Series 9 (sorry, can't bring myself to say season) starts this coming Thurs 8.30pm on E4
'Spect my thread title will be changed by the powers that be.
New Big Bang Theory
Thing I love about this show is the amount of variations to the knock, knock, knock gag.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 15th March 2015, 12:56 PM GMTSeries 9 (sorry, can't bring myself to say season) starts this coming Thurs 8.30pm...
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 15th March 2015, 12:56 PM GMT...on E4
Oh, GB please don't tell me you can't get E4 - I thought you said you could get all British channels?
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 15th March 2015, 6:58 PM GMTOh, GB please don't tell me you can't get E4 - I thought you said you could get all British channels?
'Some', not 'all'. BBC1-4, Channel 4+5 and ITV 1-4. But they show BBT on German TV, so it's no tragedy. I'll buy the DVD anyway.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ 15th March 2015, 7:40 PM GMT'Some', not 'all'. BBC1-4, Channel 4+5 and ITV 1-4. But they show BBT on German TV, so it's no tragedy. I'll buy the DVD anyway.
Good 
Do they have sub-titles on German TV or is it dubbed?
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 15th March 2015, 7:56 PM GMTGood
Do they have sub-titles on German TV or is it dubbed?
Always dubbed on German TV. On the big Swiss channels on the other hand some British or American programmes can be watched as "Zweikanalton" ("dual sound channel"??) which means you can choose between the dubbed version or the original language (Top Gear for example or Hollywood blockbusters).
Oh dear, can't see that working well. The nuances for example apart from the accents.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 15th March 2015, 8:07 PM GMTOh dear, can't see that working well. The nuances for example apart from the accents.
Watching British programmes in German doesn't make any sense to me. Especially comedy, because you lose about half of the comic content in translation. I mean how do want to translate the "forkhandles"-sketch? And I really love to hear the different British accents...Del Boy without his cockney expressions is a sacrilege.
American movies are a different beast, I don't mind watching them dubbed...still, hearing a redneck yokel speaking German is not as funny as the real thing.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ 15th March 2015, 8:32 PM GMTstill, hearing a redneck yokel speaking German is not as funny as the real thing.
I'd find that quite amusing 
Excellent news. BBT is now not only required viewing but rare in being a reassuring aspect of modern life. Was thrilled to see Bob Newhart yesterday in an episode from the 2013 series. As for German subtitles, I can't imagine double entendres - or even subtle, implied, double meanings - existing in Deutsch but I could be wrong. Perhaps one of our continental contributors could provide an example?
Don't worry, it's not worth getting exciting for. This show has continued it's onward downward spiral it's been on for the last couple of seasons.
Quote: Edwin @ 16th March 2015, 5:53 PM GMTDon't worry, it's not worth getting exciting for. This show has continued it's onward downward spiral it's been on for the last couple of seasons.
Well apart from Penny's short hair, I'm still enjoying it.
Hate to say it but I'm really not so sure. There seems to be a bit of a nastier streak in the new series, particularly re animal welfare. My imagination - or new writers? Has anybody else noticed this trend?
Time for a confession.
I love The Big Bang Theory!
I simply adore it.
Yes, it's getting weaker. Folks, we're in series 9 (I didn't realise we'd finished 8 already, until I saw this thread). Do the math, - as they would say.
But the set up and the characters are glorious.
Over here so many current sitcoms seem to be the product of writers who think that sitcom is situation led, or even just a receptacle for puns.
But with Big Bang it is purely character driven.
The show has put all its competitors into the shade.
'Two and a half men', 'How I met your mother' were simply shunted aside by this wonderful, joyous juggernaut. It presently resides as one of the most successful TV programmes, full stop.
It did take some risky leaps at the outset.
Boring science, selective mutism, Howard 'Le Pew'.
Who'd have thought a staircase could be a set?
I know people complain about standard tropes, etc. But the truth is, any long running series does that. It must, else it cannot function. Complaining about that is to complain about long running series per se. Including 'Only fools and horses' and 'Dad's army'.
To my mind, 'The Big Bang Theory' is the greatest thing since 'Frasier'.
Clearly it shares some of its DNA.
The characters are nice! They are likeable. You feel for Raj and Howard just as you would for Corporal Jones and Pike. There is warmth to it.
They inhabit a Wodehouse type of universe insofar as nothing really bad ever happens to anybody.
Put downs there may be, but no real nastiness.
There is much wit and wordplay, but punning is not the raison d'etre.
Above all tower the characters. Sheldon and Leonard are wonderful creations.
Behind Sheldon's craziness lies an impish child, lost and vulnerable. Meanwhile, Leonard's capacity to convey his pain at living with Sheldon is boundless.
Laurel and Hardy, The odd couple; it's all in there in nuances.
Penny is superb. Representing the larger world to the geeks. One cannot but wonder whether a character so good looking would be permitted in UK comedy, for fear of the accusation of sexism.
But without Penny being what she is, much of the comedy would simply not fly.
(Who knows, maybe that's why much of UK comedy doesn't fly.)
I very much doubted the increasing inclusion of female cast. I feared one was going places for reasons other than comedic necessity, as is often the case nowadays. (i.e. PC quotas)
But no, Bernadette and Amy only helped to make it bigger.
The reason it worked was once more, because they were proper characters.
Above all, one had succeeded in adding girls without going all Jennifer Saunders.
For that alone they must be applauded.
The writers added pathos, but never went all 'Friends'. It isn't soap, nor is it 'comedy drama'.
It remains pure sitcom.
The show's innocence also prevents the decline which befell 'Two and a half men'.
It doesn't go blue. Instead it stays true to milking the central conflicts.
So yes, it's running out of steam.
But the characters are truly lovable and it has created some memorable moments.
It is, to all avail, a classic comedy.
I for one, will miss them when they're gone.