Jump to content
Hondo's Bar

Recommended Posts

Not to impugne the tastes of anyone who enjoys this show but, I found Frasier funny when I was twelve. This is quite literally warmed over Frasier.

I liked Frasier too.....

 

Really? I always kind of hated Frasier. Not b/c it was terrible, but b/c it was just watchable enough to trick you into finishing an entire episode yet never really made you LOL. It's pretty much the gold standard for meh TV, IMHO.

 

Is this how you mean BBT is like Frasier? If so, I can kinda see that. But Sheldon and the general geek culture on the show usually give me at least one true moment of laughter per episode. Honestly, Wil Wheaton as Sheldon's arch-nemesis doesn't tickle your funny bone in the slightest? (Set that one up for Ross.) That concept alone is funnier than almost anything in Frasier ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Really? I always kind of hated Frasier. Not b/c it was terrible, but b/c it was just watchable enough to trick you into finishing an entire episode yet never really made you LOL. It's pretty much the gold standard for meh TV, IMHO.

 

Is this how you mean BBT is like Frasier? If so, I can kinda see that. But Sheldon and the general geek culture on the show usually give me at least one true moment of laughter per episode. Honestly, Wil Wheaton as Sheldon's arch-nemesis doesn't tickle your funny bone in the slightest? (Set that one up for Ross.) That concept alone is funnier than almost anything in Frasier ever.

 

It's all nuerotic nerds and ten-dollar words as Baytor put it. The whole thing was completely formulaic but as Frasier was a spin-off(someone correct me, I've never seen Cheers) it at least had a richer tapestry to draw from. What Axel's said about pandering to an approximation of nerd culture sounds about right re BBT. The clips I've seen though, Penny could get it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just so there's no remaining doubt. The Big Bang Theory is a steaming pile of humourless shit.

 

That's pretty much the beginning and end of this discussion, right?

 

Yeah, but they are kind of pandering to a group that doesn't really get pandered to at all of TV.

 

Mythbusters, Deadliest Warrior, probably dozens of other examples of shows made for nerds that don't 'pander' in a condescending way like BBT. It's a(sorry to you lovely BBT fans) low-reaching and somewhat lazy approach to placating as opposed to genuinely entertaining. But then I guess it DOES have a decent-sized audience so Idunno. I just percieve it as one of those really obvious things like beer commercials with tits in 'em.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

What, an oblivious man trying to set up a relationship between a handsome stranger and his neighbor without contextualizing that fact picking up a homosexual man with ease? Yes. It's funny to watch Sheldon pick up a date with another man without even realizing what he's done. I don't laugh at every break, but I don't laugh at every place Conan's audience laughs, or Craig Ferguson's, or Colbert's or Jon Stewart's audiences do. There's a studio audience laughing at these jokes. I can pick up tickets for that purpose here. From what I read (at least of Craig), they prime an audience to react with laughter instead of smiles and chuckles before filming, and then they film and record what happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See, I was laughing at that.

 

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid192.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz91%2Fblazebyrne%2Fmercy1_zpsae2d1ab5.mp4">

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But at every meetup with my parents, they always insist that "you guys would just LOOOOOOVE Big Bang Theory!" and... that turns me off. I dunno.

 

I typically react with faux-indignace whenever someone says this to me. "Oh, I'D LOOOVE Big Bang Theory huh? Just what are you trying to say!?" It does kinda tick me off though. I've attempted to give the show a fair shake twice. On both occasions I shut it off after about 3 seconds of Sheldon speaking lest I murder someone. From my limited exposure I get the feeling this is to nerd culture what George Lopez or Family Matters were to the plight of minority families in America.

Edited by C_U_SPACECOWBOY
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, I get where both sides are coming from, and I wish nerds, geeks, dorks, etc would just let people like what they like. If you don't like the show, they just tell people it's not your cup of team, and inversely, if you like it and someone you think would like it tells you it's not their cup of tea, then just let them be about it.

 

To take Jon's example about minorities in America, in the pantheon of representations of blacks in the media, I think there is room for serious representations like Family Matters as well as stuff like The Wire and Precious and Roots.

 

I like TBBT, but I totally get it if someone else doesn't, because frankly, I don't like any other shows that have that same format anymore.

Edited by Reverend Jax
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To take Jon's example about minorities in America, in the pantheon of representations of blacks in the media, I think there is room for serious representations like Family Matters as well as stuff like The Wire and Precious and Roots.

 

You know, I regetted posting that analogy almost immediately.

 

Take The Cosby Show which, by design, did not deal with the ethnicity of the characters at all. I definately think there's a place for that. I think thats a fantastic thing and totally subscribe to Cosby's thinking behind it. George Lopez always struck me as coming across really forced, almost caricatures of hispanics and mostly trying to appeal to non-hispanics. That's how BBT strikes me. Family Matters actually falls into the Cosby camp of sitcom and doesn't really fit with what I was trying to get across.

Edited by C_U_SPACECOWBOY
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...