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What Non-Geeks Hate About the Big Bang Theory
v3rgEz writes: It has been said that there is a lot to dislike about the Big Bang Theory, from the typical geek's point of view: It plays in stereotypes of geekdom for cheap laughs, makes non-sensical gags, and has a laugh track in 2015. But what does the rest of America (well, the part of America not making it the number one show on television) think? FCC complaints recently released accuse the show of everything from animal cruelty to subliminal messaging, demanding that the sitcom be ripped from the airwaves lest it ruin America. The full complaints for your reading pleasure.
So here I present you a geek who enjoys watching the show: Me.
Ok, not to break up a (somewhat) popular hate fest, but you HAVE to realize, for any given sitcom on commercial TV, there's inevitably going to be FCC complaints, many of which are going to be ... strange. Consider, in any group of people 300M large, a significant fraction of which watch TV, a significant fraction of *that* having no other damn thing going in their lives, what the heck do you THINK is going to happen? We used to call these people Fred and Ethyl, after Lucy's hapless elderly neighbors. Fred and Ethyl eat dinner off tin fold-up TV trays and watch TV in real time, including commercials. Fred and Ethyl can't tell the difference between rubber brains and the head meat of small animals. They think objects thrown from offstage must be from monkeys in a cage because that's what the dialog alludes to. They think the sounds of a cat squalling are being made by someone torturing a cat just behind that fake window there. Combine this with the current fashion of being offended at the tiniest opportunity, and what do you THINK is going to happen?
This article speaks more about the reporters than the reportees. It's non-news, but it bashes a show that some geeks don't like. So let's go with it. (In Kevin Kline's voice) DisapPOINTed.
And finally, it's not a laugh track -- it's a multicamera studio production in front of a live audience. Geeze.
I thought this was news for nerds. Not news for clueless nerds.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I think that's the main reason I can't watch that show, and to this date haven't watched a full episode yet. Every time I hear the laugh track I want to gag. What is this, 1965? If they're going to do it that way, at least have a live studio audience like Married with Children had that actually responds appropriately to what's happening when it's genuinely funny.
Um, they do have a live studio audience
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
Go to a con sometime.... you will encounter every geek stereotype you can imagine. While one might legitimately argue that the characters on BBT are exaggerations of what the the average geek is probably like, if what I encounter whenever I go to a con is any indication at all, I would say they are probably not more than a standard deviation or so away from the norm, and I find that it is not remotely an unbelievable cross-section of nerd-dom. Truth be told, it's unlikely many people would consider a sitcom about more typical nerds to be very funny anyways (and while a lot of people don't think BBT is very funny, one only has to look at the ratings to realize that there exists no small number of people that think otherwise).
But honestly, many of the people I encounter at cons make the characters on BBT seem tame in comparison, I have more than encountered my share of Sheldons, Leonards, Howards, and Raj's.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
They traveled back in time to the day of your birth and trained you to be a misanthrope who detests the sound of live human laughter?
Just a guess. You already seem intent upon disregarding any aspect of reality that conflicts with your preconceived notions, so I may as well go big.
I think that's the main reason I can't watch that show, and to this date haven't watched a full episode yet. Every time I hear the laugh track I want to gag. What is this, 1965? If they're going to do it that way, at least have a live studio audience like Married with Children had that actually responds appropriately to what's happening when it's genuinely funny.
Um, they do have a live studio audience
Wait a moment. There's at least EIGHT people who appear twice in that photo, and it's not a simple stitch together either. Check it out. Definitely the "live studio audience" isn't all that it's made out to be.
Um, they do have a live studio audience
Doesn't stop the producers from using "Laugh now" signs. I don't know if they actually do this, but my guess is that they probably do....
I don't know if this is so for Big Bang, but I have been to many television recordings. As a part of the shows I have been to, before the presentation they have the Audience applaud and laugh with various levels of enthusiasm so that when the show is edited back together for broadcast:
Jokes that didn't hit can be made to sound like they did
Jokes actions that may have elicited a certain response may not have after numerous re-takes
Applause that was organic would be choppy after scenes were chopped up and edited
None of the shows I have seen have been sitcoms but rather presented "as live" panel shows
. .
The most irritating thing about Big Bang Theory is my relatives telling me I would love it because I'm smart and into computers.
Um, they do have a live studio audience [imgur.com]
Yes, they make a big deal about their "live studio audience", but that doesn't mean it isn't annoying as hell. In fact, I'd prefer it if they used a laugh track, because at least then they'd adjust it so it doesn't sound like a bunch of inebriated hyenas. Of course, just because they have an audience doesn't mean it isn't rigged:
A friend of mine has been to a taping of the show. They spend 20-30 minutes getting the audience ready with a stand-up comedian and other fluffers. Their whole purpose is to get the audience excited and in a laughing mood. They really pile on the hype about their laughter making the show successful and how important the reaction is. They talk about the microphones needing big loud laughs. Etc.
When the show finally starts filming, it's a rare scene that's filmed in one take. Therefore when the show is edited, they will independently choose the "best" laugh and use that for final take. In that sense they do use an edited laugh track, it's just one that's created by the current audience.
Then there's the dialog pacing, which is constructed to suit the exaggerated laughing instead of the comedy. This awkwardly false nature can be easily seen if you take away the laugh track or (less subtley) replace it with a caricature laugh. This is a problem with a lot of sitcoms, but Big Bang Theory seems to be especially bad.
Now take a look at John Cleese's approach on handling audience laughter while filming Fawlty Towers. Here's an example from A Room with a View. Compared to that, Big Bang Theory feels stilted and forced, while Fawlty Towers has a more natural rhythm that's so much easier to laugh at.
Of course, it also helps that Fawlty Towers had good writing and actually is funny. Two things Big Bang Theory can rarely claim.
"What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
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I live near Burbank where the Big Bang Theory is recorded. The show's not that funny, fine, but it's fun to watch them tape it. I've been in the audience. While I can't speak for everyone there, I'm not a robot and I was given the authority of when to laugh. There's no "Laugh Now Or We'll Find You" signs. People literally laugh out at the slightest thing. I assume it's because only the most ardent fans go through the trouble of attending (the whole process can take 7-10 hours). As for the weird faux laugh-track; audiences are recorded separately from the actor's mics. I wouldn't put it past studio to "rev up" the audience track on the jokes that fall short. The interesting thing is that when a joke fails (not that uncommon; surprised?), you see the writers huddling next to the director, and after a few minutes reshoot the scene with a different joke/line. It's interesting to watch the process, if not exhausting. TL;DR: I've been in the Big Bang Theory audience; real humans, actually laughing with their mouth holes
Then there's the dialog pacing, which is constructed to suit the exaggerated laughing instead of the comedy.
Or it's acknowledging the studio audience reaction. You see the same thing in live plays... where the pacing of the action on stage adjusts naturally the audience reactions. And if you took a stage play and edited out that audience reaction you get the same unnatural cadence.
I find Seinfeld and That 70s Show, both filmed in front of a live studio audience to be funny and the audience laughter doesn't bother me in the slightest. There's something different about TBB. Maybe it's the writing, maybe the audience is prompted to laugh at every joke no matter how mediocre - either way, it's missing something or this thread wouldn't exist.
I've watched Seinfeld - it wasn't funny. People just really, REALLY wants it to be.
What I hate about the Big Bang Theory is the temporal asymmetry of a low entropy point just choosing to pop into existence with no understood process for getting that low entropy situation out of an earlier higher entropy situation. Either it did, or it didn't. Either way, it's asymmetric.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.