When “The Big Bang Theory” started six years ago, I completely blew it off and thought I would never like it.
Over Christmas break, I happened to catch the pilot episode and a few more episodes during its syndication on TBS. I fell in love with this show. I was mad at myself for never watching it, but I quickly got over that. I immediately went to my Amazon account and purchased seasons 1-5 and had them expedited to my house to catch up on what all I had missed.
I had missed five seasons of belly laughs and the wittiest and smartest writing on television. Many nights I stayed up until three or four o’clock in the morning catching up on the series. I tried to go to bed earlier, but I simply could not stop watching it. I love the characters of this show. They are all so relatable and the chemistry between the entire cast is one of the best, if not the best, on television right now.
Each episode is filled with constant laughter. The show started out with five main characters: Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), and Howard (Simon Helberg). Each different in their personalities, the cast blends together so well.
The breakout star of the show is Sheldon. He is my favorite character because I connect with him most, seeing a few of his traits in my own behavior. I do not think I am as funny with my actions, but Parson’s portrayal of Sheldon is outstanding.
The rest of the cast is hilarious as well. Kaley Cuoco portrays the dim witted Penny who develops a relationship with nerdy Leonard. Their relationship has been on and off throughout the years. The pair together is simply undeniable and both characters are extremely lovable.
Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar make out the rest of the cast. They are best friends with Sheldon and Leonard and make the funny cast dynamic complete. Howard is the only one of the guys who does not have a doctorate and he is one horny little bastard, although that is what makes him so funny. On the contrary, Raj is very shy and quite around girls and can never speak to them unless he is drunk. Raj may just be the most lovable character on the show. Who doesn’t root for Raj?
During seasons three and four, new cast members were brought into the mix to spice up the show. Melissa Rauch as Bernadette Rostenkowski, a love interest for Howard who he would later marry at the conclusion of the sixth season. Also brought in was Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler, who would be the love interest of Sheldon. Bialik’s portrayal of Amy Farrah Fowler is hilarious. I love how she is unintentionally dirty in her humor. She is Sheldon’s match.
The show has continued to evolve over the six years it has been on and beginning its current season it feels like a new life has been brought into the show.
In the beginning, it was not the biggest ratings juggernaut and it took it some time to find its audience. Six years later; however, it is the number two-ranked television show on TV right behind “NCIS.” Each year the ratings for the show have continued to grow and grow.
This season it is averaging a series best 18.6 million viewers per episode and averaging over 20 million viewers after DVR numbers are added in.
The shows popularity is almost at the level that “Friends” was when it was airing. I refuse to say that it’s more popular or a better show, because nothing was or is better than “Friends.” I will say, though that it is close to that level and the reason why is because it continues to get better as it goes on. “The Big Bang Theory” airs Thursday nights at 8/7 central on CBS.
