Sheldor the Conqueror

[Idle Miscreant]

While I am all for criticizing the writing, the show and even the characters, and while I understand that remaining positive about the show is hard these days (most of my own posts are rants anyway!), I thought on this website we were supposed to celebrate our favorite characters and the reasons we came to love them too. But in the past few days/hours, Sheldon has been called malicious, a loud mouthed sob, an annoying dick and a freak. With fans like us, he doesn't need haters! lol!

So let's try and take this thread into a more positive direction. Let's discuss why and how we came to become a Sheldon fan. What aspects of him did you/do you like or admire most? What aspects of him did you/do you relate to on a personal level? I know some of us have already tackled these questions in other threads, but I still think it will be fun to have a more thorough discussion here in his character discussion thread. So please join if you feel like it.

Despite what my name suggests, I'm all in favour of a more positive approach to the ghastly, horrible….er…somewhat disappointing mess the show has become. I mean, Vintage Sheldon still glowers through his imbecile mask now and then, Helberg as Wolowitz has moments of brilliance, as ever, Cuoco's showing off a whole new level of crapulence and cynicism as Penny, (and crapulence doesn't mean what it sounds like), and personally Stuart has become my favourite character. And to paraphrase Penny, ISN'T THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT SAD.

The problem, FranEssi, I think, is what FlyingMonkey so succinctly said; they had a masterpiece in Sheldon, and they decided to paint over it.
Consequently there's a lot more rancour towards New Sheldon than there would be had he just stumbled in from nowhere. Or rather, to continue the original thought, we hate the modernist painting BECAUSE it conceals a Rembrandt.
If it was just a modernist painting on its own…well, we'd probably still dislike it, but not with the same sense of despair, and consequent vitriol. In fact, we probably wouldn't have noticed the painting at all…

That said, I do concur with your sentiments. Just trying to explicate the relentless river of WHINE that flows out of us….

[FranEssi]

Oh, I completely understand and I wholeheartedly agree with and share your frustrations about the show and about what Sheldon has become. To be honest, I even don't see as many positive points about the show as you do currently. I am all for criticizing and bashing the new seasons actually! lol! IMO the new seasons and the characters are TOO different from what they used to be, and I hardly find anything fun or enjoyable about them anymore. The Sheldon - and Penny - I came to love are the Sheldon and Penny of the early seasons, not these caricatures we've been getting in the past 2-3 seasons. So I was more talking about loving and discussing Sheldon of the early seasons, the Sheldon we became fond of and fell in love with in the first few seasons. I think the Sheldon and Penny of those days were such strong and fun characters that they are STILL worth being talked about, loved and celebrated to this day.

[FlyingMonkey]

It's hard to discuss Vintage Sheldon without becoming angered by Current Sheldon. This is the equivalent of what they've done to him:

[Idle Miscreant]

That remains one of my favourite news stories of all time. Along with "Dick Van Dyke saved by porpoises"….As a comment on the ham-fisted reworking of Sheldon, it's RIGHT ON THE NOSE SIR.

[FranEssi]

It's hard to discuss Vintage Sheldon without becoming angered by Current Sheldon...

Believe me, I get it; and I am all for criticizing the characters and venting about their disintegration and their flaws. I've done it many times myself and will continue to do so in the future! lol! What I was trying to say, however, is that I feel it would be better if all the criticisms be balanced with some occasional positive discussions too. That's all.

[Wisp]

It's hard to discuss Vintage Sheldon without becoming angered by Current Sheldon. This is the equivalent of what they've done to him:

I lost my shit the first time I read about this.

---

While I am all for criticizing the writing, the show and even the characters, and while I understand that remaining positive about the show is hard these days (most of my own posts are rants anyway!), I thought on this website we were supposed to celebrate our favorite characters and the reasons we came to love them too. But in the past few days/hours, Sheldon has been called malicious, a loud mouthed sob, an annoying dick and a freak. With fans like us, he doesn't need haters! lol!

So let's try and take this thread into a more positive direction. Let's discuss why and how we came to become a Sheldon fan. What aspects of him did you/do you like or admire most? What aspects of him did you/do you relate to on a personal level? I know some of us have already tackled these questions in other threads, but I still think it will be fun to have a more thorough discussion here in his character discussion thread. So please join if you feel like it.

Despite what my name suggests, I'm all in favour of a more positive approach to the ghastly, horrible….er…somewhat disappointing mess the show has become. I mean, Vintage Sheldon still glowers through his imbecile mask now and then, Helberg as Wolowitz has moments of brilliance, as ever, Cuoco's showing off a whole new level of crapulence and cynicism as Penny, (and crapulence doesn't mean what it sounds like), and personally Stuart has become my favourite character. And to paraphrase Penny, ISN'T THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT SAD.
The problem, FranEssi, I think, is what FlyingMonkey so succinctly said; they had a masterpiece in Sheldon, and they decided to paint over it.
Consequently there's a lot more rancour towards New Sheldon than there would be had he just stumbled in from nowhere. Or rather, to continue the original thought, we hate the modernist painting BECAUSE it conceals a Rembrandt.
If it was just a modernist painting on its own…well, we'd probably still dislike it, but not with the same sense of despair, and consequent vitriol. In fact, we probably wouldn't have noticed the painting at all…

That said, I do concur with your sentiments. Just trying to explicate the relentless river of WHINE that flows out of us….

Hm, same here. I never used to notice Stuart, but now I find him more agreeable than current Sheldon. In more stable circumstances I would say Stuart is underused, but I don't trust the writers anymore...

I was thinking just before that had I discovered TBBT circa season 5 onwards, I would not have taken any notice. I would have regarded it with just as much indifference as How I Met Your Mother or Rules Of Engagement. (I CAN'T STOP THE MOANING. I CAN'T FIND THE OFF BUTTON.) I do apologise, FranEssi, for turning your thread into a rant-fest I think I've spent so much time ranting I've forgot about what made me love Sheldon in the first place...

[FranEssi]

I do apologise, FranEssi, for turning your thread into a rant-fest I think I've spent so much time ranting I've forgot about what made me love Sheldon in the first place...

No, no, Witchdoctor, I was not talking about you in particular. You didn't do anything to the thread! I was more talking about our general attitude on the website. I started the thread with a discussion about Sheldon's mental disintegration after all, so negativity was to be expected!

And I believe the fact that some of us have forgotten what made us love Sheldon in the first place is exactly the reason why we need to talk about and to revisit Vintage Sheldon as often as possible.

As for Stuart, I noticed him and his cute and funny reactions in the episode Sheldon and Wil Wheaton played a game and Wil Wheaton won the game by manipulating Sheldon's love for his Meemaw. When Sheldon and Raj lost and the game was over, Stuart told them, "Well, this was fun!" I don't know what was about that little line and his delivery that made me laugh and notice the actor, and I've liked him ever since. I liked his interactions with Sheldon in the first episode of season 7 too, when he was trying to sell Sheldon the Aquaman. I was even wondering how things would be if this actor had been cast as Leonard. And let's not forget that Penny went out with Stuart once too!

But, yeah, I don't trust the writers either. While I'd like to see more of Stuart, I'm sure as soon as his screen time gets increased and the writers get him into a relationship or something, he is going to become as unfunny and annoying as the other characters have become.

[Wisp]

I do apologise, FranEssi, for turning your thread into a rant-fest I think I've spent so much time ranting I've forgot about what made me love Sheldon in the first place...

No, no, Witchdoctor, I was not talking about you in particular. You didn't do anything to the thread! I was more talking about our general attitude on the website. I started the thread with a discussion about Sheldon's mental disintegration after all, so negativity was to be expected!

And I believe the fact that some of us have forgotten what made us love Sheldon in the first place is exactly the reason why we need to talk about and to revisit Vintage Sheldon as often as possible.

As for Stuart, I noticed him and his cute and funny reactions in the episode Sheldon and Wil Wheaton played a game and Wil Wheaton won the game by manipulating Sheldon's love for his Meemaw. When Sheldon and Raj lost and the game was over, Stuart told them, "Well, this was fun!" I don't know what was about that little line and his delivery that made me laugh and notice the actor, and I've liked him ever since. I liked his interactions with Sheldon in the first episode of season 7 too, when he was trying to sell Sheldon the Aquaman. I was even wondering how things would be if this actor had been cast as Leonard. Don't forget that Penny went out with him once too!
But, yeah, I don't trust the writers either. While I'd like to see more of Stuart, I'm sure as soon as his screen time gets increased and the writers get him into a relationship or something, he is going to become as unfunny and annoying as the other characters have become.

My thoughts exactly. I like Stuart's mannerisms. Sheldon's mannerisms, when they were correct, are what got me interested in the character. I'm a big body language/face watcher, so this, combined with Jim's natural charm and Sheldon's interesting slant on life is what I loved about the character. (I'M REMEMBERING. IT'S WORKING.)

[SpaceAnJL]

...One of the scenes that really sold me was during 'The Nerdvana Annihilation'. Advancing on Penny, plastic sword in hand, to call her out on the 'Hello Kitty' shorts. Really, any time Sheldon has advanced, scowling, using his height and air of command. 'The Excelsior Acquisition' springs to mind, where I got a total Jimmy Stewart/Gary Cooper vibe off him, horrendous plaid suit and all. It doesn't surprise me that he got cast in the stage version of 'Harvey', he's perfect in that kind of role. I would love to see him and Penny do more in a Hawksian vein. JP and KC have proved that they can do that kind of quickfire banter on screen, it would be marvellous.

[FranEssi]

...Really, any time Sheldon has advanced, scowling, using his height and air of command. 'The Excelsior Acquisition' springs to mind, where I got a total Jimmy Stewart/Gary Cooper vibe off him, horrendous plaid suit and all...

Oh, my, that's one of my all time favorite Sheldon scenes! I can't agree more with you about how attractive and fun it is when Sheldon 'advances, scowling, using his height and air of command'!

Jim's body language in such scenes reminds me of the good English actors, and yes, his mannerisms was definitely one of the main reasons I came to love the Sheldon character. I also am a fan of the genius, intellectual characters, if they are written and portrayed well and in a convincing manner that is, and have a soft spot for the characters who are brutally honest too! So for me, it was a combination of the elegant body language and the mannerisms (including the way he talked) plus the interesting character traits such as OCD, genius, honesty, and confidence, that fascinated me.

As a life-long Sherlock Holmes fan, I also found some similarities between Holmes and Sheldon. It was like Sheldon could be Holmes put in a sitcom in the 21st century America! And I learn that I am not the only one who has noticed the similarities (I personally am a book-Holmes and Jeremy Brett-Holmes fan and watched only two episodes of the Benedict Cumberbatch version before giving up on it. I still think this edit is fun! This again proves that Leonard works best in the reactionary role as the sidekick, and Sheldon in the hero role as the mad genius! Don't you agree?)

JP and KC have proved that they can do that kind of quickfire banter on screen

Sheldon/Jim and Penny/Kaley were perfect in that episode. Their banter in that episode is one of my most favorite Sheldon/Penny banters and moments in the whole 7 seasons. Also Penny/Kaley looked SO beautiful and cute in a suit!