The Big Bang Theory

[pinocchio]

You are a much bigger BBT fan than me it seems. If it's true what you wrote: "Most of the time she lets those 4 feel how superior she is" this would be something that clearly sucked during the first episodes of course.Since BBT has endless re-runs on German TV and so on it's hard for me to remember the first episodes.

[Water Bottle]

I don't think penny thinks of herself as superior. I think she believes that she's more socially adjusted.

[Rudolf]

I have cycled BBT episodes more than once. If you watch the first episodes imediately after season 5,you notice several things: Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoko have gained a lot of weight (I mean kg)- ok tempus fugit. In the first episode Penny is shy and looks up to Leonard and Sheldon (I also find her more attractive as a 22 year old girl), but that changes rapidly. She becomes sarcastic and shows her felt superiority. Sheldon in his way is mean to her, when he mocks her ignorance, but the others clearly worship her and that gets to her head. When she shows her better side, BBT has its greatest moments.

[Rudolf]

I don't think penny thinks of herself as superior. I think she believes that she's more socially adjusted.

when she asks "Who is Radiohead", she does that to show Sheldon his placewhen she threatens Leonard "is there a new girlfriend for you in there?" "I go window shopping at E-Harmony", she knows herself sure of retaliation Edited August 24, 2012 by Rudolf

[Water Bottle]

when she asks "Who is Radiohead", she does that to show Sheldon his place

Well, that's because hes an arrogant jackass. But it's not because she fancies herself to be a superior human. Shes not an elitist. There's a reason why the nerds are influencing her.

[Rudolf]

Penny: No! I don’t want to try it, my God, you are grown men, how could you waste your lives with these stupid toys and costumes and comic books and… and now that… that… (Sheldon:Again,time machine.)she feels superior to them

[Rudolf]

Well, that's because hes an arrogant jackass. But it's not because she fancies herself to be a superior human. Shes not an elitist. There's a reason why the nerds are influencing her.

no she is not an elitist, that is not want I meant.

[Water Bottle]

no she is not an elitist, that is not want I meant.

When you say "she feels like their superior" then that is exactly what you have been implying. Now she might think that she's more mature and socially normal, but I don't think superior is the word you're looking for. Edited August 18, 2012 by Water Bottle

[Rudolf]

Elitist has the connotation "one of the chosen few" - she does not feel like thatPenny knows she is inferior to her neighbours regarding intelect and education. Her good looks and social skills give her nevertheless the feeling to be supperior where it "really" matters.Penny was devastated by Priya, who had it all.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Rudolf

[Rudolf]

Thanks for all those links. I'm a big fan but this stuff I completeley missed...The unaired pilot was never aired because it sucked, as even Lorre admitted. It just looks too "nerdy" and therefore they had to introduce a new character, Penny, to allow the mainstream audience to identify.And, hey, those characters are not REALLY aware of their problems. Otherwise they would solve them. They all are happy to live the life they have in the end because there are more pros than contras.

Raj: I wonder what the non-pathetic people are doing tonight.Leonard: Not as pathetic as dressing up like this and going to a comic book store on New Year’s Eve. Edited August 18, 2012 by Rudolf

[pinocchio]

Pennys only superiority are their social skills. Besides that she know's she is a loser. She will never make it as an actress and so on.A guy like Sheldon could make millions someday with a crazy invention. Since it's a Sitcom nobody will ever reach it's goal however. They are all losers.

[Rudolf]

Pennys only superiority are their social skills. Besides that she know's she is a loser. She will never make it as an actress and so on.A guy like Sheldon could make millions someday with a crazy invention. Since it's a Sitcom nobody will ever reach it's goal however. They are all losers.

I would like to see him travel to Stockholm, since he did not make it to Geneva.

[pinocchio]

Raj: I wonder what the non-pathetic people are doing tonight.Leonard: Not as pathetic as dressing up like this and going to a comic book store on New Year’s Eve.

Within the series, Leonard and Penny are the ones that are somehow grounded. After the unaired pilot the producers probably realized they need a second character (Penny) to create more mainstream appeal because Leonard alone was just a litte bit too neurotic to provide that.

[Rudolf]

The most important thing for a sitcom is that the audience likes the characters. Sometimes the authors create characters they like, but nobody else does. (for instance:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue) Lorre and Prady surely had a fondness for Leslie Winkel the female scientist without emotion, but she did not work. Amy Farrah Fowler is equally liked and hated in fora discussing BBT. I would have liked to see Sheldon pitted against a brilliant girl student even more ravishing than Penny, but totaly unaware of her charms. Sheldon could then play a mentor and explain life to her.Novitzky, the female student who worshipped Sheldon and tried to exploit him for her own goals, could also have worked for more episodes. (I have worked at an unversity and met a lot of queer girls there. One always talked of her children, which I did not believe until she once came into my seminar with a giant packet of diapers.)

Edited August 19, 2012 by Rudolf

[Rudolf]

The first episode was a bit disappointing. The Sheldon-Amy and Leonard-Penny couple are going nowhere. Only Howard-Bernadette-Mother yelling in space was an interesting storyline. Raj-Stewart becoming a gay couple because of Raj's disability and Stewart's financial troubles is a bad idea.I don't understand that the writers sacrifice consistency for jokes. For instance Sheldon's suggestion to split the bill after the dinner. Such a matter would be addressed in a relationship-agreement.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Rudolf

[ddddeeee]

Horrific opening episode, what is happening to this show? They've all become jerks.

[Michael Gary Scott]

I thought raj was good

[Water Bottle]

Horrific opening episode, what is happening to this show? They've all become jerks.

Haven't seen it yet, but half the episodes last season sucked because of this and the other half were good because they dialed back the nastiness.

[druv10]

Haven't seen it yet, but half the episodes last season sucked because of this and the other half were good because they dialed back the nastiness.

Except for Raj, it was a bad opening episode.

[Rudolf]

ad Penny-Leonard: They tried the changing of the sex stereotypes and it did not work. Only the Raj intervention was funny. The "Go Sports" on a shaven stomach was lame. Why not go for an angle where Leonard wants to bond with Penny by entering in her interests (shoting,football,acting,dancing,...) but doing it in a nerdy way. They already had similar plots, but always with Leonard acting foolishly ( shooting in his shoe, making stupid football commends, falling while roller skating,..), but never with the full implication of his nerdyness. The difference of how an intelectual would do something to a Nebraska simpleton could lead to interesting plots. To make the nerd always the fool becomes old.

Edited September 29, 2012 by Rudolf