What happened to Sheldon's IQ?
#1
What happened to Sheldon's IQ? Or Howards' confidence? Or Penny's self-respect?

One of my pet peeves about the Big Bang re-boot is how they have destroyed brilliant character traits like Sheldon's exceptional brain power. The main thing that made me fall in love with his character in the first place. Sheldon was tactless but he was rarely wrong about anything. SMUG, ARROGANT and FANTASTIC!! That's all changed with the inclusion of Amy Farrah Fowler. Sheldon was always way TOO good for Amy. Jim was the breakout star of the Big Bang Theory, so talented and so perfect for Sheldon, it was a rare thing to behold. Amy could never measure up to that. So what did they do? They literally dismantled him. He's SO stupid now, he quotes incorrect facts, he's sexist and so immature it makes me want to scream.

So I have created this thread for Sheldon quotes, comparing the original Sheldon which drove the shows greatness (although it can also apply to any character which has been reduced for their ship) to the Re-boot Sheldon who seems to have had a lobotomy. The Meemaw episode is my first example:

Sheldon being smart:

Sheldon: "...There are a lot of advantages to buying in bulk. For example, I noticed that you purchase your tampons one month’s supply at a time.
Penny: What?
Sheldon: Well think about it, it’s a product that doesn’t spoil, and you’re going to be needing them for at least the next thirty years.
Penny: You want me to buy thirty years worth of tampons?
Sheldon: Well, thirty, thirty five, hey, when did your mother go into menopause?
Penny: Okay, I’m not talking about this with you.

[Image: 1x04-The-Luminous-Fish-Effect-penny-and-...48-704.jpg]


Sheldon being a moron :

“Is it possible this cranky-ness is because your cycles have synced?”

[Image: fdd3f4852c191a1a6b64bfa80d35f40c]

WHO THE HELL FINDS THIS FUNNY?? I've seen people laughing over this stupid comment. It's just silly. And beneath him.

Please add your examples... It can be any character. Pictures would be nice as well, if you can find em. I've done these 500 across.
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#2
Remember how happy Amy was when Penny grudgingly and falsely agreed that their menses had synced. I think it may be a callback to that. A bad and tasteless callback but...
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#3
Yeah but why have Sheldon say something so blindly stupid, which we know he is aware of.

"I have a working knowledge of everything in the universe."

So what does Penny catch him out on here? Popular culture. "Who's Radiohead?"
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#4
I have a theory: that the less time Sheldon spends with Penny, the dumber he gets. He's around people now all the time who are smart! But who like to act like he's an idiot... So he doesn't use his brain ever anymore. Around Penny he has to think... Penny makes him smarter! That's my theory.

Or Amy is a knowledge sucking leach who renders her host listless and stupid... One of the two.
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#5
(02-06-2016, 01:45 AM)QueenOfShebaSays Wrote: I have a theory: that the less time Sheldon spends with Penny, the dumber he gets. He's around people now all the time who are smart! But who like to act like he's an idiot... So he doesn't use his brain ever anymore. Around Penny he has to think... Penny makes him smarter! That's my theory.

Or Amy is a knowledge sucking leach who renders her host listless and stupid... One of the two.

Yes this makes sense. That's why Sheldon and Penny are the best pairing. Sheldon can be smart and Penny can be socially clued up. Pair Sheldon with Leonard and you get a similar effect. They become the purest form of themselves.
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#6
Here's my second installment to the quote thread.

The one on the left is from 3.03 The Gothowitz Deviation after Penny asked Sheldon to dance in the kitchen, the second image from 4.21 The Agreement Dissection. Now I know a lot of fans (outside of Q) love this dancing scene but although the rest of the ep is okay, I found it embarrassing and twee.

The Sheldon on the left is matuure, he's arrogant YES, he's difficult YES but he knows what he wants and has thought about everything at great lenght. He's also a MAN. Now I know Sheldon can be a big baby when threatened or sick but those 'baby Sheldon' scenes were peppered throughout this MAN Sheldon so they weren't regular.

The second scene was the start of how he is being protray all of the time now. It's funny to some but as I related to Sheldon's autonomy and I find these moments painful. There's something about this that makes a child of him and that's what doesn't appeal. Amy actually comes off a lot better in some of these scenes than he does because it suits her character more but its ruining him. I still think Amy's boyfriend should have been Raj. Of course Sheldon does dance... that's not the point, its the illusion of 'growth' in his character.

   
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#7
(02-06-2016, 01:45 AM)QueenOfShebaSays Wrote: I have a theory: that the less time Sheldon spends with Penny, the dumber he gets. He's around people now all the time who are smart! But who like to act like he's an idiot... So he doesn't use his brain ever anymore. Around Penny he has to think... Penny makes him smarter! That's my theory.

Or Amy is a knowledge sucking leach who renders her host listless and stupid... One of the two.
Absolutely right!
 Penny and Sheldon were always been challenge and inspiration at the same time for each other. Smile
Both, emotionally and rationally they were black and white, -ying and yang- …..bringing only the best from each other to the fore Big Grin . Now they are only the mindless appendages of there sooooo perfect Sarcasm partners of them. Sock
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#8
Part 1:

Hello everybody! Hello “Tuesday Pajamas”!

I know your threat is at first dedicated to Sheldon, but in your headline you mentioned Howard and Penny too. So I want to take the opportunity to load the following post which has a focus on Penny. I hope that you are not angry about that. If you are then of course I deleted it.
I found this article at “Looper.comof which I think that it contains some interesting points.
(I don’t know if another member it has been previously uploaded. If it so, than sorry.)
 
Why Kaley Cuoco Is Basically Ruining The Big Bang Theory

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After nine seasons of success, it's time to address a problem with The Big Bang Theory. Look, it's a sitcom, and it's not trying to be deep. We can accept the fact that the characters aren't that complex and they never really change. Except that Kaley Cuoco's Penny has changed, and she's ruining the show. Her character just doesn't make sense anymore, and that's saying alot considering how simple the concept of this show is. Here's why Kaley Cuoco is basically ruining The Big Bang Theory.

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She's Become A Typical Sitcom Wife                                         
There's a trope in sitcoms where some loser guy is always married to a beautiful woman who is way out of his league. It's dumb, because you always end up thinking "she could do so much better than this guy, and they're always fighting, so why does she put up with this?" For a while, The Big Bang Theory was different. The whole point of the show was that Leonard was so insecure about Penny being out of his league. The problem is, now they're married. Considering the fact the she makes more money than him, Leonard lucked out. The show literally got rid of the one thing that made their relationship different. That would be like Cheerios getting rid of the O shape. Great, now the cereal tastes like cardboard and doesn't come in a fun shape.

She's Not Even The Hot One
By this point on the show, every one of the guys has dated multiple beautiful women. Howard even married one. Shouldn't that be kind of a big deal? As long as Penny's around, it's impossible to suspend our disbelief on this. Every time Raj gets a new girlfriend, and she's as hot as Penny, it should be a bigger deal. Everyone should be freaking out the same way they freak out at the thought of Leonard and Penny dating. We've seen Leonard talk confidently to girls as pretty as Penny (or maybe even prettier, depending on your taste). At this point, what exactly makes Penny so special? When she first shows up, the guys should have been like "whatever, even though we're supposedly nerds, we still date girls that look like that all the time." They still act super intimidated by her, it's crazy. That would be like having Ant-Man and the Hulk in the same movie, and having everyone be like "hey, stay calm around Ant-Man. That guy's so strong!"

She Has No Conflict
What exactly is Penny's story anymore? She starts out as an aspiring actress, but that doesn't work out so she gets a regular person job, and now she makes a steady paycheck. So, it kind of seems like her story is done, right? Why is she even still living in a building with a broken elevator? It always made sense that her character hung out with the nerds because they let her eat for free and she was broke. Sure, she liked them, but she clearly had very little in common with them. Now that she has money, shouldn't that change? She still doesn't like the stuff the guys like, so she should just leave already. She has options now! Without the money problems and desperation in her life, she's free! Now, she's choosing to hang around, so when she makes fun of the guys for being geeky, it's just mean. If you don't like video games and comics, Penny, then go do something else. It's weird that you're still here. You're creeping us out.
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#9
Part 2:

Her Drama Is Too Real For The Show
Let's be honest, The Big Bang Theory isn't exactly trying to be Shakespeare. It's not even trying to be Seinfeld. It's a simple show with a simple premise and simple characters. It's like fast food entertainment. Occasionally, the show will have to deal with something serious, like the death of a cast member, but for the most part it's light entertainment. This is Penny's biggest problem, because she's been dealing with drama way too serious for this show. Before marrying Leonard, the man she loves, she finds out that he's cheated on her. She finds this out immediately before the wedding. So, while Stuart is arguing with Bernadette about whether or not they can afford a custom lightsaber, she's dealing with some heavy, emotional stuff. She's not a wacky enough character to be able to make this sort of drama fit the show. Instead, she's just bringing everybody down with her real world issues. This isn't the sort of problem that can be solved with a match of Halo, which means it doesn't belong on this show

She And Sheldon Can't Be Friends
The funniest part of Big Bang Theory has always been the odd relationship between Penny and Sheldon. They've tried to get along, but they're also openly hostile to one another. Sheldon often openly calls Penny stupid, and she calls out his eccentricities. The comedy comes from watching Sheldon have this person come into his life and ruin his routines. He doesn't particularly want her around, but his 'friends' keep inviting her. Now, they're friends, so who cares about that? They genuinely care about one another, which makes for terrible comedy. Who wants to watch a show about people getting along? The thing is, Sheldon is still weird and needy. Penny's the one that changed, and it's awful. Now, she and Sheldon have a 'cute' relationship. Cute is the enemy of funny.

Nerds Are Cool Now
Has Penny completely missed the last couple of years where geek culture has become cool? Not only that, she's too old to still think smart people are dorks. She's in her thirties, and these guys are all successful scientists. The so-called geeks of the show are actually the opposite of losers. Penny still treats these guys like it's the mid '90s, and she needs to stop. She's just embarrassing herself. She just comes across as shallow and lame. She lives in a world where the debut of the new Star Wars trailer and ticket presale almost crashed the Internet. So, stop pretending that you don't know what a Wookiee is, Penny! If you really don't know, then you're the weird one.
 
Well I do absolutely not agree with all points of this article.
For example that Penny was no someone special. It is true that there were many female characters (Alicia, Ramona Nowitzki, Martha and Abby, Alex Jensen….)-played by beautiful actresses. But it was from the beginning fact that Penny would be the manifest female character-the leading lady- one of the fixed points of the show. Inside the universe of “TBBT” the guys have those reactions on her. Point. Also that her problems are too serious for the show would be a dumper for it. One of the fundamental incentives was the difference of understanding what problems are. The contrast of Pennys “normal” problems, and the nerdy ones of the buddies.
Other examples are that only Penny has changed (we all know that Sheldon has changed too) or that Penny and Sheldon could not be friends-or a couple Blush -to be funny.
What is right in my opinion are the points of her behavior to Leonard and her financial status. She found out he was cheating on her…..and married him anyway. That was one of my main-critics---concerning her obvious moral convictions when her character was introduced (the “I-phone” or “Underhill”-relationships). The Penny of the seasons one and two would gave Leonard a kick….what it make clear again how transformed she now is. Her financial status is manifest and she needs no help.  
When there is a section in this article in which I fully agree than it is the last one. That Penny ( Bernie/ Amy) do not know what a “Wookie” is, (or things like “Star Wars” or “The Lord of the Rings” in general) makes her appear very backwood-like. At the first season Sheldon tells her that inside the walls of “4A” she was the misfit. There it was funny. Today, after nine years, and this “little bit” nerdy influence it is……. Rolleyes   
However, I think that the “core” of this article (even if it seems a bit Penny – hostile) contains the truth, that it indeed realizes the essence of the great problem of the show in general.
“The changes.”
So, all in all, I agree with the statement, but with my own personal POV:
Not Miss Cuoco has ruined Penny, and Penny has not ruined “TBBT”. The producers and the writers ruined the character of Penny and damaged their own show in a massive way.  If there ever written a “Guide for showrunners and writers” with a chapter with the headline “How not to do it”, than this should include the hint “Look at Penny and Sheldon at TBBT.”
 
Greetings from Germany!
 
 
 
 
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#10
I don't agree with much in the article. It's written by someone who is just looking for a cute bit of ass. Penny really isn't just that, well, not anymore.

The only thing I agree with is that being married does little for her character. Certainly not being married to leonard. The nerd (who is really normal) getting the girl is a short piece of string. Lenny's story was done when she started dating him the second time. Over, job done.

I also think some of the other women on the show have been attractive but unlike the writer I don't see why that takes anything away from Penny. She's very alluring as a human being, even when she's being a bitch she does it well. Penny is both funny and real, some of the characters listed could have been something if they stayed longer on the show but generally the other characters they decided to invest in have an air of artificiality in my opinion. Penny could be any of us. She's just a normal girl. I mean, I'm not a scientist!

Point 3 and 4 contradict each other. She can't have no conflict and then be all drama. I think this person is blaming Penny for the Leonard/Mandy fiasco. Which is really sexist as I notice leonard is barely touched on in this article. And he's the issue, not her.

I do agree that the Sheldon and Penny relationship has lost its tension. They have taken them into the sibling realm because they are also hot and the writers don't like what it does to some of us Blush

Nerds are cool now is not Penny's problem, it's the problem the whole show has to tackle. This person looks set to blame Penny for everything. All the female characters are written as it they have no experience of popular culture.
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