The Big Bang Theory - Industry Issues
Production
The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom about the four male characters that lack of normal social skills, but they are very intelligent. The name of the show refers to two different meanings. The first one is about the beginning of the universe starting with a big bang, and the second meaning is about men that want to get laid. The show is popular for several reasons, but the main reason is because sitcoms remain popular cultural position by being sarcastic and comedy. Sitcoms are all about contemporary American culture, and the audience is the one who decodes the meaning of the sitcoms. Due to the show’s popularity, it is being showed on Thursdays at 8pm, and everyone knows this time slot is American prime time. The show’s viewership ranking increases throughout all four seasons starting from rank sixty-eight, rank forty-four, rank fourteen, then rank twelve respectively. American culture finds sitcoms very amusing because the heart of comedy and sarcastic lies an idealized version of “Us” versus “Them”. By observing the characters of Sheldon Copper and Penny, and the whole episode in general, they reveal the contemporary American culture. Last but not least, the commercials reveal the target audience and the show’s significance.
The two main characters in the show that constantly portray the battle in American culture, “Us” versus “them”, are Sheldon Cooper and Penny. Sheldon Cooper represents the “them” because he is a geek, and Penny is not; that is why she represents the “Us”. Dr. Sheldon Cooper that plays by Jim Larson is a Cal Tech Theoretical physicist. Sheldon lives a very strict live routine, and he is lack of social skills, an understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor. Sheldon also...
Production
| Genre | Sitcom[1] |
|---|---|
| Created by | Chuck Lorre Bill Prady |
| Directed by | Mark Cendrowski |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Barenaked Ladies |
| Opening theme | "Big Bang Theory Theme"[3][4] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Originallanguage(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 157 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executiveproducer(s) | Chuck Lorre Bill Prady Steven Molaro |
| Producer(s) | Faye Oshima Belyeu |
| Editor(s) | Peter Chakos |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 18–22 minutes (without commercials) |
| Productioncompany(s) | Chuck Lorre Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Audio format | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Original run | September 24, 2007 – present |
Actors' salaries
For the first three seasons, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco, the three main stars of the show, received at most $60,000 per episode. The salary for the three went up to $200,000 per episode for the fourth season. According to their contracts, their per-episode pay will go up an additional $50,000 in each of the following three seasons, culminating in $350,000 per episode in the seventh season.
Background/Context
Recurring themes and elements
Science
Much of the show focuses on science, particularly physics. The four main male characters are employed at Caltech and have science-related occupations, as do Bernadette and Amy. The characters frequently banter about scientific theories or news (notably around the start of the show), and make science-related jokes.
Sci-fi, fantasy, comic book fandom and gaming
The four main male characters are all avid sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book fans and memorabilia collectors.
Star Trek in particular is frequently referenced and Sheldon identifies strongly with the character of Spock; Star Trek: The Original Series cast member George Takei has made a cameo, and Leonard Nimoy made a cameo as the voice of Sheldon's vintage Mr. Spock action figure (both cameos were in dream sequences). "The Bakersfield Expedition", the four male leads dress up as Star Trek: The Next Generation characters for a Star Trek convention.
In addition to Star Trek, the group are also fans of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Doctor Who; numerous quotes from Star Wars are made and references to Battlestar Galactica can be seen in some episodes. Sheldon also expresses a great liking of Joss Whedon's Firefly, as he is shown to be quite upset with the Fox network for cancelling it.
The four males are also fans of fantasy and make references to The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter novels and movies. Howard can speak Sindarin, one of the two Elvish languages from The Lord of the Rings.
Wednesday night is the group's designated "comic book night" because that is the day of the week when new comic books are released. The comic book store in question is run by fellow geek and recurring character Stuart. On a number of occasions, the group members have dressed up as pop culture characters, includingThe Flash, Aquaman, Frodo Baggins, Superman, Batman, Spock, The Doctor, Green Lantern, and Thor. A stereotypical geek will wear a superhero t-shirt.
The male characters are also fans of the Indiana Jones series, and were willing to spend several hours in line outside of a theater to watch a special screening ofRaiders of the Lost Ark with 21 seconds of new footage.
Various games have been featured, as well as referenced, on the show (e.g. World of Warcraft, Halo, Mario, etc.), including fictional games like Mystic Warlords of Ka'a (which became a reality in 2011) and Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
Religion
A recurrent theme is Sheldon's conflict with his devout mother, Mary, who is a creationist, and whose beliefs occasionally clash with Sheldon's understanding ofevolution.
Evidence of Sheldon's agnostic atheism is seen when he is heard exclaiming "Why hast thou forsaken me, o deity whose existence I doubt?" upon the discovery that his World of Warcraft account has been hacked. According to Raj, Sheldon also begged the deity in which he did not believe to kill him quickly upon getting food poisoning at the Rose Bowl.[n 1] On the other hand Sheldon says he wishes "to employ his rare and precious mental faculties to tear the mask off nature and stare at the face of God." Sheldon's religious upbringing leads to moments of religious interjection when his emotions are high – on one occasion, he happily exclaims "Thank you, Jesus!" when he scores a strike in bowling, quickly adding "As my mother would say." In addition, he frequently says the word "Lord" when he is upset.
At the same time, a running gag in the series is the fact that Howard, who is Jewish and Raj, who is Hindu, frequently defy many of their respective religious customs without worry, such as their constant flouting of dietary prohibitions. They both also tend to give each other grief about them. Howard celebrates at least some Jewish holidays, once refused to pray in a Christian church so he does not "burst into flames" and also wore tattoo sleeves instead of getting real tattoos so he "still can be buried in a Jewish cemetery".
Another frequent theme is Penny's confidence in beliefs that frequently conflict with Leonard and Sheldon's scientific beliefs and knowledge, such as ghosts, astrology, psychics and voodoo. This is first seen in her very first appearance, when she makes reference to her being a Sagittarius, to which Sheldon criticises her belief in astrology, but is most frequently seen in an episode in which she and Leonard had a falling out over the validity of psychics.
Vanity card
Like most shows created by Chuck Lorre, The Big Bang Theory ends by showing a vanity card written by Lorre after the credits, followed by the Warner Bros. Television closing logo. These cards are archived on Lorre's website
Marketing/ Promotion
Global Implications
No comments:
Post a Comment