shudder The horror…the horror…
Nobody watches that show anymore. It’s too popular.
At this point it’s 11 years (2003) and counting as Sheldon’s roommate and Leonard already was friends with Raj (and Howard) by that time. Cf. The Staircase Implementation.
Like much of the show’s career-related details, Raj’s visa status is for sitcom purposes.
As for chili: the standard can of chili had beans before most (all?) of us were born. We had a choice of “chili” or “chili con carne”. I.e., meat was the option, not the beans. Get over it. Deal with it. Reality is reality. Move on.
Kunal Nayyar has been in the US since 1999. Did he have to become a citizen to stay that long?
Meat was never the option. “Chili con carne” is the full name of the dish. “Chili” is just the short form. You can argue about whether beans are standard or not, but beans-only has never been the default.
No, no, no! A thread about how terrible and soon-to-be-canceled the most popular sitcom on TV is is infinitely better than a thread about what constitutes chili. The only thing worse is de-clawed cats. Or tipping. Or taking off your shoes inside your house.
God, but this board is full of cantankerous blowhards.
That sums it up nicely.
Unfortunately, I agree that it’s worth canceling at this point. It’s lost it’s magic over the last two seasons. But who knows? Maybe if Netflix or Hulu picked it up and the writers got more free reign, they might breathe new life into it. I’m not so optimistic.
Well, duh.
Whoops. I am just responding in the wrong thread, aren’t I? (That was supposed to be in the “Community” thread.)
I’m still enjoying the Big Bang Theory for the show that it is. Carry on.
Right. She is still the face of the bisexual go-go dancer slowly turning into a killer gorrilla. In this universe that could lead to something else. In this universe the director might have fired her for caring about her craft in a movie that he hated himself for participating in and hire her for a future project that is a bit higher end.
Sheldon weighs in…
That has got to be the most appropriate inappropriate wrong thread post ever, pulykamell.
Raj is the show’s Pepino. He’ll stick around.
Hey! I’m a cantankerous asshole, not a blowhard. Get it straight! 
The show will redeem itself a lot for me if Penny and Leonard figure out that not only should they NOT get married, but they need to find better partners. They need to grow up and realize that they’re terrible as a couple, because they are. Then the show can have story arcs as they both move on, as friends, but not as a couple.
And Sheldon needs to quit being so mean. He was funny when he was clueless and self-centered. Now he’s just obnoxious and I don’t care about him any longer. Amy deserves better.
I never thought this show was good for the plots. It has at times been very well written, and the geeks are unique characters. Penny gets to play the dumb blond in a new way in comparison to her high IQ friends. So if people got into the plots I can understand their disappointment. If they came for the nerd jokes I can see how they’re being disappointed also, but it’s all recoverable.
I think on this show jumping the shark will be Sheldon and Amy having coitus. They don’t have to ruin it, but it will be hard for them to resist turning it into a 3 episode ratings event.
I think what might make an interesting episode is if Amy cheated on Sheldon once, spontaneously, simply to “fulfill her needs.” Not sure how it would work, but she’s been played lately as being pretty sexually frustrated, and Sheldon’s oblivious and uninterested. It would be cool to explore both their reactions to Amy’s one-night stand: I’m not sure Sheldon would even care, and that would probably irritate Amy because she’d be feeling guilty and thinking he should care if he cared about her. The clash of mindsets (with both of them being right but being unable to see each other’s side) would be fun to watch if handled right.
ETA: Plus, if she actually ended up really enjoying coitus, then how would that affect her ongoing relationship with Sheldon now that she knows what she’s missing?
He might have gotten a Genius Visa given to “aliens of extraordinary ability” specifically the O-1A visa. Initially given for three years, it can be renewed for one year at a time indefinitely.