TV is the New Reading

‘Big Bang Theory’ a bust

A week ago Monday was another one of those weeks where they decided not to show “Prison Break” on FOX.

These are decisions that FOX makes occasionally entirely on its own without consulting me or anyone. Regardless of the fact that “Prison Break” has gotten a little less satisfying since Dr. Sara Tancredi was executed – mostly because Michael Scofield can’t one day reunite with her, and his sole motivation if and when he somehow escapes his Panamanian prison will be to avenge her death.

The upshot is I had an opportunity to look at something else while “Chuck” was going on on NBC, because “Chuck” has been this incredibly satisfying show this season and I haven’t wanted to miss any of it. So while “Chuck” was up to his bedroom in spyware, I clicked over and watched “The Big Bang Theory.”

This installment of CBS’s adorable little college comedy opened with four geeks trundling in from being decisively trounced on the paintball field by a vicious bar mitzvah – what earthly purpose would I have to lie – and getting invited to a Halloween party by a pretty and friendly blonde woman one of them is infatuated with.

At first there’s great trepidation about the potential for dancing, quickly overcome by great excitement about the potential for dressing up according to genre.

Costume party

They all want to dress as The Flash, and all of them create buff Flash costumes (a downside to not having a costume meeting). They then decide that none of them can dress as The Flash, so they dress as Thor, Frodo, the Doppler Effect and the Peter Pan-iest possible Robin Hood.

They arrive too early, and they remain uproariously plunked-down and mingle-free in the middle of the party once people do start showing up. Once the pretty blonde’s ex-boyfriend arrives dressed as ... well, essentially, his buff and studly self in a skimpy loincloth ... Frodo worries about his chances with her.

He and Doppler decide, however, that in an evolved society, they are the alpha males. They break in on Pretty Blonde and Studly Loincloth’s conversation and in the course of making fun of the big guy, Studly picks Frodo up and shakes him.

Frodo and Doppler head back to their dorm room, and Pretty Blonde arrives before long to apologize for her ex. She gets a little flirty with Frodo, and he, with a display of the most incredible insight and restraint, asks her if she isn’t hitting on him just because she’s a little drunk and is upset with Studly. She leaves, even more fond of Frodo than she was before, and their relationship is just getting stronger and deeper.

Big yawn

My reaction to all of this was that I liked the flash-edit opening credits. It kind of plateaued toward the end of them and fell off from there. The laughtrack thought the geeks were way funnier than I did and it really enjoyed the situations they got themselves into.

But in the end, smart is difficult to fake. The geeks can only be as smart as the writers. Also, the show doesn’t want to alienate a mass audience. The jokes, such as they were, were OK, but they fell far short of insightful. Really, most of the comedy came in the characters and their interaction. That’s generally ideal, but in this case, the characters are so undifferentiated, the potential so limited and the execution so weak that ... well ...

... I guess I’m glad that “Prison Break” is usually on.

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

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