With overused laugh tracks, generic premises and the endless rehashing of jokes, the traditional TV sitcom hasn’t had the greatest record of originality. I usually detest those comedies in the vein of “Two and a Half Men” and “Friends.” Unfortunately, CBS’s penchant for safe shows means they won’t be giving up the format anytime soon. So imagine my surprise when a friend introduced me to the biggest rising star in the network’s sitcom stable. I instantly fell in love — or at least fell over in stitches.
“The Big Bang Theory” concerns the daily lives of four physicists (of varying fields) who all hang out in an apartment. When a hot young woman named Penny moves in across the hall, awkward hilarity ensues.
The physicist characters are Leonard, the nerd with some semblance of social skills; Sheldon, the socially inept know-it-all; Howard, the perverted astrophysicist; and Raj, the nerdy Indian who can’t talk to girls.
The premise, characters and even the title, are ripe for juvenile jokes poking fun at nerds. That’s what one would expects from the guy who created “Two and a Half Men.”
After the first few episodes, the show realized its core audience was the group people it made fun of. Since then, each episode strikes a balance between “laughing at” and “laughing with” the characters.
The four main characters constantly exchange sly references to “Star Trek,” “The Time Machine,” and other nerdy pop-culture bits. The geeky creativity even spills over into the episode titles, which include “The White Asparagus Triangulation” and “The Nerdvana Annihilation.”
As the show has evolved, now nearing the end of its second season, the characters’ — especially Leonard and Sheldon — have become more developed, with new glimpses into Leonard’s love life and the explorations of rivals and friends at the university where all the characters work.
Most of the fun in watching this show comes from the way the nerdy protagonists throw around banter that would go over the average person’s head. Those well-delivered lines, combined with the extensive list of obsessive-compulsive habits of Sheldon and crew, make the show almost too awkward, but still engaging.
It’s like “The Office,” except everyone is an MIT graduate who lives in a nondescript California apartment complex.
If you need a show in your TV repertoire with lovable characters who make references to particle physics, Wii Bowling and the acoustic properties of movie theaters, then “The Big Bang Theory” is the sitcom for you. It airs Monday nights at 8:30 on CBS.
