18 Years Later, A Sheldon Zinger From The Big Bang Theory Has Aged Like Milk
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Though The Big Bang Theory is still a pop culture juggernaut almost two decades after it premiered, some of the sitcom's humor has unsurprisingly aged poorly, including a particularly famous Sheldon Cooper one-liner. Looking at the early Big Bang Theory seasons through a 2020s lens, the show was rife with creepy, misogynistic behavior (Howard), racial stereotypes (Raj), and toxic "Nice Guy" entitlement (Leonard).
Sheldon may not have been as societally problematic, but there's no denying that he began as a pretty unlikable person. He was rigid in his routines and idiosyncrasies, and expected his friends to unwaveringly cater to him despite not taking their wants, needs, or feelings into account. However, over time, Sheldon began to step outside his comfort zone and learned how to respect and appreciate his nearest and dearest, while also opening himself up to lasting romantic love with Amy Farrah Fowler — and along that journey, Sheldon became a fan-favorite character.
With Sheldon's frequent anecdotes about his family back in Texas, the fish-out-of-water premise for Young Sheldon practically wrote itself. The first Big Bang Theory spinoff premiered in 2017 and was an instant hit, as it gave TBBT fans not only more insight into their favorite TV genius, but also the people who raised him, adding a welcome dose of heart to the franchise.
Unfortunately, as audiences grew to love the Cooper family in Young Sheldon, it made Sheldon's characterizations of them in The Big Bang Theory retroactively incorrect. This is most apparent in season 2, when Sheldon tells the group, "When I was eleven, my sister bought our father a 'world's greatest dad' coffee mug, and frankly the man coasted until the day he died." It's a funny line, but with all that we've learned about George Sr., it doesn't hold up today.
Young Sheldon Proved Sheldon Wrong About His Father Being A Lazy Parent
Sheldon's Big Bang Theory quote about his father is hardly the only time he bemoans George's shortcomings in the original sitcom. All throughout the show, Sheldon portrays George as a lazy, philandering, hard-drinking deadbeat dad. But as seen in Young Sheldon, this is hardly a fair depiction.
Granted, Sheldon isn't entirely wrong about his dad's flaws; the man we saw in Young Sheldon did spend much of his free time plunked on his easy chair watching TV and drinking beer, and he often either used alcohol to numb his complicated, uncomfortable feelings or threw a temper tantrum. However, in many ways, George was Sheldon's biggest cheerleader. He protected his son against anyone trying to alienate or exploit him, whether it was the local church, the school principal, fancy universities, or even NASA.
Now, fans of both shows know to take Sheldon's tall tales in The Big Bang Theory with a grain of salt, as Young Sheldon proves that he can be an unreliable narrator. Thankfully, in the Young Sheldon series finale, adult Sheldon has a complete mea culpa about his dad and delivers a heartfelt voiceover, saying,
"For a long time, I focused on my father's shortcomings. Now that I'm his age and have kids of my own, I realize he was just a person, doing the best he could. And he did a lot. I didn't say it at his funeral, but I can say it now: I loved my father. I will miss him forever."
It's one of the most heartfelt moments in the entire TBBT franchise. However, despite George being vindicated, this isn't the only time The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon got their canonical wires crossed.
George's Parenting Isn't The Only Contradiction Between The Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon
The Cooper family is hardly a clan of intellectuals, but they're not exactly rednecks either. In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon implies that he lives in a trailer park, discussing how his childhood home was always slipping off cinder blocks. As Young Sheldon audiences know, though, Sheldon grew up in an everyday, middle-class house in a Texas suburb.
This can be chalked up to Sheldon's unreliable narrator status, as can the extent to which he was bullied in school. However, some contradictions are due to inconsistent writing between the two shows. For example, Sheldon may be exaggerating the state of his home, but he likely wouldn't lie about the town he grew up in. All throughout The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon says he's from Galveston, Texas, but the entirety of Young Sheldon takes place in Medford.
Meemaw, an incredibly important character in Young Sheldon, is also a totally different person in The Big Bang Theory. Gone is the warm, kindhearted, gambling woman of Sheldon's childhood, and she's replaced by a staunchly rigid, conservative stick-in-the-mud in The Big Bang Theory. Of course, people can change over time, but it's unlikely for someone to change so drastically in their senior years without a major impetus.
Funnily enough, one of the franchise's biggest canonical errors is tied directly to George Sr. In Young Sheldon, the character is played by actor Lance Barber, who also appears in The Big Bang Theory... as Leonard's childhood bully, Jimmy Speckerman. Given how great the shows are, these errors can, of course, be forgiven — but George Sr. really does deserve that "world's greatest dad" mug.
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The Big Bang Theory
6/10
- Release Date
- 2007 - 2019-00-00
- Network
- CBS
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Leonard Hofstadter
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Sheldon Cooper
The Big Bang Theory follows a group of socially awkward scientists and their interactions with each other and the people around them. Centered on physicists Sheldon and Leonard, the series humorously explores friendship, romance, and the quirks of life among an eclectic group of academics.
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Young Sheldon
8/10
- Release Date
- 2017 - 2024-00-00
- Network
- CBS
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Iain Armitage
Sheldon Cooper
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Zoe Perry
Mary Cooper
A spinoff of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon follows the youth and coming-of-age of Sheldon Cooper during his childhood in Texas as he pursues science and academia. The show also follows his parents, siblings, and Mee-Maw, painting a picture of the world where Sheldon grew up.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.