Be Excellent To Each Other

Go on then!

Everyone always goes 'ooooh, Big Bang theory' any time I flick through an EPG looking for something to watch. Wives, friends, homeless kids, everyone. So I have to put it on, being unable to instantly find an alternative I can strongly argue for. And all I see is that tall prick and David out of Roseanne with 'comedy' glasses on, some neckbeard, the least Indian Indian in the history of television and the least attractive hot girl in all of comedy.

I don't laugh. It's on a par with all of Chuck Lorre's output since Roseanne - and we're talking Grace under Fire, Cybil, Two and a Half Men levels of stilted, telegraphed, pause for applause toss here.

Why's it so popular? I'll bet someone on here likes it, so go on, enlighten me as to what's so good about it other than "Ha Ha, X is autistic/teetotal/in love with a cheerleader/referencing something geeky". I will probably chuckle at a couple of things per episode, but these committeecoms are all capable of doing that. It's the overarching poorness that yanks my balls.

It occasionally makes my top lip curl upwards, but that's the extent of it. Ange loves it.

Off topic straight away, but I love Two and a Half Men.

Well, until the got rid of the thing that made it good, of course (beside Berta).

"We play Kingon Boggle"
"What's that?"
"it's just Boggle..In Klingon"

Series one is excellent. I find it really funny, having spent far too long hanging about with scientists, and that bit of the writing is spot on. Also, they seem to have a lot of fun doing things and being completely oblivious to any real form of outside opinion as to how 'cool' it is. The later series haven't been as good, but series 1-3 are awesome. The first one with Will Wheaton was really funny, too. And you are wronger than Kissyfur.

I appreciate that it's probably one of those comedies where you need to watch a number of episodes in order to get a feel for character development - I've only seen the odd standalone episode.

FUN FACT! The Klingon language was "invented" by the chap that played Scottie.

It's funny as they see it as a normal activity, and Penny is baffled by it, but goes along, as she knows so few people in town. Raj and Wolfowitz are a brilliant double act, and the comic timing of them is very good. I enjoy the discussions they have over comic book characters, Firefly and Star Trek and, especially Sheldon's inability to change from his routine.

I concur with MaliA, which is rare considering he's a pirate bastard that I hate.

I was a late convert though and watched the first three series at once, so I was utterly overloaded with awesome and find it great. It's mostly that the jokes are both geeky and accurate. If they reference a meme it's at least one that's fairly current, rather than the typical comedy writing that takes 5 years before outdatedly referencing something that was never cool or funny. The writers are obviously genuinely geeky and write about what they know. S'good.

The thing that distracts me about Penny however is the really evident fact that one boob is bigger than the other. It's all I can see.

I have literally never made it more than five minutes into an episode. I sit there watching Sheen and the profoundly irritating-faced non-Charlie-Sheen one standing there trying and failing to be Joey and Chandler. At least that's what I assume they must be trying to do. But no, literally never a smile form me on that one.

And here's the thing - I'm easily pleased by comedies in general. I think this stuff is just Golden Girls/Roseanne/Whatever from late eighties/early nineties covered on different instruments when even in the US comedy has gone in different directions since with things like Scrubs. Even recent flatmates high-jinks effort New Girl manages to be awesome due to the edit, delivery, cast and so on, and that's the same 'loft apartment not settled down yet adults' situation as it always has been since sitcoms were invented.

Too much emphasis on changing the sit and not enough on pushing the Com forward, alas.

I wanted to say he was played by Colin Montgomery, but I was getting confused.

I'm pretty sure he just made up the dialogue for the first film and the language was fully expanded by others aftewards.

Recommend me up to three standout episodes from the early series and I'll try them.

I love Penny more because we met Belgian Penny on Bobby's Stag Do, and she was outrageously flirty and taught us how to talk dirty in foreign languages.

But yeah, despite some of the later output being not quite as good, it's a very entertaining show.

Silly things like this make me laugh:



Obviously, it's better acted than read, but still funny.

And Sheldon's line in one episode (which only works in context) about his money being protected by snakes is one of my favourite sitcom lines ever.

I think it's pretty shit. Only seen 5 or 10 mins here and there but that was enough for me.

IT Crowd did 'Geek' comedy far better.

Strongly disagree. IT Crowd was pretty funny, but it was catering to being a geek in 1995, not in 2011.

You're dead to me , Z-man.

The Middle Earth Paridigm where Penny has a fancy dress party is funny form series one. And 'The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary' is also good.

1x01
1x02
1x03


Duh.

May I humbly suggest something? If you've watched a program and didn't like it, stop watching it. There are many, many things to point your eyes at.

BBT has never floated my boat either, but I've only seen bits and pieces of episodes.

Series one is about a tenner nowadays, so well worth it.

I've only seen series 1 of the IT Crowd, but it wasn't a patch on Linehan's previous work. I'm hoping it gets better.

Wolfowitz's mother is another standout character.

The IT Crowd is Primark to Big Bang's Waitrose.

A recurring comment from those that 'don't like it'. Sit down and watch it properly from the start, dicks.

Yes, that's exactly it.


I've not seen TBBT.

Fucking otherwise people are going on Trams with Craster in Scotland.

I'm going to make a complaint about Jeremy Clarkson despite not seeing his comments in context on TV.

My point is I sometimes can't avoid having it on, and am keen to know what people see in it, given that I enjoy a huge amount in common with most on here and BBT is a discrepancy I'd like to better understand, particularly seeing as it should be right up my street.



Myp - IT crowd gets a lot better over the three series. Ayoade grows Moss nicely, and Moss is after all a much better proof that Aspergers is hilarious than lanky fucker. Wossname. Sheldon.

I thought Roseanne was alright - at the time.
Actually, there was a similar that seemed better (dysfunctional family, sassy southern blonde female lead, whom the show was named after).. what the hell was it called?

Big Bang Theory: never seen it.

IT Crowd: quite good but took me a few years to get around to giving it another chance. It's on 4oD player at the moment.

Ok then, let me put it this way, all the characters in The Big Bang Theory are whiny cunts with no likeability whatsoever. Moss and Roy had character traits I could relate to, where these yanky peckers are almost as Alien as Geiger's cock.

I've decided I don't like your avatar Zardoz. I can't take anything you say seriously.

You're thinking of Grace under Fire probably. At one point in my life it was unthinkable to miss an Episode of Roseanne. Something about it just rang true for my tiny adolescent mind.

You need to sit and watch it from the beginning, rather than just glancing at it sidewards every now and again.

I find it worrysome that I associate with them, not one individual, but, rather, collectively. As I said before, it's probably a science thing (Howard only having a Masters, some fields are greater than others, and general snobbery)

It's only a 5 frame gif.

The one where they buy the Time Machine is also good.

Is there one where they buy a likeability machine and a decent script writer?

Yes! Grace under Fire! Same for me with that show. How embarrasing, probably.

Despite me being loosely on the same side as you in this debate, you are coming across as a dick about it.

I used to really like Grace under Fire. Her voice is disturbing though.

TBBT is great, it's obviously written by actual geeks and scientists and is all the better for it. If you aren't a geek or scientist, then I can understand if you can't see much of a difference between that and something like The IT Crowd (which is also pretty good).
I find all the characters likeable and endearing, and Penny is hot as fuck. I've also noticed the boob size issue, plus she has a seriously long midriff, but even with that... hot.

Anybody who disagrees is a moron.

She doesn't have a long midriff, just pert boobs.

I love BBT. It's brilliant. One of my all time favourite US sitcoms, in fact.

Oh yeah, still would, obviously.

Until the ending. What. The. Fuck?

There are some brilliant episodes in later series. The night at the theatre episode is superb.

her 'younger' sister from 8 Simple Rules was hotter, though.

Ah, speaking of sitcoms that went tragically mental.

Hang on, that reminds me; who was it who said Emily Deschanel is hotter than Zooey again? I want to cunt them in the fuck.