Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Bangin'

After a lot of negotiation, The Big Bang Theory has been renewed for seasons 11 and 12.  For a while I wondered if the people behind it wouldn't just say "we've done enough, time to move on."

But it's still the biggest hit CBS (or any network) has (especially taking the demos into account), so what were they to do?  Some people like to go out on top, but others like to keep on going until it's definitely over.  It's hard to imagine making that much money, but it's also hard to imagine giving it up when you don't have to.

The central five stars have been re-signed, though the two "junior" cast members, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch, are still working out their new contracts with CBS.  I'm sure they'll come to some sort of agreement. (Though I'm intrigued--how much leverage do they have?  They are regular cast members and it would be hard to write them out, but CBS knows they've got to be pretty happy with the money they're already making.)

There's also going to be a spinoff called Young Sheldon, which sounds awful.  Sheldon, unquestionably the breakout character, works fine playing off the ensemble, but I don't want to see him surrounded by new characters, I don't want to see his "origin" and I don't want him played by a new actor.

Still, who knows?  I recall, a decade ago, seeing a huge billboard near where I live advertising this new show called The Big Bang Theory. It featured the three leads, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons.  And I remember thinking "isn't it sad?--here are these young actors all excited about landing a network sitcom, and by the end of the year they'll probably be canceled and forgotten."

2 Comments:

Blogger New England Guy said...

I like Big Bang Theory although I don't religiously need to see each episode. I like to know it is there even though I am assuming it will probably be not great. Several series-sitcoms I guess- have overstayed their welcomes over they years-either directly (All in the Family after and Gloria and Meathead left, The Office after Michael) or through morphing (Archie Bunker's Place, Mayberry RFD, Joey(although I actually liked that one- the same shtick with new faces).

I think though as a fan I prefer that the shows I like stay on the air even if I know that later I won't like the later seasons. Its a gradualist approach to withdrawal.

Young Sheldon does sound horrible- like the Dwight Schrute spinoff-further cartoonizing (cartoonifying? cartoonishing?) a show which is basically already a cartoon (a very good one though)

10:45 AM, March 22, 2017  
Blogger LAGuy said...

I guess anyone prefers their favorite shows to stay on the air, but there's no denying they get stale, especially comedies. At first the characters are new and exciting, but sooner or later you've seen what they can do and you're only getting variations on old jokes.

By the time they hit 100 episodes, shows generally start repeating themselves, and I don't think any comedy hasn't gotten tired before its 200th, usually earlier. Sure, they introduce new characters, and have big events like marriage and babies, but it's the original characters and concept that got you hooked.

The trouble with many spinoffs is they take extreme characters and put them in the center. Which generally means they have to smooth off the edges (and introduce new, extreme characters), which is the reason you liked them to begin with.

11:06 AM, March 22, 2017  

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