# How do you feel about The Big Bang Theory? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484 "2016-03-28T21:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/41 "2016-03-29T07:08:52Z")
I saw a description of BBT that is just perfect… it’s “nerd blackface”. If you want a funny sitcom that is still on, watch **Broad City** or **Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt** or **Master of None** or **Veep**. Or go back a few years and watch **Parks and Rec** or the first three seasons of **Community**. Or watch an animated show like **Archer**. Seriously, TV is better than it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/42 "2016-03-29T07:19:16Z")
I’ve watched some episodes. It’s amusing fluff, but it has this weird generic blandness that makes every joke immediately forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/43 "2016-03-29T07:23:46Z")
The “nerd blackface” thing misses a key point: it’s a mainstream sitcom where nerds are the protagonists. Penny is really just there so that people outside the subculture feel represented. If one of the “nerds” gets picked on by some jock type, the audience is meant to sympathise with the nerd, not cheer on the jock. It’s an accomplishment just having these characters be front and centre. The whole “blackface” comparison glosses over the baggage associated with blackface. Sure, I hate the bias against nerds and geeks in mainstream society, but let’s get real. Nerds haven’t had a history of being literally traded as property and legally regarded as subhuman, those notions further perpetuated by portrayals by outsiders–that’s what makes blackface offensive, not because it’s simply a broad stereotype in isolation. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/44 "2016-03-29T07:43:47Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > It’s an accomplishment just having these characters be front and centre. That’s certainly true. Professionals with advanced degrees and six-figure salaries have been historically marginalized and excluded in our society. They have had to sit on the sidelines, toiling for pittance behind the doors of IBM or the RAND Corporation or Intel or Lockheed Martin. Some of them are so desperate that they burden themselves with tenured professorships at MIT or Chicago or Harvard or Cal Tech, while others, facing the prospect of food stamps and church donations, opt for medicine and law and government. Please, moderately amusing sitcom, rescue these people from their obscurity! ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/45 "2016-03-29T07:50:40Z")
I’d give an opinion, but I’d rather not get a lecture this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/46 "2016-03-29T07:59:49Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That’s certainly true. Professionals with advanced degrees and six-figure salaries have been historically marginalized and excluded in our society. Note I said the “blackface” comparison is absurd. It’s a bit annoying that football obsessives get treated as regular people but as soon as you’re into science fiction you’re some sort of weirdo. But I mean, come on, it really is a classic “first world problem”. All I’m saying is, just as it’s not the best thing evah, it’s not some kind of hate crime, either. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/47 "2016-03-29T09:20:44Z")
I’m “meh” on the verge of “stupid show”, tbh. I find the whole geek-freak thing tiresome. Ditto Sheldon. OTOH my husband still gets a kick out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/48 "2016-03-29T09:48:23Z")
At the risk of being lambasted by **Spud** – I’m one of those tiresome “don’t-own-a-televison” snobs: only see television when visiting relatives / friends. I must have seen something approaching a couple of dozen episodes of BBT over the years. I could wish there to be an option in between “It’s alright…” and “I don’t care for it…”. I find the character of Sheldon, marvellous, as a towering genius to whom everything on earth except for his area of expertise, is a closed book – and who is, along with that, thoroughly obnoxious. He has become my archetype of the “brilliant scholar clueless about the real world”. Otherwise, I find BBT something of a “few-tricks pony”, and rather feeble. If I were a frequent telly-watcher, I suspect I’d indulge in it only rarely, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/49 "2016-03-29T10:36:12Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That’s certainly true. Professionals with advanced degrees and six-figure salaries have been historically marginalized and excluded in our society. > > They have had to sit on the sidelines, toiling for pittance behind the doors of IBM or the RAND Corporation or Intel or Lockheed Martin. Some of them are so desperate that they burden themselves with tenured professorships at MIT or Chicago or Harvard or Cal Tech, while others, facing the prospect of food stamps and church donations, opt for medicine and law and government. > > Please, moderately amusing sitcom, rescue these people from their obscurity! Way to miss the point. the main characters are the typical “Hollywood caricatures” of the kinds people who would never in a million years actually get parts on a mainstream TV show. Hollywood creates “nerds” and “geeks” by taking established actors, giving them bad haircuts, thick-rimmed glasses, mismatched outfits, and having them act borderline autistic. Just like they took America Ferrera, gave her a frumpy hairstyle, glasses, and braces and called her “Ugly.” It’s insulting. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/50 "2016-03-29T12:33:14Z")
Other, in the sense that I used to _love_ it but find my interest waning after nine years. A great sitcom I can watch and enjoy in reruns. A good sitcom I can’t. BBT is a good sitcom. Or maybe it was. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/51 "2016-03-29T12:37:54Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > There have been 201 episodes aired so far. It is one of the highest rated sitcoms currently on the air. Consider the expertise of the reviewers here. > > Should we move on to Dr. Who… I’ve never seen a full episode but I understand it involves a phone booth time machine. What a rip off of Bill and Ted. I’ll never watch it again… what a piece of trash. Consider the expertise of **me** in knowing what I like. Good grief. How many episodes have you watched with me? How many of the jokes have I laughed at? How many more hours of my life do you think I should dedicate to the show before I can have a reaction to it? As for Dr. Who, that’s an especially bad example, because it’s a show that changes actors and showrunners periodically. Take something else like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you watch an episode and don’t like it, I might recommend a particular episode to you (“Hush,” natch), but if you don’t watch that, no skin off my nose. What I like isn’t the same as what everyone likes, and that doesn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/52 "2016-03-29T13:42:00Z")
I almost loathe The Big Bang Theory, but not quite. I just really don’t like it. I read somewhere, perhaps on these very boards: TBBT is a stupid show about smart people. Arrested Development is a smart show about stupid people. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/53 "2016-03-29T13:58:26Z")
I also wish there was an option between “I love it” and “It’s alright,” though I voted for the latter. I watch it every week, generally enjoy it, and will often take the time to watch a rerun or two on TBS if there’s nothing else on at the time. But I wouldn’t call it my favorite show, and I do agree that it’s showing its age and isn’t as sharp as it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/54 "2016-03-29T14:53:13Z")
I used to love it. I own the first season on DVD and it’s my comfort viewing. The last few season have been meh and I don’t even bother recording this season. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/55 "2016-03-29T15:37:26Z")
I voted “loathe” but that’s too strong a term. Or it’s the wrong term. The show is absolutely terrible, one of the least funny sitcoms I’ve ever tried to watch. There just aren’t very many jokes. But now I don’t watch it, so I can’t say I “loathe” it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/56 "2016-03-29T15:39:16Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > There have been 201 episodes aired so far. > > It is one of the highest rated sitcoms currently on the air. Consider the expertise of the reviewers here. > > Should we move on to Dr. Who… I’ve never seen a full episode but I understand it involves a phone booth time machine. What a rip off of Bill and Ted. I’ll never watch it again… what a piece of trash. Since I’'m one of the people you quoted, allow me to counter with “I don’t need to keep eating dog shit to know it’s bad.” Or more fairly, I’ve seen enough to know it doesn’t appeal to me, and that it seems very MOR as sitcoms go, which is all I said. I’ve got nearly 50 years experience watching sitcoms, I think I can tell what’s groundbreaking, innovative, etc, from the merely average. And funny is just an opinion. There are tons of shows out there that have huge audiences that members of this board hold in low regard, so “the expertise of the reviewers” is purely subjective. Excuse me, I’m going to go listen to A Horse A With No Name, and enjoy it! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/57 "2016-03-29T15:47:05Z")
It’s one of the better sitcoms out there, but its best years are behind it. Sure, geeky humor is fun but they’ve milked that cow pretty dry and it has become a relationship show. Leonard and Penny were getting to be Ross and Rachel redux, Bernadette’s character has regressed while Amy’s has grown. Raj has gone from being pathetic to being a dickweed. Howard went from being perverted to henpecked. It’s still a good show and I’ll watch the TBS reruns when I just want to veg out in front of the telly, but I don’t look forward to the new shows like I used to. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/58 "2016-03-29T16:05:18Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > If you want a funny sitcom that is still on, watch **Broad City** or **Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt** or **Master of None** or **Veep** … But what if I don’t think any of _those_ shows are funny? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/59 "2016-03-29T16:09:00Z")
I didn’t like it at first, but it grew on me. I like the way Amy evolved from being a female version of Sheldon to joyfully exploring things outside her comfort zone. I like the way Raj says the most mean-spirited shit in such a happy sounding voice. Penny is meant to be the eye candy, and that formula is fine with me. Bernadette tickles me with the cute things she says to disarm Amy’s weird borderline lesbian approach to female bonding. _But I don’t want to hide anything in my ample bosom!_ ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484/60 "2016-03-29T16:23:26Z")
I really enjoy the show! All the characters are great, but Sheldon is the most entertaining. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-big-bang-theory/750484.md?page=4)