When I first saw it, I thought it was indeed very funny, but was still bothered that the main character, Sheldon, and the two minor sidekicks, Howard and Raj, were far more disfunctional than any physicists I knew (or at least the vast, vast majority). Only the major sidekick, Leonard, was at all realistic. Still it was cute enough that I started to record and watch the show (Oh the wonders of a DVR.)
Well, I've come to a few realizations
- Leonard, not Sheldon, is the true main character. (Yes there is room for debate here, but I am convinced of it.)
- Sheldon, Howard, and Raj are not meant to be real people, but archetypes of certain idosyncracies that yes physicists and other technical guys do have. Just like the women in Sex and the City were archetypes (except Carrie). Thus we get
- Leonard, a real believable character with aspects of everyone else's idosyncracies, but generally a functional normal guy.
- Sheldon, probably high functioning Aspergers with no concept or interest in social involvement.
- Howard, sex crazed and clueless about how to pursue this goal. I haven't seen anyone really like this guy since junior high.
- Raj, terrified of women and introverted.
2 comments:
Good, well organized review. Comedy, of course, makes liberal use of archetypes and pushing situations to the limit. We would all get bored if comedians stopped at reality.
What I find so fascinating with this show is that actual an actual physics principle is usually brought up each episode and explained in a way that isn't patronizing or above the head of the average viewer. Thus, there is some socially redeeming feature besides just the pure entertainment.
danielle.squire@gmail.com
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