BBT's Portrayal of Nerds: Offensive or Accurate?

[DaveC426913]

But how many of you feel the latest season is not as great as the first 3 were.

Is penny still on it? Check.

I never really got this show. The whole appeal seems to be "LOOK HOW NERDY THESE GUYS ARE! LOLOLOLOL". It's just not funny to me. Especially with the overused laugh track. It makes it even less funny.

There's no jokes, no plot, nothing interesting in it whatsoever. If I wanted to learn physics, I'd read a physics book. Even then, it seems like they just like to use big words (even if the physics IS correct).

I can only speak for myself (though I have a feeling I'm not), but when I watch it, I think "Finally! A show by people who really get us nerds!" What did we have up until now? Steve Urkel? and...uh nope, can't think of any others...

Nerd characters written by non-nerds are not funny. But a nerd character who knows that Han shot first and why http://www.nosewheelie.com/blogofthedarned/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sheldon_wolowitz.gif needs a loop counter - now that's written for me.

 

[glb_lub]

and why http://www.nosewheelie.com/blogofthedarned/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sheldon_wolowitz.gif needs a loop counter - now that's written for me.

:)

That one was my favorite episode.
Do you recall the first few minutes of this one .
Sheldon is not allowed to speak about Tapioca .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BysbVq7BL94

Classic.

 

[Galteeth]

Interesting trivia: Jim Galecki, who play Leonard, was in real life dating Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, during the first two seasons of the show. They kept it secret, even from the other cast members, and only revealed it after the relationship was over, during the third season (when the characters of penny and leonard were dating.)

More commonly known, Jim Parsons (Sheldon) is gay.

 

[Whovian]

Love it.

"I don't say anything. I merely offer you a facial expression that suggests you've gone insane."
"They were threatened by my intelligence and too stupid to know that's why they hated me."
"I'm quite aware of the way humans usually reproduce, which is messy, unsanitary, and involves loud and unnecessary appeals to a deity."

 

[johnqwertyful]

I can only speak for myself (though I have a feeling I'm not), but when I watch it, I think "Finally! A show by people who really get us nerds!" What did we have up until now? Steve Urkel? and...uh nope, can't think of any others...

Nerd characters written by non-nerds are not funny. But a nerd character who knows that Han shot first and why http://www.nosewheelie.com/blogofthedarned/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sheldon_wolowitz.gif needs a loop counter - now that's written for me.

Yeah, that's true and all. But I still don't get how being nerdy is funny or entertaining, even if it IS accurate. Shrug.

If you like it, more power to ya, but I guess I just don't "get it". Maybe I don't associate myself as a "nerd"? I'm just a man who likes physics and math and engineering and stuffs.

 

[jtbell]

If you like it, more power to ya, but I guess I just don't "get it".

De gustibus non disputandum est, and all that jazz. People can be surprisingly unpredictable in their sense of humor. I like old slapstick stuff like the Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy, which don't do anything for my wife. But we both like The Big Bang Theory.

 

[johnqwertyful]

De gustibus non disputandum est, and all that jazz. People can be surprisingly unpredictable in their sense of humor. I like old slapstick stuff like the Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy, which don't do anything for my wife. But we both like The Big Bang Theory.

Definitely. There have been times I've found things hilarious, no one else seems to find funny. It's usually when it's in real life, situations and the like. This is one of those times it's the other way around. It's fascinating, really.

 

[DaveC426913]

People can be surprisingly unpredictable in their sense of humor. I like old slapstick stuff like the Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy, which don't do anything for my wife.

Er... Man likes Three Stooges. Women doesn't.

Who'do thunk that?

 

[dorker]

I never really got this show. The whole appeal seems to be "LOOK HOW NERDY THESE GUYS ARE! LOLOLOLOL". It's just not funny to me.

This. Seems to me like all the "jokes" consist of is "WE'RE REFERENCING NERD STUFF, NOW LAUGH!" References by themselves do not make comedy.

 

[DaveC426913]

This. Seems to me like all the "jokes" consist of is "WE'RE REFERENCING NERD STUFF, NOW LAUGH!" References by themselves do not make comedy.

No.
"We're making comments that you recognize and you have also thought. You're not alone! Feel happy that you're part of it!"

Essentially, they're "in-jokes".

When a new PF member says hello, and a veteran welcomes them and asks what kind of fish they like, do you smile? I do. It's an in-joke that I am in on.

 

[genericusrnme]

The IT Crowd is better than BBT imo, I've laughed at the IT crowed, I've never laughed at the big bang theory -.-

 

[dorker]

No.
"We're making comments that you recognize and you have also thought. You're not alone! Feel happy that you're part of it!"

I distinctly remember the audience dying in laughter at Sheldon saying his Nintendo 64 arrived, and other such "jokes".

 

[genericusrnme]

I distinctly remember the audience dying in laughter at Sheldon saying his Nintendo 64 arrived, and other such "jokes".

Great news, my mom sent me my old nintendo 64

/canned laughter

 

[Janus]

Er... Man likes Three Stooges. Women doesn't.

Who'do thunk that?

My wife and daughter are exceptions to that generalization; they both love the Three Stooges.

 

[rootX]

I never really got this show. The whole appeal seems to be "LOOK HOW NERDY THESE GUYS ARE! LOLOLOLOL". It's just not funny to me. Especially with the overused laugh track. It makes it even less funny.

There's no jokes, no plot, nothing interesting in it whatsoever. If I wanted to learn physics, I'd read a physics book. Even then, it seems like they just like to use big words (even if the physics IS correct).

Everyone got his own taste..

I get bored after seeing repetitive humor. Now, I rarely watch Big Bang but whenever I watch, I do find it entertaining and humorous.

 

[Ouabache]

:)

That one was my favorite episode.
Do you recall the first few minutes of this one .
Sheldon is not allowed to speak about Tapioca .
Classic.

Yeah, his antics are hilarious. And from a biologist's perspective, it seems
I'm nerdy enough to know what Sheldon was trying to say
before he said it. That tapioca is extracted from the root of Cassava (Manihot esculenta). The unprocessed root contains cyanogenic glucosides that break down to hydrogen cyanide which can be lethal when ingested. You need to process the root properly to obtain the edible tapioca starch.

If you'd like to learn more about the writing for BBT. On Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Star Talk radio program, he interviews producer & writer Bill Prady and physics consultant http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~saltzbrg/bio.html (professor of physics, UCLA). The podcasts are available and a good listen.

 

[Nano-Passion]

Sheldon's ludicrous laugh gives meaning to life. It teaches us to...

 

[Ruro]

I agree that it does get boring after a while as the jokes are quite repetitive. It's still pretty funny for a sitcom. I watch it time to time when I'm bored. c: And Sheldon is awesome!

 

[physicsboard]

I find BBT very offensive. Millions across the country laugh at Sheldon's behavior, which is essentially that of someone with autism. If someone tried to do the same thing with downs syndrome it would be shunned and pulled from the air immediately.

The show is also extremely close to nerd blackface and I personally feel like this show has gone way too far in establishing what a 'nerd' is and does. People are not archetypes.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I find BBT very offensive. Millions across the country laugh at Sheldon's behavior, which is essentially that of someone with autism. If someone tried to do the same thing with downs syndrome it would be shunned and pulled from the air immediately.

The show is also extremely close to nerd blackface and I personally feel like this show has gone way too far in establishing what a 'nerd' is and does. People are not archetypes.

Just out of curiosity, how many episodes have you watched? I ask because I found it to be somewhat offensive at first. But on a second pass I got hooked and now love the show.

As for Sheldon, I can understand the reference to autism but I think you are making too much of it. Part of the reason I find the show funny is that I can often relate to Sheldon. In fact my wife has taken great pleasure at pointing out all of the similarities between the Sheldon character and me. And I certainly don't have autism. But I do have a physics degree. And, I might add, some of the intellectual games people have created here at PF over the years had rules that were eerily similar in complexity to Sheldon's rules for games, which is a running joke on the show. So while the Sheldon character is obviously an amplified composite of nerdism that plays into various stereotypes, I think the show works because they so often hit the mark.

Here is the one that really set me back. I only noticed this one recently. When we have company, it bothers me if I can't sit on my regular spot on the couch!

 

[Borg]

Here is the one that really set me back. I only noticed this one recently. When we have company, it bothers me if I can't sit on my regular spot on the couch!

I have this same problem with my physics degree.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I have this same problem with my physics degree.

What, you're not happy unless you're sitting on your physics degree?

 

[Borg]

What, you're not happy unless you're sitting on your physics degree?

There are many degrees of happiness.

 

[meldraft]

Each with its own degrees of freedom

 

[glb_lub]

Yeah, his antics are hilarious. And from a biologist's perspective, it seems
I'm nerdy enough to know what Sheldon was trying to say
before he said it. That tapioca is extracted from the root of Cassava (Manihot esculenta). The unprocessed root contains cyanogenic glucosides that break down to hydrogen cyanide which can be lethal when ingested. You need to process the root properly to obtain the edible tapioca starch.

But do you agree with Sheldon when he says that Chocolate pudding is axiomatically the best pudding in the world.

If you'd like to learn more about the writing for BBT. On Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Star Talk radio program, he interviews producer & writer Bill Prady and physics consultant http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~saltzbrg/bio.html (professor of physics, UCLA). The podcasts are available and a good listen.

Will check those out.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

This bit from Amy definitely didn't come from Dr. Tyson! I'm lucky that I wasn't eating or drinking anything when she delivered the punch line

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJZv-yPOqU

 

[jtbell]

I wonder how many flights they had to make with the "Vomit Comet" while shooting those scenes of Wolowitz on the ISS.

Or is it all SFX?

 

[Borg]

My favorite quote by Bernadette from the new season last night.

Spoiler

Howard pulls out an empty tube of said ointment and says, "Hey, can you get any samples of these from work? They prescribed it but didn't take into account the square footage of her back."

Bernadette takes the tube and looks at the ingredients on the back. She says, "Howard, this is really, really strong estrogen cream. I HOPE you've been wearing gloves."

He looks up with wide eyes. "These swollen sausages couldn't fit!" (in reference to his fingers being fat)

"Sooo that's why you've been bloated and moody and a pain in the ***!"

"But you have estrogen and don't act like that!"

"I'm a woman! I've had years of practice riding the dragon!"

 

[SteamKing]

I find BBT very offensive. Millions across the country laugh at Sheldon's behavior, which is essentially that of someone with autism. If someone tried to do the same thing with downs syndrome it would be shunned and pulled from the air immediately.

The show is also extremely close to nerd blackface and I personally feel like this show has gone way too far in establishing what a 'nerd' is and does. People are not archetypes.

When he was a child, Sheldon's mother had him tested. She still regrets not taking him to see that specialist in Houston afterwards, though.

IDK if Sheldon would be diagnosed by a professional as suffering from autism. Maybe Aspergers. He definitely is the poster child for OCD, which his girlfriend Amy, the PhD neurobiologist, tried to cure with some behavioral modification.

BTW, Sheldon's credentials are B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D. He started college at 11 and got his first doctorate at 16, although he was visiting professor at Heidelburg for the summer when he was 15, and received a surprise enema from his landlady when he got sick.