as geeks, what are you feelings about Big Bang Theory?

[BlackCanary]

I like it, but sometimes I hate it.

Girls in comic book stores?! It's like a unicorn showed up!

Girls can't possibly like comics or D&D! 

[scribellesam]

I like it but I hate the way they treat/write women on the show. Penny doesn't even have a last name! And they got rid of Leslie Winkle because the writers didn't know what to do with her character, being all smart and assertive. Instead we got Amy and Bernadette, who can be hilarious but are written to behave like stereotypical girly idiots most of the time.

I do appreciate Sheldon and all the geeky references.

[CheshireGrin]

I don't like it. And I like the people who are obsessed with it even less.

[starfish]

Oct 2, 2013 17:42:14 GMT -5 scribellesam said:

I like it but I hate the way they treat/write women on the show. Penny doesn't even have a last name! And they got rid of Leslie Winkle because the writers didn't know what to do with her character, being all smart and assertive. Instead we got Amy and Bernadette, who can be hilarious but are written to behave like stereotypical girly idiots most of the time.

I do appreciate Sheldon and all the geeky references.

I think the female roles are really lacking. The one time I can think them talking about a female geek she was the gf of the comic book owners. They hint that she is fat, and over bearing, and he wont break up with her because its the best he could get.  I really liked Leslie Winkle, they need to bring her back!

  I like it for the most part. 

[pirate]

Oct 2, 2013 17:14:57 GMT -5 BlackCanary said:

I like it, but sometimes I hate it.

This is pretty much how I feel about it too. Generally I like it but sometimes I'm just like....really?

[BlackCanary]

Oct 2, 2013 19:04:58 GMT -5 starfish said:

Oct 2, 2013 17:42:14 GMT -5 scribellesam said:

I like it but I hate the way they treat/write women on the show. Penny doesn't even have a last name! And they got rid of Leslie Winkle because the writers didn't know what to do with her character, being all smart and assertive. Instead we got Amy and Bernadette, who can be hilarious but are written to behave like stereotypical girly idiots most of the time.

I do appreciate Sheldon and all the geeky references.

I think the female roles are really lacking. The one time I can think them talking about a female geek she was the gf of the comic book owners. They hint that she is fat, and over bearing, and he wont break up with her because its the best he could get.  I really liked Leslie Winkle, they need to bring her back!

  I like it for the most part. 

I remember her! I like Stuart. 

[panicked]

I love the show. While I agree the female leads roles are lacking, I do appreciate how they have integrated Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette in as educated females. And Penny is just cute.

[dr.girlfriend]

Hmmmm...I do like the show. I definitely understand what you guys are saying, but in some ways I think it's more a problem with the dynamic they set up for the show. They really wanted these brainy, socially awkward guys to consider women a foreign species. For this reason, you can't really have a female character that totally "fits in" with the group, in other words one who is geeky in exactly the same way these guys are geeky...it just wouldn't be funny. I don't remember Leslie Winkle too much, but from what I remember she seemed like just a female version of Leonard, which just doesn't work well for the show. And Penny is pretty much set up to be the opposite of these guys, so she's got to be a little ditzy, etc. That said, I really like Bernadette as a character -- she's brainy, pragmatic, funny, etc. Amy is deliberately awkward in the way Sheldon is, so I don't think her issues are about portraying a female character poorly. They are both neuroscientists and obviously smart as whips, and I think there have been good references to Bernadette out-earning Howard and being more educated, etc. I know these particular women didn't understand the appeal of comic books, D&D, etc., but I'm not sure if there's been a sense of "women in general don't do that." I feel like when they show the comic book store there usually are women browsing there.

I will say that Amy's girl-crush on Penny seems weird at times.  If they want to make Amy bisexual that's great, but instead they seem to be throwing in comments when it suits them to make a joke of it.  I think it's totally natural that she idolizes and hero-worships Penny, but then every once in awhile they throw in a comment that's just kind of weird.  HIMYM does this with Lily making sexual comments about Robin, and it just feels like a bunch of male sitcom writers going, "let's throw in some lesbian stuff here -- everybody loves that stuff!"

[GilliC]

...coming out of lurkdom, because we were just talking about this the other day...

So many people I know love it, but every time I watch it, it makes me uncomfortable. Not because of the gender issues at all, because I haven't really watched enough episodes after they introduce the non-Penny women to form an opinion on that front. I don't like to watch it, because I feel like it's making fun of nerdy people like me. Example: I actually do like flags and already knew the term vexillology.  *hangs head in Sheldonesque shame*

I was visiting some friends earlier this week, and I explained this to them when they asked if I watch the show. Then we watched an episode and they'd start laughing at something, and then they'd look at me with a questioning look. Half the time I'd respond with, "Yeah, that's totally me. Or most of the people I work with."

...I also hate the laugh track. I think they overdo it. They don't need laugh track in between every sentence in the show.

[CrazyLucky]

Oct 2, 2013 18:03:39 GMT -5 CheshireGrin said:

I don't like it. And I like the people who are obsessed with it even less.

Hee hee, you'd HATE me.  I love that show!

[Dusky]

I'm not a fan of it. I feel like it tries way to hard and misses the point a lot of times.

[pirate]

Well, I really enjoyed tonight's episode . Loved Amy and Howard together!

[mbcdefg]

Oct 3, 2013 8:51:28 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I will say that Amy's girl-crush on Penny seems weird at times.  If they want to make Amy bisexual that's great, but instead they seem to be throwing in comments when it suits them to make a joke of it.  I think it's totally natural that she idolizes and hero-worships Penny, but then every once in awhile they throw in a comment that's just kind of weird.  HIMYM does this with Lily making sexual comments about Robin, and it just feels like a bunch of male sitcom writers going, "let's throw in some lesbian stuff here -- everybody loves that stuff!"

This bothers me (in both shows) as well. It's slightly funnier in TBBT than in HIMYM, though, because I think Mayim Bialik is just a better comedic actress than Alyson Hannigan. The Lily character on HIMYM is more appealing when she's doing a serious scene than when she's trying to be funny.

I like that Bernadette is a higher earner than Howard, that she doesn't put up with his crap about driving him places and being a second Mommy to him, and that she has never been too excited about having kids (and only agreed to them if Howard would be the SAHP).

I don't think TBBT necessarily makes fun of the guys for having nerdy interests like D&D, Fun with Flags, trains, 3D chess, etc. ... I think it just makes fun of the obsessive level to which they take those interests sometimes. They've made fun of Penny's interest in shoes, Mrs. Cooper's obsession with religion, etc.

[partiallysunny]

I love Sheldon.

I'm annoyed with how Amy is turning out. I loved her in the begining, when she was more like Sheldon, but the crush on Penny and the sexual innuendos with Sheldon grates on me.

I love Bernadette.

The lack of female characters doesn't bother me, because it's sort of... real life. At least in my neck of the woods. Females in comic book stores is odd. Females who like games is strange.

I do think they should introduce a more "normal" nerdy female character. Like the girl version of Leonard.

[gibbinator]

Oct 4, 2013 13:26:11 GMT -5 partiallysunny said:

I'm annoyed with how Amy is turning out. I loved her in the begining, when she was more like Sheldon, but the crush on Penny and the sexual innuendos with Sheldon grates on me.

This is my main complaint with the show lately. It's like she's a totally different person now. Very annoying.

I like the rest of it though. I love how they make fun of all the stereotypical geeky things by taking them to the extreme. It reminds me of my school/University years.

[IIOY]

I usually get bothered by stereotypes but this show is comfort food for the brain for me.

[agnes]

I love the show.

I've had many smart and socially awkward guy friends that fit the stereotype. I feel like I can relate a little with Penny.

[midnightrae]

I love Sheldon. I do like the show a lot, but there are some annoying stereotypes and such. Wasn't Leslie the girl that played Darlene on Roseanne with the guy that play Leonard?
I like mbcdefg's comment about Bernadette's character.

[BlackCanary]

Oct 4, 2013 13:26:11 GMT -5 partiallysunny said:

I love Sheldon.

I'm annoyed with how Amy is turning out. I loved her in the begining, when she was more like Sheldon, but the crush on Penny and the sexual innuendos with Sheldon grates on me.

I love Bernadette.

The lack of female characters doesn't bother me, because it's sort of... real life. At least in my neck of the woods. Females in comic book stores is odd. Females who like games is strange.

I do think they should introduce a more "normal" nerdy female character. Like the girl version of Leonard.

That makes me sad. The comic book stores I work for have/had many female employees. One of my friends was the manager of one for awhile and she now works for a comicon.

We also have a ton of women who come every Wednesday to pick up their weekly comics. I love my job.  (heart)

[partiallysunny]

Oct 9, 2013 19:48:14 GMT -5 BlackCanary said:

Oct 4, 2013 13:26:11 GMT -5 partiallysunny said:

I love Sheldon.

I'm annoyed with how Amy is turning out. I loved her in the begining, when she was more like Sheldon, but the crush on Penny and the sexual innuendos with Sheldon grates on me.

I love Bernadette.

The lack of female characters doesn't bother me, because it's sort of... real life. At least in my neck of the woods. Females in comic book stores is odd. Females who like games is strange.

I do think they should introduce a more "normal" nerdy female character. Like the girl version of Leonard.

That makes me sad. The comic book stores I work for have/had many female employees. One of my friends was the manager of one for awhile and she now works for a comicon.

We also have a ton of women who come every Wednesday to pick up their weekly comics. I love my job.  (heart)

I think that's wonderful! Sadly, not my experience.

I have moved to a more populated area recently, so maybe there is more of a fan base here. Here's hoping

[mbcdefg]

Oct 9, 2013 18:17:10 GMT -5 sxia said:

Yup. We just watched the episode where Leonard and Leslie hook up and were laughing because they played girlfriend/boyfriend on Roseanne.

I read recently that Sarah Gilbert realized that she was a lesbian around the time she was actually dating Johnny Galecki in real life ... and he was extremely supportive of her.

[melindafelinda]

I love it. It's the only network show I watch.

[UnicornDog]

Oct 2, 2013 17:42:14 GMT -5 scribellesam said:

I like it but I hate the way they treat/write women on the show. Penny doesn't even have a last name! And they got rid of Leslie Winkle because the writers didn't know what to do with her character, being all smart and assertive. Instead we got Amy and Bernadette, who can be hilarious but are written to behave like stereotypical girly idiots most of the time.

I do appreciate Sheldon and all the geeky references.

My feelings are similar. I hate all the "girls aren't real nerds" crap out there. Big Bang does a lot better than some other cultural touchstones with it, but they have room to improve. I generally enjoy the humor, though.