Big Bang Theory Series Rewatch - Pilot
I've decided to rewatch the entire BBT series since I've been losing interest in the show this season. Granted my interest has been renewed a bit thanks to the new Penny/Amy friendship, but it's still below where it used to be. I'm hoping a full series rewatch will jump start my love of the show again or at least help me understand exactly where the show started declining and why I am unhappy with it now.
So let's rewind back to fall of 2007. The writers strike hasn't happened yet. Lost is still gaining momentum. Heroes hadn't fallen apart yet. Charlie Sheen didn't plaster every entertainment news piece. And Glee was no where near gracing/disgracing the air waves.
Those were good times right? Now let's check out CBS's newest addition to their Monday night comedy line-up, The Big Bang Theory.
We start the show in a rather odd place. The first scene typically sets up the premise of the show. This first scene with Leonard and Sheldon at the high IQ sperm bank only sets up Sheldon being completely oblivious to what's a normal t-shirt quote. Though it does do a good job with bashing you over the head with the fact that these two guys are geniuses. I think it's a remnant from the first pilot they made for the show which would explain why the tone it sets feels so awkward when viewed with the rest of the episode. There are some great quotes like when Sheldon insists he wouldn't love a toddler who didn't know to use an integral to measure the area under a curve. Also the receptionist (who SPOILER comes back later as a nurse at the hospital) is fabulous and totally wins with her sarcastic delivery of her lines. I'm regretting that they never set her up to be a recurring minor character. I like when shows populate the show with recurring characters who just pop in for a line or two. Makes the show's universe feel more fleshed out and real.
Anyway Sheldon chickens out about donating sperm so he and Leonard leave and grab lunch. The next scene with them climbing the stairs and discussing Sheldon's childhood experiments feels much more like what the show becomes. Not so coincidentally, this scene is NOT left over from the original pilot. At the fourth floor landing, Leonard hears music and glances across the hall. Through the open door we spot Bridget Penny for the first time. There's a cute but awkward greeting exchanged where clearly neither guy knows what to do. (there were way too many hi's and bye's lol) Sheldon was obviously taking all of his cues from Leonard solidifying Leonard as the social leader. (Though Sheldon insisting on leaving the sperm bank makes him the leader in every other area).
After Penny shuts the door in their faces (not as mean as it sounds), Sheldon happily returns to plotting a Battlestar Galactica season 2 commentary watch, but Leonard is left feeling like they should've done something more. Like invited Penny over for lunch. This leads to an amusing debate between Leonard and Sheldon ("We need to widen our circle." / "I have a very wide circle. I have 212 friends on MySpace"). Leonard wins (by simply walking back over to Penny's apartment and hence rendering the debate moot) and he stumbles through the worst lunch invitation I've ever heard. Even Sheldon catches that it's not good. Penny seems to miss the laxative ramblings and only tunes into 'luncheon invitation'. She happily accepts the invite and leads the way across the hall. "So what do you guys do for fun around here?" / "Well today we tried masturbating for money." *cue opening credits*
Yeah. All of that was the opening of the pilot. *exhausted* Two scenes before the credits? They really should've planned a better (more condensed) opening. Of course pilots don't actually use opening credits until after the series is picked up and the episode is broadcasted. But still, long opening!
Okay let's skip back to reality. Everyone knows what happens in the pilot. Sheldon first rants about his spot, Penny asks Leonard and Sheldon to retrieve her television, Kurt pants Leonard and Sheldon, Penny takes them out for dinner. So let's just focus on my thoughts and observations.
Sheldon really doesn't like having his routine changed. A LOT of stories end up revolving around that fact.
Simon Helberg is brilliant with accents and weird voices.
Once Howard and Raj enter the apartment, I'm sold on the guys' dynamics. It's completely believable that these four have been friends for years. Oddly though, I'm struck with thinking that Leonard and Howard seem to be better friends than Leonard and Sheldon. But then the car scene comes with Leonard and Sheldon heading out to Kurt's, and I change my mind. Leonard and Sheldon totally have the friends+roommates dynamic down.
I'm convinced Penny never hung out with genuine people until she met the guys. That's why she seemed so surprised by how nice they were. And why she stopped appearing so shallow and empty and started being a real person as the season went on. (Really the writers just failed at defining her character prior to writing the series, but we can pretend this was all intentional :P). Also Penny trusts people WAY too easily. She's like my cousin. It's a little scary.
The juice box that Howard offers to Penny, is it Asian? It looked like there was some kind of Asian writing on it. I've always thought that and it's made me associate anime with the guys since the beginning. (So in season 3 when they had Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon watch anime, I was very pleased).
Truthfully, Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Sheldon feel more like college students than research scientists at a university. Maybe because they were all smart enough to rush through school so they didn't mature at the same rate as other people. But this just isn't how PhD scientists that have their own research labs act. This isn't even how serious grad students act. This doesn't change throughout the series. The continue to act like college students. This is how an official panel at a big a conference can quickly devolve into a discussion of penises and exes. So right off the bat, this series is unrealistic. Entertaining, but unrealistic. But once I make the mental shift to thinking of these guys as little more than undergrads, a lot of things about the show fall into place.
Overall, this pilot is cute and funny and certainly shows potential. I'd give the episode a solid B rating. Though it does bring to light how much the show bordered on becoming a cult-tv show back when it started. In season 2, the show began aiming for (and hitting) mainstream and over time has lost a lot of the cult appeal and charm of it's early days. I do wish the show had settled for being a middle-rated comedy that attracted cult television fans rather than broadening out and becoming the mega-hit comedy it is. Would it mean less seasons? Yes. Would it mean we may not have the show on for a fourth season? Possibly. CBS doesn't much cater to middle-ratings and cult tv. But would it mean a higher quality comedy? Yes. And personally, I always prefer quality over everything else.
One final note: Sheldon's brown socks he was wearing? Are freaking awesome! I want them.
I'm going to continue re-watching and reviewing the series. The Big Bran Hypothesis will be up sometime over this next week :)
So let's rewind back to fall of 2007. The writers strike hasn't happened yet. Lost is still gaining momentum. Heroes hadn't fallen apart yet. Charlie Sheen didn't plaster every entertainment news piece. And Glee was no where near gracing/disgracing the air waves.
Those were good times right? Now let's check out CBS's newest addition to their Monday night comedy line-up, The Big Bang Theory.
We start the show in a rather odd place. The first scene typically sets up the premise of the show. This first scene with Leonard and Sheldon at the high IQ sperm bank only sets up Sheldon being completely oblivious to what's a normal t-shirt quote. Though it does do a good job with bashing you over the head with the fact that these two guys are geniuses. I think it's a remnant from the first pilot they made for the show which would explain why the tone it sets feels so awkward when viewed with the rest of the episode. There are some great quotes like when Sheldon insists he wouldn't love a toddler who didn't know to use an integral to measure the area under a curve. Also the receptionist (who SPOILER comes back later as a nurse at the hospital) is fabulous and totally wins with her sarcastic delivery of her lines. I'm regretting that they never set her up to be a recurring minor character. I like when shows populate the show with recurring characters who just pop in for a line or two. Makes the show's universe feel more fleshed out and real.
Anyway Sheldon chickens out about donating sperm so he and Leonard leave and grab lunch. The next scene with them climbing the stairs and discussing Sheldon's childhood experiments feels much more like what the show becomes. Not so coincidentally, this scene is NOT left over from the original pilot. At the fourth floor landing, Leonard hears music and glances across the hall. Through the open door we spot Bridget Penny for the first time. There's a cute but awkward greeting exchanged where clearly neither guy knows what to do. (there were way too many hi's and bye's lol) Sheldon was obviously taking all of his cues from Leonard solidifying Leonard as the social leader. (Though Sheldon insisting on leaving the sperm bank makes him the leader in every other area).
After Penny shuts the door in their faces (not as mean as it sounds), Sheldon happily returns to plotting a Battlestar Galactica season 2 commentary watch, but Leonard is left feeling like they should've done something more. Like invited Penny over for lunch. This leads to an amusing debate between Leonard and Sheldon ("We need to widen our circle." / "I have a very wide circle. I have 212 friends on MySpace"). Leonard wins (by simply walking back over to Penny's apartment and hence rendering the debate moot) and he stumbles through the worst lunch invitation I've ever heard. Even Sheldon catches that it's not good. Penny seems to miss the laxative ramblings and only tunes into 'luncheon invitation'. She happily accepts the invite and leads the way across the hall. "So what do you guys do for fun around here?" / "Well today we tried masturbating for money." *cue opening credits*
Yeah. All of that was the opening of the pilot. *exhausted* Two scenes before the credits? They really should've planned a better (more condensed) opening. Of course pilots don't actually use opening credits until after the series is picked up and the episode is broadcasted. But still, long opening!
Okay let's skip back to reality. Everyone knows what happens in the pilot. Sheldon first rants about his spot, Penny asks Leonard and Sheldon to retrieve her television, Kurt pants Leonard and Sheldon, Penny takes them out for dinner. So let's just focus on my thoughts and observations.
Sheldon really doesn't like having his routine changed. A LOT of stories end up revolving around that fact.
Simon Helberg is brilliant with accents and weird voices.
Once Howard and Raj enter the apartment, I'm sold on the guys' dynamics. It's completely believable that these four have been friends for years. Oddly though, I'm struck with thinking that Leonard and Howard seem to be better friends than Leonard and Sheldon. But then the car scene comes with Leonard and Sheldon heading out to Kurt's, and I change my mind. Leonard and Sheldon totally have the friends+roommates dynamic down.
I'm convinced Penny never hung out with genuine people until she met the guys. That's why she seemed so surprised by how nice they were. And why she stopped appearing so shallow and empty and started being a real person as the season went on. (Really the writers just failed at defining her character prior to writing the series, but we can pretend this was all intentional :P). Also Penny trusts people WAY too easily. She's like my cousin. It's a little scary.
The juice box that Howard offers to Penny, is it Asian? It looked like there was some kind of Asian writing on it. I've always thought that and it's made me associate anime with the guys since the beginning. (So in season 3 when they had Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon watch anime, I was very pleased).
Truthfully, Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Sheldon feel more like college students than research scientists at a university. Maybe because they were all smart enough to rush through school so they didn't mature at the same rate as other people. But this just isn't how PhD scientists that have their own research labs act. This isn't even how serious grad students act. This doesn't change throughout the series. The continue to act like college students. This is how an official panel at a big a conference can quickly devolve into a discussion of penises and exes. So right off the bat, this series is unrealistic. Entertaining, but unrealistic. But once I make the mental shift to thinking of these guys as little more than undergrads, a lot of things about the show fall into place.
Overall, this pilot is cute and funny and certainly shows potential. I'd give the episode a solid B rating. Though it does bring to light how much the show bordered on becoming a cult-tv show back when it started. In season 2, the show began aiming for (and hitting) mainstream and over time has lost a lot of the cult appeal and charm of it's early days. I do wish the show had settled for being a middle-rated comedy that attracted cult television fans rather than broadening out and becoming the mega-hit comedy it is. Would it mean less seasons? Yes. Would it mean we may not have the show on for a fourth season? Possibly. CBS doesn't much cater to middle-ratings and cult tv. But would it mean a higher quality comedy? Yes. And personally, I always prefer quality over everything else.
One final note: Sheldon's brown socks he was wearing? Are freaking awesome! I want them.
I'm going to continue re-watching and reviewing the series. The Big Bran Hypothesis will be up sometime over this next week :)