by Orrin Konheim

Created on: November 12, 2008   Last Updated: June 28, 2010

Big Bang Theory is a great show about the unlikely mix between geeks and beauties. The show primarily takes place on the third floor of an L.A. apartment where a beautiful but financially struggling waitress (Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco) moves in across the hall from a  pair of advanced theoretical physicists who are textbook examples of nerddom. Sheldon (Jim Parsons) reacts with indifference to the new girl across the hall while Leonard (Roseanne's Jonny Galecki) develops a massive crush on Penny. The girl develops a passing friendship with boys while Leonard pines for more and the episodes revolve around the adventures of Sheldon, Leonard, their two physicist friends (Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) with Penny usually having some excuse to be thrown into the mix. .

The show is very entertaining for two reasons. The first is the hilarity that results from watching these nerdy geniuses and their two friends in fish-out-of-water situations where they are forced to interact with normal people (mainly in the form of Penny). The show's dialogue is very authentic in its references to dungeons and dragons, comic books, Star Trek and other forms of nerdiness that the characters engage in which makes Penny's awkwardness around it all so much more amusing.

The second element that is great about the show is the endearing and unlikely nature of the budding chemistry that develops between Penny and Sheldon. It might be a lost cause for him but we're happy just to see sparks fly in the meantime.

One problem with the show, however, is that Penny spends an awful lot of time hanging around with Sheldon and his three friends when she has little in common with them in the first place. I understand that Sheldon is such a nice guy underneath with a desire to be sociable that she might form a friendship with them, but of the remaining three characters: Raj is too shy to speak when he's around her, Leonard is hostile and Wolfowitz is creepy. The writers construct situations where Penny is interacting with the "gang" instead of just Leonard because that way she's not dating him yet and it keeps the sexual tension flowing, but how many situations can the writers construct before the "they're neighbors" excuse doesn't cut it anymore. This is especially true when she's actively annoyed with some of them (an example is when Leonard actively snuck into her apartment and cleaned her room). Sometimes, there are valid excuses that can make the interactions seem more plausible, like she's dropping off their mail or there's an episode where they're invited to her party.

If Leonard and Sheldon and Penny had daily schedules that forced them to unknowingly spend a lot of time with each other, step outside of their comfort spheres, and realize that the other wasn't so bad, I think that would be a great concept for a show. What if the show was set in the physics lab where Sheldon and Leonard work? If the show took place at their university and Penny was hired as a seceretary or clerk, all of their physics jokes would seem more natural since they'd be forced to talk more physics around her anyway. All the interactions would still be there but they'd also be more natural if she was spending what I currently see as excessive time with the gang of four.

Still the show is very entertaining and one is excited to see where it will go.

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