Since The Big Bang Theory came on the air in 2007, it has successfully generated a huge fan base. The comedy romance has a pretty simple premise: a woman moves in across from a couple of incredibly intelligent geeks who are into anything pop culture related.
The show has been on the air for eleven full seasons, and The Big Bang Theory is currently in the middle of its twelfth and final season. The show has provided many laughs since the first episode, but just like any other TV show, there are a fair share of people who don’t enjoy the program.
Even people who enjoy The Big Bang Theory will probably admit that the show has its flaws. No show is perfect and there are some mistakes in the show that the average viewer may not notice, such as continuity and production errors. On the other hand, there are some glaring mistakes that some people choose to ignore simply because it will critically impact the quality of the show. Some of these entries are elements of The Big Bang Theory that actually are mistakes, while other entries focus on things that just don’t make any sense.
Without further ado, here are the 20 Things Wrong With The Big Bang Theory Everyone Chooses To Ignore.
Penny Can Afford Her Apartment
One of the biggest flaws of The Big Bang Theory happened in the very first episode of the show. When Penny moves into the apartment across from Leonard and Sheldon, the laughs start pretty quickly since she is basically the polar opposite of them. It is quickly established that Sheldon and Leonard are theoretical physicists, while Penny is simply a waitress who wants to become an actress.
That doesn’t quite make sense, though, since it is highly unlikely that Penny would ever be able to afford an apartment as a waitress when Leonard and Sheldon have to split their rent and they are physicists. However, many people ignore this fact since it would completely derail the basic premise of the show.
Raj Dresses Up As Aquaman
There are many iconic superheroes thanks to talented comic book writers and illustrators. Among the most popular characters for DC are the members of the Justice League. For the longest time, Aquaman was at the butt end of jokes and really seemed like a lame character. Jason Momoa seems to have changed most people’s opinions nowadays, but in the episode “The Justice League Recombination”, Raj was none to happy when he had to wear an Aquaman costume.
It’s explained that all of the other Justice League costume ideas had been claimed by other people, but did Raj forget about all of the other Justice League members he could have chosen from? Raj could have chosen Martian Manhunter, another one of the original Justice League members, or even Cyborg. Comic book nerds surely should have known there were other options for Raj.
Howard Is Creepy
Each of the friends in The Big Bang Theory have their unique attributes, but people seem to ignore the fact that Howard is downright creepy. Penny had mentioned in one episode that Howard tried to use a camera to look up her skirt, and another episode shows Penny finding a webcam hidden in a bear that Howard had given her to watch her sleep.
Howard has even revealed once that he was a self-taught expert on harassment laws, which really isn’t a laughing matter. Howard may have a wife and kid at this point in the show, but that doesn’t mean that people should forget how incredibly creepy he has been in the past.
The Broken Elevator
One of the longest running jokes in The Big Bang Theory is the broken elevator. While it seems incredibly unrealistic that the landlord wouldn’t fix it, it seems even more unrealistic that the gang couldn’t figure out how to fix it themselves since they are incredibly smart. The writers couldn’t even keep the story straight about how the elevator was broken.
In the episode “The Nerdvana Annihilation” in season 1, Leonard explains that the elevator had been broken for two years. In season 3, though, it is established that the elevator had broke around the time Leonard and Sheldon first met seven years ago during one of their experiments. To make matters even worse, Howard even tries to figure out how the elevator broke in one episode, but he was there when it broke.
Penny’s Friends
Another element of The Big Bang Theory people are willing to ignore, or in this case forget, involves Penny’s friends. No, not Howard, Raj, Leonard, Sheldon, Bernadette, or Amy, but her other female friends who were present at the beginning of the show. Penny used to have a lot of other female friends in earlier seasons of the show and would even go dancing and do other activities with them.
As the series progressed, these friends seemed to disappear and Penny is shown doing everything with the core characters of the show. While many people lose friends as time goes on, it seems odd that the writers never even explained what happened to them and they seemed to just disappear.
They Let Howard Go To Space
There are many absurd storylines that The Big Bang Theory has seen in the past twelve seasons, but one of the most ridiculous ones was sending Howard to space. It is fairly common knowledge that astronauts go through strict tests and training before they are allowed to go work in space.
Given Howard’s medical conditions alone, there is no way he would have been allowed to go to space. Not only does Howard have a lot of allergies, but he also has asthma and is at risk of developing heart disease and transient idiopathic arrhythmia. Many people want to become an astronaut when they are little, but it just wouldn’t have been an option for Howard.
Penny Is Actually Really Mean To Her Friends
Everybody has their favorite character on The Big Bang Theory, but there is a wide range of people who hate Penny. There may not be anything wrong with Kaley Cuoco as a person, but her character Penny is actually really mean to her friends. On a consistent basis, Penny is condescending and even cruel to her friends most of the time.
Some people have even taken the laugh track away from the show, and it becomes even clearer that a lot of the lines Penny has aren’t funny, but just rude. Penny even criticizes her friends for their hobbies, but then turns into a hypocrite since she ends up enjoying a lot of their activities.
The Gang Doesn’t Always Recognize Celebrities
Like any sitcom, The Big Bang Theory has had a ton of celebrity cameos. In fact, The Big Bang Theory has probably had even more celebrity cameos than the average show since the story deals with geek culture. Some of these celebrity appearances include Charlie Sheen, Howie Mandel, Christopher Lloyd, and Elon Musk. While these celebrities actually play characters on the show, there have been other celebrity appearances, like Stephen Hawking and Stan Lee, where the gang recognizes them as celebrities.
That being said, the gang didn’t recognize Eliza Dushku from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Given their reputation as being pop culture nerds, it seems incredibly unlikely that they wouldn’t recognize Dushku from her role on Buffy, or any of the other celebrity cameos for that matter.
Sheldon Isn’t Actually That Smart
The entire plot of The Big Bang Theory revolves around Raj, Howard, Leonard, and especially Sheldon being incredibly intelligent. Sheldon has become a successful physicist, but he really isn’t that smart. Sheldon is referred to as a genius, but there are multiple times throughout the show when other people are seen to be smarter than him simply for a cheap laugh.
The writers often don’t do their research before writing jokes, which makes Sheldon get scientific equations, pop culture references, and even spelling wrong. Unfortunately, since the writers often sacrifice Sheldon’s brains for jokes, Mr. Cooper comes off as more of a narcissist than a genius with a high IQ and two PhDs.
The Show Makes Fun of Geekdom
While The Big Bang Theory has no doubt gained a huge fan base since 2007, there are a lot of people who hate the show and are actually offended by it. Pretty much anybody on the show who likes superheroes or sci-fi are seen as socially awkward people. While that is certainly the case for some people, it by no means defines everybody who identifies as a nerd or a geek.
In this way, the show portrays a lot of stereotypes that some people are offended by. Some people also say the jokes on the show aren’t even that funny, since a lot of the gags are simply the characters listing off scientific terms or pop culture references.
Howard Hates On His Mother For No Reason
For the longest time, The Big Bang Theory had a running gag about Howard Wolowitz’s mother. For a good portion of the show, Howard would often joke that his mother was super ugly and incredibly overweight. Even though the show tried to also make it a joke that Mrs. Wolowitz was never seen, Howard’s mom is seen on a few occasions and really isn’t overweight or ugly.
In one scene, she can be seen in the background walking around, disproving Howard’s joke that she can’t walk. Mrs. Wolowitz picture can even be seen in photographs hanging on a wall in earlier seasons, and she looks quite normal. It seems that Howard was just hating on his mother purely for laughs.
Sheldon’s Germaphobia
Sheldon is a unique individual, to say the least. Sheldon has several health problems and allergies, but he is also seen as a huge germaphobe. This becomes a joke on the show, but there are several instances where Sheldon’s germaphobia seems to disappear. In the episode “The Loobenfeld Decay”, Sheldon is seen eating chicken out of the trash can, but in another episode he won’t even eat onion rings because Penny touched them.
In another episode, Sheldon tells the story of how he once gave mouth to mouth resuscitation to a Nun who passed out on a bus. Given Sheldon’s germaphobia being well established in the show, it seems weird that the writers don’t always keep up with it.
Penny And Leonard’s Entire Relationship
One of the plot lines that ties to geek culture is the fact that Leonard was able to get the girl next door, who was apparently out of his league. Early on in the show, it seemed like Penny and Leonard would never become romantically involved, but they eventually end up marrying each other.
Since Penny seems to hate Leonard’s hobbies, it seems weird that they would even end up together. The writers don’t even explain the drastic shifts in their relationship. Penny is initially seen as being out of Leonard’s league, but in later seasons, it is established that Penny is actually the one in the relationship who settled for their partner.
The Roommate Agreement Is A Joke, Literally
Early on in the series, something called the Roommate Agreement is established. The Roommate Agreement is essentially a set of rules that Leonard had to agree to before he became Sheldon’s roommate. While it certainly seemed like something Sheldon Cooper would do, what stands out is the fact that he often broke his own rules. In one episode, Sheldon brings home a ton of cats, which is in violation of a clause since cats are neither service animals or cybernetically-enhanced helper monkeys.
While Sheldon breaks his own rules, Leonard often doesn’t adhere to the Roommate Agreement either. An unnamed clause states that the roommates have to let each other know 12 hours in advance if they are going to have guests, but Leonard often brought women home without telling Sheldon.
Sheldon Prefers Internet Explorer
There are several web browsers that people use to surf the internet. Sheldon could use Firefox, Google Chrome, or even Safari, but he decides to use Internet Explorer. Most people will agree that Internet Explorer is the worst web browser for a variety of reasons, but it is Sheldon’s browser of choice.
Maybe Sheldon uses Internet Explorer because it was the first browser he ever used and he doesn’t like change, but given Internet Explorer’s reputation, it seems odd that he would be using that browser. Sheldon makes up for this choice with his vast knowledge of geek culture, but he lost a lot of street cred when people saw this early on in the series.
Sheldon Doesn’t Really Have A Spot
One of the many long-running jokes on The Big Bang Theory was the fact that Sheldon was very particular about his spot on the couch. Sheldon’s spot is seen to be very important to him since it is apparently the center of his universe, but that isn’t always the case.
Throughout the show, several other people have been seen to sit in his spot, but Sheldon only sometimes makes a big deal about it. Sometimes Sheldon makes people move if they are in his spot, but other times he doesn’t even comment on it and sits someplace else. In earlier seasons, other people sat in his spot occasionally, but the writers only seem to make Sheldon pitch a fit when they feel like throwing in a joke.
The Big Bang Theory Doesn’t Follow Young Sheldon
With the success that CBS had with The Big Bang Theory, it shouldn’t have come as a big shock that the show eventually got a spinoff. That show took off in 2017 and was called Young Sheldon. As the title suggests, the show focuses on the early years of Sheldon Cooper, although it changes a lot of the storylines that were set up in The Big Bang Theory.
Young Sheldon has changed many elements of Sheldon’s life, especially his family structure. In The Big Bang Theory, his father is described as a drinker who was unfaithful to his mother, but his father is seen as basically the opposite in Young Sheldon. Also, his Meemaw is often described as a sweet old lady on The Big Bang Theory, but she appears in Young Sheldon as a sarcastic and flirty woman.
They Never Gave Penny A Last Name
Through the 12 seasons that The Big Bang Theory has been on the air, the writers at CBS have developed all of the characters on the show. All of the characters have been given a first and last name, except one of the main characters of the show: Penny.
Fans have been introduced to several of her family members and heard a lot about her past, but not once has the show said what her last name was. Now that she is married to Leonard, her last name is obviously Hofstadter, but many fans still want to know what her maiden name was. The series still has half of a season to give fans an answer, but that won’t necessarily happen.
Sheldon Still Has Friends
No matter how close some friends are, there are likely characteristics that friends can’t stand about one another. Each member of the core characters in The Big Bang Theory has their flaws, but it seems hard to believe that people would put up with Sheldon given his personality. Sheldon always has to have control with every situation, is selfish, and is often narcissistic.
For the longest time, Sheldon even made his friends drive him around, even though he did eventually get his driver’s license. Sure Sheldon seems to have the same interests as a lot of his friends, but it’s a mystery as to how Sheldon manages to still have so many loyal friends by his side.
There Isn’t Enough Time In The Day
Each episode of The Big Bang Theory is a little over 20 minutes, but the characters in the show are seen to have incredibly busy lives. Howard, Raj, Leonard, and Sheldon all have full-time jobs and work on academic projects, but they still manage to make time for all of their other hobbies.
The gang has a lot of hobbies, including playing video games, watching movies, watching TV, collecting comic books, and doing science experiments, but how do they ever find the time to accomplish all of these activities? Most people are exhausted after a long day of work and try to maintain one or two hobbies, but it seems impossible that the gang could ever accomplish as much as the show depicts.
Are there any other things wrong with The Big Bang Theory that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
