Why do some nerds hate Big Bang Theory?

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Mr. Google

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Jan 31, 2010
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Caramel Frappe said:
Mr. Google said:
This is about the TV show not The Big Bang Theory....Read the post not just the title. Honest mistake!
You didn't see my other post then did you? I apologize- I thought it was a show based on the actual thing like a science channel and I did read the OP. I didn't know there was a comedy show with the title, which has nothing to do with the Big Bang Theory. Not everyone is aware of certain shows out there.. for I have never seen this comedy show before.
No I didnt see the other post sorry. And yeah thats why I said Honest Mistake. I probably came off as a little bit Hostile. My bad.
 

BryceN

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Nov 23, 2009
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If you have a Something, you will have Haters for your Something. It's the way the world works. I know a guy who will hate something simply if I mention that I like it. I told him I liked BBT and he wasn't satisfied with just hating it, he had to try and convince me that it was the worst thing on TV. (he's tried this before with other things in other media, i.e. The Office (both versions), Inception, Heroes of Might and Magic III, and basically every other game, movie, or TV show I've expressed interest in that he wasn't already a fanboy of.)

So, the quality of the show isn't what is on trial here, it's the fact that some people think it's cool to hate.

p.s. I do like the show. They hit some things right-on, but rarely hit something I'd call "comic gold." I would be very interested in seeing the show without a laugh track every 3 seconds to see what the script writes could really do in 22 minutes of broadcasting time. That would probably change a lot of opinions about the show.
 

Mace Tulio

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Feb 5, 2011
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I just see it as a misrepresentation of the nerd sub-culture. The show seems to be more about making fun of nerds than embracing them. It's just generally not very well written.
 

Nimcha

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I am a fan of the show, but visiting this site daily keeps me reminded I'm not as much a nerd as I think I am. :p
 

Sightless Wisdom

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Jul 24, 2009
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Some of it is pretty hilarious, the acting is very well done, that's really all you need for a decent sitcom. This is one of those times where I feel worse just for having looked at a thread, honestly I don't care what the popular opinion or even the general nerd-culture opinion of the show is, I enjoy it sometimes.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Intolerable intolerant mickey taking. People who don't know anything about nerds making jokes about how anti-social they are, while they don't talk to anyone outside their social circle either.

A formulaic sitcom written on the back of a Walmart receipt that just says "N3RDS LOL".

Just in general, the entire reason people are laughing is they're laughing at the lampshade hanging off the one dimensional characters. It may as well be called "Don't Clever People Do The Stupidest Things", and consist entirely of a little spotty kid with glasses getting bullied for every thing he dares to say.

It's not a situation comedy because there is no situation, only a premise (N3RDS LOL), and it's not a comedy because that would require it to have a funny script, not a series of unconnected remarks about how other people are different.

The IT Crowd does it a million times better.

For example: Why is it called "The Big Bang Theory"? Because it sounds "science-y"? There's your problem right there.

This is one of the funniest lines, according to their fans:

Penny: Sheldon have you changed your wireless password again?
Sheldon: Yes, it's "Penny get your own WiFi"; no spaces.
What sitcom would that NOT be out of place in?

Another laugh a minute quote
(after discovering the "Lord of the Rings"-ring)
Sheldon: One ring to rule them all.
Rajesh: One ring to find them.
Wolowitz: One ring to bring them all.
Leonard: And in the darkness bind them.
(...silence...)
Rajesh: Holy crap are we nerdy!
Ho fucking ho. Because they're nerds and they're being nerdy (which they're not), we should all laugh at the funny people.

Trash.
 

razer17

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Feb 3, 2009
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I hate it because I find it painfully unfunny. It's easily one of the worst sitcoms ever created. The script is weak and the characters are terrible. The show tries so hard to be nerdy it has basically turned into a jock's feeling on what a nerd is.

What Jersey Shore does for New Jersey people, Big Bang Theory does for nerds, in my humble opinion.

Edit - Earlier in the thread someone posted a video that highlights how much of the show is laugh tracks. Firstly, laugh tracks are horribly outdated, and any decent comedy doesn't use them anymore. Secondly, it seems that show is basically half unfunny lines, half laugh track, just to cut down on what almost non - existent writing they already have to do. Thirdly, and this is probably the most important, the laugh tracks are completely innapropriate.

"I went to my mums and got my N64" [laugh track] "I'm going to play Mario old school" [laugh track] - WHY ARE THERE LAUGH TRACKS!? He didn't say anything that could be construed as a joke. If my friend came up to me and said "Hey Dan, I got an N64" and then started laughing like he'd just told the funniest joke ever, I'd be in the yellow pages getting a shrinks number for him.

Edit 2 - Ok, it seems there are still a few sitcoms that use laugh tracks, however, I usually don't notice that much because generally I am amused at the times they appear.
 

Rylingo

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Tdc2182 said:
Because this.

You could potentially do this with any sit com, but it's rather more noticeable with this show.
And I laughed anyway. Except with the multiplayer joke. SM64 doesn't have a multiplayer mode and it seems that is what he is referring to.
 

Mr. Google

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Caramel Frappe said:
Mr. Google said:
No I didnt see the other post sorry. And yeah thats why I said Honest Mistake. I probably came off as a little bit Hostile. My bad.
It's cool I don't hold grudges against people. Maybe stay mad a bit but thanks for apologizing. Here you go (Warning, may seem a little odd):

<spoiler=Apology Hug>
I love you so much that I'll be Aquaman in that hug. :)
 

Acier

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Turigamot said:
Because real nerds watch Community.
Yeah, honestly the references to tropes that nerds enjoy are done so much more cleverly in that show.
 

mikespoff

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Oct 29, 2009
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In my experience, nerds love it.

I'm doing a PhD in science, so is my wife, so many of the people that I interact with are nerds and/or geeks. And generally they are big fans of the show.
 

Xealeon

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Feb 9, 2009
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I'm going to give the same answer I give to any "why do some members of group X hate/like thing Y":

Because not every member of a group is going to have exactly the same opinion of every single thing. Being part of a certain group does not automatically align your thought process with every other member of that group.

Now will people please stop asking questions about why differing opinions exist?
 

DEAD34345

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Aug 18, 2010
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What I personally find annoying about the show is how it condescends "nerds". The characters are a bunch of nerd stereotypes (which is fair enough, lots of shows use stereotypes) who pretty much can't function by themselves, but the show always makes a point to show that their heart is in the right place, or that they just need to be shown some compassion. Somehow that's more annoying to me than outright hate or fear.

Hm, I'm finding it difficult to describe what annoys me exactly. To me, the show is basically saying "Don't worry, it's not your fault you're a nerd.". Like "nerds" need special help or something.

Of course I have nothing against those who do watch it, and I could be completely misunderstanding the intent of the show, it just grates on my nerves a little so I avoid it.
 

docSpitfire

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Jun 13, 2011
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Turigamot said:
Because real nerds watch Community.
QFT man! I love annie's boobs...


...


...


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(psst that would be the name of the monkey for those who didn't know/remember)

Community had me sold in the first minute of the pilot (Dean Pelton's speech seen in this clip here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfjYaivKGJ8 )

BBT relies too heavily on individual jokes. You can watch a clip and find it funny on it's own but unlike other comedies it's rarely funnier in the context of the actual scene it's in. It's just a bunch of "people will be laughing about this scene tomorrow" moments strung together with little structure tying it all together. However to be fair to BBT a lot of comedies seem to make this mistake and yet remain wildly popular... I just figure if I'm going to watch a bunch of jokes loosely strung together I'm going to watch a stand-up routine.
 

Thespian

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Buccura said:
Honestly I think doing this with a sitcom is a flawed argument because they are written to flow with a laugh track, so of course removing a laugh track will make it less funny. Even Titus wouldn't be as funny without the laugh track. If you like that show, that is :X
A lot of shows have laugh tracks, it's forgivable. The point here is, without the laugh track, I can hardly even tell what parts are supposed to be jokes. The things that would slip casually into the flow of other shows are being put up on a pedestal here and having a spotlight shone on them. It's just embarrassing.

In terms of the whole nerd thing... It's just that there is so much more funny nerd-related humour out there instead of this dirge.
The big message here is this -
Humour is better when it's funny things nerds see in life, rather than funny things other people see in nerds.

The "nerd" stereotypes, (Neurotic, dweeby, creep and.. foreign?) are the butt of every joke as opposed to finding themselves in humourous situations as in something like, say, the IT Crowd.

To me, the whole show is just Chuck Lorre and everyone on his payroll going "Hey! Look! These guys are losers! Look at how the losers like to spend their time! Am I right? Am I right?"

It's just crap to think that this is what people think "Nerd" culture is like.
"Oh, those hilarious guys who say things in a complicated manner! How hilarious! Oh, now they are playing Halo! Oh golly, now the short one can't get a girl! Tee hee! Hey look, now the girl likes the nerdy things! You nerdy nerds must be loving this!"

You can tell the writers don't know shit about any nerd culture. Not that they have to appeal to exactly what I like, but anything to give a sign that someone didn't think of the first ten things associated with nerds and make an episode about each one.
You know how all nerds are fucking nuclear scientists or NASA employees, right? Oh, and don't forget about how those two things are randomly interchangeable.

God.

On top of everything, the show isn't funny. Occasionally it has it's good moments - When the characters are being funny instead of just being paper thin stereotypes. But nine times out of ten, it bombs. It's just lame.

So there you have it. That's why I hate it.