SPOILERS: 9.04 The 2003 Approximation

[Berliner]

Leonard has become the most insecure, pathetic und unlikeable person I've ever seen on TV, seriously. He's so needy and possessive, you can feel it through the TV screen.

[Louise]

Colourless, depressing and devoid of personality - there is nothing to differentiate these people from any other boring vanilla suburbanites.  

The hair/makeup/wardrobe/lighting people should be run out of town with torches.  It's as if their budget for these things is actually *lower*, now.  That goes for all the characters.  It's puzzling.  It would be one thing if the show had these guys in clothes that were less geeky and more conventionally fashionable. That would be sad, but not inexplicable.  This stuff isn't nice-looking in a mainstream way and it's not "so bad it's good", either, it's just blah, like Space said. 

What is up with SH/Howard's shirts looking so rumpled, these past few seasons? It's not a change from tight clothes to clothes that fit correctly, it's a change from tight clothes to clothes that fit poorly in a different way. It's like the sleeves are too long for him. And yes, he looks washed-out. They all do.  I know I've said this before, but he actually seems older (in a good way) and more manly to me in the early seasons. Now he looks waif-like, unhealthy, vulnerable. When I go back and watch Vintage clips, I'm always struck by how deep his voice is. Now he's a milquetoast and looks it.  Vintage!Howard has a sort of rakish masculine je ne sais quoi which I think is not entirely fake, or maybe he just believes in it so hard that it becomes real. 

Howard's shirt should be so tight, you can see his nips. So it is written. 

I am in "frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn." mode. Molaro can't lure me into his unmarked van by dangling Howard-Raj scenes in my face. 

 I actually hate this Howard-Raj-Stuart triangle* or whatever it is, more than I hate the canon ships. It's just such a bizarre and random choice and such a mis-use of that character. (Stuart.)

Incidentally, PJ mentioned something in the chat box the other day, about how Sheldon was almost *revered* in the early days of the fandom, in the sense that people knew his personality traits and habits and quirks and they were not to be violated.  I feel that. Reverence is what I feel, towards him. I once wrote here that I was a little scared of Sheldon, but in retrospect that's not quite what I meant.  What I mean is that something about him *inspired* reverence; something about that character demanded recognition, and I felt that long before I became an HQer.   I am majorly, majorly scared to even write about him, I think carefully about every word, because Sheldon Purists know him SO WELL, and I don't want to get it wrong. That's a very real feeling for me, almost like a responsibility, a standard to meet, something to be upheld, to avoid giving offense by honoring that set of traits and that persona which were so definite. It's something I've been meaning to mention, and this thread is as good a place as any, I guess. What's been done to Sheldon is a violation, a defacing of something, a toppling of something, whereas what's been done to Howard is more like bullying, more just mean and senseless. 




* also this concept that H-R-B and Stuart are now a "unit", somehow. *nonplussed*   

Idle thoughts;
Is Emily Sweeney a nod to Sweeney Todd?

I am trying hard to understand why Emily bothers me so much, because I *do* like dark humor, sometimes. This time of year, especially, it seems like all of us are having dark and twisted plot-bunnies. It might be just fatigue at yet *another* half-baked female character inserted for the sole purpose of being a love interest. But it's also because Raj was presented to us (in some ways, at least)  as a scared, anxious, innocent, and vulnerable character, so this pairing seems remarkably insensitive. I've posted about this before, but she's like the embodiment of all his earlier fears about women. It's like his phobia was well-justified.  It's such an emotionally tone-deaf choice, like they've forgotten his original persona and character-arc, entirely. A rather threatening character needs someone strong enough to stand up to them, an equal.  This just feels like victimization and sadism.  With Emily, TPTB have now made their woman-as-monster complex almost literal.

ETA: I have been noticing these weirdly ill-fitting shirts on SH/Howard, for some time now. IDK.

[Idle Miscreant]

Incidentally, PJ mentioned something in the chat box the other day, about how Sheldon was almost *revered* in the early days of the fandom, in the sense that people knew his personality traits and habits and quirks and they were not to be violated.  I feel that. Reverence is what I feel, towards him. I once wrote here that I was a little scared of Sheldon, but in retrospect that's not quite what I meant.  What I mean is that something about him *inspired* reverence; something about that character demanded recognition, and I felt that long before I became an HQer.   I am majorly, majorly scared to even write about him, I think carefully about every word, because Sheldon Purists know him SO WELL, and I don't want to get it wrong. That's a very real feeling for me, almost like a responsibility, a standard to meet, something to be upheld, to avoid giving offense by honoring that set of traits and that persona which were so definite. It's something I've been meaning to mention, and this thread is as good a place as any, I guess. What's been done to Sheldon is a violation, a defacing of something, a toppling of something, whereas what's been done to Howard is more like bullying, more just mean and senseless.

Sheldon Purists have learned a great deal about Howard from you too. I don't think we quite realised to what degree Wolowitz underwent the same emasculation/defenestration of character as Sheldon went through in Season 5 and beyond. It has been illuminating to hear your imput on this matter over the months.

"a violation, a defacing of something, a toppling of something" is exactly how we feel about it. He was representative of the Outsider, of noble and driven pursuit of truth, of independent thought unrelated to trends, of logic versus social protocol.

For some Purists, he was also representative of mind over body, intellect over hedonism. Most of the reasons I see folk around here (and elsewhere) giving for why they preferred Vintage Sheldon, are widely speaking, philosophical ones. Other than that, he simply had enormous dignity, which remained untouched, regardless of whether he was leaping around in a ball pit, or singing L'Chaim. He had absolute certitude of his own beliefs. And he was brilliant.

So aye, changing all of these aspects of his character, removing them, attacks the philosophical concepts behind them as well. The concept of the Outsider as Hero is attacked, the notion that pursuit of truth/work/art is worth sacrificing a "conventional lifestyle" for. That a person can be content in themselves and in their work -  all these things are now being portrayed as false. Or ridiculous. Through the dismantling of the character who upheld and epitomized these beliefs.

It's why we're still clinging onto this damn show - we're hoping it will return to waving its old device. That our particular hero will return, and that on mainstream television there will be a character who fights for truth, science, and independent thought, ABOVE ALL ELSE.
Yet this character is currently chasing his ex-girlfriend around. That is his plot. "Romance" has been his only plot for years.

This is quite irksome. To put it mildly.

Colours. Yes. The colours are very important...I remember we were particularly horrified by the Christmas episode last season, where there was this horrible beige and frilly tableau, the Victorian Christmas, with Amy holding court in the centre like Dolores Umbridge. We weren't quite sure what we were looking at. Certainly not The Big Bang Theory.

Colour is UBIQUITOUS throughout the early seasons. It's the bloody essence of the show, aesthetically. The only other series I can think where colour plays such an enormous part is The Mighty Boosh.




Leonard always dressed rather drably. And Raj was a vested layer of tartan confusion. But Sheldon, Penny and Howard were always LUMINOUS. They had intense energy to match these vivid colours. Now they've all been drained of colour and life under the auspices of growth. Sheldon on "date night" dresses like an insurance salesman. The butterflies have become moths.
It's baffling and quite distressing.

Sheldon Purists take the Coopersuit as emblematic of his particular duende. The ya-boo-sucks-to-you aspect of it, the absolute carelessness towards sartorial traditions. The suit was splendid, and had a "all you earthlings can bugger off if you don't agree" feel to it.



(The fact that he chose to pair it with a multi-coloured diamond-checked tie is just magnificent)



The suit has been retired for years. As, alas, has Vintage Sheldon.

(I think I've gone off-topic. Again. I shall move these posts. At some point.)

[Louise]

The suit has been retired for years. As, alas, has Vintage Sheldon.

(I think I've gone off-topic. Again. I shall move these posts. At some point.)

This is such a moving post.

[wellplayedpenny]

9.4 The 2003 Approximation

While in terms of content this episode didn't add much to the season, functioning more as a filler episode than anything else, it did serve as a stark contrast between the tones of the earlier seasons and that of the latter.

This takes place with the secondary story of Howard and Raj wanting to form a filking band, Footprints On The Moon. They're excited about the name, about everything, really, and this enthusiasm for their song, Thor and Dr. Jones, came off the screen and into my home. I was smiling because they were genuinely having a good time. I got to see an intimate Howard and Raj moment where they absolutely love each other's company and how they are so creatively in synch. It gave me a feel like Panty Pinata with the search for the America's Next Top Model house.

However, given that this is s9, my bubble had to burst and it came in the form of Emily saying that the song was 'cute' but that she preferred songs that she could dance to. Granted, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the way that, in the span of a few hours, Raj goes from loving his song to asking Howard to make it more 'danceable' made me grumble. It's that same stupid later-seasons theme that the woman knows best and that the guys can't enjoy something that truly represents themselves. Their interests are too weird and abnormal to be taken seriously. And when I say seriously I'm not suggesting that Thor and Dr. Jones is the next Mrs. Robinson, only that the song was a culmination of the early seasons mantra—witty, clever, funny and FUN—and it was very effectively stabbed by a simple 'It's cute'.

The ending at the comic book shop is an absolute rewrite of the characters and another attempt to show growth even as the characters distance themselves from their earlier selves. Raj and Howard put their hearts into their song as they sing. All of the listeners, save Penny, seem stunned and at times embarrassed with the song. Stuart's asking at the end if they could 'play something we can dance to' is an absolute end to his character. I mean he's the guy who puts all his efforts into his comic book store—a venture that had him bathing at car washes and sharing tins of tuna with a stray cat instead of closing shop. He was my last Defender of the Geek and he let me down with something so horribly mundane. 'Play something we can dance to' means play something mindless and generic so that the masses will like it. It's practically the motto for s5+.

Only Penny seemed to get what the point was to the song. While she probably didn't get a lot of the geeky references, she did smile a couple of times. And not a fake, quasi-apologetic one that Leonard flashes. Penny was genuinely entertained by the song—and that means a success in anyone's filking book.

**Hint to the showrunner, having a show that is 'merely' entertaining, witty and fun to watch isn't a bad thing, y'know.

As for the A plot, I don't want you to think for a moment that Sheldon's reversion to 2003 portrayed what I said about wanting a return of Vintage Sheldon to the show because this was not him. Vintage Sheldon was there when he read out the Eternal Dibs clause for the couch that Leonard had to initial. But the man who sat in the lawn chair wasn't the Sheldon of the early seasons. That Sheldon couldn't conceive of Amy marrying someone better than he because Sheldon had no peers. And no interest in dating for that matter. In fact, the Sheldon plot showed the problems the later seasons writers have in interpreting the early seasons. Sheldon might have reverted the apartment to The Staircase Implementation but these are just cosmetic changes. It isn't the lawn chair that I like but Sheldon's explanation as to its position. It's the arrogance and the assuredness and the logic that counts. This is what's missing in tonight's Sheldon, who is more than prepared to happily fulfil the role of Leonard and Penny's dog.

In my opinion, great comedic characters share one trait in common—dignity. Clouseau had it. Frank Drebbin. There's a sincerity that's involved in all that they do and this is what made Vintage Sheldon great. He was his own man, the Alpha male, and he elevated the level of writing because it took some seriously superior work to show Sheldon Cooper in all his glory. Now, my beloved Homo Novus is content being a family dog.

So don't believe for a moment that this was a sincere attempt at returning Sheldon to his roots. It was a superficial attempt at trying to simplify Sheldon and the early seasons so as to show how much more superior the show is now. A 'see, Sheldon's grown so there's no going back'.
If they meant that the s5-8 canon crap can't be ignored they might have a point. Unfortunately, it seems as though TPTB have interpreted it as 'not going back to what made the show FUN'.

[Toad]

[Idle Miscreant]

I'll just drop in my tuppence, although it hardly seems necessary when WPP's around, the eloquent bastard.

First, I loved the Wolopali scenes. I fiendishly bloody adored them. Reminded me of the Cabaret joints in Glasgow. My friends do that sort of musical caper (although more apocalyptic and involving musical saws), and I think it's splendid. Thor and Dr. Jones is the business. God knows what those sour-faced killjoys were complaining about. Stuart, a man who drinks Kahlua from a Wookie mug should be DELIGHTED by such a surreal affair. But yes, I get they needed a joke at the end. Anyroad, henceforth I would happily watch a show entirely featuring Howard and Raj. As a Sheldon Purist, this is quite unfortunate and surprising for me...


Because...Sheldon. Jim. What's going on here?

How is it that over the years, every other character has retained the same VOICE, mannerisms, vocal inflections and expressions, but Sheldon speaks in a completely different tone and has a wholly new set of idiosyncrasies? He doesn't even STAND the same. This is not growth, or regression, or anything related to character (for once). This is a continuity problem. And yes it's been going on since Season 5 (where it was worst of all), but after 9.02, where there were snippets of pure Vintage Sheldon, I thought the fucker was BACK. But no he isn't apparently. And this would have been the perfect excuse to recreate him. If Jim can't (or isn't allowed to) do Vintage Sheldon anymore, then...

I had a terrible thought whilst watching this. What if we got everything we wanted from this show, everything we keep complaining about as lost, came back, and then Sheldon himself let us down?

Because that's vaguely what's happening here. The Geekery is coming back- Hurrah! Sheldon is single again - Hurrah! The Interlopers have minimal scenes, Raj and Howard are absolutely back on form -  Everything is moving into place for a return to the Vintage years. If they push it just a little further, and have Sheldon return to his focus on science, and increase the Sheldon/Penny scenes, that will essentially be (barring a Sheldon/Penny hook-up, obviously) all we've ever wanted from this show.

But if Jim Parsons' delivery is different, and his stance is different, and his voice is different...Then it's all worthless, because the suspension of disbelief is shattered. He's no longer Sheldon, he's an actor playing a character called Sheldon, but with none of Sheldon's recognisable quirks or mannerisms. I truly didn't see Sheldon at ALL in this episode, just Jim (lovely bloke, but ). And a show without Sheldon, for us at least, is nothing.

When he was discussing mustard in that clip last week he was Sheldon. When he was talking to AFF on Skype he was Sheldon. When he was kissing Penny, for godsake, he was STILL SHELDON. But he was NOT Sheldon for all of Season 5, 8, and about half of 6 and 7, and again not for this episode.
It's incredibly frustrating.

Stand up straight man! Do the voice!

Delivery aside, there's the not insignificant matter that they're retconning his character. As for that line about him being better off before P/L/A poisoned him with emotions...He had BETTER mean before he met Leonard and Penny, rather than Post-Girlfriend Season 5-9 Sheldon, who was something of a heartless dickensian at times.

Sheldon of S1-4 was one of the most emotional, flouncy bastards possible. Certainly FAR more than Raj or Howard. He cried over the death of a robot for heaven's sake. He was deeply hurt when Leonard sabotaged his arctic experiment, incredibly overwhelmed and grateful for Penny's present, ravaged by guilt over potentially jeopardising Howard's security clearance, and constantly in a state of injured pride, offence, confusion, all over the bloody shop, coupled with his emotional dependency on Penny whenever he was  ill, or kicked out of the apartment, and his returning of the favour when she was "a type of being sick", not to mention the numerous kindness of financial assistance, helping her with Penny Blossoms, teaching her physics, driving her to hospital and attempting to be comforting, his endeavours to avoid hurting Leonard's feelings, or keep Penny's secrets. Etc etc.

And in all of these years, he never did anything truly nasty. He was merely honest. The TWO times he sought revenge were prompted by Leonard and Amy. Otherwise his natural inclination was merely to sulk. Now, counter that with the absolute ARSE he's been in Season 5-9, with multiple attempts at revenge, particularly towards Amy, and his outright malice and rudeness towards people, no longer justified by obliviousness, and this fucker is supposed to have GROWN?

Gah!

As for the rest...Penny. Why is she so joyless and proper? Is this what being a "wife" is?

Anyroad. It's a very strange thing seeing Jim Parsons in this world populated by Vintage Howard and Raj and Leonard. And this strange, tired, adult version of Penny. It's as WPP said, like a battle between the Vintage years and the current relationship waffle. I appreciate what they're trying to do with Sheldon's character, and it's a damn sight more interesting than Season 8, but if it's not believable AS Sheldon, because of whatever acting direction they're giving Jim, then it slips into the ocean.

I give it 1 for the magnificent exuberance of the "Footprints on the Moon", and for the plot itself, which I appreciated greatly, even if I couldn't believe in Sheldon.


(That was a very fecking lengthy tuppence, I do apologise)

[Idle Miscreant]

I DID like this...



That was quite vintage in mentality.

Given the public reaction to the Sheldon/Penny kiss, and the Raj/Howard filk band, do you think someone in marketing will remember that the pairings of Sheldon/Penny, Raj/Howard and Sheldon/Leonard are the heart of the show?

[Louise]

henceforth I would happily watch a show entirely featuring Howard and Raj. As a Sheldon Purist, this is quite unfortunate and surprising for me...

My work here is done. 

[Louise]

I had a terrible thought whilst watching this. What if we got everything we wanted from this show, everything we keep complaining about as lost, came back, and then Sheldon himself let us down?

This is not growth, or regression, or anything related to character (for once). This is a continuity problem.

Wow. Somehow I feel like these are very significant points. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that JP was actually *told* to incorporate his own mannerisms. He was, wasn't he?  How do you even do that? I don't think I'm aware-enough of my own mannerisms to describe them to someone else. 

But yes, if it's a continuity problem, then that overrides the pro-Canon argument* about "development" or "evolution" or "growth."  This is a whole new angle from which to examine this issue.  People don't change this much because they met a girl.  They don't change this much unless they're Phineas Gage and they took a metal beam to the brain...

*unless you're someone who simply dismisses the early seasons or has never watched them, of course.