7 Reasons Big Bang Theory Was Actually A Great Show

Chris Snellgrove is an English Professor by day and a pop culture writer by night. You can read his thoughts on celebrities over on Instanthub, thoughts on games over on Gammicks, and thoughts on everything else over on Ebaum's World.

Big Bang Theory is something of a paradox in the world of television entertainment. On one hand, it’s an insanely popular TV comedy that helped to transform both its characters and their stars into household names. On the other hand, the show is frequently lambasted for having terrible portrayals of geeks, academics, women, and more.

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle. But at the end of the day, Big Bang Theory remains a great television show. Don’t believe it? Let’s explore just a few reasons why the show deserves its position among television’s greatest hits.

Relatable Issues

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Much has been made about how unrealistic much of Big Bang Theory really is. After all, there are so many plots that revolve around Penny, a poor waitress who nonetheless can afford a giant apartment with no roommate. Or around Leonard, a horrifically-shy nerd who actually manages to win over the girl next door.

Despite the silliness of the plots and general premise (it is a sitcom, after all), the show took a stab at real issues. For example, countless men suffer from shyness and insecurity, especially around women. In another show, these traits would render our protagonists as nothing more than punchlines. But Big Bang Theory lets you watch characters that overcome relatable issues like crippling anxieties, giving hope to audiences that they can someday do the same. 

Character Evolution

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Speaking of characters overcoming things, the many seasons of Big Bang Theory let it do something that most sitcoms cannot. Specifically, it lets our various characters grow and evolve over time.

We see Leonard overcome his shyness and finally marry Penny. We see Raj overcome his anxiety and learn to speak to women. And we see Penny, a character introduced as a ditzy waitress, achieve success as a pharmaceutical sales rep. In a world of static sitcoms, Big Bang Theory actually gave us dynamic characters that change before our very eyes.

Realistic Geeks…

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Perhaps the most enduring criticism of the show is that despite its focus on geek culture, it doesn’t appeal to real geeks. These self-proclaimed “real” geeks instead insist that the show is designed to appeal to a normie audience by using offensive and outdated stereotypes of actual nerds.

However, the blunt truth is that these terrible “stereotypes” are true in many cases. Raj may seem like an extreme caricature, but can you honestly say you’ve never met a nerd who is terrible at speaking to women? Sheldon is an annoying, Type-A rules lawyer, but can anyone say they haven’t run into a dozen people like that when trying to organize a D&D game? These portrayals obviously hit close to home for many people, and when it comes to their criticisms, the old saying is true: a hit dog hollers!

…And Realistic Geek Culture

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Another thing that annoyed many people about Big Bang Theory was that it did a lot of name-dropping. Characters openly talked about things like Star Trek, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones so much that at times, you might think you were watching a bit of sponsored product placement. Most of the time, though, it was simply characters geeking out over their favorite characters and properties.

And once again, whether the haters want to hear this or not, this is a fair representation of geek culture. Nerds really do nerd out over objectively silly things, and debates about which superhero could beat up another superhero and pretty regular occasions (go spend some time on Reddit if you disagree). Sure, we might cringe to see our characters dressed up in Starfleet uniforms, but let he who has never attended a comic convention throw the first combadge!

Science Lite

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The show revolves around the lives of scientists and engineers. As such, many plots revolve around weird science, including shenanigans with a robot arm and even a trip to space. And we get cameos from actual scientists such as Stephen Hawking and even fake scientists like Elon Musk.

Some science fans and science professionals took exception to the plots and cameos, looking at the whole show as nothing more than “science lite.” And make no mistake: it definitely WAS science lite. But the fact that this show introduced millions of people to scientific and engineering concepts they were previously unaware of is a good thing. Getting mad at a sitcom for simple science is like getting annoyed that a Youtube explainer video doesn’t have all the content and context of a scientific textbook.

Relaxed Stories

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In recent years, audiences have become more aware of the “vibe” that a movie or TV show has. Beyond things like plot, dialogue, actors, and music, the vibe of something helps describe whether or not this particular bit of entertainment puts you in a good mood or not.

And haters will hate to hear this, but it’s difficult to beat the relaxed vibe of Big Bang Theory. Sure, the characters are silly and plots are usually low-stakes. But that means that you, as an audience member, get to sit back and watch hot people crack weird jokes for about 22 minutes. General audiences love relaxed storytelling like this, which is one of the reasons this show will live forever in syndication.

Romantic Focus

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The female characters of Big Bang Theory represent something of an inflection point for audiences and critics. Some people like that we see positive career development for the three primary female characters, which helps showcase their independence. Ironically, others are critical of the idea that these women were largely put into the show as romantic interests for the men, meaning their ultimate plot role is “sex object.”

I’m not even going to TRY to untangle the sexual politics of this show. But one thing worth pointing out is that the positive evolution of the male characters is tied directly to the women in their lives. Beyond its silly sitcom trappings is a simple premise: relationships help us grow and ultimately become our best selves. And in a world where so many actual geeks think of themselves as “incels,” Big Bang Theory presents the counternarrative than any geek can eventually find love and will ultimately be all the better for it.