Big Bang Theory is painful to watch

[SithLord]

I dislike the show so much. And my parents love it and compare me to Sheldon. They constantly say "you do that! That's you, Devon. Oh look, it's Devon on-screen! He could be your husband/boyfriend; he's perfect for you!!" His little quirks that aren't-this-because-I'm-the-writer-and-I-said-so-but-are-similar-enough-you-can-think-they-are is frustrating. If that doesn't make sense, I mean that he can seem like he's autistic (but the writers say no), he can seem asexual (but the writers say no) he can seem like he has OCD (but the writers say no). I don't drive either, and every time he has to be driven somewhere my parents make comments about me in a negatively comic fashion that I don't appreciate. Ugh. I don't think they've ever linked his disdain with relationships and sex to me yet, and I thank everything for that. Not only do my parents do it, but a friend I've since grown away from made the comment on a train once (sigh. I like to ride trains and will avoid planes to ride them whenever possible, just like Sheldon......) was giddy when I revealed my parents compare me to Sheldon and said she could see it.

Slightly off-topic but still on as it involves The Big Bang Theory: 100% never got why self-proclaimed geeks eat this up. I went to SDCC in 2012 and there was merch everywhere for it, in almost every booth. I think maybe the anime booths and things related solely to TV were the only exception. It was ridiculous, and I know people had fits when Jim Parsons wouldn't be at the panel because that's who everyone wanted to see. They relate to the show, and I don't understand it. Yes, the show has geek themes, but have you ever noticed that the laugh track plays whenever they do/say/see something geeky? The people this show is marketed to are the very people who don't understand or harass geeks.

I remember being in the same room when my parents were watching it and there was some line about dungeons and dragons. I can't remember it (I'm terrible with quotes) but the gist of it was that "Girls don't play dungeons and dragons" and it got a massive roar of laughter. I can't understand why geeks would support it, sorry.

EDIT: Thought I'd better say that, while I personally don't understand it, people are free to watch and ardently love whatever they wish and more power to them because that's what keeps the world turning!! :D.

Me and my family all relate to the show in a proud way. We're all pretty nerdy and a few of us can be pretty arrogant, so sometimes we relate to Sheldon as well. I don't support the masculine nerd stereotype especially since I would LOVE to do what they do or live how they live, but I don't dislike the show because of it. I'd write more but I just got out of class and need to log out.

[paperwishes]

This show is just painful to watch because it's so horribly unfunny. Nothing to do with that this Sheldon guy might be asexual. It's just bad.

[paperwishes]

I always referred to BBT as "black face for nerds". My main problem with it is that the nerds never succeed unless they act more mainstream. Their problems are never fixed until Penny or one of the 'normal' characters teach them how to do things the 'normal' way instead of whatever new, innovative way the nerds came up with.

If you want to watch a couple geeky guys try to deal with corporate culture, try "The IT Crowd". What I like about it is that everyone is the butt of jokes from time to time. BBT, it is always Raj, Leonard, Sheldon or Walowitz (or whatever his name is) that is the butt of the jokes.

SO MUCH THIS. The IT Crowd is brilliant.

[That asexual guy]

Am I the only one who likes this show?? Yes, it's a mainstream commercial american sitcom. Yes, Sheldon is a caricature and it's horrible that everyone wants to pressure him into having sex.

But I identify with him. Not because I have the same personality as him or because he is a realistic character, but because he gives an outsider's perspective on sex. When he's being mocked about his disinterest in sex, he usually comes out with more dignity than the other, pathetically sex-obsessed, guys. In one Behind the scenes episode, one of the creators describes Sheldon as someone who is "living life on his terms". No, this show is far from perfect but I watch it and the reason is Sheldon, who is the most (likely) asexual charactere that I know of on television. So until someone comes up with something better, I'm gonna keep watching it.

This is from where Sheldon is forced to work with a guy whose work he despises, only to realise that he has solved some problem that he wasn't able to. I love the "knuckle-shake", I find it super cute and funny!

I like it too. I honesty get tired of reading people constantly complain about it because a fictional character doesn't act exactly the way they want. The show is funny.

[AceOfWords]

Am I the only one who likes this show?? Yes, it's a mainstream commercial american sitcom. Yes, Sheldon is a caricature and it's horrible that everyone wants to pressure him into having sex.

But I identify with him. Not because I have the same personality as him or because he is a realistic character, but because he gives an outsider's perspective on sex. When he's being mocked about his disinterest in sex, he usually comes out with more dignity than the other, pathetically sex-obsessed, guys. In one Behind the scenes episode, one of the creators describes Sheldon as someone who is "living life on his terms". No, this show is far from perfect but I watch it and the reason is Sheldon, who is the most (likely) asexual charactere that I know of on television. So until someone comes up with something better, I'm gonna keep watching it.

This is from where Sheldon is forced to work with a guy whose work he despises, only to realise that he has solved some problem that he wasn't able to. I love the "knuckle-shake", I find it super cute and funny!

I like it too. I honesty get tired of reading people constantly complain about it because a fictional character doesn't act exactly the way they want. The show is funny.

'Cause everyone's different, experiences, principles.... That's okay, I like the show, too. What I do like so much about them is that they do "geeky" and "nerdy stuff" and they don't friggin care what the world thinks (most of the time).

[Guest Sheka4]

I have to agree with many of the comments here. Big Bang Theory appeals to my love of comedies and a lot of nerdy stuff (can we talk about when Stan Lee appeared on it though).But when it comes to portraying relationships, especially one like Sheldon's I feel like the writers aren't exactly hitting all the right marks,but then again I don't write for the show.

[TardisBlue]

Did you watch the latest episode? Look at this bollocks:

Penny: Hey, I don’t think she’s wrong about you going too slow in the relationship.

Sheldon: Too slow?

Penny: Yeah, you’ve been going out for years. You haven’t even slept together.

[<Tom>]

Never understood why the creators chose to put Sheldon in a relationship. I cringe whenever I see him with Amy.

[Lia]

Did you watch the latest episode? Look at this bollocks:

Penny: Hey, I don’t think she’s wrong about you going too slow in the relationship.

Sheldon: Too slow?

Penny: Yeah, you’ve been going out for years. You haven’t even slept together.

this isn't bollocks. This is a highly sexual woman not having a clue about any type of relationship that wouldn't involve sex. It's Penny being perfectly in character and not asking Sheldon why he feels the way he feels about sex, but assuming that he should feel the way she feels about sex. She's a flawed character, which is the perfect kind of character.

[TardisBlue]

Yeah but Sheldon's answer is smth like 'haven't you heard foreplay?' which is really ooc anyway, so he doesn't correct Penny, or explain how he really feels.

[HeartfulPeach]

This show is just painful to watch because it's so horribly unfunny. Nothing to do with that this Sheldon guy might be asexual. It's just bad.

I agree.

I hate the copious amount of "audience laughter" they add to practically every phrase the characters say. That's just abuse.

[Dodecahedron314]

I have a couple of friends who are really, really into this show, as a matter of fact I'm going over to one's house in a couple of hours and so I expect the Sheldon jokes to ensue. They all keep on trying to get me into it, saying I'll love it because I'm into physics and I'm a really awkward person so obviously I should be able to relate to Sheldon, but I tried watching about an episode and a half last year, half paying attention to it while working on a history paper, and I was offended on so many levels. I haven't a clue which episode I saw, so maybe it was supposed to be out of character or something, but everyone just seemed to be really, really arrogant and not at all what actual nerds are like, or even actual people. Thankfully there wasn't anything about Sheldon and Amy in the one I saw, so I didn't have to be subjected to that. Oh, and I was told there would be physics jokes...and there were none. Harumph.

Fwiw, at the very least what little decent visibility we can get out of this, whether Sheldon's a canon ace or not, has worked its way into the strangest of places. That's how asexuality came up in my calc class last semester. Of course, not only did the teacher mispronounce asexual, but he promptly confused it with being agender, and inadvertently compared whichever he was talking about to being a Martian (see the Agender Problems thread over in Gender Discussion), but considering he's an old conservative guy, it was pretty unexpected to actually even hear him say one word about it, let alone not outright attack it.

[Null_and_Void]

Okay, this annoys me.

First, people here comaplain that they don't come out and say he's aromantic or asexual, but instead leave it up to interpretation.
Then, since they want to develop a fictional character of their own creation by giving him some form of romantic or sexual interest, which they have not boxed themselves in on by labeling him as aromantic or asexual, people complain yet again that they are misrepresenting these things.

No. This is exactly why they have never called him aromantic or asexual. He isn't. Please, people, stop claiming characters if you aren't sure what they are, because it only leads to this silly frustration when it turns out that they aren't.

[TheArronaut]

Sheldon Cooper is ace representation the way feminine, shrieking, bitchy, limp-wristed, fashionable gay characters are representation. You don't want them, and they make you look and feel bad, but there it is, and it's not going to go away.

[Verb]

I like TBBT but as it's...."developed" (a term here loosely applied) it's kind of lost me a little. Every single main character has ended up in a relationship, even Sheldon despite his begrudging approach. I find it kind of alienates what is probably a considerable portion of its viewing audience who just can't relate to that.

For me, I don't really go in for relationships. When the majority of an episode centres around characters being in relationships, it's hard for me to invest in it.

I still like Sheldon though :P

[Skycaptain]

It is a programme that I have never seen. Reading these posts I am somewhat disquieted that they are apparently depicting the sole character who presents with ASD as an Ace. As others here have stated it can, however unintentionally portray all Aces as falling within ASD, or that the sexual orientation and ASD are comorbid.

[Kerriganne]

I try to take these kind of roles with a grain of salt. Sheldon is the product of a sexual writing for an asexual. It's like asking someone who has never tasted cake to write about cake and make it entertaining at the same time. That's how I choose to see it ayway.

This is how I feel too, assuming that Sheldon is/was asexual, which I don't watch enough of the show to have an opinion on. I can say, as an asexual writer, it is REALLY DIFFICULT to write (realistic and relatable) sexual characters because I simply don't understand how they think about sex, how much they think about it, what is so appealing about it to them, all that stuff. (I make this vary by character because I'm assuming that it varies between sexual people, but once again, we're back into the "I don't know" factor here.) I'd imagine it's the same for a sexual writer trying to write a (realistic and relatable) asexual character. If anything is important enough to someone, it's really hard to see how others can possibly not care about it, or even be averse to it- politics, religion, sexuality, asexuality... all of those things. It goes both ways.

[~RedArcher]

To be very honest, I don't think Sheldon is portrayed that way because he might be asexual. I think that's just Sheldon.

What DOES annoy me though, is the way everyone is practically pressuring him to sleep with Amy. He clearly doesn't want to, he can barely touch people. It's a blatant disregard for Sheldon's personal preferences. Just because he's obnoxious, doesn't mean he isn't entitled to his rights as an individual.

[Viridzen]

I don't necessarily have a problem in that Sheldon is a "bad representation of asexuality", just that he's the go-to for allosexuals when you tell them you're ace. People always ask, "You mean like Sheldon?" People's association of asexuals with Sheldon is where he is a bad representation. Not that we need to force the creators of the show to change him, but it's true people's misconceptions are Sheldon-based (or that we split in half, though that, too, happened to Sheldon in an episode, although in a dream). The way the canned laughter just rolls in whenever Sheldon does anything remotely asexual, or when others shame him for it, is just another drop in the ocean of derision we get for being asexual. And the way the Sheldon/Amy thing is going is horrible. You can tell that they're going to have sex, Sheldon will be cured or something, blah. It's not hard to predict when the whole point of the show is, "Find out who's screwing whom tonight at 7/6c!" (I think I know why it's called The Big Bang Theory now...) And then there's the Howard and Raj are ambiguously gay thing, Raj exhibits femininity at times (cue the canned laughter!!!!), and that makes him gay. Any show where men are the slightest bit feminine only does it for jokes. And then Amy being probably a closeted bisexual, reinforcing that crazy "bisexuals are creeps" stereotype (the episode where they are looking for dresses, Amy is peeking on Penny, and the line about the wedding rituals that involve "washing each other naked").

Though I don't exactly mind when my best friend calls me "Sheldon".

[TardisBlue]

To be very honest, I don't think Sheldon is portrayed that way because he might be asexual. I think that's just Sheldon.

What DOES annoy me though, is the way everyone is practically pressuring him to sleep with Amy. He clearly doesn't want to, he can barely touch people. It's a blatant disregard for Sheldon's personal preferences. Just because he's obnoxious, doesn't mean he isn't entitled to his rights as an individual.

This, this is what I'm talking about. He doesn't need to say that he's asexual, he doesn't even need to be asexual, but he did clarify many times that he is just not interested in physical contact, sex... etc. but nobody just respects it.

[~RedArcher]

To be very honest, I don't think Sheldon is portrayed that way because he might be asexual. I think that's just Sheldon.

What DOES annoy me though, is the way everyone is practically pressuring him to sleep with Amy. He clearly doesn't want to, he can barely touch people. It's a blatant disregard for Sheldon's personal preferences. Just because he's obnoxious, doesn't mean he isn't entitled to his rights as an individual.

This, this is what I'm talking about. He doesn't need to say that he's asexual, he doesn't even need to be asexual, but he did clarify many times that he is just not interested in physical contact, sex... etc. but nobody just respects it.

I literally cannot watch the show anymore because the writers are clearly changing Sheldon's character in the most unrealistic way. Sexuality is fluid but you don't become okay with kissing after a week with a girlfriend you didn't even want. They're trying to push him closer to changing and I don't like it. It's unnatural and disrespectful to people who are in Sheldon's situation.

[Notte stellata]

Spoiler alert: Season 8 finale content below.

So Sheldon is ready to propose to Amy now? Are you kidding me? This is the most ridiculous thing ever. If I remember correctly, they only spent a night together (without having sex, obviously) for the first time several episodes ago. He can't stand the thoughts of living with Amy. Even at the beginning of this episode, he still has no clue about "normal" behaviors in a romantic relationship. Traditional romance is clearly not what he wants. If he wants to propose to Amy, either his character has changed overnight (highly unlikely), or he loves her so much that he's willing to sacrifice his own needs (more likely but extremely sad).

Edit: Like Lia said, it's possible that the ring isn't an engagement ring, but it still means Sheldon is willing to further commit to the relationship.

I seriously don't get the point of Sheldon and Amy's relationship. They're very incompatible and there's no sign either of them will change. What baffles me most is they rarely talk about their incompatibility (though I guess a serious conversation like that may be hard to fit in a sitcom). Amy never asks Sheldon WHY he doesn't want sex, and Sheldon never make it clear either. She expects him to change, and he's like "as long as we're still together, it's all good."

My ideal of the happy ending of TBBT would be: Sheldon and Amy realize they're not right for each other as partners. They break up and stay friends. Amy finds someone else she's more compatible with, and Sheldon realizes romantic relationships are not his thing. He either remains single happily or enters a QPP-like relationship (much like the early days of he and Amy's relationship) with someone else.

But what's the more likely "happy ending" according to the usual plots of sitcoms and average people's expectation? Sheldon was just afraid of intimacy before. Amy taught him love and he finally overcomes his fear and is ready to commit to a lifelong romantic relationship. They get married and live happily ever after. *sigh*

[Lia]

Spoiler alert: Season 8 finale content below.

So Sheldon is ready to propose to Amy now? Are you kidding me? This is the most ridiculous thing ever. If I remember correctly, they only spent a night together (without having sex, obviously) for the first time several episodes ago. He can't stand the thoughts of living with Amy. Even at the beginning of this episode, he still has no clue about "normal" behaviors in a romantic relationship. Traditional romance is clearly not what he wants. If he wants to propose to Amy, either his character has changed overnight (highly unlikely), or he loves her so much that he's willing to sacrifice his own needs (more likely but extremely sad).

I seriously don't get the point of Sheldon and Amy's relationship. They're very incompatible and there's no sign either of them will change. What baffles me most is they rarely talk about their incompatibility (though I guess a serious conversation like that may be hard to fit in a sitcom). Amy never asks Sheldon WHY he doesn't want sex, and Sheldon never make it clear either. She expects him to change, and he's like "as long as we're still together, it's all good."

My ideal of the happy ending of TBBT would be: Sheldon and Amy realize they're not right for each other as partners. They break up and stay friends. Amy finds someone else she's more compatible with, and Sheldon realizes romantic relationships are not his thing. He either remains single happily or enters a QPP-like relationship (much like the early days of he and Amy's relationship) with someone else.

But what's the more likely "happy ending" according to the usual plots of sitcoms and average people's expectation? Sheldon was just afraid of intimacy before. Amy taught him love and he finally overcomes his fear and is ready to commit to a lifelong romantic relationship. They get married and live happily ever after. *sigh*

The red bolded bit is false. When Sheldon and Amy first dated, he was not willing to hold hands, hug, kiss, etc. And now, season 8's finale opened with them kissing (Sheldon calls it making out). Sheldon is willing to change, but it takes him much longer to change than anyone else might. He hasn't said, in canon, that he would never have sex. He said he doesn't understand the appeal. But he said that about kissing in one episode, too. The one where he went dancing with Amy, Penny and Bernadette. He said that he knows all there is to know about kissing. And yet, this last episode shows that he's changed his view in some fashion. It perhaps isn't his most favorite activity, but Amy has never said that she needs Sheldon to be as sex crazed as Howard, either.

Amy's change was at a faster rate. She was very similar to Sheldon for one or two seasons, before she really fell in love with him. She's being very patient with Sheldon, because it's clear that she understands on some level what he's feeling.

I'm not saying that they should or shouldn't break up, I'm just pointing out that there has been change on both sides of that relationship.

Answer to spoiler in spoiler:

There was, literally nothing to indicate the ring was an engagement ring. Perhaps a promise ring of some sort. But there was nothing said or done to indicate engagement. Aside from that, let's assume it was an engagement ring. Everything else said in your spoiler has no point to that. Neither Sheldon nor Amy are looking for a traditional romance. Sheldon has never claimed to be able to give Amy one, and Amy has stated that she's okay with Sheldon's quirks by her actions of continuing to date him. This last episode, it all became too much. Not because Sheldon wasn't willing to have sex with her, but because Sheldon had no idea how his words hurt her despite the fact that she's been trying to help him understand nuances like this for years. Also, engagement doesn't equate living together. Prime example is Penny and Leonard. We can assume that an engagement between Sheldon and Amy would take the same slow, steady route that their entire relationship has taken, because the base of who Sheldon is has not changed throughout the series.

[Notte stellata]

@Lia: Yeah, I concede that saying neither of them ever changes is too absolute. Sheldon has changed his behaviors (kissing, hugging, etc.), but I don't think his real needs and desires have changed fundamentally. He still doesn't get all the expectations and dynamics in a romantic relationship, and essentially treats Amy as a close friend despite calling her a girlfriend. Although Amy was pretty similar to him at first, it soon became clear that Amy used to repress her romantic and sexual desires, while Sheldon is nothing like that.

I do acknowledge that the ring may not be an engagement ring (and I hope it's not), but I don't know how likely it is because promise ring doesn't seem to be common these days (I could be wrong though. I'm not American after all). The way I see it, Amy definitely wants a traditional romance - she has implied she wants to live together and have kids more than once, she likes romantic gestures, and she definitely wants sex. I think the incident where she got mad at Sheldon in the finale shows exactly that Sheldon isn't able to love her the way she wants (the typical romantic way), which is a huge incompatibility. This is the kind of thing that hasn't changed in Sheldon, even though he has grown to love Amy. Amy is right to reevaluate their relationship because she may never get what she needs, and IMO she should have done this much earlier.

It seems we're focusing on different aspects of the show and seeing it from very different perspectives. :)

[Guest]

I loved the first couple of seasons but I never find shows funny after they gave been dragged around in the dirt for too long, all the characters been messed with and everyone just keeps falling in love or having relationships, blergh. Not sure what season they are up to now but I won't be watching. I actually think I stopped watching around when Sheldon got in a relationship, he's totally awesome and I didn't like them messing with his character like that (that's just my personal opinion)

In saying that I just have to reiterate what others here have said, that Sheldon is not asexual and was never created as asexual. He's just Sheldon.

[Sally]

I think Sheldon's more likely intended to be Asperger's than asexual. I'd bet the show's creators had no idea about asexuality, but they'd certainly know about Asperger's.

[Lia]

I personally don't think the writers of the show had any sexuality in mind when they created Sheldon. I think they purposefully left it open so that they could take any road in the show with him, and not box his character into a corner right out of the gate. They may have used asexuality or demisexuality as a baseline in the beginning, and they may not have. It was the asexual community who slapped a label on this character's forehead and now we're all up in arms that the writers of the show aren't going down a road that we plopped a character down on, rather than taking the show at face value and realizing that no one ever labelled him.

[A lone Tyranid]

Sheldon isn't Asexual. He is Sapiosexual. However, due to his genius, someone must fulfill ridicoulsy high standards to be attractive to him. Also, does no one remember when in early season 1 Sheldon accuses Penny of cheating at Halo as, and I quote "No one can be that attractive and this skilled at a video game".

[C-Lo]

People still watch this show? I stopped a while ago.

[Tarfeather]

Although there are asexuals who pretty much exactly match the Sheldon stereotype. My partner happens to be one of them. I do think it's true that if you have certain anti-social tendencies, you're also more likely to be asexual, or at least to stick to your guns and accept your asexual nature. Though if Sheldon were female, I assume they'd never do the whole "You have to try sex with this person" thing.