The Big Bang Theory, no I am not talking about ”a cosmological theory holding that the universe originated approximately 20 billion years ago from the violent explosion of a very small agglomeration of matter of extremely high density and temperature”. (Thanks Wiki)

I am talking about the CBS hit show about a bunch of geeks that nabbed the TCA (Television Critic’s Award) this past summer.

Yes geeks have been cool for quite a while now and the word geek has received some long awaited respect. Who can forget Revenge of the Nerds? 
Nerds really became popular for a while there. That is, I should say MOCKING them was popular. Many people dressed us as Nerds for Halloween parties and I even came across a Revenge of The Nerds Cruise!

Times have changed, and nerds or geeks, (which ever you prefer) have been totally reinvented since the Revenge of the Nerd movies. Geek seems to be the popular term now over nerd. They are no longer portrayed nearly as geeky as before. The days of bullying and being beat up are long gone. (well a t least in the movies and on TV) It’s no longer the norm to show a geek with tape on their eye glasses, pants hiked up to their nips and sporting a pocket pen protector.

Yep, geeks finally have their much deserved recognition. Not only in Hollywood, but in the real world too.

Geekdome even hit reality show status with Beauty and the Geek, and let’s not forget the geeks on the TV sitcom Chuck where they run the fictitious ”Nerd Herd” at  the “Buy More”.

In real life, Geek Squad and Rent a Geek company cars can be seen scurrying on their way to fixing people’s computers in many states.
Years ago, it would have been considered rude or a joke to name your business with the name geek or nerd in the title and have it blazed all over the company cars.
But now more than ever, geeks and nerds are respected for their smarts and it has become the new sexy.

The Big Bang Theory’s geeks certainly fit the new criteria of geeks. Although their clothes and personalities are not de-geeked completely, their look is nowhere near the full blown high water pants  and taped glasses stereotype and they don’t talk have laughs which sound like a braying donkeys.

I have to say, I just plain adore  this show. The cast members mesh so well together.

The show is based around it’s too main geek characters in their twenties and also their neighbor Penny played by Kaley Cuoco.
Dr. Leonard Leakey Hofstadter is played by Johnny Galecki and Dr. Sheldon Cooper is played by Jim Parsons. Their character’s MO’s are two Caltech prodigies and their ditzy neighbor Penny who is a waitress at the local Cheesecake factory.
Leonard and Penny had a little thing going on and went on a date.

The classic beauty and the geek strikes again. But their date was a disaster and their brief affair fizzled out. Although… Leonard’s and Penny’s little tryst is far from over, as the show clearly hinted in it’s season finale. We will get to that later.

Leonard and Sheldon have some super geeky buddies that visit, hang out and eat nothing buy Chinese food in their walk up apartment with the constant broken elevator which is located in Pasadena. I’ll tell you one thing, if they ate as much Chinese food in real life as they do on the show, I think the cast would be sporting some serious moobs and spare tires and would be candidates for Celebrity Fit Club.

Their buddies of course are also total brainiacs.
My favorite geek is Howard Wolowitz played by Simon Helberg. On the show he still lives at home with his Mom. His fashion sense is hysterical in his 1960’s threads, complete with big kitschy belt buckles.
He portrays a corn ball loser with the gals and he is just plain hilarious. There is a great video on Youtube that  has some real classic Wolowitz clips.

His bed (in his bachelor pad) at his Mom’s house has black satin sheets, red fur blanket and leopard print pillows. But he also has some geeky collectibles here and there in his room of course.

His Mom who you never see, and only hear is played by Carol Ann Susi. Who has had a very long and impressive career on television.
Her character of playing an over bearing Jewish Mom with a raspy accent and how she treats Wolowitz like a ten year old, is just a riot.

Over the years there were many people in comedy you never got to see or hear. Like Norm’s wife Vera in Cheer’s, Nile’s wife Maris in Frazier, or even more recently Dr. Kelso’s wife and his gay son in the TV comedy Scrubs, just to name a few. Even though you never got to actually see these people, fans formed their own mental picture of what they looked like.

Speaking of which…I don’t want to spoil it for Big Bang fans, so if you don’t want to see the real Mrs. Wolowitz, close your eyes, because the next picture is of the lovely Mr’s Wolowitz , known on the Big Bang Theory for her brisket that melts in your mouth.

Although Mrs. Wolowitz’s better half, Mr. Wolowitz has not been mentioned on the show as of yet, rumors have it that Beatles Ringo Starr may be doing a cameo as Wolowitz’s Dad. YES RINGO STARR. With Wolowitz’s big snoz, it totally makes sense. Wolowitz can definitely pass for a child of Ringo Starr who was also known for his big snoz. I hope that rumor turns into a reality. It would be hilarious.

Now Wolowitz had a couple of brief encounters with Leslie Winkle, Ph.D played by Sara Gilbert.

Fact… Many people may not remember that Sara Gilbert’s boyfriend David on Roseanne was none other than Johnny Galecki who plays Leonard on the Big Bang. Also Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie on Roseanne, did a few cameos and played Sheldon’s mother.

Sheldon, the star of the show, whose charachter idolizes Star Trek is played by Jim Parsons. Sheldon is socially inept, and an over all finicky pain in the butt who is a giant laugh and a half.

Jim won the well deserved award for individual achievement in comedy this past summer.
Oddly enough when Jim accepted his award for his genius contribution to the show, (no pun intended) he sounded an awful lot like his character Sheldon. I got a big kick out of that.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to memorize his script which is loaded with physicist jargon that would make any one’s head spin. He also has the uncanny talent of spewing out his very difficult lines at breakneck speed like a well oiled machine gun.

I wondered if Sheldon’s scientific sputum was in fact mumbo jumbo or if it had any validity behind it. After all, he plays a theoretical physicist. 

Since everyone knows how people love to challenge a shows’ ability to get it right, I looked into it and found out they actually went to a real physicist and consulted him on not only the script, but also the props and diagrams used in the show.
They explain on wiki:

“David Saltzberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles, checks scripts and provides dialogue, math equations and diagrams used as props. According to executive producer/co-creator Bill Prady, “We’re working on giving Sheldon an actual problem that he’s going to be working on throughout the first season so there’s actual progress to the boards … We worked hard to get all the science right.”

Hmmm, smart cookies… since any geek who tunes into this show will certainly be watching with a very discerning eye and would jump at the chance to disprove or argue any incorrect data found.

Back to the cast.
That leaves us with last but not least the meek Dr. Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali played by Kunal Nayyar. His character is unable to talk to women unless he drinks. He wears mismatched clothes and tries to talk hip and talks to his parents in India via we cam every now and they totally disprove his lifestyle. Koothrapali, like all the others is a sheer delight to watch.
All together these characters meld into one hell of a show.

But who is the real genius behind the show besides it’s talented and brilliant writers?

The Big Bang Theory is the brain child of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. 
Lorre was interviewed by GeekHeeb at Comic-Con, and it was posted on the Jewish Journal:

GeekHeeb caught up with series creator Chuck Lorre (“Two and a Half Men”) and actor Simon Helberg at Comic-Con to discuss the show’s Jewish characters: Howard Wolowitz, a Caltech engineer/ romantic loser who still lives at home with his never-seen, overbearing Jewish mother, known only as Ms. Wolowitz.

Lorre says that Wolowitz is based on his own Jewish background as well as that of Helberg.
While Wolowitz’s mother (played by Carol Ann Susi) has more than made her presence known (even if we don’t see her), we have yet to hear from Mr. Wolowitz.

The Big Bang Theory went through a real rough patch when they were hit with the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike and had to halt production. Whew! Glad everything worked out.
Thankfully the show is back in full swing and has been picked up for both 2010 and 2011.

The season premier is slated for Sept 21st, and it picks up where the end of season two left off.
Sheldon is approached by the Dean of the University and asked to hoof it up to the Arctic for a three-month mission to prove the validity of string theory. Naturally all the guys are convinced to join Sheldon, even though he is impossible to live with in his apratment, never mind a tiny shack in the Arctic.

Penny knitted a scarf and hat for Leonard and gives it to him before he leaves along with a snuggie. Of course Leonard still has feelings for Penny and asks what the gesture meant, and Penny says “too keep you warm”, but then goes into her apartment and behind the door says “It means I wish you weren’t going”. Awwww.

The new season’s teasers are showing Penny lunging at Leonard and giving him a big kiss on their return. So the plot thickens…
The guys are shown with big bushy heads and beards from their stint up North and it looks like the season premier is going to be killer.

The theme song for the show was written and sung by the Bare Naked Ladies.

The show just oozes cool hilarity.If you haven’t had the chance to see The Big Bang Theory yet, free up your Monday nights.
If you don’t, you are really missing out on some serious dopamine level increases and some multiple endorphine releases.
And that’s about as scientific as I get.

Source: Queen