The Sheldon-Spock Expansion - Part 2 of 2

[evelynvaughn01]

(continued from Part 1)

Spock is different from Everyone Else. EVERYONE.

During Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock is the only Vulcan serving amidst humans on the Enterprise, making him a literal "alien." But his estrangement goes deeper than that. From all indications, he is the only half-Human, half-Vulcan in existence.

In other words, Spock

Comments

[artic_fox]

Once again, another great essay! So coherent and well referenced. I especially think you hit the nail on the head with your comments:

"Significantly, Sheldon may not be able to read or easily show emotions, but he does feel them"

I think this is the point that divides people on Sheldon. Some see him as emotionless, a robot, and this would render love a near impossibility for him. But as Penny has noted, he is so "full of love", and it is just that while Sheldon doesn't know how to react to other people and their emotions, he still possesses his own.

Nice job!

[evelynvaughn01]

Thank you, arctic fox! I wish I'd thought to add the Penny "so full of love" comment... I wonder if that's a case of in vino veritas. Rather, I firmly believe that's the case, but I hope the writers meant to imply it, too. It surprises me how many viewers really think all Sheldon's comments are meant to deliberately provoke people, when I don't see it that way at all.

[artic_fox]

Indeed. Again, it is another division in the way people see Sheldon. To some he is a jerk, intent on being malicious. To others, he is simply telling the truth, and I think the latter is more how the writers aim him to be seen, and something that Jim Parsons himself has mentioned as well. Sheldon does not see the error in being honest.

[evelynvaughn01]

Sheldon does not see the error in being honest
Exactly! And he's so egalitarian when he's saying something superior, it doesn't seem as if there's anything personal to it at all.

[pebblegosling]

you brought up a lot of interesting points- a 'fascinating' read.

[evelynvaughn01]

Thanks, pebblegosling (great handle, BTW!) I had actually collected a few examples of Spock and Sheldon saying "fascinating," but decided this was getting way too long :-) I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[anonymous]

Very fascinating read indeed quite intuitive. Great explanations on the parallels between Sheldon/Spock, Leonard/Kirk, Sheldon/Leonard. Come to think of it, it's kind of a key component to the show's dynamics, without it the show looses some sort of finesse about it. I think the writers hit on this more accidentally as time went on then real foreshadowing. It seems they want to keep things organic and the "rule of funny" writing is 1st priority even at the cost of good character development.

[evelynvaughn01]

It seems they want to keep things organic and the "rule of funny" writing is 1st priority even at the cost of good character development
So much agreement here! And it's not that any of us want them to sacrifice the funny in order to focus on character development. I just wish they would more often find the funny in the characterization, instead of sacrificing characterization for what is, in essence, too easy a joke. Like Sheldon not cashing paychecks. Where the heck did that come from? Penny knows from "The Financial Permeability" that Sheldon doesn't care about when he gets paid for things, so why did they have to take it further and make someone like Sheldon look stupid... or do they not realize that almost all businesses (especially colleges) use direct deposit, and that checks have a cash-by date? *sigh*

But I digress. Thanks for the comment!

[anonymous]

"Like Sheldon not cashing paychecks. Where the heck did that come from?"

Yes, misquided story snippets like these have been in much abundance in S3. It was a minor aspect but this snippet left alot of us viewers thinking "what the %!#@ was that good for". The writers seem hell-bent on reinforcing yet another portrayal of buffoonery Sheldon and his antics.

I really liked your essay, it was comprehensive, well thought out and based on your conclusions it seemed that the writers in the past did take some careful consideration on this and/or accidently hit on something golden. Originally the humor was derived from solid intelligent characterizations. How this will fair in the future is still unknown. I feel BBT is treading on some dangerous waters where the breakout character will completely take over the show.

Let's hope we don't see future promos telling us to watch how kaos unfolds as Sheldon battles Sheldon-bot...oh the horror! (sarcasm)

[evelynvaughn01]

Originally the humor was derived from solid intelligent characterizations.
YES YES YES! This! And your label for what they're treading in too often now, "buffoonery." Thank you for the excellent insights.

[7gifts]

Very deep and a well thought out essay. I hope you write more of these.

With regards to your comment about Sheldon being a jerk: I personally think that Sheldon is a jerk towards his friends (and others) sometimes and this has nothing to do with Aspergers or Autism. However, what I don't know (and would like to understand) is, if this is something that stemmed from childhood. A defence mechanism of some sort to protect himself from the bullies in the playground who saw his difference as something to poke fun at or probably from college - being a child incollege must have sucked big time. Or is he just a jerk because he considers inferior to him.

[evelynvaughn01]

Thanks for the comments, 7gifts -- I suspect some of it is Aspergers (b/c there's an inability to consider how one's words will affect another person's emotions) and some of it is a coping mechanism; they may not be mutually exclusive. If the only thing Sheldon's succeeded at is his intelligence, it makes sense that he'd put his intelligence on display whenever possible. He says things that are jerky, but it hardly ever seems (to me, your mileage can vary) that he's deliberately attempting to be hurtful.

[umeboshicons]

As you said, I have the feeling that this would make sense only to female viewers... And pf course show writers are mostly men...! I should hope they read your essays at the very least!

[evelynvaughn01]

Thanks, umeboshicons! -- for both the great comment and for the super icon you used to accompany it :-) Don't we all hope someone(s) out there has been hired by the show or network to skim all the various articles, blogs, commentary, polls, etc? (Back in the olden-days, pre-Internet, we called them clip-services). Of course, as long as TBBT is at the top of the ratings, folks are likely to think "see? the buffoonery works!" instead of realizing it could be the result of two seasons worth of better writing (which could be wearing off). And high ratings really are a good thing!