[Karma Police]

Welcome to the 1st Reviews Thread!

The show gets a lot of reviews lately, so we thought it would be nice to have a thread, where we can post some links to the reviews.

[**SuperGirl**]

Thanks for the new thread, Paula. I'll try to find some when the new episode airs.

[LostInTime]

For ‘Big Bang’s’ Sheldon, the nerd is the word - Television- msnbc.com

For ‘Big Bang’s’ Sheldon, the nerd is the word Sitcom character is childish, rude, and awkward, but viewers love him Jim Parsons' character of Sheldon Cooper may not be someone you'd want as a roommate, but he's hysterical to watch on "The Big Bang Theory." Sheldon Cooper is narcissistic, socially awkward, childish, hurtful, naive, irascible, selfish, rude, and irrepressible. He is also extremely popular with viewers and even lovable. As "The Big Bang Theory" character has said, "This would be one of those circumstances that people unfamiliar with the law of large numbers would call a coincidence." It is no coincidence that Sheldon has become one of TV's most popular characters, and has helped CBS' "Big Bang Theory" grow from a middling, predictable comedy to television's best multi-camera sitcom, and one that is still adding fans in its third season. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Big Bang Theory" is jokey and stupid yet smart and witty, and no character embodies all of that more than Sheldon. As played by Jim Parsons, Sheldon is the ultimate sardonic outsider who's unaware and unconcerned of the implications of his observations, from which the show derives the bulk of the humor. While his statements often stem directly from his vast intelligence, he's so smart and detached from normal human interaction that he's frequently a jerk. Sheldon is brutally honest, often unaware of the implications of his observations, including his friends' hurt feelings. This isn't new for sitcom characters. Back in the 1980s, Sophia Petrillo was the Sheldon of NBC's "Golden Girls," largely because her stroke-induced inability to censor herself led to blunt observations about her roommates, including calling promiscuous Blanche a "human mattress." Sheldon, though, doesn't rely on a stroke as an excuse for his observations. Instead, he deals with people as a scientist deals with experiments. Asperger syndrome isn’t the answer Jim Parsons, who received an Emmy nomination this year for playing Sheldon, says his character's approach to the world is influenced by the character's life as a child prodigy turned theoretical physicist, and that usually explains Sheldon's unusual, hysterical behavior. “In his mind, it has nothing to do with being rude or polite, it has to do with, ‘This is who we are, this is how we deal with it,’” Parsons said in an interview with msnbc.com. There's been discussion about whether Sheldon is actually meant to have Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, but Parsons said that early in the series’ run, "I asked [the writers] point blank," and they said no. Sheldon refuses to follow social norms and issues abrasive comments, but Parsons said his character is "not doing it to be mean." Sheldon "gets away with it because it's so based in fact.” “You have to call out each fact as you would in the lab, as you would on paper,” Parsons said. It's not impolite to name truths; they are what they are." Sheldon names truths about his friend and roommate Leonard, and their friends Howard and Raj, but his most frequent foil is neighbor Penny, who lives across the hall and is now dating Leonard. Serving as a stand-in for viewers, she's the non-geek who may not understand Sheldon's references, but knows when she's being mocked. "Nine times out of 10, I don't think there's a nefarious or bitchy edge to what he's saying. That's just how he calls it," Parsons said. "That's what keeps the edge from being too sharp a lot of times." Even with Penny, Sheldon isn't entirely unemotional or unsympathetic. His recent face-off with nemesis Wil Wheaton proved that. A well-placed lie about Wheaton's “mee-maw” caused Sheldon to let Wheaton win a card game, only to later learn it was all a ploy. That scene showed that Sheldon “has a heart," Parsons said. The show's writers take all of these juicy elements and run with them, and that's what makes Sheldon such a noteworthy character. He's complex in ways that most sitcom characters aren't, yet he has a clear shtick that works over and over again. Like Sheldon, show doesn’t dumb down references His combination of immaturity and exceptional intelligence makes for a lot of witty humor, even jokes that play off of otherwise tired material. In “Big Bang’s” first season, Sheldon once retorted, "I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original trajectory and adheres to you." With Sheldon and other characters, "The Big Bang Theory" doesn't avoid complex vocabulary or references that might alienate some viewers; as a result, it's smarter than the average TV comedy while still frequently reveling in amusing stupidity. It's also heavy with pop culture references that range from the geeky to the mainstream. All references, from the scientific to the cultural, are actually accurate, rather than gratuitous or embarrassingly inaccurate, like many shows that try to be relevant but end up exposing how clueless they really are. Sheldon Cooper can deconstruct a person's behavior just like he'd dismantle an equation, and describe principles in theoretical physics with the same passion that he describes the intricacies of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock. The only real impossibility is not finding that to be utterly hysterical and completely human.

[LostInTime]

Media Life Magazine - 'Big Bang Theory,' in the sweet spot

[lenaguffi]

Review of the last night episode
"The Cornhusker Vortex" | TV | The A.V. Club
For all the LP shippers, finally the reviewer who nevert like LP enjoyed their scenes

That said, this was one of the first times I’ve genuinely enjoyed the Leonard and Penny storyline at the center of an episode. Leonard’s fears that she just has no desire to introduce him to her friends because he wouldn’t get along well with them are the sort of thing that’s sat at the middle of many a sitcom plot, but it’s such a truism because it’s something that all new couples have to go through. One of the central conflicts of the show when it started was the idea that Penny’s old world of the sorts of former jocks and popular people that Penny is obviously a part of kept coming into conflict with the new nerdy friends she had. This could too easily lead to scenes where the show made fun of the nerd characters and seemed to side with Penny, but as the show evolved and learned to be more interested in its nerd characters, this conflict took on some nuance.

[Andu]

Why are you just highlighting the LP part? There is an entire review and the LP part really isn't the most interesting bit. Besides if you read through the entire review you see that the reviewer is not actually convinced by LP overall.

Here is another review for 3x06

Review: The Big Bang Theory - The Cornhusker Vortex - TV Squad

[lenaguffi]

Originally Posted by Andu (View Post) Why are you just highlighting the LP part? There is an entire review and the LP part really isn't the most interesting bit. Besides if you read through the entire review you see that the reviewer is not actually convinced by LP overall.

Why? Because I want to

[Andu]

Posting extracts from reviews can give the wrong impression of the content of the review. Unless that was your intention which I don't think it was.

[lenaguffi]

Originally Posted by Andu (View Post) Posting extracts from reviews can give the wrong impression of the content of the review. Unless that was your intention which I don't think it was.

I really don't understand why are you making an issue of this? I clearly stated that it was for LP shippers who might be interested. Is it against the rulls or something? Cause if it's not I really don't care what impression it has on anyone.

Anyways, not the best epi tonight.
Another not so great review
'Big Bang Theory': Sheldon and Leonard talk football, fly kites | EW.com

[Andu]

You really don't get it? It's not a matter of rules. It's a matter of etiquette. If you don't care what other people think or how they feel they might make it known to you.

[Karma Police]

Elena I created this thread for general reviews, I know you like the part about LP but this is a thread for all the fans.

Ashu I'm with you when it comes to highlightening only the part we like but you don't have to be so harsh.

You really don't get it?

You should watch your tone, dude. People might not respond to this because they don't want conflict but if you'd say this to me, hell would break loose.

[lenaguffi]

Originally Posted by Andu (View Post) You really don't get it? It's not a matter of rules. It's a matter of etiquette. If you don't care what other people think or how they feel they might make it known to you.

Multiple times I made it known that it hurts my feeling when people bash certain pairing or character. And after that I was told that I have to STFU, because people felt like I'm cornering and threatening them or whatever. So, now you are teaching me etiquette and telling me what I should or shouldn't highlight in my post?
I feel like you are cornering me here. I wish you didn't.

You should watch your tone, dude. People might not respond to this because they don't want conflict but if you'd say this to me, hell would break loose.

Thank you It really does sound harsh.

I understand that some people are getting 'touchy', when shipping is involved, so I'll make sure to bring such posts to my ship thread. I didn't understand that it was for neutral reviews only. My bad.

[Karma Police]

I didn't understand that it was for neutral reviews only. My bad.

There are nor rules for that but I think it's better to not post only some parts here because it might gets tense. I think it's best to either just post the link or link and the whole review. If it's a long review, it might be better to just post the link, looks nicer.

[Andu]

Originally Posted by lenaguffi (View Post) Multiple times I made it known that it hurts my feeling when people bash certain pairing or character. And after that I was told that I have to STFU, because people felt like I'm cornering and threatening them or whatever. So, now you are teaching me etiquette and telling me what I should or shouldn't highlight in my post? I feel like you are cornering me here. I wish you didn't.

I am not trying to corner you. I am trying to make you aware that when you post snippets like that you might highlight things that are not necessarily representative for the content of a review. Everybody that reads the review will know all the content but they might feel mislead by your post and they might resent you for it. In the end you can post what you like but I just felt like making you aware of this.

That's also the reason why I just posted a review without any kind of statement attached. People can read it and then make up their own mind and I don't put myself in the line of fire for being biased or trying to influence people.

The episode threads are making everybody feel uncomfortable. Either side is saying not so nice things about the other ship and either side is cornering people for their opinions. I don't like it one way or the other. I like discussions but I don't like people putting me on the spot for voicing my opinion. I feel like I have to justify why I feel the way I feel but the other person can just feel like they do because they want to.

I am not going to comment anything regarding harshness in my posts. There was no harshness intended nor did I intentionally introduce any. If anybody wishes to continue this you should take it up with me in a PM anyway.

[lenaguffi]

Andu
Thank you for your concern, but I believe I can take care of myself