The Big Bang Theory

Posted by Kelly Whitt May 13, 2008

A new show on CBS this season is called The Big Bang Theory. It involves a group of young men who work in physics and other related areas. (Although please don't call Sheldon a rocket scientist.) The show is hit and miss. The main character, Leonard, is frequently outshined by his friends.

I can appreciate The Big Bang Theory for the small things, including the picture of a galaxy used as artwork on one of the walls of their apartment. It also has a small sequence at the beginning showing a computerized vision of the universe and solar system. Unfortunately, the theme song sings that "over 14 million years ago expansion started...". Not to split hairs or anything, but the Big Bang occured about 14 BILLION years ago, not million. I realize that this song, sung by one of my favorite groups, The Barenaked Ladies, has "billion" in the written version of the lyrics, but in the song it definitely sounds like "million". Oops.

On a recent episode, the subject of birthdays and astrology came up. The attractive but of average-intelligence neighbor girl is given a lecture by Sheldon on how astrology is fiction, not fact. The girl's response is, "Typical Taurus". This was funny to me, because according to the books, I, too, am a Taurus. I'm not sure if the Taurus trait she was referring to was that of a skeptic or of someone who refutes other's fancies with fact, but either way I'll admit to embodying those traits.