Nimoy really did give Sheldon his autograph on that Napkin, btw.
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/jim-pars...utograph-photo

Howard's getting a brother... interesting considering he's an only child. Jump the shark moment perhaps?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...ebook_20150311

I don't think so. The guy is only scheduled to appear in one episode right now, and I think it would be interesting to explore the issue with Howard's dad. When Bernadette gets pregnant, that's when we jump the shark.

If they are going to make any sibling a recurring character, it should be Sheldon's sister. Only one appearance!!

Huh? If they don't start having kids soon I was thinking quite the opposite. Unless I've missed them saying they don't want kids.

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I'm fine with them becoming parents as part of the show. I could even see it improving the show a great deal as the others help in caring for the kids when the parents want a break.

So every episode would contain Howard and Bernadette making excuses for how they are able to leave their infant in some nanny's care.

Paging Mrs. Trumbull

No no no. It's supposed to be a show about nerds. Awkward nerds. They've already come out of their shells quite a bit. Next thing you know they'll completely give up and buy CR-Vs and comic book store night will become Costco night.

Possible love interest for Raj? This thing with whatsherface can't last forever.

And they really should have hired this guy to play him instead

Yeah I read about Howard getting a brother earlier. Seems pretty convenient to introduce him at this point when he hasn't been mentioned at all over the course of eight seasons. Granted it could be that they're trying to open up the door to introducing his dad and this is part of that, but I don't think it really is needed for the show at this point. It does feel a bit like a jump the shark moment.

Awkward nerds trying to raise a kid. We resemble that description and we'll continue to watch. Unless people are going to bail they should get used to the idea. Wouldn't surprise me if they reveal a pregnancy before the end of this season.

It's going to be his half-brother via the father who abandoned him, so Howard would not have known about him.

Even still. It just feels like a storyline that's being forced in. You already know the basic direction they're going to take this. Howard's father heard about his mother's passing and tells Howard's brother, his brother (and possibly his father too) suddenly shows up and wants to be part of his life, some drama from that ensues, and we get Howard's dad and brother as characters. I guess its whatever but I just don't think its something really needed at this point but hopefully they're just minor characters and not regular additions. It just seems like an unneeded addition when they haven't even upgraded Emily to a full time role on the show.

A baby would be a natural progression of a human relationship. Forcing in a half-brother we've never heard of in 9 years is jump-the-shark material.

There has been an episode or two where Bernadette has stated that she hates kids. It was almost a deal breaker for Howard to marry her at one point. I guess they could easily write Bernadette changing her mind though.

I'm wondering if they're introducing Howard's half brother so that whenever Howard goes over to his house his dad will always be unseen, yelling from a back room.

I put that in the previous post for two reasons. 1. I thought I might have remembered something like that being said in an episode that touched on dealing with kids. 2. They have definitely written that character as somebody that could easily being a kid hater.

So those that don't want the show to deal with children may be OK.

That's a hell of a leap.

They've hired the actor playing the half-brother to appear in one episode.

As noted above, Sheldon's sister showed up for one episode and has never returned.

And it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if this guy became a recurring character. The show is going to run another two years. They need to do some world building so the core five have more people to interact with. Think about how great it was for Seinfeld to have characters like Newman, Uncle Leo and Puddy to keep showing up every so often and keep things lively.

Maybe Howard's brother is named Chuck Cunningham.

I think if they really only intended to use the brother in one episode there wouldn't be a story about it and he'd just show up next season. Maybe I'm wrong but I'd be willing to bet he'll be in more than one episode. I don't see how what I said is that much of a leap, that's standard sitcom fare for a story like this and this series is a network sitcom. Sheldon's sister was at least mentioned and the series didn't announce tha she'd be on prior to showing up so that's why I think this is different.

I've known more than one couple that never wanted kids that ended up having them. Again, it's not that far-fetched.

All this being said, is there a single instance in television comedy history where a baby enhanced a show? I'm leaning toward no. I'd rather they not go there. An awkward nerd raising a baby isn't any different than any awkward new parent raising a baby. Neither situation seems funny to me.

While a kid isn't the ideal storyline it makes more sense if you ask me. If they introduced that storyline soon next season could have Bernadette pregnant and having the baby by the end of the season and one season after its born (assuming they don't renew it after two seasons which there's a good chance they will).

Several things.

Sheldon's sister appeared in Season One of the series. Perhaps you need a reminder that TBBT was NOT the most popular comedy on TV in its first season.
Now, today, TBBT is the most popular comedy on TV, so the casting of a guest star is going to be a viable news story for entertainment sites, not the least because the headline is click bait.
When Stephen Colbert was cast as a guest star on The Mindy Project episode that aired this week, it was news, and he (very obviously) is not going to be a regular presence on the show.
Matt Bennett may not be known to many adults, but he is a TV star to a certain demographic, and CBS would like that demographic to watch TBBT.

Maybe you need to be reminded of what you posted just a couple hours ago, but you said that both this half-brother and Howard's father were going to show up on the show and become a regular presence on the series.
That's a leap because the half-brother is only going to be on one episode this season. There are only six left, and he won't show up until April 9th.
So you've decided that you know from the one planned appearance of this guy, and another character who has never appeared and has not been cast, that they will be turning up on the show next season. When the truth is nobody at this point last year could have predicted that Kaley Cuoco would cut her hair, which also was a news story at the time.

A baby on the show sounds so much worse then a half brother showing up for an episode. So much worse.

I never said that they were going to be a recurring presence on the series for sure...This is what I wrote:
I said they were going to show up on the series and could potentially become recurring characters but that I hope they don't. I didn't say they for sure were going to be made into recurring characters. Admittedly I was wrong about the dad as he hasn't been cast, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was introduced at some point too.

I thought you were referring to what I said was a leap as to how I thought it was going to play out on the series.

You keep posting the same thing and then keep posting that you are not saying it.

You claim that based on the ONE planned appearance of Matt Bennett, you "are willing to bet" and "will not be surprised" when his character shows up again and regularly in the future. Also, that the show will follow suit with Howard's father.

That's a leap.

When you describe it as a storyline that will take the show in a dramatic direction with these characters, you are not describing the plot of an episode. You are saying that this will be a significant arc for the show, as was Howard's time on the space shuttle.

That's a leap.