The Big Bang Theory

September 24th will mark the start of the 12th and final season of The Big Bang Theory, which will conclude in May 2019.  With 11 seasons already under its belt, there's a mixed reaction as to whether the choice to end the show was the right one or not.  It's been one of the most successful US TV Shows for decades and has received worldwide syndication.  Some argue that the show should continue as it is still maintaining viewing figures that are higher than most shows on TV right now.  It averaged just over 18 million viewers which in its 11th season which is more than any other US TV show, including Game of Thrones which averaged 10 million for its seventh season - it too will end with its next season which is expected to air at the start of 2019.

I think the decision to end The Big Bang Theory was the right choice to make.  Whilst there are many characters on the show and many story arcs that have been pursued, there are few that would argue with the claim that the show is about Sheldon more than any other character.  Almost every plot line is related to Sheldon, and those that are not, are focused on characters that have a relationship with Sheldon in some way.  If you were to remove Sheldon from the show it would make no sense at all.  Remove any of the other characters however and almost all of them can be replaced by new characters and new story-lines without altering the dynamic of the show.

With all of this said and accepted, there comes the question of what purpose the show actually had to begin with.  That purpose I believe was the "normalization" of Sheldon.  I mean this both in terms of taking Sheldon's fundamentally awkward character and making it into something through character development that is more reminiscent of what people perceive to be normal, but also in respect of taking the abnormality of people like Sheldon and exposing the general public to it in a way that builds up an awareness, a tolerance, and an endearment that makes that abnormality become normal.  Of these two forms of normalization the only one I take issue with is the former, not the latter.

Sheldon from the outset was demonstrated to be someone who was eccentric, outcast, incredibly gifted, and above all else was acutely aware of the fact that he was different and made little apology for that fact.  In other words he lived in his own world and was content with that fact.  Throughout the course of the 11 seasons to date however there has been a reformation of Sheldon's character.  He has had each of his individual character traits removed.  He has had his quirkiness and rough edges worn down and sanded off.  He's gone from being someone who represented those who were on the periphery to representing those who are in the mainstay.  It's not surprising then that a spin-off series called Young Sheldon was created that takes you back to the beginning and reinstates all of those traits and eccentricities and has centred around the journey he went through to come to the place he was in to begin with.

I believe The Big Bang Theory is right to end the story at a point where Sheldon has not completed integrated into society, although having said that, I have not seen the 12th season yet as it hasn't aired and it remains to be seen what they do with the character for the final season.  If they do something unforgivable like making Sheldon retire from his pursuit of Theoretical Physics entirely, that would completely spoil the entire series for me.

I am not alone in my disdain for the direction the show has travelled however.  Many people who followed the show from the start have since abandoned it, and whilst the show continues to make good on the ratings, I feel quite sincerely that this is a positive feedback loop caused by the popularity of the show and that part of the reason the show has made the characters increasingly normalized is because the periphery audience that it originally targeted don't watch the show anymore and that the audience today is a mainstream one.  The show has essentially been dumbed down to be easier for the general public to follow.

What's more, this normalization is not unique to the character of Sheldon but has been applied to every member of his quartet.  Howard's behaviour fundamentally changes, to the point where he gets married and has kids, something which originally would have been inconceivable for the character.  Rajesh's behaviour too also fundamentally changes, to the point where he gains the confidence to actually engage with women in a social setting - a change which I still protest as it was completely unrealistic in regards to the struggle many people go through dealing with paralysing social anxiety.  As for Leonard he too ends up married, to the girl his character had no chance of actually pursuing in the beginning of the show.

Sheldon develops a love interest in Amy, and the two pursued a relationship that led to them also marrying.  Sheldon completely transforms from a person who couldn't even touch other people without feeling revulsion, to being a character that it is now conceivable might one day have kids of his own - something which I predict will happen in the final season, if not a birth, it will end with Amy being pregnant.

Character development is important, but it also has to be believable.  In the short space of time that has passed through the 11 seasons the show has aired, the progression of the four characters named above has been so fast that it isn't conceivable from a realistic point of view.  The characters' abilities to overcome those things that prevented them integrating with society were arguably diminished through the course of the 11 seasons, and as I stated above using Rajesh as an example, the transitions from one extreme to the next happened so quickly - one scene to the next quite literally - that it destroyed credibility for a series that originally did not dumb anything down and used dialogue that was accurate as it could be.  It's ironic that the show claims to put so much effort into making it believable by hiring researchers - including Mayim Bialik who plays Amy who in reality is a Neuroscientist and is the only member of the main cast who actually has a Doctorate - yet despite this effort in making scientific references accurate, the same dedication wasn't made to the sociological credibility of the characters.

I know there are a lot of fans of the show who want it to continue, and would like it to go on forever.  I would say to those people to be careful what you wish for.  It is better for a show to end on a high than to have a long slow and steady decline into something unrecognisable.  The lethargy of the writers is apparent, the enthusiasm and the scope for further production has diminished, there's very little you could do now without completely abandoning the premise of the show entirely.