(02-26-2016, 04:26 AM)A.D.A. Wrote: I agree that could be, but since TBBT is not the kind of comedy that deals well with heavy topics, it's probably more indicative of terrible writing. Nagging wife/lazy husband is TBBT's go-to trope; the lazy sitcome writer's guide to easy jokes.
I meant that if someone behaved like Bernadette IRL, that would be my suspicion: mental illness or some other serious problem. Her behavior is way out of bounds. You can't get away with that type of behavior for very long, IRL.
The show wants us to believe that Howard is the immature and childish one, while Bernadette literally throws tantrums like a toddler. Self-control and the ability to regulate your own emotions are pretty much the bare minimum standard for rational adult behavior. My eleven-month-old nephew has more control over his own emotional state than B. Her "sweet" moments are even worse.
Maybe SH *is* still a good actor, or even a great actor doing his best with lousy material, but I don't want to watch him anymore. I don't want to watch him play the type of character Howard has become. I do not relate to stories about marriage or parenthood. There's something very unsettling to me about how soft and lovey-dovey and passive he is, in certain moments.
I like characters who are mischievous and amoral and Chaotic Neutral, characters with a bit of a wild or wicked streak, and that is what drew me to Vintage Howard.
IMO he was always an *emotional* character; but now he's emotionally *unstable*, while B. is also emotionally unstable but the show refuses to acknowledge it. If you go all the way back to S1, it was a bit of a running joke that Howard cries easily and his moods change quickly--he'll get angry and then seconds later he'll be fine again. That type of thing. There's some examples of it in Jerusalem Duality. That was just funny and cute; it wasn't meant to portray him as irrational or indicate that he's unable to cope with life and needs supervision.
I think you and I might actually be saying the same thing, just coming at it from different directions. Whether the acting or the writing is at fault has become a chicken-versus-egg question, at this point. I'm not watching it, and I don't respect the actors for participating in it. Of course, everyone needs a job, but it's not like these people can't afford to be choosy, by now.
You're perfectly right that this is paint-by-numbers sitcom writing with the Nagging Wife and Lazy Husband. That's all the more reason to refuse to support it. Personally, I can't just shrug it off. It's offensive to both men and women. Just because it's common and it's been a staple in the entertainment industry for decades doesn't make it okay. What's portrayed on BBT goes beyond just some bickering or disagreements; it's domestic abuse, and it's being pushed as something good and desirable, something to aspire to, the only type of lifestyle that is acceptable.
Like I said in my previous post, if this show had debuted in its current version, there would be nothing exceptionally bad about the episode you just described. But
I'm not going to judge this show by the lowered standards it has now adopted. The canon in its current state holds no interest or pleasure for me, and neither do the cast's off-screen hijinks and interviews or whatever. If you consider each new episode in a vacuum, then maybe there's some decent material. But I'm not interested in doing that.
On BBT, if you start yelling and hurling verbal abuse, people will obey you and tremble before you. IRL, that's not how it works. Just the other day, a woman started yelling and cursing and making a scene at my workplace. What happened? We called the cops and they came immediately. Pitching a fit does not get results when you're past the age of 2. And it's certainly not the behavior of a mature, responsible, intelligent person who is respected by their colleagues, etc.
I know it's a minority opinion even here, but the H/B ship and the addition of MR has had no points in its favor whatsoever. She is every bit as off-putting to me as Amy/MB is to Shennies and Sheldonites. I can't stand the sight of her. I'm just saying that I don't hold SH blameless for this debacle, either.
I've seen the argument that B. might've been okay as just another minor character like Leslie, but IMO that was never, ever the intention, so that idea is so theoretical as to be fruitless. Her *only* purpose, from Day 1, was to alter the course of Howard's story. The writers don't give a shit about women, so why would they introduce a new female character for any other reason?
(See also: Emily or whatever the hell her name is.) The rationale for B's existence was never to be Penny's friend or to bring some gender-balance to the cast. That's giving the writers way too much credit.
To put it simply, maybe SH is still a good actor and maybe there's some decent material in recent episodes if you look at them in isolation.
But the character he's playing is not Howard, and a show about weddings and babies, and shopping for a table and cleaning the freezer is not something that holds any interest for me. I'm not watching a Friends knock-off, even if it's a well-acted and well-made Friends knock-off.
The crux of the problem is that Vintage BBT drew people who don't usually watch sitcoms, or at least not this type of sitcom. If this show had debuted in its current format, I never would have watched it, even if it was less offensive and less hateful and not quite so riddled with ugly messages. I never liked Friends or SATC or whatever.
ETA: Also, I am a Howard/Raj shipper (which is kind of like being the Last of the Mohicans, at this point), so even if the H/B was less gruesome, I'd still be pretty "Meh" about that whole turn of events.
TBH, I'm not even a huge fan of Vintage BBT as a whole, I'm *just* a fan of Howard, firstly, and an H/R shipper, secondly. That's what matters to me, just like some people are Shennies or Sheldonites first and foremost, above all else.
*This* is Howard:
