Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 1

 

The 17-episode first season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2007/2008 TV season. It was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and starred Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar. The show's premise is that two physicists from CalTech, Sheldon (played by Parsons) and Leonard (played by Galecki), meet their new neighbor, Penny (played by Cuoco), who Leonard instantly falls for. The circle of friends also includes two other CalTech scientists, an Engineer named Howard (played by Helberg) and an Astrophysicist named Raj (played by Nayyar). All the nerdy friends are socially awkward, with Sheldon being an arrogant know-it-all, who is also on the autism spectrum, and Leonard is insecure about nearly everything. Howard tries way too hard to hit on every woman he meets, and Raj cannot talk to women unless he is drunk. Penny is a party girl working as a waitress while trying to break into acting. The supporting cast in the first season includes Laurie Metcalf, who plays Sheldon's Mother, Sara Gilbert, who plays another physicist, and Carol Ann Susi, who plays the voice of Howard's mother.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The episodes can be played with English captions and in a play-all mode (although the play-all mode does not allow you to pick up where you leave off). The two bonus features are on the second disc, a behind-the-scenes featurette that runs just under twenty minutes and a gag reel. The show is a pretty typical sitcom that primarily relies on procedural storylines that get resolved by the end of the episodes, mixed with longer character arcs. It is a mostly wholesome sitcom, but it definitely includes some sex jokes, and Cuoco is in skimpy outfits from time to time. It is filmed partly in front of a studio audience and uses a laugh track for the parts not filmed in front of an audience. 

The show is well-written, with many nerdy pop-culture references, and very well-acted. It also incorporates a lot of real-world science into the storylines. While the character of Sheldon became immensely popular (Parsons does a great job with the character and has great comedic timing), the entire cast plays their characters well, and the actors seem to have great chemistry. The show would become one of the most popular comedies in TV history (and was certainly the most popular sitcom of its era). The first season is mostly focused on character development and establishing the relationships between the various characters. Ultimately, it is a strong season that sets up the show well. Even though the first season is (as of this writing) about 17 years old, it holds up well (with many laugh-out-loud moments) and is worth watching.