Alphabetized By Kimberly Potts
Tuesdays are thai takeout night. Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS
They love comic books, costumes, video games, and sci-fi in all forms of media, but what are the other recurring themes, jokes, and life experiences that make up Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj, Penny, Amy, Bernadette, Stuart, and their Big Bang Theory characters we’ve been following for nine seasons? Just as each of those characters can be largely defined by his or her eccentricities (we could write a book on Sheldon alone), some of those quirks also point to how much each of them has evolved throughout the seasons (even if some of them still have a significant way to go). Here’s our rundown of all the Theory-isms that continue to keep the CBS sitcom churning after all these years.
Broken Elevator
They love comic books, costumes, video games, and sci-fi in all forms of media, but what are the other recurring themes, jokes, and life experiences that make up Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj, Penny, Amy, Bernadette, Stuart, and their Big Bang Theory characters we’ve been following for nine seasons? Just as each of those characters can be largely defined by his or her eccentricities (we could write a book on Sheldon alone), some of those quirks also point to how much each of them has evolved throughout the seasons (even if some of them still have a significant way to go). Here’s our rundown of all the Theory-isms that continue to keep the CBS sitcom churning after all these years.
Broken Elevator
The elevator in the apartment building where Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny live (2311 North Los Robles Avenue) has been out of order since before the series began. The culprit: Leonard Hofstadter, who had been working on a classified rocket-fuel project for the government. When he made a miscalculation of a batch of the fuel he had inside the apartment, Leonard tried to run the concoction outside via the elevator. Sheldon, realizing his roommate’s error, pulled Leonard out of the elevator and closed the door seconds before the lift exploded. Not only did Sheldon not narc on Leonard to the authorities or the landlord, he also helped him avoid prison, because Leonard’s girlfriend, Joyce Kim, was actually a North Korean spy who was sleeping with Leonard to get the scoop on the rocket fuel … until Sheldon kicked her out of their apartment. Leonard shared the story with Penny — in season three’s “The Staircase Implementation” — as the explanation for why he continues to live with Sheldon despite the fact he was warned by Sheldon’s old roommate (played by a pre–The Walking Dead Steven Yeun) to “Run away, dude … run fast, run far” before he moved in. As for repairing the elevator, the idea is mentioned occasionally, but producers have said it’s unlikely because the stairs provide a great opportunity for walk-and-talk scenes.
No comments:
Post a Comment