The Big Bang Theory - Television Show Analysis Essay

Introduction

"The Big Bang Theory" is a television sitcom that airs in America. The comedy show is created by Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre, both of whom double up as executive producers, together with Steven Molaro. In addition to being executive writers, the three also are the head writers for the television show. "The Big Bang Theory" has 12 seasons, each with varying number of episodes. The show displays geek or nerd characters, to communicate how shallow people who claim to understand a specific area comprehend such fields. With such characters, the show targets a general audience with a high sense of humor.

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Initially, the show had five characters, a number which has since increased. Acting as Leonard Hofstadter, Johnny Galecki is a nerd who is obsessed with comic books and video games. All through the series, Leonard plays the role of a straight man (Li & Lindy 118). He shares an an apartment with another character, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), in Pasadena. Sheldon, who is a young prodigy with a rare ability to vividly recall images after a few instances of interaction, encounters various social aspects that he finds challenging to master.

Sheldon's is even though he has a high intelligence quotient (IQ), in addition to being a theoretical physicist carrying out researches on string theory and quantum mechanics. Sheldon is boastful of his IQ, lives a ritual life, and is determined to define his way of operation. In spite of his situation, he falls in love and eventually marries Amy Farrah Fowler (Stratton 174). Otherwise known as Mayim Bialik, Amy was selected as Sheldon's perfect match by an online dating site. After interacting with Bernadette and Penny, Amy eventually embraces a social and romantic interaction with Sheldon, which ends up in a marriage. Featuring as Penny, Kaley Cuoco becomes friends with Amy and Bernadette, often visiting one another in their apartments. Penny and Leonard ultimately marry after forming a relationship.

Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) is a Jewish living with his mother, Debbie. He fancies being a womanizer, but later dates and marries Bernadette. Other than being womanizer, Howard also likes to spend on toys. Once in a while, they argue with his wife over his spending habit and his low income despite being an engineer (Stratton 176). Another character in the show is Kunal Nayyar, acting as Rajesh Koothrappli, who initially suffers selective autism save for times when he takes alcohol. Rajesh also displays female characters - even when he is with his other friends, he takes the role of a stereotypical lady. Despite his condition, he later dates Lucy, who suffers from social anxiety but this disorder eventually ends. Rajesh also gets the courage to speak with Penny when he is not drunk, and that marks the end on his inability to talk to women. Other characters in the show include Lesile Winkie (Sara Gilbert), Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (Melissa Rauch), Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman), and Emily Sweeney (Laura Spencer), together with scientist cameos and live audiences.

In all the seasons, science and science fiction media appear to be the most dominant themes and elements. The episodes revolve around physics, one of the branches of science (Sun 1). The revolution around science is evident by the choice of characters in the show. Of all the characters, six are professionally in science-related occupations. Among the six are four main male characters, Amy, and Bernadette. Often, the characters argue about scientific theories and make jokes related to science. Science has also influenced the lives of the characters. For example, Leslie could not put up with Leonard - she broke up with him - when he supported Sheldon's string theory rather than her loop quantum gravity. Leonard and Penny also are compelled to separate at a crucial time when their relationship was yet to blossom when he joins Howard, Sheldon, and Raj in a three-month research trip in the Arctic (Stratton 177). Science has also resulted in envy among the characters. When Bernadette expresses interest in Leonard's work, Penny and Howard get jealous, leading to a confrontation between Leonard and Howard. Jealousy also makes Penny admire knowing physics. Hence she asks Sheldon to teach her physics. Science has also led to a short end of the relationship between Amy and Sheldon when the two argue on whose field is superior.

Clearly, the characters in the show are geeks. They wear geeky clothes, besides decorating their homes with items that are common great value among geeks. The characters also struggle to fit in various social setups, and in various instances, they have admitted others are bullying them as the show progresses. Unfortunately, they lose in instances where they attempt to defend themselves (Li & Lindy 121). The principal focus of the episodes in the show revolves around the four main characters (Raj, Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard) because they possess typical stereotypes regarding their field. Leonard appears to be an exceptional nerd, as he is outgoing, friendly, and considerably more socially proficient. He also plays the everyman role in the show, making his audience easily identify and relate with him. Other characters also find it easy to get along with him. Leonard's trait makes it easy to express himself, as most of the time, he does not struggle to find and manage his words. For example, his invitation to Penny for lunch during the pilot episode later turns into an advertisement on diet advising on a healthy colon.

Leonard initially lived with his mother. However, the mother quite unemotional - she never appreciated nor expressed pride in her children's achievements. That relationship between them and their mother made her very distant (Li & Lindy 120). So, Leonard resorted to finding emotional support from whichever source he could. Unluckily for him, he missed the emotional comfort of his friends, not even Sheldon. When he meets Penny, he is initially attracted to her since she has a pretty face. But when she has shown a willingness to hug him, his feelings for her develop further as he felt that she could at least give him some attention.

Another nerd in the show is Sheldon. He seems to be emotionless and spends much of his time on science and geeky behaviors. In some instances, he plays the role of a person who messes up people's plans. His childhood upbringing molds him into a sort of an outcast with little interest in social life (Li & Lindy 117). He had no siblings, and his parents forced him to do even what he never wanted. Even as a grown up, he still finds it hard to interact and appreciate social life freely. But later in the show, he learns that he needs at least a few friends. Though, the friends find difficulties in coping up with him, so they only tolerate him around them. Generally, Sheldon loves science most, then his geeky character.

Conclusion

Largely, the show has succeeded to highlight the general behaviors of nerds in society. It has also shown how they find challenges when they try to interact with other people in the society. Despite sharing common traits among themselves, geeks find it equally a challenge living among them. Most of the characters in the show are geeks in a way or another. However, they seldom disagree over issues and eventually quarrel.

Works Cited

Li, Rashel, and Lindy A. Orthia. "Communicating the Nature of Science through the Big Bang Theory: Evidence from a Focus Group Study." International Journal of Science Education, Part B 6.2 (2016): 115-136.

Stratton, Jon. "Die Sheldon Die: The Big Bang Theory, Everyday Neoliberalism And Sheldon As Neoliberal Man." Journal for Cultural Research 20.2 (2016): 171-188.

Stratton, Jon. "The Price of Love: The Big Bang Theory, the Family and Neoliberalism." European Journal of Cultural Studies 19.2 (2016): 170-187.

Sun, Yanbo. "The Analysis of Apology Speech in Big Bang Theory from the Perspective of Politeness Principle." 2018 6th International Education, Economics, Social Science, Arts, Sports and Management Engineering Conference (IEESASM 2018). Atlantis Press, 2019.