# Big Bang Theory -- Conclusion Airs Tonight, May 16, 2019! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053 "2019-05-16T13:53:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/201 "2019-05-24T21:39:46Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > So he didn’t hardly act at all, and he doesn’t, or won’t, have much acting range. I didn’t say that you said anything negative, I said that you seem to have hostility to the extent of his success, as if it were unearned. I think this quote supports that conclusion. If “hostility to” is too strong, substitute “dissatisfaction with.” > > It may be that you just think that the writers don’t get enough credit for the success of that character, which may be true (isn’t it always true for writers?) but you’re wrong if you think Parsons only contributed his presence and personality, and little or no acting talent. Again, think in terms of Jerry Seinfeld. He clearly has limited range. But he was incredibly successful and popular. Someday he might try a series again and could be successful and popular at that. But it would be quite foolish to expect the character he would play to be vastly different. Another comparison is Bob Newhart. Incredible success with two series (and a short lived 3rd one) but not a significant difference between his acting in the two series. I love watching him to this day. His appearances on _TBBT_ were generally good to great. He won an Emmy … for basically being Bob Newhart. Having a limited range is not a bad thing if you get cast in roles that match that. (Which is a large part of good casting anyway.) I have no idea what your issue is here. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/202 "2019-05-24T23:09:04Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > This isn’t any more compelling than the first time you posted it. Just because you don’t like or remember her movies doesn’t mean she wasn’t massively successful after Friends. She was. So I give a 75-word précis of her post-_Friends_ work, to which you reply “I think she was the _most_ successful,” and “She was.” … but my argument is not compelling. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/203 "2019-05-24T23:44:09Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > So I give a 75-word précis of her post-_Friends_ work, to which you reply “I think she was the _most_ successful,” and “She was.” … but my argument is not compelling. > > Cool. So you ignored my actual reply, then? You discount her independent films as not successful because they weren’t big commercial films, then you discount her commercial films as not successful because they lack artistic merit. How about this: She was successful with her independent films because they have artistic merit. And she was successful with her commercial films because they were financial successes. By your own logic, she was doubly successful. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/204 "2019-05-25T01:58:35Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Again, think in terms of Jerry Seinfeld. He clearly has limited range. But he was incredibly successful and popular. Someday he might try a series again and could be successful and popular at that. But it would be quite foolish to expect the character he would play to be vastly different. > > Another comparison is Bob Newhart. Incredible success with two series (and a short lived 3rd one) but not a significant difference between his acting in the two series. I love watching him to this day. His appearances on _TBBT_ were generally good to great. He won an Emmy … for basically being Bob Newhart. > > Having a limited range is not a bad thing if you get cast in roles that match that. (Which is a large part of good casting anyway.) > > I have no idea what your issue is here. My issue is that you say he can’t act and can only play some version of himself, and say so on what seems pretty slim evidence (appearances on talk shows). Of course, there are lots of successful show business people for whom that is largely true, but I’m going to disagree with your view about Parsons, especially pending future acting gigs that he might be willing to take. The only other things of his I’ve seen are a fairly small role in Hidden Figures (without facial tics and mannerisms that you point to) and the preview of some awful cartoon movie where he voiced an alien or something. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/205 "2019-05-25T20:15:46Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My issue is that you say he can’t act and can only play some version of himself, and say so on what seems pretty slim evidence (appearances on talk shows). Of course, there are lots of successful show business people for whom that is largely true, but I’m going to disagree with your view about Parsons, especially pending future acting gigs that he might be willing to take. The only other things of his I’ve seen are a fairly small role in Hidden Figures (without facial tics and mannerisms that you point to) and the preview of some awful cartoon movie where he voiced an alien or something. I’ve also seen _Hidden Figures_. I was mentioning talk shows to point out how close Jim Parsons is to Sheldon in terms of voice and behavior. So his other roles don’t matter in this regard. And things like _Hidden Figures_ again do not suggest a wide range of acting ability. Which is _not_ the same thing as saying he is terrible!!! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/206 "2019-05-25T20:23:18Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I’ve also seen _Hidden Figures_. I was mentioning talk shows to point out how close Jim Parsons is to Sheldon in terms of voice and behavior. So his other roles don’t matter in this regard. And things like _Hidden Figures_ again do not suggest a wide range of acting ability. > > Which is _not_ the same thing as saying he is terrible!!! I don’t recall his character in \*The Normal Heart \* being anything like Sheldon in behavior or speech. ( I means the character had Jim Parson’s voice, but not Sheldon’s tone etc) And the thing with Seinfeld and Newhart is that they weren’t actors- they were fundamentally comedians playing a version of themselves. Newhart was always the one sane man in a group of quirky people , whether it was _Newhart_, \*The Bob Newhart Show \*or _TBBT_ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/207 "2019-05-25T21:03:41Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Newhart was always the one sane man in a group of quirky people , whether it was _Newhart_, \*The Bob Newhart Show \*or _TBBT_ I counter with Major Major. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053/208 "2020-10-28T17:26:56Z")
Bumped. A nice career (so far) retrospective with Jim Parsons. > **[Jim Parsons Breaks Down His Career, from 'The Big Bang Theory' to 'Young...](https://www.vanityfair.com/video/watch/careert-timeline-jim-parsons-breaks-down-his-career-from-big-bang-theory-to-young-sheldon)** > > Jim Parsons takes us through his legendary acting career, breaking down his roles in 'Ed,' 'Garden State,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Home,' 'Young Sheldon,' 'A Kid Like Jake,' 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,' 'Hollywood' and 'The Boys in... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-conclusion-airs-tonight-may-16-2019/834053.md?page=10)