Synopsis
The Big Bang Theory is an entertaining sitcom revolving around two
nerdy roommates, their nerdy friends and their hot next door
neighbour. The show is written by same guys that also write for
Two-and-a-half Men and Gilmore Girls and is currently aired weekly on
CBS. It is currently running its second season.
I'd say the show is somewhat of a geeky mixture between Seinfeld
and Two and a half men, so if that seems up your alley, give it a
shot. I guess the show has an appeal to real-life geeks and nerds like
you and me as it both gives us recognizable situations and people to
look down upon as being much bigger nerds than we are.
Characters
The show's main characters are Leonard and Sheldon, who both work as
a physicist at Caltech. The jokes are mainly built upon their absurd
tendency to categorize and analyze everything they see and do and the
contrast this has with 'regular' people.
In this regard, the anal retentive Sheldon is certainly the worst
of the two, as he has absolutely no social skills and acts almost
exclusively on logic insights. Sheldon possesses two PhD's and a
Master's Degree and has an IQ of 187. Throughout the show it is clear
he considers himself the smartest man alive, while he is unable to
detect sarcasm or other peoples moods. His tendencies suggest he is
autistic, which is exploited in the series by him behaving
childishly and unsympathetic.
His roommate Leonard does his best to live with Sheldon's
quirks and often points out the obvious flaws in Sheldon's
reasoning. Of all the geeks in the show, he is the most normal and he
has a good sense of what is socially acceptable. Still, he is a geek in
his every fiber, but doesn't like to admit it. He is into Penny but
considers her out of his league and dates several women
throughout the show.
Penny, the hot neighbour, serves mainly as a contrast. She doesn't
'get' what the nerds are talking about, but she thinks they're nice
guys. On one occasion, after a major breakup and several flings she
makes out with Leonard and has a date with him. Obviously, this doesn't
work out so well.
Leonard and Sheldon's friends also regularly show up at their
appartment for one of their many weekly activities. One of them is
Wolowitz, a Jewish engineer who still lives with his mother. He tries
to convey confidence by making transparent and inappropriate remarks to
women and attempts to impress them with his fluency in seven languages
or his work at the university. Whenever any single woman shows up in
the series, Wolowitz makes a move. He is also a fan of the
Mystery Method and is allergic to peanuts.
The other, Rajesh Koothrappali, is an astrophysicist of Indian
descent who has social anxiety and can't speak to women when sober. How
he developed this disability is left a mystery. He often videochats with his meddling parents in India who have
tried to arrange a bride for him in one of the
episodes.
Actors
Johnny Galecky as Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, Ph.D. (named after the famous phycisist and the producer)
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper (named after the producer)
Kaley Cuoco as Penny
Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowiz, M.Eng.
Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh Koothrappali, Ph.D.
References:
http://www.tv.com/the-big-bang-theory/show/58056/summary.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory_(TV_series)