Warner Home Video

Release date: September 2, 2008
MSRP: $29.98

Stars: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco

I shall confess, I was more than a little indifferent when I sat down to watch The Big Bang Theory. The show gives us the pretty standard premise of beautiful girl meets nerdy guys(s).
I don’t want anyone to think I don’t like sitcoms, but some of the more recent hits (Seinfeld, Will and Grace) had me hoping for a bomb to take them all out.
So TBBT had me only semi paying attention when I popped in disc one.
By the end of the first episode, they had my full attention.
While the premise may not be ground breaking, the characters are engaging and likeable, with scripts that deliver fun banter.
Leonard and Sheldon are a couple of nerdy roommates. Video games, fantasy novels, math and science dominate their world. Each works at the local University and holds more degrees that most households.
Leonard is a friendly fellow that, while a geek, has some social skills and wants to fit in with the rest of the world. He is shy and likeable enough for the average viewer to identify with and root for.
Sheldon, on the other hand, is content in his realm of math and science. He has little understanding of those not in his realm (He is shocked to learn that it took Penny four years to complete high school). Sheldon also has a fairly sharp tongue that provides some of the finest lines of the show. He reminds me of David Hyde Peirce.
Also appearing in virtually every episode are Howard and Rajnesh. They work at the same university as Sheldon and Leonard and are their closest friends. They are also major nerds.
Howard is an engineer that lives with his mother. His clothes and hair are straight out of the 70s and he hits on pretty much anything with breasts and a pulse.
Rajnesh is a scientist from India. He is smart and quite friendly, except that he is unable to speak in front of women (Except when drunk).

There are surprises around every turn in the first season. The comedy is always pushing the envelope while staying relevant. Also, you can expect to see cameos from Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf from Roseanne.


Across the hall lives Penny. Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is a very friendly, very beautiful young lady. She is from Nebraska, and has moved to California. She has dreams of being an actress, but is currently waiting tables. Her arrival throws the boys for a loop. Leonard, in particular, is smitten with her. In some ways, the chemistry between the two of them reminds me of early Rachael and Ross of Friends, before they got together.
The premise of the show is that these folks from two very different worlds find themselves making adjustments as they experience a world that is entirely new to them.
The humor is actually funny and the characters are likeable enough that you can’t wait to visit them again.

This package contains one featurette: Quantum Mechanics of the Big Bang Theory. A little over seventeen minutes, this piece gives us the thoughts of the cast and creators. This is your run of the mill piece, but does serve as a decent introduction to the show.

Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.