. No, because Bernadette gets her way. I have never really disliked Bernadette, she was just kind of there, but this kind of writing will make me really dislike her pretty quickly.

Then we have poor friendless Amy, who couldn't even figure out that you can put up the other side of the ping pong table to play ping pong without a partner. I guess we are suppose to feel sorry for her so it wont seem so icky when she takes Bernadette's suggestion to throw the ping pong match so she can use the Tardis to lure Sheldon to her bedroom. That she and Sheldon are not on the same page at the end really goes without saying.

Don't get me started on the whole Sheldon/Leonard plot. That was just beyond stupid.

Watching this episode I really kept wondering why would this group of people hang out together. They barely seem to tolerate each other let alone actually like one another, and that includes the supposed couples.

Good thing I had a glass of wine for this episode Probably needed more than one.

[devilbk]

It was bad on a totally different level from the SIK and the Prom. It was lazy.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Bernadette is a one trick pony and the acting is really quite terrible. She's nothing but a parody, of a cartoon, of a cardboard cut-out. Screeching like a lunatic because that's all the writers give her to do. A truly terribly written character. I really can't tell if the actress has any range at all. I've been told some of her standup is quite good but you'd never know from her work on this show.

I guess a lot of people find it funny but I can't think why.

[Berliner]

Another highly creepy episode.
Amy's constant entrapment to get Sheldon into bed is highly offensive ... and creepy. If the roles were reversed, there would be an outcry of epic proportions. But as long as Amy is doing it, I guess it's ok.

[Idle Miscreant]

I haven’t watched this episode, and won’t be watching it, if Sheldon’s acting like a buffoon again but I had a quick scan of the comments for it, and the most common opinion was that Bernadette should have let Howard keep his TARDIS. It’s his mother’s house, they could have set aside a room for it, she knew what kind of chap he was when she married him etc.

Personally I never had a particular problem with Bernadette until Howard began to fade away.

I find the actress very sharp and amusing on twitter and in interviews, and she seems to be a lovely person. But the character is a different matter. There came a scene in a season 8 episode where they went to Vegas, and Bernadette was drunk and talking about climbing into a Australian stripper’s g-string (or something) and it went on and on, and was so obviously being played for the benefit of the studio audience, who were SHRIEKING with laughter, that it quite alienated me, and struck me as very indulgent, in a Fonz getting applauded for every catchphrase kind of way.

The same Fonzification has been happening to Sheldon for years. It’s like he’s become a caricature played for the benefit of the studio audience. And “Shamy” seems similarly to be exclusively created to target a certain fanbase, rather than being an organic creation, and that’s worrying. Particularly as this fanbase seems to be violently against the original focus of the show.

Outside of this Shamy/romance crowd, there are plenty of disgruntled normal fans. Increasingly this season I’ve seen variations in comments of;

“Why have all the guys ended up with women who hate their interests and passions?”

There’s an enormous number of female viewers into sci-fi and geekery. Why insult potential TBBT watchers (or old fans) by having the only women on the show portrayed either as housewives or shouty buzzkills, or manipulative and sex-starved? Where are the geek women?

Martha and Abby (in their ONE episode) were brilliantly suited to the group. That comic-artist lass that inexplicably fancied Leonard was also very accurate. So they CAN write these characters. Presumably it’s thought that there’s more humour in the idea of normal women getting their weird blokes in line. Unfortunately it’s all so unpleasant.

Sheldon & Amy’s relationship would go some way to justifying CBS’s constant demand of viewers that it’s ADORABLE, if Amy wasn’t constantly trying to get into Sheldon’s pants without his knowledge. If she wanted the TARDIS for herself, or for her and Sheldon to genuinely roleplay in, then that shows an equality of soul, or balance of intent at least. The fact that what Sheldon THINKS is happening is always completely at odds with what Amy has orchestrated, and that his thoughts are transparently innocent and childlike, whilst Amy’s are invariably sexualised, may be “funny”, but it’s about as far from adorable as you can get.

The disparity between their conceptions of “romance” is what apparently drives all Shamy scenes. They are NOT on the same wavelength in any respect. If they were, then there wouldn’t be any humour in their relationship (although I don’t find “awkward woman dementedly pursuing oblivious and emotionally distant man” funny as a trope).

Sheldon and Penny are on the same wavelength (in a strange intuitive way), but from completely different planets. When they clash neither withers or wilts, as they are equally strong characters, and unfailingly (sometimes rudely) honest with each other. It is a balanced relationship.
Possibly because it’s a friendship rather than a romance. Raj and Howard are similarly balanced, with Howard leading the way most of the time, but deferring to Raj’s greater sensitivity on some matters. Similarly, Sheldon may be ostensibly smarter than Penny, but he always consults her on social/emotional issues.

The friendships on this show are excellently done. (Except for Penny/Amy, which is completely unbelievable. Amy/Raj might be possible however)

The question is why cannot (or will not) TBBT write romantic relationships that are equally balanced? One member of each couple is weaker than the other, and it makes it unsettling to watch. Perhaps reality is like this (although all couples I know are equally matched…) but again, who asked for reality?

And where are the male/female friendships? Outside of Sheldon & Penny, whom we barely see together anymore.

And where are the Snowdens of yesteryear…

[devilbk]

I think that the basic problem is that TPTB are completely uninterested in satisfying the nerd audience or, in fact, anyone outside of the mainstream. Their intent is to (a) make fun of nerds and (b) to show that it's better if nerds become normalized and that the route to normalization is sex.

[Louise]

Bernadette is a one trick pony and the acting is really quite terrible. She's nothing but a parody, of a cartoon, of a cardboard cut-out. Screeching like a lunatic because that's all the writers give her to do. A truly terribly written character. I really can't tell if the actress has any range at all. I've been told some of her standup is quite good but you'd never know from her work on this show.

I guess a lot of people find it funny but I can't think why.

I can't imagine it's enjoyable or satisfying for the actress, to play this one-note role. The cast members seem to enjoy each other's company, but so what? They're not being paid to enjoy each other's company and behave like they're at summer camp. What's good for them isn't necessarily good for the audience. They all seem kind of cheerfully oblivious, fiddling while Rome burns.

I don't watch many sitcoms, but off the top of my head, I can't recall any other character who was so blatantly unpleasant and yet was presented as a protagonist, as someone we're expected to find (mostly) likeable and admirable. If she were explicitly presented as a villain/antagonist, that would be one thing. But no, this is the person who's "too good" for Howard, and he's "lucky" to have her

I'm usually pretty good at separating actor from character, but I'd never go see MR in some other role, now. The association with BBT is too off-putting.

And if I'm not the only person who feels that way, then MR should be more mindful of the impact this show is having on her future image. But none of them seem to have their own best interests in mind, except money-wise.

The character of Bernadette has gone beyond just loud and abrasive. The events of this latest episode make her seem inconsiderate, selfish, and grasping, to a truly disturbing and harmful degree.

I really can't imagine that Vintage!Howard would put up with this, no matter how desperate he was for sex and for love. He'd get spooked and run away. Dare I say that he was better off paying for prostitutes, or dealing with rejection? No amount of "I wuv you Howie" in that silly fake voice is worth someone who thinks your house belongs to them and your feelings don't matter.

"Better to be hated than to be loved for what you're not", as the song goes.

I'm able to write about it now, but yesterday I was so angry and saddened that I couldn't bear to think about it. Not to play Internet Diagnosis, but both A and B seem to show hints of some truly evil type of Narcissism, a belief that other people and their rights simply do not matter. S, P, and H are second-class citizens and they can be abused or disregarded with impunity, because other characters have been given this bizarrely privileged status.

I know there are scenes/eps where B is sweet and comforting towards H or even apologizes to him for one thing or another, but I simply don't care. Don't give me a dish full of acid with a Hershey's Kiss on top. That's the cycle with abusive people: an outburst is followed by a big show of reconciliation and making everything seem wonderful and lovey-dovey, before the cycle starts again.


ETA: and yes, if the genders were reversed, people would be foaming at the mouth about these abusive behaviors, especially certain segments of the fandom who blow a lot of smoke about being feminist. Likewise, if the show came out and explicitly stated that Sheldon has autism, then they prob. couldn't get away with this Creepy Luring Amy stuff, because it would be less ambiguously a case of exploiting someone's disability.

And now, with Emily, they continue this pattern of portraying women as sinister and dangerous.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Finally we have some reviews out there which ask the questions we have been asking for seasons.

"Is The Big Bang Theory woefully out of step with the times? This week's Star Wars and Doctor Who fan-shaming episode suggests so..."

My question is why wasn't this written about The Bakersfield episode? (sorry Gripe) but this broke my heart. The nerd shaming has just got more intense over the seasons, the show is servicing the needs of the girl characters and their desire to take all the passion away from their men. There was always a hint but now it's all about how pathetic anyone is who likes, what is essentially, mainstream science fiction.

The Tardis destruction was the worst thing ever!

http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-big-bang...-incursion

[Louise]

Finally we have some reviews out there which ask the questions we have been asking for seasons.

"Is The Big Bang Theory woefully out of step with the times? This week's Star Wars and Doctor Who fan-shaming episode suggests so..."

My question is why wasn't this written about The Bakersfield episode? (sorry Gripe) but this broke my heart. The nerd shaming has just got more intense over the seasons, the show is servicing the needs of the girl characters and their desire to take all the passion away from their men. There was always a hint but now it's all about how pathetic anyone is who likes, what is essentially, mainstream science fiction.

The Tardis destruction was the worst thing ever!

http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-big-bang...-incursion

I went to the mall yesterday and even the clothing for little children and babies is all Marvel/Avengers. There was a huge display of it. These themes are completely mainstream now. I know I mentioned this before, but if you look at the top-grossing movies of 2014, all but two or three out of the top 20 could be described as sci-fi or fantasy of one kind or another. Not the most criticially acclaimed or most award-winning, but the highest grossing, meaning that the average person is buying a ticket to see them. Indeed, out of the top 100, there was just as much sci-fi and fantasy as any other genre. The idea that the average person has never heard of Star Wars or Indiana Jones is just utterly bizarre. Most people know the gist of those stories even if they've never watched them, because it's part of the pop-culture fabric of our society, woven into the background.

A person who hates/disdains imaginative things is a closed-minded, spiritually narrow person whom I do not admire.

Granted, there is a difference between a casual fan and a hardcore fan. There's a difference between having a few t-shirts or pieces of memorabilia versus having a full-sized Tardis or a cosplay wedding or having your entire house decorated that way. Some people might view hardcore fans as extreme, but what is so harmful about it?

Personally, I am not heavily into the major fandoms like LOTR and Star Wars, but I enjoy them in a casual way, and I'm a sucker for anything with a magical/supernatural angle to it.

You'd think the guys were cooking meth or gambling away the rent money, the way this show shames them. For crying out loud, what harm are they doing? If an obsession starts to interfere with the rest of your life, that's a problem, but people can be fans/collectors of anything, it's not unique to geeky themes. Would it somehow be better if they were collecting stamps or rocks or Elvis memorabilia?

There's nothing "mature" or "grown-up" about hating fantasy. *That* is the intellectually and emotionally stunted point of view. There's something petty and ungenerous about it which I find hard to describe but very off-putting. That's a literal-minded person with a stingy, narrow worldview. I can understand disliking specific authors or specific movies, but to be embarrassed by *anything* whimsical or speculative shows some intellectual/spiritual poverty, IMO.

(Who the fuck is so terribly embarrassed/disdainful of juggling or magic tricks that they'll hide it away like they're hiding a murder weapon or a crack pipe? Oh, right, Bernadette. I'd like to hear how she became a scientist if she's not open to new ideas or multiple points of view, which would seem to be the very definition of science and discovery, IMO. A and B strike me more as the type of personality who, once upon a time, would've insisted that the earth is flat because "all the normal people think so." Of all the ludicrous things about this character, the notion that she's a brilliant and sought-after mind is the most laughable.)

A few quotes which say it better than I can:

"Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine, and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams — day dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain machinery whizzing — are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization. A prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are of untold value in developing imagination in the young. I believe it. "

--L. Frank. Baum, author of "The Wizard of Oz."

“When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

--CS Lewis.

[Idle Miscreant]

Hey, I'm not MARRIED to the Bakersfield episode. I just enjoyed the break from the relentless coupledom of Season 6 (and now 7 and 8). I liked the lads in the desert, titting around in their costumes. I've done the same myself. (Albeit dressed as Lawrence of Arabia, and in the Highlands in winter...which was ill-advised...) What I hated, along with everyone else, was the diner scene, with Sheldon crumbling, and agreeing (with the gormless rednecks) that they looked like idiots.

Sheldon's passion and absolute certainty in himself was what drove the show to greatness in the early days. You need a central idealist with a vision, to give a thing duende, or spirit. If he stops to doubt himself, and falters, he and the show tumble back to earth again.

Pre-Bernadamy, the only people who mocked the lads (and Sheldon's vision) were portrayed as neanderthals like Kurt, 'villains' like Kripke or Winkle, or manipulative shallow bints like Alicia. And Penny (I'll get to her in a minute). Now not only are they being mocked repeatedly (or told how lucky they are to have these bullies as wives/girlfriends), but by women they ostensibly chose (although yes, the writers chose them), thus suggesting a level of subconscious self-hatred.

Penny, whilst indulging in a great deal of sarcasm and ribbing, became a friend, cared for and looked after the fuckers (particularly Sheldon) and it was clear on the show, because of this warmth, that her dismissal of their interests never affected them. (Other than Leonard, who immediately tried to sell off his identity to win her approval.) Howard and Raj kept up their exuberant geekery and Sheldon FOUGHT BACK.



This balanced the field, and made it clear to the viewer that;

"Excuse me, Penny, but in this room, you're the one who's peculiar."

Now the lads are once again "the peculiar ones" even though, thanks to the women, they're gradually (and tragically) shedding all their previous identity.

There is a way to fix the show, and that's to break up (happily) at least 2 of the couples, freeing the individual characters within. Sheldon, above all, needs to be returned to his position as the great solitary maniacal sun around which the show orbits.

His life is now only valid as one half of "Shamy", a completely different entity from Sheldon, and a terrible fall from his previous glory.

Once an individual becomes only half of another entity, then the worth of the soul itself is diminished. To then suggest that this half-soul is BETTER than the original soul which was subsumed, is offensive and ludicrous.

A show about 5 independent characters is now a show about 4 couples, comprised of broken down half-characters.

Sheldon and Howard in particular seem to be constantly compromising, sulking or cowering before rude women who were kind enough to "rescue" them from their previous miserable, juvenile (utterly brilliant and delightful) existence.

Penny has completely lost her fire (except for when encouraged in her acting, by Sheldon of all people), Raj appears to have no personality at all at the moment, and Leonard is still quietly in the background saying "here we go", like usual. I suppose we should be thankful ONE thing hasn't changed...



NB - A reminder that after this week's dubious Shamy episode, which nobody here is watching, there are TWO episodes in a row free of couples! They also look very entertaining, so do tune in, and let's be hopeful, chaps! Then there's the return of Laurie Metcalf and Christine Baranski, and they can do no wrong.
Then the season's over for HQ, because LIKE HELL are we going to watch a couple/coitus-ridden finale.

"I'd rather have a blowfly lay eggs and hatch larvae in my auditory canal..."