Jim Parsons brought the 12 season run of The Big Bang Theory to a decisive end when he finally decided to leave his role as iconic sitcom scientist Sheldon Cooper for good. Thankfully, devoted fans of the CBS series can learn more about the character in prequel series Young Sheldon, although some strange inconsistencies have been spotted. Throughout both series Sheldon was known for his intense germaphobia, but was completely forgotten about in one scene from the spin-off.
Big Bang star Jim Parsons reprises his role as Sheldon by narrating the school life of his pre-adolescent self in Young Sheldon. Set in the late 1980s and early 90s, the show follows Sheldon (now played by Iain Armitage) during his years as a brainy outcast at his Texas high school.
The spin-off has proven to be a hit amongst original Big Bang Theory fans and regularly pulls in millions of viewers for each episode.
In the latest season, Sheldon’s future with his future employer, Caltech, hit a major hurdle when it was revealed his mother, Mary (Zoe Perry) hid a letter from the school expressing interest in his studying there.
With three seasons of over 20 episodes each, the series has been a reliable source of entertainment for devoted sitcom fans as the coronavirus lockdown continues. Unfortunately, looking back at previous episodes has caught the prequel series in some embarrassing continuity errors.
One of the most glaring inconsistencies was exposed in the 17th episode of the first season, Jiu-Jitsu, Bubble Wrap & Yoo-Hoo. The episode begins with a hilarious opening that sees Sheldon attempting a jiu jitsu move on his best friend, Tam Nguyen Tam was Sheldon’s only friend at their Medford high school, and introduces him to most of his non-scientific hobbies, such as comic books and RPGs.
Sheldon’s poorly executed martial arts hold, and the fact he is several inches shorter than Tam, proves unsuccessful despite his scientific know-how. However, one fan has suggested Sheldon shouldn’t have been willing to participate in the physically demanding gym class in the first place, due to his extensive phobias.
They said: “Near the start we see Sheldon using physics to try and take down Tam. This completely goes against all of Sheldon’s phobias about touching people, especially socks.
“Even before this episode he has shown his displeasure at the thought of touching people.”
Sheldon was well known for his aversion to germs and physical contact throughout The Big Bang Theory, an important element to his character that was brought over to Young Sheldon. Despite this, Sheldon seems uncharacteristically willing to grab hold of his friend in the middle of a sweaty gym class.
After the pair were established as such close friends in the prequel series, some fans questioned why Tam was never mentioned throughout The Big Bang Theory.
A self-aware episode in the final season of the original series addressed this, and introduced an adult Tam played by Robert Wu in The Tam Turbulence. It was revealed Sheldon resented Tam for staying in Texas with his girlfriend when he decided to move to California to study at Caltech.
Thankfully, most fans of both The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon have been able to overlook these plot holes and they have each remained some of the most popular comedy series on TV.
Source: express.co.uk