Maybe Chuck Lorre was bullied by "nerds" as a child. It's the easiest way to explain the writer's new CBS series, The Big Bang Theory , a sex-obsessed, laugh-impoverished sitcom in which a beautiful blond waitress moves next door to two brilliant but socially inept physicists and proceeds to set their world a dither. Clearly, Lorre didn't get the memo that geeks are actually chic these days.
Leonard (Johnny Galecki), the less nerdy of the two roommates, falls in lust with their new neighbor, Penny (Kaley Cuoco), hoping to sleep with her one day. Sheldon (Jim Parsons) has no such illusions. His social life consists of Halo 3 tourneys, Superman movie marathons and something called "Klingon Boggle." And he likes it that way. Rounding out the crew are Howard Wolowitz (a would-be Don Juan with a 1960s hairdo straight from The Monkees) and Rajesh Koothrappali, a human prop whose sole reason for existence seems to be as an outlet for Indian jokes.
"I'm not sure what Chuck Lorre has against smart people," Maureen Ryan wrote in her Chicago Tribune blog, "but with the foul sitcom The Big Bang Theory, he tries to have his revenge against anyone with an IQ above room temperature. ... Even if the jokes on this show weren't tired and mean-spirited, it would be hard to care about any comedy that hates its own lead characters so much."
Brainiacs aren't the only target. Everyone plays to stereotype, and the characters could have been taken from a middle school slam book. Leonard and Sheldon even get pantsed in one episode.
The show's juvenile vibe extends to its preoccupation with sex. The very first scene of the pilot takes place in a sperm bank. Penny and other female characters wear low-cut tops and short shorts, and Penny isn't shy about parading around in a towel. Rajesh, uncomfortable speaking to girls, learns that he functions much better if he gets his brain lubed by liberal doses of booze.
This comedy also dabbles in low-grade swearing and inappropriate uses of God's name. A few profanities come from Sheldon's mother, who appears in one episode in the unflattering guise of what Lorre must consider a standard Bible-belt Christian. Meanwhile, the whole thing is about as funny as a chemistry lecture. Although it has been suggested that The Big Bang Theory built enough momentum last fall to survive a prolonged writer's strike, it would be nice to see this series suffer a devastating big bang of its own.
