My Theory on "The Big Bang Theory"

The Big Bang Theory stars two technophile geniuses, Leonard and Sheldon. Throughout each episode, Sheldon takes the label "computer geek" to a whole new level, while Leonard remains slightly more blendable within the accepted norms of society. Sheldon, on the other hand, speaks his mind without thought, but simply over-educated knowledge of fact. He makes little effort to hide his chronic case of geekdom in order to fit in with the lesser of his species, the general population. Sheldon and Leonard are frequently joined by two friends, Raj and Wolowitz, who oftentimes stop by their apartment, with or without an invitation. All four of these loveable nerds, particularly Sheldon, have great difficulty talking with anyone not of their intellectual calibur face-to-face; however, with the exception of Wolowitz, the remaining boys have noticabley more trouble talking with young, attractive women. Wolowitz, although not smooth, is able to mask his fear of women by overwhelming them with his forward speak and aggressive behavior.

In the pilot episode, the show opens with Leonard and Sheldon entering a "Hi IQ Sperm Bank" to make deposits for money, but ultimately decide to forego the profit when faced with the thought that their offspring may not be the genetically intelligent equal to these two biological donors. Upon returning to their apartment, they notice a very attractive, young blond woman, moving into the apartment across the hall. Leonard is immidiately taken aback by the beautiful young woman and introduces himself and Sheldon, to find the young lady's name is Penny. Penny comes off very friendly and eager to become friends with these oddballs, thus giving Leonard the hope that one day they might actually go on a date. Would a girl such as Penny really give guys like these her friendship? I would say that's a toss up and absolutely depends on each individual person. I believe the more down-to-earth and mature a woman is, yes, she would. I beleive the more in-the-clouds and immature a woman is, no she would not.

The "geeky" stereotype portrayed in this series falls heavily on the extreme side, but I hesitate to say it's unreal. As I ponder those I've known over time falling under the geek umbrella, I wonder whether I have ever snubbed my nose at boys such as these delightfully funny dorks. If so, it was probably my loss. I feel we all fall prey to peer pressure and competitive popularity at times, whatever status field we are playing on. I would say that there are Leonards, Sheldons, Wolowitzs, and Rajs out there, but the more extreme "Level Sheldon" types are probably further and fewer in between.

At a point in the pilot episode, Leonard presses upon Sheldon the importance of having friends in an attempt to convince Sheldon that they should befriend Penny, to which Sheldon replys, "I have 212 friends on my space." Leonard says, "you have never met these people." Sheldon states, "that's the beauty of my friendships." Although funny at frist glance, upon reflection this conversation is sad and a very real portayal of the young generation's way of creating and maintaining friendships. Sheldon felt confident that he had 212 friends, all the while knowing his real-life, face-to-face friends totaled four. Four is not a bad number, but he boasts of 212 friends he has never met. Plato believed that the true self could not be defined by text, yet here we are, making friends by putting what we want people to see as our allegedly true selves on a computer screen for the whole world to read. Is it really us? Are the people we believe to be our friends to the person they really portray themselves as? Do we know our "so called" cyberfriends?

Our world is becoming one of paperless work, paperless bill paying, faceless friends, and touchless bonds. Our best friend is becoming our computer monitor with a few subfriends on a sidebar. Although I'm not active participant of Myspace or Facebook (not yet anyway), I often feel myself opting for email communication because it's easier. For one thing, it saves time. If I'm busy I don't have to worry about getting drawn into a long-winded conversation about nothing. Second, I don't have to worry about being put on the spot or getting caught off guard, and if I am, no one knows unless I fess up. I can simply think about what ever comment, statement, or question threw me for a loop, maybe do a little research, and like magic, poof, I'm ready to communicate again. I recall as a child wishing I had the quick wit of my friends so I could throw out the jokes or rise to defeat with a really great comeback. That just was not me, and I can't help but wonder if it really is a good thing that we are offered this luxury. Does it truly challenge the mind or just give it the option to kick back and relax? I know my kids are more comfortable with Internet chat than they are with face-to-face or even telephonic communication. They often text me rather than call.

In the episode, The Dumpling Paradox, Sheldon shows off his structural obsessive compulsive behavior when the show opens up on "Halo Night." First, his obsession is revealed when the boys attempt to start the game at 8:06 p.m., rather than 8:00 p.m. When Penny comes over just as the game is about to start with a slight problem, Sheldon shows his disgust at the fact that the clock is still ticking and Halo is not being played at 8:08 p.m. Moments later when the four friends are reduced to three because of Wolowitz's predicable hormones, Penny agrees to sit in and be the fourth player. To Sheldon's dismay, Penny kicks his butt. Sheldon, although an utter stereotype himself states, "No one can be this attractive and skilled at Halo." He too fell prey to labeling people - in this case it was Penny.

Sheldon continued his OCD when he and his friends, minus Wolowitz (who was busy having sex with Penny's friend), go out for dinner on Chinese night. While attempting to order, Sheldon discovers that the night will be completely ruined because the dumplings they always order come in an order of four. The dilemna becomes, what will we do with the fourth dumpling. When Sheldon learns the size of an order of dumplings cannot be reduced or altered, he becomes very upset and opts to terminate the evening rather than order another order of dumplings to be divided. Thus, Chinese night is an utter failure and Sheldon is incapable of changing his ritual. This episode of the Big Bang Theory is, in my opinion, unrealistic. Who "can't" order a second order of dumplings or bring home a doggy bag or just order something different? Maybe someone with a serious OCD condition, but I feel the show has taken this plot beyond extreme and placed in a realm not feasible to even the average "Sheldon" stereotype.

I find The Big Bang Theory to be an occasionally accurate and always comical portrayal of our ever-growing, lonely cyber world.