What Do You Mean There's Nothing On?!!?!

A sitcom that's main character has Asperger's? Count me in!

When it comes to my television watching habits and my mother's we are not exactly a match. Her taste runs more to "Two and a Half Men", "NCIS", and HGTV. My taste is more geared toward challenging long form drama ("Lost", "The Wire") and postmodern situation comedies ("30 Rock", "Arrested Development"). So, there are very few times that our tastes converge. Imagine my surprise when during ym mom's last visit I was introduced to "The Big Bang Theory". This very funny and very intelligent show has become a new summer favorite.

Probably the most interesting thing about the show is that the main character "Sheldon" (Jim Parsons) appears to suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. This aspect of the show has been covered very well by Slate Magazine. The show features four roommates who are all graduate students in the sciences. Their neighbor is a young woman (Kaley Cuoco) with a quick wit but still trying to find her way as a grown-up.

The show uses the friction between a person with high emotional intelligence interacting with people high "IQ" intelligence. Her sarcasm and pithy comments always throw her neighbors for a loop. Her tough, funny, and highly attractive personality is what has drawn Leonard (Johnny Galecki) to her. His crush on her adds dimension to the show and gives some tension to their interactions.

The standard friends in an apartment complex has been been done a million times. What separates this show from many others is the care with which the characters are crafted. The young woman, Penny, is written as sarcastic and funny not just good looking. It's a nice development and keeps the show a little off kilter. Although she is no scientist she can hold her own with her genius but maladjusted neighbors. The show al;so does a good job of making the Sheldon character very different from his other super intelligent roommates. The show works well because we the viewer can look at all the characters and see that "geniuses" come with all different personalities. It might just help nerds get back into style, as if they need the help. 

"The Big Bang Theory" is on CBS Mondays at 9:30pm