and BAM! Howard Wolowitz

[queenoftheDales]

Yes, everything you're saying is true, WPP. The show tries to squash this idea that nerdy/geeky/eccentric people can be happy and successful on their own terms.

I just hate this idea that B. makes way more money than H., because even if she *does*, being an engineer is not like working at Starbucks. I also hate that stupid "3d printer" episode where Howard is shown to be irresponsible with money. I'm not saying he's a paragon of responsibility, but he was often portrayed as the most practical of the four guys; it's the dumbing-down of his character that I object to. Howard can use the Internet to turn on a lamp, but he can't be trusted with some spending money???

My brother-in-law is an engineer, and he doesn't have to ask anyone for lunch money. It's not really where the guys live, or exactly how much money they make, that bothers me. It's the dumbing-down to the point where they're not just a bit absent-minded; they're incapabale of doing *anything* right

ETA: I'm willing to suspend a fair bit of disbelief for a comedy, but the idea that the guys don't make any money is just wildly, ridiculously unrealistic, even for a sitcom. I always figured Sheldon and Leonard shared an apartment and have this sort of college-guy lifestyle because they enjoy it, not because they have to. And Howard's dependence on his mother is emotional/psychological, not financial.

Now they've got B and H (and L & P) arguing about money all the time, which is not only boring and uninteresting, it's more of that "wise wife, flaky husband" crap. All of these scientists make enough money that they should have no major worries, at this point. Again, I'm willing to suspend disbelief in some cases, but "the guys have no money" is just so, *so* far outside the bounds of plausibility that it's ludicrous. None of these people should be fretting about finances and acting like they're poor. Stuff like this makes the show seem just *totally* disconnected from any kind of realism.

It really makes the show seem like nothing more than a live-action cartoon, and the notion that the Canons are watching this and nodding and believing that this reflects real life on any level, is troubling. Between "Penny is now a pharmaceutical rep" and "an aerospace engineer is a low-level job", this is like some five-year-old's perspective on jobs/money/work and how those things actually operate. It makes me think TPTB have never had a job outside of the Hollywood environment.

The writers have gone down the road to marital problems on this show now too? Howard and Bernadette's relationship have always been in the background and I just don't know how much I'd want to see domestic disputes about finances and babies on this type of sitcom. And that's even with the new direction this show has taken. I'm sure Leonard and Penny have enough disfuction to power this show with ease.

As far as the pay aspect goes, I take it with a grain of salt just like I did with Penny being able to afford a decent sized apartment, in Pasadena no less, on a 'waitress with a shoe habit' income. I do agree that it's out there that someone with Howard's accolades (and connections since he knows a lot of guys ) is being out-earned by a microbiologist. It could be a way to quiet the viewers that are calling for more "girl-power" roles. If that's the case, TPTB is going about it the wrong way.