by Bhavya Dabas

Created on: October 14, 2009

The Big Bang Theory is a comedy about a few geeks who, at the outset, know everything about Physics, and nothing about social norms. There's Sheldon, who cannot tell when someone is being sarcastic, and cannot talk to someone for too long without bringing the Doppler effect or Schrdinger's cat into the conversation. Then there is Leonard, who is, in Sheldon's words, a "humonkulous", or "perfectly formed miniature human being." These two live across the hall from an attractive waitress-cum-wannabe-actress, who, during the course of things, teaches them a social skill or two that they could use.

I'm a bit of a geek myself, and I love the way science is used for creating humor in this show. I think the USP of the series is the innocent charm that the Howard and Sheldon have, being completely unaware of what society generally deems acceptable or unacceptable while communicating with the females of the species. Add to that Sheldon's quirks, like his immutable spot where he eats and watches TV or his unrelenting desire to stick to a predetermined weekly dinner and breakfast menu. He insists on learning swimming and driving on his computer, instead of in an actual pool or on an actual road, before arriving at the conclusion that he is too evolved to drive. It's his strange habits that drive his roommate and friends up the wall, but keep the viewer coming back for more.

Then there are their friends, Howard, an engineer, who still lives with his mother, and Raj, who comes from India. Raj is completely unable to utter any words in the presence of a woman unless he has had some alcohol. Howard, on the other hand, can talk to the women, but does not know when to stop. He is the one who leads the rest of the gang (barring Sheldon, of course. He is much too intelligent to waste his time on that sort of thing!) to venture into bars and other such places, with the intention of picking up women, and it inevitably leads to another series of misadventures for them.

It's a fun filled show where geeks who are fluent in the Klingon language and, between them, have a copy of every comic book in their local store, learn about building and maintaining friendships, dating women, and a life beyond laptops and vintage video games. It keeps me laughing away every night. I'm sure it will do the same for you.

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