This post is inspired by a discussion on our Facebook page. Patrick Gleason is of the opinion that Big Bang Theory has jumped the shark. While I still enjoy watching the show, I think he has a point.
When Big Bang Theory started, the humour was about the divide between mainstream society (typically the high school trope of jocks and popular girls) and geekdom. The show poked fun at both sides in almost equal measure. It certainly began with the idea that it was okay to be a geek. They were different, not inferior. I think one of the highlights of the show was when Penny realised she couldn’t date the men she had because she was now aware of their ignorance.
The show’s low point came when the guys were on their way to a convention. They were dressed as Star Trek characters and stopped at Vazquez Rocks, the setting for many scenes in various Trek episodes. While they were taking pictures their car was stolen. Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj found themselves in a diner trying to get help. For the first time the show had the guys completely embarrassed to be geeks. From that point on their geekiness became the source of most of the humour. It stopped being okay to be geeky.
Leonard, Howard and Raj have all expressed some regret at being geeky. The only character who always wears his geek with pride is Sheldon, and he is the main laughingstock of the show. At best he can be described as an eternal child. At worst we wonder if he is even human.
Two of the three women, Bernadette and Amy, can be seen as bridges between geeks and the mainstream. They are both successful scientists. However, Bernadette has always identified with the mainstream, and Amy is more of a nerd than a geek.
Bernadette pursues science as a means of achieving success. She makes more money than Howard. She enjoys the feeling of power she gets from playing with deadly pathogens. The pursuit of knowledge is probably low on the list of reasons she followed her course of study.
Howard is the clown in their relationship. He is the less successful opposite of Bernadette. He has an engineering degree from MIT. He has designed tools for NASA and even been to the ISS, but he is usually shown to be subordinate to her. The most obvious difference is that his career is based on a love of knowledge. He works in academia. If money is as important to him as it is to Bernadette, he easily has the knowledge, experience, and achievements to earn more than her if he moved into industry.
Amy is the female character that is supposed to be most like the men. She was introduced as essentially a female Sheldon. They are supposed to be perfectly suited to each other. But really, the only thing they have in common is their love of science. She doesn’t understand any of his other interests. She even went so far as to ruin Raiders of the Lost Ark for him by pointing out that Indiana Jones had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the movie.
Penny has more geek cred than Amy does. At least Penny collects Hello Kitty.
The only geek on the show who is not a scientist of some sort is Stuart. He is the ultimate looser. He can’t find happiness anywhere he looks. His business is a failure. Even his cat spurns him.
The message of the show has changed to “geeks are amusing, but it’s not cool to be one.”