Published by Mason Oldridge, 21 February 2023
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Bazinga! The Big Bang Theory is undoubtedly one of the best sitcoms, and indeed TV series in general, to ever grace our screens. It tells of four intellectually brilliant yet socially clueless scientists Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj, and their eventual journey from an introverted group of friends immersed in nerd culture to confident men with their respective partners. Set in the heart of liberal California, there are PC jokes aplenty yet also a decent offering of risqué wit in the form of Howard’s creepiness and racial impressions, cheeky stereotypes and unintentional offensiveness from Sheldon’s devoutly religious Texan mother. Throughout its 12 season run, the show covered a lot of ground, but also crashed to the ground sometimes too.
Undeniably, Season 1 is comedy gold. Back then, none of the boys had girlfriends and Leonard was no further than pining over new neighbour Penny, meaning the guys were in peak nerd mode. From Leonard’s panic attack over contemplating sex with Penny, the ridiculousness of Sheldon’s white lie and the extreme extent the guys go to to avoid looking after Sheldon when he’s sick to Sheldon’s competitiveness in the physics bowl competition and Howard’s allergic reaction, the first season is full of hilarious moments. In the season finale, Leonard finally plucks up the courage to ask Penny out on a date, beginning an on-off relationship that serves as a central point to the show.
One of the sweetest moments in the series is when Penny admits her feelings for Leonard in the Season 2 finale before he departs for the North Pole and, from their second run together beginning in Season 5, it soon becomes apparent how much Leonard and Penny love each other. Therefore, it is ridiculous that Leonard cheats on Penny while on a work trip. In the Season 7 finale, Leonard departs for an expedition in the North Sea over the summer and Leonard confesses to Penny on the way to their shotgun wedding in the Season 8 finale that he drunkenly kissed a colleague. Not only has he cheated on her but he kept it a secret for a whole year, only admitting to it as they agree to enter their marriage with no secrets. Furthermore, Leonard often starts an argument with Penny and is quite harsh in his words; examples include when Leonard is uncomfortable with Penny’s male friend staying on her sofa and when Penny is angered by her ex proposing in the restaurant they are dining at. It is a running gag that Penny is more attractive than Leonard and they split up in Season 3 due to Leonard being further along in the relationship than her. Although the coupling becomes more equal later on, it is still widely unrealistic that Leonard would stray, undermining the authenticity of their relationship.
We see a lot of personal development in Penny throughout the seasons as she goes from an aspiring yet failing actress working as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory to being a successful pharmaceuticals sales representative. Penny realising she doesn’t need to be an actress to be happy and proposing to Leonard is a pivotal stage in this development, as well as a sweet moment to watch. Despite having progressed from waitress to barmaid, Penny later becomes a sales rep, suggesting she needs a successful career to be happy too, which feels a shame given her previous revelation. Additionally, it is briefly referenced in the show that Penny doesn’t want children and has no maternal instincts. This is seen as a powerful statement in the feminist movement, a stand against the expectation of a woman desiring motherhood. Unfortunately, the writers opt to satisfy Leonard’s desire of fatherhood instead as Penny reluctantly agrees with Leonard being a sperm donor for Penny’s ex Zack and, after that falls through, Penny reveals she is pregnant in the series finale.
Sheldon and Amy’s relationship sees both become more socially confident. Amy has a positive influence on Sheldon and, despite being a drastic overhaul from the robotic woman we are introduced to in the Season 3 finale, she comes out of her skin thanks to her friendship with Penny. Sheldon gets better at identifying and performing social convention that had previously eluded him and, while there’s heartwarming moments such as his first kiss with Amy on the steam locomotive, the writers continue this trajectory too far, reaching unrealistic levels with Sheldon and Amy having sex in Season 9 and Sheldon, as the narrator of spin-off series Young Sheldon, reveals he and Amy have a child in the future. It is also somewhat illogical that Sheldon and Amy would move across the hall as the apartment was Sheldon’s before Leonard moved in. However, Sheldon’s character is the key to the show’s success; Jim Parsons is perfect as the eccentric and arrogant manchild. While his childishness and camp persona can be frustrating at times, it is his abrupt rudeness and outspoken bluntness that makes for some of the funniest moments.
The personal development the writers perfected was Howard. We see the engineer grow (in personality, definitely not height) from a creepy loner always hitting on women to being a husband, father-of-two and astronaut. Howard puts his days of building sex robots and regular visits to HR behind him to become a better man and we are fully behind it. When Raj drunkenly tells of Howard’s sexual past at his bachelor party in Season 5, Bernadette gets cold feet, leaving Howard to make an impromptu speech about how he has changed thanks to her in what is the most emotional scene of the entire series. Further tearjerkers come in Season 7 when Howard, along with the help of the gang, performs a song dedicated to Bernadette while she is quarantined and Season 8 when Howard’s mother passes away.
It seems Raj is on a similar path when he overcomes his selective mutism in the Season 7 finale but this isn’t the case. Throughout the series, Raj is known for being unlucky in love and has many girlfriends for brief stints in the latter seasons. In Season 12, Raj begins dating Anu and it finally appears Raj has found his match… until the end of the season when she moves to London for work and Raj becomes single again. This felt an unnecessary move as it sets him up for a successful relationship but ultimately sees him end with the same relationship status as when the show started.
Outside of the main group, secondary characters are a definite strong point of the show. Stuart, the depressed and down-on-his-luck comic book store owner, is a hilarious character due to the dark comedy arising from his unfortunate life situation. Additionally, his character is explored further when he becomes a third-wheeling lodger and live-in nanny with the Wolowitz’. Other comical characters include Sheldon’s sleazy rival Barry Kripke and a bizarre fictionalised version of Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton starring as Sheldon’s nemesis and later friend.
There is bound to be a lot of pressure when it comes to wrapping up such a popular series but it is safe to say the writers did a superb job. Leonard comes to terms with his relationship with his mother and forgives her, Sheldon and Amy win the Nobel Prize, the elevator is finally fixed and Sheldon acknowledges he hurts his friends feelings and personally honours each one in his acceptance speech. All this before one final scene of the gang gathering in the original apartment to eat dinner like they famously have in so many scenes before.