Why do some nerds hate Big Bang Theory?

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kingmob

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Jan 20, 2010
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olicon said:
Oh boy, you guys have never heard physicists talk, do you?
I quote myself :p
Plus, if you are an actual theoretical physicist (like I am)
I actually HAVE a doctorate in physics (that takes a bit more than 4 years), do you really think I don't know how it 'really' is? I first heard of the show when I met a few of my old colleagues (and one actually was a fan).

Little fun fact, in my year, the majority of the students was female...
 

robotam

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Jun 7, 2010
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It's been said before but it mostly seems like a less funny version of the IT crowd.
I don't like laugh tracks, but I think a sitcom with one can still be good, so that wouldn't be my reasoning for hating it. (If I hated it. Personally I think they occasionaly come up with some funny stuff).
 

flamingjimmy

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Jan 11, 2010
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I just don't think it's funny at all, and its so shamelessly targeted at my demographic that it annoys me.
 

oktalist

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About 1/10 of the jokes are funny, the other 9/10 are like ugh wot. Like most American sitcoms, really.

And they are not even that socially awkward. Their eye contact is way too good, they are so obviously not real nerds.
 

42

Australian Justice
Jan 30, 2010
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I don't know why this thread's even here, The Big Bang Theory is fantastic, and I personally like the laugh track if it fits the show, which it does here. I laugh harder when there's a audience or a laugh track. don't see anyone complaining about Little Britain, Fawlty Towers, Are you being served having laugh tracks, and they're all classic sitcoms made by the Gods of comedy, the British.

To balance this point show's like The Office are made without laugh tracks because of the shows pace, while the shows with laugh tracks have their own pacing.

Being a nerd is typically associated with intellect, as a nerd often enjoys specialising in complicated fields of study. Nerds may also have difficulties socialising with others, as many tend towards being introverted, although it is also said that a nerd cannot be bothered developing social skills while busy with other interests. Nerds often have gained a strong and diverse skill set from their studies and experiences, which may at times be unorthodox or impractical. Nerd interests may cover a broad range of interests, from movies to games (video and table-top), to more practical skills such as computer science.
Very likely to be a rocket scientist, a renowned yet reclusive professor, a scientist, an intellectual, a computer programmer, an engineer, an inventor, etc. <<<<< this would be what's stereotyped in the Big Bang, which i think is awesome, because as a nerd myself it's good to have a show i can relate to. and trust me nothings more harder than being a nerd in a primary school in Australia.

A geek could be viewed as someone with an interest or lifestyle having to do with niche activities, especially fandom and technology. It is not uncommon for a geek to be capable of reciting large amounts of knowledge that is unintuitive, intriguing and (at times) long-winded. The knowledge could be anything from the mundane to 'living encyclopedia' status. Geeks tend to have average grades. Geeks can vary in their interests, from fun (films) and sometimes even frivolous things (collecting plastic figurines), to heavily technological interests (computing, hacking, and programming). Urban Dictionary goes so far as to suggest that society still views computer programming as a "bizarre feat" and the term "geek" is a proud label reflecting this. <<<<<< this is where people confuse the two, as the Big Bang Theory combines to two terms together and apply them to all the characters in TBBT.

and the only reason that any reasonable person can think of is haters going to hate.
 

MrGseff

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Jun 10, 2009
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Like everyone else who has posted I hate it due to its laugh track which is completely over the top, most of the jokes on the show are the jokes the average viewer may not understand but because there is a huge laugh track it is considered hilarious. Also the nerd stereotype gets old, fast.
 

Tallim

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Reaper195 said:
It's a sitcom. I fucking hate all sitcoms. Which is why I like How I Met Your Mother. It's a sitcom made for people that hate sitcoms.....somehow.
LOL that actually hits the nail on the head about HIMYM. I often struggle to think of a way to describe it to people when I suggest they watch it. I think it's because it is a very intelligent and funny take on modern society. With added surreal humour.

I don't hate BBT or even IT Crowd despite them very much playing the "nerds are socially awkward" card all the time.

Most "nerds/geeks" I know in real life are either major metalheads, martial artists and gearheads. But that's probably due to which University I went to when I met most of them. So the shows don't sit right with me. Although they are funny in a way, just no match for HIMYM or 3rd Rock From The Sun which was brilliant also.
 

Wuggy

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I think the main reason is that the show is not for nerds but rather about nerds, which leads to huge amount of stereotyping.

At least, this was what bothered me at first. I kept watching it though, and now I rather enjoy it.
 

GazDM

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Apr 19, 2011
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It's just a generic sitcom sprinkled with some nerd culture references and stereotypes.

Give me the IT crowd any day of the week
 

WalrusPowers

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Generic Gamer said:
WalrusPowers said:
The show just isn't made for geeks, its just about geeks.

For example, when Sheldon says something like: "Ahh Ubuntu, you are my favorite linux based operating system", everyone who doesn't know what Ubuntu is will laugh (apparently), but someone who does know what it is just sits there wondering how a tall strange person commenting on a very decent piece of software is supposed to be funny.
I'm a Ubuntu user and I have to admit that did confuse me a little, especially seeing as Sheldon is supposed to be an autistic(?) hyper nerd who really likes knowing things others don't and Ubuntu is one of the most accessible Linux distros. In the Linux community (urgh) Ubuntu is pretty much a noob distro, if they wanted him to be properly nerdy they should have either had him using something like FreeBSD or compiling his own custom distro.
The show is frequently like that. They use pre-built laptops for Christ's sake! On the episode where they got robbed, they listed their games that had been stolen (about 7) and then made a joke about that being a lot. THEY PLAY MOSTLY THE WII. They were impressed by an online DOS emulator when DOSBOX had been out for 7 years. They call themselves nerds? BAH! BAH I SAY!
 

Hosker

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Aug 13, 2010
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I don't find it funny, and I don't like the characters at all. Are there really such stereotypical nerds around?
 

probunk

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Nov 12, 2009
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It's just not a funny show. The jokes are juvenile and shallow (Wolowitz is a particular offender here), the character relationships are extremely boring and one-note, and the laugh track is frankly obnoxious. Now, that in itself wouldn't make me hate it. Two and a Half Men is essentially the same thing, but I don't hate it, I just acknowledge it's a terrible, terrible show and do my best to ignore it.

What moves BBT into hate territory is its pretentions to nerdiness. The writers seem to think they're breaking new ground or really making a show nerds and non-nerds can enjoy, and they aren't. The jokes about nerd culture are totally transparent; they're for non-nerds to laugh at because hey, nerds are weird and do stuff we don't. While we big whiny nerds are supposed to laugh simply because a mainstream show acknowledge something about us, even though there is no joke, no punchline, no humour, just "here is something you should recognize."

Take, for eample, the following joke. The reaction is expected to be thus:
People who don't know anything about Zork: "*Laughter*. It's funny because nobody knows what Zork is, and yet these nerds still play it! Also, Zork is a funny word!"
People who know what Zork is: "*Laughter* Ooh, we got namedropped!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-YFHHG4cvg

The problem there is that, for people who care about Zork, there is no joke. There's nothing funny to this at all, because most nerds don't find people still playing such an old game funny. There's an expectation of laughter just because the show straight-up namedrops something nerds like. They could have slipped in a quick joke that nerds would have gotten (a grue joke would be the obvious choice), but they chose a very pointless reference.

The problem, ultimately, is writing. Along with generally crappiness, the show is written chiefly for the mainstream, non-nerd TV watching audience, and so when a nerd watches the show it comes across as an obnoxiously mainstream program with pretentions to nerd culture.

I'm not a big fan, if you can't tell.
 

ChildishLegacy

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Apr 16, 2010
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I don't think it's because it goes over peoples head, I think it's because often the 'geeky' or science lines are absolute nonsense and infuriate the nerdy when they start putting an image of nonsense science into the general public's minds.
 

EonEire

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Feb 7, 2008
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For the same reason gay people hate the non-stop parade of stereotypes on TV. Because even "positive" stereotypes are still bad.
 

Mausthemighty

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Aug 3, 2011
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I love the show. There's a lot of in-jokes for nerds. I love how they one time played chess on a star trek chess board. And I like the geeky discussions about star wars or other nerdy stuff. Even some scientific references like calling a cat shrödinger, waht's not funny about that?
 

xXCrocmonXx

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Apr 16, 2009
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Honestly, because Franklin & Bash does comedy better. It's a serious show, with funny and sarcastic characters who show that healthy strain of contempt for their jobs that make their antics/cases much more interesting.

BBT appeals to me as a show I see and watch for some cheap laughs. It has good jokes, but it doesn't quite have anything exceptionally funny that makes me want to come back. Except for the girlfriend antics that normally involve Sheldon harassing a couple that's getting it on.
 

elvor0

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Sep 8, 2008
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I just don't find it funny, it's badly written and at has that american problem of seeming too set up and TA DAH! EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS problem that a lot of american sitcoms have. Personally I'm British, where we have The IT Crowd, which is what the Big Bang Theory wishes it could be. I mean the IT crowd does have the poke fun at nerds/geeks element in it too, but it's done far better, and personally I'm quite happy to laugh at myself so even the jabs at geeks in it are are funny because its well written and its a case of "ah I've been there".
 

Synyster

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Jul 20, 2011
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All that said I still really enjoy Big Bang Theory, also it's not a laugh track, it's filmed in front of an audience
 

Antari

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Nov 4, 2009
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Tenderflake said:
BrailleOperatic said:
It seems like something written about nerds, rather than by nerds. And it's a little bit patronising.
And I just don't think the show's that funny.
I think you hit it right on the head there.
Honestly, the show is written for and by people who have zero knowledge of whatever geek/science topics they happen to touch on. The writers don't know what they're talking about, and are basically just banking on the fact that the average layman will be wowed by whatever geek jargon they can pack into the dialogue. It's really the exact opposite of a show for nerds.

It's poor script-writing; they don't bother to research any of the nerd-content that they drop in for cheap laughs.
Ya I'm with both of you on this. Its patronizing and insulting not funny. Standard useless Hollywood offering.