Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons in “The Big Bang Theory”
Following the success of “The Office” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” studios and show developers moved fast to exploit a rising tide of geek chic — witness the arrival of both NBC’s nerdcore spy dramedy “Chuck” and CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” a four-camera laugh-tracker about hyper-intellectual superdork roommates who suddenly have a hottie of exceedingly ordinary intelligence move in across the hall.
While I admire series creator Chuck Lorre’s pugnaciousness and willingness to blow up bridges in the industry, I’m less a fan of his aggressive sit-com style, and “The Big Bang Theory” is a zero-subtlety enterprise. Lead characters Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki of “Roseanne,” an Ur-Lorre production) are so off-the-charts in their geekdom that it goes well beyond believability.
Cuoco works mainly as the generic object of desire/fear, but the dynamic between Sheldon and Leonard is more like an old married couple than two straight male university researchers. Lorre gets the feelings of inadequacy, but these guys seem to love polynomial equations far more than girls. Leonard’s lust for Cuoco’s Penny just seems to happen because Lorre deemed it so — not because of any real impulse or attraction.
Also, at the risk of sounding like my mother, “The Big Bang Theory” has the loudest laugh track I have heard in ages. I’m not emphatically opposed to four-camera laugh-track comedies when they are done properly — “How I Met Your Mother” is a prime example of a traditional sit-com that works, mainly because its characters have layers and subtlety and also appear to be communicating with one another. “The Big Bang Theory” could develop into that, but right now it’s just people detonating one-liners at 120 decibels.
September 20th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
“Detonating one-liners at 120 decibels.”
Nice. I saw the promo for “Big Bang” and from that i felt that it was someone trying to capitalize on Judd Apatow’s success. Still, it could be alright. I try not to make my expectations too high for sitcoms, especially if they air on CBS.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Phil! CBS is number one!
CBS TELEVISION NETWORK — America’s most watched television network, CBS was established in 1928, when founder William Paley purchased 16 independent radio stations and christened them the Columbia Broadcast System. Today, with more than 200 television stations and affiliates reaching virtually every home in the United States, CBS is the Number One most watched network in primetime, with a total primetime network lineup that was watched by nearly 100 million people a week during the 2006/2007 season-to-date. The Network has the Number One drama on television, CSI; Number One newsmagazine, 60 MINUTES; Number One sitcom, TWO AND A HALF MEN; Number One daytime drama, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Its programming arms include CBS Entertainment, CBS News and CBS Sports.
September 25th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I watched. I failed to laugh. I moved on.
Meanwhile, “Chuck” was pretty decent and “How I Met Your Mother” brought back the running slap bet gag. Add in “Heroes” and Monday Night Football and I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble filling my Monday evenings with television programs so I can keep ignoring the crippling loneliness in my life and growing rift between me and my wife.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Is Two and a Half Men really the highest rated sitcom on TV? I’ve never met a soul who watches it.
September 26th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
wow. I thought 300 used a lot of CGI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tiN7BWakII
September 28th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I also tried to watch this one. Couldn’t ever get into it, probably due to the laugh track you mentioned. I’ve always thought that “According to Jim” has the worst laugh track of all, now I’m not so sure anymore.