Whenever you ask a nerd or geek or dork what they think of the Big Bang Theory, there’s usually an uneasiness that washes over their face. See, there’s a problem with this show: It’s degrading to the nerd set by perpetuating the stereotypes about that particular class of sci-fi obsessing, comic book loving, video game enthralled bunch as the being virgins and losers. It’s also a damn funny sitcom.
If you haven’t seen the show yet (and based on its ratings, that can’t be possible), the premise involves two genius nerds, Leonard and Sheldon, who live together in an apartment building. Across the hall from them is Penny, a struggling actress who’s unlucky at love and slowly over 13 season one episodes, she becomes part of the wayward nerds’ social group (much to the joy of lovelorn Leonard who pines for the plucky blonde). Leonard and Sheldon have an extremely small clique of friends that includes the horn-dog engineer Wolowitz and the incapable of speaking to women, Koothrappali. Both of these characters are constantly referred to by their ethnicities/cultural backgrounds in jokes about them being Jewish and Hindu, respectively, but again the jokes are so innocent and the humor seems so genuine, you feel you can laugh without guilt.
Season One is only a scant 13 episodes that sets up the general atmosphere of the show pretty well. The characters all come into their own over some very episodic, but not contrived, storylines that give us a window into just exactly who these people are and how the humor of their interactions can be developed. While Season One shows off the basic character interactions and hammering out the back-and-forth of the humor, Season Two took those building blocks and created scenarios where what was teasted as the funniest parts of Season One and expanded on them for whole episodes. Things like Sheldon’s borderline Aspirger’s syndrome breakdowns, Koothrappali’s inability to talk to women unless drunk, what would happen if Wolowitz’s actually got laid, and having Penny cross to the dark side and actually become interested in an online Age of Conan game. With the second DVD set having a total of 22 episodes, you’d think this would get old, but that’s where veteran producer Chuck Lorre (creator of the wildly successful Two and a Half Men) knows his skills in sitcom construction. Each episode works just fine on its own and can be enjoyed by a layman just jumping onboard in their first viewing. That’s the mark of sound television writing in terms of being able to draw in new fans: keep it simple and keep it accessible. Co-creator Bill Prady has talked about how the characters are based on actual people he’d encountered in college and you can see the quirks mixing with the parts of the characters to make them actually three-dimensional and that helps them remain likeable. Penny is more than just a sweet ditz, Wolowitz is more than just a horny jerk, and Leonard is more than just a lovesick puppy genius.
The show is back for Season 3 and it’s extremely easy to catch up on what’s going on since there’s no complicated ongoing narrative with the exception of the basic dynamics that are easily identified on a first viewing. I suggest it’s still a great idea to dive into the DVDs and get acquainted, but if you don’t have the dedication, then I pity you and wish you luck with your life and lack of achievments. Below is a trailer of Season Two that shows off some highlights.
