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crack_van2010-07-01 04:15 pm
dashakay.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2010-07-01 04:15 pm
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The Big Bang Theory: Fandom Overview
Hi there! I'm Dasha and I'll be driving the van for The Big Bang Theory this month. I'm really excited that BBT is finally getting a chance to show its stuff off for everyone. Because BBT has never been featured on Crack Van before, I've written up a fandom overview.
With thanks and credit to Wikipedia.
Premise:
Set in Pasadena, California, the half-hour sitcom is about the wacky high jinks of two fictional Caltech geniuses, Sheldon and Leonard, who live across the hall from an attractive blonde waitress with show-biz aspirations named Penny. The guys' geekiness and sheer intellect are contrasted for comic effect with their neighbor's social skills and common sense. Two equally nerdy friends of theirs, Howard and Raj, are also main characters.
The show is peppered with geeky in-jokes, references to science fiction and fantasy media. It has run for three seasons and has been renewed for fourth and fifth seasons.
The Big Bang Theory is one of those shows where, due to a lack of a complicated canon, the fic can be read and enjoyed by those with only a passing familiarity with the show. But definitely check out the show if you can. Season 1 is really good, Season 2 is brilliant and (sadly) Season 3 is rather spotty. The fic, on the other hand, is really, really good.
Main Characters:
Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons)
A Caltech theoretical physicist, Sheldon is Leonard Hofstadter's roommate and colleague. They live across the hallway from Penny. Sheldon is distinct for his overtly intellectual personality: he is calculating and cynical, he exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm and humor, and a complete lack of humility. He has an IQ of 187 and was a child prodigy who started college at age 11. Sheldon has an overly extensive general knowledge, such as shown by his comments regarding various details of anecdotal knowledge.
Despite his intelligence, Sheldon is usually inept in most social interactions. Sheldon's eccentricities, snide remarks, and highly logical and intellectual personality sometimes put him at odds with his own friends. Some have described his behavior and mannerisms as those of a person with Asperger Syndrome and/or obsessive compulsive disorder.
Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki)
A Caltech experimental physicist, Leonard has been described as the straight man of the series. The up and down romantic relationship between Leonard and Penny has been a major plot line throughout the series.
Although Leonard feels at home with his geek colleagues, he wants more socially. He is instantly captivated by the presence of Penny, and from the beginning sets to date her. While certainly a nerd by most definitions, he is much less socially awkward than Sheldon.
Penny (Kaley Cuoco)
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Penny is a waitress at the local Cheesecake Factory, who also has aspirations of becoming an actress. Much to the consternation of many fans, the showrunners have not yet given Penny a last name.
In contrast to the rest of the group (a main source of humor), Penny is not particularly intellectually gifted or savvy in a specific technical field, but she has great social skills and a lot of knowledge about pop culture. Penny is messy and disorganized, but appears to like it that way. While usually very kind, she can become extremely fierce when provoked.
Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar)
Rajesh, who is normally called Raj or by his last name Koothrappali, is originally from New Delhi, India. He's an astrophysicist at Caltech. He is best friends with Howard Wolowitz. Raj is physically unable to speak around women, which somewhat hampers the development of any friendship with Penny. The only exception to this is that Raj can talk to women after drinking even a small amount of alcohol.
Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg)
Howard is an aerospace engineer at Caltech. Unlike the other three male main characters, Howard does not have a doctorate degree, merely a master's degree, something Sheldon likes to mock Howard about. Howard fancies himself a "ladies' man" and he provides outrageous pick-up lines whenever there is a female present. Howard is noted for still living with his overbearing mother, who is oblivious to his accomplishments as a grown-up and usually treats him like he is still a child.
Main Pairings:
Sheldon/Penny, Howard/Raj, Leonard/Penny, Sheldon/Leonard, Sheldon/Raj, and so on and so forth. The fandom is fairly het-oriented, with Sheldon/Penny being the overwhelmingly favorite pairing, although Howard/Raj is relatively popular, too.
Resources:
Fandom and Fic Communities on LJ:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
bbt_eclectic – All fic pairings and gen fic are welcome here.
bbt_rpf - All BBT RPF pairings here.
bigbangbigbang - A 15K big bang challenge for writers, artists, mixers and betas.
bigbang_fans - A comm for all BBT, no matter the pairing of your choice.
bigslashtheory - All slash welcome here.
penny_career - Penny/Career, the ship of ships
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spanon - Practically every fandom has to have an anonymeme, right?
Pairing-Specific Communities on LJ:
howard_raj
leonardpenny
sheldon_penny - By far the most active BBT community, featuring fic, art, discussions, episode recaps, challenges and more.
Fic Recommendations on LJ:
bazingarecs - Extensive BBT fic recs from damalur
bbt_imho - More fic recs from a team of four fans/writers.
I hope you enjoy your ride on the van with me this week!
With thanks and credit to Wikipedia.
Premise:
Set in Pasadena, California, the half-hour sitcom is about the wacky high jinks of two fictional Caltech geniuses, Sheldon and Leonard, who live across the hall from an attractive blonde waitress with show-biz aspirations named Penny. The guys' geekiness and sheer intellect are contrasted for comic effect with their neighbor's social skills and common sense. Two equally nerdy friends of theirs, Howard and Raj, are also main characters.
The show is peppered with geeky in-jokes, references to science fiction and fantasy media. It has run for three seasons and has been renewed for fourth and fifth seasons.
The Big Bang Theory is one of those shows where, due to a lack of a complicated canon, the fic can be read and enjoyed by those with only a passing familiarity with the show. But definitely check out the show if you can. Season 1 is really good, Season 2 is brilliant and (sadly) Season 3 is rather spotty. The fic, on the other hand, is really, really good.
Main Characters:
A Caltech theoretical physicist, Sheldon is Leonard Hofstadter's roommate and colleague. They live across the hallway from Penny. Sheldon is distinct for his overtly intellectual personality: he is calculating and cynical, he exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm and humor, and a complete lack of humility. He has an IQ of 187 and was a child prodigy who started college at age 11. Sheldon has an overly extensive general knowledge, such as shown by his comments regarding various details of anecdotal knowledge.
Despite his intelligence, Sheldon is usually inept in most social interactions. Sheldon's eccentricities, snide remarks, and highly logical and intellectual personality sometimes put him at odds with his own friends. Some have described his behavior and mannerisms as those of a person with Asperger Syndrome and/or obsessive compulsive disorder.
A Caltech experimental physicist, Leonard has been described as the straight man of the series. The up and down romantic relationship between Leonard and Penny has been a major plot line throughout the series.
Although Leonard feels at home with his geek colleagues, he wants more socially. He is instantly captivated by the presence of Penny, and from the beginning sets to date her. While certainly a nerd by most definitions, he is much less socially awkward than Sheldon.
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Penny is a waitress at the local Cheesecake Factory, who also has aspirations of becoming an actress. Much to the consternation of many fans, the showrunners have not yet given Penny a last name.
In contrast to the rest of the group (a main source of humor), Penny is not particularly intellectually gifted or savvy in a specific technical field, but she has great social skills and a lot of knowledge about pop culture. Penny is messy and disorganized, but appears to like it that way. While usually very kind, she can become extremely fierce when provoked.
Rajesh, who is normally called Raj or by his last name Koothrappali, is originally from New Delhi, India. He's an astrophysicist at Caltech. He is best friends with Howard Wolowitz. Raj is physically unable to speak around women, which somewhat hampers the development of any friendship with Penny. The only exception to this is that Raj can talk to women after drinking even a small amount of alcohol.
Howard is an aerospace engineer at Caltech. Unlike the other three male main characters, Howard does not have a doctorate degree, merely a master's degree, something Sheldon likes to mock Howard about. Howard fancies himself a "ladies' man" and he provides outrageous pick-up lines whenever there is a female present. Howard is noted for still living with his overbearing mother, who is oblivious to his accomplishments as a grown-up and usually treats him like he is still a child.
Main Pairings:
Sheldon/Penny, Howard/Raj, Leonard/Penny, Sheldon/Leonard, Sheldon/Raj, and so on and so forth. The fandom is fairly het-oriented, with Sheldon/Penny being the overwhelmingly favorite pairing, although Howard/Raj is relatively popular, too.
Resources:
Fandom and Fic Communities on LJ:
bbt_eclectic – All fic pairings and gen fic are welcome here.bbt_rpf - All BBT RPF pairings here. bigbangbigbang - A 15K big bang challenge for writers, artists, mixers and betas.bigbang_fans - A comm for all BBT, no matter the pairing of your choice.bigslashtheory - All slash welcome here.penny_career - Penny/Career, the ship of shipsspanon - Practically every fandom has to have an anonymeme, right?Pairing-Specific Communities on LJ:
howard_rajleonardpennysheldon_penny - By far the most active BBT community, featuring fic, art, discussions, episode recaps, challenges and more.Fic Recommendations on LJ:
bazingarecs - Extensive BBT fic recs from damalurbbt_imho - More fic recs from a team of four fans/writers.I hope you enjoy your ride on the van with me this week!
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I belong to that scene known as hardcore convention geeks. Which means I spend each ep going 'done that. heard that exact conversation going on at the pubmeet. that dilemma? Oh please, everyone knows it's Picard. WANT. ...What's wrong with doing that as a way to make up your mind?'
BTW, you might want to add an explanation of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock to the overview, given its significance.