TV SERIES · 2007–2019 · USA
The Big Bang Theory
- Created by
- Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady
- Network
- CBS
- Seasons
- 12
- Episodes
- 279
- Studio
- Chuck Lorre Productions, Warner Bros. Television
156 archived facts 8 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Oct 2026
Physicists Leonard and Sheldon find their nerd-centric social circle with pals Howard and Raj expanding when aspiring actress Penny moves in next door.
156 Interesting Facts About The Big Bang Theory
Interesting Facts (11)
- #001
On January 3, 2013, a team of Brazilian biologists announced their name for a newly-discovered species of orchid bee: Euglossa bazinga. This was to honor the show, and specifically Sheldon (Jim Parsons)'s mocking catchphrase "bazinga." Long mistaken for another bee, Euglossa ignita, the new species was deliberately tagged "bazinga" for its history of fooling entomologists. Executive producer Steven Molaro responded in a press release: "We are always extremely flattered when the science community embraces our show. Sheldon would be honored to know that Euglossa bazinga was inspired by him. In fact, after Mothra (1961) and griffins, bees are his third-favorite flying creature."
The Big Bang Theory (2007): Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, conversation sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · MelodyJSandoval, CC BY 2.0 - #002
During his appearance on Inside the Actors Studio Jim Parsons revealed his three favorite scenes: Sheldon receiving a gift from Penny (Kaley Cuoco) - a napkin signed and used by Leonard Nimoy, Sheldon presenting Amy (Mayim Bialik) the relationship agreement, and Sheldon drinking Long Island Iced Tea for the first time.
- #003
Kaley Cuoco missed filming two episodes of season four in 2010 as the result of a broken leg which was due to a horseback riding accident when she came out of the saddle, landing on the ground, where her horse then stepped on the leg and in doing so causing quite a bit of damage where at first emergency doctors felt amputation of the foot might be required. Afterward, in her first appearance following the accident, she was filmed only from the waist up, standing behind the bar counter acting as a bartender rather than her usual waitress position.
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Production Story (28)
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Three Star Wars actors made guest appearances: James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. The episode with Jones and Fisher was the first time the two had actually met each other.
- #016
When Chuck Lorre first pitched the show to the studios, he intended for it to be an adult version of the show as seen today. In the hopes of attracting as many male viewers as possible, he wrote the show with an all-female cast. The female characters associated with the male main characters reflect the original characters' personas: Sheldon (Jim Parsons) was originally Missy (a tall, attractive brunette from Texas, who lacked intelligence), and lived with an older woman named Beverly (an intelligent scientist from New Jersey, who took advantage of her roommate). Penny (Kaley Cuoco) lived, as she does now, across the hall, but originally had an Indian roommate named Priya (a lawyer from New Delhi). It could be assumed that characters like Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) might have been potential characters to add later, as well as a single male love interest in the form of unintelligent Zack (Brian Thomas Smith).
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The UK's Channel Four and E4 appear to have slightly edited dialogue from certain episodes, as the audience laughter abruptly starts, stops, or jumps, suggesting poor 'cut and shunt' editing that is not consistent with the professional editing standards Warner Brothers Television usually releases. This results from UK broadcast standards compliance edits, as the two channels show the program multiple times across daytime, afternoon, evening, and nighttime slots.
- #022
In March 2023, Netflix reported that it had received a legal notice for an "offensive" joke used on the series. As detailed by ScreenRant, the joke occurs in Season 2, Episode 1, "The Bad Fish Paradigm," in which Raj (Kunal Nayyar) references two popular Bollywood actors, referring to Aishwarya Rai as a "goddess" and Madhuri Dixit as a "leprous prostitute" by comparison. This comment provoked outrage from social activist and author Mithun Vijay Kumar, who had his legal representative send Netflix a notice demanding it immediately remove the episode from the platform. Netflix didn't state whether it would comply with Kumar's demand.
- #023
Sheldon (Jim Parsons)'s soothing song "Soft Kitty" is based on an Australian children's song from the preschool attended by the daughter of executive producer Bill Prady. The song has been featured on the Australian children's television show Play School (1966). The production of The Big Bang Theory was sued for use of the song by the daughters of its original writer during season 8, and although the lawsuit was eventually dropped, the song was only used once more on the series. It makes a few appearances on the spin-off Young Sheldon (2017), though.
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- #027
During the third season, the producers realized there was a show called "The Theorists," made and aired in Belarus, which was basically a copy of this show. Legal action for copyright infringement would have been pointless since the Belarusian government owned the production company. However, a lawsuit wasn't needed because once it was known that the show was a rip-off, the actors and actresses quit, and the show was instantly canceled.
- #028
- #029
Kevin Sussman was supposed to play the role of Howard Wolowitz. He was optioned by ABC's Ugly Betty at the time, who wouldn't release him. His role in Ugly Betty was actually done and he never made an appearance on that show again. He ended up playing the role of Stuart Bloom instead. Kevin Sussman also auditioned for the role of Leonard.
- #030
Kaley Cuoco said she hated the "Serial Apeist" story line, introduced in The Gorilla Dissolution (2014), where she admitted to her friends that she was topless in a low-budget horror movie, especially being covered in ape hair. She thought show creator Chuck Lorre loved it, but he later admitted that he hated it too.
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- #033
In a first-season episode, Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), and Howard (Simon Helberg) try to find a new member to replace Sheldon (Jim Parsons) on their physics bowl team. Raj suggests Mayim Bialik, saying, "You know who's apparently very smart, is the girl who played TV's Blossom (1990). She got a PhD. in neuroscience or something." Leonard replies, "Raj, we're not getting TV's Blossom to join our team." In season four, Bialik began playing Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler regularly. She had never watched the show before and was unaware she had been mentioned. The creators gave Dr. Fowler a PhD. in Neurobiology, also known as Neuroscience, just like Bialik's real-life qualification.
- #034
Sheldon (Jim Parsons)'s soothing song "Soft Kitty" is based on an Australian children's song from executive producer Bill Prady's daughter's preschool. The song has been featured on Australian children's television show Play School (1966). The production of BBT was sued for use of the song by the daughters of its original writer during season 8, and although the lawsuit was eventually dropped, the song was only used once more on the series. It makes a few appearances on the spin-off Young Sheldon (2017), though.
- #035
- #036
In the third season, the producers discovered that a series called "The Theorists" had been made and aired in Belarus and that it was essentially a copy of the show. Since the production company was owned by the Belarusian government, taking legal action for copyright infringement would have been pointless. However, no lawsuit was needed, because once the show was understood to be a rip-off, the actors resigned and the series was cancelled immediately.
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Behind the Scenes (21)
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Each of the male characters has a signature clothing article worn in virtually every episode: Sheldon (Jim Parsons) wears t-shirts over long-sleeve shirts; Leonard (Johnny Galecki) wears hoodies over a t-shirt and under a jacket; Raj (Kunal Nayyar) wears a sweater-vest over a shirt, usually under some type of outerwear; and Howard (Simon Helberg) wears a dickie under some type of outerwear. Howard usually has a pin on the left side of his dickie depicting the head of a space alien, and he wears large belt buckles. Howard and Raj always wear Vans, while Leonard usually wears Chuck Taylor Converse.
The Big Bang Theory (2007): Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and Jim Parsons, conversation sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · MelodyJSandoval, CC BY 2.0 - #043
While having lunch at the University canteen, or in other eating scenes, characters don't actually eat most of the time. Howard (Simon Helberg) only pretends to eat the food by moving his mouth like he is chewing it, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) just play with their food with a fork. Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Penny are sometimes shown eating food. They only talk most of the time.
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The equations written on the boards in various episodes that Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) are working on are real physics equations and are verified as accurate by consulting physicists.
The Big Bang Theory (2007): Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons, conversation sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · MelodyJSandoval, CC BY 2.0 - #048
- #049
During his appearance on Inside the Actors Studio, Jim Parsons revealed his three favorite scenes: Sheldon receiving a gift from Penny (Kaley Cuoco) — a napkin signed and used by Leonard Nimoy; Sheldon presenting Amy (Mayim Bialik) with the relationship agreement; and Sheldon drinking a Long Island Iced Tea for the first time.
- #050
The broken elevator served a very practical purpose on the show. Since the characters have to walk up three flights of stairs, it gives them plenty of time to talk to each other while doing something active. It also provides a change of scenery, so that the audience isn't always looking at Sheldon's or Penny's apartment. For the record, there was actually only one elevator-doors set at Warner Bros., where the show was filmed, not the four it looks like. They simply reused the same exact set over and over as the characters walk up the stairs. The stairs didn't go anywhere except to a dead end. So when you see the characters walk up the stairs and wind up on what is supposed to be a new floor, they are actually simply walking back onto the exact same set where they started.
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While Wil Wheaton was appearing on the show, he took a photo of the set's coffee table and posted it on his much-followed blog. Among the materials on the coffee table were copies of Mental Floss Magazine, The Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman, a package of Pepperidge Farm Sausalito milk chocolate macadamia nut chunk cookies, a package of Red Vines, and a package of Tim's brand original-flavor lightly salted potato chips.
- #057
Out of the 7 main characters, Penny always has the least amount of layers when it comes to tops/shirts as she usually only wears 1 top at a time. Raj wears the most layers wearing a white t-shirt, button up shirt, sweater vest, & a jacket. Howard & Leonard each usually wear 2 layers. Howard wears a dicky with a varying button up shirt. Leonard usually wears a t-shirt with a hoodie jacket. Bernadette wears 2 layers, a sweater over her dress, also Bernadette rarely wears pants unless they are sweatpants. Amy also typically wears 2 layers, either a sweater vest or long sleeve sweater over a long sleeve button up shirt. Sheldon always wore 2 layers, 1 long sleeved tee under a short sleeve t-shirt.
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On The Big Bang Theory, David Saltzberg read early script versions that required added scientific information and identified mistakes made by the writers despite their knowledge of science; he was usually not needed during a taping unless a lot of science, particularly the whiteboard, was involved.
Characters & Cast (20)
- #061
Kevin Sussman auditioned for the role of Leonard in the original pilot but didn't get it. When the show was reworked, he was offered the role of Howard Wolowitz. He could not get out of his contract for the recurring role of Walter on Ugly Betty (2006). Just before Big Bang Theory premiered, he was written off the show. The Stuart Bloom character was created for him.
- #062
Simon Helberg had read the script for the first pilot, which was filmed but rejected. When the makers approached him to audition for the second pilot a year later, he nearly passed on it because he didn't really like the script and had become a regular guest on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006). His agent persuaded him to audition anyway, and when Chuck Lorre loved his interpretation of Howard Wolowitz, he took the part.
- #063
Jim Parsons's audition for the role of Dr. Sheldon Cooper was so impressive that creator Chuck Lorre immediately asked him to come back for a second audition, because Lorre wanted to be one hundred percent sure Parsons was as talented as he appeared. After the second audition went perfectly, Lorre cast him on the spot.
- #064
- #065
Sheldon's nightly schedule is as follows: Monday is Wii Bowling night, Tuesday is hamburger night, Wednesday is Halo night, Thursday is pizza night, Friday is vintage video game night, Saturday is laundry night. It is never mentioned what he does on Sundays, but since he grew up in a strict Christian household, it can be presumed that Sunday is a "day of rest" for him.
- #066
Sheldon repeatedly tells people he has an eidetic memory and often references this fact in regards to memories from the past which are not recent. Eidetic memory is not long-term memory and affects only very recent events. He actually implies that he has what would technically be called photographic memory. True, long-term photographic memory has never been scientifically proven to exist in adults.
- #067
Sheldon (Jim Parsons) didn't always have his signature door-knocking quirk. In both the second episode of season 1 (The Big Bran Hypothesis (2007)) and the fifth episode (The Hamburger Postulate (2007)), he knocks on Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) door only once and without calling her three times; the habit didn't start to emerge until episode 10, The Loobenfeld Decay (2008) (like many of Sheldon's traits, it was conceived over the course of the first season). Sheldon finally explains in The Hot Tub Contamination (2016) that the habit originally developed after he came home one day unannounced and found his father in bed with another woman; the prolonged knock is "for people to get their pants on." It is possible that Sheldon was able to shake this habit before Penny came to live across from him, but it fully returned after he inadvertently caught her with one of her lovers off-screen.
- #068
Although Kaley Cuoco's character "Penny" is well-known to be from Nebraska, in performance Cuoco sometimes still displays a linguistic tic common to Californians: she lengthens words ending "-ing" so that they sound like "-een" and dropping the "g" (e.g. pronouncing "starting" as "starteen").
- #069
- #070
Much like the four main male characters, Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) wear the same style of clothing in every episode. Amy wears a knee-length skirt with dark or colorful tights, a long-sleeved, collared blouse with a knitted sleeveless cardigan, often underneath a long-sleeved cardigan. Bernadette wears a mid-thigh-length, usually floral, dress with dark or colored tights, and a short-sleeved button-up cardigan (although after her pregnancy starts, she wears jeans and a blouse instead). Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is the only main character whose clothes do not follow a pattern.
- #071
- #072
As a child, Kunal Nayyar (Raj) had a crush on Danica McKellar (Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper) from The Wonder Years (1988), and on this show, he actually had a relationship with her, which surprisingly made him lose all interest in her.
The Big Bang Theory (2007): Simon Helberg and Kunal NayyarImage: Wikimedia Commons · MelodyJSandoval, CC BY 2.0 - #073
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Howard (Simon Helberg)'s mother was almost never seen, only heard (voiced by Carol Ann Susi), despite often being as close as the next room. Conversely, via Skype, Raj (Kunal Nayyar)'s parents are quite often seen, despite being across the world in India, except when his father visited Pasadena.
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Barry Kripke's speech impediment makes him pronounce the letters R & L as if they were the letter W (a trait he shares with cartoon character Elmer Fudd). Hence he mispronounces the word "robot" as "wobot" and the word "lab" as "wab" (in the same way Elmer Fudd mispronounces "rabbit" as "wabbit"). Hence, when he sang at Sheldon's wedding, he sang the first line from the song "At Last" as "At wast, my wove has come awong..."
- #080
Jim Parsons's audition for the role of Dr. Sheldon Cooper was so impressive that creator Chuck Lorre asked him to come back immediately for a second audition, because Lorre wanted to be one hundred percent sure that Parsons was as talented as he seemed. After the second audition went perfectly, Lorre hired him on the spot.
Easter Eggs & References (69)
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In season five, episode nineteen, The Weekend Vortex (2012), for some reason, Kaley Cuoco is omitted from the credits, despite appearing in the episode. At the beginning of the episode, while Leonard, Howard, and Raj are walking up the stairs, the credits start with "Starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar..." instead of "Starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar..."
- #083
In tribute to Carol Ann Susi, who played Howard (Simon Helberg)'s mom and who recently passed away, a small picture of her is on the side of Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki)'s fridge. It is a small square that can be seen in episodes after her death. The picture is so small that it cannot be recognized. However, in the behind-the-scenes DVD feature, it is mentioned that it is her.
- #084
In a late season one episode, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) tells Penny (Kaley Cuoco) that Howard (Simon Helberg) had found her movie "Serial-Apist" online right after they met her, the minute she walked out the door. This means they saw it between episode 1.1, "Pilot" (2007), and episode 1.2, "The Big Bran Hypothesis" (2007).
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Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) appeared in Blossom (1990), a show in which Bialik portrayed the title character. During this show's first season, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) suggests the gang recruit Mayim Bialik for their Physics Bowl team when Sheldon (Jim Parsons) pulls out, saying, "You know who's apparently very smart, is the girl who played TV's Blossom. She got a PhD in Neuroscience or something." Bialik soon joined the cast during the third season as Dr. Amy Farrah-Fowler, who has a PhD in Neurobiology, a.k.a. Neuroscience.
- #089
In season six, episode ten, The Fish Guts Displacement (2012), Sheldon (Jim Parsons) reveals that his favorite cartoon theme song is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)..."turtle power!" The infectious 90's anthem was written by none other than Big Bang Theory show runner and writer Chuck Lorre.
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In season three, episode sixteen, The Excelsior Acquisition (2010), Stan Lee is set to be at Stuart (Kevin Sussman)'s comic book store for an autograph signing, around the same time Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) are in traffic court. As Sheldon stands next to the judge at his stand, the name reads J. Kirby, a reference to Stan Lee's partner and co-creator of various Marvel characters, Jack Kirby.
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In the same scene that Raj (Kunal Nayyar) says that "Blossom" (Blossom (1990)) would be a great addition to the Physics Bowl team, he also mentions that the "girl from The Wonder Years" was also smart. In a later episode, Danica McKellar (who played Winnie on The Wonder Years (1988)) plays a character who makes out with Raj.
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It is said multiple times that Richard Feynman is one of Sheldon Cooper's favorite theoretical physicists. Ironically, Feynman obtained his Bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), then his PhD from Princeton University. Throughout the series Sheldon famously makes fun of Howard for gaining his Master's degree at MIT, and Leonard for acquiring his PhD from Princeton University.
- #100
The opening cast shot always features the series' regulars enjoying dinner together. The opening cast credits shot in seasons two through four, for instance, depicts Howard (Simon Helberg), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) on what appears to be pizza night. However, Leonard is seen holding a plate with white meat and some type of vegetable, such as asparagus spears. This is apparently a reference to his lactose intolerance, which would make him averse to pizza (unless he ordered it without cheese). Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) were added to the shot starting in season six, even though both had been regulars on the show since season four.
- #101
In early episodes of season one, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) mentions having an older brother, in addition to his twin sister, Missy (Courtney Henggeler). In one instance, he mentions being bullied by this older brother. However, while Missy has been seen on the show, the brother was never mentioned again, even when his mother (played by Laurie Metcalf) visits. She only mentions Missy. He was mentioned in season three episode four, The Pirate Solution (2009), as well. In later seasons, Sheldon's brother was mentioned in season seven episode eleven, The Cooper Extraction (2013), season eight episode twenty, The Fortification Implementation (2015), season eight episode twenty-three, The Maternal Combustion (2015), and season nine episode five, The Perspiration Implementation (2015). Sheldon's older brother is shown in the Big Bang Theory spin-off, Young Sheldon (2017). His older brother makes his first appearance in season 11.
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Sheldon, who is normally a keen observer of details and corrector of all things misspoken, allows people to talk about Doctor Who as if it were the name of the character (which it isn't) instead of the name of the show, and has even done this a few times himself. This is a common misconception held by many casual viewers and even many serious fans of Doctor Who.
- #104
All of the figurines and posters in Howard's (Simon Helberg) room, and later in his house with Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), are female superheroes or science fiction characters. The two non-female figurines are Jabba the Hutt, with Princess Leia (in her slave girl costume) sitting in front, and Jean-Luc Picard sitting in the captain's bridge chair. Later in the series, they accumulate a figurine of Bernadette after the episode where he and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) got a 3-D printer.
- #105
Sheldon has said multiple times that he has an "eidetic memory", by which he means that he basically never forgets anything and is capable of remembering, in precise detail, everything he has ever learned or seen. He has shown off this ability by recalling precisely what happened on exact dates, several years after the fact. But the reality is that an "eidetic" memory doesn't work that way. An "eidetic" memory merely means the supposed ability of some people to recall a visual image in near-photographic detail for a short time after seeing it. Even then, that image-memory fades after just a few minutes. Plus, "eidetic" memory, if it exists, seems to exist solely in children, not adults. What Sheldon is apparently referring to is actually called "Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)", which is the ability to remember exactly what happened on a particular date, in great detail. It is extremely rare, but it has been documented in about 100 individuals. However, one would think that if Sheldon remembered everything he learned, he would remember the correct definition of "eidetic" and not misuse it.
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In one Halloween episode, Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) brainstorm couples-themed costumes in which to dress up. Sheldon has a list of their suggestions written on a whiteboard, and while his half of the board has various genre characters listed, Amy's half has mostly romantic couples. The only exception is a listing that reads "Blossom and Joey," a reference to the title character Mayim Bialik (Amy) portrayed in Blossom (1990), and that character's brother.
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Simon Helberg's father, Sandy Helberg, guest starred on M*A*S*H (1972), in season eleven, episode eight, The Moon Is Not Blue (1982). He played Corporal Bannister, who is plagued with panic attacks whenever he is around women. Hawkeye and B.J. give him pills for confidence without telling him they are placebos. The pills work, and he becomes a ladies' man. This is the same with Raj (Kunal Nayyar), who remedies his selective mutism with alcohol, and any product will work as long as he thinks there is alcohol in it.
- #116
As at 2018 Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is the only remaining main character whose original surname has yet to be revealed (although viewers have been able to discern the name "Teller" on a package in The Work Song Nanocluster (2009)). In the season nine premiere, she simply took Leonard (Johnny Galecki)'s surname of Hofstadter.
- #117
In The Convention Conundrum (2014), James Earl Jones invites Sheldon and his friends to Comic-Con as his guests. In a much later episode, Leonard is angry that Sheldon spent an entire day with JEJ and didn't tell any of them, meaning he never told them about the chance to go to Comic-Con because it means he would have had to spend a night in Tijuana with the actor.
- #118
In The Imitation Perturbation (2018), Leonard dresses as Inspector Gadget for Halloween. In his cartoon, Inspector Gadget's niece and sidekick is named "Penny."
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When Penny (Kaley Cuoco) first meets Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) mother and they get talking about her dad treating her like a son, Penny says that her mother could have defended her by saying "Bob, get over it, she's a girl, move on!" This would mean Penny's father's name is Bob, but when we meet Penny's father, we learn that his name is Wyatt.
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Sheldon (Jim Parsons) frequently wears t-shirts with the characters or symbols of the Green Lantern, the Flash, or the old television show The Greatest American Hero (1981). The shirts from the "Green Lantern" comic book series are various colors with a corresponding symbol, with each color representing a different corps of heroes or villains (Red Lanterns, Orange Lanterns, et cetera). In the comics, each color also represents an emotion, thus possibly giving the viewer a clue to Sheldon's temperament for the day.
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Penny (Kaley Cuoco) has never had her maiden name disclosed on-screen, despite writer/producer Bill Prady claiming that this would happen in due time. An interview with one of the writers of the show revealed that the writers were aware of this, but for superstitious reasons, they were intent on not revealing it ever on-camera. However, eagle-eyed viewers have since been able to spot a last name on a package addressed to Penny in The Work Song Nanocluster (2009): Teller, though it is unclear if this was her intended surname, or simply a placeholder with the assumption that it would not be visible on screen.
- #127
Sheldon (Jim Parsons) verbally reveals his and Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) Pasadena apartment 4A's location as being 2311 Los Robles in The Desperation Emanation (2010). In the one hundredth episode, The Recombination Hypothesis (2012), Sheldon also reveals that their apartment building is across the street from the Colorado Avenue Chevron gas station, making their building a corner location, on the corner of Los Robles and Colorado. There are two incidences of this intersection in southern California, both located in Los Angeles County: the first one is E. Colorado Boulevard and N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California, 91101, and the second one is Colorado Boulevard and Los Robles Street, Los Angeles, California, 90041. However, 2311 Los Robles is not an address by either one of those intersections. Leonard does reveal, however, that they live in Pasadena, while declaring himself the Darth Vader of Pasadena.
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Embarrassing YouTube videos factor into several episodes: * Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) fighting in episode 1.9, "The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization" (2008). * Sheldon's drunken acceptance speech in episode 3.18, "The Pants Alternative" (2010). * Raj's (Kunal Nayyar) way-too-revealing toast at Howard's (Simon Helberg) stag party in episode 5.22, "The Stag Convergence" (2012). * Howard's screaming for nine minutes aboard the ISS in episode 6.2, "The Decoupling Fluctuation" (2012).
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Leonard (Johnny Galecki) is the only male lead character who hasn't taken his pants off while under the influence: Raj (Kunal Nayyar) took his off at the coffee shop while under the influence of an experimental personality-altering drug, Howard (Simon Helberg) took his off on the International Space Station after his teammates gave him a shot for his anxiety, and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) took his off on stage while accepting an award in science after Penny (Kaley Cuoco) gives him multiple glasses of wine.
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Sheldon changes the Wi-Fi password five times over the course of the series to lock Penny out of "piggy-backing upon our Wi-Fi". The password is changed to an unknown word in The Panty Piñata Polarization (2008), and then to "pennyisafreeloader", "pennygetyourownwifi", "pennyalreadyeatsourfoodshecanpayforwifi", and "hahahanowivegotyou".
- #135
In the season 11 episode "The Confidence Erosion," Raj lets his hair grow curly, because he said when he first moved to America and became friends with Howard, his hair was straight and he wanted to be cooler, so he started straightening his hair. But in the season 3 episode "The Staircase Implementation," when Howard and Raj both meet Leonard and Sheldon, Howard has a very "curly fro."
- #136
In tribute to Carol Ann Susi, who played Howard (Simon Helberg)'s mom, who recently passed, a small picture of her is on the side of Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki)'s fridge. It is a small square that can be seen in episodes after her death. The picture is so small that it cannot be recognized. However, in the behind the scenes DVD feature, it is mentioned that it is her.
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- #140
Contains a major spoiler — show
In every one of the main female characters' first appearances on the show, the first person to speak to them is their future mate. In the pilot, Pilot (2007), when Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is introduced, the first person to speak to her is Leonard (Johnny Galecki). In season three, episode five, The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary (2009), when Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) is introduced, the first person to speak to her is Howard (Simon Helberg). In season three, episode twenty-three, The Lunar Excitation (2010), when Amy (Mayim Bialik) is introduced, the first person to speak to her is Sheldon (Jim Parsons).
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- #142
Contains a major spoiler — show
Sheldon, Howard, and Leonard all use Windows-based laptop computers. Raj uses a MacBook Pro laptop, and there are Mac computers in all their apartments, as well as Amy's. The only time you see any Mac being used is either when Raj uses his laptop (the logo of which is covered by bullet hole stickers) or at Howard's or Amy's lab (the logos also covered by grey circle stickers). They also each have always had iPhones. No characters have ever used Androids or any other phone. Sheldon uses an old flip phone briefly when he resets his life to before Leonard moved in.
- #143
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the episode The Raiders Minimisation, after Sheldon makes Amy watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, she spoils it for Sheldon and the rest of the guys by saying Indy served no purpose because the Ark would still have been taken to the island and killed everyone. This is not true, however: the plan was to fly the Ark back to Germany until Indy blew up the plane, then to fly it there out of Cairo before Indy stole the truck carrying it and took it to a boat.
- #144
Contains a major spoiler — show
In season six, episode two, The Decoupling Fluctuation (2012), Amy (Mayim Bialik) mentions that she and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) will be getting married in exactly four years. At the end of the season ten finale, Sheldon proposes to Amy, making this to be a somewhat valid prediction.
- #145
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the season five finale, The Countdown Reflection (2012), when Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) are getting married, during the wedding, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) talks without drinking any alcohol, even though Amy (Mayim Bialik), Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) are all there in the same place. He may have either taken some before the ceremony, or it may be an indication that his selective mutism is improving, which indeed completely resolves in the season 6 finale, The Bon Voyage Reaction (2013).
- #146
Contains a major spoiler — show
In The Nerdvana Annihilation (2008), the boys try to figure out how to move the life-size time machine up to the apartment. They discuss using the elevator, which has been broken for two years. Howard states he has a master's degree in engineering and proceeds to push the elevator button, then states, "Yeah, that's broken." Howard was present when the elevator was destroyed by fuel made by Leonard for Howard's rocket in a flashback episode later in the series.
- #147
- #148
- #149
Contains a major spoiler — show
Leonard (Johnny Gallecki) makes two predictions in the pilot episode that come true. He states that one of them (himself or Sheldon) will win a Nobel prize one day and that he and Penny's children will be both smart and beautiful. In the series finale, Sheldon and Amy are awarded a Nobel prize and it's revealed that Leonard and Penny are expecting their first child.
Deeper Meaning (4)
- #150
The theme song line "autotrophs began to drool," rather than a joke, might reflect a fairly common mistake. 'Troph' refers to source of nourishment, 'autotroph' means self feeding or photosynthetic. 'Trop' refers to movement, chemotrops move toward specific chemicals and phototrops move toward light. Some folks, even in the sciences, mix a nonexistent word 'autotrop' (suggesting self moving) and 'autotroph' to imply animal.
- #151
Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) are atheists, yet the scientific theory that is the basis for their careers (and the show's title), The Big Bang Theory, was actually proposed and developed by a Catholic priest, Father Georges Lemaître. In 1933, Albert Einstein and Father Lemaître met at Caltech (which is where Sheldon, Howard and Leonard work on the show). When Lemaître presented his theory, Einstein stood up and applauded.
- #152
Despite several main characters (such as Sheldon, Leonard, Bernadette, Amy, Raj, and Kripke) working as researchers at elite universities and institutes in the U.S., the series rarely depicts common academic responsibilities such as grant writing, publishing journal or conference manuscripts, supervising graduate students, or attending research networking meetings.
- #153
Contains a major spoiler — show
It can be argued that Raj's parents' marriage began to deteriorate in the episode The Wiggly Finger Catalyst (2011), when Raj's father makes him choose between love and money, and Raj chooses love, and his father says "You're an idiot!! Love doesn't last!" Then his mother gives him a very evil glare. Before that, in every conversation he had with them over video chat, they were very happy, but in every video chat after that, they are very passive-aggressive with each other, until they eventually get divorced.
Career & Awards (1)
- #154
Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar renegotiated their The Big Bang Theory contracts to a per-episode pay in the mid-six-figure range, up from roughly $100,000 each per episode in earlier years. They signed after the studio and producers threatened to write their characters out of the series if no deal was reached before season eight production began.
Life & Family (2)
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia The Big Bang Theory — Wikipedia
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