Big Bang Theory is not funny and never has been.

[Orrex]

There. I said it.

[underpants]

1. I disagree. It's very funny.

There. I said it.

[Orrex]

5. How does it feel to be so completely and totally wrong? WRONG! WRONGGGGG!!!!!!

I, of course, would never be wrong about anything. Not me, no way.

[Thor_MN]

33. "Wouldn't dream of telling them otherwise." and screaming "WRONGGGGG!!!!!!"

at people is not consistent.

Not sure what that says about your argument, but it says something....

[Orrex]

39. YOU'RE WRONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!!!11!!!!!

[Thor_MN]

42. Wow. Hypocrisy and using ones for exclamtion points.

Is conservatism contagious? You may want to consult you doctor if you see any more warning signs, but then again, I think the next sign is utter lack situational awareness.

[Orrex]

43. HOW CAN YOU BE SO WRONGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!??1!??!!!

[Thor_MN]

45. But I haven't offered an opinion on the Big Bang Theory.

Not listening to what others say and rabidly repeating talking points... Another sign...

[Orrex]

46. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE STILL SO WROOONGGGGGGG!!!!!11!!!ONE!!!!!!

[TexasProgresive]

8. I love "Big Bang Theory"

What's ironic is "2 & 1/2 Men" never worked for me. I think both shows were brought to us by the same people.

[Iggo]

2. Agreed.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

3. Funny.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. I'm going to take the middle road and say it's moderately funny.

I watch it....it's not Seinfeld but it has its genuinely funny moments.

I had pretty much given up on the traditional "studio audience" style sitcoms but came across TBBT and liked it enough to include it in my regular lintany of shows.

[Orrex]

7. I started close to the beginning but gave up

When I've checked in periodically since then, it's exactly the same.

I "get" the jokes, which is to say that I recognize the bits that are supposed to be jokes, I understand why they're intended as jokes, yet I still conclude "not funny."

From the outset I perceived a sense of desperation in the writing, as though the writers knew that the whole shtick depends on the viewers collectively deciding to agree that it's funny, but the agreement could evaporate at any time.

Now, certain elements (definitely not all) of DU tend to give three different responses to this kind of thing.

1. No one says you have to watch it.
No kidding! I honestly thought that someone had a gun to my head forcing me to endure Sheldon's unfunny antics!

2. Why can't you let people enjoy what they want to enjoy?
Hey, they're welcome to it. Wouldn't dream of telling them otherwise.

3. I got rid of my tv in 1956.
That's swell!

None of this is reflection on fans of the show, of course. People can like whatever they like.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. It was very funny in its first few seasons.

Lately they've been running out of material and it's not as funny as it was - but there's still some clever writing. Some things are funny to some people, others not. For example:

Funny:

Monty Python
Police Squad
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
The Office

Not funny:

Benny Hill
Married With Children
Friends
Seinfeld
Roseanne

YMMV.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

12. I found Modern Family to have run out of gas lately.

When it started off, it was very fresh and funny. But all the characters have pretty much devolved into caricatures of themselves, and the plots have gotten repetitive. Just my personal opinion.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Haven't seen it lately, but that would be consistent

with what happens to most sitcoms over time. They just run out of enough material to keep their original premise going. Same seems to be true of TBBT - once they got girlfriends a main source of the jokes got lost, because the point was that they were too weird and nerdy for girlfriends.

[Cirque du So-What]

9. TBBT is one of the very few sitcoms of the current era

that can make me literally LOL. Trust me, I'm highly selective with my lulz.

[TexasBushwhacker]

20. I feel the same way

Although I've lost interest in the last couple of seasons. But since my memory isn't great, I can watch the reruns and LOL

[Saviolo]

10. I was instantly reminded of this: (CW: strong language!)

Link to tweet

[Demit]

11. Watching the clip that took out the laughter soundtrack was very enlightening.

The "humor" was almost all mean. There was nothing that made me laugh spontaneously.

[Orrex]

14. Funny how that works, right?

Most sitcoms have at least one character whose "humor" is based entirely on insulting other characters (Chandler from Friends is perhaps the most obvious example).

When the laugh track is removed, the viewer is left with the feeling that this unfunny, sarcastic asshole is trying to get punched in the mouth.

[Gothmog]

15. I also disagree

[Orrex]

16. YOUR A HORIBLE PERSON AND YOUR WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!!1!

Well, you're probably not horrible at all, and you're only "wrong" insofar as we respectfully disagree, but that kind of subject line would grab any attention.

[Leith]

17. Truth Be Told, It's a Run-of-the-Mill Sitcom

There was only one scene that actually made me laugh out loud. This one. Relax, it is only 20 seconds long.

The setup: Raj's parents have arranged a meet-up for him with an Indian girl living in the US. They meet Sheldon and the girl finds a common interest with him so they start talking. Raj is liquored up and gets angry.

[Kaleva]

18. You should read and know the TOS before making such a post

[Beaverhausen]

19. Do you know why Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors?

well, do you?

[Floyd R. Turbo]

21. I wouldn't know!

I've never watched it!

[gratuitous]

22. Sure thing, Sheldon

We know your sense of humor:

Non-existent.

[True Dough]

23. Big Bang Theory is a polarizing sitcom

This is at least the second thread weighing the show's virtues and shortcomings with strong opinions on both sides.

Personally, I side with Orrex. I'm not a fan of BBT at all.

Comedy shows that I enjoy:
MASH
All in the Family
Just for Laugh Gags
Seinfeld (and what I've seen of Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Saturday Night Live (but it's hit and miss)
Frasier
The Office
Family Guy

[pressbox69]

25. Am I the only person that loves

Curb Your Enthusiasm but not Seinfeld?

[True Dough]

29. I can't imagine you're the only one

but I think it would be safe to say you're in a minority.

[retread]

31. There is at least 2 of us! n/t

[JonLP24]

37. I think they're both very similar

They both have characters where things blow up in their face by the end of the episode. Curb doesn't have a laugh track so that makes it funnier to me but I can notice Larry's writing in both shows.

[Coventina]

24. It was funny, but now it has jumped the shark.

I recommend the first 7 seasons.

After that, meh.

[rurallib]

32. Yep - totally agree

Got to figure writing staff must have changed or something - it became a 1950s domestic sit-com.

[Coventina]

48. Exactly! Thank you!

I hadn't really encapsulated that idea, but once it became all about marriage and babies.....well, it kind of ruins the premise of the show being about brainy academics. I vastly preferred it when they were sabotaging each other's appearances on NPR, arguing at conferences, making their own outfits for cosplay, etc.

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. It is funny and it educates people about science.

Jim Parsons is one of the best actors TV has seen in a long time.

Trust me on this, I play around with the craft, he is NEVER out of character, you NEVER see him remembering lines and he has the longest and most complicated speeches/lines of dialogue you will ever see in a TV series, he is AMAZING.

and Kaley

WOW


For Jim, the scene where he is drunk and citing this long bit of dialogue, genius

[louis-t]

27. That's what I keep saying.

I have people tell me I have to keep watching it. Sorry, no .

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. I find it mildly amusing

but the laugh track makes it completely unwatchable. Which means I've only ever watched about three or four episodes all the way through, and occasionally watch an excerpt. But the laugh track! O.M.G. Why?

If something is funny, I don't need to be told when to laugh. And it it's not funny on its own, well then something (script, directing, acting) needs fixing.

When I become dictator of North America laugh tracks will be completely forbidden. Notice that movies do quite well without them.

[JonLP24]

35. +1000

[Ron Obvious]

30. Completely agree!

Although I've never seen it.

[JonLP24]

34. It is hard for me to watch a show with a laugh track these days

It's so annoying.

[left-of-center2012]

36. What's the point of your post?

YOU don't like it.
So what?
Don't watch it.

No big deal.

There, I said it.

[MrScorpio]

38. It never made me laugh

But then, I'm not its intended audience.

[JonLP24]

40. This video is spot on

These are supposed to be jokes?

[Orrex]

47. That's pretty damning

I suppose that fans will be inclined to rationalize these jokes as meta-satire, but the video actually anticipates that and entirely dismantles it as an excuse.

[Coventina]

49. That is not an entirely fair presentation.

The character of Howard is a sleazy misogynist, but he is criticized and punished for his behavior by both women and his friends.

His character also CHANGES over time. By the time he gets married he's a very different person in that respect.

Sheldon is also a misogynist, but his behavior in that respect is ALSO routinely punished on the show.

Criticizing BBT for the behavior of these characters is like saying "All in the Family" promoted racism and sexism because of the Archie Bunker character.

[Dr. Strange]

41. It's good to see you branching out into a wider range of incorrect opinions.

[Orrex]

44. YOU AND YOUR OVAL FACE ARE WRROOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!!111!!!

[Dr. Strange]

50. My elfin face is sanguine and nonplussed at your outburst.

For the briefest moment, I was just a tiny bit plussed, but I got over it ever so quickly.

[zipplewrath]

51. There are those of us that live that show

I wasn't much of a fan the first couple of seasons. Beside the fact that the entire premise was originally based upon jokes around roughly speaking someone on the autism spectrum somewhere, it also rested heavily upon the "smart people aren't pretty or desirable, pretty people are desirable but dumb" concept. After the first couple of years they started moving away from that pretty heavily. It does have its moments for anyone who works in an industry populated by these characters. We can even see some of ourselves occasionally in various situations. The creator of this show has several on right now. They all share the same affection for bawdy, even while doing other aspects quite well. I believe "Mom" is one of them, and it does a fantastic portrayal of characters struggling with issues of addiction, yet unfortunately descending into what I call "fart jokes" needlessly.

[d_r]

52. You ever see the IT crowd?

I think it is funny

[Orrex]

55. See, that's the difference. The IT Crowd is funny.

[bearsfootball516]

53. I'm a pretty big fan of it

But it's definitely a different show than when it started. The first few seasons, everyone was much nerdier, and it was much more about science. Now, it's more about pop culture.

[Afromania]

54. I tried watching it a few times and was overunderwhelmed.

[unblock]

56. i think i liked it at first primarily because it brought geekiness into pop culture

so, for geeks like me, there was a sense of, hey, we're actually recognized as having social/cultural value, we're not just those weird people who can talk to computers.

i enjoyed seeing myself in the characters and being able to laugh at myself.

then at some point, it just switched back to that familiar, hey, they're not laughing *with* me, they're laughing *at* me.

[aikoaiko]

57. Sheldon Cooper? Is that you?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

58. I don't find it funny, but my parents binge watch it

We aren't the bellwether for taste.