Although The Big Bang Theory was a massive success throughout its run, the show’s formula is tough to replicate thanks to one major cultural shift since its debut. The Big Bang Theory’s finale was watched by a whopping 18.52 million people, solidifying the show’s status as an all-time great hangout show in terms of its audience.
Alongside Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and Seinfeld, The Big Bang Theory was one of the definitive hangout shows of the last three decades. That said, The Big Bang Theory’s divisive Penny pregnancy twist proves its ending wasn’t perfect, and the show’s finale had its fair share of detractors.
While many episodes of The Big Bang Theory are considered masterpieces by fans online, plenty of the show’s outings have also been hit with criticism since their release. The Big Bang Theory has been accused of relying on stereotypes, of excusing the misogynistic attitudes of its main characters, and of failing to prioritize their growth throughout the show.
The Big Bang Theory Put Nerds At The Center of Its Storytelling
The Sitcom Was One of the First To Center Nerdy Main Characters
All of these issues are real problems, and ones that cultural critics noted while the show was still on the air. One Entertainment Weekly article from 2012 questioned the show’s use of homophobic stereotypes when mocking the very much heterosexual Raj, and this issue came back to a larger problem that makes the show’s success tough to replicate years later.
When the show began, The Big Bang Theory was one of the first mainstream sitcoms to center on nerdy characters. Movies had highlighted self-consciously “Nerdy” characters before, from Revenge of the Nerds to Napoleon Dynamite, and there were plenty of nerdy supporting characters like Screech from Saved by the Bell, Milhouse from The Simpsons, or Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Typically, shows like Friends and Seinfeld focused on making their heroes relatable, and nerdy pursuits weren’t seen as universally relatable character attributes until the late 2000s at the earliest.
However, it was rare for a hangout show to focus on Star Trek obsessives or for a sitcom to center on literal rocket scientists as its main characters. Typically, shows like Friends and Seinfeld focused on making their heroes relatable, and nerdy pursuits weren’t seen as universally relatable character attributes until the late 2000s at the earliest.
This was often used to excuse a lot of the show’s problems, something that started to wear thin as nerd culture went mainstream in the 2010s. Early on, the idea that Howard would be a creep towards women or Leonard wouldn’t recognize the toxic extent of his self-pitying was believable since these characters had very little romantic experience with women.
However, as the show continued, heroic nerds became more visible in mainstream popular culture, and Leonard’s The Big Bang Theory character arc remained stagnant; it was clear the series was out of step with a changing cultural landscape. Ironically, The Big Bang Theory helped make itself redundant.
Nerd Culture Was On The Rise When The Big Bang Theory Started
The Show’s Depictions of Nerdy Pursuits Are Already Outdated
When The Big Bang Theory began, a sitcom character who knew the names of more than two or three superheroes was guaranteed to be viewed as a nerd. As such, it was a fun novelty to see sitcom characters discuss obscure Star Wars lore in 2007, at a time when even enjoying the biggest movie franchises ever was considered a niche interest.
However, as the show’s run continued, a funny thing happened. As chronicled in YouTube creator Sarah Z’s video on the topic, nerd culture went mainstream in the late 200s and the 2010s, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe rose to prominence, Game of Thrones became the biggest show in the world, and Star Wars returned to the big screen.
All of a sudden, debates over who can wield Thor’s hammer hardly seemed unique to comic book superfans when the MCU was the biggest franchise in cinema history. In many ways, this change was a good thing for the show. The Big Bang Theory’s upcoming spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, couldn’t exist in a world without mainstream nerd culture.
Nerd culture is popular culture now.
The show follows its titular comic book store owner, Stuart, through the multiverse as he visits different versions of the sitcom universe’s reality. The fact that the preceding sentence makes any sense to the average reader is a testament to the reality that nerd culture is popular culture now, as multiverses have become a mainstream movie staple.
Timing Is A Major Element That Helped The Big Bang Theory To Be The Massive Success That It Became
Many Subsequent Sitcoms Were Steeped In Nerd Culture
However, the rise of nerd culture had its drawbacks for The Big Bang Theory. The premise of centering a series on a group of nerds is no longer as original as it once was, thanks to hits like Community, Mythic Quest, Silicon Valley, and The League.
In an era when every new release from Marvel or DC is treated as a major cultural moment in the mainstream, the show mocking its main characters for being deeply invested in these franchises is bizarrely out of step.
Furthermore, The Big Bang Theory’s treatment of its central nerds now seems comically outdated at times. In an era when every new release from Marvel or DC is treated as a major cultural moment in the mainstream, the show mocking its main characters for being deeply invested in these franchises is bizarrely out of step.
While Stuart Fails to Save the Universe may address this, The Big Bang Theory’s uncritical attitudes toward its heroes also haven’t aged well. The group’s misogynistic comments were always portrayed as embarrassing but ultimately harmless, something that has been thoroughly disproven by the countless controversies involving misogyny in geek culture.
More than anything else, though, what geek culture’s ascent to mainstream popularity did was change The Big Bang Theory’s premise after the show’s release. When the series began, it was about a group of socially maladroit oddballs attempting to find love despite their obsessive interests.
By the end of The Big Bang Theory, these professionally and romantically successful characters no longer seemed all that nerdy.
However, as The Big Bang Theory continued, the group’s interests became viewed as ordinary hobbies, their taste in books and comics came to define the world of TV and movies, and even their interest in scientific pursuits became an increasingly mainstream phenomenon. By the end of The Big Bang Theory, these professionally and romantically successful characters no longer seemed all that nerdy.
The things that made The Big Bang Theory’s heroes social outcasts when the show began were used to earn the characters’ sympathy as well as to garner laughs from an audience unfamiliar with their tastes. However, by the time Young Sheldon switched to Sheldon’s family instead of his friends, it was because The Big Bang Theory’s nerds no longer boasted much novelty value.
