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Big Bang Actors To Earn $1M Per Episode

Posted by timothy on from the starving-grad-students dept.

Cludge (981852) writes with a snippet from the BBC: "And rich they will be: With The Big Bang Theory commissioned until 2017, the show's three biggest names, Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard) and Kaley Cuoco (Penny) are guaranteed to earn $72m (£42.6m) each over the next three seasons. Unsurprisingly, the cost of producing the sitcom has spiraled." I wonder what that works out per line?

6 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. Nerd Blackface by mythosaz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The argument against is that BBT is, essentially, Nerd Blackface.

    The argument for BBT is that the material and situations are relateable, especially with the mainstreaming of geek culture (Dr. Who, BSG, Marvel films).

    Meh. It's funny. I watch. I read the vanity card at the end. I think they're all good actors - at least within the scope of the show.

    1. Re:Nerd Blackface by E-Rock · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We're talking about a fictional example, but Sheldon is highly successful, and seems quite happy with his life. He doesn't need to be medicated just because he doesn't meet stereotypical norms.

    2. Re:Nerd Blackface by nine-times · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The argument against is that BBT is, essentially, Nerd Blackface.

      That wouldn't be my argument against it. My argument is that it's not a good show. I don't find the characters relateable. I don't think it's particularly funny. It seems like someone took a very bland, unoriginal sitcom and attached a geek gimmick to try to make it interesting, but in my mind it fails. It's not interesting, and the geek gimmick doesn't really work.

      If you wanted to talk about it's problem with relation to "geek culture", I don't feel like it's right to say it's like "nerd blackface". I would argue the problem is more like, if you had a bunch of kids thinking that they understand urban black culture because they're listening to rap music, but the rap music they're listening to is Vanilla Ice.

      Sorry, no, you don't understand geeks and nerds and "geek culture" from watching Big Bang Theory. You don't understand comic books and Doctor Who from learning the references that the show uses. From the episodes that I've seen, the characters don't seem like authentic geeks and nerds. Not really. It mostly seems like a crappy "Friends" ripoff where the characters are all wearing nerd costumes and talking in nasal voices. I don't think it's mainstreaming geek culture, but more like jumping on the bandwagon of geek culture that has managed to mainstream itself.

      That's my take. I don't require that anyone else agrees.

    3. Re:Nerd Blackface by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Perhaps for the young and healthy.

      For the unhealthy, suicide can be a logical exit.

      Geeky, if you were going to be in severe pain for the rest of your life and drugs wouldn't help- you wouldn't be able to sleep more than 2 hours at a stretch without being woken up by the pain-- how long before suicide would seem like a rational way out.

      Not everyone's pain is physical.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  2. Yawn by wcrowe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't get the controversy. I like the show. It makes me laugh. I don't care what the actors get paid. It's none of my business. I think the comparisons to "black face" are in error. Poking fun at people because of their behavior is not the same as poking fun at people because of their skin color. It's just a sitcom. They come and go. It hasn't jumped the shark yet (not for me, anyway). When it does I'll probably stop watching. And if CBS should cancel it tomorrow, I won't care. My life does not revolve around characters on a tv show, nor does it revolve around the actors and writers. They're getting $1million per show... yawn.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  3. Wrong measure by Camael · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You are using the wrong measure.

    The cast of BBT are not being paid that much because they are good at acting.
    They are being paid that much because collectively, they enable the BBT show to continue being produced, which show generates substantial amounts of income for their corporate overlords through advertising, merchandising, syndication and whatnot.

    The "hundreds of thousands" of other better actors you allude to sadly do not have this earning potential and hence, do not have this kind of paycheck.

    Quality of acting is irrelevant.