The Sweater Vested Metrosexual

[Louise]

For some reason, I don't like the idea of Raj's dog, Cinnamon. This is odd, because I love animals, and I wish all of the characters would have pets, and I'd love to see the characters interacting with animals, or have storylines that involve animals.

I guess, to me, Cinnamon just seems like part and parcel of the later seasons. Raj didn't have this dog in the earlier seasons, therefore this dog is not part of "Classic BBT." I know, that sounds petty, but the dog has also been used to emphasize this idea that Raj is desperately lonely, or that Raj is effeminate and silly. (I don't mind when he's effeminate and silly to some degree, I think it's funny, but just not when taken to extremes.)

Yeah, it's weird, because the thought of the characters interacting with cute animals makes me melt, I love it, but Cinnamon just seems like a gimmick. I think at this point, I've been conditioned to reject anything that wasn't present in the earlier seasons.

It might've been fun if the guys had a more unusual pet, maybe one that they "rescued" (read: stole) from a lab at work. Because that would be...y'know...nerdy and sciencey.

[devilbk]

Considering what Raj feeds Cinnamon, I don't think she'll be around very long.

[ricardo shillyshally]

I'm creating a long list of unnatural relationships on BB; Raj and dog, are high on list, Amy and Leonard as emotional vampires, and a rogue demonic weasel. Also Sheldon did have a pet egg>RESET! Oh no he didn't!

[FlyingSolo]

I'm creating a long list of unnatural relationships on BB; Raj and dog, are high on list, Amy and Leonard as emotional vampires, and a rogue demonic weasel. Also Sheldon did have a pet egg>RESET! Oh no he didn't!

You could also add in Amy's relationship with a 50 pound rice sack "Sheldon". How Creepy.

[FlyingMonkey]

You could also add in Amy's relationship with a 50 pound rice sack "Sheldon". How Creepy.

And of course Amy & Gerard.

[Louise]

This is how I, personally, think the "Raj's muteness" thing should have been handled:

Like I've said before, if this show had ended after just two or three seasons (with the original format and original cast intact), then I'd be in favor of absolutely nothing changing. If it continued beyond that, (again, without losing the original characterizations/style/format), I think Raj could've made some small degree of progress towards being able to talk to girls, but I still wouldn't do away with the mutism entirely, because I think it *is* a funny and endearing thing with loads of possibilities. Having him be "cured" overnight, all of a sudden, because of some vague emotional crisis, is not the way to do it.

By the time of a hypothetical 5th or 6th year, (bearing little or no resemblance to the S5 and S6 we have now), I think it would be very reasonable if Raj was able to talk to Penny and other people that he already knows and trusts, but still not able to talk to strangers, for example. That's the best of both worlds. Or, he might've progressed to the point where he can talk to women over the phone but not in person, for example. This way, the show would have lots of flexibility about how and when to use or not use that joke, depending on the situation. I'm surprised there was never an ep where Raj is somehow trapped in an all-female environment and has to figure out how to navigate that situation. (Poor guy! It would be funny and interesting, though.) Like, say, he's going to deliver a lecture at a college, but doesn't realize until he gets there, that it's an all-women's college.

Or, as I said in another post, they could just sort of gloss-over that issue and give him fewer scenes with women, if people were getting tired of that joke. Really, if viewers were tired of certain aspects of this show (which they weren't), there are extremely simple and easy ways to deal with that, without all the character assassination and upheaval and retooling. If Mute Raj & Flirty Howard was getting stale (which it wasn't), then how about giving them something else to do, like...I dunno...SCIENCE??

[ricardo shillyshally]

The interpreter trope has a lot of potential, but Howard isn't always focused enough. Sometimes they use it to embarrass Raj, or to show how Howard reinterprets, what he hears. The writers do seem to have narrrowed their options, by changing this dynamic.

[ricardo shillyshally]

My favourite is Mean Raj, especially when he's having fun with L, and he gets this evil smirk on his face. 'Raj: Your girlfriend and your ex-girlfriend are hanging out together? Oh, yeah, that can only be good for you.
Leonard: What are you talking about?
Raj: One of them broke up with you. Do you really want her telling the other one why?
Leonard: I don’t care. I don’t have anything to hide.
Raj: Good, good. Then you have nothing to worry about.' 'Leonard: There was one time I put body glitter on.
Raj: Well, I don’t think you have to worry about Penny telling my sister that.
Leonard: No, she wouldn’t.
Raj: Your big problem is me telling her.'(S4e23)

[ricardo shillyshally]

[ricardo shillyshally]

I wish they'd ditch the being down on the Indian cliche, rather than having to be Aquaman, I think Raj would have made a great superman. You'll have to imagine he's halfway changing costumes, or something!