and BAM! Howard Wolowitz

[Louise]

Now they are even trying to make Howard *look* the part of the lazy sitcom husband, and SH is so ludicrously unsuited to that type of image that it almost doesn't upset me because it's so flat-out absurd.

Howard/SH is skinny and young-looking. He has *never* been a fat-slob Oscar Madison type of character. Howard does not lay around in a wrinkled undershirt, drinking cheap beer. He is not Homer Simpson. His body-type and his whole physical presence are the antithesis of that type of role. He's ultra-skinny and full of nervous energy. He's laughably ill-suited to this "lazy blue-collar husband lays on the couch with his beer gut" thing.

Please note; I'm not saying that all fat people are lazy, or that all lazy people are fat. I'm referring to a very specific sitcom stereotype which has existed for a long, long time.

I don't think Vintage Howard even *had* any undershirts; he wore a dickie or a full turtleneck under a tee or a sweater or a button-down shirt, because he wanted that tight-fitting, streamlined look, not lots of bulky layers like Leonard or Raj.

Also, in my limited experience, younger guys do not wear tank tops; that's kind of a Grandpa thing; they wear full t-shirts, unless they're exercising or doing physical labor.

A tank-top like that has lower-class connotations. Howard comes from a lower-middle-class background, as represented by his mother, but it's clear that he aspires to something more elegant than that. (a look which *he* considers more elegant, at any rate.)

There's a lot of stuff relating to class and ethnicity that I could discuss here, but it would take too long. That look has also been stereotypically associated with immigrants and non-Waspy groups. If you're being racist, you might call that a Guinea shirt. I don't think Howard is ashamed of his background or wants to be more Waspy, but there's a part of him that would like to get away from the old-world, old-school way of doing things, as represented by his mother. That's part of his character's inner tension and inner conflict, and it's something he has in common with Raj.

In S1 and S2, the only time we ever saw Howard laying around in shabby clothes, it was meant to indicate that he was feeling depressed and discouraged. (Killer Robot). It was meant as a very clear indicator that something had gone wrong, because that behavior was not typical of Howard, and the audience would immediately recognize this and understand what it meant.

Vintage Howard likes luxury, to a comically exaggerrated degree. He likes silky jammies and slippery sheets. He sits in the bubble bath with champagne and mood-lighting. He's aiming for that whole early-1960s Hugh Hefner suave seducer thing. He's trying to be sophisticated.

Vintage Howard obviously cares a lot about his appearance and his self-presentation. He's obviously meticulous about his clothes and hair. It takes time and effort to straighten curly hair every day, which is why I don't bother with it, personally. He's got all those amazing color-coordinated outfits and belt-buckles and shoes. He has a very specific idea of what looking good means, and maybe it doesn't match up with other people's idea of what looks good, but that look is a major, major, major part of his character and it tells us a lot about his personality and self-image. His personal style is neat and tidy and precise, and also very body-conscious.

Before he married what's-her-face and became something other than himself, IMO if Howard was going to lay around the house, he would wear something silky and slinky, or just be nude. (Penny's bathrobe being another option, lol, so he's clearly not too hung-up on gender issues.)

I'm not even upset right now, I'm almost laughing. "Let's have the ultra-skinny, wiry, fidgety, energetic little guy play the fat, beer-sucking couch potato!" 'Cause Simon Helberg totally looks like Kevin James or Jackie Gleason, right? Right? And next we're going to have Rick Moranis play Thor and John Goodman play Peter Parker!

This is now a generic sitcom, and like I said before, the Five have now been shoe-horned into these traditional stock-character roles which have NOTHING to do with their original personalities and the way they were originally conceived-of. In this case, it's so far off the mark that it looks like some kind of absurdist casting-against-type.

TBH, this type of thing makes it easier for me to just dismiss the current seasons instead of being upset, because they're *so* nonsensical.

The makers of this show have woven such a tangled web that they literally don't know what they're doing, anymore. They've tied themselves up in knots. It's like an SNL parody. Bitches be crazy.

On the other hand, being around Bernadette would make *anyone* become depressed and let themselves go.

TL;DR: Howard isn't like that, Howard wouldn't wear that.




Lazy Hubby Howard:



Homer:



Onslow from "Keeping up Appearances":



Spiffy-looking Vintage Howard: