The VERY Weird Version Of Big Bang Theory You Never Saw
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- The best Big Bang Theory episodes understand exactly what the show is and is trying to be, but its original pilot did not. The Big Bang Theory used to be a very different show, and it certainly was not a good one. The original Penny was fired, cast members weren't written in yet, and the whole thing almost didn't happen. This is a look at the original Big Bang Theory pilot and how it went so wrong, that Penny had to be fired.
#Nerdstalgic #BigBangTheory #Penny
Some of these Big Bang Theories Are Dark... czcams.com/video/DncR7H2OVIk/video.html
To be fair, if you watch the final version of the pilot episode, Sheldon is far more sexual than in even the second episode (more akin to this version). He seems mildly interested in Penny and even competes a little with Leonard for her attention - it's subtle, but it's there. Even in the opening at the clinic it's implied that he does a LOT of self pleasuring at home - something the later, nearly non sexual Sheldon doesn't seem to have any interest in at all.
Also, after seeing how a bad pilot of what was quickly a great show almost had it destroyed, how is it that Mayim Bialik's show "Call Me Kat" ever saw the light of day? It is one of the WORST sitcoms I've ever had the misfortune of watching - and Amy was possibly my favorite character from Big Bang (after her first couple of seasons once they found her full character).
"Katie was manipulative, angry and not fun to watch" thank god the producers realize that and replace that character with Penny, a manipulative, angry, not fun to watch bimbo
What was the music you used for your outro, the second last bit of music. When you were closing up your discussion rather
This really show really helped an ex girlfriend of mine
Amy is a robot is my theory
I feel bad for the actress lol She was probably doing what was asked of her. Imagine being the only one fired from the cast and then watching the show blow up in popularity.
Happens a lot more than people think. But those long running sitcoms are pretty much a dead thing.
Gilda got fired aswell and then replaced by Leslie Winkle and then possible even Amy later on
No one will know which sitcoms blow up. Almost 100% luck. Big bang theory isn't funnier than any other sitcom that didn't make it
Did you ever hear the tragedy of Denise Crosby the wise? She played chief of security Lt. Tasha Yar in Star Trek TNG, but she *quit* halfway through season 1 because she felt her character wasn't getting enough of the spotlight. TNG went on to become a massive success, sweeping the Emmy awards in 1992 and 1993, and every main character got many episodes dedicated entirely to themselves over the course of the series.
She didn't fit in it happens sometimes
It’s almost like the original version of Sheldon was a messy combination of Sheldon and howard
true
they are similar in the final show too, both are childish and too atached to their mothers, both are mean and egoist, the only major difference is howard is horny and he is totally aware of the stupid things he does while sheldon is oblivous but understands when people take their time to explain how childish he is being
@@devforfun5618 Nahhh, Howard is attached to his mother and Sheldon loves his mother, Sheldon IS childish but Howard's had a kid like attitude but it went away in s10 - 13 and Howard is humorous on purpose.
Yeah, Howard was a bit of a creep.
Exactly
When people talk about the relationship between Penny and Sheldon (which I agree IS the heart of the show), they don't point out WHY the relationship works so well. It's because of ALL the guys on the show, Sheldon is the ONE guy who she doesn't have to worry about hitting on her. So she can let down her guard with him and that's what makes the relationship (and the show) work.
Yes !
I would say they also have a brother sister relationship
this is what drew me to the show tbh
Sheldon can be very charming in his own ways, when Penny was financially in red, Sheldon offered to lend her a hefty sum. She was very flabbergasted by this, and wanted to confirm with him, he casually resplies how it would be a greater inconvenience if he had to be asked for change by her everyday from her box on his way to work. This immediately pursuades Penny to take the money and allows her to be reassured that he is doing it out of his friendship, and not for ulterior reasons. Sheldon's worst straight is being too socially straightforward. But that is also is best trait
It goes both ways. Sheldon knows she isn't sexually attracted to him and he is good with that. They each get some benefit from the friendship that early on neither would claim existed.
I for sure felt like the writers were initially going to make Leonard the star of the show, a sort of Ted HIMYM and with Penny as Ross and Rachel. I think they never expected audiences reaction to Sheldon's quirky personality. Sheldon went from being the sidekick to a lovable [although often annoying] character of the whole series.
mostly annoying
Annoying lol. I mean, at the beginning he was cool but they really just made quirky his whole personality to the point that it became annoying
I’ve honestly felt the same. You also may notice that at the beginning of the show, the story is more around Leonard and where he goes and what he does. It’s only a little later that the show starts to focus on everyone else as well
I think many shows have that 1 character....star treks spock.......
Kinda like what happened with family matters.
To me the dynamic between Penny and Sheldon is the most essential driver of the show. In fact, I think Penny may be the catalyst for what goes on with the other characters.
That's how sweater comedies work.
To me, the developing friendship between Penny and Sheldon is the most interesting as it seems that they are basically each other's alter ego
In Spanish we call it the "el quinto en discordia" which is a character that doesn't seem essential but necessary in order to get the story moving. No one would care to watch four guys who lack social skills without a character who is the opposite. It would be boring.
@@Barb5001
I think is more simple; Penny is the mother he never had the same than Leonard is a protector/dad . He has a mind of a child who never fit in his family due to being Asperger.
@@Lyrielonwind
I believe the issue with Sheldon is he just much more intelligent than most around him.
He can not understand that others do no see the the wold as he does.... This really frustrates him and he feels compelled to set others straight as he see it
This is fairly common with high intelligent people
Most eventually realize that people do not like frequently letting others know that you are smarter than they are and they stop doing it but, Sheldon never did
I feel like Howard and Raj's characters were created to put Sheldon's pervy aspects somewhere else
Yeah they couldn’t have continued with Sheldon being kinda pervy and sexual but disliking physical relationships at the same time. I think they especially put it into Howard, who before he met Bernadette was just a pervert engineer who was not really anybody’s favourite character.
Sheldon really did make spawns of himself.
your likely right.
A character flaw makes someone endearing and human but all the character flaws at once makes them worrying and uncomfortable to watch
Making Sheldon asexual makes him less threatening.
Penny is the heart of the show, and it's her enduring and abundant *love* for everyone in her life but especially the guys that makes the show successful. That change was crucial
Um no lol Sheldon is. Penny is the pain in the ass of the show.
"Love for everyone" yeah nope...
@@colepeltier8472 penny,sheldon,howard were most funny…idk what ur on about
@@colepeltier8472 Leonard is the whiny pain the ass of the show.
She was the integral part, but had no last name.
Even in the final version there was a lot of changes in characters personalities. For example, Penny started off as a stereotype of a really dumb blonde with the only quality of the beauty. But this changed, she become more smart and the "pratical mind" of the group, more like a raw country girl. At first she wasn't able to build Ikea forniture, after a while she were teaching the guys how to go fishing
Ya she’s not genius but she’s simple when often smart peoples biggest problems is overthinking and being self cumbersome thru obstacles they put there
You're not wrong, but fishing and IKEA are completely separate skills.
@@jennifersilves4195 it's about common sense and handywork. You don't need to be a carpenter to assemble an IKEA piece
True for all of them, I think. That’s the writers/showrunners figuring it out too. For example (out of the ones I’ve noticed):
-Bernie-she started off normal voiced; only gradually/later did her voice get very high pitched, especially later to offset the gimmick with Howard’s mom
-Amy initially also wasn’t into physical; she just wanted a fake date/boyfriend to get her overbearing mother off her back
-Stewart. His personality did a compete 360. He was actually very confident and well-to-do
I never saw Penny as the dumb blonde. More like, she was the regular person who was socially smart, showing what regular people see when having to be neighbors with intelligent, but socially inept guys.
Gilda is NOT AMY.
Gilda is Lesley Winkle, who was in the first season. Amy wasn't even imagined until after season 2 and the writers have said that themselves. If you look at Lesley and Gilda you will see nothing but similarities. They are the same character.
That was my impression as well.
I agree
Exactly!!!
And when Leslie failed for the same reason Gilda did, they tried again with amy
There's a reason she changed so much so quickly
You're an crazy.. He's an insider he got alot of this info from the writers
Even weirder, the show was originally going to be called "Lenny, Penny and Kenny". Lenny would become known by his real name, Leonard, Penny kept the same name, and Kenny became Sheldon.
So... what I'm hearing is... "Oh my god! They killed Kenny!"
@@GoneFishingAmalgam Speaking of which, the four main male characters can be compared to the four main boys in South Park:
Leonard = Stan (the "normal" one and intended main protagonist)
Sheldon = Cartman (the jerk, the most popular of the four characters, and has a rivalry with the Jewish character)
Howard = Kyle (the Jewish character, and has a rivalry with the jerk)
Raj = Kenny (the shy one)
And by extension, Penny can be compared to Wendy (the love interest of the "normal" one), and Stuart can be compared to Butters (the "honorary" member of the group).
@@NeoKokoro20 Lol, Kenny, the bigger horndog than Chef, the most aggressive in the super team, the Princess Kenny ffs, is a shy one?
god thats an awful name
@@Mr.Heller Well, I was really referring to how Kenny doesn't speak nearly as much as the others most of the time. Raj is the same way, at least in the earlier seasons. He had to be drunk to even speak to the girls at first.
Kaley Cuoco nailed the role! Her stunning beauty combined with impeccable comic timing gave us one of the best performances seen on TV! ❤
I know! I feel like out of everyone in tbbt her acting felt the most natural, if you were to remove the laugh track she would still make her dialogue work
The replacement Penny was their best decision! She couldn't have been more perfect for the role! It was very believable and I quite enjoyed the chemistry between all the characters of the show. I still haven't completed the entire series, but I have been catching up.
It gets worse after season 8 for me. Worth watching, but I wouldn't say its a disaster to miss the last few series.
I’ve got all series on DVDs and watching it on Netflix over again,the first and the last series are my favourite😁
When I first watched the unaired pilot, it was very strange. The original Penny felt super cold and unfriendly.
Where can you watch it?
@@funnyfurryfriends186 I think it's on CZcams
Tbbt unaired episode
Lol no wonder even the audience was like, "we dont like the mean lady"
So how women actually act towards nerds/geeks
@@Dan55888 pretty much. Aired Penny is the type that realizes those nerds make a good wallet and gets them hooked until they’re married at which point they became married Penny.
The old Penny seems more like an Always Sunny character than a BBT one
She even looks a lot like Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who plays the Waitress (and is Charlie Day's wife IRL)
Would’ve made Big Bang Theory a thousand times better
Can we please have that sitcom???
@@DaimyoD0 she does look like her
There was initially a different actress for Dee than Kaitlyn olsen in Always Sunny's pilot too
As an American show, yes that pilot didn't work. But as an English show i feel it could of. One thing i see in a lot of our English comedies are characters like the original Penny. With good writing, story and ultimately change and growth in her character, i feel would of been good appeal over here. Who knows.
*could have
Bro, stop writing 'could of', it's not a thing. Fuck.
*would have
I like Katie but penny works better
What is the advantage of typing of over 've, I've often wondered...
Penny has taken advantage of the guys, but she was subtle and sensitive to how they were so naive, which allowed the manipulation look and feel innocent enough.
Meh, she's the worst character of the 7 mains. Still a lot better than Pilot Penny tho 😋
@@benjimain6 Leonard is the worst character for me. Worst actor among all of them too imo.
@@benjimain6 how is she worse than "racial stereotype boy" and "lusty misogynist nerd"
@@FirstnameLastname-gr5kb Howard is fun. Pathetic, but fun to watch. Raj is boring, I'll give you that. However, Penny just annoys me in the setting the show is written. Sure, a non scientist is essential to add, but you talk about stereotypes, I see Penny.
@@lostfigure3703 Not a great fan of the actor (while it being the only one I actually knew before the show came out lol). The character is like fry from futurama for me; not great, but still a key character to tie it together.
I think you’re wrong on one point: I think Gilda was the template for Leslie Winkle. They’re both (from what you’ve shown) dominant intellectuals and wanting sex but not love from Leonard. Amy was extremely awkward and initially almost robotic. Then they changed her into a more “normal” but still socially awkward person.
Yeh, but Leslie Winkles first introduction on the show with the whole "I propose an experiment" bollocks was fucking awful, and if that had been the pilot, it would never have made it to air.
But, you know, "that's how nerds talk"....
I thought the same, watching Gilda put me in mind of Leslie more than it did Amy - but she did speak a lot like Amy
Oh I couldn't stand Amy in the beginning. It was a female Sheldon but unfunny. Then when she changed her personality I started to love her and she became funny.
However I don't see Gilda like Leslie. They both are scientists and have brains but that's about it. But also Gilda's not like Amy at all wtf.
@@Romy--- Yeah she was very wooden and even Bernadette in the beginning was the same. Go watch both in their initial couple of episodes and they are completely different than at the end. It's like they thought nerdy women were animated blowup dolls.
I thought the Gilda remind me of Leslie Winkle as well. Now, that character seem cold. Care more about her career. Seemed to use men like Leonard who are sexual attractive, but neurotic men around women to only for sexual needs. Otherwise that character seem to hate men. I think Leonard was attracted to her due to the fact that when he broken up with Penny, he was desperate for female attention that he would even have sex with her.
No, Penny is not a bimbo nor is a manipulative woman as some of the bloggers think. She is really kind and sweet. She put all with these nerdy guys, who can also be just as misyognistic as any other guys. In contrast, Leslie Winkle is more of the stereotype manipulative professional women. Note that there were other smart, attractive, intellectual female character on the show like Alex and Ramona, that were just normal, not manipulative and man hating like Leslie Winkle although Ramona did original have some sort of have a stalker type relationship with Sheldon like even Amy was so jealous that he wanted her dead.
At first, I thought this was gonna be about how Penny went from a high school burnout who wasted her youth partying, to magically rich and successful.
Oh heck comment crossover
@@nothanks6549 penny was unwatchable in the end. specially through season 10,11,12. and raj's character didnt get a proper ending. even after 12 years.
@@nothanks6549 I absolutely agree with you, however, i'd like to add that I really liked the episode when Penny realized that her dreams of becoming an actress are unrealistic and she needs to be devoted to her "boring" job as a pharm sales rep, and after that she put more energy into her job and therefore gained more success (to the point that another pharm company tried to steal her). At that point she was a good role model for young people (incl me). :)
@@nothanks6549 Agreed, plus I do not think it is a good lesson for viewers that the person who literally wasted her life is now making more money than the characters who literally spent their entire life on their passion and won countless science awards.
@@TrueUnderDawgGaming and Bernadette, who worked hard to get her degree in microbiology and helped get Penny the job, makes even more money than that... all this is really doing is highlighting the higher earning capacity of working in the private sector over academia
The thing is, is Penny is one of the nicest and most forgiving characters on the show. Most of the time though, all the characters are being mean to each other.
The show certainly wouldn't work if everyone were nice.
I'm so glad that it all got changed, it just wouldn't be the same big bang without quirky Sheldon, Raj, Amy, and the whole story line. Thank you for informing me about this original pilot. One more random fact I can add to my noggin. 😁❤️
Male penguins compete with female penguins by bringing home massive rocks. Whoever has the biggest rock is desired by the female. Just thought I'd give you one mor random fact for your noggin.
Here's another random fact for your noggin: The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain.
Your mind is blown.
@@SigmundIII Damn. Between us and the moon we can fit all of the planets of the solar system, including pluto.
Gilda is definitely the prototype for Leslie Winkle not Amy
That's what I always thought too lol
exactly
I think it might be more accurate to say they tried to turn Gilda into Leslie, and when that character didn't really work out (She's not in nearly as many episodes as Amy after all) they tried to recycle the concept yet again and created Amy.
Gilda appears to have qualities of both Amy and Leslie (Amy's awkwardness and Leslie's aggressiveness), so I would venture to say that she was the model for both characters.
I wonder if they created the Gilda character with Sara Gilbert's Darlene Conner character in mind, in hoping that the character would have the same chemistry as Gilbert did with Galecki on Roseanne.
To be fair, even in the final version, it still took a few episodes for the showrunners to know exactly what to do with Sheldon. Case in point, the very first scene, which is the two boys visiting a sperm bank! We know from later episodes that Sheldon, while not rich, is comfortable enough financially that he has thousands of dollars that he can loan Penny on a whim. And imagine a world in which Sheldon would touch himself for money! There is absolutely no possibility that the final version of Sheldon as we know him, would ever visit a sperm bank.
Interesting, i didn’t think about that!
It is even worse. I dont recall exact words but when Sheldon contemplates whether he can do it (before explaining that the object of his fear is that offspring would end up dumb as his sister), Leonard tells him that he is "an expert" implying that Sheldon masturbates a lot ....
But the final version of Sheldon is the same guy as the guy in the first episode so how do you explain that wise guy.
Leonard also says in the first episode that Sheldon was the king of masturbation or words to that effect which means he used to jack off a lot.
lol they didnt visit the sperm bank for money so stop pointing that out 😂
From what I remember of the episode, it wasn't about the money it was about Sheldon wanting to spread his intelligence through procreation
I think it's cruel to say she was fired. She was hired for a pilot. Then they recast when it didn't work along with script changes, changes to characters etc. It's not unusual at all. Fired would be if they kicked her out half way through shooting the pilot.
What a difference, the peny we got was more human and wasn't above making herself look silly while original penny looked down on others and had a unbalanced femdom persona. As a girl I prefer, the imperfect penny we got than the cookie-cutter one on the unaired pilot. I dislike those "I'm perfect" girls like that. Sheldon and Penny we got were more wholesome.
Femdom penny huh? 🤔
"The mean lady should stay away from the sweet boys" 💀
Most fragile and mysogynic sentence ever!
@ᴡɪɴᴛᴇʀᴍᴜᴛᴇ _ still not as bad as "reality tv" fans
@@fabulousk9014 Can you explain how? I dont see it
@@e_paige It's not. Their comment makes no sense.
@@fabulousk9014 How is it mysoginystic? If she was mean, she was mean. You can criticize a female character, a real woman, or even a type of woman without being mysogynistic.
In many ways Penny is the antithesis of Sheldon and hence that pair is what the show revolves around. Yes Penny is romantically involved with Leonard but Penny & Sheldon’s interaction causes both of them to grow as is the catalyst for the growth in the other character..
Buck Fiden
'Let's go Brandon'
Yes Fuck Biden lol but in response to the actual comment.
How do Sheldon and Penny grow? They are the same at the end of S12 as they were in S1.
@@thatoneguychad420 Both Penny and Sheldon come to realize that Biden/Harris are the worst pres/vp in history and that they are turning American into a commie country. Happy?
@@JetFire9 red pills for everyone!
The resulting BBT was so different on every level, the dynamic of Penny in the group and in the one-on-ones of the group gave a rich circle of friends story, the geeky guys also living more of a life you might expect, not a lot of love life and plenty of games and sci-fi movies, the comic book thing was really a touch. What they hit right was the second dynamic, Penny was not the all confident, clearly smarter and wiser type, she had plenty of vulnerabilities besides not being as well educated as the boys. Penny and Sheldon were almost like bothers and sisters, purely platonic and feisty.
Raj and Howard were much more critical to the success of the show than the actors were given credit. They deserved equal billing.
It’s crazy how close this show was to a one season flop
yep maybe half season flop, they could terminate the show.
Not even that, they just straight up rejected the original pilot.
We were this close to greatness.
@@jaimeduncan6167 should have been the case
We should have been so lucky
Not only I’m so grateful for Penny, but for Raj and Howard too! Can’t imagine the show without them! They are just as essential as Sheldon and Leonard.
It seems like adding Raj and Howard turns it more into a Nerdy version of Friends which s a formula that works. I think the problem with OG Penny is she lacks charisma. She's not likeable. All the other characters are likeable including the new Penny.
@@GizmoMaltese I'm going to bet its the writers fault not the actress. They had to rewrite how the character is and "katie" is just being played to how it was poorly written.
Totally agree. I love raj and howard the show is incomplet and boring without them.
I don't like Raj nor Amy.
Yeah it would be a very boring and badly written show instead of just a boring badly written show. 🤣
The Sheldon and penny dynamic was amazing because they both had what the other person wanted, Sheldon was the kind caring person who was a best friend and someone who she could always rely on, and penny was the person who got Sheldon out of the his shell even without him knowing
Kind and caring? Sheldon? That's funny.
Sheldon kind and caring? 12 yrs, 279 episodes. Did we watch the same show?
I really wish the show continued another season or 2 and would wrap up Rajs story and Howard finally coming face to face with his dad, etc.
But oh well.
Why is all the pilot footage so dark? Makes everything feel even more like a fever dream.
well if you put in your own money and don't have fancy sets with 20k arri sky panels everywhere, thats pretty much how it is :D
Possibly due to copyright issues as well
True. They borrowed a set from another show and couldn't use all the lights on set. You can search for the unaired pilot.
The unaired Buffy pilot is an even bigger trip, because it’s basically the first episode, with all the same shots, sets, and actors, except there is a different Willow, and it’s shot with cheaper cameras, lighting, and no audio or visual effects.
Zack Synder filmed it.
I know the original actress, we went to school together. My heart broke for her when I found out she’d been replaced. It wasn’t her fault, the writing and character wasn’t because of her
Amanda Walsh! She was also a host on muchmusic in Canada in the early 00’s
It was at least partially her fault. She had zero chemistry with Leonard and Sheldon. That will get an actor replaced every time.
@@adamhawn2523 I mean it’s hard to feel that chemistry when the character is written as mean and condescending. The writing itself can cause chemistry issues on screen if there’s no charm to the character
From what little I saw, she seems a decent actress who was given a nasty character to play. I hope she's been able to find decent work,
You really know Amanda Walsh
The character dynamic is what made the show, Penny’s personality and Sheldon’s merge greatly for friendship
I'm glad we got the version of TBBT we have today. It's one of my favorite shows, if not my favorite.
Ironically that first version of "Penny" is probably what most nerds experience in real life way more often.
Which seem more of a stereotype. Having been to graduate school in the sciences, that are normal, smart, and attractive women there like Alex. Ramona is debatable since she did seem more like the stalker type. Of course, there are also women like Leslie Winkle there. More career oriented as well as men hating women who blamed men for the lack of progressive. Yes, they see men only as a mean to achieve a biological urge.
@Shecky Shabazz girls aren't flocking to the guys in the computer lab the way they flock to the ball players, are they?
@@2livenoob "ball players" lol I can tell what click you belong to 😂
Exactly. It reminds people of their depressing reality. I find these unair episodes to be way more accurate.
Weird. Growing up I almost always preferred the nerds over the popular guys. Still do. I just find the nerdy men more relatable and easier to talk to since I like video games, anime, manga, and such. Also fyi. I find the stereotypical nerd look adorable.
In some ways, the pilot was a more accurate representation of what the show would become by around season 6 rather than how it would start out. It's like they did make the changes, but once it was successful they reverted back to a lot of the original plans.
Its funny how they were successful in the beginning because they listened to feedback, but then later on when receiving the same feedback they doubled down and it became garbage.
@@rhinehard206 It's something I like to call the "George Lucas effect", when you unsuccessful if you are given feedback, you must listen to it or your project will not see the light of day.
When you are successful either people are too scared to criticises because you did that successful thing that made alot of money, or you don't have to listen to the criticism because you make alot of money.
@@matthewloughran73 the usual problem when creators are listening to the feedback of the people is them thinking that it's not their story anymore and fans are controlling the show. It's like the fans wants to take the credit on making a show great and it hurts the creator's ego and also in a way that fans are disregarding the creator's ideas because they have criticisms about a show that they started watching. It's like people is dictating how to live your life basically like a parent
The pilot looked like it would have better pay off tbh. I think the jokes didn't land well and it was poorly executed but the chance for good character development was there. Sheldon and Penny would have had great turn around and people would be happy for them. The show we got well you kind of somewhat disliked some of the cast but them winning you over wasn't a giant leap or anything.
Very interesting to learn something new about one of my favourite sitcoms. Would have been nice to have longer clips to illustrate your points but I’m guessing you may have been limited by copyright rules?
The original actress was great, it was her "character" that was dark and abrasive.
Fire the writer, not the actress.
despite all the hate this show gets, i’m so glad that it pushed Jim Parsons closer to the spotlight. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors from his works since this show. With the boys in the band, hollywood, extremely wicked, the man is a joy to watch.
Why does the show get hate? I do understand that it isn't everyone's coup of tea, that I know
@@Merdicano because its popular, with that much people watching it there's bound to be some who wont like it.
@@somethingsomeone9078 no, it's because it's pretty misogynistic
@@vidhatrimysoor9385 it's misogynistic yeah, but surprisingly, as a woman it didn't bother me that much. i think starting with seasons 6 and 7 it got better and the show started to bring into discussion more problems that women face in society
@@vidhatrimysoor9385 almost every movie or series is mysogonistic. If we can't watch anything mysogonistic we might as well throw out our tv's
The message of this video is profound: Listen to criticism. It might not always be valid, but you have to swallow your pride and listen to it.
I love that, because people today are all about “not listening to haters” and ignoring criticism when in reality, some criticism and introspection is good for you.
Pay attention to this, Marvel/Disney.
the irony pf course is that the show stopped listening to its detractors, once they found a ratings hit. But the actual comedy writing was still terrible 85% of the time.
@@Dennzer1 It became a routine regular sitcom.
And it turns out the critism isn't even from the guy it's from the people
I've worked as a creative professional all my adult life (non-fiction writing, not entertainment). Knowing when to listen to critics and when to stick to your artistic vision is one of the key factors in developing a successful career.
Nothing against the pilot episode actress. She's awesome in her own way.
But Kelly Cuoco defines Penny, such an iconic and memorable role! Her comedic timing was phenomenal. Really love her.
What makes me wonder is how the makers replaced katie with Penny but still wrote such a horrible character like 'Anu' for Raj? And the actress selection is even far worse.
I think we're missing the one thing that changed and made the show successful.
The lighting. Holy hell was it bad in that pilot.
Chuck Lorre does a LOT of depressing sitcoms (Mom, B-Positive, later episodes of 2.5 Men) but THIS incarnation of BBT would not have lasted half-a-season. WAY too dark...!
Most pilot episodes have bad lighting cuz they don't have as good of a film crew, pilots are just a low budget first episode to try to get networks to fund the show
Has nothing to do with it but okay
I was in a pilot of a show, the set isn’t finalized, they haven’t even added lighting
@@iHazRayGunz Yeah, the street where they find not-Penny looks like it's made of painted cardboard in the background
I can't help but feel that pilot was truer to Chuck Lorre's writing. There's always this mean spiritedness boiling under the surface in his shows, that exploded in some moments in Two And A Half Men, and this pilot has that laid bare.
In most sitcoms you have the sense that we as an audience are laughing with the characters, but in his shows we are supposed to be laughing AT them. There's not this sense of comradery between the cast and audience like you'd find in a show like Friends or 30 Rock, just mercilessly mocking these characters and revealing in their pain.
100%
I’m not sure if you were including the show proper in this description but if you were .... yeah . That’s what eventually started irking me about the show. It always seemed like despite penny never being all that mean to anyone , she was pretty much there as the audience surrogate to point at the other charecters and go “neeeeeeeeerrrrrd!”
I don't think that is the exact problem as if that is the approach chuck Lorre is trying to give is ok just not for an American audience if you see the office uk the show is kind of mean to the characters and do like to make fun of their pain and awkwardness
but even if it wanted to be an American sitcom it could also be plausible but again it could not be a Multicam sitcom it should look more like Malcolm in the middle a show that also mock their characters but just approached comedy from a complete different point than the Multicam sitcom and I think is the laughs in the background kind of make it feel bad
@@rainquarm to be fair tey aren't just nerds but pretty bad people. There is some really nasty casual misogyny from the guys with spying on women. Later on we see them be insecure, petty and outright cheat. Of course sitcom characters often need flaws, but its usually balanced by the feeling most of the characters are fundamentally good and so we root for them. The type of show where the characters are bad people and we enjoy watching them screw up can totally work, but always felt BBT was written as if we were supposed to like the characters but didn't actually present most of them as likeable.
@@101Mant yeah , that was kinda my point , theres always some degree of sympathy that the audience naturally has towards characters that are the protagonist. but at the end of the day , the show was always an outsiders show where you were supposed to laugh at them, they might be kinda sympathetic but theyre still "insecure , unsocialized , neeeererrrds!
Love your analysis of this great sit com.
Thanks for sharing.
@Nerdstalgic Hey, what's the music @6:59 ? It sounds extremely similar to Ik Kudi by Arpit Bala, however that was only released in the year 2023. The intro has astounding resemblance.
I feel like the girl who moves in upstairs with the sound system in an early episode is almost an homage to the original character of Katie.
Thought I was the only one
True! 😂
Which episode was that?
@@jeffbenton6183Looked it up, season 2 episode 19.
@@born2hula325 Thanks!
its one thing to write a pilot and for it to fail, its another thing to write a failed pilot, and COMPLETELY flip it to be one of the most successful shows. Such amazing writers
They saw, they failed, they changed, they conquered.
Here's your 666th like lol
@@GOKU10SSJ The Devil Incarnate :)
Happens a lot more than you think. There are quite a few terrible pilots of shows that went on to become very good or great shows.
Interesting content. I would have never guessed how the initial show started out and was revamped into what could be described as genius!
What I do not understand though, is that the writers and the directors were the ones responsible for how the Katy(Penny) character flopped.. not the actress. So instead of firing her, couldn't they change her script?
It looks like sheldon got split into Sheldon and Howard, and Gilda got split into Leslie and Amy.
That's a very good observation.
And I understand why Leslie couldn't become an Amy, the character was too harsh to begin with
I didn't think about the Howard part, but I definitely thought that about Leslie and Amy
Ahh mitosis
My thoughts exactly! Gilda made me think Leslie personality with Amy style.
Not only is it worth mentioning that Katie movies in while Penny just moves next door, it is also worth mentioning WHY their stories are different. Katie moves in because her mother kicked her out after finding out Katie was having an affair with Katie's mother's boyfriend. No one feels bad for that; Katie deserves what she got. Penny moves door because she's a country girl with big dreams of becoming an actress. When Penny is down on her luck (e.g. working for Cheesecake factory), you do feel bad for her. Therefore, like you said, you root for Penny to get together with Leonard, but you root for Katie to stay away with Leonard. In fact, you would rather wish for Gilda to get together with Leonard instead of Katie, which throws off the premise of the show.
Got to say this Katie sounds way more interesting.
@@DaDunge Right? I am getting some always sunny in Philadelphia vibes from this character and I think I would have liked the show way more this way
Having seen the original pilot, I am glad that both Katie and Gilda were not a part of the final show. I didn't like either of them
I mean it depends on the tone. Her character could work for dark humor, or if she was an idiot asshole who constantly got her due for it like Michael Scott.
@@byronsenior6499 Why would she need to get her due more than the guys who are serious jerks in the series as it became?
Gilda reminds me more of Leslie Winkle.
Oh and I actually do see chemistry between those CGI characters and the human actor
Good video! I didn't know about this about big bang theory...
I've seen the original pilot, and the character of Katie is fundamentally unlikeable. It is also ridiculous that two people would invite a homeless woman they just met to move in with them, and even more ridiculous that she would accept their offer. It is much more plausible that a new neighbour would befriend a couple of nerds in spite of the differences in their education.
Exactly the first had talented actors but really poor plots storyline even if if is fictional it wasn't plausiable
Hahaha that's the plot for Two and a Half Men after Charlie Sheen Left
I feel sorry for the pilot actors that got fired from these shows before they even aired only to see their substitute become millionaire stars
you shouldnt they are just not good enough, it's like feeling sorry for a millionaire because one of his businesses failed because another company could do it better or cheaper.
@@shroomiestshroom3655 the protoamy is a good actress and the other one has been just unfortunate with the script
It happens a lot man. And it's not like they got fired, but they didn't exceed the trial period before getting hired. Only thing that is sad is that sometimes they didn't get hired because of the character they played. It had nothing to do with their acting skills. Like a pizza restaurant who hires a pizza guy to make pizzas. But that guy didn't exceed his trial period because by the end of his trial, the company wanted burgers, and not pizzas.
Should’ve had better chemistry with the other actors.
@@adamhawn2523 If the dynamic is flawed, chemistry won't really save it tho
I never knew there was an unaired pilot. Great video.
I love how they still have the laugh track added to the unused pilot.
Why's the lighting so.. horror-vibe? When you showed the quick cut of the actual set @ 4:37 with the warm, bright, inviting lights, the contrast was unbelievable.
It was probably really cheap and lazy lighting because actual pilots don't typically get air time. Even if they didn't rework the show that much, they would have still had to re-film it.
This actress would make Sheldon look like a serial killer. Nothing funny about him either with her. Penny really softened his character. Balanced him out.
Low budget vs big budget
because its all low quality standard dev, its a black mark for the studio and was tried to be erased. It is literally stated in the first minute and a half of the video.
@@andreicecold4379 “Black mark for the studio” is BS. A lot of studios have to rework/recast a potential show all the time. As a matter of fact, taking a shitty pilot and turning it into one of the most successful tv shows is considered a success, not a black mark...And No studio (movie, tv, or music) erase anything. Everything is stored.
I could NOT imagine this show without Howard and Raj. It feels so incomplete.
I don’t understand how you made the ‘failed’ Penny character the problem, where she just followed the directions she got from her directors and producers, the problem wasn’t with her
He was just stating that she wouldn't have worked at all . And he talked about the other characters too . Penny is the heart of the show . She helped the guys gain confidence and understanding of social interaction. For example She was the worst woman raj spoke to without needing alcohol. She made the guys comfortable and they changed her aswell . Made her become more independent and understanding of them aswell. And then ofcourse penny and sheldon were the catalyst of the show. They were opposite of one another but they were comfortable and understood eachother in ways the others didn't .
So the original penny would not have worked at all. People fell inlove with her character and with this penny people would have hated her and the show would have been unbearable
I felt like what youve described about the chemistry between the actors youve perfectly encapsulated the problems I had with the mid and later seasons. The first few seasons felt so genuine, Lenard was an awkward nerd and was called out for it constantly and Sheldon was just an autist that has never been forced to interact with "normal" people, like Penny for example. She was mean, yes, but not because of ill-intent, it was just the people she surrounded herself with that thought her this behavior, which in turn made it feel believable and even relatable.
My point being, they all had major issues and were awkward towards one another but this is what made the show so great, it felt like a real situationship that could happen, with real people.
Then they had to shoehorn in girlfriends and other love-interests and the show kinda deviated from it original premise, awkward nerds interacting with frat people, to just do every relationship, proposal, wedding, child episode they could think of.
Also they did Raj so dirty in the later seasons, not because he couldnt find a girl but because all of his character development went to shit, except that he can talk to women now,
While I agree with most of what you said, I feel like this mindset is the reason why we have so few women main characters in ensemble casts. The problem wasn't that there were two women, it's that the writers decided that if there were two women, then they must be in competition with one another.
THIS
In a show about romance, competition is one of the best and easiest ways to get conflict, which drives stories. The problem wasn't competition but the competition didn't make sense and conflicted with the story. By removing a character, they could have the guys compete, though focusing mainly on Leonard.
@@Kenfren It's a show about nerds and the interactions between nerds and non-nerds. Not romance. Most of the episodes (and this pilot) do not pivot around romance, that is a sub-plot. It's barely How I Met Your Mother. Let's say you're right though, isn't it a little suspicious that they removed one of the women characters instead of one of the men characters? Isn't it weird that it contributed to the Big Bang Theory being yet another sitcom with a male dominated cast? It's incredibly naive to ignore how gender plays into these decisions, and to ignore how these decisions effect how genders are treated differently in the industry.
The whole idea that „woman“ is a type of character is insane to me. That’s why so many female characters in media are flat as hell. It’s because their only characteristic is „woman“
Yet, when all of the girls got together the only thing that they talked about half of the time was boys. With the male characters, they were allowed to have discussions about science, movies, computers, electronics, and so forth. When it came to the girls, they dumbed down Bernadette and Amy into man-seeking harpies so that Penny could feel included.
as one of the few people on the internet who actually likes TBBT thank you for going 9 minutes without shitting on it and staying objective
I don't really understand why so many people don't like it, I mean, it's pretty great
i also like it! of course i have a problem with some jokes, but i like it a lot overall
I dont know how you can stay objective and *not* shit on it. You have to do some serious mental gymnastics to think its a good show. I like a lot of bad shows but I don't pretend they are objectively good.
Thank you, it's kind of sad to see everyone hating on the show when I know I'm not the only one who has a soft spot for it. My brother is autistic and he actually has benefitted from seeing Sheldon's social problems because he can more easily understand how it comes off to other people and be more cognizant of that moving forward. And this video nails it on the chemistry. Say what you want about the show, but the actors play off each other really well.
I think its an internetfad thing, like hating on Nickelback.
Where can we find this episode/where did you get the footage?
I watched that pilot. There was NO chemistry or tension between the characters. It wouldve been a flop if they stuck with her.
I thought Gilda was more retooled into a Leslie Winkle, before they decided Amy was a better long-term fit for the cast.
I agree with half of it. I don't think it was a coincidence that Gilda looked a lot like Sarah Gilbert. I think the plan was, for making only one of the roommates into liking women and the the other asexual. I think Sheldon coupling up was a natural progression as Leonard and Penny became a steady couple and treating Sheldon as their adult foster child could only last so long.
I agree, Gilda gives me much more of a Leslie Winkle vibe than Amy.
Yes! Leslie was my first association as well - though it's trough that they totally ripped-off that fashion "style" for Amy. ;)
Are you kidding me? Leslie was a much better character than Amy.
@@DaDunge I never said she wasn't. The producers, however, had a clear preference.
Gilda actually reminded me more of Leslie Winkle than Amy
Yeah me too.
yeah same
Yeah that was weird, he even said "they share the same hair-style" while showing different hairstyles... It felt like he was going to make a point about Gilda being the first Leslie Winkle and then suddenly couldn't get the rights to Leslie and just lied and pretended he meant Amy!
I agree Gilda is more like Leslie winkle . Also at
First Amy was more of a female Sheldon. They changed her later.
Great advice. Every artist, whether it be writing, painting, music etc, needs to remain open to constructive criticism. The hardest lesson I had to learn as a writer is that every word I put on a page is not gold. Great scenes, no matter how well written, sometimes just don’t work and will need to be scrapped.
Imagine getting cut off , and watching the remaining memembers of the cast getting to be millonairs, especially the girl who replaced you.
It sounds like Proper Penny would have beat up Original Penny for being mean to her boys.
Well in the first season there was an episode with a girl who moves upstairs and penny fight her because she was taking advantage of the boys
Indeed, beat her up for being mean because only she is allowed to be mean. But she is allowed to be mean and manipulative because they're "her" boys and she pretends to be nice to them to get what she wants
The actual penny is just as bad and awful
@@anubisgod23 yup n honestly I don't think kaley's penny could beat up Amanda's version
Such a great video. Thank you
Good breakdown. The main issue was a casting issue as well. Better writing came with the chemistry of the cast. The four added characters are arguably the best or most memorable. Not a show I watched but have been forced to watch some episodes that turned out to be watchable and entertaining. It was a hard transition. If you get the wrong episode you may never try watching it again. Which was my experience.
This reminds me of a later episode. Where a new neighbour moved in upstairs and manipulated the guys and didn’t care about them. Penny initially felt abandoned by the guys but after talking to Sheldon went back and defended them
Yes, this "dark penny" is a lot like that girl!!
I was thinking the same thing!
Was it the same actress???
@@oldyellerschannel4676 No
@@RK-cj4oc yeah me too
I feel like Gilda was possibly partly the inspiration for Leslie Winkleman, as well as for Amy. And maybe even a little bit for Bernadette.
According to IMBD she was inspiration for both Lesley and Amy.
I remember Watching this episode/pilot a long time ago, before the big bang was on tv.. but cant remember where I watched it
Glad they hit the nail on the head in the end,, loved the series and miss it.
It’s funny that even when they brought Gilda back as Amy three seasons later they still decided to completely change her character later
All the females I think changed over the course of the show, Penny was more natural and actually kinda made sense, Bernadette started as kind of oblivious and innocent and turned into "lol small lady bossy", and Amy started as prude-ish and also oblivious like... kind of a female Sheldon and then she turned more into "I want sex with Sheldon" in a way.. like she became less reserved while still dressing like she was
I don't have any friends because they are ashamed of the videos I upload. Are they really that bad, dear jonas
@@AxxLAfriku cring vidos
@@AxxLAfriku the thumbnails make me not even want to click on them. Sorry dude!
@@BaconNuke Completely right. And after all this I lost interrest for this show kinda. And dont forget how they somehow turned Raje into metrosexual.
I’ve never actually watched Big Bang Theory but this video was *super* interesting. Great job!
you're not missing much tbh
Dude its Scott cramer!
Hey strugler
A WILD SCOTT HAS APPEARED!
Strange, cause I've been watching nothing but your videos lately, and this is the first Nerdstalgic video I've seen in forever lmao
They took the cues, rewrote, made sure nothing was actually funny, pump in a laugh track, and voila! A hit.
The one exception to your point at 4:55 is Two Gentlemen of Verona. Then again that probably only works because it is Shakespeare and very few people if any could ever come close to his prowess lol 😅
Why is Raj the only one who ends up without a girlfriend whenever he is by far the most attractive
Because Howard is taken 😂🙈
These guys' attractiveness were the least of their problems. All of the BBT actors were good looking to me, but it seemed so unbelievable the characters ended up in relationships.
I have a theory that he was secretly gay. I can't be the only one that picked up on that, right?
Also, it's a nerd fantasy where the more odd, obnoxious, weak and ugly you are the more hot women will want you. You know, the opposite of reality?!
You know the answer. Why, out of group of 4 unlikable losers, does only the brown guy - the one who wants a relationship the most - end up single?
when i was in highschool i unwittingly bought a t-shirt with a reference to the show, without ever seeing the show. people would say weird shit to me when i wore that shirt and i was very confused abt it for a while 💀
Thats funny. I bought a Mystic Warlords of Ka'a t-shirt from a thrift store for a dollar. Just needed an extra shirt that I didn't mind accidentally ruining on a camping trip. I had it on part way through the road trip home and some guy pumping gas near me shouted "enchanted bunny!" I looked behind me and nobody was there so he was definitely talking to me. Looked at him like he was insane, then just kept pumping my gas. He said "Mystic Warlords" and pointed at my shirt.
I looked down at my shirt not knowing what he was talking about and said "oh I think this is some old card game or something. Did you used to play?". He says "yeah, it's from the show Big Bang Theory". We chatted about it for a few minutes. He even offered to pay for my gas if he could have it. I told him "I'm up to about sixty bucks right now. I don't think you want to do that." He offered anyway. haha
I had no idea what it was even though I had seen all the episodes with the game in them. Glad I didn't destroy it out there.
@@heatshield Had you been a fan, the "Enchanted Bunny!" comment would have been a hilarious bonding moment. 😉 It seemed to be a good experience anyway, so I'm happy for you.
Very interesting beginning for a great show and a great moral at the end. Well done. While AFF ended up being what the final Sheldon needed, I enjoyed the Gilda character and actress.. rawr. We often debated which of the ladies we would prefer and based on what little I saw in your video, she honestly is near the top of the list for me already.
i love the penny we got instead. she was sweet and even though she is plain and stereotypical (who in that show isn't) she has a personality and it deepens as the seasons go by. i loved sheldon and penny's relationship, it was genuine.
I'll say this: This, to me, explains some of the directions the Penny character took. In later seasons, I've felt like she became more harsh and such, while the opening version is more softer and kindly. I wonder if they may have been working out the version they wanted, in Katie, into the character of Penny, later on in the show.
But that feels organic. You are kinder to people you're just meeting for the first time and as you grow closer to them, you become harsher, since you know what makes them tick. If you're harsh from the beginning, you're just an asshole.
I actually think a show like this could have worked if all the main characters were intentionally unlikeable.
Yeah, something like Bojack Horseman: all the main characters starting like horrible and/or broken people and going from that point to trying to become better and healthier than before.
Wait, the cast of Big Bang Theory were meant to be likeable? With the perving on women, cheating and pettiness? I found most of them to be pretty unpleasant. Maybe they git better after I stopped watching.
@@101Mant Oh no, they still are, without a doubt, big assholes. The thing is that the show never treats them like they are horrible people, so they never really change in meaningful ways.
My argument here was that if the show was about them being assholes and suffering the consequences of that in a funny and /or grown up way, it could have been a better show. Probably a dark comedy like Bojack Horseman or something close.
@@101MantIf you objectively look at them, basically all sitcom casts are horrible people. Horrible stuff can make for a good joke. BBT cast isn't particularly bad in this department.
@@frosthammer917 I could never watch the Big Bang theory because of the way it’s frames and the way the cast is so misogynistic and awful, I just get sad
So, if Penny’s (Katy) character is bad, it’s the actor, but when Sheldon’s character is bad it’s entirely the writing. Is this what we’re going with?
Ok, I have never EVER thought that I would write this abt this video. But it was so inspiring and motivating. I know, it's very odd, but seriously, this was the most motivating video I have seen recently. Even if you have something crap at hand, you can make a turnaround!
I feel so bad for the original actress
Pilots are pretty rough, and often they are pitched as a vehicle for some well known actor. So, the other actors know that this is something they can put on their resume, but no guarantees they’ll be part of the main cast if it gets picked up.
If you saw the first episode of friends with the original Girl playing Ross’s ex wife. You would also be surprised
From what I hear, Kelly Cuoco felt bad for her, and gave her a portion of her check for every episode.
@@phabiorules As nice as that would be there's zero evidence of that ever happening. It's a reality of the acting world where pilots don't always keep the same actors when the show gets picked up. Amanda Walsh went on to have her own career to support herself.
@@kutter_ttl6786 I heard it from a friend I have in the entertainment industry (production, not talent), and if you've made $72 million dollars off of a show, it isn't too far fetched to feel bad for someone who was cast in your role before you.
From the scenes you showed, Gilda strikes me much more as a Leslie prototype than an Amy
I thought the exact same thing
I knew this failed episode existed I've just never been able to find footage of it so thank you
Someone once told me that if someone tells you there is a problem with your writing, they are almost always right. If they try to tell you how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
I have seen the full original pilot and I had to watch it twice😳 simply because I could not believe how first incredibly bad it was and second how even more grateful I am for what we actually did receive. Oh thank you for stopping this first rendition before it was out there. I have as many millions of others spent many hours enjoying the only version of the Big Bang we will ever need.
Amanda Walsh later went on to write nearly 30 episodes of Schitt’s Creek!
WOW! Schitt's Creek is so much more joyful than Big Bang Theory too (though I hear it gets pleasant toward the last season).
Never hear of that show here in holland
I love the relationship between 3 of them...
Leonard and Sheldon are brother and best friend
Penny and Leonard are Lover and Best friend
Sheldon and Penny are brother-sisters and Best friend
If they turned out to be a love rival, I don't know if I can love the character or not...
It's so funny to me that the narrator mentions Gilda looking familiar and then says she is the same character as Amy later in the show, when I looked at her mannerisms and immediately saw Stuart from the comic book shop.