I’ll never understand why Big Bang Theory is so popular, which might sound hypocritical, since I used to love the show, but I think I’ll take a crack at explaining just what gets on my nerves about it:
1. The show’s gimmick got tired and stupid fast. There are only so many jokes that can revolve around a group of friends being nerdy. Problem is: It becomes less funny over time. And more so unrelatable. When you can’t relate to your main characters, you don’t care about them.
2. The show’s writing is lazy. The show revolves around the single gimmick named in part 1 of this what will be long list. But the show has one other habit that it just won’t shake, and that is it’s really lousy pop culture references. Now, let me get one thing clear, there is nothing wrong with pop culture references. However, Big Bang Theory doesn’t quit with them. Not to mention, there is no thought put into them. The show doesn’t seem to get its own references, but puts them in long, nonsensical but smart-sounding sentences just to make the audience assume what its saying is smart. A good tv show doesn’t have to take advantage of its audience lack of intelligence or knowledge of pop culture.
3. Chuck Lorre don’t know how to write women. They’re all weird, bland, and one dimensional, while that used to be fine, people expect more out of their sit-coms. Most women in the show, specifically Penny are written simply to be desired. For Christ’s sake, Penny is the main female character in the show and she doesn’t even have a last name. Fact is: She has no personality. Sometimes she’s tough, othertimes, she’s really fragile and woman-like, but the inconsistent writing for her makes her completely unrelatable as the audience can’t identify with her. This is inexcusable when you have so much time (now going into its 6th season), to develop your characters. I will say one thing though, Amy Farrah Fowler has quickly turned into the show’s bright-spot, even though she started out as an extremely annoying one. She actually has character, and her own quirks, but before her, Lorre had to write out the only other female character (Leslie Winkle) because he couldn’t write for her since he’s too stupid.
4. It’s 2012, lose the laugh track.
5. The show wasted little time taking advantage of Sheldon’s popularity. Sheldon has gone through the same effect as Steve Urkle. Originally, just another character in the show, the fact that Sheldon was actually a pretty well written-for character went to Chuck Lorre’s head. He immediately took Sheldon’s antics to a new level. In the beginning, Sheldon wasn’t the robot he’s portrayed as now. While intelligent and anti-social, he understood that he was a weird person. He even acknowledges that Penny is attractive, but after the first 10 episodes, the show realized he was becoming the fan favorite because of his ridiculous obsessions, things like how he cares about where he sits, and ability to turn anything into a scientific theorem. This became popular fast, and was actually pretty clever at first. However… Virtually everything in the show is revolved around Sheldon now. He’s unbearably annoying. I respect Jim Parsons for some of the insane lines he’s had to memorize, but the lines shouldn’t be that ridiculous, and he shouldn’t always be talking, talking, talking. When you eat too much of something, you start to hate it. The same thing happens with Sheldon. He starts to become just as annoying to us as he is to everyone else in the show.
6. The show isn’t like real life. This is a common problem with a lot of sit-coms. Nothing ever changes in them. People’s lives stay the same. It’s been 5 years and Penny still has her temp job at the Cheesecake factory. Whenever the show takes a dare, like when they moved Sheldon to Bozeman or whatever, he immediately goes back to live his normal life. That’s not how real life works. Point is: Show doesn’t take risks, and the show turns into a routine, mundane experience every time you watch it. People hate their normal lives enough because they lack the feeling of change and excitement, quit boring us with the same stories over and over again.
7. The biggest problem with the show, is that it doesn’t get nerds. It’s basically a show full of Steve Urkels. Just without high pitched voices. The show doesn’t get that nerds who watch the show know that nerds don’t act the way that Big Bang Theory seems to insist that they do. Real nerds don’t talk about science all day, they don’t read comic books all the time. Nerds know how to laugh at themselves. They like to watch things on the internet, and write about things they hate, or that they wish would improve. They like obscure things. That’s what the show doesn’t get. The show doesn’t understand itself.
Anyway, I think I’ve made my point. When you get the Barenaked ladies to sing your theme song, no good can come of the product. I may not be triple platinum, but that don’t mean I don’t know a good tv show when I see one.
Kids:
A few hours ago, I landed in Los Angeles, turned on my phone, and confirmed what you already know. Sony Pictures Television is replacing me as showrunner on Community, with two seasoned fellows that I’m sure are quite nice - actually, I have it on good authority they’re quite nice, because…
Steps NBC can do to stop making people hate them:
1. Rehire Dan Harmon
2. Give Community a better timeslot
3. Stop getting in quarrels with all your best creative talents and employees. Geez.
