Sheldor the Conqueror

[Wisp]

What is obvious to me is that the creators have somehow come up with a character that is beyond their capability to fully realize. As someone here said, Sheldon is a delicate creature. All of the quirks and nuances are a part of his character and therefore to go at them with the blunted ax of revision damages the character as a whole. Child-like has become childish, genius has been downgraded as he is no longer ‘one of the greatest minds of his generation’ but rather ‘the smartest person Leonard’s ever met’.

Great comedic characters (imo) rely on more than slapstick and ba-dum-dum jokes or even sarcasm. Inspecteur Clouseau and Frank Drebin carry off even the silliest of humour because they act earnestly and, most importantly, with dignity. Sheldon Cooper is no different with his difficulties in social interaction. No matter what early seasons Sheldon says or does his actions are sincere, a lot of the time selfish but not *stupid*. Later season Sheldon with his inability to determine the mood at a funeral without help is sloppy writing. But of course the writers are able to overcome their shortcomings because they are ultimately in charge of what and how the characters choose to remember scenes. In a fanciful sense, maybe Sheldon is cracking under the pressure of having his eidetic memory continually undermined by the reordering of the show’s reality. It’s the only way to explain how he can look at the ever-changing Amy and say that he likes her ‘just the way she is’. Ultimately Sheldon is a tragedy to me because as wonderful and awesome as he is he’s ultimately the thrall of the creator. Still, it doesn’t mean that I can’t dream and write a better fate for him. I'm always going for the underdog, even if in this instance it makes me a 'whackadoodle'.

THIS

It's what I've always said. It seems to be impossible for the writers on this bloody show to maintain credible, sympathetic, genuine characters with an equal balance of pathos and humour. That's why I can no longer watch the new episodes and give a shit. Because Sheldon, in particular, has been stripped of his charm and straight-character role. The comedy shows I invest the most time and emotion into are those that tackle more than ba-dum-tish punchlines and smut; the shows in which there are tragic figures, or just characters who are genuine and have a strong sense of self. Their approach to Sheldon's delicate character has been so ham-handed lately that I'm in danger of removing TBBT from my all-time list of favourite shows, because thay just have not kept up the standard they set for themselves in the first place.

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Sheldon used to be on a knife's edge between madness and brilliance and the arrogance just came with the mix. But they have taken that away. Instead of being brilliant - Leonard who he once called derivative, is disproving his work and instead of being mad - he's kind of flaky. The only reason to do any of this is to improve Leonard's profile. Now Leonard is super successful and Sheldon is a nutcase who thinks he's better than everyone else when he's not. It also makes Amy look righteous in her constant nudging for him to change.

I think Sheldon has been a victim of his own success in a way. He was too powerful for the show, he still is. Jim is still magnificent and so they have to keep propping up the other characters. They also do some of this to Penny.

Yes, I'm happy with that. Jim's too good for the show.

Writer 1: Time to start writing season 5. Shit. What are we going to do with Sheldon? He's so difficult to write.

Writer 2: Well, we have the fall-back girlfriend arc. We could chuck the girlfriend story line in and it might make Sheldon easier to write for... What were we playing at, eh? I think we overestimated our writing skills, and our audience. They don't want an arrogant bastard like Sheldon sabotaging the other characters' happiness in every episode, do they?

Writer 1: Don't you think that would be a bit of an easy way out?

Writer 2: *Holds gun to head*

Writer 1: Fine.

And Writer 1 was fired the very next day.

I actually sort of want Jim to pull out of the show or something... The fact that he too seems oblivious to the decline of his own character is unsettling to me. That's what's bugging me: WHY CAN'T ANYONE SEE IT? (or maybe they can but don't want to complain about the show that provides their income) I'd love to see Jim in something else, playing a completely different character, so my faith in his acting skills can return.