The BB Boys
The Big Bang Theory hit an all-time series high this week, particularly in the coveted 18-49 demo. (It's still a hair behind its lead-in, Two And A Half Men, in overall ratings.) Part of this was due to lack of competition on opposing networks, but mostly it's due to surging popularity. If' I'm not mistaken, the 5.6 rating demo was the top for scripted show this week.
I doubt many would have guessed a few years ago this was the series that would do it. A bunch of no-name nerds in an old-fashioned sitcom? Maybe TV will get the hint and start turning to conventional sitcoms, rather than assuming one-camera is the way to go (when they bother to make sitcoms). I don't mind one-camera shows, but there's nothing like watching actors in front of a real audience trying to get laughs.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:15 AM
11 Comments:
Well the key is that it doesn't feel like an old-fashioned sitcom.
LA Guy - you know this business better-Is this because of better writing and maybe higher gag per minute ratios than in the sitcom heydey
It's better (if sometimes uneven) writing...
...which is at least partially the result of creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady having their pick of "traditional" sitcom writers who don't have as many shows to choose from for employment.
What was "record setting" to me about this week's episode is the number of credited writers - six, I believe (which may be the maximum the WGA allows).
"Table writing" to me has always been an oxymoron. However, while I don't know exactly how they run their "room", I have to admit, it seems to be working.
As to whether anyone could have predicted the popularity of the show during its first season - uh, ahem - not that I want to brag, but...
Bazinga!
Todd
P.S. BTW, in this case, the gag/minute ratio from "the sitcom heydey" really hasn't changed that much. It may just be that there is less competition, so "BIG BANG" stands out more.
BTW#2: As a former TV writer and still-current nerd, I both enjoy and am jealous of the show. Bazinga on me!
The cast is really clicking together, and that is what is working. I was a little disappointed that they closed the "when will they get together" show arc for Leonard and Penny so quickly, but I'm glad to see episodes that don't focus on them and let the other characters do stuff. Particularly like Raj episodes, but also like the recent "Wolowitz gets a girlfriend" arc.
Verification Word = squadum
Another reason for its popularity--the main reason (usually the reason for any show)--one character has taken off.
The cast is funny, but Sheldon makes the show.
Really, I always thought ensembles, if they had several talents, did the best. Cheers, Friends and Seinfeld I thought became big hits because so many o ftheir cast memebers were really funny.
However, I agree, Sheldon is the standout character around whom the other revolve. It's funny because that is certainly how Sheldon's character sees himself.
But the actor has a problem I think. I saw him do a PSA and I just couldn't take him seriously, even though he was using his normal voice. Same problem Kramer was having (until he blew himself up).
I'm not saying ensembles don't matter. But what happens with so many shows is that one (or two) characters break out and the producers start to play to them to help make the show a hit.
Fonzie in Happy Days, Michael J. Fox in Family Ties, Kirk Cameron in Growing Pains, Louie and Reverend Jim in Taxi, Johnny Fever in WKRP, Niles in Frasier, Larry Darryl and Darryl in Newhart, Jimmy Walker in Good Times, not to mention shows that are closer to vehicles than ensembles, where the stars count, such as Cosby, Roseanne, Home Improvement, etc.
For better or worse (worse, actually), even the fine ensembles you mention had breakout characters--Norm on Cheers, Kramer on Seinfeld, Ross and Rachel on Friends.
Yeah - I guess I was thinking of some of the more generic bad sitcoms of the 70s and 80s (so generic I can't remember them) which seemed to spend time creating real characters with real lives that the jokes were hung on.
The difference I'm sensing may be related to the "no hugging, no learning" change from Seinfeld- I can't imagine Big Bang would ever have a "a very special episode."
I agree Sheldon is key and the initially boring Leonard and Penny are funnier and more enjoyable to watch (and she's getting a little adorable and less of the straight girl)
I guess I'm an outlier here. I love BBT, and yet Sheldon is one of my less favorite characters. I find Koothrapalli, Leslie Winkle, and the physicist with the speech problem to be hilarious, in the sense that every single time they have a line it's LOL funny. Koothrapalli's musings on what he would do if he ruled all the rabbits ("I would be kind to my rabbit subjects... at first.") is one of the most brilliant moments on the show.
Whereas Sheldon is very funny but his gags are often recycled; you often know what he's gonna say.
I also have a nitpick: They were wise enough to hire a professional physicist to help them write the science bits. But they dropped the ball in not getting equivalent experts in other geek trivia. Most of their discussions regarding comic books are unbelievable -- as if they were written by people with only a superficial knowledge of the most popular and long-standing superhero comics. In fact, the comic book store they often visit has tons of comics visible -- and as far as I can tell, they are all from the 1980s.
You don't like Sheldon but you like the guy with the speech impediment. About what I'd expect from someone whose favorite Star Trek character is McCoy.
You know, even as I wrote my comment I was thinking about that. Sheldon is a huge Spock fan, and he's pretty much the Spock of the nerd gang.
I guess that's one of the problems I have with him. They really have two quantum levels of nerd in the show: Compared to Penny, Leonard and Howard are nerds, but compared to Leonard and Howard, Sheldon is a nerd. That just seems wrong to me. And I don't really buy the idea that the three other guys would tolerate Sheldon's rudeness over and over.
P.S. McCoy kicks ass.
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