Penny and Sheldon

The Big Bang boom by Libby Slate

You've got to love a sitcom whose lead characters, Sheldon and Leonard, are named for an iconic comedy actor-producer, (that would be Sheldon Leonard).
And audiences do love The Big Bang Theory, sticking with the CBS Monday night show its first season through the writers' strike and this year, voting it the People's Choice Award as favorite television comedy.
The industry loves it too, Big Bang won last year's Television Critics Association Award for outstanding achievement in comedy and was named one of the most outstanding television programs of 2009 by the american Film Institute. Also, Jim Parsons was nominated for a 2009 primetime emmy Award as outstanding lead actor in a comedy.
The show about Caltech physicists Sheldon Cooper (Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), their scientist friends Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) and aspiring actress-neighbor Penny No-last-name-mentioned (Kaley Cuoco), regularly scores as the most-watched comedy among adults eighteen to forty-nine and twenty-five to fifty-four and number two comedy among viewers overall.
For Chuck Lorre, co-creator executive producer with Bill Prady, the show stands apart from his previous creations (grace under fire, Cybill, Two and a half men), because, he says "There's a wonderful innocence to these characters. That's a very different element in a half-hour comedy. It's inviting. The guys have a naiveté that's really charming."
As for the entire cast, "they bring joy and enthusiasm to the work," Lorre says.
"They're a very supportive ensemble. There's a sense of community that shows up on- and off-camera."
That community showed up at a recent photoshoot at the Pentahouse of the Residences at W Hollywood. No divas here, despite the hips surroundings and cool threads — just the good friends getting the job done amid occasional chitchat and the display of a new iPad. After all, says iPad owner Cuoco the photo-shoot glam "isn't the real world."
Sounds like Penny is just as smart as the guys.

Growing up in Houston Jim Parsons wanted to be a meteorologist. "I'm still intigued by the drama of the natural occourrence of hurricanes," he says. "I lived on the Gulf Coast, and when Alicia was coming, I literally felt she was gaining strenght - she knew where she was going, and we were left."
He decided instead to find his drama on stage as a theater major, helping to establish a nonprofit theater company while still in college and later earning a graduate degree in theater.
So perhaps it's not such a stretch that he's now playing a different kind of scientist - or maybe it is. Asked what's funny about physics Parsons responded: "It certainly hadn't crossed my mind that there's anything funny about physics. To find something amusing, you have find something you understand - and with physics, I'm still baffled."
But even that state of being is helpful when it comes to portraying Sheldon, an individual with no sense of humor or irony. "It speaks to that disconnect that Sheldon has, an extreme disconnect from human emotion," Parsons adds. "It's very fun to play in the extremes of this character, to focus so wholeheartedly on it. I admire that dogged focus, but not to the point of ignoring emotion and empathy."
Parsons expresses his own emotions playing piano. He's also an avid baseball, tennis and basketball fan. Enacting such an extreme character is actually liberating, he notes, in part for his respect for the Big Bang writers, nurtured by his theater experience.
"The older I get, the more I love language," says the actor whose other credits include a recurring role on Judging Amy and the features Garden State, Heights and On the road with Judas. "I had it knocked into my skull early on to be faithful to the writer - not only the word, but the periods, the commas. By letting the writing be my guidepost. I feel very free to make choices."
His choices landed Parsons his first Primetime Emmy nomination last year. "It was unexpected. I hadn't imagined what it would be like," he reflects. "You felt like a sense of camaraderie that I never would understood before. It was fun - it had a celebratory aspect to it. It was such an exciting time."

Kaley Cuoco got a glimpse of sitcom fame early in her career, when she played actress Maureen McCormick in the television film Growing up Brady. Nowadays, Cuoco is making her own comedy mark as Penny, an aspiring actress and Cheesecake Factory waitress who lives across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard.
Despite her native southern California-blonde good looks and avid male fan following, she's fiercely protective of the guys in Penny's life. "They're not nerds," she insists. "They're not aware of the social side of life. Penny's brought them out in the world - even Sheldon's become more socialized."
Cuoco, an alumn of the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules, is also grateful for the viewers' embrace: "This show is so special to certain people - they live and breathe it. We all know it. That the fans have stuck by us."
A nationally ranked amateur tennis player in her teens, the actress now shows and jumps her three horses.
"They keep me grounded. When you're on one of these animals, you can't think of anything else." She's ready for her charater to try a new skill, as well. "I think Penny should work at a Sushi restaurant and have to dress like a geisha," she offers. "I have the idea that she happens to be a genius sushi maker."

Bazinga! Sheldon Speaks by Jenna Busch

The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons tells us what's in store for our favorite TV geek.

If you had any doubt that geek culture has taken over, check out the numbers for The Big Bang Theory. The writing celebrates our obsession with The Green Lantern, reminds us that we are not the only ones who can say hello in Klingon and keeps us laughing at ourselves. Even the Emmys have taken notice.

I just spoke with Emmy Award nominated actor Jim Parsons, who plays socially awkward — but eminently loveable — theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper. Parsons tells us his theory on why the show is such a hit, when and if love will come to Sheldon and working with co-star Kaley Cuoco. "She's a wonderful verbal dancing partner," he says, though he tells us he is far better at bussing tables. He also gives us a sneak peek at this week's episode. Hint: It involves a ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese.

I love the show and I watch every week. And I keep thinking about all the people who said the sitcom was dead. You guys seem to have completely revived it. What do you think it is about the show that turned an entire show style on its ear?

Well for one thing, I don't think there is any reinventing of a wheel going on here. You know what I mean? I don't think anybody's trying to do anything around here that is in any way changing the old school of thought with the traditional multi-camera sitcom. And that may be one of the biggest things we have going in our favor. We're trying to simply execute as well as possible, a format that's been around. That's been related to live theater.

My thing, and I've always said this, and I'm not trying to defer attention or anything like that, is the writing...I've heard it said that it's a writer's medium, and I completely believe that...and in our case specifically, we only have what they bring. [Laughs] We can only play with what they've written, as it were. And we're in a very fortunate circumstance where what they're writing is sincerely funny, you know? And maybe 'sincere' is sort of the key word there. There is a great sincerity in what we're doing here...in deference to the format itself. We're trying to do nothing that different than anything that's been done before. But we're trying to do it as best we can.

And then to these characters...We're trying to be as sincere with them and their situations as we can. Yes, sometimes you'll have a laugh at their expense, but more often than not, you only buy yourself that opportunity because, more often than not, we're celebrating these characters. The writers and the actors all have a sincere affection for these characters. Because they're so fun to play. They have so many wonderful and fun qualities about them.

You mentioned celebrating the characters. You guys have been so embraced by geek culture. I think it's not just the terms that you use, etc. I think it's that you guys have such a great affection for your characters.

Absolutely. I think that's completely true.

You must get asked constantly about how geeky you are. I'd read about your Star Wars figures and how you want an invitation to Hogwarts...

Right.

Do you guys ever feel pressure...I mean, the geeks have sort of made you their standard bearers.

I don't and it may be blissful ignorance on my part. Or it's just not affecting me. But I really don't. What's funny is, some of their more geekish, nebbish, fanboy qualities, if you will, which I can see on the surface what a big part of the picture we're painting, they are. And so much of the humor has come from that, and so much of who they are in a day to day way. But I have to say, in the playing of it and in the feeling behind it, it seems so secondary. I don't know. I feel like, in some ways, these people would be who they are, almost entirely, even if they didn't have any of those qualities. If they didn't read comic books. If they weren't Star Trek and Battlestar fans, or whatever. It's a happy side bar. It's extra colors that are laid on top of these really, really smart guys. And I guess that's it. At the end of the day, when it comes back to square one, the heart of the story is that we're dealing with four geniuses. To varying degrees. I think Sheldon is probably the smartest. [Laughs]

I was thinking about some of your more complex lines, and I had read that the writing really helps you, but that you do sit down with notecards. I'd also read that you play piano. I'm wondering if being a musician helps you memorize. You really do have a rhythm to your speech.

I feel like it must. I do think of the scenes and this dialogue very specifically in a musical way. And it's much more self conscious, I have to say. I am able to consciously realize that I'm doing it. The way that they're writing this, and it's what I felt from day one with this...it wasn't the story that grabbed me, though it was lovely. And it wasn't even the characters themselves as far as who made them what they are. When I first saw the audition sides for this show, I really wanted to leap at the opportunity to get to execute this dialogue. And it was all about the rhythms they put in there. And one of the things the writers are so good at is utilizing, not just scientific terms, but especially in the case of Sheldon, just so many damn words in general, but putting them in a format that has a song to it.

I think there is a musicality to any conversation in general. Some a bit more melodic than others, depending who you're talking to. [Laughs] It's most especially accentuated here. It's definitely highlighted, maybe in any comedy. But most certainly in this one, I think. And it's one of the great joys. And it's one of the ways in which, as an actor, in this show at least, I know when something is not going right. Nine times out of ten I'm right about it. Because suddenly you can't access the rhythm. And either they're about to rewrite something that's going to make it fall into place...or you've got more days of rehearsal and suddenly you're going to feel it...I frequently say, 'That scene sings like a song.'

You know, Chuck (Lorre) was a musician who wrote songs and at least one Top 40 hit for Blondie, I believe. I think any comedy writer has a certain rhythm and I think that Chuck, specifically, has a very...[laughs]...he knows how to make the twenty-two minutes of television play by in the right way. I think it's the reason that his shows repeat so well in audience numbers. Because I feel like the stories are good and the things you discover the first time you watch the stories are lovely. But perhaps its best quality is that the episode itself goes by like a song. Even if you know what's going to happen because you've seen it once or twice before, it's still so much fun to watch. And I think that has to do with the rhythm of it. It's like a favorite song. You know the song, you know where it's going, but it's still enjoyable because you like hearing certain notes hit. You like hearing certain rhythms hit.

I agree. This is a show I would want on DVD, because it really is something I'd watch over and over again.

Thank you, first. And secondly, I agree with you. As much as I'm able to say that without sounding like a complete snot. [Laughs] It just turns into a really good time. And that's not to take away any stories or depth that's actually there. It's all there and it's all good. But at the end of the day, what makes it repeatable...it's fun.

One of the things fans have reacted to the most are the scenes between you and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). What is it about your chemistry?

Well, I think what it was bred of, coming into the first season, and especially hitting its stride in the second season is that...they are the North and South poles of...all five regular characters on this show. I don't know which is which. [Laughs] They're just polar opposites. She's so earth bound. She is our everyman...and Sheldon is the most heady of the characters. The most, I don't want to say without his feet on the ground, but in the truest sense of the word, his life, his existence is absorbed in his head. I think that is the biggest ingredient of it. No matter what you do at that point with your characters, it's going to be a good time, because they're polar opposites.

But then I have to say, I had never worked with Kaley before I did this show, and we started doing these scenes together, and for whatever reason, I just...it's such a satisfying time working with her. It is, aah. I can't put my finger on it, always. But me, as Jim, I have such a good time working with her as Kaley, the actress. And speaking to her through these characters' voices and having her speak back is just...to bring it back to the music thing again, it's a wonderful dance. [Laughs] She's a wonderful verbal dancing partner.

Another thing people have really responded to are the scenes with Sheldon's mom (Laurie Metcalf). Will we see any more of that this season?

I certainly hope so. [Laughs] You have to take the good with the bad, I guess is what it is. The reason I think the scenes are so damn good is because Laurie is such a gifted actress. The problem you have, working with a gifted actress is that she's always working. So both her and Christine Baranski...it's hard to find available times for them! [Laughs] Because they're so good, everyone wants to use them in some way. So I really feel like a combination of whether a storyline occurs to the writers and is she available for it...she certainly knows her way around acting in general and certainly she has done plenty of the half hour work in TV as well. She just couldn't be an easier fit when she comes over here. She's just a good person, you know?

You know everyone wants to know if you think Sheldon will ever find love.

Yeah...I want to guess yes, but I honestly don't hold out a lot of hope. The reason is very specific. I've been part of panel discussions with Chuck Lorre. With Bill Prady. And they have professed that...if these characters change at all, it's going to be very slow. At the rate of watching paint dry. And...I've heard Chuck say this a few times, he has a real aversion to...I think he views Sheldon finding love or the desire for Sheldon to find love as a bit of an attempt to normalize Sheldon. And see the more normal side of Sheldon and oh, he is like us. [Laughs] He's very interested in continuing to celebrate how different Sheldon is than the general populace. And he really likes exploring this version of Sheldon, where Sheldon has essentially kind of opted out of the romance scene. He's not taking time for it. In fact, he's kind of deemed it something that for him, at this point, is sort of a waste of time. There is so much more for him to do, he sees, specifically in science in this case, but whatever.

I hear what he's saying and I actually love what he's saying. And I love making those odd choices, those smallest percentile of the populace choices for Sheldon. But I don't think everybody necessarily wants to see Sheldon normalized. I think that they've done such a wonderful job of creating a character that people have a fondness for. And I think wanting to see Sheldon find love is the same thing as wanting to see Sheldon taken care of in some way. Someone to help him along through things that he obviously stubs his toe through, socially...but that brings me back to why I don't think it will happen. It's half the fun of playing this character...all the situations where he is on his own and he is clueless. It's such a dichotomy. He's a genius and then to get to go through those circumstances where he is clueless...using his big brain for every possibility and just failing, failing. [Laughs] Failure has never been so fun.

I also think that those moments where Sheldon does something sweet for Penny...I think they have more impact if you don't have him doing that for a girlfriend all the time.

Yeah. I would agree with you. It does add a lot of weight to it. They've done such a good job of executing, and I feel, letting play this Penny and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) relationship...they did go against the traditional format in this way. We're not hanging on 'will they, won't they.' No. They're doing it. Let's see what happens. And as far as that relates to giving Sheldon any romantic interest, I think it opens...for the reasons we just said, and others...a much bigger can of worms. And you have to be prepared, I think, as writers and a cast if you're going to dive into that. You can't short change yourselves or anybody else. You can't go in and go, 'Ooh, this isn't working,' and hit reverse as fast as you can with the storyline. I think there is a lot more ground to cover that doesn't require us to jump in there just yet.

But what the hell do I know? I'll be honest with you. I never know what story they're going to deliver. I will not know next week's story...we're going to go on hiatus after tonight. We will come in for a table read on Wednesday morning, and it will be Tuesday night at nine o'clock at night before I even get sight of the next script. [Laughs] They won't tell me a thing. Unless they need to ask me something for my safety, like, 'Are you able to ride a unicycle?' Which they have asked. And I said, 'No, but I'm willing to learn.' It never came up again. That was over a year ago. I'm grateful. [Laughs] I've heard it's dangerous.

Yeah! I would think so! [Laughs]

How could it not be?

And I hear you're diving through balls in Chuck E. Cheese in the next episode.

Yes, and might I say, it was one of the finest ideas the writers have had. Such a simple thing. But it goes back to what I said about the science. Wow! We can end up there. I won't tell you how we end up there exactly. But it's through science that we end up at Chuck E. Cheese in a bunch of balls. [Laughs] I had so much fun doing that scene. It wasn't easy! I was really surprised at the lung power it took to fight your way through a ball pit like that. It felt very much like swimming but there was a lot more, it felt like to me, a lot more force to get through to do that. It was very fun. Very colorful.

I hear you also bus tables at The Cheesecake Factory?

Yes. And may I say that Jim as an actor is better at doing that than Kaley as an actress?

Really?

Yes! I had those plates on my arms and I said it out loud one day. I didn't even think about it. 'Better than Kaley.' [Laughs] And you know...it took me longer in life to hit success than Kaley, so perhaps I had more opportunities to perfect dishes on arms and stuff like that. I don't know.

Inside the mind of TV's biggest geek by Amber Dowling

Jim Parsons dispels myths of his geeky rise to fame.

The name might not ring a bell, but Jim Parsons is as familiar a face as they come on prime-time TV. As Dr. Sheldon Cooper on Chuck Lorre's The Big Bang Theory, Parsons brings a loveable charm to an otherwise obnoxiously superior character.

But as Parsons gains notoriety for his impeccable comedic timing and ease with which he delivers rocket-science calibre monologues, the myths surrounding the young actor and his murky background swirl in his success. Here are eight things you may or may not know about the actor.

His not-so-rocky start

Contrary to rumours, Parsons only starred in three bum pilots before Big Bang, not 15 as some fan sites propose. "I don't know how that started," Parsons says. "I guess I didn't pay as many dues as 15 sounds like...I almost wish I could say so!"

He once pretended to suck the teat of a wolf

Besides standing out in commercial work for Stride gum, FedEx and DiGiorno Pizza, Parsons also starred in the controversial Quizno's ad in which he pretended to suck the teat of a dog, proving he was raised by wolves.

"A lot of people would probably think pretending to suckle the teat of a wolf is not the best thing for an actor to be doing, but it didn't bother me," Parsons says with a shrug when asked if the moment was a cringeworthy one in his career. "She was the sweetest Siberian Husky you've ever met – she was a bigger pleasure to work with than some humans I've worked with in my life."

Working to make ends meet

Contrary to reports, Parsons never worked in construction between jobs, although he did work at a place called Hable Construction – a shop owned by two sisters who make "pillows and bags and things like that." Parsons considers the ladies a good luck charm; not only did they let him answer phones and mind the shop to bring in some extra money, but he had only been there two or three months before he was able to start paying his bills from only his acting gigs.

He missed the Oscars to practice playing Sheldon Cooper

While his friends were out and about at viewing parties on the night of the Academy Awards, Parsons was cooped up in a sublet apartment for pilot season in Los Angeles, practicing the complicated lines of his future Big Bang character. But don't confuse any invites to viewing parties with an invite to the real event, as some publications have: "My life is so much less glamorous," Parsons admits, sadly. "I should really just shut up and let you print all this crap from other people! It's so much better."

He writes out his lines

Two successful seasons in, and Parsons still needs to write out his lines before the live taping on Tuesday nights. He has to – anyone who has watched the show knows how many words Sheldon crams into a sentence on a light day, never mind the hard ones. "For every episode, I have to fill out my little flash cards like some sort of fifth grader in a science class," the actor admits. "It's the only way I get them in my head – and even then there are some that just hold on by a thread. I can't tell you how much writing I do."

It doesn't all come naturally

Although Parsons is, by definition, a smart guy, his IQ is nowhere near the level of his character's, who was what you would call a child prodigy. "When we first get the read-through I mispronounce things with a fair frequency," Parsons says with a laugh. "I never understand them to a deep degree, but I do my darndest to find out what Sheldon is trying to imply or compare the human conversation to in science terms."

His secret talent

When Penny (Kaley Cuoco) slipped Sheldon a drink in the first season, it resulted in Sheldon giving a piano performance, complete with a song. What some may not know is that Parsons actually studied the piano in real life. "That wasn't my best work, I was never any sort of cabaret-type player," he downplays. "I never accompanied myself. I had a lot of help from Simon Helberg [who plays Wolowitz on the show] in figuring out how to simplify the chords so I could sing over them. He's is a very skilled pianist, more so than me."

His second-season surprise

Parsons had no idea his show had been picked up for a second season until he received a mysterious text message on his phone, saying, "Congratulations on a second-season pick-up." The actor was convinced it was a joke, until he almost immediately received text messages from co-stars Johnny Galecki ("What the hell's going on?") and Helberg confirming the text. Turns out Parsons hadn't programmed creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre's number into his new phone.

Some favorite sitcoms return with new episodes by Mike Hughes

To a generation of TV viewers, Chuck Lorre already is a hero. He wrote a favorite theme song.

"I'll meet people who grew up with 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,'" Lorre says. "You can see that's a big deal for them."

Now he has a new distinction: He's bringing the first shows back from the depths of the writers' strike.

On Monday, three situation comedies have new episodes, taped post-strike: 'How I Met Your Mother' and Lorre's 'Two and a Half Men' and 'Big Bang Theory.'

Only a few others will be back in March. Some will wait until next season.

This reflects the shooting style: The CBS comedies are taped in front of an audience. That's a quick, slick method.

"We'll do a table reading and keep working on it," Lorre says. "We shoot it five days later."

When the writers' strike loomed, 'Big Bang Theory' was two days into that process, recalls series star Jim Parsons. "Chuck and Bill (Prady) said, 'Pray for a miracle, but all signs are that we're going on strike.'"

That started Nov. 5 and basically ended Feb. 13. For the studio sitcoms, life quickly returned back to normal afterward.

"We're working on the same script on the same stage where we were before," Parsons says. "It's like nothing happened."

This has been a strange year for him. Parsons was a near-unknown, working with one of the comedy leaders. "When pressed, he'll tell you a 'Roseanne' story," he says of Lorre.

Often, Lorre works with proven stars. 'Two and a Half Men' — the top comedy in the Nielsen ratings — has Jon Cryer, Holland Taylor and Charlie Sheen. The biggest change lately is that Sheen, 42, no longer plays a carefree playboy.

"We're starting to tear him apart," Lorre says. "The eternal boy is trying to grow up."

On 'Big Bang Theory,' there's no such problem: This is a show about two young physicists learning to cope with life, love and the beautiful receptionist-waitress next door.

Two roles went to familiar sitcom people — Johnny Galecki of 'Roseanne' and Kaley Cuoso of '8 Simple Rules.' Parsons, however, was a surprise.

"He just walked in and auditioned and nailed it perfectly," Lorre says. "I asked him to come back because I thought maybe he just got lucky."

It was more than that. Parsons is a good actor who also happens to be partly in sync with his character. The actual physics-babble is beyond him.

"It's real stuff," Parsons says, "and 99 percent of it means nothing to me."

Still, he has his own obsessions. (If he's not jogging before 8 a.m., he's "off for the rest of the day.") And he's lived in the world of the mind.

Parsons is 6-foot-2, towering nine inches above Galecki, but rarely tried sports.

"I don't know what it was that got me on the stage or at the piano so early," he says. "When I was 3, I crawled up on the piano bench and sorted things out."

He studied theater in his hometown at the University of Houston before landing stage roles in New York and TV guest shots in Los Angeles. In several 'Judging Amy' episodes, Parsons played Rob Holbrook. Then came 'Big Bang Theory' and his ideal job.

"I was a huge fan of sitcoms, growing up," he says. "It just feels like home to me."

It's the sitcom style that has worked from 'I Love Lucy' to 'Seinfeld': Read a script, wait for changes, then step in front of an audience. It is all pleasant enough.

"Some of the time, we'll have a four-hour day or a five-hour day," Parsons says.

And it allowed for a quick comeback from the TV strike.