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The Big Bang Theory

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Ah, the nerd stereotype: high pants, nasal twangs, thick glasses and off-the-scale intelligence. Guaranteed laughs, right? No, not so much, as it turns out.

The Big Bang Theory leans heavily on this "nerd" theory for laughs, following two archetypal geeks whose Dungeons and Dragons-filled lives are disrupted by a girl who moves in across the hall. The formula feels a little like Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, but with less energetic buffoonery and a more extensive vocabulary.

The two starring geeks are physicists Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), the latter of whom thinks he's in love with Penny (Kaley Cuoco), the aforementioned girl-next-door. Penny is played as a slack-jawed and vacuous character, presumably to emphasise Leonard and Sheldon's freakish intelligence.

This episode really pushes the idea of academic intelligence precluding social grace, as Penny invites her dorky neighbours to a Halloween party. As their more socially advanced contemporaries party around them, our antiheroes awkwardly look on. Hilarious.

The Big Bang Theory is not the worst sitcom ever produced and is definitely capable of inciting the odd embarrassed snigger, but its overworked stereotypes make for staggeringly predictable viewing.

The Big Bang Theory airs on the Nine Network on Tuesday, August 12, at 7pm.

Click here  to view Citysearch's TV guide.

Shelley Tustin, August 2008