# "Young Sheldon"--anyone else creeped out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267 "2017-09-01T19:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/21 "2017-09-02T20:18:06Z")
I don’t know anything of the show other than the clip that \*\*BigT \*\*posted, but I would watch that show. I thought the kid did a great "Young Sheldon’; there were a couple points in that clip where I thought he mimicked Jim Parsons’ mannerisms and speech style perfectly. The casting of Sheldon’s mom is, as has already been noted, pretty much perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/22 "2017-09-02T20:45:07Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > But, as I recall, the TBBT writers/creators have said before that they’d never definitively label Sheldon with any form of autism because they didn’t want to be on the hook afterwards for “getting it right” or accidentally screwing it up in some terribly insulting way. Yeah, well, they could call a rock a rabbit, but it would still hurt if it fell on your head. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/23 "2017-09-03T11:58:19Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > Jim Parsons was on one of the late night talk shows not long ago. When they asked him about Young Sheldon’s lead, he said, IIRC, that they deliberately picked a kid with no acting experience who had the “essence” of whom they think Young Sheldon would be like. > > I don’t count a clip from a commercial to be a fair assessment, so we’ll see. The kid was just in the HBO hit **Big Little Lies** , with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. He played Shailene Woodley’s kid. No acting experience? An interview I read with Lorre says they moved to a one-camera format because doing a live-audience 3-cam sitcom with kids so important to the cast was too tough. I have no clue how this will do. I find TBBT a bid of random comfort TV. This is going for a Wonder Years feel. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/24 "2017-09-03T13:02:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The kid was just in the HBO hit **Big Little Lies** , with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. He played Shailene Woodley’s kid. No acting experience? Heh, I don’t recall Parsons ever mentioning this. I swear he made it sound like the kid was a raw newcomer. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention :shrug: ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/25 "2017-09-03T15:16:58Z")
I don’t really find it disturbing or cringy, but I do wonder how long they can keep the joke going. Constant rejection by classmates and consternation by teachers will get old pretty fast. Regarding growth, as **Loach** said, they can’t really show much growth and still have Sheldon be Sheldon; yet right at the beginning, before the show even airs, the ads show growth regarding handholding. Are they going to show growth that suddenly stops, or reverts? ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/26 "2017-09-03T15:23:04Z")
I haven’t seen any commercials or clips for it. I used to really enjoy TBBT but I think it really leaves much to be desired anymore. Now I just watch more out of habit than anything else so I really don’t understand the point of spinning something else off of it. I really doubt I’ll watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/27 "2017-09-03T18:11:43Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I don’t really find it disturbing or cringy, but I do wonder how long they can keep the joke going. Constant rejection by classmates and consternation by teachers will get old pretty fast. > > Regarding growth, as **Loach** said, they can’t really show much growth and still have Sheldon be Sheldon; yet right at the beginning, before the show even airs, the ads show growth regarding handholding. > > Are they going to show growth that suddenly stops, or reverts? Sheldon has shown he is basically immune to empathy. In that clip he shows more empathy than he ever has as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/28 "2017-09-04T10:26:04Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Sheldon has shown he is basically immune to empathy. In that clip he shows more empathy than he ever has as an adult. Exactly. If this show was about the growth of a boy genius we’ve never seen before then it might possibly work, but we know the endpoint here. This can’t be some heartwarming tale of personal growth without being a contradiction. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/29 "2017-09-04T12:41:45Z")
Figured out what it reminded me of: [The heartwarming story of a kid looking for a dad, plus redrum.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os6raCCmAFk) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/30 "2017-09-04T12:57:54Z")
Sheldon throwing away a line about his mother testing him for being crazy is funny on TBBT. Little kid Sheldon being tested for being crazy on a single camera show is sad and depressing. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/31 "2017-09-04T17:31:43Z")
Slight hijack: a friend of mine who is an expert model maker in L. A. (and a great photographer, too), was asked by the _Young Sheldon_ crew to customize the locomotive Sheldon is seen playing with in some of the trailers. He did a beautiful job, making it look very realistically weathered, as great modelers do (and as requested by the production team). You can see it starting at about 0:30 in [this video.](https://youtu.be/XR-jIhwIfIw#t=30s) After admiring his work, I realized that young Sheldon would never have done that kind of work to his models: he’d want a spotless new Lionel engine. I pointed this out to my friend, who said, “Shhhh! I gave them what they paid me for.” 😃 However, as much as I admire my friend’s work, I don’t have a good feeling about the long term chances of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/32 "2017-09-04T18:12:17Z")
I can see where it would seem like a good idea for this show. But yes, the wife and I are predicting it will be awful. Hey, how about a show featuring Penny’s high-school shenanigans? ---
**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:** [September 4, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/33 "2017-09-04T18:15:48Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Hey, how about a show featuring Penny’s high-school shenanigans? It would only work on Cinemax, and since she’d be under-age, that would be a non-starter. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/34 "2017-09-04T18:48:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Sheldon throwing away a line about his mother testing him for being crazy is funny on TBBT. > > Little kid Sheldon being tested for being crazy on a single camera show is sad and depressing. It’s possible it could work in the right hands. Unfortunately, it was created by Chuck Lorre, so… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/35 "2017-09-05T05:10:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It would only work on Cinemax, and since she’d be under-age, that would be a non-starter. I’m not so sure it would be a non-starter. In the excellent [The Opposite of Sex](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120777/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_53) (1998), an 18-year-old Christina Ricci played a very sex-mad 16-year-old. Just depends on how you approach it. True though, that was a movie and thus not governed by federal broadcast regulations, but I’d bet there would be some way around it. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/36 "2017-09-25T18:10:40Z")
Bumping this thread to the front page because the show debuts tonight. I love TBBT but this looks absolutely unbearable to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/37 "2017-09-25T18:59:32Z")
The ONLY reason I’m going to watch is because Laurie Metcalf’s daughter plays Sheldon’s mother and I think the comparison will be interesting. I’m pretty sure the interest will only be for one episode, however. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/38 "2017-09-25T19:33:40Z")
I dunno “maybe they will recognize my inteligence and make me thier leader” is certainly something I could see a young Sheldon saying. Brian ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/39 "2017-09-26T00:39:08Z")
We have seen the actor that plays Young Sheldon’s dad before; spoiler tags do not work ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/40 "2017-09-26T00:55:08Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > My kid is smart, on the spectrum and is a regular Chatty-Cathy. > > But, as I recall, the TBBT writers/creators have said before that they’d never definitively label Sheldon with any form of autism because they didn’t want to be on the hook afterwards for “getting it right” or accidentally screwing it up in some terribly insulting way. Well, it’s half over, and it’s not as bad as I thought, although I still don’t think that young Sheldon jibes well with what we know of older Sheldon. Also, IME, it’s true that in general, advanced children are also advanced in social skills. However, Sheldon, in particular, appears to have NOT autism, but Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. I worked with autistic people on all ends of the spectrum for more than 10 years; I know more than 100 autistic people, and I can say that Sheldon has never struck me as autistic in the least. RE: the show, I do like the family: I think Mary jibes well with Laurie Metcalf’s older “Mom,” and Sheldon’s dad is great. I like the brother and sister as well. “Ever since he could talk, I quit having any choices!” I love Sheldon watching Prof. Proton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267.md?page=3)