Episode 6 - The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem
13 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: A grad student, Ramona Nowitzki, begins pushing Sheldon to concentrate all his spare time on his scientific endeavours. The loss of his freedom and leisure time upsets Sheldon but he can’t stop her. Finally he gets rid of her once he has made his breakthrough and she asks if she could share credit on the paper.
The Good: Despite my reservations about the non-stop Sheldon festival that we are being subjected to, I will give the writers credit for their focus. While another show would have created a side plot to eat up more time, we get an episode dedicated to Sheldon’s relationship with Ramona and get a lot more from it as a result.
We really do get a revealing glimpse of Sheldon’s character here. Despite the high regard he has for his genius, he loves his leisure time. He has actually forged a nice work-life balance where he has plenty of time to relax and unwind after working every day on physics problems. We even get a hint that he values his friends when Ramona accuses them of holding him back: “I prefer to think of it as I’m pulling them forward.”
The writers do an effective job of explaining why Sheldon doesn’t just tell Ramona to leave. We have seen him order Penny, Leonard and company around but Ramona argues with him using his own ego and words against him. It’s almost a challenge he can’t resist, if he is such a genius shouldn’t he be working all the time? Finally once she is gone he accepts a “date” from another obsessed grad student reminding us that he not only doesn’t understand human social interaction but he is so uninterested in it that he won’t learn from his mistakes. It is pretty good writing, covering his character’s bases pretty well. The conclusion that his ego is so big that he won’t share credit makes sense too.
It’s also good that Penny asks the obvious question about Sheldon’s sexuality as it has still yet to be fully addressed. It’s also nice to see Leonard at least extend an invitation to Penny to hang out, to remind us that other stories still exist.
The Bad: That “final” line about Sheldon not sharing credit is at the heart of why I feel this show shouldn’t be built so strongly around Sheldon. The bottom line of his character is that he is so selfish and egotistical that he won’t share credit despite acknowledging that he couldn’t have achieved his breakthrough without Ramona. Essentially the show is being built around a selfish character. Ultimately audiences won’t be able to relate or enjoy stories revolving around a character whose values they don’t share. A lot of good television is built around an audience bonding with a character and willing them on to succeed, making their struggle something the audience is emotionally involved in. Sheldon won’t suck as much of the audience in with his selfish, arrogant behaviour. That is why I argue he should be the supporting character to Leonard.
There are also hints of worrying humour developing, based around Sheldon being weird. Comedies become very one dimensional when all the jokes are based around established and unchanging characters. It becomes dull to see the same joke made every week at the expense of one character. It is why I don’t like The Big Bang Theory’s older brother (if you will) Two and a Half Men where a reservoir of jokes are based around Charlie being a laid back lady’s man. After eight years of that same joke you can become numb to the comedy. Here we get Penny saying “Holy crap on a cracker” and talking about therapist’s offices when Sheldon and Ramona aren’t doing anything too abnormal. Yes she is grooming him while he works but it feels like the show is veering toward a Sheldon-centric universe where every week the “normal” characters gawk and make fun of “weirdo” Sheldon. Those jokes just feel derivative and cheap. I hope the show doesn’t go that way.
Comic Highlight: Not the funniest episode by any means but seeing Sheldon flirting is a sight to behold. “You don’t tackle the big issues Ramona. You fence with them” he tells Ramona. “Engarde, riposte” he says and mock fences her with his knife. Her hysterically excited giggles and Leonard’s look of discomfort make the line even better.
In Conclusion: Another well written and focussed episode. It’s not particularly funny and I fear it is a worrying sign of certain things to come. But for now I give all concerned credit for creating something genuinely different to most other contemporary comedies.
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