For twelve years, the sitcom had an incredible fan following that made it one of the most-watched series in the world.
Created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Pardy, ‘The Big Bang Theory‘ released on 24th September 2007. The classic sitcom was set in Pasadena. It featured two brainy best friends, experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). They lived across the hall from Penny (Kaley Cuoco), who worked at the Cheesecake factory. ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is often called a black hole. The element after formation absorbs mass from its surroundings. Similarly, for more than a decade, the series devoured its fellow sitcoms.
HIGHLIGHTS —
- Well-written storyline
- The man behind the science of ‘The Big Bang Theory’
- Countless ‘Star Trek’ references and celebrity appearances
Did you know by the end of the show, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar were earning an average of $900,000 per episode?
The well-written storyline
Leonard and Sheldon come across as two geeky people who clearly lack social skills. The two were friendly with aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). They were also equally geeky and socially awkward. While the four were passionate about science, they would often fail to interact with others, especially women. The sitcom ended on 16 May 2019. Most of the characters achieved success in both their personal and professional lives.
Despite his quirks, Sheldon married neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler. In the season finale, Sheldon and Amy won the Nobel prize for their discovery of super asymmetry.
Fans were also delighted to see Leonard marrying Penny. Penny had always made it clear that she did not want kids. But while heading to Sweden for the Nobel ceremony, everyone got to know about her pregnancy. She further confessed that when she took Sheldon to the Cheesecake Factory (The Change Constant episode), she returned to Leonard and had sex with him without any protection.
In season 5 of ‘The Big Bang Theory’, Howard married Bernadette on the rooftop of Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny’s apartment. In season 10, Bernadette gave birth to her daughter, Halley Wolowitz, after Halley’s Comet. In the next season, Bernadette found out that she was pregnant again. Together they welcomed their son Neil Michael Wolowitz, named after the astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Sadly, the character of Raj was left alone in the end. Actor Kunal Nayyar did talk about his character’s ending in a conversation with Metro UK. He said:
“The writers at the end of the show, they always said, in our world, ‘Big Bang’ is coming to an end. But in the world of these characters, they wake up the next morning, and their life continues. So somewhere, these guys are living and having a great life, and their adventures are continuing.”
The man behind the science of ‘The Big Bang Theory’
One of the main reasons behind making ‘The Big Bang Theory’ a hit in the sitcom universe was its factual science references. David Saltzberg serves as a technical adviser for the sitcom. He is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles. In an interview with Symmetry Magazine, Saltzberg explained that the science references were never for anything funny or to move the story along. It was for the part that you do not need to understand.
The great scientist Stephen Hawking also made a guest appearance on the show. He was a frequent topic of discussion too.
Countless ‘Star Trek’ references and celebrity appearances
‘Star Trek’ played a huge role in making ‘Big Bang Theory’ a black hole. The four guy characters often referenced ‘Star Trek’ in either casual conversations or elaborate ways. Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, was a part of various ‘Big Bang’ episodes.
Did you know Jim Parsons has never seen Star Trek?
Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj were also able to speak fluent Klingon and recite Spock’s final words. Even though Nimoy did not appear in the series, he voiced a Spock action-figure in season 5. ‘Star Trek’ actors, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Brian George, Mark Harelik, Carrie Fisher, William Shatner, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, George Takei also appeared on ‘The Big Bang Theory’.
Apart from them, Bill Nye from ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ and Stan Lee also made guest appearances. Bob Newhart, who played the role of Arthur Jeffries, aka Professor Proton, played a significant role in the series.
Tell us what you think made ‘The Big Bang Theory’ a black hole!
