8.21 The Communication Deterioration (April 16)

[Idle Miscreant]

"The whole thing gets me piqued, Gripe."

Intrigued variety or suffering a fit of? Alternatively, here is a Peking Duck.



I'm looking forward to the next three episodes...

[Louise]

The guys split up into teams to work on a project to communicate with aliens.

This sounds suspiciously similar to my wish for a UFO-themed ep, which I have mentioned here at HQ several times.

Still not watching.

[Idle Miscreant]

Perfectly reasonable stance, dear chap. I suppose the equivalent for Howard fans would be three Bernadette-free episodes, where Howard wasn't humiliated at every turn. Here we get a break from Amy manipulating Sheldon. By default, without AFF, we also get a break from Boyfriend!Sheldon, who is essentially unrecognisable.

It's like lounging languidly in a doorway, coat and hat on, peering in at an ongoing dinner party. As long as a particular guest remains, so too will you remain at the door, and never enter.

Generally I'm happy in the non-watching foyer with you lot. At least we can smoke!

But if Farrah Fowler ever leaves permanently, I'll put my hat on the stand, enter the dining room, and pull up a goddamn chaise longue... Just in time for the port and walnuts, presumably...

[Tuesday Pajamas]

The voice! The voice! I quite like the writing in those scenes especially Howard's "I like making fun of Sheldon." but the VOICE. It's all wrong JIMMMMMMM what are you doing with Sheldon's voice. *steps off soap box*

[Tuesday Pajamas]

By womenneverreallyfaint on tumblr



The eyebrows were in play

[wellplayedpenny]

Tonight's episode was a mixture of messages that I doubt TPTB were aware they were making. For instance, in the Raj plotline both he and Leonard come to the conclusion that Sheldon and Howard are alphas and that they're omegas. It takes them forever to come up with a decent idea and when they do it's one that Howard and Sheldon have already come up with.

This plot is almost like finding Professor Plum in the Lounge with the Revolver when it comes to how TPTB have reformulated the show and the results. Sheldon and Howard were driving forces of comedy while Raj and Leonard were reactionary. By subverting and neutering Howard and Sheldon TPTB have destroyed the joke balance. Why have they done this? Because they've hitched the show to an omega to lead the way. Leonard is the hero and is overshadowed by Sheldon thus Sheldon had to be cut down so Leonard could be dominant. As for Howard, he's in a relationship that not only keeps him in check but is also weird enough to make Leonard and Penny seem mature and balanced as opposed to boringly unfunny and completely incompatible. I've never seen a show that actively breaks up its comedic timing in order to lower its character development in order to assert an artificial dynamic.

Additionally, in more recent seasons we're seen repeated plot points and recycled jokes (Fig Newtons, anyone?) from the first three seasons dragged into the light. I had debated whether this was due to laziness or desperation but whatever the cause these recycled bits both enhance the power of the original scenes/jokes even as they demonstrate how poor the execution of the scenes/jokes are nowadays. Raj's punch line that his pooch pissed in his slippers is repeated at the end of the scene in order to maximize the humour of the comment. On its own it doesn't stand up but if repeated for emphasis it makes it better, right? Of course if they actually crafted a proper joke to begin with they wouldn't need repetition as a punch line.

The second plot had Penny ponder whether she should put her pharma job aside in order to audition for a movie. She wonderfully manoeuvres Sheldon into giving her advice, demonstrating her understanding of how Sheldon's world works. The reversal of The Knock was delightful in that it was as close to Vintage Sheldon as we've seen this season who answered. The smugness, the eyebrow wiggle, it was all there. There was no infantile actions or idiotic comments. Sheldon and Penny communicated in a way they only can. Why? Because they actually listen to each other. They actually think about what they're hearing and give advice that addresses both dreams as well as practicalities.

More importantly, their advice doesn't come with added insecurities and doubts—which was the point of Penny's impression of Leonard. She knows that he couldn't even fathom why Penny would be genuinely torn between her job and an audition because he's not a dreamer, plain and simple. In fact, Leonard's such a bucket of neuroses he really is laughable if one were to take him seriously.

When Sheldon and Penny laughed at Leonard it was a genuine moment between two friends who know Leonard's naysayer disposition best. Some viewers might not like this but I'd like to point out that Sheldon and Penny have been the butt of their friends and significant others' deprecating and belittling jokes for over three seasons.

But if I were to really put my money on why this moment bothered some people—besides the fact that the Kaley/Jim connection solidified the scene—it's simply that Penny showed that Leonard isn't her answer to everything. He isn't her be all and end all, the someone she rushes to to show her The Way. That there is a critical part of Penny that Leonard just doesn't get. And the knife in the gut is that Sheldon does and she knows it.

The Sheldon/Penny connection isn't something that we Shennys concocted. It's irrelevant how one labels it; the fact remains that it's the most genuine relationship on the show. And TPTB know it.

[Idle Miscreant]

Following any of WPP's reviews is like following Rachmaninoff with Shave and a Haircut....so I won't even try.

I rather liked that episode. Wine/Morlock Ratio: 6:1

The alien tag scene. Not only very amusing, but gives the show that extra dimension of surrealism.
Penny adopting the triple knock. Also talking to Sheldon in the first place. Sheldon & Penny's interactions remain the soul of the show.
Simon Helberg. He's an expert at his role, and is the only character who's portrayal has remained consistent. Wonderful to watch always. Give the fucker an Emmy.
Leonard and Raj getting weepy over E.T
No relationships (other than H/B) and minimal Amy. Her style is too heavy for this show. It feels suffocating when the character's around.
Penny's return to acting, however fleeting.

Sheldon. What are you doing dear fellow...


Aside from a slight return to Vintage Sheldon when he's around Penny, on the whole the character is so far from the original, that far from idolising the bastard, like I did (and still do) for Seasons 1-3 Sheldon, I find him so objectionable now that I was close to covering my eyes at certain points. And EARS! Cripes he's loud.
And he's the whole reason I watch!

This is no slur against Jim, who is a remarkable actor. And what he's doing now might indeed have validity as a new, distinct character. The problem is, it's not the one that made the show great. It's obviously not just the mannerisms, it's the whole CONCEPT of Sheldon which has shifted, from cynical eccentric alien genius (a Blackadderish character), to clownish, shouty, toddler (a Mr Bean character). Season 2 Sheldon wouldn't have sung those songs.

It doesn't matter whether you have "proof" of change (although simply watching Season 2 followed by Season 8 should be enough), or whether a vast amount of people notice this change - When you go from wanting to spend the rest of your life in the company of one fictional character, to not wanting to share a room for five minutes with that same character, then SOMETHING has altered.

His character is too over the top, too abrasive. Too idiotic, frankly. How could anyone look at Season 8 Sheldon (or Season 5,6,7 for that matter) and think "This man is a genius." Or even exceptional in any way. He's just a very loud bloke now. And he seems "crazy" in a genuinely off-putting way. Previously I would certainly trust him as leader in a post-apocalyptic scenario, for example. I very much doubt he could open a can of beans at the moment.

Who the HELL would give this loopy fellow money to do serious scientific research? I get the impression he'd spend it on an inflatable beach toy. Or a balloon he could chase.

I was very interested to watch an episode without Farrah Fowler or relationships in it, to see if that was blocking my appreciation of TBBT on the whole, and thus to see if my interest in the show rekindled. To some extent it has. I can SEE how the show could work in the way it used to (in my/our opinion) in the Vintage years. The feel of this episode was quite light, and enjoyable. It felt very Season 4-ish. The writing is as sharp as ever for the incidental scenes, and Leonard, Howard and Raj are still reliably themselves in mannerisms.

But other than that eyebrow-wiggle in the Shenny triple knock scene, I can't SEE Sheldon anymore. I certainly can't believe in him. This is frustrating, as I know Parsons can still "do" Sheldon...As said, with scenes with Penny he generally regains his character. The writers can certainly still write for Sheldon, they created him after all.

So why don't they? What (or whose) directorial decision is this? And do they realise they're destroying the show by not only directing its focus away from individuals and friendship, and towards bondage and marriage, but by turning its heart into an outlandish caricature?

This character might be popular with some folk now, but he's not eternal, like Vintage Sheldon. And eternity should be what one is after, surely? Especially with syndication rights...

Return the character to his old self. Bounce him off Penny. Increase the friendships. Decrease the romance. Increase the alien tag scenes. That is all.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Shenny saves the episode.

"Aside from the amusement factor, this segment served as a reminder of how endearing Sheldon and Penny can be together. In a lot of ways, their sibling-esque bond feels the most genuine of any dynamic on the show." - IGN

YES, WE KNOW!


http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/04/17/th...ion-review

[lewstonewar]

Black Adder vs Mr. Bean very good analogy. I like that. Someone should make a graphic.

[wellplayedpenny]

A small comment on what you wrote, Gripe. Reruns of BBT occur before the news here and so my mother has caught the endings of a few of the episodes from time to time. Keep in mind that, apart from my talking about the show or my fanfictions she's never sat down to see an episode, but even she could tell what was an early episode from a later one because of the meanness of the humour as well as the fact that the humour itself in the later shows wasn't particularly funny. If a casual observer can detect the change I refuse to believe that TPTB can't see it and therefore horrible seasons 5-8 are deliberate. Their retelling of how things should be interpreted in interviews reinforces this and, quite happily (at least for me), the consequences of their change are coming home to roost in the crappy reception this season has received from casual, non canon and Lenny canon viewers.