Re: Big Bang Theory - season 2
Quote:
| They'll have to save it for the series finale, since much of the show's premise is built on the "will they or won't they" tension (similar to Moonlighting in the 80's). Once that's over, what's left? |
Yeah. There's a
reason romantic comedies
end with the wedding (in the old days) or the couple getting together for good (more recently.) That's the goal, and once the goal is reached the courtship story is told. Nobody wants to read about Elizabeth Bennett's life as Mrs. D'Arcy or watch another two hours of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan making goo-goo eyes at each other after they've declared their undying love. Getting the characters together in the middle of any of
those stories would clearly be stupid and self-defeating.
The problem with TV shows is that they run so long that it becomes difficult (and implausible) to maintain the romantic tension, so the producers cave in and give the audience "what they want" only to find that they've altered the whole premise of the show. In
very rare cases this has actually worked, but 99 times out of 100, it doesn't. (I'm talking here about shows where romantic tension between the leads is a key selling point of the show -
Cheers, Moonlighting, Castle, Bones and the like. Most shows can get away with having supporting characters hook-up, or can handle a romance that isn't a focus of the show.
CSI could get away with pairing Grissom and Sara because their relationship was generally a background element in the show, and even when they got together they deliberately concealed the fact from their co-workers. So it had hardly any impact on the show's format.)
If Leonard and Penny were to get together, it would no longer be the same show. Period. This isn't to say that the producers couldn't come up with a new format built around them as a couple that wouldn't work (MTM took a comic grumpy boss out of a sitcom and built an ensemble drama around him, after all), but it would no longer be
The Big Bang Theory. Given how well the current show is working, they'd be nuts to try it.
On a lighter note: I also loved the Sheldon/Penny door knock bit. I have two cats, rescued as kittens from a feral colony about six months apart. They are named Calvin and Hobbes, but if I got them today they'd be Leonard and Sheldon. Both are skittesh around people and not very well socialized, although they do OK with me. Calvin (Leonard) is the more out-going of the two. Hobbes (Sheldon) is both less social and more demanding. They have dry food and water available all day, and split one can of food each evening when I get home from work, usually about 6:00. If that food isn't in their dish by 6:10 my little "Sheldon" will find me and start meowing non-stop. He continues doing this until I've opened the can, scooped out the food, walked it to their "dining area" and set it on the floor - like there's a chance I'm going to change my mind and eat it myself, or find some other cat to give it to along the way.
Regards,
Joe
