I noticed an adverse reaction to a TBBT link in a XKCD thread. I would have thought there is a large number of people that were fans of both.
Both.
In Cafe Society I learned lots of people don’t like TBBT because they think it’s dumbing down science and other geeky stuff to make dumb people feel smart (or something). I can see how there’s probably a crossover between people who don’t like dumb people feeling smart, and people who like XKCD.
I chose neither are funny but that’s not really indicative of my true feelings. Neither are funny now but earlier in their runs, I enjoyed them. XKCD, especially, I got turned off when he started dipping back to the sex joke well over and over again.
BBT tends to make the really obvious science-related jokes that have been told for years and years. The kind that real physics majors have heard a million times before and would groan at if they ever heard.
XKCD isn’t perfect, and it seems to have dropped off a bit lately, but when it’s good, it’s really good, fresh, and original.
Yoink.
IMHO -> Cafe Society.
- Gukumatz,
IMHO Moderator
Even though BBT throws in geek jokes, I still feel like it’s laughing at us and not with us. xkcd is a celebration of the geek life and moreover, it assumes the reader is already super nerdy whereas BBT is more ‘look at these nerds!’
Only XKCD. I’m one of the people Eliahna’s referring to (sort of). TBBT is a sitcom that features smart/nerdy characters. This doesn’t make it a “smart” comedy. Arrested Development never mentioned pi or Schrodinger’s Cat or the Uncertainty Principle, and despite being rather formulaic managed to be twenty times “smarter” than TBBT. Heck, My Name is Earl, even Home Improvement were better sitcoms than TBBT.
XKCD isn’t always on but when it’s good, it’s great.
I’ve never seen TBBT be good.
I haven’t seen much BBT and have been thinking of starting a thread asking about it. But I’m lazy, so I figure I’ll ask here.
The little I’ve seen reminded me of King of Queens, Everybody hearts Raymond, Will i Grace, Tool Time, that sort of thing–except with science geek stereotypes and references (which is what got me to pay attention in the first place). Exceedingly not my cup of tea (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Of course, come to think of it I’ve only seen a very few episodes of the other shows too, but again, not my thing.
I was expecting/hoping for more of a Better Off Ted, Arrested Development or 30 Rock vibe from BBT, or a wit similar to the Office or P&R. Heck, even Scrubs seemed less sitcomish. All very different shows, of course, but hopefully the constellation will help get across the general categorical differences I’m using to pigeon-hole the shows.
Actually, given Lem and Phil’s roles on Better Off Ted, maybe that *is *a good comparison.
So I went with only XKCD. It’s not always on, but when it is, it can be fantastic. It also has a range–general humour, esoteric math/science quirks, a few philosophical perspectives, and some great eye candy (i.e. fine-tuned charts).
Or should I give BBT a second chance?
Both at least can be funny, but of the two only XKCD is clever.
The comparison of The Big Bang Theory to Everybody Loves Raymond is a good one IMO. Both are/were very character-driven in their humor.
I’ve only checked out BBT theory a few times, every time I did, the jokes were: nerds are socially awkward and can’t play sports.
I’ll admit I haven’t watched BBT extensively, but when I did watch it everything seemed off. The timing, the laugh tracks. Even the jokes didn’t really feel nerdy, they felt like the kind of jokes that faux-nerds make. You know, like that one girl who only plays D&D or Magic: The Gathering as an excuse to meet nerdy boys even though she doesn’t really like it. Or that one guy whose entire gaming experience is Madden and tries to pass off the fact that he owns an Xbox as making him a nerd. (Not that these people aren’t necessarily nerdy in other ways, but a lot of them really aren’t).
I don’t think that necessarily makes it bad, but I think it gives it a different (though obviously at least somewhat overlapping) audience from XKCD. That said, for me XKCD is a lot funnier, although XKCD has been in a rut for a long while now, with only the occasional funny, clever, or relevant strip.
ETA: Though XKCD can, admittedly, drift into faux-nerd territory when Randall starts writing jokes about a field he really has no first hand knowledge of.
I voted for “Only TBBT” but really I do laugh at XKCD.
XKCD is often funny, yet often only funny in the same way Sheldon tries to be funny. Say, like making a joke about a math variable being in the wrong place, or mistaking an up quark for a down quark.
I like both.
I was recently introduced to BBT by a friend of mine and now I kind of like it. I don’t know whether it’s ever been stated officially that Sheldon is an Aspie, but it feels to me like he is one. And it’s done in a (IMO but I’m going to duck in case somebody throws a rotten tomato my way)way that feels familiarly spot on and not at all mocking.
TBBT has a laugh track, and I’ve gotten so out of the habit of laugh tracks that when I watch a show with one, it’s really irritating, as though the show is elbowing me in the ribs and saying, “eh? eh? Funny, yeah?” I can’t even tell if the show’s funny, the laugh track dehilarifies it so.
This. I would also add that XKCD isn’t always supposed to be funny. Sometimes it can be very insightful and poignant.
Sorry, I’m not one of the cool kids. I voted only TBBT. I have yet to find XKCD funny. Sometimes clever, never funny. I think Jim Parsons is brilliant in that role. Its not the writing its all him.
I voted xkcd. A good friend of mine, chair of a math dept at a university reccommended BBT to me highly and lent me the first season. I just found it juvenile and pointless. Yes, they’re smart guys. But they’re really written stupidly. It’s the sort of entertainment that people who aren’t nerds seem to think would be funny. Feh.
Do you know who else dips back to the same sex joke over and over again?Hitler!
Does it? I was watching some bloopers in youtube and not only was there laughter, but occasionally, the actors would indicate (I thought) an audience and say “They laughed…” after blowing a line. Not that I care either way - I enjoy the show, or I have so far. Some of the bits are getting tired, and if they don’t get Raj talking to women or Sheldon being a tad more human, I’ll probably get bored and quit watching. But for now, it still makes me laugh.
I like XKCD also, when it’s not too far over my head. I suspect I miss inside jokes on current fads that aren’t on my radar. Nothing I lose sleep over.