the big bang theory

Obviously, we'd all like to see another Frasier, Seinfeld or Mary Tyler Moore. But until that happy day arrives, most of us would be content with a show that gives us characters and actors we like, some jokes that make us laugh and a premise that promises to keep the supply coming.

At the moment, no producer is better at filling those needs than Chuck Lorre, creator of Two and a Half Men and co-creator of Bang. He may have a habit of letting his jokes skew toward the vulgar, but he also has a habit of creating laugh-out-loud funny shows with great casts and clear premises ― all on display here.

The solid if well-worn setup is that of the beauty among the beasts, or in this case, geeks. Math geniuses Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) have been content to spend their days in their apartment working on formulas and playing Klingon Boggle. Then Penny (Kaley Cuoco) moves in next door and Leonard invites her over to lunch ― and the equation of their lives changes.

If Bang is going to win you over, it will happen soon after that invitation, when Penny plops onto Sheldon's favorite spot on the couch. Everything that works best in Bang is right there: Cuoco's slightly confused, sweetly bemused response; Galecki's mix of longing and exasperation; and Parsons' fresh, show-stopping take on socially out-of-whack brilliance.


As you'd hope for a show about smart people, Bang makes a host of smart decisions, including the introduction of two other characters (Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) who make Leonard seem suave in comparison. It's also wise enough to turn much of the half-hour over to Parsons, who gets most of the best lines and makes them even better.

To make characters register quickly, pilots tend to draw them with overly broad strokes. Penny could be a tad less ditzy, and it would be nice if the boys used their intelligence to help her, rather than just confuse her. While Galecki is a fine actor, it doesn't feel like he has quite found his character yet ― some of his choices are a bit too creepy to support a long run.

Still, here's another of Lorre's habits: His shows tend to get better after the pilot. This may not be the sitcom breakthrough for which we've all been hoping, but Lorre has produced a first episode that leaves you eager to try the second.

These days, maybe that does count as genius.

You have no doubt read about CBS's desire to create "buzz" this fall. This week we get a few examples of what ol' Tiffany's definition of buzzworthy, cutting-edge programming happens to be. But Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre's new comedy, "The Big Bang Theory," does not belong in that number.

"Big Bang Theory" airs Mondays at 8:30 on CBS (KIRO/7), and it's exactly what you'd expect from the network's Monday night comedy block. That is to say, it does the job it's supposed to do, which is to make you laugh without using any tricks or flashy premises.

If you're in the habit of spending your Monday nights with CBS's efficient comedies, the brainy banter in "Big Bang Theory," delivered with the speed and precision of a coked-up kingpin firing his favorite automatic weapon, will suit you just fine.

But this sitcom probably won't make other people go looking for it except in times of need, which is fine. In the same way "Two and a Half Men" is easy to drop in on every so often because it can always be relied upon for a laugh, "Big Bang Theory" looks like it'll grow into a solid occasional diversion for the rest of us.

Truly Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) are a comedy duo for the Microsoft age, physicists and geniuses in a world that seems to be getting dumber and more difficult to navigate with each passing day. The appearance of a new neighbor named Penny (Kaley Cuoco), who happens to be hot, friendly and considerably dimmer than Leonard and Sheldon, upsets the delicate biosphere they've created in their apartment.

Sheldon attempts to keep Leonard tethered to reality, reminding his pal at every opportunity the producers can shove in there that Penny is and never will be a realistic romantic option. But their wingmen, Howard (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar), give him hope. Howard awkwardly hits on Penny at every turn, making Leonard look like a veritable Romeo, while Rajesh can't even bring himself to look at her.

Within minutes of meeting the guys, this waitress at the Cheesecake Factory (writing a screenplay about ... take a wild guess!) is asking them if she can shower in their apartment, giving them an opportunity to see her in nothing but a towel. This is after an awkward trip to a sperm bank for geniuses that, glory be, sets up this fantabulous exchange.

Penny: "So, what do you guys do for fun around here?"

Sheldon: "Well, today we tried masturbating for money."

Wow! Not only are the characters geniuses, so is the level of creativity that goes into the script!

Granted, don't expect things from "Big Bang Theory" and you'll enjoy it. This is a comedy that does what it's supposed to do, which is to make you smile and giggle at the appropriate points. Be that as it may, the pilot never ascends beyond the level of being cute and nice.

Maybe that's enough for you. There's something to be said for easy laughter on a Monday night. Still, you also may wish the writers spread the jokes around more evenly, perhaps giving Cuoco a little more to do than smile sweetly and look confused when the guys start talking about alternate universes and using strange terms such as "parallax distortion."

The setup is so simple that The WB has already done it's take on it -- geeks meet beauty, touching off inadvertently comical situations (except, of course, that in this case they're meticulously planned and intentional) and a period of emotional growth. Lorre once and again demonstrates his talent for loading his script with withering one-liners, usually delivered by Sheldon.

Parsons plays his part to deadpan perfection, always ready with the perfect ka-BOOM smackdown to dash the hopes of Leonard, the more optimistic of the two. Leonard is a single guy who just wants to have a life outside of his small circle of Klingon Boggle champions, whereas Sheldon, more than being resigned to his fate, embraces it.

His combination of anal retentiveness and bitterness carries the show. However, that's quite a load for one actor to shoulder in what is supposed to be an ensemble comedy. One also wishes there was more kindness in the show, both to Cuoco's character and to these guys. The geniuses never flog Penny with their intellect, but neither does she give them much in the way of proof that anything substantial percolates beneath that kind veneer.

Provided the ratings aren't too terribly shabby (they'd have to be worse than "The Class," which crawled through an entire season before getting axed), CBS is likely to give "Big Bang Theory" and its producers time to perfect the formula. And while it's unlikely to be a great leap forward for the sitcom genre, odds are it'll keep the Monday night block chugging along. Premiere Week is here! Whoo-hoo! This whole week long the nets are rolling out the new fall season. Some snuck in last week, and there will be a few premieres next week, but all things consider, this week is make or break for many new shows.

Because, you see, even this early in the game, your reactions to the new fall shows have everything to do with what gets picked up and what gets sent to the big rerun bin in the sky. Believe you me, network executives, show runners and actors will all be scrutinizing the Internet this week to find out what you think about the new series.

So, their fate is in your hands. We're waiting with bated breath for your take on tonight's premieres: CBS' The Big Bang Theory, and NBC's Chuck and Journeyman! It's Monday, time to get your geek on!


NBC
In "Chuck," our computer-geek hero discovers that real life is really dangerous. Zachary Levi (with Gwendolyn Lao) stars.
When: Tonight at 8; Where: KNSD / Channel 39 (Cable 7); ?

Thanks to the computer-savvy heroes from "Chuck" and "The Big Bang Theory," the comic-book achievers of "Heroes" and the time-traveling "Journeyman," Monday is nerd night. Who knew the biggest square peg in town would be your television?

The unfashionable fun gets a stylish send-off with "Chuck" NBC's new adventure romp about an unassuming techie who becomes the repository for a load of sensitive government secrets. After its warm welcome at Comic-Con in July, the word is already out about "Chuck." This nobody is somebody special.

The smart guy in question is Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), a computer wizard and a member of the Nerd Herd, the team of techies in charge of ministering to the baffled masses who patronize the Buy More superstore.

Even in his short-sleeved dress shirt and tie, Chuck is cute. He has a supportive sister and a nice group of equally computer-obsessed friends. And like the best nerds, he can laugh at his own dorkiness. It's not the same as being able to change it, but it's better than nothing.



CBS
The big brains of "The Big Bang Theory" have come to save the day. Kaley Cuoco (left), Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki are your stars.
When: Tonight at 8:30; Where: KFMB / Channel 8; ?

But none of that matters anyway, because things are changing for Chuck whether he likes it or not. Thanks to a surprise e-mail from an old college buddy, Chuck downloads a cache of super-duper classified intelligence directly into his brain. And suddenly, everybody wants him. Including some people who want him dead.

A giddy cross between "The Office," "Alias" and "Reaper" (which debuts tomorrow on the CW), "Chuck" is fast, funny and endearing. Thanks to the action-movie muscle of executive producer McG ("Charlie's Angels"), all the explosions and car chases move at a slick clip. And the sly hand of fellow honcho Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.") is evident in the show's savvy sense of humor.

As the lesser comedy, "The Big Bang Theory" proves that indulging in broad brainiac humor is easy. But "Chuck" knows there is more to it than Stephen Hawking jokes. McG and Schwartz love and understand the quirky Chuck, and the breakout performance by the ridiculously engaging Levi guarantees that the Comic-Con demographic will love him back.



NBC
In "Journeyman," Kevin McKidd plays a time-hopping journalist on a mysterious mission.
When: Tonight at 10; Where: KNSD/Channel 39 (Cable 7);

Niftily supported by Yvonne Strahovski as a smokin'-hot CIA agent and the riotous Joshua Gomez as the exuberantly odd best friend, Levy makes Chuck the leader of this season's underdog-hero pack. If the show can keep up, running with him could be the most fun we have all season.

If "Chuck" is the iPod of the Monday-night nerd fest, "The Big Bang Theory" is the 8-Track. It is old-fashioned and clunky, but it has its charms.

Johnny Galecki ("Roseanne") and Jim Parsons ("Judging Amy") co-star as Leonard and Sheldon, two genius roommates whose tidy little world is seriously rocked by the arrival of a friendly new neighbor who happens to be � Eeek! � a woman.

Clearly, this concept was not brought to you by Mensa. And judging by the Klingon jokes and "Battlestar Galactica" references in tonight's pilot, creators Chuck Lorre ("Two and a Half Men") and Bill Prady ("Gilmore Girls") don't have any extra-credit twists up their sleeves.

Fortunately, they do have two extremely appealing actors in their show. Cheerfully appalled by the messy intricacies of real life, Sheldon could be Niles Crane's younger, less neurotic brother, and Parsons plays him with a confident breeziness and wickedly good timing.

N


And as the marginally more aware Leonard, Galecki turns in a sweet, surprisingly courtly performance that gives "The Big Bang Theory" more substance than its "Two Men and a Babe" premise deserves.

Unlike the believably lumpy rejects of "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared," Leonard and Sheldon are the kind of cuddly outsiders who are just a hug away from being OK. "The Big Bang Theory" won't change the sitcom universe, but the prime-time world is a happier place with Galecki and Parsons in it.

Hoping viewers still have room in our lives for a new serial, NBC is following tonight's "Heroes" premiere with "Journeyman," a time-traveling drama that is promising enough to get us thinking as far ahead as next week's episode.

Created by "West Wing" veterans Kevin Falls and Alex Graves, "Journeyman" stars Kevin McKidd (HBO's "Rome") as Dan Vasser, a San Francisco journalist who becomes unstuck in time. If Dan gets into bed with his wife in 2007, there is a good chance he will wake up in Golden Gate Park in 1987. After wandering around in the past for a while, he will arrive back at home in the present, only to discover that he has been gone for two days.

It appears that Dan can travel only within his own lifetime, but just because he isn't being chased by woolly mammoths doesn't mean he's not in danger. Those sudden disappearances have Dan's wife worrying that old marital problems are resurfacing, and his editor begins to wonder if Dan is using drugs again. He even gets thrown in jail by his own brother.



AdvertisementBut there are benefits to Dan's calendar-hopping. He gets to see his now-dead fiancée again, he can test the limits of his cell-phone service, and and he can change the future in small ways that could serve some greater good. Or not.
With its suggestion of a shadowy plot behind Dan's missions and its knowledge that these cool new powers have serious repercussions, the "Journeyman" pilot is a deft mix of supernatural wizardry and grown-up drama. And the believably tortured McKidd leads a fine cast that includes former "Homicide" hothead Reed Diamond as Dan's skeptical brother.

Dan never knows