I say this with love to the creators of The Big Bang Theory (Mondays, 9:30 ET, CBS, DISH 107): Stop breaking your show.
It hurts, because the weapon of mass destruction is the show’s best asset– Jim Parson’s spot-on Sheldon Cooper, physics genius and social moron.
At one point over the past several months, some creative honcho decided it might be hilarious to bestow a catch phrase upon young Sheldon. It was… “Bazinga!” It was… mildly amusing, upon first deployment. But then came an episode entirely based upon “Bazinga!” in which Sheldon’s fellow physics geek and roommate chased him through a Chuck E Cheese-grade ball pit. The “Bazinga!”s flew hard and fast, and my heart rent a little more with each one. It’s now almost impossible to get through a single episode without at least one “Bazinga!” You have been warned.
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Now that The Big Bang Theory is a certifiable, syndicated hit, it’s dangling on a tipping point. With the unfurling of that horror of shark-jumping sitcoms–the overplayed catch phrase–The Big Bang Theory is officially in danger of losing its smarter-but-dorkier-than-thou cache. The Attack of the Bazinga! is a well-worn device of a show too lazy to invent subtler methods for binding with a loyal audience. The callbacks, the gently crafted inside jokes fade away, shoved aside by the hulk of an easy laugh. A singular, complex character now stands in danger of becoming a tee shirt slogan. And once a finely woven sitcom goes down the road of “Sit on it!”, there’s rarely any turning back.
The Big Bang Theory, now in its third season, stands at a crossroads: It can continue its success as a pleasant, quirky ensemble juggernaut, or it can force its breakout character down the path of Steve Urkel.
If we see the debut of a line dance christened “The Bazinga!” in honor of May sweeps, we’ll know which direction has been chosen.
UPDATE: Bazinga neutralized!
