Back at work today but a little under the weather, so I'm not really up to dissecting last night's "Big Bang Theory," save to say that the Sheldon/Howard/Raj banter was very funny, and the Leonard/Penny subplot pretty lame. What did everybody else think?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Big Bang Theory, "The Jiminy Conjecture": Buggin' out
Back at work today but a little under the weather, so I'm not really up to dissecting last night's "Big Bang Theory," save to say that the Sheldon/Howard/Raj banter was very funny, and the Leonard/Penny subplot pretty lame. What did everybody else think?
Agreed on the division in the episode, but I'd love to see a copy of this script - I'm wondering if Lewis Black's lines were really as tepid as they seemed. He yells everything, so the comedy works, but none of them were actually funny. The scene would have been dramatic on the page to some extent, which is either really impressive or really telling.
ReplyDeleteas short as your post is, that pretty much sums up everything. It's unfortunate that the writers are going to try out the same tired cliches for Penny and Leonard's relationship.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the Lewis Black cameo immensely. He basically played Lewis Black, entomologist, but that is fine in my book.
ReplyDeleteRe: Leopenny - if they don't figure out soon that talking to their mutual friends about relationship hookups is a bad call, I will lose patience with this story line.
I like the antics of Sheldon and it was fun to see him beat down by the bugs. Always amazing to see him admit he is wrong as well.
Lewis Black made the episode for me.
ReplyDeleteLeonard with Penny is boring. Nothing wrong with the actors, but there is little humor there. Leonard actually is more nerdy with Penny than with the guys, which is odd especially after the "community college" episode.
ReplyDeleteSheldon-Raj-Howard had fun with the cricket bet. It was fun to see them outside of their common areas of expertise.
The Lewis Black part was OK. Not a big fan so it didn't matter to me. I guess Oxnard is funny to someone.
Sheldon talking to Penny is always fun because they have a built-in disconnect. Sheldon explaining to Penny that everyone was talking about her sex life over dinner was the best moment.
This has become Sheldon's show, now they have to figure out what to do with him.
I agree with Anonymous 11:27--Sheldon is the show. Although I don't think that means that now they have to figure out what to do with him, I think it means that now they have to figure out what to do with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteNo one else was particularly funny expect in their interplay with Sheldon. Parsons' face as he turned inward to contemplate where he had stepped over the line was just priceless. He really is a comic genius, and he's been given a great character to work out on.
But everyone else? Meh.
I liked the episode, but like last week's, something felt off with how Sheldon was treated. In last night's episode, I kept waiting for him to discover another cricket or some other information that would vindicate him in the end. (Or maybe see him ponder more the implication of being wrong, just like the other "let me see where that went wrong" moments.)
ReplyDeleteFeel better!
ReplyDeleteLeonard and Penny are funnier when they interact with the gang than they are when they interact with each other. It would be nice if the 'relationship' didn't take over the show as much as it did in this episode.
My favourite thing is that Sheldon actually was wrong for once, and lost a bet to Wolowitz. And, nice use of the elusive insides of the elevator.
I'm not a fan of Lewis Black, but it's funny to see his particular style of attitude juxtaposed with the gang's.
word verification: butshin
Hee.
I generally like this show, loved Lewis Black doing Lewis Black, entomologist, and don't mind the idea of hooking up Leonard & Penny. But I hate the way it's been going so far. It just doesn't seem original in any way. I would find it way funnier if Leonard & Penny were having great sex, their characters' personalities didn't change much, and the humor was in how the other guys dealt with the situation. I'd just enjoy it more.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how anyone enjoyed the Lewis Black scene. I don't dislike him, but I think he's funny only about half of the time.
ReplyDeleteI thought he was all wrong for Big Bang Theory and the only thing I could think about while he was on was "Scenery Chewer".
I thought he was all wrong for Big Bang Theory
ReplyDeleteI thought his energy worked well here, in that it put our three geniuses in a room with a guy just as smart as them, but far louder and angrier. He's not the kind of person they're used to dealing with - either it's fellow dweebs or abrasive imbeciles - and their discomfort was pretty funny.
Tried to watch the episode on CBS, but it only showed clips of the "Best Moments." They showed four clips, guess how many involved Leonard and Penny vs. the Cricket Trio?
ReplyDeleteYep, all four for the Trio. That about sums it up.
The fine wine/dinner joke really made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteNot the strongest episode but still funny.
And I guess Sheldon has recovered from having his career ruined the week before? (I was expecting that to be an ongoing story-arc.)
I also expected them to find another cricket somewhere in the apartment. I was a little sad that they didn't.
ReplyDeleteNeurotic Sheldon is fabulous, but he shouldn't become the group's whipping boy.
I had a Flash 123 and it disappeared from my grandmothers lake cottage after she died along with all the other comics....
ReplyDeleteI somewhat hope my smarmy relatives got them rather than getting thrown out but it still chaffs my ....
Oh well -- the episode was good but the flash ruined it for me...
Maybe you had to know Oxnard to enjoy Leiws Black's bit? He worked for me, as did Leonard and Penny getting stipidly drunk. Back to Black: maybe this isn't the show for cameo appearneces. Much of the humor comes from the sealed off, peculiar world the four of them live in (with visists from the earhtling Penny). Cameos may undermine that.
ReplyDeleteSheldon, by the way, is the funniest character on televisosn.
Can I just say that I was equal parts proud and embarrassed that I busted out with "What are you _TALKING_ about Walowitz? The Origins miniseries cleared that up for good! Not to mention, hello, he still had claws even after Magneto ripped all of his adamantium out!" before Sheldon went to get the comic in question.
ReplyDeleteI am proudbarressed.
Okay, Kidd, my turn to be a geek. I haven't read Origins, but would Wolverine have been born with the bone claws? Wouldn't he have developed them at puberty like all other mutants?
ReplyDeleteSheldon has become the show. I was disappointed with the Penny/Leonard plot (and why hasn't Penny started looking for acting work yet?). They keep ripping them apart and stuff so I'm kind of tired with the will-they-or-won't-they aspect. Good thing they finally staying.
ReplyDeleteSheldon cracking a joke was pretty funny though.
Odd point about Penny/Leonard; why isn't she talking to someone outside the geek troika about this? She's been shown to have some local female friend/acquaintances, and presumably still has some friends back home. And I sorta doubt she had no social contact with anyone while the guys were away all summer.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, Alan, while I didn't look at Wolverine:Origins that closely, I don't think his mutant abilities kicked in until puberty.
Regarding the Wolverine claws debate, I kinda view this one as a bit of a push. He was created with the notion that his claws came from his gloves, then they changed that. It was revealed that the Weapon X program had implanted the adamantium claws when they did the lacing his bones with the unbreakable alloy bit. Then Magneto ripped the adamantium out through Wolverine's pores (even though adamantium had been a non-magnetic substance through most of its "history") and Wolverine grew bone claws to replace them. Then the retcon of all retcons, the Origins minseries showed that yes, Wolverine's claws were present as early as just before puberty. So, since the story has changed so often, and in such a capricious manner, most people can be forgiven for not getting it exactly correct. But Wolowitz should have known better.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Alan, some mutations were visible upon birth. I believe Nightcrawler was born looking like a blue devil (Not to be confused with the Blue Devil, the DC character). Marvel has played pretty fast and loose with regard to when a mutation takes effect and if someone who hasn't manifested can be genetically discovered as a mutant, depending on the needs of the story they are telling, so it is possible that Wolverine was born with tiny little bone claws in his tiny little forearms. so cute.
Last night's episode seemed tired. I suspect that's what is inspiring your lethargy to discuss it. Leonard & Penny seem to have a non-traditional arrangement worked out. But their being together seems like a bad move, in terms of the longevity of the show, unless a compelling storyline is developed with the other characters.
ReplyDeleteI think the Penny/Leonard relationship COULD be funny, it just hasn't been written that way so far. I don't fault the actor there as much as the writers. I give the show credit for "going there" and having them seemingly get together but there are certainly a few wrinkles that need to be worked out in regards to how it's written before it meshes well with the rest of the plots. My first recommendation would be not to keep siphoning the 2 of them off from the rest...the show works best when everyone is involved.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the "fine wine/food" line was funny as was almost everything about the cricket storyline.
Any TV episode which has a character named Toby - even if it is an ordinary field cricket - is okay by me!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I still don't think Wolverine was BORN with bone claws. They were a result of his mutant power manifesting. I would say his claws are "natural" and not implants, but I wouldn't say he was born with them... as far as I know -- it's been a long time since I've read Origins.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line for some reason was "They have Wii cricket now?"
ReplyDeleteI liked this episode (though I agree the Penny/Leonard scenes were pretty tepid), but personally, I've never been much of a Lewis Black fan. The shouting shtick gets old fast (like on the weaker episodes of Always Sunny, where they resort to shouting to try to make things funny), and this screamed pathetically "stunt casting", as to how out of place the whole thing seemed.
ReplyDeletemade me laugh. a lot!
ReplyDeleteI am still laughing at the "lady bug" joke :D
I love this show.
Like many of the others, I find the Penny/Leonard situation amazingly boring...but do like them both as individual characters.
ReplyDeleteI can't say why, but for me a lot of the amusement of this show comes from many of the throwaway lines. For instance:
"You're missing the point, a Shiksa goddess is not an actual goddess; we prey on them, not to them."
There are only two ways Leonard/Penny can go: He stays in the game long enough to find his mojo and rock her world nightly thereafter, or they both agree that this just ain't happening and he steps back to being her pathetic lapdog. At which point, the only way they keep her competitive for screen time is to attach her romantically to Sheldon. Presuming he finally reaches puberty. Me, I prefer his sweet cluelessness to Leonard's calculated coveting.
ReplyDelete