08-03-2015, 06:25 AM
As we've mentioned before, Star Wars, Star Trek, Batman, Iron Man etc., these are all considered mainstream now and don't exactly bestow geek cred on anyone. With that in mind then I wish they'd delve into less well known sci-fi works.
A la Colossus: The Forbin Project I could see Sheldon writing a time management program that progressively overtakes his life, severely curtailing his fun time, and even initiating contact with Leonard's computer in a scary bid for supremacy. Call it The Ramona Project.
Or Penny somehow wrangling Sheldon into stage managing a little theater production of, say, Silent Running: The Musical and then having to contend with some diva-ish robots. Cue Wolowitz.
So many potential scenarios go untapped it's monumentally frustrating. I always like/liked the techno episodes because they typically invoke the inevitable conflict between human and machine. The Robotic Manipulation and The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification are two that come immediately to mind. It's technology of their own making (or modifications), embodying their own (sometimes kooky) ideals, but run amok and threatening to chip away at their dignity and self-sufficiency. And it's FUNNY.
Nowadays however none of them seem particularly capable of masterminding a lightbulb into its socket. Robots and gadgets and gizmos are for kids. Sci-fi movies are "dopey". Buying dining room tables, window-shopping for turtles, or sitting around in your underwear while your wife yells at you have become the hooks onto which they've attached some galling notions of "growth" and "adulthood". Dignity and self-sufficiency are being threatened by something way more sinister than a malfunctioning robot arm.
And it ain't funny.
A la Colossus: The Forbin Project I could see Sheldon writing a time management program that progressively overtakes his life, severely curtailing his fun time, and even initiating contact with Leonard's computer in a scary bid for supremacy. Call it The Ramona Project.
Or Penny somehow wrangling Sheldon into stage managing a little theater production of, say, Silent Running: The Musical and then having to contend with some diva-ish robots. Cue Wolowitz.
So many potential scenarios go untapped it's monumentally frustrating. I always like/liked the techno episodes because they typically invoke the inevitable conflict between human and machine. The Robotic Manipulation and The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification are two that come immediately to mind. It's technology of their own making (or modifications), embodying their own (sometimes kooky) ideals, but run amok and threatening to chip away at their dignity and self-sufficiency. And it's FUNNY.
Nowadays however none of them seem particularly capable of masterminding a lightbulb into its socket. Robots and gadgets and gizmos are for kids. Sci-fi movies are "dopey". Buying dining room tables, window-shopping for turtles, or sitting around in your underwear while your wife yells at you have become the hooks onto which they've attached some galling notions of "growth" and "adulthood". Dignity and self-sufficiency are being threatened by something way more sinister than a malfunctioning robot arm.
And it ain't funny.
OH PLEASE...