You instantly know what ‘Bazinga’ or ‘Pivot’ means when you’ve watched ‘Friends’ and ‘TBBT’ more than you’ve probably watched any other show. Being a mega-fan, I am sure you’ve already wondered why ‘TBBT’ did not get the same recognition as ‘Friends’ did during its run. In case you’re still wondering, this article has all the answers for you.
It is no news to fans that ‘The Big Bang Theory’ has been compared to America’s finest sitcoms. One such sitcom, that needs no introduction, is ‘Friends‘. Both shows have been a great deal to the comedy universe and continue to leave the audience in splits.
Highlights:
- TBBT- The one where the audience didn’t care about the science
- The ship sank after season 7
- TBBT ending had its bittersweet moments
What makes these television shows even more interesting is the way they connected with the audience; reruns of the 10+ seasons is proof enough! Whether it was the shy Rajesh Koothrappali from ‘TBBT’ or the guy-with-funny-dance Chandler Bing from ‘Friends’, the showrunners knew their shows would be a big hit. However, why did ‘The Big Bang Theory’ not become what ‘Friends’ was to fans? And how exactly did NBC luck out with ‘Friends’ better than CBS did with ‘The Big Bang Theory’? Read on to know more.
TBBT- The one where the science didn’t make sense to the audience anymore
‘The Big Bang Theory’ has certainly been one of those shows that cannot be missed. No matter if you’ve watched the series for its entirety, or simply watched episodes in no particular order, there has certainly been a point in the series when you perhaps felt, “Oh. My. God. TBBT is the scientific version of Friends!”, or at least that’s what one fan feels as he shares his opinion on twitter.
There is no denying that ‘The Big Bang Theory’ has had a huge “nerd” following ever since its debut in 2007. But something that a majority of fans agreed upon is how boring the show got with its failed attempts to incorporate science, humour, and romance. In conversation with “Newsbeat”, a former fan of the sitcom expressed, “I started to realise that a lot of it was just canned laughter at big science words and actually if you really listen to what they’re saying it turned out to not be very funny at all”.
In the same interview, a fan commented saying, “The humour’s all science-based and if you don’t have that kind of mindset where you find it funny, it’s a very particular humour you have to get it, so maybe that’s why people don’t like it so much”.
The Big Bang Theory is exactly like Friends
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The ship sank after season 7
While die-hard fans could firmly disagree with this, an unpopular opinion suggests that ‘The Big Bang Theory’ went downhill after season 7. “I’ve watched TBBT all 1 to 12. TBBT got boring after about season 7”, shared a fan on twitter.
As season 7 returned to screens, the audience was in complete awe of how heartwarming the instalment turned out to be. Highlights of season 7 include the return of the much-beloved friendship between Sheldon and Penny, everyone’s favourite TV scientist Bill Nye making his grand appearance, Howard expressing his love for his wife Bernadette, and the death of Professor Proton, who then becomes Sheldon’s spiritual force ghost mentor.
So, what went wrong? It didn’t take the audience too long to notice that the series had certainly reached its creative low. It was quite evident that the showrunner Chuck Lorre made no efforts in rectifying the countless errors that dropped the ratings to a mortifying number towards the end of the season finale.
TBBT ending had its bittersweet moments
If you’ve reached this far in the article, you’ve probably agreed with everything or at least most of what’s written so far. While fans dreaded Jim’s Parsons’ decision to put an end to his quirky character- Sheldon Cooper– the other part of the audience weren’t so keen on watching any more seasons after the series finale.
In my opinion, the laughing tracks got super annoying after a point in time. There were times when I thought to myself, “Hmm, is this really funny?” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to bash the show. I did like the series for its originality, but it certainly lost its essence and parting ways with ‘TBBT’ had its bitter-sweet moment. Would I still watch reruns of the show if I ever felt in the mood? Sure! But if I were given an option to choose between watching ‘Friends’ and The Big Bang Theory, I would DEFINITELY pick the former as my top choice to rewatch.
Do you think ‘TBBT’ should’ve run for two more seasons as it was originally planned by Chuck Lorre? Which show do you prefer over the other? Do you think a new season could revive the lost fame it had acquired in the beginning? Let us know in the comment section below.
