# Big Bang Season Premiere 9/22--The Skank Reflex Analysis **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196 "2011-09-22T14:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/81 "2011-09-27T16:19:48Z")
How much did Two and a Half Men change before the Tiger’s Blood? How much did Cheers Change before Sam bedded Diane? I can’t say I’m particularly into sitcoms, so I can’t speak authoritatively, but they seem to be a genre that works best when people can pick them up piecemeal and not lose the plot. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/82 "2011-09-27T16:41:18Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Sorry. I had no intention to hijack, just wanted to ask if anyone else thought that that was going to be her epiphany. Actually, I did think that’s where they were going to go with it. She does strike me as a character that is being written with alcohol problem tendencies in mind, and I’m wondering if the show is going to explore that later on. And I’m not a teetotaler by any stretch of the imagination. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/83 "2011-09-27T17:00:27Z")
Now that TBS is running the show in syndication, it’s easy to see how much the characters have evolved. Catch a few early shows, then watch this season. Amazing difference. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/84 "2011-09-27T18:50:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Now that TBS is running the show in syndication, it’s easy to see how much the characters have evolved. Catch a few early shows, then watch this season. Amazing difference. I don’t know about TBS, but I’ve noticed that the local stations cuts the show a little bit. They were showing, “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary” and they cut out the part where Stewart looks at the sign up sheet and says “Raj, you are paired up with Die Wil Wheaton Die.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/85 "2011-09-27T18:58:21Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Evil Wil Wheaton will return this season. Sweet! OMIFUCKINGAWD! Not only Evil Wil, but also [Brent Spiner](http://www.tvguide.com/News/Big-Bang-Star-Trek-1038081.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/86 "2011-09-27T19:08:12Z")
Raj has alway had a tendency to be a jerk. Remember the time, I think it was season one, where he was in a magazine. He got Penny to go to the award ceremony with him and he turned into a jerk. And Penny later forced him to talk to her without drinking. I thought the first episode was garbage. It was probably the worst of the series. But the second episode was very funny. The script writer(s) are very uneven with their quality. Another problem is this year, Leonard and especially Sheldon are starting to look their age. Penny is looking way to young when she stands next to them. Parsons is 12 years older than her. With Sheldon pushing 40 and Bialik ten years older than Cuoco, the writers need to address this if the show goes on longer. It’s like with Friends. In the beginning the stupid stuff the cast did was funny, but after ten years what was funny because you’re young looks stupid when you’re in your late 30s. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/87 "2011-09-27T21:29:19Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > First ep- Bernadette screeching at Raj in a perfect echo of Howard’s Mother, and her affirmation of him while still enraged. Awesome! I’m fascinted by the possibilities. What if Howard’s Mother is really a lovely woman, and this is just what living with Howard does to people? If he moves in with Bernadete and the two switch personas, that would be hilarious! I think more though that it’s just Bernadette learning how to express anger from Howard’s Mom. The first time she did it was actually when his Mom was in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/88 "2011-09-28T03:09:53Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > How much did Two and a Half Men change before the Tiger’s Blood? How much did Cheers Change before Sam bedded Diane? > > I can’t say I’m particularly into sitcoms, so I can’t speak authoritatively, but they seem to be a genre that works best when people can pick them up piecemeal and not lose the plot. Well I can’t speak too authoritatively either, given I’ve never even seen Two and a Half Men and only saw a handful or so of Cheers eps. BBT is the only current sit com I watch. So I can’t answer. What I remember is that Diane and Sam did develop as characters. Obviously not all characters will, some serve more as props or foils, but if no character believably develops then my sense is the show then ends up just rehashing the same jokes in different formats. And viewers no longer care. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/89 "2011-10-06T00:04:36Z")
OMG! I was watching this episode when they are trying to find another member for their college bowl team and Raj suggested the girl from **Blossom** or the girl from **The Wonder Years**. ---
**Author:** ![Bohomite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bohomite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bohomite)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/90 "2011-10-06T06:16:10Z")
The first episode was pretty weak…loved the second. Am I the only one who loves AFF? I always thought that the show is so strong because of the interactions between Sheldon and Penny - plus Jim Parsons _does_ have a cute butt! ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/91 "2011-10-06T10:18:08Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > Another problem is this year, Leonard and especially Sheldon are starting to look their age. Penny is looking way to young when she stands next to them. Parsons is 12 years older than her. With Sheldon pushing 40 and Bialik ten years older than Cuoco, the writers need to address this if the show goes on longer. My college boyfriend, who’s now an orthopedic pediatric surgeon, was in his early 30’s before he was able to afford his own place. When he was doing his surgical residency, he was a good decade older than a lot of his neighbors in student housing. So it’s not that unusual that the men are a decade older than Penny given how many years it would have taken them to get their doctorates. And let’s assume that they have student loans that make them sufficiently poor that they have to room together… Besides, the show is more focused on their social awkwardness and naivete vs a show that’s merely about kids growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/92 "2011-10-06T13:21:12Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > OMG! I was watching this episode when they are trying to find another member for their college bowl team and Raj suggested the girl from **Blossom** or the girl from **The Wonder Years**. Both of whom have real life Ph.D.'s. ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/93 "2011-10-06T22:13:33Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Both of whom have real life Ph.D.'s. Danica McKeller, while very accomplished for an undergraduate, does not have a PhD. She has a BS in math from UCLA. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/94 "2011-10-08T07:26:28Z")
> [@breezman](#): > > Danica McKeller, while very accomplished for an undergraduate, does not have a PhD. She has a BS in math from UCLA. Sorry, I mistyped. I know Danica McKellar doesn’t have a PhD. I was thinking that both Bialik and McKellar both have a Erdős–Bacon number. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/95 "2011-10-14T13:43:55Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Sometimes, Kaley will do something just the way a female John Ritter would. She learned a lot from him, and you can see it. Bumping this thread rather than the zombie [Staircase Implementation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563630&highlight=elevator) thread. In that flashback episode, the apartment across from Sheldon’s (which will later become Penny’s) was occupied by a big, overweight effeminate black transvestite. Anyone else remember the TV series [Hooperman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooperman), where John Ritter played a San Franciscian detective who inherited an apartment building where one of the tenants was a big, overweight effeminate black transvestite? Very nice, subtle tribute. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/96 "2011-11-19T21:39:01Z")
Now that AFF is Sheldon’s girlfriend, I think this would be a good time to bring back Ramona Nowitzki. It turns out that she went insane when Sheldon threw her out and has come back to murder AFF. I loved the **The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem**. I actually downloaded **Be My Yoko Ono** and put it on my MP3 player. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/97 "2011-11-20T18:41:45Z")
My two pennor’th, IMO Penny doesn’t have a drink problem, the show lost something when Penny and Leonard got together, and it doesn’t seem right now. Bernadette is way too hot to be believable as a geeks girl. Its a sitcom, and as such it would be very boring if all the characters were nice and acted nice. And the theme tune is STILL bloody awful. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/98 "2011-11-20T20:19:43Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > My two pennor’th, IMO Penny doesn’t have a drink problem, Maybe by British standards she is normal, but by American standards she is a binge drinker. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-302531/Special-report-Binge-drinking.html](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-302531/Special-report-Binge-drinking.html) ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/99 "2011-11-20T20:48:45Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > My two pennor’th, IMO Penny doesn’t have a drink problem, the show lost something when Penny and Leonard got together, and it doesn’t seem right now. > > Bernadette is way too hot to be believable as a geeks girl. > > Its a sitcom, and as such it would be very boring if all the characters were nice and acted nice. > > And the theme tune is STILL bloody awful. Agree with every point except the last one. Also, by evening the male-female ratio to 3:3 the original dynamic of geeky guys vs. 1 girl has become geeky guys and girls vs 1 girl. While this creates a lot more story opportunities for the writers it also allows them to write scripts that are less clever than those in the first two seasons. IMO all the characters, especially Leonard, has become less likable. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/100 "2011-11-20T21:00:14Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > My two pennor’th, IMO Penny doesn’t have a drink problem… Up until the last episode I would have tended to agree, but I think that getting drunk to the point of passing out while playing a game where the other participants are stone cold sober is problematic. They are working up to a Very Special Episode, I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196.md?page=6)