Please Pass the Remote

It’s been ages since I blogged about what I’m watching on TV these days. So evern though this season's shows are wrapping up, here are two I'm tuned into.

The Big Bang Theory

Several great laugh-out-loud moments in this week’s episode, “The Vegas Renormalization." I must have missed something, though, because I did not know Howard had hooked up with Leonard’s ex, Leslie. If I had, I certainly would have predicted that it was a doomed relationship. And I would have right.

One of the things I really love about this show is the way the writers bring the story full circle. The opening segment began with our four favorite nerds talking about the concept of “friends with benefits.” As if they’d know. Right away I wondered where the writers were going this, and never would have predicted the tie-in at the end. Brilliant!

Leonard and Raj, good friends that they are, take down-in-the-dumps Howard to Las Vegas and set up a little...um...benefit...to console him. In case you haven’t seen this episode yet, I won’t spoil it for you.

Sheldon’s plans for a quiet weekend alone run amok when he locks himself out of his apartment and has to turn to the long-suffering Penny for help. He ends up spending the night with her. In her bed, actually. With Penny? Well, you’ll just have to watch, won’t you?

Fast-forward to the next morning and the last scene of the episode. Just as Leonard returns from Vegas, Sheldon emerges from Penny’s apartment announces that he now has a much better appreciation for the concept of “friends with benefits.”

Leonard’s reaction? Best laugh I’ve had in a long time.

Sadly, I think we see the season finale of The Big Bang Theory next week. But if this show hasn’t already been picked up for a third season, I’m confident it will be. And I'm still holding out hope for a little Leonard/Penny action.

The Office

I am so looking forward to tonight’s new episode. Michael, Pam and Ryan are back at Dunder Mifflin—Michael once again in charge, with Pam now a member of the sales team. Might Pam’s competitive streak create some conflict between her and easy-going Jim? I think so.

And have you noticed that Sheldon and Michael are the same archetypes? Very different characters, but Chiefs to the core. A couple of self-asserting know-it-alls who always get what they want—and we love them in spite of it. Or maybe because of it.

Reaching for the remote.
Lee

Channel Surfing—The Big Bang Theory

I’m a big fan of sitcoms—always have been—so I'm glad to see The Big Bang Theory is back for another season. 30 Rock might have cleaned up at the Emmy’s but in my opinion, The Big Bang Theory and The Office are the best-written and best-acted comedy series on television right now.

I’ll confess, though, that I’m a sucker for a show that promises an engaging love story, which may be why 30 Rock has less appeal to me. The Office has several love interests—Jim and Pam finally engaged! The Dwight-Angela-Andy triangle.

And of course The Big Bang Theory has Leonard and Penny. In spite of opening the box to discover Schrödinger's cat survived the experiment, their relationship was short lived. Poor Leonard. Lovable? Totally. Brainy? Yes. Socially inept? Oh, yeah. Pointing out that Penny didn’t even graduate from community college? At least he didn’t mention her weight.

In this week’s episode, enter Leslie Winkler, whose biological clock is wound tighter than the DNA she wants to replicate. She’ll even risk passing on Leonard’s short stature and lactose intolerance to her progeny if it means said progeny will inherit his brains.

The deal breaker?

No way will she take a chance that her child will favor string theory over loop quantum gravity.

Seriously. A girl has to draw the line somewhere.

So have we seen the last of Leslie? My instincts are saying no. There’s been some biology but definitely no chemistry between Leonard and Leslie. But there could be something between Leslie and Sheldon. Don’t you think? Is their constant sniping and animosity just a hint of what’s to come?

Leslie and Sheldon are identical character archetypes. He’s a Chief, she’s a Boss. Both highly competitive, both with an intense need to be right, all the time. So the big question is, will they be able to overlook theories of relativity long enough to let the laws of attraction take effect?

If I was one of the writers for this show, that’s the direction I’d take. It means Leonard would need a certain amount of consoling, and who better to do it than Penny?

Until next time,
Lee

The Big Bang Theory: Dumpling Paradox

I am thoroughly enjoying this show! The dialogue is so well written—smart and snappy and exactly right for each character.

When Wolowitz hooks up with Penny’s friend, the world according to Sheldon is momentarily bumped out of its orbit. How can they play Halo without Wolowitz?

PENNY: Hey, if you guys need a fourth, I’ll play.
LEONARD: Great idea.
SHELDON: Nooooo. The wheel was a great idea.

I also love the subtle things the writers are doing to create intimacy between Penny and Leonard. In the last episode, Penny went through Leonard’s closet, helping him pick out something to wear to the physics convention. This week she spent the night on his sofa.

But back to the dialogue, in which know-it-all Sheldon gets to pontificate, leaving lots of openings for nice-guy Leonard’s quiet zingers.

The restaurant scene was classic.


SHELDON: [lists their usual order when the four of them go to the restaurant] Do you see the problem?
LEONARD: I see a problem.
SHELDON: Our entire order is predicated on four dumplings and four entrees divided amongst four people.
LEONARD: So, we’ll just order three entrees.
SHELDON: Fine. What do you want to eliminate, and who gets the extra dumpling?

I’ve known my share of science geeks who can easily solve complex mathematical problems, yet grapple with simple things, like ordering Chinese food. And isn’t that what makes them so darned loveable?

Lee

PS: The penultimate episode of Men in Trees airs tonight. I'm still disappointed that this series has been cancelled.

Smart is the new sexy . . .

That’s the tagline for the TV sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. I didn’t watch the regular season but now that it’s into reruns, I’m adding it to my summer viewing schedule. Here’s the plot summary:

Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists, the kind of "beautiful minds" that understand how he universe works. But none of that genius helps them interact with people, especially women. All this begins to change when a free-spirited beauty named Penny moves in next door. Sheldon, Leonard's roommate, is quite content spending his nights playing Klingon Boggle with their socially dysfunctional friends, fellow CalTech scientists Wolowitz and Koothrappali. However, Leonard sees in Penny a whole new universe of possibilities...including love.

From what I’ve seen so far, the writers have done a superb job with character development, especially Leonard and Sheldon, the two physicists. Instead of serving up the stereotypical science nerd with a pocket protector and taped-together glasses, they’ve given us two very different characters. Polar opposites, in fact.

One of the archetypes described in The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes is the “professor.” For a show about science nerds, you might expect the writers to fall back on this archetype.

I’m glad they avoided the temptation, even though the costume designers couldn’t seem to resist. LOL!

Leonard is a “best friend” archetype—stable, supportive, tolerant, complacent, myopic and unassertive. Yes, that’s Leonard. To a tee.

Sheldon, believe it or not, is a “chief” archetype. Not how you usually see a science geek? Sheldon is goal oriented, decisive, responsible, stubborn, unsympathetic and dominating. What can I say? He's a know-it-all!

I haven’t yet seen enough of the show to figure out Penny, the gorgeous young woman across the hall, but I think she’s either a “waif” or a “spunky kid,” or possibly a layering of the two. What I do know is that Leonard has a serious crush on her. Too bad she already has a boyfriend.

It turns out that the writers of The Big Bang Theory have worked on some of my other favorite shows over the years (Gilmore Girls, Murphy Brown, Dharma and Greg, Caroline in the City, Mad About You, The Wonder Years, 3rd Rock from the Sun) so it’s no surprise that their latest efforts have caught my attention.

TBBT is on tonight, and I’ll be watching!

Lee