dex14

Jimmy James

Do I understand it correctly that for once this show is going to actually build a bit of continuity?

movieking

Yup.

Not a great episode. Too much Sheldon being a jerk. Raj being feminine. Rinse and repeat.

Not a lot of Penny either.

astrochimp

That's how I felt.

This show hasn't been doing it for me of late.

Charlie Goose

Considering that Sheldon is supposed to be one of the greatest minds in the world, he certainly makes a lot of mistakes and is not very well-respected in his community.

Joe Schmoe

Ditto.

Joe Schmoe

Liked the Thanksgiving episode, but other than that I agree.

Charlie Goose

There are too many relationships now:

Sheldon/Leonard
Sheldon/Amy
Leonard/Penny
Howard/Bernadette
Howard/Raj
Sheldon/Leonard/Raj/Howard
Penny/Bernadette/Amy

Josh-da-man

I don't think Sheldon is really as brilliant as he believes himself to be.

It's interesting that we're shown Leonard, Howard, Amy, and Bernadette doing actual work while all Sheldon ever seems to do is sit at a desk. They've even told us that Kwipke is a superior physicist.

mnementh

I thought Sheldon was a theoretical physicist. What "actual" work do you expect him to do?

mphtrilogy

very meh ep

HN

This is sheldon working

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Dy8EsHZr6DI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Timber

Just a horrible episode. I'm not sure anything worked.

Coral

I always find it odd that even though it's established that Sheldon is a genius, he hasn't really accomplished much in his career it seems. I don't know much about theoretical physics, but if he's as smart as they make him out to be (even if he makes some mistakes), wouldn't he be working somewhere more prestigious with the great minds of the field and not just at a university while sharing an apartment with Leonard?

drapg

I've always assumed Sheldon's back story was given those opportunities to work with great minds in a prestigious environment as a kid when his genius was identified, but his personality basically destroyed relationships along the way as he free-fell from various jobs and social circles over the years and finally landed into a group of friends that, for some reason, put up with him and a university that was willing to overlook his foibles b/c they needed someone with his talent on their staff.

basically was given a chance to start at the top and fell down the ladder until he found a group that needed/was willing to put up with him.

Jimmy James

Where do you think theoretical physicists work if not at universities?

Coral

Right, but with his genius - I figure he'd be working at some scientific organization like CERN, NASA or even the Department of Defence. Even technology, telecommunication and medical companies could hire him. Seems like Sheldon isn't any smarter than the average University employed theoretical physicist.

It doesn't seem like Sheldon's really done a lot at the university - certainly not enough to warrant them putting up with his bullshit all the time.

arminius

I think a theoretical physicist that was really into it(Bohr, Planck, Heisenberg, Einstein, Born, Pauli, Dirac...) would not have time for the geek stuff, comics and the like. They would probably be almost always with others of their profession.

Jimmy James

I think Leonard would be the one with options like NASA or the DoD, and I think CERN is generally a fellowship thing that university physicists do. Remember, Sheldon's field is theoretical physics. Leonard's is experimental physics. I was once on the physics track (not long enough to have personal experience but long enough to know a handful of actual physicists). They work at the California Institute of Technology. It's one of the finest institutions in the field.

Sheldon by virtue of age is over the hill. He got his PhD at 24 according to Wikipedia. He's probably 35 now. Theoretical physics in particular is a young man's game. His research should be getting less and less prolific, and indeed it is true that his big value now would in general mostly be as a mentor to younger scientists. They should really find a way to move in that direction in the time the show has left or should get on with the story of his fall from grace and into a position at a much less prestigious school like USC.

Jimmy James

I think the mix of Sheldon's friends (except Penny) is not unrealistic. In fact, one of the physicists I knew best was married to a biologist. I do think their focus on geek culture is also accurate but substantially overblown. Being focused on work 80 hours a week and getting out five or six nights a month to do geeky stuff would be much more realistic but isn't exactly fodder for a sitcom.

Mike86

Some of you overthink this show way too much. It's a simple network sitcom, not a heavily serialized show or one that's going for a lot of realism.

Jimmy James

But that's what the TV Talk subforum is all about!

ETA: In the spirit of that...

http://nobel.caltech.edu/

That's the site that chronicles with short biographies the 31 Caltech Nobel laureates who have won 32 Nobel Prizes. The first one I scanned over just happened to discover the positron.

Mike86

I mean I understand discussing episodes and whatnot but certain shows I come to learn what to expect. A sitcom like The Big Bang Theory while enjoyable to me isn't something I expect realism or a lot of continuity or story arcs from.

Jimmy James

It's not a classic in a lot of ways, but the set up for the show in large part is pretty decent. That's one of the reasons it appeals to nerds, geeks, and non-nerd/geeks without a giant backlash from any of the groups.

redsea

Top scientists, especially top theoreticians, are usually at universities.