# The Big Bang Theory, Season 12, Episode 4 (October 11, 2018) -- "The Tam Turbulence" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820 "2018-10-11T20:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/21 "2018-10-14T22:05:36Z")
I’m surprised at how many people watch Big Bang but don’t watch Young Sheldon. YS, is, IMO, a superior show, especially nowadays. It’s funny and touching and surprisingly even-handed, giving each of Sheldon’s oddball family members a chance to shine and be sympathetic. I was afraid it would be a one-note thing with the “dumb brother” and the “religious mom” and the “lazy dad,” but they’ve fleshed them out very well. The show reminds me of a modernized “Wonder Years” with an outsider as a protagonist instead of an Everyman. Regarding this week’s BBT: didn’t much like it. It was fun to see Tam all grown up, but he didn’t have much more personality than he did in YS. And Raj is getting tiresome. I agree with **Monty** that he should come out as gay and find a nice boyfriend before the series ends. Not Stuart, though–he’s already got a girlfriend. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/22 "2018-10-14T22:23:33Z")
We don’t watch **Young Sheldon** because: We hate children in general, and child actors in particular Sheldon was the second-stupidest character on the show, so there is no need for more of him, at any age _YS_ is obviously a money-grab I fucking hate kids, especially precocious ones. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/23 "2018-10-14T23:14:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > We don’t watch **Young Sheldon** because: > > We hate children in general, and child actors in particular > > Sheldon was the second-stupidest character on the show, so there is no need for more of him, at any age > > _YS_ is obviously a money-grab > > I fucking hate kids, especially precocious ones. Eh, that’s fair. I’m not overly fond of kids myself, and despise the typical smartass TV kid. I didn’t expect to like it, but I gave it a chance and now I prefer it to BBT, which has moved far away from its original premise of four smart, nerdy guys navigating life into a more typical “relationship sitcom.” YS is as much about the adults in the family as it is about Sheldon and his siblings. I particularly like Meemaw, who’s not anything close to a typical grandmother type. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/24 "2018-10-15T12:57:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > We don’t watch **Young Sheldon** because: > > We hate children in general, and child actors in particular > > Sheldon was the second-stupidest character on the show, so there is no need for more of him, at any age > > _YS_ is obviously a money-grab > > I fucking hate kids, especially precocious ones. Aren’t you a teacher IRL? ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/25 "2018-10-15T13:48:30Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Aren’t you a teacher IRL? Yep. High school, where they are proto-adults, not snot-nosed little poop/puke monsters. Seniors, where some of them are actually old enough to vote before they enter my classroom.If the alternative was teaching 8th graders, I’d rather live in a cave somewhere. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/26 "2018-10-15T16:09:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yep. > > High school, where they are proto-adults, not snot-nosed little poop/puke monsters. > > Seniors, where some of them are actually old enough to vote before they enter my classroom.If the alternative was teaching 8th graders, I’d rather live in a cave somewhere. 😃 You’re missing out. I’ve taught elementary, middle school, and high school. Each has their challenges and their rewards. But middle school is the most fun. They’re still teacher-pleasers (most of them), but they’re old enough to do stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/27 "2018-10-15T16:24:25Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I’m surprised at how many people watch Big Bang but don’t watch Young Sheldon. YS, is, IMO, a superior show, especially nowadays. It’s funny and touching and surprisingly even-handed, giving each of Sheldon’s oddball family members a chance to shine and be sympathetic. I was afraid it would be a one-note thing with the “dumb brother” and the “religious mom” and the “lazy dad,” but they’ve fleshed them out very well. The show reminds me of a modernized “Wonder Years” with an outsider as a protagonist instead of an Everyman. I tried watching _Young Sheldon_. I made it through half an episode. The character was unwatchable. I was totally confused by the chronology of this episode. From past episodes we know that Sheldon went to college at 11, graduated at 14, and then was at Heidelberg before coming to Caltech. How does that square with Tam “abandoning” him when he went to California? Sheldon had left Texas at least a half dozen years earlier. Is his whole history a lie? ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/28 "2018-10-15T16:31:40Z")
I watch Young Sheldon and I think they’ve abandoned any attempt at making the two shows agree. For one thing, in The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon said at one point that his father was a drunk who died when Sheldon was a kid. Young Sheldon hasn’t really shown his father as a “drunk” although he does drink beer, and I really don’t see them killing him off. Plus I don’t see them sending the title character to college in Germany. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/29 "2018-10-15T16:36:35Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > You’re missing out. I’ve taught elementary, middle school, and high school. Each has their challenges and their rewards. But middle school is the most fun. They’re still teacher-pleasers (most of them), but they’re old enough to do stuff. More power to you, and those like you. 8th graders aren’t even _human_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/30 "2018-10-15T17:43:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > We don’t watch **Young Sheldon** because: > > We hate children in general, and child actors in particular > > Sheldon was the second-stupidest character on the show, so there is no need for more of him, at any age > > _YS_ is obviously a money-grab > > I fucking hate kids, especially precocious ones. I more or less agree, but will add CBS’s constant pushing of this show so much I dont want to watch it. Except Sheldon is \*the \*stupidest character on the show. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/31 "2018-10-15T19:57:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Except Sheldon is \*the \*stupidest character on the show. At the start, sure. But as the seasons have piled up, Raj has pulled away as the most unlikable and generally stupidest character. The world owes Jim Parsons a debt of gratitude for pulling the plug on this show. We also owe him a heap of abuse for foisting **YS** upon the world. Call it a wash. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/32 "2018-10-18T22:55:25Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I’m surprised at how many people watch Big Bang but don’t watch Young Sheldon. I mean, I can’t speak for anyone else but, for me, it’s not that complex: I don’t watch _Young Sheldon_ because I can’t stand Sheldon. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/33 "2018-10-19T01:34:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > At the start, sure. But as the seasons have piled up, Raj has pulled away as the most unlikable and generally stupidest character. > > The world owes Jim Parsons a debt of gratitude for pulling the plug on this show. We also owe him a heap of abuse for foisting **YS** upon the world. Call it a wash. Well, I can’t say you’re wrong, since yeah, this season and the last Raj has been really bad. Still, I think counting the long term overall stupid, it has to go to Sheldon. But you make a good point. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/34 "2018-11-08T09:13:52Z")
Sorry about the delay in this response. I had other things on the mind. > [@panache45](#): > > I don’t have the words to express how much I dislike this character, or the actress who plays her. When I see her it’s like finger nails on a blackboard. You nailed it! Yes, her voice is the worst part of her. When she speaks, your description comes to mind. > [@Infovore](#): > > Regarding this week’s BBT: didn’t much like it. It was fun to see Tam all grown up, but he didn’t have much more personality than he did in YS. And Raj is getting tiresome. I agree with **Monty** that he should come out as gay and find a nice boyfriend before the series ends. Not Stuart, though–he’s already got a girlfriend. Well, he has a girlfriend, but maybe he’s just passing. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/35 "2018-11-08T09:40:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I watch Young Sheldon and I think they’ve abandoned any attempt at making the two shows agree. For one thing, in The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon said at one point that his father was a drunk who died when Sheldon was a kid. Young Sheldon hasn’t really shown his father as a “drunk” although he does drink beer, and I really don’t see them killing him off. Plus I don’t see them sending the title character to college in Germany. :dubious: Sheldon has never been known to misstate facts and misunderstand things, oh wait.:smack: The Old!Sheldon who narrates YS (who is from after the TBBT timelines) flatly admits outright that he misunderstood lots of things when he was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820/36 "2018-11-08T14:35:28Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > Sheldon has never been known to misstate facts and misunderstand things, oh wait.:smack: > The Old!Sheldon who narrates YS (who is from after the TBBT timelines) flatly admits outright that he misunderstood lots of things when he was younger. There was a recent episode of Young Sheldon where we learn that he does not understand, well. people. The one where they went to see the specialist in Houston. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-4-october-11-2018-the-tam-turbulence/822820.md?page=1)