If I've seen it in the UK it must have already aired in the US but the latest Big Bang Theory is pretty much about a D&D game. I thought it was a rather cliched and non-authentic take on the hobby but it is still worth a look for curiosity value.
The IT Crowd is the only show that has done roleplaying games in a way that feels like the writer knows what he is talking about well enough to know how to poke fun at it in an really authentic manner.
Quote from: Soylent Green;668328If I've seen it in the UK it must have already aired in the US but the latest Big Bang Theory is pretty much about a D&D game. I thought it was a rather cliched and non-authentic take on the hobby but it is still worth a look for curiosity value.
The IT Crowd is the only show that has done roleplaying games in a way that feels like the writer knows what he is talking about well enough to know how to poke fun at it in an really authentic manner.
Which episode did you see? They had a few this season with a D&D session as a big part of the plot.
Sure, the episodes are hackneyed, but they didn't portray RPGers as they had been stereotyped: people who rarely crawled out of the basement, worshipped Satan, barely could handle saying hello to a member of the opposite sex, and subsisted on Mountain Dew and Cheetos. (Okay, Raj didn't exactly help out on that opposite sex part.) Still, if they were able to get my wife interested in playing, then they did a much better job than expected.
Quote from: Soylent Green;668328If I've seen it in the UK it must have already aired in the US but the latest Big Bang Theory is pretty much about a D&D game. I thought it was a rather cliched and non-authentic take on the hobby but it is still worth a look for curiosity value.
The IT Crowd is the only show that has done roleplaying games in a way that feels like the writer knows what he is talking about well enough to know how to poke fun at it in an really authentic manner.
You should watch the
Community episode "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", or the last little bit of the last episode of
Freaks and Geeks. Both were written by people who were serious D&D players. The "prop" D&D books in the
Community episode were all Dan Harmon's.
This is BBT:
(http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pvponlinenew/img/comic/2013/07/pvp20130703.jpg)
The IT Crowd episode was pretty good, as was the Community episode (and I don't like Community.) The Big Bang Theory episode was very mediocre.
Another good one, though, was the Venture Brothers episode about the funeral of the college classmate of Rusty, Brock, Pete White, and Baron Von Underbeit.
The Big Bang is blackface for geeks.
I actually think it's a pretty decent show, and that episode was pretty good just for Howard's impressions. We talked about that a month or so ago when it aired here.
I guess most geeks like to laugh at everyone else but themselves...
Quote from: talysman;668341The IT Crowd episode was pretty good...
I loved in the making of for that episode that one of the actors says "roleplay games", and the writer/director calls for a cut saying: "Its 'roleplay
ing games'. We have to get it right. They [as in the audience] will know."
Quote from: Sacrosanct;668347I actually think it's a pretty decent show, and that episode was pretty good just for Howard's impressions. We talked about that a month or so ago when it aired here.
I guess most geeks like to laugh at everyone else but themselves...
I like to laugh at funny things.
Hackneyed sitcom plots where the characters are the standard tv idiots despite the show saying theyre smart with an obtrusive laugh track, stereotypical plots that have been done to death since the 80s, and no character consistency is just bad tv. Brought to you by the same people who do 2 1/2 Men and Dharma & Greg, with the same level of quality.
The Big Bang isnt about geeks laughing at themselves, because the characters are not geeks, they're 80s John Hughes films Hollywood stereotypes of geeks meant to appeal to a mass audience.
Quote from: Sacrosanct;668347I actually think it's a pretty decent show, and that episode was pretty good just for Howard's impressions. We talked about that a month or so ago when it aired here.
I guess most geeks like to laugh at everyone else but themselves...
I am with you. Enjoyed it. It was meant for a wide audience, so it wasn't inside jokes only gamers would get but it was funny. And there is a grain of truth to the humor, even if it is really exagerated for effect.
This seems more like a media discussion so moving the thread there.
Quote from: TristramEvans;668349I like to laugh at funny things.
Hackneyed sitcom plots where the characters are the standard tv idiots despite the show saying theyre smart with an obtrusive laugh track, stereotypical plots that have been done to death since the 80s, and no character consistency is just bad tv. Brought to you by the same people who do 2 1/2 Men and Dharma & Greg, with the same level of quality.
The Big Bang isnt about geeks laughing at themselves, because the characters are not geeks, they're 80s John Hughes films Hollywood stereotypes of geeks meant to appeal to a mass audience.
I disagree. I had a classmate in college who was a Sheldon, the only difference was that he wore the standard Maxwell's Equations t-shirts instead of the comic book ones. Okay, the other difference was that Sheldon has slowly matured, while that guy never did over the course of four years.
I knew several Wolowitz clones --the pre-marriage version-- who would creep women out. The fact that one of them is now married and has two kids amazes me to no end.
But by far, I knew a lot of Leonards. You couldn't miss the bunch of them who hung out in the VAX lab or down in the Physics student room. (And I was one of them, so I'm guilty.) If anything, the most stereotypical of the bunch is Penny, and Leonard's relationship with her is more wish fulfillment than anything else.
Quote from: Sacrosanct;668347I actually think it's a pretty decent show, and that episode was pretty good just for Howard's impressions. We talked about that a month or so ago when it aired here.
I guess most geeks like to laugh at everyone else but themselves...
I was actually jealous of Howard's impressions in that episode. I can't do that in-game at all.
The other big D&D one --the Christmas episode with Sheldon's issues with Santa-- was also pretty interesting in that it gave a bit of depth to his character that nobody knew was there. The childishness and vindictiveness we all knew was present, but the underlying motivation was very deeply hidden.
Quote from: flyerfan1991;668457I knew several Wolowitz clones --the pre-marriage version-- who would creep women out. The fact that one of them is now married and has two kids amazes me to no end.
One of my friends since Jr. High is a Wolowitz clone. Only he has also thrown in long hair and refusal to "bow down to the man", AKA: unemployed and we're 40 years old now. But his approach towards women is exactly like Howard's before he got married on the show
QuoteBut by far, I knew a lot of Leonards. You couldn't miss the bunch of them who hung out in the VAX lab or down in the Physics student room. (And I was one of them, so I'm guilty.) If anything, the most stereotypical of the bunch is Penny, and Leonard's relationship with her is more wish fulfillment than anything else.
That relationship is total wish fulfillment.
It should also be noted that at least half of the actors in that show are huge nerds in real life. Malik is a huge science nerd with her PHD, and while Jim Parsons hasn't specifically mentioned RPGs, he has said he loves to roleplay different characters, which is what led him to be a HUGE theater nerd since he was young. The guy who plays Howard has been a martial arts nerd since he was a kid, and John Galecki (Leonard) is a lot like his character in real life, only with motorcycles thrown in. He said he's constantly trying to learn new "nerd" things, from learning the cello to painting.
For all the accusations that that show only does lazy stereotypes, it should be noted that they do not have Catpissman, uglies, or Queen Bee as a regular character type. I imagine because if they really depicted real nerds, no one would want to watch it.
Quote from: TristramEvans;668346The Big Bang is blackface for geeks.
I'm getting more and more of this mindset. There does seem to be a lot of self-depricating geek humor in the show.
Quote from: Sacrosanct;668347I guess most geeks like to laugh at everyone else but themselves...
No, the problem is it's shit.
Alright, to extrapolate a little - it's cliche American sitcom, with geeks as characters. You could basically exchange the entire series with Friends' characters, and you'd only need to remove occasional technobabble.
IT Crowd delivers much, much larger blows - 2 out of 3 main characters are socially inept to the point when one of characters can't leave the underside of the desk for a few hours, and other is so incapable of social interaction that when he has to lie he goes to the "she's dead" line. Not to mention the fact that they're living in the basement. It's hitting nerds just as hard if not harder at times as BBT does, except you rarely see a typical nerd protesting it. Why? Perhaps, at least partially, it's because IT Crowd legitimately attempts to try to laugh with, rather than at, most of the time - no matter who you are, you will find material to connect with there. BBT's uses old cliche plotlines and cardboard cutouts from Revenge of the Nerds. Which is a film I love, but well, it's from the bloody 80s.
Quote from: thedungeondelver;668337You should watch the Community episode "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", or the last little bit of the last episode of Freaks and Geeks. Both were written by people who were serious D&D players. The "prop" D&D books in the Community episode were all Dan Harmon's.
AD&D episode sold me on Community. Chevy Chase was just glorious when he ragequitted and went on to metagame the scenario in order to win :D.
Quote from: Rincewind1;668695It's hitting nerds just as hard if not harder at times as BBT does, except you rarely see a typical nerd protesting it. Why? Perhaps, at least partially, it's because IT Crowd legitimately attempts to try to laugh with, rather than at, most of the time - no matter who you are, you will find material to connect with there. BBT's uses old cliche plotlines and cardboard cutouts from Revenge of the Nerds. Which is a film I love, but well, it's from the bloody 80s.
:D.
I love IT crowd but I think it may largely get a pass because it is British and slightly more high brow. But I don't find it is any more sensitive to geeks or laughing at them any less. I am fine with both programs. Both shows begin with pretty cardboard characters who grow as the series progresses. Certainly Sheldon, Howard and I suppose Raj would fit in RotN pretty well. But so would Roy and Moss (they cleave pretty close to booger and poindexter).
Quote from: Sacrosanct;668503One of my friends since Jr. High is a Wolowitz clone. Only he has also thrown in long hair and refusal to "bow down to the man", AKA: unemployed and we're 40 years old now. But his approach towards women is exactly like Howard's before he got married on the show
, it.
I had two gaming buddies who combined to make wolowitz. Met plenty of people who resemble him. I have met a bunch of Leonards. And I have run into lots of people with aspects of Sheldon to them (I definitely see a lot of myself in that character--and not the good traits like genius with a perfect memory).
For me, the key thing that works about the show is the characters are ultimately likeable (in a lot of ways, Leonard who is supposed to be the most normal, is the least likeable). And the overall message seems to be that while they may be quirky and socially awkward they are still fun to hang out with and deserving of love. I also find it has made the non-geeks I know much more open to my hobbies like RPGs. I also think the show is funny and smarter than lots of people give it credit for (though it is what it is: an American sitcom that wants to appeal to a broad audience so it isn't written exclusively for geeks).
Quote from: Rincewind1;668695IT Crowd delivers much, much larger blows - 2 out of 3 main characters are socially inept to the point when one of characters can't leave the underside of the desk for a few hours, and other is so incapable of social interaction that when he has to lie he goes to the "she's dead" line. .
The "She's Dead!" line is where the show seemed to really hit it's stride. It took it from just another British Sitcom to something in the realm of Black Adder for me.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;668869I love IT crowd but I think it may largely get a pass because it is British and slightly more high brow. But I don't find it is any more sensitive to geeks or laughing at them any less. I am fine with both programs. Both shows begin with pretty cardboard characters who grow as the series progresses. Certainly Sheldon, Howard and I suppose Raj would fit in RotN pretty well. But so would Roy and Moss (they cleave pretty close to booger and poindexter).
IT Crowd is one of my top 5 all time sitcoms (along with Firefly, Longmire, and a couple others). However, I think it's not really fair to compare BBT with IT Crowd because IT Crowd is allowed to get away with a lot more since it's British.
BBT isn't one of my favorites, but it isn't bad either. If I'm not mistaken, it's the most popular series on right now. I know that doesn't mean much, but perhaps we could step back from the geek elitism that's showing it's face. Because ironically, all that does is sort of prove that the characterization of Sheldon is one based on reality ;)
Quote from: Sacrosanct;668883IT Crowd is one of my top 5 all time sitcoms (along with Firefly, Longmire, and a couple others). However, I think it's not really fair to compare BBT with IT Crowd because IT Crowd is allowed to get away with a lot more since it's British.
BBT isn't one of my favorites, but it isn't bad either. If I'm not mistaken, it's the most popular series on right now. I know that doesn't mean much, but perhaps we could step back from the geek elitism that's showing it's face. Because ironically, all that does is sort of prove that the characterization of Sheldon is one based on reality ;)
That is the point I was trying to make in my other post. BBT is trying to appeal to a much broader audience. It is a show I can watch with my wife, my uncle and my cousins, and all of us will find something in it to laugh at. But IT crowd, which I find more entertaining most of the time, i pretty much watch alone, because it appeals to my sense humor but not my wife's or my uncle's or my cousin's.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;668886That is the point I was trying to make in my other post. BBT is trying to appeal to a much broader audience. It is a show I can watch with my wife, my uncle and my cousins, and all of us will find something in it to laugh at. But IT crowd, which I find more entertaining most of the time, i pretty much watch alone, because it appeals to my sense humor but not my wife's or my uncle's or my cousin's.
Exactly.
The problem with the geek complaints about BBT is that they prove some of the stereotypes used in the show. And to be honest, BBT pretty much throws softballs at geek culture; they could have been MUCH more eviscerating if they wanted to by emphasizing some of the aspects of geek culture --such as hentai and its child porn subculture-- that would really creep out the masses if they knew about it.
Quote from: flyerfan1991;668457I disagree. I had a classmate in college who was a Sheldon, the only difference was that he wore the standard Maxwell's Equations t-shirts instead of the comic book ones.
The weirdest "geeky" t-shirt I ever saw was from a physics major I knew back in college, who made a tie-dyed shirt that said "alpha/2pi" on the front (with the Greek letters written out).
(It took me a long time to eventually figure out what "alpha/2pi" actually meant in physics).
Quote from: flyerfan1991;668457Okay, the other difference was that Sheldon has slowly matured, while that guy never did over the course of four years.
Did this guy mature over a longer period of time (ie. over a decade) ?
Quote from: ggroy;676413The weirdest "geeky" t-shirt I ever saw was from a physics major I knew back in college, who made a tie-dyed shirt that said "alpha/2pi" on the front (with the Greek letters written out).
(It took me a long time to eventually figure out what "alpha/2pi" actually meant in physics).
Did this guy mature over a longer period of time (ie. over a decade) ?
I talked to a mutual acquaintance about 3-4 years ago, and he told me that when he ran into him back in the late 90s, he was exactly the same.
Now, you can't judge based on a 30-40 minute encounter, but if he did mature he sure took his time about it.
Quote from: flyerfan1991;668928Exactly.
The problem with the geek complaints about BBT is that they prove some of the stereotypes used in the show. And to be honest, BBT pretty much throws softballs at geek culture; they could have been MUCH more eviscerating if they wanted to by emphasizing some of the aspects of geek culture --such as hentai and its child porn subculture-- that would really creep out the masses if they knew about it.
This post is everything I despise about Tangency applied to this conversation.
Yeah. There's no stuff like that in my geek culture - which is warhammer, dune, lotr, star wars, b5, rpgs, and copper age marvel comics.