Episode 1 - The Bad Fish Paradigm
9 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: Penny and Leonard return from their date but she gives him a brush off when he tries to get a second date. She confesses to Sheldon that it is because she thinks she isn’t smart enough to keep his interest. The stress of keeping this secret forces Sheldon to move out. But when neither Rajesh or Howard can stand him he returns to Leonard and gives away the secret. Unfortunately Penny is not happy with Leonard’s suggested resolution.
The Good: As viewership is highest for most shows during their season premiere it is of course important to put your best foot forward. The goal of each show is to showcase their strengths, so that viewers will remember them as the season unfolds. The producers and writers of The Big Bang Theory make it clear with this episode what they consider to be their strongest suit. And that is Sheldon by the barrel load.
Sheldon is a talented performer, definitely a contender for the crown of best comedy actor around at the moment. He shines throughout this and he is given plenty to do (see Comic Highlight). The writers once more furnish him with plenty of interesting scenes. The clothes folding prop he uses is ideal comedy, it’s plausible that he would use one and it is a funny visual. His argument that he could be Bat Man is funny and has that edge of plausibility necessary and his decision to move out in order to protect Penny’s secret is amusingly dramatic. At each step the writers make sure to explain Sheldon’s thought process in order to keep his behaviour believable. The scene where he counts Cat Women and X-Men isn’t very funny but you believe he would do it.
Penny feeling intellectually inferior to Leonard is a sensible way to explain how she could see him as an equal to her. Howard can still deliver a sleazy line really well.
The Bad: Unfortunately the writers forgot something in their haste to push Sheldon into every scene and that is that comedy must be built on good stories. The Big Bang Theory is built around Leonard’s quest for Penny, not around Sheldon’s foibles. As funny as Sheldon is, he has shown no interest in other people. It would therefore be foolish to build the show around him. Leonard and Penny on the other hand are telling one of our culture’s favourite stories: Beauty and the Geek. The struggle of the unattractive but nice guy in getting the girl is an easy and enjoyable story to tell.
Last season ended on a real high for the story. Leonard overcame his nerves and asked out Penny while she overcame some of her issues by going out with a guy with substance who really cared for her. The writers make a big mistake by ignoring this story. Their relationship is pushed to the back burner and Leonard doesn’t show remotely enough remorse about apparently ruining what they have started.
Instead we get Sheldon keeping a secret, which is exactly the same story which the show dealt with well last season (110). We get Sheldon overacting his facial tick, we get Sheldon acting drugged out, it is just too much Sheldon. The drugged out acting is a very overused idea in sitcoms. On a few valium Sheldon forgets who Leonard is, that just doesn’t happen in real life. Again the writers are so concerned with telling viewers that Sheldon is funny, that they forget to hook them on the love story too.
The final scene with Leonard and Penny is a real let down. Their misunderstanding leading to her slamming the door is a very poor way of continuing their story. Are they dating now? Was that just an argument or was that the break up? Will everything go back to normal or what? It’s a mess and not a hook for new viewers.
Comic Highlight: Sheldon begins to get anxious about keeping Penny’s secret:
S: “Secret keeping is a complicated endeavour. One has to be concerned not only with what one says but also about facial expressions, autonomic reflexes. When I try to deceive, I myself have more nervous ticks than a lime disease research facility.”
He then “sells” his own joke perfectly by staring intently at Penny trying not to laugh. Very well acted.
In Conclusion: This isn’t a bad episode out of context. But as the season opener I think the producers have missed a big trick. I think they have learnt the wrong lessons from season one and I hope they can refocus on the main story soon.
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