The Fancy Bastard Forum

Really? I only caught one episode, and my impression was that it was a show about geeks, but not for geeks. Am I wrong?

Its on CBS, right? Ive never seen it or known any one personally that has. CBS is a void to me.

I catch it every week. Like ya said, never been disappointed with it and never fails to pull a chuckle out of me. Even though it's all about geeks and their geeky jobs, you don't have to have a degree in string theory or whatever to appreciate it and get at least some of the jokes. Sadly, can't catch full episodes (that I know of... maybe youtube...) online but Hulu has some clips and so does the main CBS site. And there's DVD of season one out I believe.

And it has kinda became "The Sheldon Show" the past few episodes. Did you catch him on the Late Late Show, Not Mandatory?

@Mike Brady and Joel-FOR SHAME! You guys really should give it a shot.

@Roe-No! I didn't know he was on! Bummer!

Nashoba-Josh and I watch it regularly.

Interview for NM. ....V. Sheldon.

@Roe-That was GOOOOLD!

I've been watching since near the beginning. Really enjoy it. I actually don't think I would enjoy it as much if I wasn't a geek, because the characters would seem too exaggerated ("Naw, no one's really that geeky...") and I understand their motivations more, so the characters don't seem to me like they're just geeking for the sake of geekery. Sheldon may be taking over just a bit lately, but I think that'll calm down.

There's been a little apprehension in the geek world because we're naturally afraid of acting negatively, but EVERYONE on that show is exaggerated within their niche of society, it only seems like the show only tries to make fun of geeks because they're the main characters. Clearly the writers are huge geeks, because the only thing exaggerated about their characters is the frequency with which they do geeky things, not the things themselves. I really love all the references, both sciencey and pseudosciencey. 4.6 out of 5, because of great writing, even if now and then an episode doesn't blow me away.

I love this show for pretty much the same reasons Dram cited above. It pokes fun at geeks without "making fun of" geeks. Most of the jokes are incredibly well written in the sense that you don't have to be a geek to understand them, but it adds a whole other dimension if you are. Example - using "Schrodinger's cat" as a way to explain the uncertainty of a potential relationship.

As for the "Sheldon show" episodes, I'm fine with it, especially since so much of the first season was used to build up the Leonard/Penny relationship.

Posted By: Roe[Sheldon Interview]

Posted By: Sean
Wow...he's not acting!

I'm glad this discussion was brought up. I'm the one who asked the gang if any of them watched the show in one of the castcasts. I love all the references. They brought up LOLCATs in a recent episode, if I recall correctly.

Posted By: DrPepperMDI'm glad this discussion was brought up. I'm the one who asked the gang if any of them watched the show in one of the castcasts. I love all the references. They brought up LOLCATs in a recent episode, if I recall correctly.

Between school, the internet, and homework I just don't have the time for television. I hope it's really as good as you say it is.

I'll admit that I've watched the show and enjoyed some of it. I just really don't appreciate the broad use of geek culture. When the show tones down the geek themes it works.

I don't think there's too much geek culture...mainly because watching the show is like listening to conversations my friends and I have actually had. Yes, we are giant geeks.

I agree that the level of geekiness is appropriate because that's what the show is about. Toning down the geek references would be like taking the mafia references out of The Sopranos.

Posted By: SeanI agree that the level of geekiness is appropriate because that's what the show is about. Toning down the geek references would be like taking the mafia references out of The Sopranos.I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

The level of geekiness doesn't need to be toned down. Simply how broad it goes. It feels like sometimes the writers don't have faith that geeks can be funny without also appealing to a wider audience.

I'm quite annoyed to know that I can't watch tonight's episode (currently airing), because of a conflagration of events.
1) The airing on my local CBS affiliate is preempted by Monday Night Football (which is only possible as I am in the market of one of the teams playing).
2) If my local affiliate were instead going to air it at, say, 12:35 AM, then I would DVR or tape it. But they don't appear to be doing that at all.
3) CBS doesn't air full episodes of Big Bang Theory online. I've tried hulu, I've tried CBS.com (they even claim to offer full episodes, but don't), nothing.
4) There is a feed on TVU, but it's the feed of the San Francisco affiliate, which means that it doesn't air until 10:00 my time. I work early, so I don't know if I'll be up then.
Guess what, CBS? I want to watch your show, and the only way I'll be able to do so is to illegally torrent it. If you had it up on your website, at least you'd be getting some minuscule ad revenue, but now, you can go screw yourselves.

Posted By: DrPepperMD

1. Guess what, CBS? I want to watch your show, and the only way I'll be able to do so is to illegally torrent it. If you had it up on your website, at least you'd be getting some minuscule ad revenue, but now, you can go screw yourselves.

It's gone through a whole season riffing jokes on the topic of theoretical physics, well written is an understatement. I've yet to catch anything from season 2 though, someone mentioned that it became the Sheldon show, in which I say, DO WANT.

i saw one episode with Josh and i think i will need to watch some more. sadly i'm about to move so the cable will be shut off but for next year i hope to set up a server for all tv shows missed the past two years.

Actually I think the last few episodes have become the Stephanie show. I hope that they dial it back a bit, as stories with her seem like they'll get old very quick.

Actually, with all of alternating between saying "the episodes used to be all about Leonard/Penny" "it's been all about Sheldon lately" "the new episodes are focusing on Stephanie", I think it shows that they're moving the focus around a lot and keeping the storylines varied. It's a pretty positive indication IMHO.

Posted By: DrPepperMDActually I think the last few episodes have become the Stephanie show. I hope that they dial it back a bit, as stories with her seem like they'll get old very quick.

Is it me or is this show Rosanne the geek years.

Johnny Galecki (Leonard) used to play Sara Gilbert's (Leslie Winkle) boyfriend and Laurie Metcalf (Sheldon's Mum) used to play Roseanne's sister.

My favourite geek moment on the show is when they connect their appliances to the internet and geek out when someone in China controls them and Penny just doesn't get it. However the fact that they just stick the controls to the side of the lamp shows slightly anti-geek attention to detail by the producers.

Posted By: lardboyIs it me or is this show Rosanne the geek years.

Johnny Galecki (Leonard) used to play Sara Gilbert's (Leslie Winkle) boyfriend and Laurie Metcalf (Sheldon's Mum) used to play Roseanne's sister.

My favourite geek moment on the show is when they connect their appliances to the internet and geek out when someone in China controls them and Penny just doesn't get it. However the fact that they just stick the controls to the side of the lamp shows slightly anti-geek attention to detail by the producers.

Okay, I know that this topic is so many pages in, but new FB wants to proclaim her love for the show. I actually started looking into it BECAUSE of the mention that it got on HEPC. And asked a friend that lives off the tv about it. After that I marathoned it on one day and fell in love with it and Sheldon. So I am loving so hard on you for posting that link to the interview, Roe. THANK YOU. <3

I had to share this little tidbit from this week's episode. No spoiler boxes, since I'm not sure you can actually "spoil" Big Bang. Anyway, during the hospital scene, when Penny asks Sheldon to "be more comforting", I started laughing and said "He's gonna sing Soft Kitty!" My wife replied that he shouldn't, since Soft Kitty is for when you're sick, and Penny isn't sick. Fast forward to the end, and I yelled "SEE??" when Penny requested the song. And we nearly laughed ourselves sick when Sheldon responded with Kris' exact logic! My wife maintains that she is "Sheldon without the smart stuff."

I lived off this show since it started, and only recently became a Fancy Bastard, also, as a side-note, I fucking love that title. The geekery in the show is really not all that exaggerated, I think maybe they do the anti-social behavior geek stereotype a bit heavily, since many, or at least the well-educated geeks, seem to have rather good social skills. It's a great show, anyone watch How I Met Your Mother?

I watch How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory on Monday, and The Office and 30 Rock on Thursday, and that's basically the extent of my TV watching.

I do love a lot of things about HIMYM. Since it's all a flashback, they can drop hints about future events, because Bob Saget already knows what's happened (Saget is the voice of Future Ted, if you're not a watcher and can't understand what he has to do with this). Like in the episode "Double Date", they meet Stripper Lily, and he explained that they had previously seen Lesbian Robin and Mustache Marshall, and that they would run into doppelganger Ted and doppelganger Barney within a year.

And as Wil Wheaton pointed out in one of his "Memories of the Futurecast", it's amusing the way Ted will sanitize the events for his children. I can recall "smoking marijuana" becoming "eating a sandwich", "loud sex" becoming "playing the bagpipes", and Ted calling Lily a "bitch" is instead Ted calling Lily a "grinch".

My only worry is that like "Lost" or "Twin Peaks", they haven't really planned out how the MacGuffin was going to be revealed or the plot was going to be resolved. At some point the show is going to have to end and Ted's wife is going to have to be revealed. And unless they can tie up all the hints that have been dropped about her (she dropped the yellow umbrella in the one episode, she was in the Economics 305 classroom he accidentally showed up in, etc.), the ending is going to feel lackluster. Hopefully not as bad as the final episode of "Seinfeld" or the last season of "Roseanne."