# "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:** 4
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/61 "2017-09-26T22:26:53Z")
I wonder if Valerie Mahaffy will be a continuing character. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/62 "2017-09-27T00:15:40Z")
Does anyone remember the six-year-old theater critic that had his own YouTube channel several years ago? That was Iain Armitage who plays Sheldon, a fact that I only found out a few minutes ago. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/63 "2017-09-27T00:24:52Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Does anyone remember the six-year-old theater critic that had his own YouTube channel several years ago? … No, not in the least. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/64 "2017-09-27T04:17:01Z")
Is it just me or does Zoe Perry’s character look older than the actress is? Lance Barber (Sheldon’s dad) is 45 and looks it. Zoe Perry is 33, and look in her mid-forties. ---
**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 27, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/65 "2017-09-27T04:36:30Z")
I stopped watching halfway through. Big yawn. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/66 "2017-09-27T05:09:15Z")
It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t great either. I did like Zoe Perry as Sheldon’s mom, and Sheldon’s father was much more sympathetic than we know from TBBT. The sibling conflicts could be fun, as could Sheldon’s experiences with teachers and students at school. And I loved Jim Parsons’ voiceovers. There is some potential here, and I’ll watch again. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/67 "2017-09-27T12:35:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Good Doctor > > Apparently he’s more socially awkward then Doogie Howser. Doogie was a normal kid that was very smart. > > The actor has played Norman Bates on Bates Motel for the past four years. > > He’s really not that young. Freddie was attending college during the Bates Motel run. Freddie will always be the creep, cant except him as a “good” doctor!! :eek::eek: > [@aceplace57](#): > > The kid is smart. He’s much too verbal to be autistic. > > Child prodigies pop up now and then. IRL > > There’s a similar new show about a Child prodigy doctor. The previews remind me of Doogie Howser. > > I can’t think of the title. It’s being advertised heavily. Just where the heck do these geniuses come from? Outer space? > [@Loach](#): > > I guess I’m in the minority in thinking that it looks a lot better than what I thought it would. It’s probably doomed by its format. It looks like it’s molded in the style of The Wonder Years. That drama comedy mix will only work if their is character growth. We already know what old Sheldon looks like. He can’t gain greater understanding of the world around him and some self awareness and remain Sheldon. Maybe they didnt plan on it lasting that long. Look at “The Middle” It started slow (I didnt like it that much) and I didnt think the two oldest kids would ever stay young looking for that long! > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I stopped watching halfway through. Big yawn. Inpatient much? It could have gotten better! :dubious: I didnt like Big Bang at first. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/68 "2017-09-27T12:37:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > She’s Laurie Metcalf’s daughter. I knew she’s Jeff Perry’s daughter, but did not know that. Thanks. > [@](#): > > I bet she had a lot of practice mimicking that voice when she was a teenager. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/69 "2017-09-27T12:40:15Z")
I didn’t find it to be very funny. I’ll probably give it one more try and if they don’t pull a rabbit out of the hat, give up on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/70 "2017-09-27T13:23:31Z")
Chuck Lorre’s greatest talent is creating wonderful ensemble shows. The Big Bang Theory took a while to “get it together.” Initial reviews were “meh.” I like that the show isn’t only about “young Sheldon.” The scene between George and Georgie was heart warming. I do think Lorre has come up with another show that is watchable. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/71 "2017-09-27T13:26:44Z")
A few good things, mostly ho-hum. Hard to understand the dialogue at times. The usual problems. The voiceover’s lame excuse to explain Sheldon’s accent, for example. Sheldon on _TBBT_ is repeatedly show to be unable to even open a tool box, let alone build or fix anything. But in that show and now in this one there’s ample proof that the younger version is a major geeky builder. Prof. Proton returns! I think it’s best to forget that these two shows are related and just accept as something set in a different universe. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/72 "2017-09-27T13:59:43Z")
Strange to see such a wide range of opinions. I watch very little TV, but I thoroughly enjoyed _Young Sheldon_. It may help that I never was much interested in _TBBT_, which I never thought had particularly interesting characters or plots, with an overwhelming laugh track suggesting the audience thought that this was the funniest show ever. In any event, that means I’m not aware of any continuity issues. (Maybe they can do a _Rick and Morty_ crossover and declare this to be a parallel universe). The fact that it has no laugh track is a big improvement, and single camera means they can be more flexible, rather than the standard three-camera organization of setup-joke-big laugh, setup-joke-big laugh, repeat for 22 minutes. Although one drawback for production is that single-camera requires a lot more time than three-camera–in one Lorre interview he says, half-jokingly, they could have filmed two _TBBT_s in the time it took to film the dinner scene. I also wonder if this will become an issue with child actors, who have limits in how many hours they are allowed to work. I liked that the kids were fairly realistic, and not your standard sitcom know-it-all kids. Even the east Texas accents seemed realistic as far as I could tell. I’d also like to see a “Young Leonard” episode–maybe we could meet his unusual family at a national science fair. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/73 "2017-09-27T19:10:54Z")
I couldn’t find Young Sheldon on my Satellite TV Guide for next week. Apparently, Monday night was just a teaser and the 2nd episode is scheduled for Nov 2nd after CBS finishes Thursday Night Football > **[Fall TV Schedule 2017: What's on When? And Versus What?](https://tvline.com/2017/05/14/fall-tv-schedule-2017-nbc-network-abc-primetime-cbs-shows/)** > > It’s never too early to start planning your viewing habits for the fall TV season (and get a jump on any new DVR conflicts!), so TVLine as is tradition has complied a day-by-day, hour-by-hour grid … ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/74 "2017-09-27T19:21:04Z")
I thought the networks learned that pulling that sort of shit (airing an episode or two and then none for a month or more, or moving a show all over the schedule) doesn’t help to build an audience. If they’re going to air a show, put on at a given day of the week and time of the day, and then air at least ten or twelve episodes each week (without skipping weeks), perhaps only taking a break for the Christmas holidays. At the same time, though, plenty of people are like me. I’ll just set the DVR to record all new episodes of a show and then not pay attention at all to when it airs. Instead, I just watch almost everything from DVR. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/75 "2017-09-27T19:31:40Z")
I enjoyed it. I certainly wouldn’t call it a comedy, maybe a dromedy if they still use that term. When Sheldon took his dad’s hand without the mitten I felt myself starting to tear up… “Thankfully, we’ll always have Radio Shack!” (or something like that) Oh, and if anyone is collecting data, I like TBBT too. ---
**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 28, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/76 "2017-09-28T05:02:28Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > The fact that it has no laugh track is a big improvement … I didn’t think Big Bang had a laugh track but rather was filmed before an audience. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/77 "2017-09-28T05:22:00Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I didn’t think Big Bang had a laugh track but rather was filmed before an audience. I’ve always used the term indiscriminately, whether “canned” laughter is used or it’s a studio audience or whatnot. Do most people make a distinction here? To me, there’s shows without any soundtrack (non-character) laughing in them, and those with added laughter to help cue you in to what bits are supposed to be funny. What’s the general term for the latter? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/78 "2017-09-28T11:35:02Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I didn’t think Big Bang had a laugh track but rather was filmed before an audience. As **pulykamell** noted, even with a live audience taping there is some post-production processing of the audience response, such as “sweetening”, when the audience failed to laugh hard enough. There are a few Youtube videos which highlight how removing the laughter changes the pacing and effect of scenes, for example, [The Big Bang Theory - No Laugh Track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKS3MGriZcs). ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/79 "2017-09-28T12:34:53Z")
I saw it last night and thought it was cute. I always go for those family sitcoms though. I have watched TBBT but not in a long time. Is Sheldon supposed to be autistic or just quirky or do they ever say? Because the way they present young Sheldon he is clearly autistic. I don’t know that it matters but there have been several young TV characters in the past few years like this, like Brick from The Middle, where they are portrayed as children with Aspergers but they always treat them like they’re just quirky and weird but adorable. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267/80 "2017-09-28T13:35:44Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Is Sheldon supposed to be autistic or just quirky or do they ever say? Because the way they present young Sheldon he is clearly autistic. I don’t know that it matters but there have been several young TV characters in the past few years like this, like Brick from The Middle, where they are portrayed as children with Aspergers but they always treat them like they’re just quirky and weird but adorable. I don’t have a cite on hand but the show creators have said previously that they weren’t ever going to label Sheldon as autistic (or anything else) because they didn’t want it to step on the comedy. Once he’s definitively labeled as ASD then they have to focus on getting it “right” and you have the touchier subject of now poking fun of his autism versus his non-defined social quirks. For the age and location of the Young Sheldon series, I could easily see him just getting labeled as “Smart, but special” or some other vague term. It probably wasn’t until the last ten years or so that most people’s understanding of ASD expanded beyond “Non-verbal, rocks while sitting, can’t be touched…” etc. I doubt his home town is on the cutting edge of neurological evaluation in the 80s. As for the show itself, I missed much of it but my wife liked it. She said that she related to the mother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-sheldon-anyone-else-creeped-out/795267.md?page=5)