Incredibly, for a show that’s not even two seasons old, The Big Bang Theory is already shown in over 40 countries around the world – seemingly the language of ‘geek’ is gobal. It would also seem that the simple tale of the guy (or guys), who can’t get the girl, and the hot stuff next door is also universal.
If you haven’t seen it, the show revolves around Leonard and Sheldon, a pair of Ph.D. geniuses, who work together at the California Institute of Techonology (referred to as “Caltech”) and also share a flat (filled with geek ephemera) across the corridor from aspiring actresses but actual waitress, Penny. Throw in a couple more geeks, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrappali, and that’s pretty much The Big Bang Theory.
At first glance the show can seem like a tired, formulaic, studio-based (gasp!) sitcom. And this was certainly how I initially viewed Big Bang, a sort of cheaper, not-as-good version of The IT Crowd, but after just a few episodes I began to get sucked in by this character based gag-a-thon.
There’s no re-inventing of the wheel going on here, it’s just a straightforward sitcom that, on the surface, is aimed at the nerdoid contingent of our planet. Yet, its appeal has crossed that boundary as audience figures will attest (unless there are more geeks on this planet than I thought), mainly, I would argue, down to the superb cast.
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