In the sake of full disclosure, let me be up front about one basic fact: I do not like The Big Bang Theory. I’ve watched it… in fact, I used to watch it all the time, but it’s a show that gets cheap laughs by making fun of nerd culture in a terribly way. Nerd culture is easy to make fun of, and there are a lot of funny things about it… but this show relies instead on absurdity and stereotypes to get the laughs. Basically, it’s a show that needs to “punch down” to get laughs, and those types of shows only survive as long as it’s acceptable to make fun of those groups (shows that do things like this to a religious view, a minority, or an orientation get criticized into oblivion quickly).
That’s kind of a shame, honestly, because there are some legitimately funny moments and writing in the show, things that get honest laughs without stupid (and wrong) stereotypes. Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock comes to mind (and I own that on a shirt)… that is still probably one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on TV. The show has also done a lot to grow and change characters, and it has a far more balanced cast after adding Amy and Bernadette in later seasons.
And, like the show or not, there are a whole ton of people that do. It’s consistently in the top for TV comedies (it’s been #2 the past couple of years), so the market makes sense. Given that it’s a Warner Brothers show, it’s another set that points to a pretty cozy relationship between LEGO and WB (who also owns DC Comics). Since LEGO also has an equally close relationship to Disney/Marvel, I’m starting to wonder if they are our best bet for negotiating world peace. At $60, this is the most expensive ideas set we’ve gotten thus far. It also comes in at 484 parts, but that is one of the most deceitful part counts ever… maybe in a good way. It carries a whopping seven minifigures, though, so there may be some value here after all…