Lucrare de atestat la limba engleză

THE BIGBANG

THEORY

- HISTORY OF SITCOMS –

Elev: Ciubotaru Smaranda Georgiana Prof. coordonatori: Elisabeta Bucaciuc

Gabriela Ardeleanu

Colegiul Naţional ,,Ştefan cel Mare” Suceava, 2012CONTENTSCONTENTS

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..pag. 2

Personal Top 10 of the Best Sitcoms of all Time………………………………………pag. 3

Brief History of Sitcoms……………………………………………………………......pag. 5

The Big Bang Theory…………………………………………………………………...pag. 6

Short Presentation of the Main Characters……………………………………………...pag. 7

Production……………………………………………………………………………….pag. 9

Trivia – Did You Know?..................................................................................................pag. 10

Cast……………………………………………………………………………………...pag. 11

Some Illustrative Quotes………………………………………………………………...pag. 13

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….pag. 14

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INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

Just as any other teenager my age, I too tend to whimper about how overloaded my schedule always is and how school takes all the fun out of my life. How do I manage to cope with it all? Truth be told, nothing helps me unwind better than twenty minutes of my favourite sitcom, a day.

So what is it about sitcoms that draws so many people? Maybe, it is the comfort they deliver, the opportunity to just let go of all the unforeseen difficulties you might face on a daily basis and allow your favourite characters to make you burst your side with laughter.

To me, perhaps the main advantage of watching an episode of my favourite sitcom is that it will not take up as much of my time as a movie would. Moreover, sitcoms give me the chance to take in the intricate process of a character maturing, progressing and basically growing under my very eyes. Their ongoing progress unravels in front of me, at the press of a button away and never falls short of my expectations.

The term of sitcom is an abbreviation for a situation comedy, as they usually portray the daily grind of ordinary people, sharing the same common environment, undergoing run-of-the-mill activities, all accompanied with jokes, as part of the dialogue.

From my angle, what is captivating about sitcoms is that they scoff at most of the contemporary categories of people, often blowing them out of proportions, turning them into symbols that become emblematic to the days we live in and that will always remain leading-edge.

Without any trace of doubt, over the years and especially nowadays, so many sitcoms rely on exaggerated characters to get their laughs: ever-more outrageous characters, finding themselves in ever-more outrageous situations, trying their best to squeeze out any laughs, in a desperate manner.

Be that as it may, if you manage to sort them out, you are very likely to find plenty of enjoyable ones that are bound to give you a gleeful laughter!

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Personal Top 10 of the Best Sitcoms of all Personal Top 10 of the Best Sitcoms of all TimeTime

1. FRIENDS – portrays the lives, loves and laughs of six young friends, living in Manhattan

IMDB rating: 8.9Release date: 10 September 1998Won Golden Globe and another 58 wins and 158 nominations

2. THE BIG BANG THEORY – renders the life of four brilliant, but socially awkward physicists

IMDB rating: 8.6Release date: 24 September 2007Won Golden Globe and another 7 wins and 24 nominations

3. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER – a man struggling to find the woman of his dreams in New York City, with the help of his four best friends

IMDB rating: 8.6Release date: 19 September 2005Nominated for 2 Golden Globes and another 8 wins and 41 nominations

4. SEINFIELD – the adventures of a New York stand-up comedian and his friendsIMDB rating: 9.1Release date: 31 May 1990Won 3 Golden Globes and another 58 wins and 121 nominations

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5. TWO AND A HALF MEN – the changes in a hedonistic jingle-writer’s life, after having his brother and nephew move into his beach house

IMDB rating: 7.2Release date: 22 September 2003Nominated for 2 Golden Globes and another 21 wins and 58 nominations

6. MARRIED WITH CHILDREN – the story of a shoe salesman, leading a miserable life, hating his job, wife, son and daughter

IMDB rating: 8.3Release date: 5 April 1987Nominated for 7 Golden Globes and another 6 wins and 21 nominations

7. THE SIMPSONS – the satiric adventures of a working class family, in the city of Springfield

IMDB rating: 8.8Release date: 17 December 1989Nominated for Golden Globe and another 114 wins and 148 nominations

8. SOUTHPARK – follows the adventures of four grade-schoolers in the city of South Park, Colorado

IMDB rating: 9.0Release date: 13 August 1997Won 4 Primetime Emmys and another 4 wins and 20 nominations

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9. EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND – the life of a sports writer and his fed up wife, overbearing parents and jealous brother

IMDB rating: 7.2Release date: 13 September 1996Nominated for 2 Golden Globes and another 50 wins and 129 nominations

10. SCRUBS – intern John Dorian finds the true meaning of medicine, friendship and lifeIMDB rating: 8.7Release date: 2 October 2001Nominated for 3 Golden Globes and another 19 wins and 67 nominations

BRIEF HISTORY OF SITCOMSBRIEF HISTORY OF SITCOMS

Situation comedies originated in radio, but nowadays, they are found almost exclusively on television. The first television sitcom is alleged to be “Pinwright’s Progress”, broadcast on the BBC, between 1946 and 1947.

In the U.S., director and producer William Asher has been credited with being the “man who invented the sitcom”, having directed over two dozen of the leading sitcoms, including “I Love Lucy”, during the 1950s through the 1970s.

The United Kingdom has produced a wealth of sitcoms, plenty of which having a tendency toward black humour. One of the recurring themes of British sitcoms is that of dysfunctional relationships, rendered in “Only Fools and Horses”, “Rising Damp”, “Sleptoe and Son”. Furthermore, British Sitcoms have always tended to shy away the homespun nature of the American ones and tried to tackle a more adult and intellectual territory.

Most American sitcoms are generally written to run a total of 22 minutes, a single season running up to 20 or more episodes, unlike the British ones, that have much shorter seasons, with usually 6 episodes.

A sub-genre of U.S. sitcoms, ever present since the 1950s, but more prominent as of the 1970s, is the “black sitcom”, featuring a mostly African American cast.

The sitcoms format came to life on January 12, 1926, with the initial broadcast of “Sam `n Henry”, on WGN radio station, in Chicago. “I Love Lucy” meant a huge break-through in the filming of sitcoms, its director being credited with the very first successful use of the multiple-camera setup.

The early 2000s saw a rebirth of the single camera shooting style. Some examples of newer sitcoms are: “My Dad Says”, “Life with Bonnie”, “According to Jim”, ‘The Big Bang Theory”, “Two and a Half Men”, “Hot in Cleveland”, “How I Met Your Mother” and so on and so forth.

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THE BIG BANG THEORY THE BIG BANG THEORY

Genre: SitcomCreated by: Chuck Lorre

Bill PradyDirected by: Mark CendrowskiStarring: Johnny Galecki

Jim Parsons Kaley Cuoco Simon Helberg Kunal Nayyar Sara Gilbert

Melissa Rauch Mayim BialikCountry origin: U.S.ALanguage: EnglishNo. of seasons: 5No. of episodes: 110

The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, centered on five characters: roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, two physicists who work at the California Institute of Technology, Penny, a blonde aspiring actress who lives across the hall, and Leonard and Sheldon’s equally geeky friends, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrappali.

The intellect and social awkwardness of the four guys is contrasted with Penny’s social skills and common sense.

The show is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Production. In August 2009, the sitcom won the best comedy series TCA award and Jim Parsons (Sheldon) won the award for individual achievement in comedy.

In 2010, the show won the People’s Choice Award for Favourite Comedy, while Parsons won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.  On January 16, 2011, Parsons was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical.

On September 18, 2011, Parsons was again awarded an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

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SHORT PRESENTATION OF THE MAIN SHORT PRESENTATION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERSCHARACTERS

LEONARD HOFSTADTERLEONARD HOFSTADTER

Leonard is a shrewd experimental physicist who, although pretty much at home with his geeky colleagues, is hell-bent on becoming more social, given the fact that he is truly captivated by his neighbour, Penny. He is, by far and away, the most easy-going of all four, being the least socially inept.

Despite his attempts of getting rid of his geeky nature, Leonard owns an impressive collection of comic books and one of his favourite recreational activities is Klingon Boggle, some sort of Scrabble in the language of the fictional Klingons, from the Star Trek universe.

Leonard quote:

“Some kind of nerd? I'm the king of nerds (…) which means that if someone makes me mad, I won't help them set up their printer.”

SHELDON COOPERSHELDON COOPER

Sheldon Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D., is a theoretical physicist who shares an apartment with his colleague, Leonard. Sheldon is a smart-alec who exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a total lack of social skills, a tenuous understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor, and a general lack of humility or empathy.

He is vocal about his own superior intellect compared to those around him, which obviously drives everybody up the wall. Regardless of his eidetic memory and impressive IQ of no less than 187, he is the most emotionally immature of the group, being often baffled by common social interactions.

Sheldon quote:  

“I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!”

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HOWARD WOLOWITZHOWARD WOLOWITZHoward is a puny little man, Aerospace Engineer at Caltech’s Department of Applied

Physics. He is the “ladies’ man” of the group, always providing a series of outrageous pick-up lines, his histrionic type leading to an everlasting animosity between him and Penny. Most of the time, he is mocked about being the only one who does not have a Ph.D. Howard is noted for still living with his overbearing mother, who is oblivious to his accomplishments as a grown-up and usually treats him like he is still a child, filling the cliché of a Jewish mother.

Howard quote:

“You don't seem to understand the English word no. Maybe a different language will help... Russian - Nyet, Chinese - Bu, Japanese- Iya, Klingon- ghobe, Binary Coded Ascii- 01101110 01101111”

RAJESH KOOTHRAPPALIRAJESH KOOTHRAPPALIRaj works as an astrophysicist in the Physics Department at Caltech and his main

characteristic is his case of selective mutism which does not allow him to speak in front of women, outside of his family. He is the most withdrawn of all four, having a soft spot for media that is more commonly consumed by females, developing a weakness for such movies as “The Notebook”, “Eat, Pray, Love” or “Sex and the City”. Despite his particular Indian accent, Raj is noted for using slang and abusing of the word "dude".

Raj quote:

“They don't call me Brown Dynamite for nothin'.”

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PENNYPENNY

Penny is a starry eyed waitress, aspiring to make it as an actress, standing out from the rest of the group by not being equally well-educated or savvy in a specific technical field. Although her personality usually contrasts to that of her nerdy friends, in the later episodes she has shown some of her own geekiness, being introduced to the world of PC games by Sheldon himself.

Penny quote:

“So that means, you're a doctor, you're a doctor, you're a doctor, you're a doctor and ... Howard you know a lot of doctors.”

PRODUCTIONPRODUCTIONThe show's initial pilot, developed for the 2006–2007 television season, was

substantially different from its current form. The only characters from the initial pilot that were kept for the reshot were Leonard and Sheldon.

The cast was rounded off by two female leads: Canadian actress Amanda Walsh as Katie, "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails, woman with a vulnerable interior" who the boys meet after she breaks up with her boyfriend and invite to live in their apartment (Katie was effectively replaced by Penny in the second pilot); and Iris Bahr as Gilda, a scientist colleague and friend of the boys who was threatened by Katie's presence.

The series was not picked up, but the creators were given an opportunity to retool the show and produce a second pilot. They brought in the remaining cast and retooled the show to its final format. The original unaired pilot has never been officially released, but it has circulated on the Internet.

On the evolution of the show, Lorre said "We did the 'Big Bang Pilot' about two and a half years ago, and it sucked... but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that was Johnny and Jim. We rewrote the thing entirely, and then we were blessed with Kaley and Simon and Kunal." As to whether the world will ever see that original pilot, maybe on a DVD, Lorre said "Wow that would be something, we will see. Show your failures..."

Much of the show focuses on science, particularly physics, and therefore, David Saltzberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles, checks scripts and provides dialogue, mathematics equations, and diagrams used as props.

The Big Bang Theory has been highly rated since its premiere. During its fourth season, it became television's highest rated comedy, surpassing eight-year champion, Two and a Half Men, also written by towering figure of the world of sitcoms, Chuck Lorre.

What is more, many people doubted that Lorre would ever be able to come up with anything better than his first major success, considering the task of outclassing “Two and a Half Men” a wild goose chase. However, Lorre turned out to be an expert in reinventing

himself, played his card right and managed to come up with a sitcom that keeps gibberish and stale jokes at bay.

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TRIVIA – DID YOU KNOW?TRIVIA – DID YOU KNOW?

The original working title of the show was "Lenny, Penny, and Kenny."

Raj’s inability to talk to women except when drunk is based on an old coworker of executive producer Bill Prady when he worked at a computer company

Kaley Cuoco presented the award Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards to costar Jim Parsons 

Jim Parsons’ audition for the role of Dr. Sheldon Cooper was so good that creator Chuck Lorre immediately asked Parsons to come in for a second one, because Lorre wanted to be 100% sure Parsons was as brilliant as he seemed. After the 2nd audition went perfectly, Lorre cast Parsons on the spot. 

During the third season, the producers became aware of a series called “The Theorists”, produced and broadcasted in the country of Belarus, that was a virtual copy of The Big Bang Theory.

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CASTCAST

JIM PARSONS JIM PARSONS

Mini Biography:

Having grown up in Houston, Texas and making his first stage appearance in a school play at the age of 6, Parsons went on to study theater at the University of Houston. From there he won a place on a two-year Masters course in classical theater at the University of San Diego/The Old Globe Theater, graduating in 2001.

He moved to New York, working in Off-Broadway productions, appearing in TV commercials and in one episode of "Ed" (2000) before landing a recurring role in "Judging Amy" (1999) in 2004.

Trivia:

He played a bird in his first school play in elementary school.

Jim's favorite character on "The Big Bang Theory" is Penny.

He enjoys watching “Lost”, "American Idol” and “Grey’s Anatomy”

JOHNNY GALECKIJOHNNY GALECKI

Mini Biography:

John Mark Galecki was born in Belgium where his dad was stationed while serving in the U.S. Air Force. When he was 3 years old, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he grew up. In 1991, Galecki was picked by Roseanne to play her son in the movie “Backfield in Motion” (1991). In 2007, he was back on the small screens, starring in The Big Bang Theory. Chuck Lorre, a former producer for Roseanne, wrote the whole character of Leonard, knowing, from the very beginning, that it was meant to be played by the talented young boy from “Backfield in Motion”, Johnny Galecki.

Personal quote [on preparing to portray a scientist on 'The Big Bang Theory']:

“We did try. We talked to physicists at UCLA. We watched 'Nova'. I tried to read some books but they gave me anxiety attacks by page two. We realized that we can't pretend

to think like geniuses. But we can learn to relate to them emotionally. (…)We have Nobel Prize winners asking if they can guest-star on the show. The image of the

scientist in the last 10 to 15 years has changed dramatically. It used to be the pasty guy in the basement with beakers, and now it's Steve Jobs. They're almost the rock

stars of our age.”

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KALEY CUOCOKALEY CUOCO

Mini Biography:

Kaley Cuoco has been a model and commercial actress from the age of 6, starting her acting career in the TV movie “Quicksand: No Escape” (1992). When she's not acting, Cuoco is an avid tennis player, who consistently ranks well in Southern California Tennis Association.

SIMON HELBERGSIMON HELBERG

Mini Biography:

Simon Helberg was born and raised in Los Angeles but despite this, and the fact that his father is the actor Sandy Helberg and his mother the casting director Harriet B. Helberg, his main interest as a young boy was karate. In his teens, though, he discovered acting and went on to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he trained at the Atlantic Theater Company.

He started acting in 1999, taking guest roles and small parts, establishing himself as a character performer and able sketch comedian. Solid TV work followed throughout the 2000s until he was cast as Howard Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory for which he remains best known.

KUNAL NAYYARKUNAL NAYYAR

Mini Biography:

Kunal Nayyar is an Indian actor born in London, England, and raised in New Delhi, India. He is known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. He first gained attention in the US for his role in the 2006 play “Huck & Holden” where he portrayed an Indian exchange student, anxious to experience American culture before returning home. 

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SOME ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTESSOME ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTES

Sheldon: “Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, rock crushes scissors.”

Leonard: “For God's sake, Sheldon, do I have to hold up a sarcasm sign every time I open my mouth?”  Sheldon (intrigued): “You have a sarcasm sign?”

Sheldon: “Howard, you know me to be a very smart man. Don't you think that if I were wrong, I'd know it?”

Sheldon: “You bought me a present? Why would you do such a thing? I know you think you're being generous, but the foundation of gift giving is reciprocity. You haven't given me a gift, you've given me an obligation. The essence of the custom is that I now have to go out and purchase for you a gift of commensurate value and representing the same perceived level of friendship as that represented by the gift you've given me. Ah, it's no wonder suicide rates skyrocket this time of year. Oh, I brought this on myself by being such an endearing and important part of your life...”

Sheldon: “A little misunderstanding? Galileo and the Pope had a little misunderstanding...”

Sheldon: “A neutron walks into a bar and asks how much for a drink. The bartender replies ‘for you, no charge’.” 

Howard: “Love is not a sprint, it's a marathon, a relentless pursuit that only ends when she falls into your arms - or hits you with the pepper spray.”

Penny: “Can I ask you a question?”Sheldon: “Given your community-college education, I encourage you to ask me as many as possible.”

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CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Even though I did not expect much from this sitcom, I must admit I was in for a quite pleasant surprise. Not trying to overly commend the show, it certainly makes me burst out laughing with each episode, really standing out from the rest of the recently produced sitcoms, with its original, witty humour.

To me, the thing that really brings the house down is the way the writers manage to fiddle with different stereotypes that can be easily spotted in our own daily life. The actors really succeeded in striking a balance between the “geeky parts” that overflow with technical terms and the ones that are mere funny. From my angle, the producers managed to lump together a sparkling cast that offers the viewers really bright humour that ranges from light slapstick to seriously quick wit.

One of the many aspects this show excels in is the fact that, in spite of one’s expectations, the characters are truly authentic and not at all pathetic or overdone. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it hooked me from the very first episode and it turned into a little addiction that I am forced to keep under control, lest I should waste my whole day with my eyes glued to the monitor.

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