09-20-2014, 07:03 PM
Bernadette is a whole bunch of stereotypes - the Girl With the Annoying Voice turns up as the sidekick to the Female Lead in a lot of shows/films. (Reminds me of Janice (Friends), or Karen (Will & Grace).) Now she's morphed into Just Like His Mother for the Henpecked Jewish Momma's Boy. It is very lazy writing. But the whole H/B schtick is absolute standard sitcom trope, they are handy filler to fit around the Lead Couple(s) and the Token Ethnic Stereotype (with added Homophobic Hilarity), they are a tried and tested and very boring formula.
Nerdy Underdog Nice Guy is equally trite. Most of us will have met one of these at some point, a sweaty, desperate grin that talks to your chest in the bar, but the reality is that most women would smile tightly and politely and edge away as soon as they could, because needy is not attractive. Realistically, Penny is soft-hearted enough to have maybe done one pity date, but after that, she would probably spend the rest of her tenancy dodging behind the bins when she saw him coming and trying not to get caught in the laundry room with his whining for a second chance.
The less said about the distaff equivalent, the better.
The difference between Howard and Leonard is that you never get the sense that Howard would bear a grudge over being shot down, and would probably still walk you to a taxi, whereas Leonard would bitch spitefully and leave someone to make their own way home. H was sleazy, but interesting, he'd probably chat happily about geeky things without shame, whereas L is self-loathing and would probably deny knowing his friends in public if he thought it made him look cooler.
Nerdy Underdog Nice Guy is equally trite. Most of us will have met one of these at some point, a sweaty, desperate grin that talks to your chest in the bar, but the reality is that most women would smile tightly and politely and edge away as soon as they could, because needy is not attractive. Realistically, Penny is soft-hearted enough to have maybe done one pity date, but after that, she would probably spend the rest of her tenancy dodging behind the bins when she saw him coming and trying not to get caught in the laundry room with his whining for a second chance.
The less said about the distaff equivalent, the better.
The difference between Howard and Leonard is that you never get the sense that Howard would bear a grudge over being shot down, and would probably still walk you to a taxi, whereas Leonard would bitch spitefully and leave someone to make their own way home. H was sleazy, but interesting, he'd probably chat happily about geeky things without shame, whereas L is self-loathing and would probably deny knowing his friends in public if he thought it made him look cooler.