The Big Bang Theory is usually a tightly constructed show. The nerdy heroes have one or two geeky adventures, seen through the judgmental, yet well-meaning eyes of neighbor Penny, while one or more of the nerds has an existential crisis about love life, hobby, and/or lifestyle issues. The humor begins with derisive laughter at the nerds’ expense, and is furthered with clever turns of phrase, scientific interpretation and analysis of everyday minutiae, and Sheldon’s complete misunderstanding of interpersonal engagement.
As tightly constructed as the show usually is, tonight’s episode was looser than a pair of ripped sweatpants. It didn’t seem like an actual episode, but purged remnants from other shows. The episode begins with a typical geeky encounter between the nerds and Penny; this week the quartet was preparing for “kite fighting” in the park while Penny watched a University of Nebraska football game with several other fans.
When The Big Bang Theory premiered, I didn’t much care for the show. The general premise of the early episodes was little beyond “Nerds are pathetic. Let’s point and laugh at them.” Several months later, I gave the show a second chance, and was pleasantly surprised. The show got much better, showcasing the same overt nerd culture, but doing so from an objective standpoint. Leonard’s plotline seemed to be a throwback to those early episodes, perhaps unintentionally due to the complete socio-normality of college football in America, especially compared to comic books. When nerds and football are in the same room, nerds just seem more pathetic by comparison.
Howard and Rajesh, meanwhile, take the throwaway gag of kite fighting and run with it. After losing his prized “Tibetan fighting kite” to Sheldon in a bet, Rajesh holds a grudge against Howard, who at the time of the contest was ogling passing female joggers rather than participating in the competition. This eventually evolves into a mirrored comparison of Howard and Rajesh and a married couple having an argument. This b-plot just didn’t work. It was too silly, too obvious, too slow, and too uncharacteristic of Howard and Rajesh. Worst of all, somewhere on the internet, someone has inevitably been inspired to write some terrifying slash fiction.
Sheldon was terribly underutilized in this episode. Instead of proffering an Asperger’s laden interpretation of football and football mania, Sheldon is revealed to be a football aficionado due to his Texas upbringing (I assume CBS Sports felt threatened, and demanded a sympathetic depiction of football). Under the orders of a “Tier One Friendship Agreement,” Sheldon fully educates Leonard on America’s second favorite pastime, also touting his knowledge of “frying meats that aren’t chicken as if they were chicken,” and “how to shoot close enough to a raccoon that it craps itself.”
Sheldon drives the plot forwards, but with the exception of a few one-liners and a Battlestar Galactica toaster (which chars a Cylon head into bread slices), Sheldon could have been omitted from this episode altogether.
At the football party, attended by a surprising number of Cornhuskers from the Los Angeles area, Leonard engages in a series of actions that couldn’t be more awkward unless Michael Cera were in the room stammering. Such gems including cheering at a highlight from a ’98 championship game, and citing rules and protocol directly from an encyclopedia, (“I can’t believe they’re not being penalized with the loss of a down and by having to move the line of scrimmage back to the spot of the foul.”) Realizing he is out of his element, and completely bored by the game, Leonard leaves before halftime, forcing Penny to sheepishly confess to her friends, “he’s really smart…”
The humor of The Big Bang Theory is all character-based. It doesn’t matter what the characters are doing, as long as they’re doing it, the humor magically happens. However, tonight’s episode proves the exception. When characters are removed from their natural environments and shoehorned into uncomfortable surroundings, their character traits are nullified, negating any potential for humor. Simply put, putting a Caltech physicist into a football environment is just as entertaining as a normal person at the DMV. Do us all a favor, and keep a Cylon toaster within arm’s reach at all times.
