The funny part is not the reference to Schrodinger’s cat, it’s Sheldon’s application of the concept to Leonard’s decision about going to Wil Wheaton’s party. It’s an amusing and illogical mistaken abuse of the idea, like most of the science references (especially whenever Amy Farrah Fowler references her work), but only a complete nerd would object to score points on that level.
So would BBT be a better show if it really was full of obscure and highly technical references that you’d need a science degree to understand?
I’m thinking yes.
I don’t think that schroedinger’s cat is in the forefront of the average person’s mind so much that they could see where this joke was going 5 seconds into it. So I would hazard to guess that for the VAST majority of the viewing population, it was not telegraphed at all. My opinion of course.
The show is OK. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I don’t. But there are both far worse and far better things on.
This is incorrect. Let me introduce you to a new kind of nerd. The internet-faux-neo nerd. They are all the cool cats who secretly wished they would have paid closer attention in math class. They never were able to be true nerds, but the internet made it easy for them to dabble in nerd culture. Hawking, Sagan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye patiently broke things down using their most basic analogies so that we could mingle with the true nerds, and partake of their art and comedy.
When the comedy is well done, both the true nerds and the internet-faux-neo nerds have a hardy laugh. When the comedy is *not *well done, we call it The Big Bang Theory and add a loud and annoying laugh track.
If this was Everybody Loves Raymond it would catch people by surprise, but the entire point of this show is to find reasons to name drop science or nerd concepts, and it’s done constantly, so how in the world can someone not be on the lookout for a reference about that?
Anyway, fine - it’s not necesary that you see it coming - even if you’re caught by surprise it’s a pretty fucking lame joke.
Breaking news: Some people don’t like things that other people like. Film after the “Big Bang Theory”.
In a related story, local man forgets how to change the channel.
Here’s the rub, though - they don’t have to time their laughter with the audience. Sound stages are fairly accoustically insulated. The noise from the audience is processed, enhanced, lengthened and punched up in post-processing to fit the pauses the actors deliberately leave in their performance. In this case, the cart actually does go before the horse.
And yeah - I watch other shows that have canned laughter as well. I’m not entirely sure why it really bothers me so much more in TBBT - I think it’s because it’s used after literally everything Parsons says. He’s not that funny, and he’d come across (to me, at least) funnier if the “audience” didn’t react to even the unfunny stuff.
So the rest of us are watching because we want our egos massaged? That’s a little insulting, people.
We also watch it for Kaley Cuoco…
Tell that to the people badgering me about watching the show.
How about:
“You should watch TBBT!”
“I’ve watched several episodes. Haven’t laughed yet.”
“But it’s so funny. And those guys are just like you and all the other nerds I’ve met.”
“No, they’re not. They’re unfunny caricatures taken to extremes. And the ‘nerd culture’ references are often painful and forced.”
“But you should give it another shot. This week’s episode was hilarious.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Well you should try it again, anyway.”
<repeat this sequence 7 times this year alone, 3 by the same person, and untold numbers of times in past years>
I’ve got no problems switching the channel or avoiding the show. But when I get badgered about watching or about disliking the show, you’ve taken away the only civil options I have. At some point, I have to become uncivil about why I don’t like the show you so obviously enjoy.
Nerds and zombies are so over anyway. My new show is called Jockbot.
Then it would be XKCD: The Sitcom.
That is a great example. Most of XKCD comics whiz over my head. And you know what? I research it out to try to grasp some of what I’m missing. And I learn something. On the off chance that I do get the humor without help (and without hovering the cursor), I actually do feel great about that. That’s how it’s done, nerds. You want comedy that actually marks you as super smart for having a chuckle at humor that the rest of us would miss, then XKCD is your man.
I saw a site one time listing all sorts of mathematical and scientific in-jokes from Futurama, probably 75% of which went right over my head and I like to consider myself a fairly bright guy. But this was stuff about mathematical theorems or showing a serial number that has some scientific application or whatever. Not knowing this stuff never made me laugh less at Futurama but I guess being an actual nerd would have given more more stuff to chuckle over.
I’ll refrain from applying this idea to BBT because I’ve never seen a single episode of it (nor plan to) and actually only learned it was a standard format comedy a few weeks ago. I always assumed it was some drama-ish thing like X-Files or Fringe :smack:
Have you ever met one of these viewers? It’s pretty plain that the show is designed to appeal to the broadest possible spectrum of prime-time viewers, and doesn’t require any arcane knowledge.
Great example: xkcd: Snapple
I can so totally see why this is funny and Big Bang Theory is not. Writing out the laugh track is even more painful than just listening to it.
Also: xkcd: Light
What is this, Family Circus with stick figures?
Still the bestby a country mile.
That one is great.
I find the show amusing. This season less so, but in general amusing enough. The assertion that people like the show because it makes them feel smart is frankly a bunch of hooey. Either you find the show funny or you don’t. Ascribing some defect to those who enjoy a show reveals a bit of myopia and general shittyness.
I enjoy the inappropriate application of scientific principles to everyday life. These things happen in my own life so I find it all the more amusing. Once a friend of mine was complaining about his sister’s “Bang Bang Control Theory of Love.” Was that an entirely accurate or appropriate way to describe her dating life? No, but it was funny.
Right. I’m not a big BBT booster by any means, but I can say that many of the BBT fans that I know are not science geeks or trivia mavens.
When I read some of the remarks in this thread, I can’t help but suspect that many of the critics have scarcely seen the show. When people says that the show only has one joke (“nerds don’t have sex, har har har har har”), then – with all due respect, mind you – it’s pretty clear that they’ve never seen more than a few minutes of the show.
I can see that being an exchange between Sheldon and his roommate.