Penny and Sheldon

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.

Kaley Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory by Fred Topel

For fans of 8 Simple Rules, the upcoming season is vindication. The show got off to a humble start but has become a staple of Monday night sitcoms on CBS. This season threatens to link Penny and Leonard in a relationship. Kaley Cuoco filled us in the third season scoop over the summer at CBS's fall TV preview party.

How much fun are you having on Big Bang Theory?

I'm having so much fun. It's a great show, it's doing well. How can you not have fun on a hit show? I'm very, very lucky.

With the big group scenes and the dialogue you have, is there any special fun on the set?

I actually prefer [it]. I love when all of us are in the same scenes together. It happens a good amount but not all the time and it makes me really happy, because the five of us just have so much fun working off each other.

How gratifying is it that it became a hit after a slow build?

It was a slow build, yeah. No one liked us at the beginning. They didn't and it's okay. We reeled them in. We brought them to the geek side and now they've accepted us with open arms.

What do you think it was that hooked people?

I don't know. I think they realized it wasn't "cute girl next door to two geeks." It was so much more than that. It was real people dealing with real emotions. I think it's actually really touched peoples' hearts, especially actors like Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki. I mean, those characters have touched people so deeply and they're really sweet.

Any show takes time to build so how do you think it's grown since the first season?

You know, I firmly believe, only because I've been doing this for so long, every show takes three years. 90% of them don't get three years. It just does. It takes a long time to build a community, build a friendship with your characters. It's hard for people to grasp on and make them care about you. We've been lucky enough to get the opportunity but a lot of shows don't get it. I think a lot of good shows don't make it on the air so it's just a process. You have to grow. You have to learn who you are as a character. You're all of a sudden playing a new person with a whole other life.

How has Penny grown since the beginning?

You know, I think they gave her a lot to do second season. She just loves these guys and loves hanging out with them. I think she's kind of becoming one of them which is really sweet and they finally fully accepted her, thank goodness.

And it's not just a cult hit anymore, it's a broad audience.

I still think it is kind of a cult show but it's weird because I have, like, 10-year-olds come up to me and say they love it and then, like, 80-year-olds. I mean, people love the show and every time I think about it, it gives me a chill. It's just really sweet.

What do you think the show did to win everyone over?

It has a lot of heart. People like Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki and the writing that was in season two I think was the best season. It was so good, it was heartfelt. The love between Penny and the guys I think was really heartfelt. I think at first season, no one believed the cute girl was going to like them and all this silly stuff. I think the characters have really grown and they just love each other. It's really nice to see.

You're going to mess with the setup this season, right?

I hear that, yeah. I guess Leonard and Penny are going to date for a little while and I think that's going to put a little jab between the guys and Leonard. I hope our relationship doesn't last long. I want it to kind of go off and come back, how life really is and I think Chuck wants that to happen too.

Have you picked up any geek interests through the show?

No, just a lot of Guitar Hero and Rock Band and I'm getting really damn good on it to be honest.

Are you Expert?

Uh, yeah. Can I play Expert? Can you play Expert?

I'm up to Hard.

I'm pretty damn good. I like to play the drums. I actually like to sing on Rock Band. I prefer to take the mic.

What songs are you jamming on?

You know what? I don't even know half of them. I just read it off the TV and I am awesome. I'm a good reader.

8 Simple Rules was unfortunately cut short. Do you have a sense that this will go for a while?

I'll never have comfort that it's going to go for a while. I think if I did, I think that's the curse right there. I don't trust anything anymore. I just am riding every day like it is because with what happened with 8 Simple Rules it was so insane, you just never know. So I'm just enjoying this as it goes and I hope that we continue as long as we can.

Are you into gadgets?

My new iPhone, I'm obsessed. My iPod. I love all the Mac crap.

When you're traveling, what's the one thing you have to have with you?

Oh, my iPod and my Bose headset because they sound so frigging good. And it's a sign to people to leave me alone. They are so big, they're bigger than my face and it's basically saying, "Get the hell away from me." I love it.

Do people come up to you anyway?

No, they're very nice. They know and I close my eyes like I can't hear anything. You know what I love? I don't even play music. I just keep them on and I'm kind of going like this and nodding my head like I'm listening. Nothing's going on in my ears.

You must have rhythm if you can sell that.

I've got good rhythm.

What do people want to know about the show when they recognize you?

They keep wanting to know, "What's going to happen with Leonard and Penny? Why can't Sheldon and Penny date?" Which cracks me up. That would have to be a nightmare sequence in season nine because they would kill each other. Penny would kill Sheldon.

There's a lot of anticipation for the relationship, yet we all know how it can ruin shows. How do you feel about how it's going to be done?

I don't know. I have such trust in Chuck. It does make me nervous hearing that we're going to date a little bit, but the way I've seen the show go, I don't think it's going to go well so I'm not worried. I don't think the relationship's going to go well. They've got a lot to learn and we've got a long ways to go.

How did you spend your summer?

I traveled a lot and I have horses on a ranch and that's all I did. I rode and it's kind of a curse knowing you have a show to go back to. You just get a little lazy. I'm like, "Oh, I'm going back to work. I don't have to do anything." And I go back on Wednesday [Aug 5] so I'm really excited.

Do you not look for movies to do during the break?

Not this year I didn't, no. I actually said I didn't want to do anything, didn't want to work.

How long have you been riding?

Long time, since I was like 14.

Why is that a passion?

That's the real love of my life. I think in an other life I was a professional. I love it. I love animals and I feel more of a connection to animals than people. It keeps my mind away from all this and everything that's going on here. If you're not connected to your horse, you're screwed so it takes a lot of focus.

Did you have horses from your family before?

My mom grew up with horses and when I turned 14, 15, she's like, "Do you want to take a riding lesson?" I thought, "Oh, gross, dirty." She was like, "Okay." And then I did and now I'm the one cleaning those damn stalls out. You can't get me away from the barn now. It shocks even me. Trust me. I don't know what happened to me. No heels at that place.

How to make a Big Bang on a busy monday night by Matt Mitovich

A funny thing happened last week. A quiet little comedy that neither stars Charlie Sheen nor teases us with the identity of a proverbial Mother hit a ratings milestone (9.9 million viewers), putting a certain behemoth of a dance competition to shame in the process. Yep, we're talking about CBS' The Big Bang Theory (Mondays at 8 pm/ET), which in its second season is proving to be one of the most reliable laugh generators on all of prime time.

Of course, that's not to say it's immune to the occasional sweeps stunt. Bill Prady (who co-created the comedy with Chuck Lorre) shared with TVGuide.com a look at how some Top Models get wrapped up in our boy geniuses' world, as well as reveals the show's overall formula for success. (Thankfully, it does not involve string theory.)

Congratulations on the series-high ratings. Is the 10 million threshold in your sights?

I've got to tell you, I was waiting for when we beat Dancing with the Stars in the demo, which we did. That was sort of my goal. And it felt really good!

What's great is that as the series surges, you're not doing anything different. You haven't dumbed it down or "made it more accessible." It is what it's always been.

I think we only know how to do this. [Laughs] It's interesting because the thing we're here to talk about, it didn't start out as, "How can we do a stunt with Top Model?" It was just a storyline we pitched that seemed natural to the characters. We work inside-out that way.

What are the Top Model gals doing, and who are they doing it with?

They are the object of a quest. Penny's television is on the fritz, so she comes next door to see who's being kicked off of America's Next Top Model. When Penny lets it slip that all the women live in a house together, Wolozitz is taken aback. He realizes that once a week, a beautiful girl is kicked out of this house, left with no self esteem — aka the Future Mrs. Howard Wolowitz. [Laughs] So he and Koothrappali use science to try to locate the house, charting star positions and physical landmarks, using satellite photography...

I've always thought it'd be fun if Wolowitz got a steady girlfriend for a few episodes.

He will, at some point. Coming up, he is going to meet a girl played by Sara Rue, and Leonard will steal her away — though he won't mean to do it.

Going into the first season finale, did you have any intention of following through on the Penny-Leonard romance? Or was it always just a tease?

[In an early draft] they did not go out at the end of it, and it felt so unsatisfying. People said, "Careful, there are many sharks waiting to be jumped if they [have a date]," but we felt that if we were honest to the characters, the first time simply wouldn't go well. And they won't try it again for a while. My feeling is that the reality of that guy, with that girl, will start and stop over the years. This is of course the nerdiest writers room in television, and we've all brought our experiences of being nerds who loved pretty girls. What happens is you take a shot, you screw it up, you back off, time passes, you take a shot again... Penny's not yet at the place in her life where she has figured out that the Leonards of the world are better for her than the Biffs. But she'll get there, someday. The thing that was very exciting is that it was Penny's problem [she never graduated college] that prevented the relationship. And once we found out it was Penny's problem, Leonard screwed it up massively. [Laughs]

Fans also love the scenes with Sheldon and Penny. Does that present a tricky balancing act?

When we have a story and it's fun, we do it. [This week] things come to a head between them, and the ending is surprising as to who gets the upper hand and why. It's like an earthquake — you have tremors, an earthquake, and then it's gone for a while.

Sara Gilbert is a regular this season, yet we haven't seen much of Leslie Winkle. Will that change soon?

She's in an episode coming up. Being a semi-regular, I think, is her actual arrangement.

Some fans think Sheldon might hook up with Leslie before Leonard does.

In last week's episode Penny asked, "What's Sheldon's' deal? Is it guys, girls, sock puppets...?" The guys say, "We've been operating under the assumption that Sheldon has no deal." Sheldon is so far away from having any kind of human relationship, I don't think he is a big contender.

Settle a small mystery here: Who's the voice of Wolowitz's mom?

Carol Ann Susi. She's a terrific actress, and we think it's delightful that we don't see her. Carol Ann says [adopting her raspy, accented voice], "I don't have to dress up or put on makeup. This is the best job in television!"

Are we going to meet any more characters' family members this season?

Leonard's mom might come to visit. We're still figuring out what kind of woman she would be. We've established that his father is an anthropologist and his mother is a research psychiatrist. We've often said there's the possibility that Leonard is the least successful in his family. His parents always pushed him toward academic success, whereas Sheldon's parents had no idea what had been born among then. [Laughs]

Your episode titles are all written in the form of a "theorem," "hypothesis," "paradigm"... Any fear of running out?

It was a very big issue at the start of the year, whether we could reuse words. The official belief is that we will reuse them each season — because there aren't 250 different ones.

If you ever want a good groan, check out Knight Rider's episode titles. They all use a pun on the word "night."

As long as they do an episode called "Good Knight, Moon," I'm happy!

Jim Parsons: Big Bang now begets bigger laughs by Matt Mitovich

Leonard and Penny embarking on their first date may have been the big "cliffhanger," but make no mistake, Sheldon's not-exactly-peripheral role in the unlikely romance plays a big part in The Big Bang Theory's Season 2 premiere (Monday at 8 pm/ET, on CBS). Jim Parsons shares a non-scientific peek at what's ahead - including, possibly, an incendiary hook-up for Sheldon himself!

Before we get going, I want to say that I'm sorry you didn't get an Emmy nomination. A lot of us here were pulling for you.

Well, that's very sweet. Thank you very much. But frankly I'm just happy we got to come back for Season 2! [Laughs]

What's different about this season?

I'd say that from a working standpoint, it's been easy to get back into it. It was a relief, and felt like coming home again. Another thing that changed - and you see it when you're [on the set] versus watching on TV - is the studio audience that comes in is markedly different. They know the characters. They start laughing sooner in the taping...

Like, if you get a Wolowitz-at-home scene, you know his mother will be screaming for him.

Exactly. There's not that having to catch up and think, "OK, that's how that person speaks" and whatever. The laughs start to come before you've even hit the funny. The studio audience senses where it's going, and that has really upped the fun, I have to say. It's invigorating.

In the season opener, Sheldon gets pulled into the Leonard-Penny romantic situation in short order.

Because if it wasn't going to go badly enough, they had to add him to up the "pain quotient" of that relationship.

After all, Sheldon, perhaps more than anyone else, could not care less about what happens between them.

Exactly. But there's not another single other person she could go to. She could go to Rajesh or Wolowitz, but they're not going to be any help either. [Laughs] I really enjoy any time that they stick Sheldon and Penny in a scene together.

They simply do not speak the same language.

Of the five major cast members, they are the two opposite ends of the pole, the north and the south. They are the least likely to understand what the other is saying.

We also learn that one of Sheldon's "things" is that he can't keep a secret - at least not when he hasn't first signed off on any intent to keep said secret.

[Laughs] It's really nice when you read a script and they throw down a major character gauntlet like that. "Oh, OK Sheldon can't keep a secret."

Though his logic is sound: Give me the opportunity to agree to keep the secret before you tell me what it is.

It is completely logical. You need the right to say, "No, I don't want to hear it. I have to deal with this person too much in my daily life that it would be impossible for me for this never to come up. Leonard could ask me a pointed question at some point dealing with exactly what you're talking about, which will force me to lie... or run away." Before you sign the contract of secret-keeping, you need to know what the terms are.

What other geek-tastic capers are coming up? I understand that Sheldon helps Penny with an addiction...

Yes, she becomes addicted to online gaming, which apparently can be a serious addiction for young people. I personally have no experience in my own life, so I had to learn what buttons to push on the PC. She, for various reasons in her life, needs to latch onto something that gives her a sense of self-worth. I suppose there could be worse addictions out there, but this one does spiral out of control.

What about any romantic interests for Sheldon?

Well, nobody has told me anything specific... It's funny - and I'm grateful! - because very often information about our future I find out from other interviews. For example, [Big Bang cocreator] Chuck [Lorre] told TV Guide that somebody was going to become completely fascinated with Sheldon and think that he "walks on water." Of course, everybody sees it but Sheldon. Even that, though, doesn't necessarily say that she's in love with him. It might just be idolatry.

I've been speculating that the intense hatred and sparks that fly between Sheldon and Leslie Winkle (played by new series regular Sara Gilbert) might be leading toward something...

That was my very next question! "Might their animosity erupt into spontaneous, unbridled and illogical passion?"

My theory is where there's smoke, there's fire. You don't have such passionate, passionate angry feelings for another being unless the actual opposite is also lying there on the inside. Sara has done two out of the first three [episodes], and it's just been nasty. We talked about the fact that by having her around more, she's a wonderful barometer to judge the Penny-Sheldon relationship. When there are scenes with Penny and Sheldon and scenes with Leslie and Sheldon in the same episode, you see, "No, no Leslie hates him. Penny actually is quite fond of him. She just doesn't know how to communicate with him!"

Any last message to fans?

Thank you for watching. It's a pleasure to do this show, and I hope it's enjoyable.

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.

Chaos theory by Sarah Kuhn

As The Big Bang Theory's socially inept brainiac Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons is often called upon to spit out tongue-twisting mouthfuls of intricately crafted, physics-laced dialogue. That he does so and still manages to imbue it with meaning — and Sheldon's prickly, persnickety intentions — is nothing short of a science-defying miracle. "There's no way I'm going to ever be able to grasp most of these concepts," says Parsons, chuckling. "But the good thing is I don't really need the full concept, I just need the basics, so I can understand what point he's trying to make by bringing it up. Once I get just deep enough to connect, I go, 'I see.' Then I'm done."

Parsons' hilariously meticulous characterization helped make The Big Bang Theory a hit for CBS last season and has earned him many a glowing review. The show, which focuses on the exploits of Sheldon and equally geeky roommate Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), returns for a second season Sept. 22. Despite being conceived by sitcom mastermind Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, Dharma & Greg), the show didn't always appear destined for success. Once Parsons landed the role, a pilot was shot but not picked up. After rewriting and cast changes, a new pilot was filmed, but there were months of waiting in between. Parsons was living in New York at the time and decided to take a gamble and relocate.

"I knew we were on hold to shoot it again; it was the craziest time, because you're in the very enviable position of knowing you have work coming up, but it was maddening at the same time," he says. "That waiting period was crazy. I decided that whatever happened, I would move. I thought, I've had a great time in New York, but a lot of my work's coming out of L.A. right now, and I think it would be smart to spend a few years out here and form some relationships. So I moved in March of last year, and in May the show got picked up." He pauses for a moment, then chuckles. "I think that's accidentally practicing the Secret, actually."

Parsons doesn't recall exactly when he was bitten by the acting bug, but he knows that it occurred fairly early in his childhood. "My mother had this list of questions you asked your child every year, and it was like, 'What's your favorite color? What's your favorite TV show?' and it says, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' " he remembers. "And from very early on, I started saying 'movie star,' which — now I look back and I have no idea what I thought. I didn't know what a celebrity was. But I guess, really, I just wanted to be an actor in some way."

He honed his craft at the Old Globe Theatre/University of San Diego, eventually earning a master's in acting. As part of the program, Parsons participated in a New York showcase that landed him several meetings with agencies, including Innovative Artists. He signed on and has been with the group ever since. "They always were very supportive and kept putting me out there for things — whatever form of belief or gamble that is, I don't know, but they kept sending me," he says with a laugh.

Over the years, he has appeared in a variety of stage productions (The Castle with the Manhattan Ensemble Theater, As You Like It at the Houston Shakespeare Festival) and TV shows (Judging Amy, Ed), but one standout role that still attracts attention is his brief but memorable turn as a Klingon-speaking, cereal-chomping Medieval Times "knight in training" in Zach Braff's Garden State. Parsons won the part after auditioning for another character with Garden State casting director Avy Kaufman. "I loved that [the scene] managed to walk that line of absurdity — it balanced it so well," he says. "Lucky Charms and a full suit of armor. That's incredible. You almost don't have to do very much in that situation, just say the lines."

And though he's getting considerably more screen time as one of Big Bang's leads, Parsons doesn't necessarily feel he's made it. He still marvels at the number of hoops actors have to jump through at every stage in their careers. "You feel like you've gotten through so many steps when you finally get an agent; you can't imagine how many hoops there are that you don't even know about," he says. "Half the time, you don't even know how hard it is for your agents to get you an audition until you find out later, 'Good Lord, that barely happened.'"

Bio briefs

Was initially confused about who was behind The Big Bang Theory: "I'm not great with names, and I went in there expecting to meet Chuck Woolery, the guy from Love Connection. I thought, I didn't know he was writing at all, and my agency sounded excited about it, so what's he doing?"

Uses 3-by-5 note cards to keep track of his longer stretches of Big Bang dialogue. "I put my little cue line on the front and my lines on the back. I just pace around the house and drill them."

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.