Wishful Thinking...

[Louise]

While it's true that a story needs a conflict, I question whether it needs to be *interpersonal* conflict, in the literal sense of the characters arguing, being angry, and yelling at each other. That's an extremely narrow definition of the word "conflict." I'm not entirely convinced that sitcoms thrive on *interpersonal* conflict, especially when that takes the form of petty bickering, or when the conflicts are very contrived and artificial.

I would rather see the characters confront some type of problem or challenge that is external to themselves; I would rather see them united against some common enemy, rather than squabbling amongst themselves or turning against each other.

Maybe that's the difference between a plot-driven story and a character-driven story; I definitely prefer things that are plot-driven, and I'm not sure if there's any such thing as a plot-driven sitcom. Maybe they should've given these characters some type of mission to accomplish, some project to work on, something to *do.* Sheldon wanting to win the Nobel Prize is sort of like that, but still too vague.

I actually think TBBT has suffered because its premise is too vaguely defined and nebulous, and that leaves it vulnerable to being tinkered-with. "A culture clash between nerds and the mainstream" is a pretty succinct summary, but that was never the part of the show that I found the most enjoyable.

Canons claim that this show's premise hasn't changed, "because it was always about the guys becoming more "normal" and assimilating into the mainstream world." If the guys had been given some specific project to work on, some meatier premise, some specific goal, then maybe the show wouldn't have been so vulnerable to getting messed-around-with. I dunno.

Kinda sounds like that's what they're doing with this "Scorpion" show...