Daddy Issues, But Make It Fun
Every main character in has some degree of daddy issues. Penny wished she was a boy to please her dad, and Leonard barely spent any time with his anthropologist father. Sheldon’s dad died when he was fourteen, while Howard’s left when he was eleven. Amy barely talks about her dad, and Bernadette and her father fear each other. Raj has the healthiest relationship with his dad, but it’s still a co-dependent dynamic.
The show uses these serious subjects as a source of humor. It sometimes comes across as a tad insensitive, but is infamous for its often crass and problematic gags. It makes sense that it would make jokes about distant fathers.
Mommy Issues, But Make It Creepy
Dads aren’t the only problematic figures in ; mothers have their fair share of issues. Sheldon’s mom is ultra-conservative and borderline racist, Amy’s is overbearing and possessive, Bernadette’s is even more racist than Mary Cooper, and Howard’s is a stereotype.
Then there’s Beverly Hofstadter. Played by television icon Christine Baranski, . She berates and emasculates him, joking about his flaws as a scientist and contributing to his low self-esteem. The jokes mainly work because of the show’s context and Baranski’s acidic performance, but non-fans of the show would probably cringe at them.
What Acting Career?
Few things in are as sad as Penny’s ill-fated acting career. She spends more than half the show trying to make it as an actress but only succeeds in booking a hemorrhoid commercial and the lead role in two low-budget exploitation films, and .
The show makes many jokes about the movies, devoting an entire arc in season 7 to the sequel’s shooting. Future seasons also make numerous references to Penny’s role in the movies and even some callbacks to her hemorrhoid commercial. , and abandoning her acting career is the perfect proof.
Sheldon’s Many Beverages
For all his flaws, Sheldon usually tries to offer help whenever he realizes a person is struggling. When they’re sad or distressed, he offers tea. Sheldon has a wide variety of tea and prepares it for practically everyone in the show.
Sheldon also indulges in other beverages but only under specific circumstances. For example, he only drinks cocoa in months with an “r” in them because “what’s life without whimsy?” However, he never drinks coffee because he promised his mother he wouldn’t do drugs. All these details get slowly revealed throughout the show’s first three seasons, meaning only true fans will catch them with ease.
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock is not one of . Indeed, the game comes from the mind of internet pioneer Sam Kass — all hail Sam Kass. However, Sheldon enjoys and plays it constantly, often using it to settle disputes.
The game features Sheldon’s favorite pop culture character, Spock, and requires a certain degree of skill to master its somewhat convoluted rules. Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock appears several times throughout the show, with characters outside the friend circle expressing confusion or disbelief at its existence.
Source: carconts.com