If you’re a geek or a geek-sympathizer, you might want to check out a new sitcom on CBS called The Big Bang Theory.
I’m no fan of sitcoms, but I really like this one. The show centers around two physics geeks, Leonard and Sheldon, their two nerdy friends, and their new neighbor who happens to be an attractive, non-geeky woman. The part that’s different? They get all the geeky stuff right!
Seriously. They don’t just mention Vulcan mating rituals, they mention Pon Farr. They revel in comic books, tech gadgets, intellectual games, science fiction, and all that fabulous stuff — just like me and my friends. I can’t watch an episode without drowning in waves of nostalgia. (And sometimes calling out the name of the Star Trek episode to which they’re referring before they do.)
I am a bit troubled by Penny, the blonde neighbor. The guys have nothing in common with her, but still lust after her because of her looks. (Most of my geeky guy friends aren’t like that.) At first, I thought the writers couldn’t write women at all. Then I had a revelation: they just can’t write non-geeks. Or, in another light, they depict non-geeks as many hardcore geeks view them — two-dimensionally.
In any case, The Big Bang Theory is the first sitcom I’ve ever seen that seems to be written by geeks. There are free episodes available if you feel like checking it out.
> I am a bit troubled by Penny, the blonde neighbor.
> The guys have nothing in common with her, but still lust
> after her because of her looks. (Most of my geeky guy friends
> aren’t like that.) At first, I thought the writers couldn’t write
> women at all. Then I had a revelation: they just can’t write
> non-geeks.
Maybe I'm just not following your discussion, but why do you conclude that the writers can't write non-geeks well, when you find the behavior of the geeks ("Most of my geeky guy friends aren't like that.") to be unrealistic?
Woops! Sorry! I wrote this too fast and didn’t check my work.
I think that Penny is supposed to be attractive, but that I don’t think they’re writing her character very well. As written, I have a harder time believing that geeky guys would go for her.
I love The Big Bang Theory. It is my favorite new show. It is just hilarious, and I love Penny by the way.
Hey,
As long as geeky TV is the subject, there's a new anti-ghost-hunters show out there that science fans should like. Well, actually it's just a pilot. But if you like the idea of sassy, smart people traveling to creepy places and debunking woo-woo, check out (and support) The Skeptologists:
http://www.skeptologists.com/
Bonus: Survivor fans will recognize one of their favs…
I think I get what you're saying about Penny. If I were a geeky guy, I might not be romantically interested in her in a serious way (as opposed to the way I'm interested in Johnny Depp–he's fun to look at, but I wouldn't actually want to date him or be around him for any period of time). If she weren't so good at comedy I don't think this concept would work out so well. I really could go on and on for hours with pseudo-psycho-analysis of her and the main character too, and all the reasons why they'd never work together romantically, and all the reasons why they really really would (and should too). I'm trying to restrain myself here.