I’m seriously annoyed with the Big Bang Theory writers! Some of my displeasure was expressed in my post “Big Bang Theory Discrepancies Distress Me“, but last week’s episode brought the same issues up again.
“The Stag Convergence” focused on Bernadette’s apparent surprise at Howard’s shady past:
Bernadette: When I first met Howard, he seemed so innocent to me, just a sweet little guy who lives with his mother.
Except that’s not even true! Compare that quote with this one from “The Hot Troll Deviation” episode in season 4:
Bernadette: Howard, a girl doesn’t go out with a man like you, with your looks, your fancy patter, and your tight hoochie pants if she isn’t expecting him to eventually make the move.
I’m really annoyed at the changes they’ve made to Bernadette’s character – she has gone from being one of my fave secondary characters to possibly the one that I like the least. I would much rather see Kripke, Stuart, Amy, Zack, really anybody besides bitchy Bernadette. So I am taking to the internets to declare my frustration!
Why does it bother me so much? Because it feels like laziness. The writers just change her basic character motivations and background, and assume that none of the viewers will notice and/or care. It could all be worked out in a better way, but they didn’t bother to even try. If this is a plotline that they really wanted to happen (and I don’t even know why, because bitchy Bernadette isn’t even that entertaining), why couldn’t it have been with another woman? And then Howard can realize that the other woman isn’t right for him, because she doesn’t want (or even like) kids and doesn’t approve of his past. Then he can get back together with Bernadette. Poof, problem solved!
Instead, the writers have taken a really likable character and slowly degraded her into a farce. I am not amused. It just feels like an insult to the many fans that tune in each week, expecting a coherent plotline that stays true to the character’s established histories and personalities. I’m a writer, and as I work on my books, I don’t just randomly make one character into a different person as the chapters progress. Granted, I have the ability to go back and change things, as my books aren’t published yet. But would it really have been so hard to adjust these new episodes in a way that actually worked?
I will concede that this gem from Howard made things much better, but it still doesn’t make up for the easily avoided discrepancies:
Howard: Tell her I’m really sorry, and if she doesn’t want to marry me, I get it. But what I really want her to know is the guy that she’s disgusted by, is the guy that I’m disgusted by, too. But that guy doesn’t exist any more, he’s gone, and the reason is because of her. So, if this relationship is over, let her know that she made me a better man, and tell her thank you.
Yeah, what is Howard useful for except for bad, raunchy jokes. I guess they are building to a funny wedding scene, but they have to change two character to do it. I like the show, but I may be hearing the duh na duh na duh na sounds before the shark appears for this show to awkwardly jump over.
I feel the same way :( When Howard was shamelessly raunchy and having zero success with the ladies, it worked as a funny character. And I do appreciate how he’s changed, but I don’t think they handled Bernadette well at all. Remember at first she didn’t want to live with Howard, because he expected her to cook and clean for him, but then later she’s suddenly cool with living with him and his mom? WTF? Did they suddenly get a new writer or something that didn’t watch the prior seasons? So confusing.
She was firm with Sheldon. because her mother ran an illegal dayczre in the basement. ………………….was that before or after her mother worked full time and had Bernadette look after her siblings.
Illegal day care……………wife of a policeman?
Exactly! It makes no sense! I hadn’t considered the whole police officer’s wife running an illegal daycare but that is an excellent point. :)
Sent from my iPhone
I must say that it saddens me to hear rumors of certain cartilaginous, carnivorous fish preparing to be bounded over by one Sheldon Cooper. But all things do die in the end. I myself, do not get too worked up about inconsistencies. When viewed through the “reality” lens, Bernadette’s changes are not nearly as extreme as say, Dennis Miller going from a hip liberal to a raving conservative in under 6 months. But we do like our fiction to conform to certain predictable patterns. Could it be that the writers attempts to allow Bernadette to grow as a character were just ham-handed? Maybe they just got a lot of positive mail about the way she imitated Howard’s mother and went with it! Hopefully its not that we just like the sweet, naive, compliant girl more than the more forceful, mature woman. As far as the little things go…is it so hard to believe that a cop’s wife might run an illegal daycare? Who better? How bout this for inconsistency? Does Sheldon dance or doesn’t he?
How did I know this comment was from you before I even saw your name? Must have been the part about “cartilaginous, carnivorous fish” :) Anyway, I think the show has been doing a bit better this season, balancing out her character in a more realistic way. I think (hope) the writers have realized that they have to resolve some core personality and history conflicts to make her more watchable.
As for Sheldon dancing…I believe his is trained in the technical steps and routine of certain cotillion appropriate dances, but I don’t think he considers himself to be capable of freestyle dancing of any sort. That makes sense for his character – mastery of the waltz, for example, is much easier than mastery of break dancing, if you’re the type that prefers specific steps and order instead of going with the music and mood.
That’s enough of my run-on sentences for now, don’t ya think?
Many moons later…
I hate Bernadette, and for all the reasons you mentioned, but also for her new selfishness. The character from the early seasons wouldn’t have gone all crazy over being “Cinderella” nor would she have behaved like a complete harridan over the parking space. I hope they’re setting her up to be Howard’s psycho ex-wife… She’s become a character you love to hate.
I feel like they just went overboard trying to make her like his mother, for comedic effect. But the end result is just a nagging, mean, obnoxious character. I get that Howard is also obnoxious, but it was nice when she balanced that out. She was the sweet girl that didn’t mind his weirdness, and now she seems to kinda hate him for it. I guess that happens a lot in relationships? You go in expecting someone to change but then they don’t and you get resentful?
For all of his inappropriate jokes and annoying behavior Howard is still a sweet guy at heart. I think he deserves better.