Penny and Sheldon

Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons on his newfound fame, his Emmy nomination, and being typecast by Tyrone Warner

As brilliant physicist Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons brings to life a beloved, dysfunctional mastermind.

"The Big Bang Theory" follows a groups of geniuses who know all about how the universe works: except for women. When Penny, a Midwestern actress looking for her break in the big city, moves across the hall, she rocks their world — and learns to love their geeky charms.

Parsons was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and won the 2009 Television Critics Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy for his work as Sheldon on "Big Bang Theory."

During an interview with CTV.ca, Parsons talked at length about his role on the series.

On how his life has changed with the success of "The Big Bang Theory":

It's the most, as an actor, I've ever worked consecutively and, therefore, the most I've ever made money acting in a row. And I hate to bring it down to such a base level, but — although other things have changed, and maybe I'll think of those that sound more interesting… Actually, the biggest thing for me still is that it's the most financial freedom I've ever known doing this job, which, you know, isn't that interesting because everybody who knows that I'm on TV knows that. But that's the fact of it.

It's the little things like that that trip me up the most. Like I remember when we first started airing, like they would have billboards up for us. Or, like, homemade T shirts or whatever or — I don't know. It's the times I don't expect it that it really takes me off guard.

On being recognized by his fans:

I do run into lots of people in the street, it's true. And, you know… that’s weird. The only time it's a little strange for me is if I'm out shopping or especially if I'm in a restaurant eating and I realize that I've been spotted and somebody is looking.

I've learned to do is just go, "Don't worry about it." It's taken me a long time, and I can't do it all the time, not worry about it, because it feels weird, especially if you're eating.

On how much of Sheldon is "written" and how much is his own creation:

Well, in a literal sense all of it is written; all of it's dictated. I'm not stupid. I realize that everything they've written is going through, you know, my own sick filter. So it is being executed by me. And never mind the fact — and this one is impossible to pinpoint — we've now been working together for three years essentially, so they (the writers) hear us. They're writing for us. You know what I mean?

Like not necessarily about our lives or whatever, but rhythms and "What would sound good coming out of their mouth?" essentially. I put full blame, if you will, on the writers every time, though. I really do. I — once again, I understand that it's going through my interpretation of it, but to my own foolishness sometimes, I always feel like I'm executing exactly what they said to.

And part of the reason I feel that way is because it's a safety net for me. I feel very secure. I'm able to really kind of let go and get into it because it's their invention and I want to execute it to the best of my ability. So I guess the answer is sort of I don't know.

I don't know how much I'm affecting what it is. It's evolving, but I don't write it. So other than the doing of it, which is really hard to stand back from at the same time you're doing it, it's kind of hard for me to understand what effect I'm having on that evolution and that they're just taking on your own.

On struggling with the technical dialog on the show:

It’s a very fun struggle. I can literally feel my brain going, "Would you knock it off? Enough." But I still love it. I'm lucky that we tape on Tuesday nights as opposed to being a Monday-through-Friday show. So I get to rehearse Wednesday. I get to rehearse Thursday. I get to rehearse Friday and then Saturday and Sunday. And sometimes I don't need it as much as others, but some episodes, I really do. I'm able to be alone with just those words and just kind of pace around my house and really get it in.

But once again, it's frustrating at times, but it's one of the great joys for me. And from day one of auditioning for this, I loved it. The audition was not — was not easy to get yourself through. It was like, "Oh, my God" — but fun in that kind of puzzle-solving way of going, "No. How does this work? Where is this rhythm they've written in here? Where's the funny in this? Where's the humanity in this technical mumbo jumbo" or just things I just don't identify with naturally? But I enjoy it. And I think, once again, they do an excellent job of — it's not — it's not an impossible mystery or puzzle. It's there, you know.

On who is smarter in real life: himself or his co-star Johnny Galecki:

Honestly, we're all different from each other. I think it's one of the things that, from the first casting session between the two of us, worked. And I don't know why. There's a yin and yang about us, not only as characters written, but as human beings. I've said it in the beginning, and I don't mean it in a mean way, but there was no reason to believe that that would work between the two of us.

We're very different people. Going back to it all going through the filter of my own brain, whatever is happening with the filter of it through his brain, it's kind of nice. I think it's the same way that its fun seeing Sheldon and Penny together, you know. I could trip out my brain for days trying to think of how every actor in this show — how the script goes through their brain. What are they thinking? It really makes my head hurt just to even talk about it. I can't even imagine. But it's very interesting that we all get to that point of Tuesday night taping and we all have to do it. But I don't know what they do to get there, you know. Pray? I do sometimes.

On feeling extra pressure due to his Emmy nomination:

I guess we all feel our own pressures in one way or the other, and maybe there's something. But I would be making it up if I said specifically I felt any sort of, like, change. I don't feel very different — going back to how I felt about the character from audition one. In some ways, it is what it has been. You know what I mean? And certainly for me and my feelings about it and my approach to it, whether it's an episode where Sheldon-heavy or it's an episode where he gets to sit back a little more in the group, I feel — other than maybe having a few extra hours on the weekend not to memorize, I feel pretty much the same about it week in and week out, you know.

I was nervous about going (to the Emmys), and I don't even know why. There was just something on-the-spot feeling about it. Chuck Lorre was talking to me about it. He texted me about it. It was just like, "Enjoy this," you know. And I'd kind of gone through it in my own head. I did feel oddly, a little nervous just about going, but then there was a part of me that was like, "Don't be" — "don't be an old man and look back and go, 'Well, I wish I would have enjoyed that. I worried my way right through that time of my life.'" What a waste. And like I say, I was thinking that already. And Chuck, just out of the blue, kind of said, "Whatever happens, just have a really good time." Because if you're not, there's no point in that, you know. You're not — it's not even working on an episode. And maybe that was part of the pressure in a situation like that. There was nothing to work on. There was nothing to do. You're just supposed to show up and put on a tux. And then there's going to be a camera in your face, and it's going to be really close on you when they announce Alec Baldwin's name.

And — but, you know, as it turns out, that's really about the hardest part of it, is just that moment – my palms are sweating, thinking about it. Right before it happens is the worst part, because as wonderful as it would be, then you'd have to get up and talk.

On the roles he’s played before "Big Bang Theory," and being worried about getting type-cast as a geek:

I did a lot of theater, you know. A whole lot of theater. So I played a lot of different kinds of characters. As far as worrying (about typecasting), I'm sure that it will happen to a degree. One of the problems is not only does somebody see you every week as a certain character, but if you haven't gotten the chance to audition for them or they haven't seen anything else you've done, then they don't know anything else you've done. That's just a basic fact of life.

As far as worrying about it, though, I don't. And it's really twofold reasons why. Number one, other than doing my work and trying to find things to do that could change opinions, there's not that much I can do about it. All I can do is what I'm — keep working, you know. And the second thing of it is whether it's — whether I ever get to do TV again, whether I ever do movies, whatever I do, I know, just from how I feel and how I've always been, I will continue to work. Whether I'm doing a one-man show in my mother's backyard somewhere, I'll find something to do. And in that spirit of it, no, it doesn't worry me.

On how Sheldon is going to progress as a character on "The Big Bang Theory":

I've actually heard the producers say this before: Very, very slowly. Basically paint drying. It is fun to have hopes and dreams for these characters in a way, both as an actor and as an audience member. But there's a reliability factor about them that I don't want them to change too much. You know what I mean?

The most common question that comes up is "Will romance ever happen in Sheldon's life?" or whatever. And A, I think if it does, it won't be in the near future. But B, I think we could handle it in a way that could be very smartly done and protect the essence of the character and just simply add dimensions, you know. And that's one of the great joys about being on a television show that's able to stay on the air, is that you get a chance to be developing these characters.

And if I'd have heard that phrase a few years ago, I would have had a different view of what that meant. I would have thought that I would be more aware of the development going on. Good or bad, I find myself less aware of the development going on because I'm part of it. But you do start backlogging these histories and these characters, and they become these things. And so then I think eventually you can add some sort of slightly dramatic element that's different for them — in his case, maybe it would be a romance or whatever — and allow that to affect. I think what you don't want is to have anything that would dilute the character in any way, you know. And God forbid we normalize Sheldon or whatever, because why would you?

Geek chic by Jim Colucci

typed by pennyandsheldon.com

No pocket protectors or sci-fi tees here: The stars of The Big Bang Theory show off their sophisticated sides and discuss how viewers have embraced their quirky characters.

It's 10 a.m. on a Tuesday and from the look of things, the normally fastidious Sheldon Cooper must be playing hooky from the physics lab. And while his best friend and fellow scientist, Leonard Hofstadter, may be sporting an uncharacteristically hip mustache and goatee for the summer, these otherwise superserious scientists still seem a bit out of their element as they now jokingly preen for the camera.

That's because today, the actors behind TV's smartest new comedic pair — Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki as Sheldon and Leonard, respectively — and their The Big Bang Theory castmates Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar have traveled far from the show's Burbank, Calif., soundstage. This Watch! photo shoot, in the lobby of New York's glamorously renovated and recently reopened The Pierre hotel, offers the cast of CBS' white-hot sitcom a chance to show a different, sexier side — one that's less Caltech, more couture.

It All Started with a Big Bang

When it premiered in the fall of 2007, Big Bang was CBS' sole new comedy for the season. The show's new Monday night neighbors featured cool, hip ladies' men like How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson and Two and a Half Men's Charlie Harper. Big Bang was instead populated with characters far less suave — go ahead, call them nerds, geeks, brainiacs — and yet somehow fit right in.

"There was a distinct moment, in shooting the pilot, when I knew the show would work," remembers Helberg, who plays the ineptly skirt-chasing mama's boy Howard Wolowitz. During a scene in which Sheldon and Leonard were at a sperm bank, "I was offstage and heard the audience's reaction, which went on for so long that the director, Jim Burrows, said, 'There's too much laughter. We have to go back and do it again.' Then, when Kunal [as the girl-shy, Indian-born Rajesh Koothrappali] and I came in, we got entrance applause — and no one knew who we were yet! I just remember thinking, 'This is something special.'"

The nation's critics, however, were harder to convince. When the cast appeared at the semiannual convention of TV journalists the summer before the show's premiere, "they said we were going to fail two episodes in. Before they even saw the show, they were not fans," remembers Cuoco, who plays Penny, the feminine catalyst in apartment 4B.

"And I don't fully blame them," Parsons admits. "The show is better than its description. But I don't know how to describe it." Despite the assurances to the contrary from the comedy's creators — Two and a Half Men's Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, a former Dharma & Greg writer and onetime computer programmer — "the critics assumed that Big Bang would be about cheap shots at intelligent people," Galecki explains. "And if anything, I think the show defends intelligent people."

"I think The Big Bang Theory reflects a shift in the cultural landscape," agrees CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler. "Groups of friends like this, with their type of 'geek chic,' have blossomed into a very familiar and relatable demographic. We're seeing it in film, in literature, and I think it's a fresh way to access comedy."

So is The Big Bang Theory making smart sexy? "Just look at this cast!" jokes Nayyar, with a wave around the table.

"One of the things I've learned from this show," Galecki adds, "is that people who are sometimes called 'nerds' or 'geeks' or 'dweebs' are really just people who are passionate about something. And ultimately, passion is appealing, even if the subject is something you're personally not passionate about."

Interestingly, for Parsons, the attraction in Big Bang's characters lies in what they don't feel. "They all have what we might laugh at and call social shortcomings," he says, "and yet with the possible exception of Leonard, they don't live their lives at all depressed about that. Instead, they have a firm belief, and strong hope, that they will achieve greatness in areas like science and, for Wolowitz, in attracting women."

The can-do attitude has won over some former naysayers. "I was sure Big Bang would just turn into a one-joke pony about smart guys and a dumb blonde," admits Susan Young, formerly of The Oakland Tribune and now a freelance TV journalist. "How wrong I was. Now it's my favorite comedy, one I know will always put a smile on my face and have at least one laugh-out-loud moment."

Call it the Lorre/Prady Paradox: that there could exist a show about characters of rarefied intelligence, working in a field that only those in the rightmost standard deviation on the bell curve of IQ would understand — and yet, somehow, its comedy would be universal.

"It's not rocket science," Mediaweek's TV critic Marc Berman offers in explanation. "The show is not what you would call 'edgy,' but just funny.
The formula for a good comedy can be very simple: You create characters that people can relate to. And we've all lived our lives at some point either knowing a nerd, or feeling like one. These are four guys and a woman we feel like we could be friends with in real life, and so that's why they keep us so entertained."

In fact, in what the show's cast considers a sign of the best-written character comedy — and what they say is the ultimate compliment to Big Bang's writers — they often find themselves not having to say a word to get a laugh.

Particularly in the show's second season, Parsons explains, the show's characters were already so well-defined and familiar that "the audience would start to jump the laugh before the joke had even landed. And that was because they knew what the character was thinking. It was strange for us at first, but it's wonderful." The resulting electricity in the room, Cuoco notes, "makes the show's taping nights really fun. Because every crowd is like a rock concert."

Lorre usually cuts the longest "laugh spreads" from the finished product, Galecki explains, so viewers at home don't get a true indication of the high jinks happening on Warner Bros. Stage 25. Nayyar, who everyone agrees tends to crack up the most at such moments, says he has to resort to deliberately sipping his soup.

And then there is the little mind game Galecki and Parsons have begun playing with each other as they stall during the laughter, waiting to get out their next lines. "Jim and I will battle each other when we're left with nothing to do but stare. He has taken to trying to break me," Galecki reveals. "He'll — just so slightly, and I don't know if even the camera will pick it up — raise an eyebrow a little bit at me. I've even mouthed to him, 'That's not fair.' And he'll mouth back, 'I know.'"

Add a Penny on the Scale

Big Bang was a ratings winner right from its first few airings. But like many other now-classic sitcoms before it, this show, with its ardent astrophysicists, truly soared in the Nielsen ratings in its second season. And Tassler has several theories as to why.

"For one thing, people have fallen in love with the characters," she notes. "Chuck Lorre has crafted such clever, smart, specific stories that have illuminated these relationships." Particularly, she posits, between Penny and the boys. "With Sheldon and Leonard, you got them right from day one. But in Season 2, Penny really blossomed as a character. We saw how she could become more integrated into their lives, and how they would be more involved in hers, and audiences really embraced that."

And Tassler is not the only one who thinks that, ironically, it may be the average-brained Penny who balances this quintet's genius comedic success. Penny, Cuoco says, is everyman's entry point into the realm of the brilliant. "I feel like I represent the audience, who can look at these guys through my eyes."

Cuoco's ability to convey such a natural, good-natured groundedness, Helberg notes, is a testament to her talent. After all, these physicists are connected to their new friend by such a delicate chemistry.

A year before this current hit incarnation, Lorre had attempted an earlier Big Bang pilot, with a female character instead named Katie. The show's four male characters, Nayyar observes, "are very innocent, without any trace of malice." And so when "Katie" acted more manipulative with these malleable men, "it was like she was shooting fish in a barrel. It didn't work," Galecki says. "We've had that problem with guest stars, too," the actor notes. "If they're too malicious towards the guys or show too much of an edge, the audience hates them."

In fact, he and Cuoco say, the show's writers, noticing this phenomenon, even turned it into one of her favorite episodes in Season 2. When their building's newest foxy female began working her wiles on our boys, Penny came to the rescue in a laundry room showdown. "When I stuck up for them and said, 'These are my guys,'" Cuoco remembers, "the crowd screamed. And I kept thinking, 'Don't cry! Don't cry!' Because I was so touched. We're all so protective of these characters, I could cry right now thinking about it."

Nerds on the Floor

Both Galecki, a young veteran of ABC's long-running Roseanne, and Cuoco, who got her first big break as teen on that network's 8 Simple Rules, adjusted early on to the fame, and fan familiarity, that comes with life on a hit sitcom. During his Roseanne years, Galecki remembers, he would often play the outdoor bowling game pétanque with his friend Brad Pitt. "And people would come up and touch me, because I was on TV. Meanwhile, Brad was on the side of every bus and on every billboard for his movie Interview with the Vampire. And he would say sarcastically, 'Yeah, feel free to touch him.' Because he was shocked." ("Are you saying Brad Pitt was jealous of you?" Cuoco immediately teases.)

Back then, Galecki says, fans on the street would often unimaginatively shout out the name of his TV girlfriend: "Where's Darlene?" And so he expected the Big Bang taunts to have started by now. "But the fans of this show treat these characters with such respect," the actor says. "There was just one time, when we had really good seats at a Lakers game, and some jock was jealous. He yelled, 'NERDS!'"

"And you were like, 'Whatever! We're the nerds on the FLOOR!'" Cuoco quips.

The bestowal of such celeb status on erstwhile eggheads has predictably won the show quite a few fans among Sheldon and Leonard's real-life counterparts. "Let's be honest, this is the biggest thing that's happened to scientists in a long time," Cuoco jokes.

But as Nayyar elaborates, "We also have many fans in the high school theater community. For a lot of people who maybe have felt like misfits, or haven't fit in with the cool crowd, we sort of become rock stars."

And ironically, as it turns out, in real life, all four of the actors now famous as TV scientists have no actual affinity for the stuff at all. Growing up on the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast of Texas, Parsons says he had an initial flirtation with a career in meteorology. "I took a class in college—and it was the only class I ever failed," he admits. "That, plus I didn't take to it at all. It turns out, the sciences didn't want me any more than I wanted them."

In the end, that key difference between actor and character just makes playing Sheldon, who often spurts pages-long monologues full of jargon supplied by the show's technical consultant, that much more of a challenge. Parsons reveals that he learns his lines — usually without comprehending the scientific principles behind them — by writing them out longhand.

A Star Sitcom Explodes

With the show's third season comes a new time slot, Mondays at 9:30. "One of our priorities this year is to punch Big Bang into the stratosphere, to make this top 20 show a top 10," explains CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl.

The move, to the time slot behind Two and a Half Men, creates a virtual Chuck Lorre Power Hour. And as Lorre explains, he's thrilled to have the continued opportunity to create more Big Bang.

"Each cast member is very skilled, a consummate pro, who brings a lot of heart and compassion to the work, and they have a real bond off-camera," says the veteran producer. "That combination is not only rare and priceless, but also clearly visible when you watch the show. The end result is an incredibly funny and smooth-working ensemble."

This spring CBS announced that the network was taking the rare step of renewing Big Bang for not just one but two more seasons, which in TV is the equivalent of academic tenure for a Ph.D. like Leonard. Subsequently, Nayyar and Parsons put down roots in L.A. by each buying a house, as they plan for a long and prosperous run. Meanwhile, when we last saw Sheldon and his cohort in May, they were headed for a summer of research in the Arctic. As they arrive back in Pasadena, and on our small screens, this fall, The Big Bang Theory is poised to generate laughs well into 2011. In physics, that's known as having great "potential energy." Perhaps that's a phrase we'll hear any one of our favorite, funny physicists utter in Season 3.

The big surprise of Big Bang: The bigger audience by Edward Wyatt

BURBANK, Calif. — The most vibrant buzz this summer around the Warner Brothers lot here and CBS Entertainment headquarters in nearby Studio City was not being generated by the slate of new shows on the CBS fall schedule. Rather, it focused on the sudden emergence — during summer repeats, no less — of a series that had been on the air for two seasons.

"The Big Bang Theory," the CBS comedy about two brilliant physicists and their attempts to relate to the world around them — and to the cute blond woman next door — began drawing surprisingly strong ratings this summer after it moved to a later time slot on Monday, at 9:30 p.m., immediately following that network's highest-rated comedy, "Two and a Half Men."

In some weeks of the summer "Big Bang" repeats drew bigger audiences among certain important demographic groups than when the same episodes were first broadcast. So far this fall "Big Bang" has further expanded its audience, becoming the highest-rated live-action comedy among the sought-after young-adult demographic group.

If current trends prevail, its total viewership could soon surpass that of "Two and a Half Men," long the most-watched comedy on television. Last Monday's "Big Bang" drew 12.96 million viewers, according to Nielsen, only 5 percent fewer than the 13.63 million for "Men."

Already "Big Bang" has beaten "Men" among viewers age 18 to 49, the demographic category most valued by advertisers.

The comedies have more in common than their popularity. They were co-created by Chuck Lorre, they tape on adjacent stages on the Warner Brothers lot, and they share several writers and much of their technical crews. And with the upstart closing in on the longtime ratings champion, Mr. Lorre said, he sometimes isn't sure how to react when the ratings come in.

"There's a lot of ambivalence," he said on Tuesday night, during a break in the taping of a "Big Bang" episode. "It's 'Yeah!' then 'Awww.' But it's all good. I can't claim to understand how this works; I'm just thrilled that it's working."

The cast and crew of "The Big Bang Theory" are enjoying their success all the more after surviving two near-death experiences. The show's first pilot was rejected by CBS, but the network asked Mr. Lorre and Bill Prady, his co-creator, to retool their script and try again. The first version featured the same two male lead characters — Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, a theoretical physicist, and Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter, an experimental physicist — but also included a female lead character who was "very damaged and very tough," Mr. Prady said.

"We had a really hard time casting the role, and in retrospect it was obvious that the problem was not the actresses but the conception of the character," he said. Focus groups that watched the original pilot were left with protective feelings for the two naïve, socially awkward scientists, and they did not like the prospect of a bitter, manipulative woman taking advantage of them.

"What we all liked was the relationship between these two guys, one who wants his world to be bigger and the other who wants his world to be smaller," Mr. Prady said. "I think that's what everyone looked at and said, 'This is worth trying again.' " The creators decided to keep the male characters and to persuade Mr. Parsons and Mr. Galecki not to take another series in the year between the two pilots.

They also called back one of the actresses who auditioned unsuccessfully for the original female role: Kaley Cuoco, a former child actor who played opposite John Ritter in the comedy "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter." Much of the edge was taken off the character of Penny — so much that at first she looked to be little more than a jiggly blonde next door with no apparent motivation for being interested in two science geeks.

It took awhile to find the character's voice, but now Penny "is one of the guys," Ms. Cuoco said. "She's not some untouchable creature."

Over the first two seasons Penny and Leonard edged toward each other and are now in a full-fledged relationship. But theirs is not the unbelievable type of couple — a gorgeous female and a paunchy, slacker male — that has been so popular in Judd Apatow films recently.

"Penny has been in horrible relationships and picked the wrong guy constantly," Ms. Cuoco said. "I think she has more baggage than the guys."

As a result, Mr. Galecki said, "It went from a show that I think may have made fun of intelligent people half of the time to a show that defends intelligent people 99 percent of the time."

The most interesting relationships are those between the two male leads and among their two boon companions: Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), an astrophysicist who is shy to the point of muteness around women, and Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), an engineer who maintains an outsize confidence in his skill as a ladies' man, despite living with his mother.

Those did not turn the series into an immediate hit, however. "When it went on the air, it was disregarded almost immediately," Mr. Lorre said, noting the show's respectful but not great reviews. Then, a few weeks into its first season, came the second near-death experience — the writers' strike shut down production for three months. Once the strike ended, CBS moved the series from its 8:30 time slot to 8, leading off its Monday-night lineup — an especially tough position for a first-year comedy.

The series stayed there in its second season, performing admirably. Then in February, on a night when a presidential news conference interrupted its regular time slot, CBS scheduled an episode of "Big Bang" at 9:30, after "Two and a Half Men." The ratings were so promising, said Kelly Kahl, a CBS senior executive vice president for prime time, that the arrangement was made permanent.

This season the series has also been enjoying the publicity around the Emmy nomination for Mr. Parsons, as best actor in a comedy.

"It's been such a healthy climb the first two seasons," Mr. Parsons said. He also said he thought that the show had much potential to grow. "I feel like there's still a strong segment out there that may not be sold on the concept of four nerds and the pretty girl next door," he said. "I get that. I think there's a lot more going on that doesn't really fit in that description. It really doesn't tell you 10 percent of why you would be interested, truly."

Emmy-nominated actor Jim Parsons' acting roots start in Houston by Andrew Dansby

BURBANK, CALIF. — The cameras aren't rolling on the set of TV's The Big Bang Theory. Actor Jim Parsons sits on a couch, in his character Sheldon Cooper's spot, lost in thought.

This day has entailed mostly rehearsals and camera set-ups for the season's third episode. The pace has been impressive: a bar scene, followed by a kitchen scene, followed by a couch scene as the production moves from one set to another. Big Bang's apartment building on the Warner Bros. lot seems Picasso-esque, with the cubed sets lined up one next to another rather than laid out as they'd be in a real structure. Parsons is thinking over a tweak to the script just suggested by series creator Chuck Lorre.

The show begins its third season with reason for enthusiasm. A few years after some thought the traditional sitcom was dying, The Big Bang Theory shows great promise. Its audience has grown over the past two years, and CBS has ordered not just a third but also a fourth season. The show now occupies a desirable time slot after hit comedy Two and a Half Men. And Parsons is also nominated for best comedy actor at tonight's Emmy show.

Parsons is part of a lovable ensemble that gives life to intriguing characters in a simple premise. He plays Sheldon Cooper, a physicist. He and his physicist roommate Leonard (Johnny Galecki) have a nerdy social circle that includes another physicist and an engineer. Comfort zones are nudged to different degrees when they become friends with Sheldon and Leonard's neighbor Penny, a waitress played by Kaley Cuoco.

Veteran director Mark Cendrowski keeps a loose set on Big Bang. Each scene is assigned a letter. When a scene is called for set up, crew members play a little game, shouting out 1980s music acts that start with that letter.

Scene A is called. ABBA is the first name shouted and gets a tepid response. Somebody tries Adam Ant and gets cheers. Cuoco tries Aerosmith, a sweet, funny choice in line with the fact she was born in 1985. Boos ensue from crew members who remember the '70s.

Amid the play, Parsons is figuring out some of the complex rhythms required of his character, who must rattle off line after line of tightly composed, rhythmic dialogue, and then do something with his face or body during the silence that follows. The night after these rehearsals, those silences will be filled with laughter from a studio audience.

"When he listens he's in character, when he walks he's in character, when he sits down he's in character," Lorre says. "It involves a great deal of thought. And his instincts are uncanny. You can't teach that. It's wonderful to be near it and watch it."

Later, when asked if he thinks acting was an inevitable thing for him to do, Parsons immediately answers, "Yes." He pauses a moment, as Sheldon might, but rather than waiting for laughter, he's composing a story. Parsons speaks fluidly like somebody who spends his time studying words, without fractured sentences.

He tells about how his mother kept a little scrapbook that listed things like his favorite colors and what he wanted to do when he grew up. "From a very early age, I said 'movie star,'" he says. "I couldn't have known what that meant, as far as fame — that didn't make sense to me. But I knew I wanted to act. There were brief bleeps like teacher and meteorologist, but (acting) was there from day one. Why? I have no idea. I was given plenty of attention as a child."

Parsons, 36, knew the role of Sheldon was a bazinga moment. He was living in New York, having established a strong theater background in Houston, where he was a founding member of the Infernal Bridegroom theater company as well as a Stages Repertory Theatre regular. In New York he found theater work and spot roles on TV, though the process was sometimes disappointing for the little-known actor: He'd audition for 15 to 30 pilots per season. Sometimes he'd not get the role, sometimes he would, then the show wouldn't get picked up.

Parsons was instantly drawn to the rhythms of Sheldon's speech. "I felt very strongly about the structure of it and the way they laid out the character and the way he talked," he says. "It was a one-in-a-million match."

Parsons' and Sheldon's pitch and cadences overlap a bit, but it's clear Parsons is embodying a character. That said, his transformation looks effortless. He chews up the bigger words and longer sentences, nearly singing them as Sheldon. But a physical aspect to his work suggests silent film stars like Buster Keaton. He does several takes of a slightly sinister Pavlovian scene involving Cuoco's character and chocolate. Each time he gently manipulates his slowly spreading Grinch-like grin to different effect.

Jason Nodler, the artistic director for Houston's The Catastrophic Theatre, was, like Parsons, a founding member of Infernal Bridegroom. Nodler, a fan of Big Bang Theory, says, "I recognize every move Jim makes on that show. It's just a natural part of his physical vocabulary. He's a naturally gifted physical comedian."

The show has five strong characters at its center, and their interaction is crucial to its success. But Parsons' work earned him the Emmy nomination.

He's quick to deflect credit. Of the physical aspect of his character, he says it was there from the pilot episode, when Penny sits in his spot on the couch. "It's like when he's searching for his seat, some of his lines will be his movement."

As for the chewy dialogue, he says, "I love having to ferret out that rhythm that's within there. But I wouldn't pat myself on the back too hard, the writers make it very evident.

"But it was really a thing that moved me, more than the story, when I read the pilot."

Parsons thinks his Houston background — the breadth and pace of his work here — is integral in his success.

It started poorly. After graduating from Klein Oak High School, Parsons attended University of Houston, where a classmate urged him to audition for a production of Samuel Beckett's Endgame. Parsons was deeply intrigued by the material, but says he wasn't quite comfortable with the work. He missed a few rehearsals and had a meeting with the director. "I just wasn't at peace with it," he says. "And it's no picnic putting Endgame on. It's a great joy, but also a little rough-edged."

Once the production was complete, though, he threw himself into acting, doing 17 plays in three years, everything from works by Bertolt Brecht to Guys and Dolls.

He recalls doing children's theater during the day, rehearsing during the afternoons and doing plays like Georg Büchner's murderous 19th-century play Woyzeck at night.

"I didn't have a life," he says. "I thought I did.

"But I had those opportunities at IBP and U of H. Houston was a great environment. Texas is a funny place in general. It's not even like two sides of a coin, it's more like a hexagonal Dungeons and Dragons die. People make a lot of assumptions about it, but it was fulfilling and nurturing to work there.

"There's no learning like the doing. When you're doing that many different types of things on that many types of stages, you don't know the effect it has while you're doing it. On one level, it made it hard to throw me. I've done it. I guess I haven't performed on a sinking Titanic ... but I'm young yet."

Nodler says much of the work they did together at IBP was "awfully dark."

"But there was always some comic element. Jim always did a beautiful job. Even when something was dark, he was always funny. He can't help but be funny."

Parsons left Houston in 1999, though he still gets back often to see friends and family. He attended grad school in San Diego and eventually moved to New York, where he quickly found work off Broadway.

There were small TV parts and also a well-known Quiznos commercial where — when asked if he were raised by wolves — he was nuzzling and suckling with some wolf pups.

Then came Sheldon.

Lorre knew Parsons understood the character on his first audition. "We knew we were witnessing something astonishing," he says. Lorre was so impressed he asked Parsons to return to make sure his audition wasn't a fluke.

"He's a force of nature. He really is that good."

Acting can be an art, but, not surprisingly for a guy who plays a physicist, Parsons sees the math in it.

"Muddied comedy isn't comedy," he says. "Well, that may not be true for all comedy, but overall I feel there's this tremendous amount of precise work that goes into lining all the pieces so you can have what appears to be the chaos of it. To put it in the basest terms, you can't really fall down. You have to plan for it."

On the surface, Big Bang Theory is a traditional sitcom. It has multiple cameras. It's written with breaks for the audience's laughter.

But it's a different traditional sitcom, which has likely endeared it to its viewers. The science squad possesses greater numerical aptitude than your average viewer, but their interactions — immediate and their code-like subtexts — all ring true, like a geeky variation of Rock Paper Scissors that includes lizards and Spock (who gets disproved by paper).

Sometimes Sheldon's jokes are full of heady language written with rhythm and purpose.

"I'm a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know," Penny says in one episode.

"Yes," Sheldon replies. "It tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion that the sun's apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality."

Other times the lines are more efficient. When he asks what to order in a restaurant he gets a cliche in response. Everything's good. "Statistically unlikely," he quips.

Parsons points out that when studying theater, people are taught that theatrical events come about from ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

"This is the reverse," he says. "It's putting extraordinary people in ordinary circumstances."

Penny is a portal and also an agitator. Her interactions with Leonard feel familiar to anyone involved in a sort of young urban tribe. Outside relationships threaten its fabric.

Over two seasons the show courted a growing audience with its characters.

Parsons, in particular, has drawn much attention. Last month he won a comedy award from the Television Critics Association, which also honored the show. At tonight's Emmys, Parsons and Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement are the newcomers in a best-actor field that includes Alec Baldwin, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Carell and Charlie Sheen.

Parsons talks about it with Sheldon's jittery manner, only the mix of excitement, restraint and wonder isn't in tune with his character's numerical precision.

"I still feel this certain sensation that it's happening to somebody else," he says. "But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't exciting. I'm already nervous about being there, which is goofy; there's not much expected of me. I just walk in and sit down. But there's no script available. Just to go there and be there."

He pauses a beat as Sheldon might.

"My mother was excited."

Big Bang generates harmonic convergence with its cast by Margaret Wappler

J.J. Abrams may have muscled up his version of "Star Trek," but the franchise will always be the domain of pencil-thin, graph-paper-pale geeks like the Caltech prodigies on CBS' "The Big Bang Theory."

Exhibit A: The popular YouTube video of Sheldon, played with spazzy flair by Jim Parsons, explaining the rules of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock.

"It's very simple: Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock and, as it always has, rock crushes scissors."

That kind of giddy celebration of the nerd mind has given the program, created by Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre, a steadily growing audience, with promise for more: The show, which netted 9.76 million viewers for its second season finale on May 11, was picked up in March for two more years in a multimillion-dollar deal.

On a sunny afternoon in Hollywood, Parsons, along with the show's other lead geek, seasoned sitcomer Johnny Galecki, met in a fancy diner to ponder their luck.

"It's security I never dreamed I'd be able to say I have," Parsons says. The Houston-native actor, who was a regular on "Judging Amy," is wittily verbose like his character, but he doesn't pretend to have the scientific aptitude.

When asked if he's learned any new concepts from the show — Schrödinger's cat, anyone? — he blinks his blue eyes and says, "Learned? More like memorized in less than a week and then promptly forgotten."

Galecki, who's still fondly remembered as Darlene's slouchy boyfriend on "Roseanne," plays Leonard, the straight nerd to Sheldon's fussy one. For him, two more years means "so many more lines. It's not like we get to just sit back now."

Well, maybe some of them do. Listen to Galecki and Parsons talk about costar Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, the sweet but dippy waitress next door, and you might believe she has super-powers.

"I don't know how she does it," Parsons says conspiratorially, "but she always has every single word memorized."

"She never makes a mistake," Galecki adds.

Even a moment that takes on a life of its own, like Lizard, Spock, can come with a cost. "That scene was my nightmare," Parsons says. "I kept mixing it all up and making the wrong hand signal."

Despite the intricate monologues and Vulcan salutes that will surely come with two more years, the stars, in some ways, can put up their feet a bit. Galecki, for instance, has learned to play Leonard with a little more cool than in the first season.

"I'd watch the show and see moments where I worked some gesture too much or overemphasized my walk. But I realize now that I can just relax into it. It's all muscle memory now."

But muscle memory doesn't make up for a grueling schedule of rehearsal, memorization and rewrites. "We're pretty serious about silly," Galecki says. "We don't really do pranks on set."

Is that mood due to pressure from the famously spirited Chuck Lorre? The reigning maestro of the sitcom, with hits including "Dharma & Greg" and "Grace Under Fire" under his belt, has been known to clash with TV critics and his leading ladies of yore, such as Brett Butler.

"I'd heard those stories about Chuck too," Galecki says. "But it's never been the case for me. He's working too hard for any of that."

Lorre, a one-time guitarist for hire, has "this incredible ear," Galecki says. "He can just hear the beats and inflections of dialogue. I'll step into his office and he'll be playing the guitar between writing bits."

By all accounts, "The Big Bang Theory" is a harmonious set. In addition to group trips to Comic-Con and the like, the actors will sometimes get together or go to see a movie.

But Galecki points out that since they got the two-year thumbs up, they're not hanging out with the same frequency.

"We've been through the honeymoon period," he says. "We'll be riding this wave together for a while."

A nerdy comedy's winning formula by John Jurgensen

BURBANK, Calif. — During a recent taping of CBS's "The Big Bang Theory," the opening scene featured some unlikely dialogue for a prime-time comedy, including references to galactic dark matter and high-energy positrons. Almost as unusual as the science jargon: the live studio audience laughing at it.

Comedies are facing a tough crowd on broadcast television. Just four comedy series were introduced on the major networks this fall, and only three of those have survived. Now, with a potential actors strike looming, networks are increasingly drawing on nonunion reality shows. The group of midseason network shows slated for early 2009 doesn't feature any new comedies. Traditional sitcoms, in particular, have fallen out of fashion as networks ditched the laugh track in recent years for "dramedies" such as "Desperate Housewives" and fresher formats in the vein of the mock documentary "The Office." In this setting, staging sitcoms for live audiences has the co-creator of "The Big Bang Theory," Chuck Lorre, feeling like "the last guy standing in a dodgeball game."

The show, which revolves around two socially challenged physicists and their comely female neighbor, has sprouted into a hit. Among viewers ages 18 to 49, "Big Bang" currently outranks all comedies launched in the last two years, according to the Nielsen Company. It debuted in fall 2007, part of a lineup of shows whose season was cut short by last winter's writers strike. Few bounced back. But "Big Bang" has hit a string of series-high ratings this season. The show airs its final new episode of the year Monday night before returning with new shows on Jan. 12.

The dwindling of sitcoms in prime time doesn't mean America's collective sense of humor has radically changed. "Sitcoms are like the American car industry — there's still great potential there, but the question is how do they succeed when people have gotten used to all the other options," says Michael Kantor, creator of "Make 'Em Laugh," a six-part documentary on the evolution of American comedy that will air on PBS next month. "With all the innovative single-camera comedy programs and the documentary-style filming, the laugh track really feels like it's from another era."

Whiteboards often appear on the "Big Bang" set, scrawled with arcane equations, but the formula the show itself follows is far simpler. The central characters, Leonard (played by Johnny Galecki, who starred on "Roseanne" as a teen) and Sheldon (newcomer Jim Parsons) are "brilliant in how their minds work, but inept in ways the normal civilian takes for granted, which is hopefully where we mine a lot of comedy," Mr. Lorre says.

In "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis," the episode taped the week of Thanksgiving, the duo's neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco) proposes an exchange of Christmas gifts. Sheldon debunks the holiday he describes as "the ancient pagan festival of Saturnalia," and tries to shun her present, which will require from him "a gift of commensurate value and representing the same perceived level of friendship," he says. "It's no wonder suicide rates skyrocket this time of year." Sheldon is then forced into alien territory — a bath and body store — to shop for gift baskets with Spock-like logic.

Sheldon is the main engine for the show's geek dynamic. He has a huge I.Q. but no aptitude for social niceties nor discernible interest in the opposite sex. Mr. Parsons, tall and thin with an elfin face, plays him haughty and hyper, often pitching his voice into a squeak of indignation or alarm. Sheldon's roommate Leonard yearns for social acceptance and — in another engine for the show — a romantic shot with Penny. For her part, Penny is at ease in the world, a sucker for hunks and, in her often mortified response to the guys' brainy antics, a proxy for viewers.

"It's a good device, juxtaposing that culture of nerds," says George F. Smoot, a "Big Bang" fan who's particularly familiar with that social segment; Dr. Smoot is a physics professor at Berkeley whose Nobel Prize-winning research helped shape the actual Big Bang Theory. While the characters' awkward social tics are "a little overdrawn," he says, he appreciates how the show represents a population whose job it is to think rigorously. Dr. Smoot was invited to make a cameo on "Big Bang" this season, but his teaching and travel schedule got in the way.

In the show's original pilot episode, the Penny character (portrayed by a different actress) was a hard-drinking woman with a caustic attitude toward the nerds next door. It didn't work. "The audience hated her because they were so protective of these little lambs," Mr. Lorre says. In a rare move, CBS ordered a second pilot. Mr. Lorre and co-creator Bill Prady rewrote the script, transforming Penny and adding two more scientists to the ensemble: Howard (Simon Helberg), a randy aerospace engineer who lives with his mom, and Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar), who goes mute in the presence of women.

Like the show itself, however, these characters haven't become household names — no Kramers or Phoebes here. That helps illustrate how the parameters for a hit have shifted for network comedies as audiences have splintered, pulled away by cable television, the Internet and other entertainment options. This week, at its highest ratings so far, "Big Bang" pulled in just over 10 million total viewers. For comparison, Mr. Galecki reflects back on his days on "Roseanne" in the 1990s: "We were bummed if we were under 28 million."

Now, the closest thing to a "Seinfeld" or "Friends," at least in sheer numbers, is "Two and a Half Men," the Charlie Sheen sitcom anchoring the successful Monday comedy block that "Big Bang" kicks off at 8 p.m. Also co-created by Mr. Lorre, "Two and a Half Men" averages about 14 million total viewers; out of the 25 top-ranked shows, it's the only traditional multi-camera sitcom.

Much of the grist for "Big Bang" came from Mr. Prady. Though a veteran producer of shows such as "Gilmore Girls" and "Dharma & Greg," he's also a former RadioShack salesman and computer programmer who stumbled into the television business after selling his share of a software company in 1983. For "Big Bang," he drew inspiration from his own awkward episodes and the quirks of his programming buddies, piquing Mr. Lorre's interest with real characters like the math whiz who struggled to compute a restaurant tip because of too many variables in the service.

As for the science (and science fiction) concepts on the show, Mr. Prady says, "there are two kinds of sesquipedalian dialogue." There's the variety that comes from the writers' wonky expertise, such as the debate the guys have over how Superman can get sweat stains out of his outfit if his perspiration, like him, is indestructible.

The other kind of dialogue, based on hardcore science, comes from UCLA professor David Saltzberg, an astrophysicist who vets the science on "Big Bang." (For example, he makes sure all the equations on the whiteboards are real.) Recently, the writers asked him to tell them about some fresh area of research that would undermine the work of a character on the show. The result: the introduction of an alpha-male physicist who has won a MacArthur "genius" grant for his research on galactic dark matter. "Big deal," Leonard says about his rival's award. "It's like prom queen for smart people."

On the "Big Bang" stage, a maze of plywood walls, diorama-like sets and pockets of open space where cast and crew wage fierce ping-pong tournaments during shooting breaks, a cluster of writers and producers gathered to watch a rehearsal. They looked down from a tier of seats that audience members would fill during the live taping that night. Mr. Lorre turned to Mr. Prady and mentioned a newspaper article about new research suggesting a shadow universe of dark matter, or even another dimension, based on particle activity in space. "The particles are leaking into our universe?" Mr. Prady asked, sounding pleased about the idea.

When the devices of "Big Bang" are working — be they physics concepts, videogame jokes, or Renaissance fair costumes — it's only because audiences have embraced the characters, the producers say. "Everyone goes through life with the sense that somebody else has it all figured out. The point of these characters is, you can be the smartest people in the world and you're still an outsider," Mr. Prady says. "The essence of comedy," he adds, "is pain."

15 questions with Jim Parsons by Sandy Deane

1. Why is 'Big Bang Theory' such a hit?

People enjoy watching these characters relate to each other. And it sounds so cliché, but there's something identifiable about them, and this goes right in line with the question that always comes up, "Why is the geek popular right now?" I don't know if the geek is overly popular right now, but the person that I guess that is describing has a very identifiable social weakness; a chink in the armor. They have empathy for somebody who feels awkward socially, maybe, or [is] sticking their foot in their mouth without even knowing it half the time.

2. Do you identify with Sheldon's social awkwardness and neuroses?

Without a doubt. Sheldon makes me feel more sane because he's so over the top. But at the same time, I completely get it. I'm a creature of habit, certainly — maybe more so than others. But one of my favorite things about Sheldon is that the writers have given him the opportunity to say so many things that other people would never get away with...because they have the social commonsense and the social niceties to keep their mouths shut.

3. What's your neurosis; one weird thing that people might not know about you?

Well, the most disturbingly odd thing people wouldn't know about me is — and what's funny is I've dealt with it before in the show — about the sanitization of hands. I have thoroughness in washing my hands sometimes where I really have to tell myself: "You're not about to perform surgery." That's definitely got a touch of the OCD to it. It's certainly given me something to work with as far as dealing with Sheldon.

4. Sheldon has pretty challenging dialogue. Do you understand everything that you're saying?

No, no, no, no, heavens no. I typically understand how to pronounce it, obviously. But I try and get as much of the basic concept down as I can. The AD on the show asked me yesterday — in this episode, I'm having to finish a theorem on a white board and he's like "Do you know what that means at all?" And I said "Well, no." I can't personally tell you if this theory I'm writing on this white board is completely right. They say it is.

5. Will Sheldon finally get a love interest?

I recently read something somewhere that said Sheldon will have a groupie that follows him around, that thinks he walks on water, but he's the only one who can't see it. So I don't know if this leads to love for Sheldon. I find that doubtful. I don't know how he's gonna deal with that.

6. Will Penny and Leonard really make a go of their relationship this season?

Penny and Leonard I don't think will ever find success, no. I know Sheldon thinks it's a doomed situation. Chuck [Lorre] is also my clue for this, who said it's a comedy, this can't work out well. And I think that's how it's panned out so far.

7. The whole cast has great chemistry. Was that instant?

It was a little bit instant. You know, I can take no credit at all for any good chemistry that comes between Johnny and me. While I'm sure it's grown and enhanced as we've worked more together, that was from the very first time we read together. But as far as the whole cast goes, it really has been just such a positive melding of personalities from the very beginning. There's a wonderful professionalism about the cast in general.

8. So, no Shannen Doherty/Jennie Garth behind-the-scenes tension?

There's no drama, no. And God willing — I'm knocking on wood as we speak — hopefully we can make it through this season and more to come without any of that. I would be very surprised to hear of any sort of trouble in that area.

9. Do you guys hang out off set?

We do a good deal, actually. You know, I would say that, and I love my whole cast, but the person I hang out with the very, very most is Simon [Helberg]. He's a very, very sweet, very funny man, and he's really nice to be around.

10. Have you ever had this experience in real life, like the premise of the show, where you become close friends with a neighbor?

No, I haven't, you know, and I've lived in several different places in New York. I do have some nice neighbors now. We've had a sudden crime/mugging spree on our street, which has brought the street closer together in the way that those things do, but no. It's almost more of a dorm situation as far as them all finding each other and being of a similar age group.

11. How does it feel to be a geek sex symbol?

Shocked. That's my first reaction. I'm very surprised to hear this. I can't speak for anything I'm bringing to it. Sheldon needs taking care of in some ways, and I think that maybe it brings out a maternal instinct in somebody to go "Oh, you poor thing!" You know, "If you just had somebody to help you to not say that, or just to whisper in your ear, you know, before you make your next move. We could avoid some of these problems." I don't know. I'm shocked, and I'm also very flattered. That's very sweet.

12. Someone on a message board said you'd be great as the Riddler in the next 'Batman' movie. Have you been made any offers?

Oh! No, I haven't been made any offers. I really like that idea, though. It's never crossed my mind. The Riddler's the one ... he was in the green, right? With the question marks all over him? See, I have no credibility to be playing this part at certain times, do I? Not only do I not know the science, I don't know the comics. Oh, this is the most exciting thing somebody has said in weeks to me. I can't believe it.

13. Will Laurie Metcalf return this season as Sheldon's mom?

I hope so. I loved her being there. I mean, obviously I think she did a wonderful job on the show. She was such a wonderful person to have around the set for that episode. They showed a little gag reel at the end of last season at the wrap party, and she was there during a couple of bloopers and I didn't realize how much I missed just having her around. Even though it was just one episode, she's just such a wonderful presence.

14. And Sara Gilbert is joining the cast full-time, right?

Sara Gilbert has been around for a few episodes already this season, and that's great. Oh, she and Sheldon don't get along. Oof. The Sheldon/Leslie relationship makes Penny and Sheldon look like best friends. It's quite a contrast, I should say.

15. Show creator/writer/producer Chuck Lorre also oversees 'Two and a Half Men.' Do you get enough love from him?

I definitely feel that we get the right amount of love from everybody who is doing both shows. I have never ever felt any sort of like "Oh, they like that show more" or whatever. It's funny when you put it like this. It could, I guess, turn into a sibling rivalry type thing of going...we've only got two parents or whatever, and who loves who more? But I haven't felt that. I hope Chuck makes it for a few more seasons, if you will. That's a lot of back and forth, running two shows. That does not sound easy to me.

More Bang for the buck with Chuck by Angel Cohn

Chuck Lorre is one busy guy. He's the mind behind CBS's money-making Two and a Half Men and the geekfest The Big Bang Theory. The prolific creator was also the man responsible for Dharma & Greg, Cybill, Grace Under Fire and wrote for Roseanne. He's known for his little snarky signature vanity cards at the end of the episodes of his shows, where he takes aim at whatever issue is weighing on his mind. He usually pulls no punches. So this reporter was trying hard not to ask stupid questions (and probably failing) as she nervously picked up the phone to talk with Lorre about the second season of the addictive and entertaining Big Bang Theory.

Lorre seemed to be in good spirits (sorta) when we chatted during his commute to the office a week ago, even though he had to stop for gas and that's not cheap. Lorre told us all about where Season 2 picks up, guest stars, if he's itching for an Emmy win on Sunday night, Comic-Con, and a potential crossover between his two shows.

I appreciate you taking time out. I'm sure you're busy juggling both shows right now.

It is busy.

So we're chatting about your newish show The Big Bang Theory, which I just adore. What can you tell me about Season 2? Does it pick up right where we left off with nerdy Leonard taking hot Penny out?

Yeah they're going to be coming back from their first date in the first episode. The series picks up with Leonard and Penny coming back from that faithful first date. I can't tell you how excited I am. We've shot two episodes so far and they're great. I mean, I just continually am delighted and amazed. The whole cast is phenomenal. I'm very close to it obviously, but I can be objective enough now to be able to say it's a remarkably, remarkably deep and talented cast. And it's been a lot of fun to write for them.

I especially love Jim Parsons (who plays Sheldon). I just love the way that he rattles off physics dialogue just off in these huge long speeches. They are just really funny.

Yeah. Jim is an amazing actor. It's really exciting to watch him work.

How hard is it to write this scientific dialogue?

There are always moments in every script where we write in parenthesis; in the dialogue it says: "SCIENCE TO COME."

You have a science expert on staff to come help you with that?

We have an astrophysicist at UCLA who is a consultant on the show who we are in constant contact with who helps us get the science right. We made it a point, [co-creator] Bill [Prady] and I, since the pilot to get the science right. So we're not guessing. And he'll tell us, you know. We shoot the show live in front of an audience. While we're shooting we may change a line in front of the audience. If we change a line and we're tampering with the science, some of the dialogue...we are told by David Salzberg, our astrophysicist, that "No, no, no, that's not correct anymore." And we change the line so that he's happy. We don't want to get a bad grade.

Yeah, I'd be afraid.

Then the blogosphere goes crazy if we make a mistake so we work really hard to try and get it right. It's fun too. The challenge is to have these characters speak in their own language and for sort of the rest of us, the civilians, of which I am one, for us to still get the intent and comic intent of what's going on. Even if we don't get the minutia of the math. You don't need to understand the math to get the intent.

Well I kind of like how sometimes you have Sheldon or Leonard explaining things to Penny and I'm like 'Oh. Right. Now I understand what Schrödinger's Cat is.' I've heard it before but never understood it.

Right. Right.

I'm sort of on the Penny science level.

You know, I'm right there with ya. I mean, I'm fascinated by it and since we started working on the pilot, I've been trying to catch up on the great gaps in my education by reading popular books about quantum physics, but I much more identify with Penny.

If it hasn't happened on a science fiction TV show then it's beyond my science knowledge. Do you feel like you related to Leonard or Sheldon when you were creating these characters? Is there a little bit of you in either of them?

I think the part of me that I find my entry into these characters personally is, and I assume it's a universal feeling that rulebooks were issued to walk through this world and you didn't get one. You know that feeling like you know you're just a step behind everybody else and you don't quite understand what's going on? And when it comes to romantic relationships and personal relationships that you're just not understanding and you know you're in the dark and everybody else gets it but you? I think that's what I more closely identify with these two characters. I'm an old guitar player who has fallen into television and is so happy he did. I don't have the background that these characters do, but I get feeling left out. I believe that a lot of the audience connects with them in that they're sort of estranged from the mainstream and Leonard wants very much to be part of it. Sheldon has no interest whatsoever. Howard Walowitz thinks he is in the mainstream...

Oh...Howard.

Poor Howard is completely deluded.

I know some Howards.

You know some Howards who think they got it going on but they don't?

Uh huh.

And he's just joyfully oblivious.

And sweet little Raj, too.

And Raj is so neurotic he can't speak to women, which is an extreme aspect of every man. For every man that ever walked the Earth, except maybe the sociopaths, when it comes to talking to pretty girls... it's just stark terror. We've taken it to an extreme and you know. We made it pathological for Raj.

It worked. I keep telling people to just watch it and they're like "Oh I'm not really into all that nerdy sci-fi stuff that you like, Angel. And I'm like, "No, just trust me, just watch it."

I think a large part of that is this cast of actors. They're remarkable. It's just a remarkable cast and we were repeatedly hit by lightning when we put this cast together. Every part of the puzzle came together perfectly. And it took place over several years too. So it's even more remarkable that it happened at all.

The wonderful ways of TV.

Yeah, I mean it really sometimes is a series of happy accidents.

So did the writer's strike slow down the momentum at all? Were you concerned about keeping up?

It absolutely hurt us. The show was building momentum. It was on eight weeks before the strike started. I think we aired eight episodes and each episode kind of was going up just a little bit in the ratings so it was building. Slowly, but it was building, and it was really exciting because you could see it. A tenth of a ratings point each week going up, that's like one hundred thousand people. A lot of people are coming to the show and that was happening every week last fall and then the strike happened... and it all stopped and it was horrible. There was crying. I mean... there was crying. We had this beautiful little child that got taken away and there was nothing to do about it but hope for the best. And when we came back on the air... three of four months later we had some rebuilding to do. And they moved our timeslot too. Which was a terrific help to us. [He says sarcastically.]

That Monday comedy block, you're doing pretty well there. Both your shows. You're slowly taking over the night.

No, no, no. There's no taking over the night. Just trying to survive the whole process.

Were there any storylines that got pushed up or postponed because of the strike that we'll either see?

No, we're just trying to stay focused on stories that reveal these characters. We're not looking for the big story ideas as much as the ones that... you know the little gems that help you at the end of the episode you kind of feel like you know them better. Those are the better episodes for this genre. It's not meant to execute big moves. It's just not what a half-hour comedy does well. It's a play. Essentially, we're shooting a play in front of an audience. If somebody makes a mistake we shoot it again. But otherwise it's a theatrical presentation. So the smaller ideas present themselves better.

Makes sense. Do you ever worry about putting in too many comic or sci-fi references for the general masses?

I do worry about that. If the show becomes too reference heavy then I think it risks losing a lot of people who are not deeply immersed in the minutia of nerddom. It's a balancing act and every decision is a guess, really. Just making a guess, really. Where is the line? What's too much? What's enough? What's just right?

Does the live audience help with that? You know you hear them and think, "Oh I don't know if they got that?"

You know what's interesting? Now that this is our second year, the live audience generally is full of fans of the show. And they're on top of all the references.

They're like me scanning Battlestar Galactica websites in their spare time.

They respond to Battlestar Galactica references and old sci-fi references. They knew what The Time Machine was last year. And what a Morlock is. So when we shoot the show on Tuesday nights, if you ever come out to LA you should come see it. It's really fun cause the people in the audience are really excited to be there and their response is gratifying. I don't know if that's the same response to people that aren't necessarily living and breathing this kind of material.

I don't know. My dad loves it.

That's good. That's good. That means that the balancing act is working for the time being. It really is a guessing game as to what's too much and also just being true to the characters. You know, you just look at every line of dialogue in every story and say, "Is this legitimate for our show?" And also if it can be done by another show then it's not our show. If it's just a story about a group of guys hanging out, well they're not just a group of guys. They're extraordinary guys. And if we're not reflecting that then it's not.

They can make luminescent fish. They're amazing.

Yes, if they make luminescent fish they're not slackers.

They don't work at your local video store.

No, they don't. You get what I'm saying exactly. We look at every line of dialogue in every story to determine if, "Are we being true to these guys?" Because they're not us so we have to see the world through their eyes.

Any good guest stars coming up this season we should be looking out for?

Well Sara Gilbert is going to be on the show.

I'm very excited that there is a brainy girl too.

And she's terrific. And again it's just another one of those little miracles that we got Sara Gilbert to be part of our ensemble. And we are talking with some other remarkable actors to come on the show. I can't really name names yet cause we're not there yet. I don't want to create any awkward moments for the people we actually haven't signed a deal with. But I hope we can get Laurie Metcalf to come back.

I would love it if she came back. She was so perfect as Sheldon's mom.

That episode just killed. I loved every minute of that. That was one of my favorites last year.

So how did you get this great theme song cause it sticks in your head and there's not a lot of great theme songs on TV right now?

I had the odd idea that you could try and do a twenty second wrap-up of everything that's happened since the birth of the universe 'til now. And I pitched it to Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies and a couple of weeks later he emailed us a guitar vocal demo of that song and it was incredible. I couldn't believe it. I mean we at one point were saying lets just put the demo on and he goes, "No, no no." I want to put the whole band on and do a whole big production number of this thing and I fell in love with the demo."

Well, you being a guitar guy...

We really at some point have to play just the bare bones demo of just him and the guitar, an acoustic guitar. It's terrific. And then the big production number is a whole other animal and now it's the only thing I can imagine being at the top of the show. They just nailed it. All we had to do at that point was just work with them and try and figure out how to edit it so that it could be short enough to air in that tiny window of time at the top of the show. Have you heard... have you seen the whole song? Have you heard the whole song with the pencil line drawing that the guy in England did?

Not yet. I just heard about it.

We found it on youtube. We were going to shoot a video for the song this summer and we found this thing on youtube. This guy is a student in London and he did it as part of a school project. And we just all agreed we can't do any better than this. It's phenomenal. So that's our video. And I think he got a good grade.

I would hope so. So how was Comic-Con for you?

It was exhilarating. I had never been to Comic-Con before and I wasn't really sure if we belonged there. And our reception was, it was, I dunno... I was stunned. I was hoping for a few hundred people in a small room. But what was it? Was it a couple of thousand people? Standing room only and they were so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the show. We left San Diego three feet off the ground. Everybody in the cast. It was a heartwarming experience to see that the show had meant something to people. It was as meaningful to the people watching it as it is to us. That was terrific.

Comic Con is a big deal. Those fans will let you know if they don't like something.

Yeah. I got that. What I took away most from that was the whole atmosphere of it was a celebration of what people love. And the costumes and all that stuff is just an aspect of that celebration. I just thought the energy there was terrific. We walked around. Just wandered around the convention floor and it was just fun. The whole experience was wonderful.

Right. So now that you've done a sort of Two and a Half Men/CSI crossover, are we ever going to see a Two and a Half Men/Big Bang crossover?

We are toying around with the idea of Jake on Two and a Half Men being tutored by Leonard or Sheldon.

Okay. That would be funny. Well Angus T. Jones cracks me up anyway.

Yeah you know. And what will happen is Charlie and Alan will go to pick him up and get in the elevator and get trapped.

Nobody is supposed to get in that elevator!

If anybody gets in that elevator it would be Charlie and Alan.

That's very true. So I know it's kind of a touchy subject but Two and a Half Men is nominated for a bunch of Emmys. Are you looking forward to it?

It's always fun to get to go to a party.

Okay.

I mean, you get to see people that you haven't seen in a long time. You only generally see other writers you know when you're walking around with a picket sign.

Right. Well hopefully, that doesn't happen again anytime soon.

Yeah. But you know... You get at something like this to see people whose work is really exciting. Matthew Weiner, the guy who created Mad Men. And you get to see, I'm looking forward, hopefully, to meet the guys who created The Wire. So I felt kind of as a fan too you get to see some pretty remarkable people and you get to advertise a tuxedo. Once a year that's all we ask, right?

So you think you have a shot this year? For best comedy?

Nah... Not really. Not really but you know, I'm actually very happy to be able to go and I am very happy to be included in it. But if you glean what you read, no we're not really in contention.

You never know. Stranger things have happened. It is the Emmys.

Uh... okay. [Laughs] If you say so.

Well you know you do kind of have a highly-rated comedy. That should count for something, right? At the end of the day the fans love you.

Yeah, Yeah. You know, look. The fact that we get to keep making the show is what is of paramount importance to me. It's a terrific ensemble. A heartbreak is when you make a TV show and you love what you're doing and you love the people you're working with and then it gets taken away. So what's most important is that we are getting to keep making our show.

Who needs that little piece of metal?

Yeah well, that would be nice. But you know it truly is, it's secondary to that. We get to keep making the show and I've lost sight of that in the past believe me so, I'm trying to stay in gratitude for all the good things. I'm not overly concerned about the things that we don't have.

Are you getting mellow?

I'm trying. Yeah, cause the alternative is to keel over and die while creating a sitcom and how tragic would that be? Died making a sitcom? What a dope.

Now you are putting a little stress on yourself though doing two shows at once...

Gee, you think? [Laughs]

What were you thinking?

Yeah it's kind of a little much but you know I just try to figure it as we go.

Do you feel like you have two kids vying for you attention all the time? How do you deal with that?

You just kind of go where they point you and you surround yourself with really smart people I think is the key to doing this. There are two amazing writing staffs for both shows. Both shows have in my mind perfect ensembles. Talented actors. Keep in mind nobody does this sort of thing alone. If you think you're doing it alone you're a fool and you will fail. So I lean heavily on people I love and trust and have been working with for a long time. I've know Bill for 12 years. We go back to Dharma and Greg. Lee [Aronsohn] and I on Two and a Half Men have been working together since he first came and worked on Grace Under Fire '93 or '94. Anyway I'm running out of gas. I'm going to pull into a gas station. And put a hundred dollars in my gas tank.

Yeah. At least. I heard it went down this morning a little.

I'll tell you right now it is pretty good. $3.99.

Wow. Under $4. That's such a deal.

I'm impressed.

Every couple years somebody writes another article saying sitcoms are dying, comedies are dying... Do you think there is any truth to that? Or do you think they're just sort of looking for an angle?

I don't know. It seems to have been a good story for people to write about. But it's always amazes me that they don't take us into consideration. We're doing great. I think we know what we're doing. We try and makes ourselves laugh and hope that the people who watch the show agree with us that what we are doing is funny. You know you can't presume to know what millions of people might like. You can only trust your own instincts and hope other people agree with you. And if they do you get to keep making TV shows.

Right. Are you crazy enough...

(he continues) They don't...

Oh sorry.

Am I crazy enough? Yes. What was the question?

I was going to say are you crazy enough to be working on any other shows or pilots or projects?

I actually was working on a third idea earlier, then the full depth of my insanity dawned on me and I put it aside.

Someone talked you down from that ledge?

Several people.

Okay. So you're running these two shows with new seasons coming up. Any final thoughts?

Very exciting. On September 22nd both shows hit the ground running. You know we have three shows of Two and a Half Men shot and two episodes of the Big Bang shot. And I couldn't be happier. It just feels like all systems are operating beautifully. And the shows are funnier than ever.

The Big Bang Theory creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady interviewed by Matt Goldberg

"Watchmen" wasn't the only packed panel Friday morning at this year's Comic-Con. Making its first appearance at the Con, the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" managed to fill every seat in 6CDEF, signaling a loyal following and excitement over the show's upcoming season, premiering September 22nd. I sat down with show-runners Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady to talk about the show's conception, development, and most importantly, Sheldon's Chinese dining woes.

During the panel, you made a comment about the show, calling the characters "Not geeks but remarkable people." Is that something you were worried about getting a backlash about or did you get some backlash about it?

Chuck Lorre: I was always kind of struggling with labeling the characters in a demeaning way because they're brilliant characters. But I guess "brilliant" isn't as good a word for the media as "geek" and "nerd" but they're geniuses.

Bill Prady: Well I think there are two ways those words are used; one as a self-identification and of pride and then there's a derogatory aspect of it and we never approach the characters with labels. We said let's do a show about these people.

Lorre: They're dimensionalized people. You can't simply say they're a "geek" or a "nerd" and be done with it.

Bringing in the science aspect of the show, how do you balance that with the comedy so that it's not obscure but also accurate enough not to offend those that would be able to spot the inaccuracy?

Lorre: It's a balancing act. There has to be science but there has to be comedy. You don't get the science, you'll still get the comedy. It's like if the show is in Portuguese, you should still be able to laugh. That's the bar you have to jump over as writers.

Prady: In the earlier days, we likened it to the "I Love Lucy" moment where Ricky would rant in Cuban-Spanish and it didn't affect your ability to watch the show.

Where did the original concept come from?

Lorre: We were discussing two different ideas together. One was about a woman who's pretty much getting her life started at the beginning of adulthood. And Bill was talking about the 80s and the genius computer programmers that he was one of. And they were such remarkable characters that it kind of took over and then we said "What happens if we put the two ideas together?" and then I think the big move was to get them out of the computer world entirely and make them quantum physicists. They're not entrepreneurs. They're scientists. That freed us up from a lot of clichés. No pocket protectors!

What did you learn from season one that you're bringing to season two?

Lorre: Penny's a far more formidable character than we gave her credit for when we began the series. The depths of Sheldon's neuroses are endless.

Prady: But I think we found ways to stay true to the characters we established. We learned great things about our performers. To discover that Kunal had the range that he had and that we could build stories around Koothrappali and Wolowitz; that we have some strength on the bench. We don't write away from any performer which is rare in television. We can write for any of them and get great stuff. We learned to listen to the characters. When we got off track and had weeks where he had to do some repair, it's because we had stopped listening to the characters.

Lorre: They're not slackers. This is not "Friends". These are very, very remarkable characters and if we stay true to that then it's quite a joy to be a part of.

Chuck, because you do "Two and a Half Men" as well, do you have to put a different head on to do that show since it's so different?

Lorre: Oh yeah. I have to leave my "Raunch" hat in that office before going to over to the "Big Bang" office. "Two and a Half" is a very different show. It's much more...carnal. It has its own voice. I love that the shows have different voices. On occasion, when a little "Two and a Half Men" leaks into "Big Bang Theory", it is so off and we shoot in front of a live audience, and when that happens, that live audience responds viscerally. "Whoooooa." You know you've made a mistake. We've re-written stuff in front of the audiences; we do that all the time anyway but it's very important to keep things separate.

Is that because people see Sheldon and Leonard as being innocents?

Lorre: They're very protective of them. There was a question about the first pilot and that was the biggest lesson of the first pilot: that Sheldon and Leonard; that the audience felt deeply concerned about their well-being. And that's wonderful. When you create a show with characters that the audience cares for? That's special. That was the reason to try and do it again. We didn't understand that going in.

Did you expect that crowd out there?

Lorre: No. If there had been 400 people out there today, I would have been thrilled. Truly, very exciting.

So you left season one off on a bit of a cliffhanger: Does Sheldon get his Orange Chicken or—[laughter]

Lorre: Well done.

Thank you. But what was a sub-plot in season one between Leonard and Penny, how will that go into season two?

Prady: We talked about nothing else for a while. It seems like the real reality of these situations is that it works, it stops working; Penny's young. Is she ready for that kind of serious boyfriend? Leonard looked at her almost as an object but now you have to deal with her as a complete person with her own complete set of feelings which to the Leonards of the world is somewhat surprising.

Lorre: Her own problems, her own issues. And I think that's going to come up more in the second season; that she's going to become more three dimensional. Her problems are her issues and her insecurities can determine the story as opposed to what one might expect: Oh, he's going to screw it up. Well, we know that. But wouldn't it be interesting if she had her own basket of neuroses that could mess up a relationship.

How do you make sure you don't get too over-the-top with the geekiness? For example, The Time Machine episode could have easily been too geeky, but you kept it balanced.

Lorre: But the episode was about how men get attached to toys and at what point do you put them down? So I think that grounded it and not being one long reference. We were comfortable with that show because it was about a guy who loves the things he collects and then gets called on the carpet by the women he's deeply enamored with and saying "You're a child" and it unsettles him and everything turns upside down. That's what it was all about. It didn't need the Time Machine. But it was really cool. I hate to use the term "stunt casting" for the Time Machine, but is there going to be anything like that in season two like them going to Comic-Con? We would have loved to have done something with Comic-Con. We just didn't have the time. We would have loved to come down here and shoot some scenes down here. How exciting would that be? Maybe next year.

If Leonard and Sheldon did come to Comic-Con, who would they come dressed as?

Prady: They have a deep wardrobe. There would be an argument because Leonard would say "Let's all pick our own costumes," and Sheldon would want some sort of group theme; he would want it "We're all either from the same film" or "We all represent the same idea" like different Star Trek uniforms from different shows or "We're all villains from different things." His compulsion for order and arrangement and his need to impose that on the group would be problem #1 for picking costumes for Comic-Con.

When making geek references on the show, how much of that is trying to tap into the Zeitgeist and how much of it is just personally showing love for a property you enjoy?

Lorre: All of the stuff comes out of the writer's room and half the time we're saying "That's too obscure," At some point you start making the experience not inclusive to people who come from outside this world. It comes up very organically.

Prady: It's tricky because like I'm a big DC Comics fan but it ends at the Silver Age so I've been given a reading list so I can stay current. But there are guys in the writers' room are fiercely current on things like that.

Series star gets Bang out of funny physics by Pat Douglas

Sometimes all it takes is an unorthodox idea to spark the interest of the fickle television watching community. That's how a notion incorporating physics into the plotline of a comedy-based television show ended up garnering big laughs and ultimately big ratings for CBS.

"The Big Bang Theory" is based on the goings on of an eclectic group of friends. While most people would be able to solve a Rubik's cube faster than they could grasp the basics of physics, the intention wasn't necessarily to reach a crowd with a vast knowledge of such things.

"(There's) more to these guys than their geek or nerd traits or whatever you want to call them," said actor Johnny Galecki in a phone interview with the Tribune from his home in Los Angeles. "For some reason, the cool kids seem to want to claim relations to these characters as opposed to laughing at them."

If you have trouble following what is said on the show from time to time, don't feel bad, even the actors have their occasional issues with the subject matter.

"The responsible actor in you wants to know what you're talking about," Galecki said. "Sometimes it does get to a point where there are limitations of the mind. To a certain degree I'll understand enough to know where to put inflection ... but, I just don't have that kind of mind to fully grasp the line that some sort of profound physics observation or comment is."

"I don't understand 99 percent of what I'm saying myself," he said with a laugh.

Galecki plays Leonard on the show. He shares an apartment with the incredibly smart Sheldon. While the script is peppered with physics jokes, Galecki noted that you don't have to understand them to find the dialogue funny.

"I think the writers have done a great job with making a show that's so involved with physics and doesn't turn people off that don't understand it and vice versa," said Galecki. "I (also) hear from people that really enjoy getting the inside jokes of the physics."

The show originated when producer Chuck Lorre reached out to Galecki with an idea he had about a physics comedy. The two knew each other after working together briefly on "Roseanne," on which Galecki played the role of David, Darlene's boyfriend.

"I started to kick around maybe doing a live audience television show again," recalled Galecki, who has spent a lot of time since "Roseanne" acting in theater and in movies. "Chuck kind of called at the perfect time and told me about this idea that he had."

Soon, producer Bill Prady and actor Jim Parsons were brought into the mix and a couple of pilots were made.

"It was about a two-and-a-half-year process to get it through from the time that Chuck called me 'til it finally aired," said Galecki who also had roles in films such as "Suicide Kings," "Vanilla Sky," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and as a young Rusty in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Initially, Galecki was to play the role of Sheldon, although early on he requested a switch to Leonard. In came Parsons who stepped into Sheldon's shoes and ran with the character.

"Jim Parsons is so incredible in that role that I can't imagine anyone else, including myself, doing it," Galecki said of Parsons. "Nobody can hold a candle to what he does as Sheldon. I love working with him. We have similar processes of how we work and similar senses of humor. I can't say enough good things about him. That man is sitcom gold. He's just a comic genius."

It was announced in February that the show would return for a second season, something that generated a lot of excitement amongst the "Big Bang" camp.

"The fact that people have found this show and taken a liking to it is really touching," Galecki said. "I want the show to do well and ... I want people to feel a kinship to the characters. It was so galvanizing to learn that (the network) was supporting us after our involvement and investment in this show."

Crossing his fingers for success with "Big Bang," Galecki knows what it's like to be part of a mega-successful television show after "Roseanne," which can be seen any day of the week in syndication. The actor looks back on his time with "Roseanne" with nothing but fondness and views it as a huge stepping stone in his development as an actor.

"Roseanne, who comes from the comic world obviously and who likes to wing it more than anything, and John (Goodman) who's a very disciplined film actor ... to be able to watch them and create my own amalgamation of a process that worked for me, obviously I couldn't have had better examples," said Galecki. "I wasn't an actor before I did that show, I don't think."

Now that the writer's strike is over, the actors on "Big Bang" are glad to be back to work, despite having a busy time catching up with a backlog of shows.

"It went from zero to 60 in .2 seconds here as soon as the strike ended," Galecki said with a chuckle. "We were ecstatic to get back. It kind of feels like not a day passed."