The Big Bang Theory Forum

@not_a_bumblebee said:

I'll be honest I gave Big Bang Theory several chances and it feels phony and manufactured. The nerd stuff feels like a gimmick to try to tap into the geek culture which has made what were once nerdy obsessions like video games, science fiction, and comic books into something that is mainstream and profitable. Some Executive at CBS realized that us "nerds" have disposable incomes, weren't the basement dwelling creepy minority we were usually depicted as, and also watch TV.

This is exactly my problem with the show. It feels like it was devised and written by a bunch of studio suits who were like "so, this is what nerds are like, right? Pretty much just Star Wars and Xbox. We'll throw in a Schrodinger's Cat joke to make it seem smart" and the general (ignorant) public is like "yeah! Totally! Those silly nerds!" The popularity of the show is baffling to me, although at the same time it isn't at all. And for some reason Jim Parsons is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Not to shit all over a show in its own fan thread, but... Yeah I'm not a fan.

@Vincemaster said:

@not_a_bumblebee said:

I'll be honest I gave Big Bang Theory several chances and it feels phony and manufactured. The nerd stuff feels like a gimmick to try to tap into the geek culture which has made what were once nerdy obsessions like video games, science fiction, and comic books into something that is mainstream and profitable. Some Executive at CBS realized that us "nerds" have disposable incomes, weren't the basement dwelling creepy minority we were usually depicted as, and also watch TV.

This is exactly my problem with the show. It feels like it was devised and written by a bunch of studio suits who were like "so, this is what nerds are like, right? Pretty much just Star Wars and Xbox. We'll throw in a Schrodinger's Cat joke to make it seem smart" and the general (ignorant) public is like "yeah! Totally! Those silly nerds!" The popularity of the show is baffling to me, although at the same time it isn't at all. And for some reason Jim Parsons is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Not to shit all over a show in its own fan thread, but... Yeah I'm not a fan.

This show wasn't made for geeks or nerds it was made for the masses. My wife and I love this show. My older brother, who doesn't even own a computer, loves this show. My dad who is 74 watches this show.

I look at it as junk food for the people that like junk food tv. I happen to like this style of situation comedy, so does 15 million other people from week to week.

@Claude said:

@Vincemaster said:

@not_a_bumblebee said:

I'll be honest I gave Big Bang Theory several chances and it feels phony and manufactured. The nerd stuff feels like a gimmick to try to tap into the geek culture which has made what were once nerdy obsessions like video games, science fiction, and comic books into something that is mainstream and profitable. Some Executive at CBS realized that us "nerds" have disposable incomes, weren't the basement dwelling creepy minority we were usually depicted as, and also watch TV.

This is exactly my problem with the show. It feels like it was devised and written by a bunch of studio suits who were like "so, this is what nerds are like, right? Pretty much just Star Wars and Xbox. We'll throw in a Schrodinger's Cat joke to make it seem smart" and the general (ignorant) public is like "yeah! Totally! Those silly nerds!" The popularity of the show is baffling to me, although at the same time it isn't at all. And for some reason Jim Parsons is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Not to shit all over a show in its own fan thread, but... Yeah I'm not a fan.

This show wasn't made for geeks or nerds it was made for the masses. My wife and I love this show. My older brother, who doesn't even own a computer, loves this show. My dad who is 74 watches this show.

I look at it as junk food for the people that like junk food tv. I happen to like this style of situation comedy, so does 15 million other people from week to week.

Yeah I can definitely understand that and respect that it appeals to a mass audience, I just feel that it is falsely marketed towards the "nerd" audience, as people in this thread seem to think it is. I have surprisingly found How I Met Your Mother to strike a good balance of in-jokey (more sophisticated) nerd stuff and classic sitcom shenannigans. Never thought that show would be so good. But yeah, Big Bang Theory certainly delivers the goods for its audience, I'm just not a part of that audience.

@Vincemaster: How I Met Your Mother is an excellent sitcom. Reminds me of how cool Scrubs used to be. Not sure why, but they just seem similar. Scrubs didn't have a laugh track, but still.

In a lot of ways, I think people are turned off by any sitcom that has a laugh track. I remember back in the 70's the creators of MASH didn't want a laugh track but management demanded it. I believe you can get a DVD collection without it.

But as they say in the sitcom world, Different Strokes.

@ThePickle said:

@Mistress_Redhead said:

@ThePickle: sorry I can't @ reply on my phone. I agree it's not loved by everyone and yes it was a sweeping statement. I used it to incorporate aspects of the show that I knew people interested in those areas would enjoy. I was not meaning to imply EVERYONE who was keen on said areas would also love the show. I can see why it would appear that way and stand corrected. There obviously is a large hate base for it, but it has a ton of fans too. It's a silly bit of fun that nods to the geek in me :) I made this thread as a fan thread, not a "do you like BBT" thread. Its Sad to see its become a joke of a show and that people on here can't just allow a fan thread without needing to put it down.

I'm sorry if your thread got derailed. The only reason I stepped in is because I was so stunned by how ridiculous that comment. Ignoring the improper grammar (do people seriously not get the difference between "your" and "you're" yet?) it just seemed like an outright untrue statement.

*sigh* did you really need to attack my grammar? I could give you a rather long history about my childhood education to explain why I have trouble with it but I am more stunned that you felt the need to dip that low.

No need to apologise. It's done.

@Claude said:

@Vincemaster said:

@not_a_bumblebee said:

I'll be honest I gave Big Bang Theory several chances and it feels phony and manufactured. The nerd stuff feels like a gimmick to try to tap into the geek culture which has made what were once nerdy obsessions like video games, science fiction, and comic books into something that is mainstream and profitable. Some Executive at CBS realized that us "nerds" have disposable incomes, weren't the basement dwelling creepy minority we were usually depicted as, and also watch TV.

This is exactly my problem with the show. It feels like it was devised and written by a bunch of studio suits who were like "so, this is what nerds are like, right? Pretty much just Star Wars and Xbox. We'll throw in a Schrodinger's Cat joke to make it seem smart" and the general (ignorant) public is like "yeah! Totally! Those silly nerds!" The popularity of the show is baffling to me, although at the same time it isn't at all. And for some reason Jim Parsons is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Not to shit all over a show in its own fan thread, but... Yeah I'm not a fan.

This show wasn't made for geeks or nerds it was made for the masses. My wife and I love this show. My older brother, who doesn't even own a computer, loves this show. My dad who is 74 watches this show.

I look at it as junk food for the people that like junk food tv. I happen to like this style of situation comedy, so does 15 million other people from week to week.

It used to be a lot less main stream, I prefer the original series where they dropped comments without any explanation. It's a great fun show, calling it junk food is actually an excellent way to describe it!

I'm still quite taken aback at how a fan thread I made has turned into a hate on it thread. How can people be so wound up about a T.V show? Then again.. this is Screened.

@Mistress_Redhead: Your thread is almost two years old. I wouldn't worry about it. A bag of chips and a funny sitcom goes a long way with me. Well, I'm not a chip fan, more beer, but you know what I'm saying.

I haven't been on the Screen forums long enough to get a feeling for the forums. They seem rather slow, but people like voicing their opinions on my other Whiskey Media site, Giant Bomb, so it doesn't surprise me that's what is happening here.

Either way, discussion is good and I like The Big Bang Theory. And Penny is cutting Sheldon's hair now. Oops.

@Claude: Your very right. It was bumped by a fan and then dumped on by non fans ;) I'm not around enough to care, but feel for people who want to use it for what it was intended.

Screened is very Giant Bomb dominated so your sure to see a similar trend here. I'm from Comic Vine originally and we are a lot more chilled :P

@not_a_bumblebee: Awww Bee I got no worries about people venting :) was just sad that the person who bumped such an ancient thread would feel that way... Wait.... What happened with BBT and Community??? I'm way out of the loop after having the baby!!!

@Mistress_Redhead said:

@not_a_bumblebee: Awww Bee I got no worries about people venting :) was just sad that the person who bumped such an ancient thread would feel that way... Wait.... What happened with BBT and Community??? I'm way out of the loop after having the baby!!!

I believe TBBT and Community had the same time slot and TBBT took Community to the cleaners when it came to viewers. Thus, it almost got cancelled.

Oh, and congrats on the baby.

Also I think TBBT has been stealing viewers form American Idol. Idol viewership has been going down whereas TBBT has been going up.

The only comment I have on this show is that if I ever hear another person saying "bazzinga!" i'm going to throw him/her out of a fucking window.

@Black_Rose said:

The only comment I have on this show is that if I ever hear another person saying "bazzinga!" i'm going to throw him/her out of a fucking window.

@Mistress_Redhead: I think the reason that there's so much hate is because TBBT simply isn't a very good show. I kid, I kid. I can't be mean to a new mother. Congratulations! Enjoy whatever TV shows you want with your new baby.