Another TV post, another struggle to come up with something interesting to say. The Big Bang Theory is what it is at this point - a fairly lazy but undeniably successful show with no incentive to deviate whatsoever from its established formula, where character growth moves at a snail's pace and long-term plot arcs are virtually nonexistent. Plenty of long-running sitcoms are tough to differentiate on a season-by-season basis, but generally there are broad synopses that can separate the years. For instance, the sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm was the one where Larry and Cheryl brought in a family of Katrina refugees. The eighth season of Friends was the one where Rachel was pregnant. The seventh season of The Office was the one that built up to Michael Scott leaving. These aren't major game-changers by any stretch that dictate the shape of every episode within each season, but even these low-stakes season-running arcs are enough to help shape series-long timelines. The Big Bang Theory doesn't have any such structure. Its biggest (and smartest) move was bringing in two more women to star alongside Kaley Cuoco somewhere in the third season, effectively turning the show's one-sentence description from "a pretty actress hangs out with four nerdy losers" into a much more palatable "a quirky group of scientists and an actress hang out."
Still, seven seasons. That's a long time. Surely no character is in the exact same place as he or she was when the series began, right? Let's hold that thought while we dive right in and explore the seven lead characters and the journeys they've taken.
Leonard
When the show began, he was obnoxious, whiney, and insecure. By the end of Season 7 he is far less obnoxious and whiney, and his insecurities are mostly played up in a self-deprecating manner. This was a very difficult character to like, early on. He just had such a punchable face. Always sneering, often smug. Seven years later, he's an adequate straight man who serves mostly as an anchor for the rest of the crew. He's just charismatic enough to serve as a bread and butter main character who no one can really mind.
Sheldon
The show's breakout character has always been insufferable to everyone around him and completely uninterested in women. None of this has changed, but he does have a girlfriend now. Somehow. In the show's defense, he has rarely, if ever, said "Bazinga!" for years now.
Penny
She started off as a waitress and aspiring actress. That's still what she is. She fell for the lovestruck dweeb across the hall somewhere in the first two seasons, and although they've had an "on again off again" relationship ever since, it's completely evident that the pair was always meant to be together and will end up together. Penny was never mean to the nerds in the first place; she just used to have other friends as well.
Howard
Originally, a completely loathsome creep. Perverted and selfish and weird, he was easily the worst part of the first several seasons of the show. He also lived at home with his overbearing mother, who he openly despised. Then, along came Bernadette, and suddenly he had a girlfriend, and then a wife, and he no longer lives with his mother, and he no longer shamelessly hits on women, and he no longer makes lewd sexual remarks and gestures, and, hey, wow, somewhere along the way Howard became a likable character. His growth arc is the crowning achievement of The Big Bang Theory.
Raj
Easily the worst and weakest character on the show. For six seasons, the only way he could talk to women was to be intoxicated. This included the wives and long-time girlfriends of his close friends. Six years, they ran with that gimmick. In the Season 6 finale, Raj had an epiphany of some kind and could suddenly speak to women. And that's where he is today. Still a sad sack, but one who can now speak to women.
Amy
This is Sheldon's girlfriend. They have been dating for years and have yet to be intimate with one another. Amy wants it. Sheldon doesn't. Amy won't move on. What does Amy even see in Sheldon? It isn't really explained in much detail beyond that she finds his intelligence attractive. And that's Amy. Always has been.
Bernadette
Bernadette and Amy kind of get a free pass on their lack of growth, as they've only been around for a few seasons, and were introduced in the first place to rebalance the cast and the show's dynamic. They haven't really needed to evolve; the show evolved by adding them into the mix in the first place. Anyway, Bernadette is Howard's wife and their relationship is solid and she's the whole reason he stopped being insufferable, which is all great. But there isn't much for her to do these days except snap aggressively at people when she's irritated, which is funny because she's so tiny and bubbly.
So, yeah. Seven characters, seven years. One career change (Bernadette from "student-waitress" to "gainfully employed"), one residence change (Howard), one crippling anxiety overcome (Raj), and three new romantic relationships established (one of them on-and-off several times over, and one of them still unconsummated). Oh and Raj got a dog at one point.
What have you done with your life since 2007? How much have you changed?
Seriously, this show could last for fifteen years.
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