More like “The Big Suck Theory,” amirite?
I remember when I first started seeing billboards for CBS’ hot new series, The Big Bang Theory. My first thought was, “Oh, fantastic, it’s another post-mortem spasm in the corpse of the sitcom format, this time in a weak attempt to cash in on the bullshit ‘nerds are cool now’ trend.” Then I thought, well, maybe I’m just being too quick to judge. I hadn’t actually seen the show yet. Maybe there was more to it. Maybe it wasn’t a giant steaming pile of shit.
It wasn’t long until I started hearing people talking about it. The weird thing, though, was that every time I’d hear someone mention it, they would say almost exactly the same thing, as if it were scripted. “Oh my god, The Big Bang Theory is sooo funny! The acting is so good, and the jokes are so witty!” And yet, not once would anyone actually mention any particular moment or even a line from the show that they found particularly amusing. Sweet Jesus, I think CBS has actually been planting stealth marketers to bring up The Big Bang Theory in conversations. Wow, it must be good, then!
Finally, I got my chance to witness this alleged cultural phenomenon that’s sweeping the nation (allegedly) for myself. I just happened to have the TV tuned to CBS one night a while back (I still don’t know how that happened), and you can just imagine my delight when it was announced that a hilarious new episode of The Big Bang Theory was about to begin. I decided to give it a shot, partially due to sheer morbid curiosity, but mostly because the remote was all the way across the room. And so it began.
Simply put, the above advertisement sums up the show perfectly, to the point where there’s no need whatsoever to actually watch it. There’s the totally mega-hot blonde (who’s really kind of average-looking but we’re obviously supposed to think she’s mega-hot so okay) making flirty eyes to the nerd (read: “guy with glasses”) on the right, not because she actually likes him, but because she just likes stringing him along and making him think he has a chance with her so he will let her crash at his place whenever she needs a break from her like totally annoying roommate. See, look at him, he’s looking back at her like “yeah, we’re so going to have sex later.” Now look at the guy on the left. You might remember him from this marginally-amusing Quiznos commercial from a few years ago:
Yeah, so apparently some genius saw that commercial and thought he should have his own TV series. Anyway, the totally mega-hot blonde has her arm on his shoulder because, as I previously pointed out, she’s a manipulative bitch. The Quiznos nerd isn’t having any of that, though. Not because he sees through her ruse or anything, but simply because he’s really uptight and only cares about playing Halo and watching Dr. Who, and doesn’t have time for girls. And that’s funny!
So I was watching this thing, and I really tried to find at least one thing to like about it. First of all, the acting was not “good.” It was “bad.” Granted, that’s kind of a moot point, as the material doesn’t exactly give them much to work with in the first place. You could put Morgan Freeman in it and it probably wouldn’t make things any better. The entire premise of the show is simply to drive home the point that Quiznos nerd has a broomstick up his ass. Seriously, that’s pretty much it. Nearly every one of the “jokes” (each of which you can see coming a mile away) stems from this one-dimensional character’s lack of any desire to be spontaneous. How can they keep finding creative and funny new ways to squeeze material from this singular idea? Simple. They can’t.
If you actually emitted so much as a muted chuckle at that clip, you probably have an IQ of ~30 and think Steve Martin is still funny. I get more laughs from C-SPAN than from The Big Bang Theory, but because “everybody else” likes this flaccid stab at humor, we’re supposed to like it too. In the past couple weeks, there have been at least three separate occasions in which I managed to overhear this show’s name get dropped, followed by the obligatory scripted praise for its supposed genius. I don’t know, maybe I should try watching it while simultaneously huffing nitrous and hitting myself in the head with a hammer. Then I guess I would be experiencing it from the point of view of the average TV viewer.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:33 pm
meathead, let me guess…you live in la? which would explain why you are hearing people discuss this show in glowing terms. they are probably the writers or producers.
this is one reason i moved to san diego.
since i’ve moved, i’ve discoverd things like “the outdoors”, “the beach”, etc. now, i don’t have time to watch crappy sitcoms. yay!
March 21st, 2008 at 6:44 pm
yeah that show is total suck.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:55 pm
more like THE GANG BANG THEORY, right? because they run trains on her?
shit, they don’t? fuck that.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:57 pm
It’s nice to see David from Roseanne is working. This guy took Darlene’s sweet virginity!
March 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
That show is so fucking terrible.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I’m starting to wonder ~what you do like?! Pina-coladas? Getting caught in rain?
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:03 am
You’re right about that… I watched maybe 24 seconds of the clip before I was bored out of my mind. I’ll stick to good ol’ Simpsons if I need a laugh….
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Jesus, that show is made of suck. Isn’t that guy, the one with the glasses the kid that played David on Roseanne? Anyway, I’ve never heard of that show before, and I kind of wish I never had.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
commence the jigglin’
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uaQ8HA1p14w&feature=related
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Speaking of sitcoms, I watched an episode of 2 and a half men last week. It was surprisingly funny. As for the clip you posted for Big Bang Theory, man that show looks awful.
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
this show came out a while ago and it was cancelled after the first season. now you can see ‘nerd with fist up ass’ in gum commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnSLXYCMYGQ
i hate his face, it honestly just ticks me off. and his 2-D acting too
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Wow Horrible,I had never seen that show before,and now I know why,CBS needs to bring back Major Dad or Dr.Quinn: Medicine Woman,know she was Hot!!!
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:17 am
It feels so good to have someone who actually diggs out the biggest Pieces of Shit Mankind has invented. Thanks Meathead for beeing there, you know?
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
there is one good thing about living in the mid-west……and that is you don’t hear about shit like this.
of course that is only because everyone here is about 5 or 6 years behind the coasts (nu-metal is still incredibly popular here for fucks sake!).
March 24th, 2008 at 1:01 am
Remember when everyone said, “Oh my god, Arrested Developement is sooo funny! The acting is so good, and the jokes are so witty!” ??? Well, that shit had David Cross in it and it was about as funny as overhearing office jokes at the DMV. Same goes for Rushmore and the Royal Aquatic Limited. You can put Bill Murray in them, but they still suck except for the one awesome part will Bill Murray. TV is over. We have youtube now. Just type “Dance Accident” and go from there.
March 24th, 2008 at 1:07 am
The funniest shit that I’ve heard since I’ve been in LA are the conversations outside on the Starbucks at the Gower Gulch. Go there around noon. Every famous comedic actor and their entourage might walk by into Paramount but the best material is just the local riff raff talking about politics and everything else while you watch a senile rodney bingenheimer try to park his car at Denny’s. Life is beautiful at the Gulch.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Man I saw this show one night and they made a racist joke towards white people on the show. My roommate tried telling me it was racist so I stabbed the bitch, cut her up into pieces rolled her up in a rug and threw her off a bridge. But then I woke up from my nightmare.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Look on the bright side, at least Frasier is done for. Talk about fucking garbage. Anyway, I’m sure Kelsey Grammar’s just as stoked that it’s over and he’s got more time to huff mountains of booger sugar off of stripper titties.
By the way, if you want to watch something that’s bizarre and awkwardly funny, check out Free Radio. I think it’s on vh1. Caught an episode on the old lady’s tele and it was pretty entertaining.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
i take exception to the arrested development remark. that shit is fucking funny.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Why even waste time writing about this bullshit? If you have a brain you should know that this show blows.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Booooooooorrrrrriiing bitches.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:48 am
The reason it is liked so much is that when compared to other sitcoms around it is genius…
April 1st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Seriously, as someone who is hoping to make his livng writing, it’s insulting what kind of crap that gets on the air. Do they hire writers anymore or are they just copying sitcoms from the seventies and throwing in an awkward reference to wikipedia or ipods for good measure?