Young Sheldon’s Biggest Continuity Errors with The Big Bang Theory

For 12 years, fans of The Big Bang Theory watched a group of socially awkward scientists fall in love, question their choices, and come out of their shells, all with the help of a cute blonde across the hall. It’s a wholesome comfort show that anyone can enjoy, but there is one character that always stood out from the rest. Jim Parson’s Sheldon Cooper is funny, albeit frustrating at times; he is impossible to work with, but he often means well. Seeing this particular character grow and learn to have empathy as well as friends was the absolute highlight of the series.

When the actors started to see the sitcom coming to a natural end, Parsons pitched the idea of a coming-of-age spin-off about his peculiar character. Fans knew bits and pieces about how Sheldon was raised back in East Texas with his God-fearing mother and sweet-as-pie MeeMaw, but seeing the boy genius in action was a story Parson felt deserved to be told. Happily, the producers loved the pitch. Screenwriters hit their desks, and the actor joined in on the casting calls. Eventually, everything fell into place, and with Parsons as one of the executive producers on Young Sheldon, he made sure everything stayed true to Sheldon’s nature the best he could.

Unfortunately, the hurdle with creating a prequel series of a popular show is that fans already know what happens later in the character’s life, so the new series needs to line up with the tidbits that were already told. Normally, because the protagonist is a child, fans would give any inconsistencies some leeway due to children misremembering things. However, Sheldon has an eidetic memory, so he should be able to remember everything, no matter how small the details and without embellishing. That said, that hasn’t prevented Young Sheldon from displaying grave continuity errors with The Big Bang Theory. Check out 10 of the biggest mistakes below.

10Sheldon Actually Had a Great Childhood Friend

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In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon often talks about having no friends and being on his own, since no one else understood him on his level. However, that is clearly not the case in Young Sheldon. When Sheldon goes to high school (at nine years old), he actually befriends Tam Nguyen, another socially awkward kid. The two hit it off, and Tam becomes Sheldon’s very best friend, who introduces him to comic books and helps him think through problems.

An older version of Tam actually appeared in the last season of The Big Bang Theory after younger Tam was already introduced in the first season of Young Sheldon. This was likely done to try to connect the storylines and to not anger fans with the older Sheldon never recognizing at least one major friendship from his childhood.

9Sheldon’s Dad Was in The Big Bang Theory

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Lance Barber is able to perfectly capture the nature of Sheldon Cooper’s father, George, who loves beer, football, and Texas almost as much as he loves his children. However, the moment Barber first appeared in Young Sheldon, true fans of the original series were quick to point out that the actor also had a very short (but memorable) role in The Big Bang Theory.

In Season 5, Episode 11, “The Speckerman Recurrence,” Barber plays Leonard’s high school bully, Jimmy Speckerman, who reaches out to him with a money-making idea. The two reconcile after Jimmy drunkenly apologizes to Leonard for everything he did to him back in the day, but when he sobers up, he is back to being a jerk. Fans understand and are grateful that Barber made the cut as George Cooper Sr., but this crossover is hard to ignore.

8Sheldon’s Love of Comic Books Does Not Line Up

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Parson’s Sheldon Cooper is known for many peculiar things, but something that makes him immediately stand apart from a crowd is the fact that he is always in a t-shirt that represents some sort of superhero. Sheldon’s love of comic books runs deep, but when exactly that love began does not line up in The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon.

In Season 1 of TBBT, Sheldon mentions that he has had an honorary Justice League of America membership card in his wallet since he was five years old. However, in Young Sheldon, the boy genius does not begin reading comic books until he’s nine years old, as he has exclusively said they are for children. Being that comic books and superheros make up such a big part of Sheldon’s adult personality, one would think this minor detail would be consistent in the two series.

7Sheldon’s Dad Is Not an Alcoholic

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In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and his mother, Mary, are quick to talk negatively about Sheldon’s father. He is made out to be an angry drunk, who could not hold down a job, and a horrible father to Sheldon and his siblings. However, upon watching how George Sr. handles his family in Young Sheldon, all of these accusations seem to come up short.

Sure, George Sr. goes to the bar occasionally — he enjoys a beer or two in the afternoon — but he is there for his family. He has a fairly decent relationship with each of his kids, and there are plenty of moments when he actually takes an interest in what Sheldon is doing. Perhaps we can chalk this up to how a couple of beers a night can look like someone has an alcohol problem, especially to a child like Sheldon who does not believe in the use of such substances.

6Sheldon’s Home Is Not “On Cinder Blocks”

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In the Season 1 Big Bang Theory episode, “The Pancake Batter Anomaly,” Sheldon tells Penny that when he was 15 years old, he had to deal with being sick all by himself because his mother had to fly back to Texas (from Germany) to help his dad after the house had come off the cinder blocks again. Penny rightfully asks, “Again?”, to which Sheldon tells her it was tornado season, and his parents lived in an aluminum house.

Now, as far as the first six seasons of Young Sheldon are concerned, the Coopers live in a standard suburban home in a neighborhood with a solid foundation. With Sheldon and Mary landing in Germany in the Season 6 finale, it does not seem likely that the living situation is going to change in just a few quick episodes.

5Meemaw Has a Very Different Personality

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In The Big Bang Theory, June Squibb portrayed Sheldon’s sweet-as-pie Meemaw, who believed her little “Moonpie” could do no wrong. Aside from her hostility towards Amy Farrah Fowler — because she doesn’t think anyone could ever be good enough for Sheldon — she is actually very wholesome and adorable, just like anyone would expect a grandmother from Texas to be.

Then, there is the younger Meemaw (played by Annie Potts) in Young Sheldon who is a lot more wild, straightforward, and rough around the edges. Now, it is expected to have different actresses play this loving woman, so fans can get over the differences in appearances. However, their personalities make it seem as if they are totally different people.

4Dr. Sturgis Was a Huge Influence on Sheldon

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Along with Tam Nguyen, Dr. John Sturgis was also a great (and apparently secret) friend from Sheldon’s younger days. The two met when Sheldon took his very first college class — that Dr. Sturgis was teaching — and took an instant liking to one another. Much like Sheldon, Dr. Sturgis was also very gifted, and this actually made Mary Cooper question the sanity of her own child.

With such a great influence on the boy genius, it’s a bit sad that he is never mentioned in The Big Bang Theory. The least the writers could have done was bring him up in the final season of The Big Bang Theory like they did Tam, but alas, they did not. Sturgis played a vital role in shaping Sheldon into the incredible man that he became, so quite a bit of recognition is deserved.

3Sheldon Likes Charts and Schedules

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To say Sheldon Cooper likes creating charts, lists, and schedules would be a rude understatement. Whether it be on a handwritten document or on an Excel sheet for all to see, the guy lives for organization. Just take a look at how his friends in The Big Bang Theory even know that he stays up to date on his bowel movement list after more than 30 years.

The problem with this little quirk is that it seems like teenage Sheldon is not a huge fan of scheduling when it becomes overwhelming. In Season 5 of Young Sheldon, Sheldon loans his dorm out to fellow college students for “study time” — and he actually believes they are studying — but he gets frustrated with everyone trying to book a session. He then lets people sign up on a sheet, but fans know the adult Sheldon would think that was willy-nilly of him to do as there would be no order.

2Sheldon Previously Met Stephen Hawking

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Sheldon has always admired Stephen Hawking (who made a cameo in The Big Bang Theory), and when he finds out that Howard will be with Hawking to make sure all goes smoothly during his visit to CalTech, he does everything he can to meet his idol. While no one wants to rain on Sheldon’s parade when it comes to conversing with one of his biggest heroes, someone should have reminded him that he had already met (or at least seen) Hawking in person.

In Season 3, Episode 16 of Young Sheldon, George Sr. and Sheldon are granted an all-expense paid trip to CalTech to hear Hawking give a lecture. Now, we never see the lecture or the two actually meet on screen, but it is safe to assume that Sheldon should have at least remembered being in the same room as one of the greatest scientists in the world.

1Sheldon’s Age Does Not Make Sense

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Perhaps one of the most frustrating continuity errors between Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory is Sheldon’s age. At the beginning of Young Sheldon, he is nine years old. He then goes to college full-time at the age of 11 and graduates when he is 14. This all sounds incredulous, but feasible for a boy genius.

Now, after graduating from East Texas Tech, Sheldon gets accepted into CalTech and moves to California. When The Big Bang Theory begins, Sheldon is 27 years old. The problem is this: in the fourth episode of the first season of TBBT, Sheldon sums up the last 11 and a half years of his life to Leonard, and things don’t add up. Sheldon says he spent the past three and a half years working (we assume at CalTech), he worked on his thesis for four years before that, he was in college before that, and just before college, he was in fifth grade. Now, if Sheldon started college at 11 years old, he should have started working at CalTech at 22 or 23, but that is not the case.