How sex ruined The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory used to be great. Now it's a dumb Friends knockoff.

Did romantic story lines change The Big Bang Theory for better or worse?
(Image credit: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2015 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

When Jim Parsons first graced our TV screens as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, he had a style all his own. Neurotic but endearing, Sheldon boasted a Mensa-recognized intellect. He arrogantly flaunted this intellectual superiority as undisputed fact, yet still managed to come off as a lovable sitcom character — one who was generous with the unique information stored in his cranial crevices. Of course, we're talking mostly about scientific data involving wormholes and string theory, because Sheldon is a theoretical physicist at Caltech.

Sheldon was also riddled with anxiety and socially inept. But it didn't matter, because he was academically brilliant. And he certainly had no time to pursue anything romantic.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More

Trilby Beresford is a freelance arts writer from Australia, who currently resides in Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Bullett Media, Geek & Sundry, American Film, Nerdist, Flood Magazine, and numerous other publications. Trilby has an M.F.A. from the American Film Institute Conservatory and a B.A. from the University of Sydney.