Story for the Week
Corinne and I recently finished binge watching all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory. 279 episodes, about 22.5 minutes each, about 104 hours in total.
We had just finished VICTORiOUS and iCarly (original and new), and we were looking for something to keep us in the sitcom genre. Before we started VICTORiOUS, we spent I don’t even know how long watching every season of Survivor. We needed something bite-size, easier to watch a couple episodes before bed.
When I suggested The Big Bang Theory, we realized that the series premiered when Corinne was only two years old. She didn’t start watching it at all until she was older. For her, Leonard and Penny had always been together. Same for Howard and Bernadette as well as Sheldon and Amy. They had already started to develop into the characters they were at the end of the series.
The first few episodes were interesting to watch. She kept commenting on how mean the four guys were to each other. Howard was a total creep, and Raj couldn’t talk to women without drinking. She never, ever knew Raj when he couldn’t talk to women until we started watching it from the beginning. She’s also old enough now (and smart enough as she begins this school year in AP Pre-Calculus 😮) to actually understand some of the math. 🤔
It’s fascinating to watch a series from the beginning through someone else’s eyes, to know what’s coming, to see their reactions. There were plenty of times that we said we’d watch two episodes in an evening. But more often than not, we ended up watching two to three hours in the evenings. On weekends, we could make it through almost an entire season. 😲
Twelve seasons took us a lot less time than we expected, especially since Corinne was off school for the summer. I started reading the book below probably halfway through the series, and I finished well before we watched the last episode. There were parts of the book that made me watch differently.
Kevin Sussman, who played Stuart, was originally cast as Howard but couldn’t get out of a contract. I can’t see it. Jim Parsons auditioned for the role of Barney in How I Met Your Mother. I can’t see that either, and I also can’t imagine anyone else as Sheldon Cooper.
That’s the magic of a great ensemble cast. You can’t see anyone else as the characters they play because they’re perfect together. They started with a bang, and I think they ended with one too.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐½
3.5 Stars for The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff
529 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Purchased on Amazon.
Publisher’s Description
The definitive, behind-the-scenes look at the most popular sitcom of the last decade, The Big Bang Theory, packed with all-new, exclusive interviews with the producers and the entire cast.
The Big Bang Theory is a television phenomenon. To the casual viewer, it’s a seemingly effortless comedy, with relatable characters tackling real-life issues, offering a kind of visual comfort food to its millions of dedicated fans. But the behind-the-scenes journey of the show from a failed pilot to a global sensation is a fascinating story that even the most die-hard fans don’t know in its entirety.
The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series is a riveting, entertaining look at the sitcom sensation, with the blessing and participation of co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, executive producers Steve Molaro and Steve Holland, as well as Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik, and more. Glamour senior editor Jessica Radloff, who has written over 150 articles on the series (and even had a cameo in the finale!), gives readers an all-access pass to its intrepid producing and writing team and beloved cast. It’s a story of on-and-off screen romance told in hilarious and emotional detail, of casting choices that nearly changed everything (which even some of the actors didn’t know until now), of cast members bravely powering through personal tragedies, and when it came time to announce the 12th season would be its last, the complicated reasons why it was more difficult than anyone ever led on. Through hundreds of hours of interviews with the sitcom’s major players, Radloff dives into all this and much more. The book is the ultimate celebration of this once-in-a-generation show and a must-have for all fans.
************
As a fan of television’s The Big Bang Theory, I was excited to read this book. I watched the series from beginning to end, which is unusual for me when a series stretches to 12 seasons. But The Big Bang Theory never disappointed. The characters changed and grew enough to keep the series fresh but not so much that they became different people.
But I had been burned before by a retrospective when I bought I’ll Be There for You: The One About Friends. The key difference with The Big Bang Theory book versus the Friends book is that Radloff had access to the cast and creators. Having written 150 articles about the show previously, the author interviewed people who were comfortable with her. She was familiar, so she would probably have more access and end up with better stories.
I figured it was worth buying, and it started strong. The beginning of the book detailed the creation of the series, how Chuck Lorre came up with the idea and pitched the pilot. I enjoyed reading about who auditioned for which parts and tried to envision the show if Kevin Sussman, who played Stuart, had been Howard. Or if the show would have even been a success if Jim Parsons had gotten the role of Barney in How I Met Your Mother instead of Neil Patrick Harris.
But the further I delved into the book, the less I enjoyed it. I still gave it 3.5 stars for the entertainment value. I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about the series as a whole, about the cast members’ lives outside of the show. But this wasn’t a “book” that the author wrote. It was a series of interviews that the author transcribed, and it started to feel repetitive as the book progressed.
I saw another review that talked about how it became chapter after chapter of the cast and creators talking about how much they loved one another and how great everyone was, and I can’t disagree. It also seems pretty obvious that some of the interviews Radloff conducted were “live” (she even referenced being on Zoom with Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco together), but other sections felt like they had been written responses that were sent to her, so it felt disjointed.
All in all, the book is an interesting view into the television industry and a fun look at the friendships of the cast from this show. The “writer” didn’t do much writing, which is disappointing since she’s actually a writer. It would have been nice to read more of her own personal history with the cast and crew.
It also would have been nice if she (or her editors) had corrected some grammar (“Johnny and I’s relationship” 🙄).
If you enjoyed this post, please comment below. Subscribe for regular updates, and share it with your friends. If you’re interested in starting a conversation, send an email to booksundertheblanket@gmail.com.
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using the links on my site.
