The Big Bang Theory
Being the not-so-closeted nerd that I am, I spent some of New Year’s Eve formatting ebooks I own for my new Kindle and watching season 1 of The Big Bang Theory.
If you’ve not heard of The Big Bang Theory, it’s a sitcom about a group of professionally-successful but nerdy guys who haven’t outgrown their teenage game-playing, comic-consuming and socially-inept lifestyles. The main characters are Sheldon (neurotic former child genius who works as a theoretical physicist), housemate Leonard (also a former child genius who works as a experimental physicist), Rajesh (astrophysicist and female-induced mute), Howard (aerospace engineer and creepy wannabe ladies’ man), and Penny (waitress with the showbiz dream) . Penny is the pretty and “normal” neighbour to contrast the others, and is also the (not entirely unwanted, it seems) object of Leonard’s attentions.
You get the idea. It’s the Hollywood sitcom formula with a nerdy twist, but it really works.
Another part of the show that I like is the theme song by the Barenaked Ladies, who are probably best known for their song One Week. The theme to The Big Bang Theory is the best TV show theme I can recall as it suits the show so well, being itself funny, intelligent and actually related to the show (lyrics here):
Barenaked Ladies – The Big Bang Theory
If you’re on the lookout for an intelligent sitcom to get your teeth into, I recommend that you check out The Big Bang Theory. There aren’t many shows that have me laughing aloud every 2-3 minutes.
Or maybe I’m more of a nerd than I thought… 
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Thanks for writing about this show. I’d been meaning to look up the lyrics to the theme so this was a good reminder. I knew the line couldn’t possibly be, “the artichokes began to drool.” I like all the characters, and I like the fact that it’s a smart show with socially inept people. Quite the breath of fresh air.
As a Canadian who used to listen to BNL more (until every song they released was on the radio 9 times a day), I preferred their cover of Lovers in a Dangerous Time to Bruce Cockburn’s original. That was the first song I ever heard by them and I still love it. The rest, I got tired of.