Written by John Edward BetancourtTelevision and the many shows that it provides is something that I outright adore, after all it can at times move us in incredible fashion and there's truly something for everyone out there story wise. On a personal level, I only ask for one thing when it comes to a TV show, just give me an enthralling and fascinating story line and I'll watch every episode you send my way. Sometimes shows don't meet that personal criteria for me and I tend to gravitate away, but once in a great while, I will give a television show another go round to see if by chance I was or am missing something wonderful and recently I spent a little time on demand giving a particular show another shot in that fashion, The Big Bang Theory. Now this is a show that I watched years ago when it first came out for obvious reasons, nerds, doing nerd stuff, making people laugh, meaning that it should be a winner and in many ways it is...it's a ratings juggernaut, but since sitcoms tend to not have engaging plots that draw you in, well I lost my way. But upon coming back to it, well I found myself surprised. For starters, the laughs didn't quite resonate with me at all this go round and while I can live with a sitcom no longer making me laugh heartily, there were a few other things about the show that suddenly caught my eye that I had never noticed before. The sheer fact that it is in no way properly demonstrative of nerd culture and the people it represents, nor is it relatable because of this fact. Think about it for a moment. Every single character on that program that is a centralized 'nerd' work at a university, enjoy government grants for their work and well, live comfortably in order to pursue their every single interest and desire for the things they love and that's just not realistic. Now yes, I know, it's a TV show, but for this story to be about nerds and oddly enough, feature plenty of nerdy things, it doesn't represent nerds properly. I'm not saying that there aren't people that are indeed similar to these characters out there, but the nerds I know of in life, come from all walks of it. The bartender out there that just so happens to love Doctor Who. The nurse that never misses an episode of The Walking Dead or the police officer who can't wait for Star Trek: Discovery to hit the digital airwaves. These are folks that save up for every collectible, set money aside for conventions and autographs and live and breathe their fandom and well, they are what nerds truly look like in our world and by not seeing a better representation of nerd culture, a giant question came into my mind while re-watching this show...is The Big Bang Theory bad for said culture? The answer to that question is not a simple yes or no, but I know I'm not the only one to speak up about the show's quality or what it stands for. Heck we've seen the videos making the rounds slamming the series for overloading pop culture references and really, that's more of a jab and condemnation of the show's writing over anything else. My concern is that the show has capitalized on what a 'nerd' should be and that it relies upon stereotypes for our characters, the 'rocket scientist' or 'poindexter' if you will and well, this show feels like a missed opportunity to really do something special. They could have given us an incredibly diverse cast from all walks of life and instead, it's Seinfeld with Doctor Who jokes thrown in with a few famous guest stars to keep us happy from time to time. But while The Big Bang Theory will likely not change its style or design, we shouldn't view it as bad for nerd culture, we should view it as a stepping stone. As the old saying goes, if you dislike it that much, go out and make it better and that's what we can hope for; that a group of folks come together and put together a big time show that is just as geeky as this one, but truly represents the people it intends to fictionalize. Such a story may never make its way to network television since it's all about formulas in that part of the entertainment world, but if someone, anyone can get a series going that improves on this one...one that truly brings joy and reaches us on a fundamental level...then perhaps sitting through so many seasons of gratuitous cameos and pop culture references will have been worth it after all...
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