# The Big Bang Theory, March 7, 2014 -- "The Friendship Turbulence" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112 "2014-03-07T14:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/41 "2014-03-12T18:49:09Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > As for future stories - if they read message boards like this they’d get plenty of good ideas for stories, but they probably don’t. I’ve already posted how the show should end. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/42 "2014-03-12T20:24:15Z")
From Wikipedia: " In the sixth season, the show became the highest rated and viewed scripted show in the 18–49 demographic, …" With ratings like that, CBS would keep it on the air until Jim Parsons finally achieves the singularity and uploads his mind into the cloud. The money from DVDs, streaming and syndication has to be amazing. As long as the top 3 actors are still interested in TV money, it’s going to go on. And on. And on. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/43 "2014-03-12T22:24:16Z")
the three years is needed for AFF to get something. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/44 "2014-03-12T23:40:04Z")
As long as they don’t cast Ted McGinley after they send one of the male regulars on an extended overseas research project… ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/45 "2014-03-12T23:42:38Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > As long as they don’t cast Ted McGinley after they send one of the male regulars on an extended overseas research project… They could introduce an 8 year kid to the cast. Maybe Penny’s niece or nephew from her meth making brother. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/46 "2014-03-12T23:47:12Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > They could introduce an 8 year kid to the cast. Maybe Penny’s niece or nephew from her meth making brother. And the kid could be a super genius prodigy that all the adults defer too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/47 "2014-03-13T00:16:42Z")
Maybe three more years will be enough time to get that elevator fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/48 "2014-03-13T01:02:50Z")
I wonder if CBS will regret this decision as much as ABC regretted renewing The Drew Carey Show? Initially it was a big, popular show but during the last season it was exiled to the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/49 "2014-03-13T13:31:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I wonder if CBS will regret this decision as much as ABC regretted renewing The Drew Carey Show? Initially it was a big, popular show but during the last season it was exiled to the summer. I think something was going on before it was exiled to the summer. I think the producers started making really weird episodes because they knew the network wasn’t going to show the program anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/50 "2014-03-13T14:07:24Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > They could introduce an 8 year kid to the cast. Maybe Penny’s niece or nephew from her meth making brother. Maybe a blonde kid with a bowl haircut and round metal rimmed glasses? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/51 "2014-03-13T14:23:36Z")
I have read even the reruns on TBS beat some network shows in the ratings. The show is a Juggernaut. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/52 "2014-03-13T15:19:39Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > As long as they don’t cast Ted McGinley after they send one of the male regulars on an extended overseas research project… You know, he’s got a series- killer reputation, but “Married With Children” was on the air for 7 seasons after McGinley joined the cast, and had their best episodes by far during that time. Most show-runners would give a nut for that kind of success. Now Alison La Placa - no series went past a season when she was in the cast. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/53 "2014-03-13T17:11:56Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > I love “Big Bang Theory” - but 3 more seasons is too much. I guess if I were raking in tons of money, I wouldn’t want to stop either, but one could wish for a world where sometimes tv decisions were made on the quality of the show. where people learned to leave when you were still liked, still on top of your game. It’s been done. (How I wish Matt Smith had stayed longer…) > > As for future stories - if they read message boards like this they’d get plenty of good ideas for stories, but they probably don’t. Pairing this with the post beneath it showing how BBT theory is number one in ratings time and time again, I can’t imagine the show dying in 3 years. It’s huge, popular, and its raking in the People’s Choice Awards, which means that people are still interested in it beyond the value of the program. If in 3 years they do ANOTHER 3 years…then let’s talk Side note: Isn’t it telling that BBT gets all the people’s awards, yet Modern Family gets all the critics awards? The acadamy’s way of saying “The people think this show is funny, but the people who know television say this is funny”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/54 "2014-03-13T17:21:13Z")
It happened to “Glee”, and it can happen to BBT too. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/55 "2014-03-13T17:53:39Z")
Just no babies - PLEASE no babies!!! Let’s have Penny get an acting job and start dating a fellow actor, have Leonard figure out that Penny is not for him and find an appropriate girlfriend, and get Raj into some sort of relationship. And how about making things better for Stuart? Poor guy… ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/56 "2014-03-13T17:59:08Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Side note: Isn’t it telling that BBT gets all the people’s awards, yet Modern Family gets all the critics awards? The acadamy’s way of saying “The people think this show is funny, but the people who know television say this is funny”. I think Modern Family is a better written show. I like BBT for its concept the story it’s trying to tell but Modern Family has much better plot and dialogue and thus tells their story better. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/57 "2014-03-13T18:12:16Z")
I like the characters in Big Bang Theory so, so much more than the characters in Modern Family, not to mention I despise that fake-documentary style of camerawork. I laugh more at BBT. Looking forward to tonight’s episode. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/58 "2014-03-13T18:43:45Z")
The producers and writers are going to have to come up with some longer story arcs and keep to them. A. They can’t stretch the Sheldon/Amy sexual standoff for another 3 years. II. There’s a difference between a “working actor” and a “star”. I can see Penny getting jobs as victims and witnesses in police procedurals, young moms, a single, or half a couple in commercials, non-speaking extras. Maybe an extra/minor character in a tight uniform and maybe prosthetics and makeup in some SciFi series or movie. I guess she’s around 27, so she could be cast as a high school senior or college/sorority girl. I think she’s past it for an ingenue or starring role. Vernee Watson, the actress who plays the sarcastic nurse “Althea” on TBBT, has been a working actress since 1970 and hardly ever has had starring or featured roles, but she seems to have made a living. 1. Penny/Leonard. As with Shamy, they’re going to have to shit or get off the pot. Alex would be a better match for Leonard than Penny. 2. Raj needs a woman. 5th. Stuart has an art degree. He has a comic book store. Maybe he could set up a drawing table in the store and become the next Bill Watterson or Berkley Breathed? Or take some classes and work for Pixar (are they LA area based)? [del]||||[/del]|. I can’t see a female moving in to Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment to live with either of them. Too much change for Sheldon. So if either of them mates up, the L/S roommate thing would change. I dunno. Let’s see what happens tonight. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/59 "2014-03-13T19:29:45Z")
The show has already morphed way beyond its premise. Now it’s a show about three couples and their annoying friend. They need to bring back Stuart as a success. He’s been MIA the last few episodes, so he could be getting his act together, getting laid, whatever it takes to make him stronger. Then Raj can get hit by a bus and Stuart can replace him. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112/60 "2014-03-13T20:28:05Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > 5th. Stuart has an art degree. He has a comic book store. Maybe he could set up a drawing table in the store and become the next Bill Watterson or Berkley Breathed? Or take some classes and work for Pixar (are they LA area based)? He’s a good artist, knows the comic book industry, knows a lot of people in the industry including Stan Lee. Why this guy isn’t making his own comics is beyond me. Maybe one with a character that looks exactly like Penny, gets movie rights bought by the SyFy channel, Penny auditions, minor fame ensues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-march-7-2014-the-friendship-turbulence/683112.md?page=4)