“Trying to use a Jedi mind trick to control Stephen Hawking. Ugh, he must be wearing a tin foil hat or something.”
As it has been for the past five seasons of The Big Bang Theory not much has changed from the end of one season to the beginning of the next. What has been a show of brilliant minds at work and how they adapt and conquer the real world has begun to lose its luster. The relationships between the main characters are enough to keep coming back but the writing hasn’t been the strong writing that fans of the series have come to expect as a new season starts. It’s less about the science and more about the sex.
Every sitcom throws in a crude sex joke here and there every once and a while, but The Big Bang Theory has become more reliant on it than what gave the show its magic. But sex sells right? The once nerdy and introverted shy geeks all are now in long term relationships except Raj (Kunal Nayyar). He’s still playing the third wheel character trope that is synonymous with sitcoms to Howard (Simon Helberg) and his newlywed wife Bernadette (Melissa Rauch). But while Howard is having floating panic attacks in space, Raj pawns his boundary issues on Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) on their anniversary no less. When they don’t want him (mostly Amy’s doing) Raj turns to Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Write Raj a girlfriend at some point.
Not much has changed to the individual relationships – Sheldon and Amy still refer to their romance as boy slash friend slash girl slash friend and rely heavily on their contract much to Amy’s disapproval. Leonard is constantly apologizing for being way too emotionally available to Penny’s closed book and Howard is still caught between a rock and a hard place – his mother (voiced by Carol Ann Susi) and Bernadette. At least with Raj, there’s something more being explored – his love of skincare products and sensitivity can have some fooled but according to him he’s metrosexual and not gay. By the end of season 6 Raj finally breaks his most annoying character flaw, he can talk to women.
It only took him getting his heart broken by Lucy (Kate Micucci) to never need alcohol of some kind in his system to open up. But there’s a downside to that, his character never stops talking.
What has begun to plague The Big Bang Theory centers around the shows DNA – the nerd culture that on the surface appears to be a celebration of all things geeky but the reality is, the creators don’t understand the culture on the smallest scale. The culture is still associated with stereotypes that not many associate with. The need to nerdsplain everything to the audience is more prevalent when in fact that’s not the reality of nerd culture whatsoever. The writings focus has always been on the culture, but it’s utilized in a way that doesn’t represent any one singular person.
Science wise, the care in the writing has always put more emphasis behind the science and the physics. These are the “smartest” people in the world, at least Sheldon is in his arrogant and condescending tone. When the science is on full display, the show is at the highest quality even though the writers feel the need to then convert it into a sex joke every scene. And the canned laugh track goes wild. Not only during the funny moments but after every line of dialogue spoken the canned laughter goes off. That becomes a tad annoying – even in the season premier it’s out of control as if the writers of the season don’t feel too strong about their scripts to stay relevant with what got them to this point.
Besides all the criticisms, The Big Bang Theory still offers great performances and chemistry from the main cast. Joining the main cast is Stuart (Kevin Sussman) as Howard’s replacement. There isn’t much to give to this character and he’s used as the punching bag for Sheldon’s god complex. Id argue that some of the best scenes in this 6th season involve Simon’s Howard while working at the International Space Station. From his facial expressions to his body language, Simon nails the comfortability of a person who is in no shape to be an astronaut.
What makes this group of unlikely characters relatable revolves around their insecurities. For the series purposes, the volume is turned up way past 10 but they’re still extremely relatable. Especially during the more serious moments of the season. Howard, in particular with his father and being abandoned. But even in these moments, a joke must be said. We can’t let these characters experience sadness, it’s not good for ratings or the shows ego. Season 6 premiered in 2012 and jokes about a character’s mental health are still being written to poke fun at. Frankly its off-putting with how little regard the writing has for serious issues.
It’s still fun to listen to the back and forth screaming matches between him and Carol.
At least Mayim still steals the spotlight even though her character has now been dumbed down to fit the stereotypical “click” her character desperately wants to be a part of.
The Big Bang Theory season six premiered in 2012 and can be streamed on HBO Max. The Big Bang Theory season six has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 67%. The Big Bang Theory was created for TV by Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady and stars Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, Kevin Sussman, Wil Wheaton, Regina King, Kate Micucci and Carol Ann Susi. 3.5 out of 5.