Monday, November 19, 2007

The Big Bang Theory

Part II of Occupational Hazards will be up tomorrow. In the meantime I was wondering who else has seen the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

One of the main characters, Sheldon, has to at least be mildly autistic. He is upset by eating hamburgers other than at Big Boy. He can not stand for a routine to be messed around with. Sneaks into a neighbors apartment to clean and organize it. He even has to go as far as cancelling his membership to the planetarium because there are only eight slots in his wallet. It was a tie between the planetarium or the museum of natural history, the planetarium doesn't have dinosaurs.

The thing that closed the deal for me was when he unwittingly stole his friend's date. He didn't understand that what he did was wrong. When asked if he would see her again, he looked very confused when answering that she is a dentist and he already had a dentist.

The show comes on tonight at 8:30 ET on CBS. I would be interested in what others think.

16 comments:

Casdok said...

I havent seen it, but will look out for it here in the UK.

Suzy said...

Yeh, I've seen that show a couple of times. I saw the one where he sneaks into a neighbor's house to clean it.

I wonder if the writers threw that in on purpose...

Love,

Suzy

Jeni said...

Is that on Monday night at 8:30 (CBS) or Tuesday night, 8:30 (CBS)? If it is Monday night at that time, I think I've seen it. Does this guy have a roommate, played by the same actor who portrayed the younger daughter's boyfriend/husband in the old Rosanne series?

dgibbs said...

Jeni- Yes it does come on on Mon and yep thats the guy.

Anonymous said...

I have no doubt that Sheldon at least has Asperger's Syndrome. I don't understand why the writers/producers don't write it into the show. Autism Awareness is important. We need more autistic characters in entertainment. Sheldon has ALL of the classic signs of Aspergers.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm the mom of a kid who has Asperger's. I happened upon this show tonight, and I was glued to the t.v. watching it. I love the character of Sheldon ... he is definitley the most Aspie of them all. The other characters are funny, too, and Penny is darling and sympathetic. I hope that a hot, blonde girl with a heart of gold befriends my son one day.

Anonymous said...

Is Sheldon an "Aspie?"

Well, according to an article in Entertainment Weekly: "...despite conventional wisdom about Sheldon, Executive Producer Billy Prady never meant Parsons' socially-awkward character to suffer from Asperger's syndrome. "We don't think his mom ever took him in for a diagnosis," says Prady."

But, I don't care what they say, Sheldon's 100% Aspie through-and-through, and his charming sweet portrayal of the character has given hope to thousands!!

Anonymous said...

Is it 'cool' to be an aspie? Do your loved ones who are driven by strange impulses and slaves to mindless routines believe it is 'cool'? Are they happy? Or resolved to the fact.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous - it's cool to be yourself.

Peace

Unknown said...

Sheldon defenitely displays the characteristics of the Autistic Spectrum. That is why the show is so interesting. I can't stop watching it. My son is so much like that, very gifted and is granpa is a gifted physicist. I love the show, his character is great!!

Anne, RN

Anonymous said...

That is what i have been thinking,i noticed it when in one episode he couldn't understand if penny was being sarcastic or not, also another episode he didnt see the trouble in befriending a child, which by most is seen as wrong, yet i doubt he can.

Anonymous said...

also i agree that he may have aspergers syndrome because after reading the book the curious incident of the dog in the night time about a boy with aspergers syndrome he has similar tendencies and i completly agree they should raise awareness not many people know about it i sure didnt until that book

Anonymous said...

Yep. I'm a special ed teacher married to a physicist/engineer from Caltech and we both love this show. I absolutely think Sheldon has Asperger's - it was the "log of social interactions" that he keeps that really clinched it for me.

dgibbs said...

Yes since I had posted this I have become more and more convinced. The one show the sealed it for me was when he couldn't interupt anyone to finish his sentence.

Unknown said...

The thing that clinched it for me was the special spot on the couch.

But then, I'nm pretty sure Adrian Monk is an Aspie too.

And I also think Sheldon's roommate knows, which is why he puts up with Sheldon. They haven't mentined it because all four of them are pretty close to making DSM-IV criteria for Aspergers. (From my experiences in graduate school, an awful lot of professors in the sciences are Aspies.)

Anonymous said...

i have autism and i can concure with what sheldon has . He has to stand up on the same hour, do the same thing everyday or every halo day and if he cant finds his way he is trying to invent something like a fake brother in law