15257 replies to this topic

[Eegah]

Futon Critic gave this one a good review, but the promo at CBS.com has me a bit worried. At least one joke is repeated from Two and a Half Men ("How did you get into the building?"), which is from the same producer, and the mimicing of Stephen Hawking's voice synthesizer by drumming the lips falls on the wrong side of bad taste for me.

[hny312]

Show description from tv.com:

From writers/producers Chuck Lorre ("Two And A Half Men") and Bill Prady ("Gilmore Girls")comes a new comedy that shows what happens when two hyperintelligent scientists meet a beautiful woman--and realize they know next to nothing about life outside of the lab.

Cast:
Simon Helberg - Wolowitz
Scott Halberstadt - Bobby
Johnny Galecki - Leonard
Jim Parsons - Sheldon
Kunal Nayyar - Koothrappali
Frank Pacheco - Joey

So, I don't really know who any of these actors are. But, I'm willing to give the show a shot since I don't really have many comedies that I watch right now.

[captain sam]

I just saw the pilot and I was really unimpressed. There were a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments (like a well-placed World of Warcraft bit), but they were overshadowed by the cringent ones. Leonard and Shelden are two "stereotypical" nerds who live together. The first (and thankfully only) gay joke came about four minutes in. Anyway, a hot girl moves in across the hall of their apartment building (which, they did that money-saving thing where they came up through the same staircase set three times and pretended it was three different flights of stairs) and flusters them both. There were some hijinks in which she asks them to get her TV back from her jerk ex-boyfriend, only to have him steal their pants and send them back without the TV. There were some truly terrible math jokes and some Dell product placement. Also, there was the emasculation of Leonard, Sheldon, and their two nerd friends as they promoted the big brain/weak arms/low people skills stereotype in the name of feeble laughs. They really missed the opportunity to flesh out what could have been two socially awkward friends who are sometimes hampered by being smarter than everyone they know. The characters were way too broad; there was no subtlety.

A note on wardrobe: nerds don't dress in awesome Flash t-shirts and plaid pants with canvas satchel bags. Indie rock hipsters dress that way, and if they also happen to be nerds, they're way cooler than the socially inept mess I watched.

Edited by captain sam, Jul 9, 2007 @ 2:47 AM.

[maskdmirag]

I agree with Captain Sam. I saw the pilot this weekend at the cbs research place in Vegas. Mostly Cringe humor, the wow bit was funny to people who have played the game, probably over the head of people who don't. I know people almost exactly like the characters on the show, yet the show still seemed completely contrived and fake. I had forgotten that this pilot got picked up and honestly thought they were showing us a dead pilot just for kicks. This one is going right at the top of my tv deadpool this fall.

[LAgator77]

The characters were way too broad; there was no subtlety.

From sitcom writer extraordinaire Chuck Lorre? I don't believe it.[/sarcasm]

Edited by LAgator77, Jul 10, 2007 @ 9:31 PM.

[Lovesick Ass]

How bad was Kaley Cuoco? Cause she ruined the last season of Charmed.

[captain sam]

She was actually all right, and had one funny delivery that I remember involving her love of steak. My issues were about 90% with the nerds, and not her, probably because she didn't have much to do but be an object to draw out the setup of the pilot, rather than a real character.

[maskdmirag]

Kaley was typical ditzy clueless blonde character. However she was probably the most likeable character.

The steak joke was pretty funny.

[OnlyOne85]

I saw this show way back in March for a focus group (also at Vegas' Television City). I hated it, but they brought back everyone that loved it, encompassing over half of the room (around 20 people). Maybe I'm missing out.

But I agree with the others who have seen it. The nerds were just social mutants. Imagine if Urkel and Screech were the two leads for a sitcom. I thought Kaley was the one bright spot of the show, but that's just because everything else was just so dreadful.

Edited by OnlyOne85, Jul 18, 2007 @ 4:58 PM.

[Finchster]

You can watch a three and a half minute trailer to get a taste of the pilot. Keep in mind that these are supposedly the highlights of the show, and aside from making me cringe, they somehow made me feel sorry for Cuoco. She's doing the best she can with nothing to work with, since her "character" seems to be "vapid hot blonde the guys can lust after." (And I'll cop to finding Cuoco somewhat hot, in a scrawny kinda way.) The two guys aren't even worth discussing, either in terms of character or acting. I didn't smile once, mostly because it's like every other sitcom I've ever seen, but more crass (much like Two and a Half Men.)

Edited by Finchster, Jul 30, 2007 @ 4:18 PM.

[Richyyy]

Garbage. Utter garbage. Cuoco's bearable because she's back to being cast correctly - she's the vapid blonde 'hot' girl (personally I don't think she's all that hot, but she fits the general type). She's playing her character from 8 Simple Rules grown up a few years and without the family. But Jesus, what inept, unfunny 'comedy'.

[jonathanacohen]

Saw the pilot. Terrible, mainly because of the incredibly condescending laugh track.

I'd like to see a sitcom where smart, borderline Aspie folk looked down on the idiots they had to deal with every day. But THAT would never get made ;-0

[Zinc Saucier]

I sort of feel embarassed to say now that the trailer actually make me think it might actually be good. Maybe it's just that I'd love to see Johnny Galecki have a hit. I loved him in Roseanne and I still haven't gotten over it.

I admit that I haven't seen the pilot, but I usually find that the first one or two episodes of a show are not a good indication of how funny a show might be. Lots of shows have started off shaky and then grown on me. Two and a Half Men and King of Queens would be good examples of that for me, at least on CBS.

[actorpull]

I actually liked the pilot quite a bit, shockingly. The laugh track was way, way off and needs removal or at the least bit a lot of tweaking (do it quieter and with a live screening audience like How I Met Your Mother, or something)... but I think after a rocky first 5 or 10 minutes, the pilot managed to make me laugh quite a few times. It's better than standard four camera sitcom fare, I'll be interested to see if it improves. And as much of a stereotype of standard, boring hotness as Kaley is - she's really hot.

[superboy]

So I just came back from a taping of this show and after seeing the preview my expectations were quite low, but in all honesty, there were quite a few funny parts in the episode I saw tonight.

Now, of course it could be because the actual show was way funnier than the warm-up guy but regardless, it has made me want to check out the first few episodes. We also saw the pilot before the taping began and the episode I saw tonight was considerably stronger than the pilot. I guess they just had to find their footing, which does happen every now and then.

Oh, and Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons? Totally adorable.

[Minkas1]

Watch closely! I need something larger! Is there a small child?

[Savannuh]

When does the first episode air??

Also, I saw the preview where they were locked out of their apartment complex and didn't know how to get back in... they were talking about much their IQ's were combined and how they couldn't figure out a way to get in... when some Girl Scouts just walked up and pressed all the buzzers for the apartments and SOMEONE let them in... heh, that was pretty funny.

[snoopyiscool]

After watching the preview, I know I should hate this. But I can't help but find it... awesome.

[Flynn]

Kept waiting for the reveal. Was 100% sure it couldn't be a simple set-up with a couple of stereotypical math-geeks. If they're making a comedy about bright, culturally aware geeks you'd expect it to be one or other of the two.

Kind of expected that it would be straight-forward in that the bubbly bimbo would turn out to be even smarter than them and then when they inevitably went "but you're like...hot" she would rip them a new pair and berate them on promoting the brains != hot stock characterization. Following this she would also rip apart their geek credentials, pointing out fallacies in their analysis of Battlestar plots or deriding their choice of WoW chars and then letting them know that being smart and into interesting media didn't require adhering to the stereotypes of every 80's teen movie. Then you'd have a show about them gradually acquiring better social skills and more self-confidence, each week tackling the idiots of the world and their assinine views on politics, gender, religion, etc. in a snarky, confident manner.

Expecting either that or something off the wall, like they made the initial donations and their child was so gifted that she'd invented a time machine to travel back to hunt down her origins and, being disappointed to discover she wasn't the result of some great romance, decides to use her charm and intellect to get her two prospective fathers (obviously she doesn't know who it is) set up with perfect partners.

You might say I was a little underwhelmed by the reality.

[Ethereal Zoe]

When does the first episode air??

Series premiere is Monday, September 24 at 8:30 pm, according to The Futon Critic.

[SVNBob]

Just avoided the danger zone. Any later and this show would have been up against (and losing to) Heroes.

[legaleagle44]

Just avoided the danger zone. Any later and this show would have been up against (and losing to) Heroes.

It didn't quite avoid the danger zone. I believe that that time slot will also put it squarely up against the fifth-season premiere of Dancing with the Stars (US), which should crush it in the ratings, only from the other direction.

Edited by legaleagle44, Sep 3, 2007 @ 2:27 AM.

[alexj]

I saw the pilot 2 months ago – I has to be leaked all over the net by now – it’s the campiest comedy this season – mega predictable, with storytelling is so lazy and lethargic, it went into a coma in the first 5 minutes. Only Cavemen can adequately compete with this piece of sorry writing for the big loser award this fall. The whole thing is begging to be cancelled after 2 eps, especially since they canned The Class, which was terrible, but worlds better that this suck fest. In a way this is a great fit with the other washed up comedy from the same tiered creators – 2 ½ men.

[Ethereal Zoe]

I believe that that time slot will also put it squarely up against the fifth-season premiere of Dancing with the Stars (US), which should crush it in the ratings, only from the other direction.

Yup. It'll also be opposite Chuck on NBC (which has some good buzz, I believe) and Prison Break on Fox, neither of which should be underestimated. I'm not sure CBS had a better choice if the show had to be on Monday though. It's at least firmly entrenched between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men.

[smartveronica]

I think CBS has to have faith in the show to put it b/w two already successful comedies. I'm totally tuning in- have loyalty to my boy Johnny Galecki (hello Roseanne fans??). Plus- i heart nerds! Much more entertaining than seeing some pretty boys making Zoolander faces all over my screen.....

[msrayrudd]

I don't think they have faith so much as it's by the Two and Half Men guys so it appeases them by putting another one of their stupid shows on the air. Besides while HIMYM is a critical hit and it's ratings are okay, it's not exactly a runaway ratings success either.

But in regards to this show, the promos at least are very forced. I like nerds too, at least better than model types, but this just seems like forced nerdiness. Not that that makes much sense, but it just seems so typical sitcom set-up.

I like Johnny Galecki though.

[SassyPaws]

It is also against Aliens in America on the CW (I know, not the best network) but the buzz is this is probably one of the best sitcoms this season. Plus it has Scott Patterson (yummy!).

[captain sam]

Yeah, I heart nerds, but these two pathetic characters aren't nerds. They're weird amalgamations of stereotypes stuffed into some hip clothing that I don't see many real nerds wearing. You can't just drop in a WoW reference and claim authenticity. They're also saddled with some bad writing. I mean, the bit with the Girl Scouts could've been funny, but then they had to point out just how inept they were compared to a couple of little girls. You don't have to explain the joke, guys. Maybe if they tone it down after the pilot, I'll hate it less. But I still despise their standard sitcom format, complete with unnecessary laugh track.

[sobe]

Sara Gilbert will be joining BBT for an unspecified number of episodes.

Gilbert will appear in an unspecified number of episodes as a love interest for Leonard. She is a fellow physicist who works with him, and the two attempt to date.

This might make me tune in for a couple of episodes. I loved David and Darlene on Roseanne. Ahh, nostalgia.

[Sandman]

After watching the preview, I know I should hate this. But I can't help but find it... awesome.

My cousins were on a trip to LA and became part of one of the focus groups/test audiences for this show. They fully expected to hate it, and ended being surprised at how much they enjoyed it. Still, I can't help feeling the nerd clichés will grate on my nerves.