The Big Bang Theory is no more. The last episode aired this past week. Everything appeared to be resolved in the lives of the seven characters who interacted in the past dozen years. Those of us who spent 12 years with Sheldon, Leonard, Penny et al might have been slightly disappointed in the last episode.
The Big Bang Theory attracted an audience that liked Star Trek, Babylon 5, Firefly, Comicon, video games, comic book superheroes, and the like. If you didn’t have at least a tangential understanding of those subjects, plus a smattering of quantum physics, many of the references voiced by the characters would be lost on you.
The show followed the lives of six extremely bright researchers in physics, astro physics, and biology, plus a novice actress who grows into a pharmaceutical sales rep as their friendships take them into situations that are funny, poignant, and often thought provoking.
There is no question that this is a “either love it or leave it” type of show, but its following was nearly 18,000,000 each week, putting it well within the top 5 of all shows on TV.
The last episode may have left fans a bit nonplussed as it wound down to take the title theme which played each week at light speed, into an almost sad, quiet ballad. Sheldon’s speech at the end did bring a tear to the eye but was neither unexpected nor out of character.
The Big Bang Theory was and is a coming of age journey for seven young adults, and perhaps also for those of use who watched and loved them. It will be missed.
JVH
