The Big Bang Theory
American television sitcom (2007–2019)
The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes.
The show originally centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California: Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's similarly geeky and socially awkward friends and coworkers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). Over time, supporting characters were promoted to starring roles, including neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch), and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman).
The show was filmed in front of a live audience and produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, with Warner Bros. Television handling distribution. It received mixed reviews throughout its first season, but reception was more favorable in the second and third seasons. Despite early mixed reviews, seven seasons were ranked within the top ten of the final season ratings, and it ultimately reached the No. 1 spot in its eleventh season. It was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2011 to 2014 and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for Parsons, totaling seven Emmy Awards from 46 nominations. Parsons also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series in 2011.
The series' success launched a multimedia franchise. A prequel series based on Parsons' character Sheldon Cooper, "Young Sheldon", aired from 2017 to 2024, with Parsons as the narrating adult Sheldon. The third series in the franchise, a sequel series to "Young Sheldon" titled "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage", premiered in October 2024 and follows Sheldon's older brother, Georgie, and his wife, Mandy. A fourth series, following Stuart, his girlfriend Denise, and geologist Bert Kibbler, is in development for Max.
Production.
The show's pilot episode premiered on September 24, 2007. This was the second pilot produced for the show. A different pilot was produced for the 2006–07 television season but never aired. The structure of the original unaired pilot was different from the series' current form. The only main characters retained in both pilots were Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), who are named after Sheldon Leonard, a longtime figure in episodic television as a producer, director, and actor. A minor character, Althea (Vernee Watson), appeared in the first scene of both pilots that was retained generally as-is. The first pilot included two female lead characters - Katie, "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior" (played by Canadian actress Amanda Walsh), and Gilda, a scientist colleague and friend of the male characters (played by Iris Bahr). Sheldon and Leonard meet Katie after she breaks up with a boyfriend, and they invite her to share their apartment. Gilda is threatened by Katie's presence. Test audiences reacted negatively to Katie, but they liked Sheldon and Leonard. The original pilot used Thomas Dolby's hit "She Blinded Me with Science" as its theme song.
Although the original pilot was not picked up, its creators were given an opportunity to retool it and produce a second pilot. They brought in the remaining cast and retooled the show to its final format. Katie was replaced by Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The original unaired pilot has never been officially released, but it has circulated on the Internet. On the evolution of the show, Chuck Lorre said, "We did the 'Big Bang Pilot' about two and a half years ago, and it sucked ... but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that was Johnny and Jim. We rewrote the thing entirely, and then we were blessed with Kaley and Simon and Kunal." As to whether the world will ever see the original pilot on a future DVD release, Lorre said, "Wow, that would be something. We will see. Show your failures..."
The first and second pilots of "The Big Bang Theory" were directed by James Burrows, who did not continue with the show. The reworked second pilot led to a 13-episode order by CBS on May 14, 2007. Prior to its airing on CBS, the pilot episode was distributed on iTunes free of charge. The show premiered on September 24, 2007, and was picked up for a full 22-episode season on October 19, 2007. The show is filmed in front of a live audience, and it is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Production was halted on November 6, 2007, due to the Writers Guild of America strike. Nearly three months later, on February 4, 2008, the series was temporarily replaced by a short-lived sitcom, "Welcome to The Captain". The series returned on March 17, 2008, in an earlier time slot, and ultimately only 17 episodes were produced for the first season.
After the strike ended, the show was picked up for a second season, airing in the 2008–2009 season, premiering in the same time slot on September 22, 2008. With increasing ratings, the show received a two-year renewal through the 2010–11 season in 2009. In 2011, the show was picked up for three more seasons. In March 2014, the show was renewed again for three more years through the 2016–17 season. This marked the second time the series gained a three-year renewal. In March 2017, the series was renewed for two additional seasons, bringing its total to 12, and running through the 2018–19 television season.
Several of the actors on "The Big Bang Theory" previously worked together on the sitcom "Roseanne", including Johnny Galecki, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf (who plays Sheldon's mother, Mary Cooper), and Meagen Fay (who plays Bernadette's mother). Additionally, Lorre was a writer on the series for several seasons.
Science consultants.
David Saltzberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles, checked scripts and provided dialogue, mathematics equations, and diagrams used as props. According to series co-creator Bill Prady, Sheldon was given an actual equation to be worked on throughout the first season, with the actual progress displayed on whiteboards in Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. Saltzberg, who has a Ph.D. in physics, served as the science consultant for the show for six seasons and attended every taping. He saw early versions of scripts that needed scientific information added to them, and he also pointed out where the writers, despite their knowledge of science, had made a mistake. He was usually not needed during a taping unless a lot of science, and especially the whiteboard, was involved.
Saltzberg sometimes consulted with Mayim Bialik, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, on the subject of biology.
Theme song.
The Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies wrote and recorded the show's theme song, which describes the history and formation of the universe and the Earth. Co-lead singer Ed Robertson was asked by Lorre and Prady to write a theme song for the show after the producers attended one of the band's concerts in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, Robertson had recently read Simon Singh's 2004 book "Big Bang", and at the concert he improvised a freestyle rap about the origins of the universe. Lorre and Prady phoned him shortly thereafter and asked him to write the theme song. Having been asked to write songs for other films and shows, but ending up being rejected because producers favored songs by other artists, Robertson agreed to write the theme only after learning that Lorre and Prady had not asked anyone else.
On October 9, 2007, a full-length (1 minute and 45 seconds) version of the song was released commercially. Although some unofficial pages identify the song title as "History of Everything," the cover art for the single identifies the title as "Big Bang Theory Theme." A music video also was released via special features on "The Complete Fourth Season" DVD and Blu-ray set. The theme was included on the band's greatest hits album, "Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before", released on September 27, 2011. In September 2015, TMZ uncovered court documents showing that Steven Page sued former bandmate Robertson over the song, alleging that he was promised 20 percent of the proceeds, but that Robertson has kept that money for himself.
Actors' salaries.
For the first three seasons, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco, the three main stars of the show, received up to $60,000 per episode. Their salaries rose to $200,000 per episode for the fourth season, then went up an additional $50,000 in each of the following three seasons, culminating in $350,000 per episode in the seventh season. In September 2013, Bialik and Rauch renegotiated the contracts they held since they were introduced to the series in 2010. On their old contracts, each was making $20,000–$30,000 per episode, while the new contracts doubled that, beginning at $60,000 per episode, increasing steadily to $100,000 per episode by the end of the contract, as well as adding another year for both.
By season seven, Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco were also receiving 0.25percent of the series' back-end money. Before production began on the eighth season, the three plus Helberg and Nayyar looked to renegotiate new contracts, with Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco seeking around $1million per episode, as well as more back-end money. Contracts were signed in the beginning of August 2014, giving the three principal actors an estimated $1million per episode for three years, with the possibility to extend for a fourth year. The deals also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals, and advances towards the back-end. Helberg and Nayyar were also able to renegotiate their contracts, giving them a per-episode pay in the "mid-six-figure range", up from around $100,000 per episode they each received in years prior. The duo, who were looking to have salary parity with Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco, signed their contracts after the studio and producers threatened to write the characters out of the series if a deal could not be reached before the start of production on season eight. By season 10, Helberg and Nayyar reached the $1million per episode parity with Galecki, Parsons, and Cuoco, due to a clause in their deals signed in 2014.
In March 2017, the main cast members (Galecki, Parsons, Cuoco, Helberg, and Nayyar) took a 10percent pay cut to allow Bialik and Rauch an increase in their earnings. This put Galecki, Parsons, Cuoco, Helberg and Nayyar at $900,000 per episode, with Parsons, Galecki, and Helberg also receiving overall deals with Warner Bros. Television. By the end of April, Bialik and Rauch had signed deals to earn $500,000 per episode each, with the deals also including a separate development component for both actors. The deal was an increase from the $175,000–$200,000 the duo had been making per episode.
Recurring themes and elements.
Science.
Much of the series focuses on science, particularly physics. The four main male characters are employed at Caltech and have science-related occupations, as do Bernadette and Amy. The characters frequently banter about scientific theories or news (notably around the start of the show) and make science-related jokes.
Science has also interfered with the characters' romantic lives. Leslie breaks up with Leonard when he sides with Sheldon in his support for string theory rather than loop quantum gravity. When Leonard joins Sheldon, Raj, and Howard on a three-month Arctic research trip, it separates Leonard and Penny at a time when their relationship is budding. When Bernadette takes an interest in Leonard's work, it makes both Penny and Howard envious and results in Howard confronting Leonard and Penny asking Sheldon to teach her physics. Sheldon and Amy also briefly end their relationship after an argument over which of their fields is superior.
As the theme of the show revolves around science, many distinguished and high-profile scientists have appeared as guest stars on the show. Astrophysicist and Nobel laureate George Smoot had a cameo appearance in the second season. Chemical engineer and Nobel laureate Frances Arnold portrayed herself in the 12th season. Theoretical physicist Brian Greene appeared in the fourth season, as well as astrophysicist, science popularizer, and physics outreach specialist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who also appeared in the twelfth season. Cosmologist Stephen Hawking made a short guest appearance in a fifth-season episode; in the eighth season, Hawking video conferences with Sheldon and Leonard, and he makes another appearance in the 200th episode. In the fifth and sixth seasons, NASA astronaut Michael J. Massimino played himself multiple times in the role of Howard's fellow astronaut. In the sixth season, NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin had a cameo appearance. Bill Nye appeared in the seventh and twelfth seasons.
"Nerd" media.
The four main male characters are all avid fans of nerd culture. Among their shared interests are science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and collecting memorabilia.
"Star Trek" in particular is referred to frequently, and Sheldon identifies strongly with the character of Spock, so much so that when he is given a used napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy as a Christmas gift from Penny, he is overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude ("I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy?!"). ' cast members William Shatner and George Takei have made cameos, and Leonard Nimoy made a cameo as the voice of Sheldon's vintage Mr. Spock action figure. ' cast members Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton have had cameos as themselves, while Wil Wheaton has a recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself. Leonard and Sheldon have had conversations in Klingon.
They are also fans of "Star Wars", "Battlestar Galactica", and "Doctor Who". James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill made guest appearances. In the episode "The Ornithophobia Diffusion", when there is a delay in watching "Star Wars" on Blu-ray, Howard complains, "If we don't start soon, George Lucas is going to change it again" (referring to Lucas' controversial alterations to the films). In "The Hot Troll Deviation", Katee Sackhoff of "Battlestar Galactica" appeared as Howard's fantasy dream girl. The characters have different tastes in franchises, with Sheldon praising "Firefly" but disapproving of Leonard's enjoyment of "Babylon 5". With regard to fantasy, the four make frequent references to "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" novels and movies. Additionally, Howard can speak Sindarin, one of the two Elvish languages from "The Lord of the Rings".
Wednesday night is the group's designated "comic book night" because that is the day of the week when new comic books are released. The comic book store is run by fellow geek and recurring character Stuart. On a number of occasions, the group members have dressed up as pop culture characters, including The Flash, Aquaman, Frodo Baggins, Superman, Batman, Spock, The Doctor, Green Lantern, and Thor. As a consequence of losing a bet to Stuart and Wil Wheaton, the group members are forced to visit the comic book store dressed as Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl. DC Comics announced that, to promote its comics, the company would sponsor Sheldon wearing Green Lantern T-shirts.
Various games have been featured, as well as referred to, on the series (e.g. "World of Warcraft", "Halo", "Mario", Donkey Kong, etc.), including fictional games like "Mystic Warlords of Ka'a" (which became a reality in 2011) and Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
Leonard and Penny's relationship.
One of the recurring plot lines is the relationship between Leonard and Penny. Leonard becomes attracted to Penny in the pilot episode, and his need to do favors for her is a frequent point of humor in the first season. Meanwhile, Penny dates a series of muscular, stereotypically "attractive," unintelligent, and insensitive jocks. Their first long-term relationship begins when Leonard returns from a three-month expedition to the North Pole in the season 3 premiere. However, when Leonard tells Penny that he loves her, she realizes she cannot say it back, and they break up. Both Leonard and Penny go on to date other people, most notably with Leonard dating Raj's sister Priya for much of season 4. This relationship is jeopardized when Leonard mistakenly comes to believe that Raj has slept with Penny, and it ultimately ends when Priya sleeps with a former boyfriend in "The Good Guy Fluctuation".
Penny, who admits to missing Leonard in "The Roommate Transmogrification", accepts his request to renew their relationship in "The Beta Test Initiation". After Penny suggests having sex in "The Launch Acceleration", Leonard breaks the mood by proposing to her. Penny says "no" but does not break up with him. She stops a proposal a second time in "The Tangible Affection Proof". In the sixth-season episode, "The 43 Peculiarity", Penny finally tells Leonard that she loves him. Although they both feel jealousy when the other receives significant attention from the opposite sex, Penny is secure in their relationship, even when he leaves on a four-month expedition to the North Sea in "The Bon Voyage Reaction". After he returns, the relationship blossoms over the seventh season. In the penultimate episode "The Gorilla Dissolution", Penny admits that they should marry and when Leonard realizes that she is serious, he proposes with a ring that he has been carrying for years. Leonard and Penny decide to elope to Las Vegas in the season 8 finale, but beforehand, wanting no secrets, Leonard admits to kissing another woman, Mandy Chow (Melissa Tang) while on the expedition. Despite this, Leonard and Penny finally marry in the season 9 premiere and remain happy. By the Season 9 finale, Penny and Leonard decide to have a second wedding ceremony for their family and friends, to make up for eloping. In season 10, Sheldon moves into Penny's old apartment with Amy, allowing Penny and Leonard to finally live on their own as husband and wife.
In season 12, Penny announces that she does not want to have any children and Leonard reluctantly supports her decision. Later, her old boyfriend Zack and his new wife want Leonard to be a surrogate father to their kid since Zack is infertile. Penny reluctantly agrees to let Leonard donate his sperm. However, when she tries to seduce Leonard despite knowing he has to be abstinent for a few days, her visiting father, Wyatt, points out to Penny that her own actions suggest she is more conflicted over having kids than she lets on, and she admits she feels bad about letting him and Leonard down if she never has children. He says that despite her flaws, parenthood is the best thing that ever happened to him, and he does not want her to miss out, but that he will support her no matter what she does. Leonard eventually changes his mind, not wanting a child in the world that he cannot raise. In the series finale, Penny is pregnant with Leonard's baby, and she has changed her mind about not wanting children.
Sheldon and Amy's relationship.
In the third-season finale, Raj and Howard sign Sheldon up for online dating to find a woman compatible with Sheldon, and they discover neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler. Like Sheldon, she has a history of social ineptitude and participates in online dating only to fulfill an agreement with her mother. This spawns a story line in which Sheldon and Amy communicate daily while insisting to Leonard and Penny that they are not romantically involved. In "The Agreement Dissection", Sheldon and Amy talk in her apartment after a night of dancing, and she kisses him on the lips. Instead of getting annoyed, Sheldon says "fascinating" and later asks Amy to be his girlfriend in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition". The same night he draws up "The Relationship Agreement" to verify the ground rules of him as her boyfriend and vice versa (similar to his "Roommate Agreement" with Leonard). Amy agrees but later regrets not having had a lawyer read through it.
In "The Launch Acceleration", Amy tries to use her "neurobiology bag of tricks" to increase the attraction between herself and Sheldon. Her efforts appear to be working because Sheldon is not happy, but he makes no attempt to stop her. In the fifth-season finale, "The Countdown Reflection", Sheldon takes Amy's hand as Howard is launched into space. In the sixth-season premiere, "The Date Night Variable", after a dinner in which Sheldon fails to live up to this expectation, Amy gives Sheldon an ultimatum that their relationship is over unless he tells her something from his heart. Amy accepts Sheldon's romantic speech even after learning that it is a line from the first "Spider-Man" movie. In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion", Sheldon states that he has been working on his discomfort about physical contact and admits that "it's a possibility" that he could one day have sex with Amy. Amy is revealed to have similar feelings in "The Love Spell Potential". Sheldon explains that he never thought about intimacy with anyone before Amy.
"The Locomotive Manipulation" is the first episode in which Sheldon initiates a kiss with Amy. Although initially done in a fit of sarcasm, he discovers that he enjoys the feeling. Consequently, Sheldon slowly starts to open up over the rest of the season, and he starts a more intimate relationship with Amy. However, in the season finale, Sheldon leaves town temporarily to cope with several changes and Amy becomes distraught. However, 45 days into the trip, Sheldon gets mugged and calls for Leonard to drive him home, only to be confronted by Amy, who is upset over not being contacted by him in weeks. When Sheldon admits he did not call her because he was too embarrassed to admit that he could not make it on his own, Amy accepts that he is not perfect. In "The Prom Equivalency", Sheldon hides in his room to avoid going to a mock prom reenactment with her. In the resulting standoff, Amy is about to confess that she loves Sheldon, but he surprises her by saying that he loves her too. This prompts Amy to have a panic attack.
In the season-eight finale, Sheldon and Amy get into a fight about commitment on their fifth anniversary. Amy tells Sheldon that she needs to think about the future of their relationship, unaware that Sheldon was about to propose to her. Season nine sees Sheldon harassing Amy about making up her mind until she breaks up with him. Both struggle with singlehood and trying to be friends for the next few weeks until they reunite in episode ten and have sex for the first time on Amy's birthday. In season ten, Amy's apartment is flooded, and she and Sheldon decide to move in together into Penny's apartment as part of a five-week experiment to determine compatibility with each other's living habits. It goes well and they decide to make the arrangement permanent.
In the Season 11 premiere, Sheldon proposes to Amy, and she accepts. The two get married in the eleventh-season finale.
"Soft Kitty".
The song "Soft Kitty" is described by Sheldon as a song sung by his mother when he was ill. Its repeated use in the series popularized the song. A scene showing the origin of the song in Sheldon's childhood is depicted in an episode of "Young Sheldon", which aired on February 1, 2018. It shows Sheldon's mother, Mary, singing the song to her son, who has the flu.
Howard's mother.
In scenes set at Howard's home, he interacts with his rarely seen mother (voiced by Carol Ann Susi until her death) by shouting from room to room in the house. She similarly interacts with other characters in this manner. She reflects the Jewish mother stereotype in some ways, such as being overly controlling of Howard's adult life and sometimes trying to make him feel guilty about causing her trouble. She is dependent on Howard, as she requires him to help her with her wig and makeup in the morning. Howard, in turn, is attached to his mother to the point where she still cuts his meat for him, takes him to the dentist, does his laundry and "grounds" him when he returns home after briefly moving out. Until Howard's marriage to Bernadette in the fifth-season finale, Howard's former living situation led Leonard's psychiatrist mother to speculate that he may suffer from some type of pathology and Sheldon to refer to their relationship as Oedipal. In season 8, Howard's mother dies in her sleep while in Florida, which devastates Howard and Stuart, who briefly lived with Mrs. Wolowitz.
Apartment building elevator.
In the apartment building where Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny (and later Amy) live, the elevator has been out of order throughout most of the series, forcing characters to have to use the stairs. Stairway conversations between the characters as they walk up the three flights to their apartments occur in almost every episode, often serving as a transition between longer scenes. The Season 3 episode, "The Staircase Implementation" reveals that the elevator was broken when Leonard was experimenting with rocket fuel. In the penultimate episode of the series, the elevator is returned to an operational state, causing Sheldon some angst, until he realizes that the fixed elevator reverted things to the "status quo".
Vanity cards.
Like most shows created by Chuck Lorre, "The Big Bang Theory" ends by showing for one second a vanity card written by Lorre after the credits, followed by the Warner Bros. Television closing logo. These cards are archived on Lorre's website. The series' final vanity card reads simply "The End".
Release.
Broadcast.
"The Big Bang Theory" premiered in the United States on September 24, 2007, on CBS. The series debuted in Canada on CTV in September 2007. On February 14, 2008, the series debuted in the United Kingdom on channels E4 and Channel 4. In Australia the first seven seasons of the series began airing on the Seven Network and 7mate from October 2015 and also gained the rights to season 8 in 2016, although the Nine Network has rights to air seasons nine & ten. On January 22, 2018, it was announced that Nine had acquired the rights to Season 1–8.
Syndication and streaming.
In May 2010, it was reported that the show had been picked up for syndication, mainly among Fox's owned and operated stations and other local stations, with Warner Bros. Television's sister cable network TBS holding the show's cable syndication rights. Although details of the syndication deal have not been revealed, it was reported the deal "set a record price for a cable off-network sitcom purchase".
On September 17, 2019, as part of an extension of the TBS agreement through 2028, Warner Bros.' then-upcoming streaming service HBO Max (now Max) acquired the exclusive U.S. streaming rights to the series. In December 2024, it was announced that CBS parent company Paramount Global had acquired non-exclusive cable rights to "The Big Bang Theory" for Nick at Nite and MTV, beginning December 24, 2024 and January 1, 2025 respectively; "Deadline Hollywood" reported that the current contract with TBS had made the linear television rights non-exclusive, allowing them to be shared with other broadcasters. Beginning in 2025 "The Big Bang Theory" was made available on Disney+ in certain regions via the Star hub alongside its spin-off "Young Sheldon" in an unprecedented move.
Home media.
The first and second seasons were only available on DVD at their time of release in 2008 and 2009. Starting with the release of the third season in 2010 and continuing every year with every new season, a Blu-ray disc set has also been released in conjunction with the DVD. In 2012, Warner Bros. released the first two seasons on Blu-ray, marking the first time that all episodes were available on the Blu-ray disc format.
Reception.
Critical response.
Although the initial reception was mixed, the show went on to receive a more positive reception. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% approval rating from critics. On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 61 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. In 2013, "TV Guide" ranked the series #52 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time.
U.S. ratings.
"The Big Bang Theory" started off slowly in the ratings, failing to make the top 50 in its first season (ranking 68th), and ranking 40th in its second season. When the third season premiered on September 21, 2009, however, "The Big Bang Theory" ranked as CBS's highest-rated show of that evening in the adults 18–49 demographic (4.6/10) along with a then-series-high 12.83 million viewers. After the first three seasons aired at different times on Monday nights, CBS moved the show to Thursdays at 8:00 ET for the 2010–2011 schedule, to be in direct competition with NBC's Comedy Block and Fox's "American Idol" (then the longest reigning leading primetime show on U.S. television from 2004 to 2011). During its fourth season, it became television's highest rated comedy, just barely beating out "Two and a Half Men" (which held the position for the past 8 years). However, in the age 18–49 demographic (the show's target age range), it was the second highest-rated comedy, behind ABC's "Modern Family". The fifth season opened with viewing figures of over 14 million.
The sixth season boasts some of the highest-rated episodes for the show so far, with a then-new series high set with "The Bakersfield Expedition", with 20 million viewers, a first for the series, which along with "NCIS", made CBS the first network to have two scripted series reach that large an audience in the same week since 2007. In the sixth season, the show became the highest rated and viewed scripted show in the 18–49 demographic, trailing only the live regular "NBC Sunday Night Football" coverage, and was third in total viewers, trailing "NCIS" and "Sunday Night Football". Season seven of the series opened strong, continuing the success gained in season six, with the second episode of the premiere, "The Deception Verification", setting the new series high in viewers with 20.44 million.
Showrunner Steve Molaro, who took over from Bill Prady with the sixth season, credits some of the show's success to the sitcom's exposure in off-network syndication, particularly on TBS, while Michael Schneider of "TV Guide" attributes it to the timeslot move two seasons earlier. Chuck Lorre and CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler also credit the success to the influence of Molaro, in particular the deepening exploration of the firmly established regular characters and their interpersonal relationships, such as the on-again, off-again relationship between Leonard and Penny. Throughout much of the 2012–13 season, "The Big Bang Theory" placed first in all of the syndication ratings, receiving formidable competition from only "Judge Judy" and "Wheel of Fortune" (first-run syndication programs). By the end of the 2012–13 television season, "The Big Bang Theory" had dethroned "Judge Judy" as the ratings leader in all of the syndicated programming with 7.1, "Judy" descending to second place for that season with a 7.0. "The Big Bang Theory" did not place first in syndication ratings for the 2013–14 television season, beaten out by "Judge Judy".
UK distribution and ratings.
The show made its United Kingdom debut on Channel 4 on February 14, 2008. The show was also shown as a 'first-look' on Channel 4's digital offshoot E4 prior to the main channel's airing. While the show's ratings were not deemed strong enough to warrant broadcast on the main channel, they were considered the opposite for E4. For each following season, all episodes were shown first-run on E4, with episodes only aired on the main channel in a repeat capacity, usually on a weekend morning. From the third season, the show aired in two parts, being split so that it could air new episodes for longer throughout the year. This was due to rising ratings. The first part began airing on December 17, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. while the second part, containing the remaining eleven episodes, began airing in the same time period from May 6, 2010. The first half of the fourth season began airing on November 4, 2010, at 9:00 p.m., drawing 877,000 viewers, with a further 256,000 watching on the E4+1 hour service. This gave the show an overall total of 1.13 million viewers, making it E4's most-watched programme for that week. The increased ratings continued over subsequent weeks.
The fourth season's second half began on June 30, 2011. Season 5 began airing on November 3, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. as part of E4's Comedy Thursdays, acting as a lead-in to the channel's newest comedy, "Perfect Couples". Episode 19, the highest-viewed episode of the season, attracted 1.4 million viewers. Season 6 premiered on November 15, 2012, with 1.89 million viewers and a further 469,000 on the time shift channel, bringing the total to 2.31 million, E4's highest viewing ratings of 2012, and the highest the channel had received since June 2011. The sixth season returned in mid-2013 to finish airing the remaining episodes. Season 7 premiered on E4 on October 31, 2013, at 8:30 pm and hit multiple ratings records this season. The second half of season seven aired in mid 2014. The eighth season premiered on E4 on October 23, 2014, at 8:30 pm. During its eighth season, "The Big Bang Theory" shared its 8:30 pm time period with fellow CBS comedy, "2 Broke Girls". Following the airing of the first eight episodes of that show's fourth season, "The Big Bang Theory" returned to finish airing its eighth season on March 19, 2015.
Netflix UK & Ireland announced on February 13, 2016, that seasons 1–8 would be available to stream from February 15, 2016.
Canadian ratings.
"The Big Bang Theory" started off quietly in Canada, but managed to garner major success in later seasons. "The Big Bang Theory" is telecast throughout Canada via the CTV Television Network in simultaneous substitution with cross-border CBS affiliates. Now immensely popular in Canada, "The Big Bang Theory" is also rerun daily on the Canadian cable channel The Comedy Network.
The season 4 premiere garnered an estimated 3.1 million viewers across Canada. This was the largest audience for a sitcom since the series finale of "Friends". The show later increased in viewership and became the most-watched entertainment television show in Canada.
Accolades.
In August 2009, the sitcom won the best comedy series TCA award and Jim Parsons (Sheldon) won the award for individual achievement in comedy. In 2010, the show won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy, while Parsons won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. On January 16, 2011, Parsons was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, an award that was presented by co-star Kaley Cuoco. On September 18, 2011, Parsons was again awarded an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. On January 9, 2013, the show won People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy for the second time. August 25, 2014, Jim Parsons was awarded an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. "The Big Bang Theory" also won the 2016 People's Choice Awards for under "Favorite TV Show" and "Favorite Network TV Comedy" with Jim Parsons winning Favorite Comedic TV Actor. On January 20, 2016, "The Big Bang Theory" also won the International category at the UK's National Television Awards.
Merchandise.
On March 16, 2014, a Lego Ideas project portraying the living room scene in Lego style with the main cast as mini-figures reached 10,000 supporters on the platform, which qualified it to be considered as an official set by the Lego Ideas review board. On November 7, 2014, Lego Ideas approved the design and began refining it. The set was released in August 2015, with an exclusive pre-sale taking place at San Diego Comic-Con.
Offshoots.
Plagiarized series.
Through the use of his vanity cards at the end of episodes, Lorre alleged that the program had been plagiarized by a show produced and aired in Belarus in 2010. Officially titled "Теоретики" ("The Theorists"), the show features "clones" of the main characters, a similar opening sequence, and what appears to be a very close Russian translation of the scripts. Lorre expressed annoyance and described his inquiry with the Warner Bros. legal department about options. The television production company and station's close relationship with the Belarus government was cited as the reason that any attempt to claim copyright infringement would be in vain because the company copying the episodes is operated by the government.
However, no legal action was required to end production of the other show: as soon as it became known that the show was unlicensed, the actors quit and the producers canceled it. Dmitriy Tankovich (who plays Leonard's counterpart, "Seva") said in an interview, <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />I'm upset. At first, the actors were told all legal issues were resolved. We didn't know it wasn't the case, so when the creators of "The Big Bang Theory" started talking about the show, I was embarrassed. I can't understand why our people first do, and then think. I consider this to be the rock bottom of my career. And I don't want to take part in a stolen show.
Spin-offs.
"Young Sheldon".
In November 2016, it was reported that CBS was in negotiations to create a spin-off of "The Big Bang Theory" centered on Sheldon as a young boy. The prequel series, described as "a "Malcolm in the Middle"-esque single-camera family comedy" would be executive-produced by Lorre and Molaro, with Prady expected to be involved in some capacity, and intended to air in the 2017–18 season alongside "The Big Bang Theory". The initial idea for the series came from Parsons, who passed it along to "The Big Bang Theory" producers. In early March 2017, Iain Armitage was cast as the younger Sheldon, as well as Zoe Perry as his mother, Mary Cooper. Perry is the real-life daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who portrays Mary Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory".
On March 13, 2017, CBS ordered the spin-off "Young Sheldon" series. Jon Favreau directed and executive produced the pilot. Created by Lorre and Molaro, the series follows 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper as he attends high school in East Texas. Alongside Armitage as 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper and Perry as Mary Cooper, Lance Barber stars as George Cooper, Sheldon's father; Raegan Revord stars as Missy Cooper, Sheldon's twin sister; and Montana Jordan stars as George Cooper Jr., Sheldon's older brother. Jim Parsons reprises his role as adult Sheldon Cooper, as narrator for the series. Parsons, Lorre, Molaro and Todd Spiewak also serve as executive producers on the series, for Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The show's pilot episode premiered on September 25, 2017. Subsequent weekly episodes began airing on November 2, 2017, following the broadcast of the 237th episode of "The Big Bang Theory".
Armitage appeared on the series' 265th episode, "The VCR Illumination", by way of a videotape recorded by the younger Sheldon and viewed by the current-day Sheldon.
On January 6, 2018, the show was renewed for a second season. On February 22, 2019, CBS renewed the series for both the third and fourth seasons. On March 30, 2021, CBS renewed the series for a fifth, sixth, and seventh season.
The prequel series came to an end on May 16, 2024, with an hour long episode which included George Cooper's funeral and a cameo from Parsons and Mayim Bialik as their older characters. The audience learns that Young Sheldon has been a memoir of Sheldon's life all along.
"Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage".
In January 2024, it was announced that there will be a spin-off series of "Young Sheldon" focused on Georgie Cooper and Mandy McAllister that will be slated for the 2024–25 season on CBS.
"Stuart Fails to Save the Universe".
On April 12, 2023, it was announced that a spin-off of the original series was in development. On October 10, 2024, it was announced that the third spin-off will feature Stuart Bloom, Denise, and Bert Kibbler, with Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, and Brian Posehn reprising their roles. On March 19, 2025, it was announced that the title of the show will be "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe".
Television special.
On May 16, 2019, a television special titled "Unraveling the Mystery: A Big Bang Farewell" aired following the series finale of "The Big Bang Theory". It is a backstage retrospective featuring Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco.
Lawsuit.
In March 2023, political analyst Mithun Vijay Kumar filed a court case in Mumbai against Netflix due to the series insulting Madhuri Dixit in an episode of season 2 by calling her a "leprous prostitute".
References.
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List of The Big Bang Theory episodes
"The Big Bang Theory" is an American television sitcom created and executively produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. Like the name of the series itself (with the exception of the first episode, "Pilot"), episode titles of "The Big Bang Theory" always start with "The" and resemble the name of a scientific principle, theory or experiment, whimsically referencing a plot point or quirk in that episode.
 All seasons and episodes have been released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Max.
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Series overview.
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References.
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The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
Episode of Doctor Who
"The Big Bang" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television programme "Doctor Who", first broadcast on 26 June 2010 on BBC One. It is the second part of the two-part series finale; the first part, "The Pandorica Opens", aired on 19 June. The episode was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes.
Following the end of the previous episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) is trapped in a prison from which escape is impossible, the space-time vessel the TARDIS has blown up with the time-travelling archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) inside, and the Doctor's companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) has been shot and killed by an Auton replica of her fiancé Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). As the universe is collapsing, the Doctor uses time travel to solve these problems and ultimately reboot the universe.
The episode sees the climax of Amy's character arc and the story arc of the series regarding the cracks in the universe, though Moffat chose to leave a few things unexplained. Taking place mainly in a museum, most scenes in the episode were shot at Brangwyn Hall in February 2010. "The Big Bang" was seen by 6.696 million viewers in the UK and received the highest Appreciation Index of the fifth series at 89. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, though many commented on the complicated nature of the plot and whether some aspects made sense. The two-part story won the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
Plot.
The explosion of the TARDIS has caused the universe to have never existed, except for the Earth, its moon, and a sun-like object. In Roman Britain, an Auton version of Rory mourns Amy after he shot and killed her. The Eleventh Doctor appears to Rory, handing him his sonic screwdriver. Rory frees the younger Doctor trapped in the Pandorica with the screwdriver. The Doctor then places Amy's body inside the Pandorica, which will restore her once given an imprint of her living DNA. The Doctor uses River Song's vortex manipulator to jump ahead nearly two millennia; Rory, in his ageless Auton body, decides to stay with Amy and guard her.
In 1996, seven-year-old Amelia Pond finds instructions from the Doctor which leads her to touch the Pandorica in a museum. This allows Amy to be revitalised and freed. They are soon joined by the Doctor and Rory, now a museum guard, and get chased by a Dalek restored by the light of the Pandorica. The Doctor uses the vortex manipulator to go back and give Rory his screwdriver. As the universe continues to collapse, Amelia disappears. The Doctor discovers that the "sun" is the still-exploding TARDIS; River, trapped inside the TARDIS, is being kept alive in a time loop. The Doctor saves River.
The Doctor creates a diversion for the Dalek, allowing him to rig the Pandorica to fly into the TARDIS explosion, using what exists of the original universe inside the Pandorica to create a second Big Bang. Before this, the Doctor instructs Amy to focus on her family and Rory to restore them in the new universe. The Doctor begins witnessing events in his life in reverse as the cracks in the universe close. The Doctor has to stay outside this new universe for that to happen. After a final goodbye to Amelia on the night they met, he enters the cracks and disappears.
Amy wakes in her home in 2010 to discover that her parents and Rory have been brought back into existence. Amy and Rory celebrate their wedding day. At the reception, River leaves her diary for Amy which prompts Amy to recall the Doctor. She interrupts her father's speech, imploring the Doctor to come to the wedding. The TARDIS and the Doctor appear at the reception. Later, River tells the Doctor that he will soon find out who she is, before teleporting away. Aboard the TARDIS, the Doctor explains to Amy and Rory that unanswered questions remain about the TARDIS explosion.
Production.
Writing.
Aspects of "The Big Bang" were outlined by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat as he planned the arc of the series. Moffat stated he left room to improvise on the story and was pleased with the result, describing it as "mad" and "amazing". Moffat stated that the title "The Big Bang" is his favourite dirty "Doctor Who" joke as it is a reference to the fact that Amy and Rory conceive their child on the TARDIS that night, as revealed in the next series in "A Good Man Goes to War". Gillan described Rory's vigil for Amy as the "ultimate romantic gesture" which showed how much he loved Amy, and was where Amy realised how much she loved him. Moffat thought that standing guard for two thousand years would make up for shooting her. Moffat had always intended for Amy and Rory to get married "from the off". Moffat described the conclusion as the story of how Amy has been changed by the Doctor and the Doctor's success at restoring her spirit to the girl he first met, believing that a man could drop out of the sky and "fix everything". However, he did not return for her as he had promised and she grew believing that he was a liar and could not be trusted; Amy returns to her original belief when she stands up at her wedding and proclaims that the Doctor is real and that he will arrive. Though the episode is the end of the series, Moffat left questions to be answered in the next series, including the mystery of River Song's identity and the "Silence" which appeared to cause the TARDIS to blow up.
"The Big Bang" deliberately revisits several scenes from earlier in the series. The first scene in the episode mirrors the start of "The Eleventh Hour". As the Doctor rewinds through his life, he sees events which relate to "The Lodger", but which were not shown in that episode. His conversation with Amy during the events of "Flesh and Stone", however, appeared in that episode. It was shot in extreme close-up but the Doctor's tweed jacket is still visible, which the present Doctor in that episode had previously lost to the Weeping Angels.
Moffat found it interesting that the Doctor regularly experienced time out of order and was used to a whole different kind of causality. He believed that the Doctor would attempt to cheat and break his own rules to save the universe from collapsing. The time travel used in the episode is compatible with the theory of time travel. As the episode features many "time-jumps" when the Doctor travels back to do things seen in the opening credits, Moffat decided to make it less complicated by allowing the audience to figure things out before they occurred. He did this by calling attention to the future-Doctor in the opening scenes by having him wearing a fez and holding a mop, and as the viewers saw the Doctor later acquire these items they would begin to connect the events. Moffat mentioned the fez to fellow executive producers Piers Wenger and Beth Willis; they both were worried that Smith would become too attached to the hat and want to incorporate it into his costume, but Moffat assured him that he was planning on destroying the fez. Wenger later stated that Smith was "one of the few people who can pull off a fez".
Filming and effects.
The read-through for "The Big Bang" took place on 13 January 2010 in the Upper Boat Studios. The episode was filmed in the sixth production block along with "The Pandorica Opens". The Doctor visits previous episodes as he is being erased from history; these scenes, taking place in "Flesh and Stone" and "The Lodger", were filmed with their respective episodes. The first scenes filmed for "The Big Bang" were shot in the TARDIS set, including the very last scene. The beginning of the episode, in which the fez-wearing Doctor from the future confronts Rory, was filmed on 5 February 2010 at Margam Country Park, Port Talbot. As it was filmed near the end of production of the series, "The Big Bang" had a smaller effects budget than other episodes, but this was compensated with cinematic lighting. The TARDIS appears in the time vortex during the ending credits, an idea of director Toby Haynes.
Brangwyn Hall in Swansea was used as the museum. Haynes wanted the museum to feel "massive and eerie", and coached Blackwood to "live in the moment". The opening sequence featuring young Amelia is filmed from her height, and was inspired by Steven Spielberg films in which people would look at things in awe. During this scene Haynes played appropriate music to help Blackwood get into the mood, as he had done during similar scenes when directing "The Pandorica Opens". The set was filled with things that would seem like typical exhibits in the daytime, but appeared spooky at night. The exhibits also included historical anomalies which were the result of history collapsing, such as penguins on the Nile. Though Blackwood appeared as the seven-year-old version of Amy in "The Eleventh Hour", the episode marked the first time Gillan and Blackwood—who are actually cousins—acted together. Gillan initially found this "weird", but she commented that they quickly got used to it. The two versions of Amy were purposely dressed in similar colours. The cold open ends with Amy telling her younger self "Okay kid, this is where it gets complicated" after she has been revealed in the Pandorica. Moffat, after viewing the rushes, ordered the sequence to be reshot as Gillan had said "really complicated", which conveyed a different meaning. As they had run out of time filming in the museum, all of the shots looking into the Pandorica were filmed three weeks later in the Pandorica chamber set.
During the scene in which the Doctor and Rory are talking after Rory has let him out of the Pandorica, one of the stone Daleks was originally supposed to move, operated by Haynes himself. However, the scene was cut from the final episode. A stunt performer for Smith performed the sequence in which a future version of the Doctor who had been shot by a Dalek fell down the museum stairs; he did the stunt three times before Haynes captured the angles and shots he wanted. On the DVD commentary, Haynes stated that the shot in the episode is mostly the first take. River's costume in the episode was intended to resemble both the costumes of Princess Leia and Han Solo in the "Star Wars" films, so she appeared like a "female Han Solo".
Originally there was a scene after the four had been reunited in the museum where Amy had a "meltdown" and Rory assured her it was okay; this was cut due to pacing issues, which pleased Darvill as he disliked his performance in the scene. Gillan stated that the episode was the "most difficult" for her, as it was "a big climax for Amy and her story that's been building through the series...it just required a lot of kind of concentration and emotion." In August 2011 she stated that the Doctor and Amy's farewell was the most emotional scene for her to film. The scene in which the Doctor gives a final speech to young Amelia was not filmed with Smith and Blackwood on the same set. Smith's dialogue was shot first in the bedroom set, while the corner with the bed was recreated and filmed with Blackwood as a pick-up. Blackwood fell asleep during filming. Amy and Rory's wedding reception was filmed at Miskin Manor. Gillan found wearing the dress strange, while Darvill felt as if he was gate-crashing someone else's wedding, as he did not know any of the extras there. Haynes wanted to first show the revelation that the TARDIS would appear at the reception in a small way with minor changes such as the glasses tinkling and chandelier shaking, and build it up from there. Moffat thought that Amy would want a big wedding with a lot of dancing. In the script it was written that the Doctor was a "terrible dancer" and danced like a "drunk giraffe", and Smith additionally came up with his own routine.
Broadcast and reception.
"The Big Bang" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 26 June 2010. The extended 55 minute episode lasted from 6:05 p.m. to 7:00. Possibly due to the early start time, overnight ratings showed that the episode was watched by 5.09 million viewers, with 4.64 million on BBC One and 445,000 on a simulcast on BBC HD. Final consolidated ratings calculated by BARB reported that the episode had been watched by a total of 6.696 million viewers, with 6.118 million on BBC One and 578,000 on BBC HD. The episode also received an Appreciation Index of 89, the highest of the series and the four main channels the day it was broadcast.
A Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray containing this episode together with "Vincent and the Doctor", "The Lodger" and "The Pandorica Opens" was released on 6 September 2010. It was then re-released as part of the complete series five DVD on 8 November 2010.
Critical reception.
"The Big Bang" met with mostly positive reviews from critics. Richard Edwards of "SFX" gave the episode five out of five stars and wrote "Steven Moffat pulls off the remarkable feat of making it feel like the logical denouement of last week's outing." While he noted that the "end of the world" scenario was very common, he said that it had never "been quite so pleasingly complex" and that "even if there are several plot holes, it's difficult to get too worried about them when the story packs such a strong emotional wallop". Den of Geek's Simon Brew also gave the episode a positive review, writing "if you were awaiting a simple, easy-to-explain blockbuster of a "Doctor Who" series finale, you simply didn't get it here. Instead, if you were looking for something really very ambitious, often quite confusing, yet ultimately far more satisfying, then 'The Big Bang' absolutely hit the mark."
IGN's Matt Wales gave the episode a 10 out of 10 rating of "Masterful", describing it as "wonderfully wide-eyed, genuinely magical adventure" and adding that it "ended the series on an unquestionable high". Keith Phipps of "The A.V. Club" gave "The Big Bang" a B+, describing it as not "wholly successful...the climactic action is a bit too rushed and the epilogue too relaxed". While it was "still beyond-satisfactory and filled with great moments", he thought it felt "like a letdown after last week's superb 'Pandorica Opens'". Zap2it's Sam McPherson gave it an A and described it as "a great conclusion to a great season" and while "the entire universe-rescue plot was a little boring...the characters made the episode one of the best ever". However, he did wish that it kept more of the darker tone from "The Pandorica Opens", labelling "The Big Bang" as "a bit of a tonal letdown".
Dan Martin of "The Guardian" wrote that the "finale was brilliant – a classic modern fairytale unfolding before our eyes". Gavin Fuller, writing for "The Daily Telegraph", summarised the episode as "interesting and enjoyable, but not quite the spectacular conclusion you might hope for." He particularly praised Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor in the scenes of his sacrifice and rewinding of his timeline, and also described the presentation of the universe collapsing as "effective". However, Fuller had some criticisms of the plot, seeing it as potentially confusing. He also expressed disappointment with the "easy" solutions to some of the problems facing the Doctor in this episode. Fuller also wrote that the episode's solutions were "rather paradoxical in nature [since the Doctor] only escapes as Rory lets him out once given the means to do so by the Doctor travelling back in time once he's escaped.", though Martin in "The Guardian" excused this paradox due to the episode being set "in the eye of the storm as history collapses [and so] ... hardly working to the same rulebook".
Along with "The Pandorica Opens", "The Big Bang" was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), the fifth time "Doctor Who" has won the award, and the fourth time a Steven Moffat episode has won. In February 2013, Moffat stated that "The Big Bang" was his personal favourite among the "Doctor Who" episodes he had written up to that point. "I thought it was just a great, fun, funny, witty episode. I was proud of that."
Notes.
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References.
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Bang Goes the Theory
Bang Goes the Theory or Bang is a British television science magazine series, co-produced by the BBC and the Open University, that began on 27 July 2009 and ended on 5 May 2014 on BBC One. Originally presented by Liz Bonnin, Jem Stansfield, Dallas Campbell and Yan Wong, the show employed a hands-on approach to test scientific theory and demonstrate how science shapes our world. From series seven, Maggie Philbin replaced Dallas Campbell as a main presenter and Yan Wong no longer appeared and the programme was subsequently cancelled after just two more seasons.
Production.
Creation.
The co-production between the BBC and the Open University was announced in June 2009 and was commissioned by Jay Hunt, controller of BBC One, for ten 30 minute episodes. It promises to "put scientific theory to the test" and examine "how science shapes the world around us". During the announcement, Hunt stated that the series "brings popular science back to the very heart of BBC One", referring to the long-running BBC series "Tomorrow's World", which ran from 1965 to 2003 and was cancelled following falling ratings. Comparing "Bang Goes the Theory" to "Tomorrow's World", series editor Dermot Caulfield said,
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Rather than simply be a reporting vehicle on what's new in the world of science, we want to roll up our sleeves, stick our hands in the dirty gubbins of the engine and find out why, what, or where science is happening.
Dr. Stephen Serjeant (Reader in Cosmology at the OU), and Dr Ian Johnston (Lecturer in Engineering for the OU) were the two academic team leaders for the production, covering disciplines including geology, astrophysics, neuropsychology and zoology. The studio elements of the series were initially recorded in a building that housed the supersonic wind tunnel fans at RAE Bedford in Bedfordshire and was also the testing facility for the first prototype Harrier jump jet V/STOL aircraft. They were later recorded in the old linear accelerator building on the University of Sussex campus near Brighton, where Jem Stansfield has his workshop. As of Series 6 (from March 2012) no studio was used and linking sections were filmed on location.
To "inspire the audience to get hands on with science", the series was supported by a number of free events across the country organised by BBC Learning.
Over time, the programme moved from being an educational entertainment format in which short films were interspersed with "street science" demonstrations (mainly presented by Yan Wong) and stunts (mainly presented by Jem Stansfield), to a current affairs-style format. Distinct changes occurred in series 6, when each episode explored a single theme, the studio setting was dropped, several guest presenters appeared over the course of the series (one of whom, Maggie Philbin, subsequently joined the show as a regular presenter), and Jem Stansfield's stunts were phased out, with his attempt to build a pedal-powered flying machine (featured across two episodes) being the last such item to appear.
Presenters.
"Bang Goes the Theory" was originally presented by Dallas Campbell (series 1–6); Liz Bonnin, a biochemist with a Masters in wild animal conservation; Jem Stansfield, an aeronautical engineer, inventor and designer of museum exhibits; and Yan Wong (co-author of "The Ancestor's Tale"), an Oxford-educated evolutionary biologist. Both Campbell and Wong left after series 6, and were replaced by Maggie Philbin, a science television presenter. From series 6 onwards, some segments were also fronted by one-off guest presenters. Maggie Philbin initially appeared as a guest presenter in series 6 before becoming a regular.
Live trailer.
Ahead of the start of the series, BBC One aired a live three-minute trailer on 14 July 2009 before "EastEnders". Described as a television first and emulating the Honda television advert "Cog", it featured a continuing chain of scientific experiments, with one triggering the next and so on. The sequence included Bonnin using a bicycle to power a Van de Graaff generator and Stansfield then using the 250,000 volts generated to, among other things,
The sequence did not quite complete as expected: the bunny did not fully inflate and manual intervention was required to break an infrared beam to allow the experiment to continue; the rest of the experiment was executed without problems. Prior to the broadcast, over 10,000 people voted online for Wong to be propelled using magnetic forces. The live BBC 1 trailer was directed by John Rooney.
BBC One ident.
From 27 July 2009 until 5 May 2014, "Bang Goes The Theory" was the only programme on BBC One to have its own ident. It depicted a group of people using bicycles to generate electricity to illuminate a ring of lights, into the centre of which the BBC One logo was superimposed.
Live tour and roadshow.
In 2010, a Bang roadshow happened, and in 2011 a Bang Live toured the UK with an exclusive live show and interactive tent.
Symphony of Bang Goes The Theory.
Musician John Boswell created a song using clips from the Bang Goes The Theory shows and website. It features distortion of the presenters' words using pitch-correction software, over the top of original music, in the same vein as Boswell's Symphony of Science series. Although conceived originally as a web piece, the song is also used at the end of the Bang LIVE roadshows.
Episodes.
Series 1.
The first series consisted of ten episodes. At the end of the last episode, it was announced that the programme would return in March 2010. And also with the slogan "Putting science to the test" until Series 3.
Series 2.
The second series consisted of eight episodes, plus another hour-long special, starting on 15 March 2010. It was also broadcast on BBC HD.
Series 3.
The third series consisted of six episodes, starting on 8 September 2010. It was also broadcast on BBC HD.
Series 4.
The fourth series commenced with an hour-long special, starting on 10 March 2011. It was also broadcast on BBC HD, and also with the slogan "Revealing your world with a bang" until Series 5. The slogan "Revealing your world through science" was used on Japan Earthquake special episode.
Series 5.
The fifth series began airing on 15 August 2011 on BBC One and in HD on BBC One HD.
Series 6.
The sixth series began airing on 12 March 2012 on BBC One and in HD on BBC One HD, in England and Scotland. It is shown a day later, on BBC Two in Northern Ireland and Wales.
Series 7.
The seventh series began airing on 4 March 2013 on BBC One and in HD on BBC One HD, in England, at the same time but on BBC Two in Scotland, and a day later on BBC Two in Northern Ireland and Wales.
Series 8.
The eighth and final series began airing on 10 March 2014 on BBC One and in HD on BBC One HD, in England and Scotland. Jem Stansfield did not appear in episodes 4, 6, 7 and 8 but was still credited as "Engineering consultant", and replaced by Sir Terry Wogan, Charlie Dimmock, and Dr. Chris van Tulleken as guest host.
Controversy.
Episode on nuclear power found 'misleading' by BBC Trust.
The 8th episode of series 5 looking at nuclear power was found to be 'not accurate' and 'misleading' by the Ethical Standards Committee of the BBC Trust. The review of the episode was prompted by a complaint registered by 50 co-signatories, which included MPs and nuclear experts.
Jem Stansfield wins damages against the BBC.
On 1 October 2021, ex-presenter Jem Stansfield won £1.6m in damages for suffering and loss of earnings as a result of injuries he sustained while acting as a "human crash-test" dummy in 2013. The judge commented "I must say that I find it astonishing that anyone thought that this exercise was a sensible idea. On his own account to camera, the claimant was simulating a road traffic collision of the sort that commonly causes injury. It might be thought that someone of his intelligence and scientific background might have appreciated the risk."
DVD releases.
A DVD set containing the first two series of "Bang Goes the Theory" was issued in 2010. A second DVD set containing Series 3 and 4 of "Bang Goes the Theory" was issued in November 2011. None of the subsequent series has been issued on DVD.
References.
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The Big Bang Fair
The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair was founded 2009. The Big Bang Fair is the United Kingdom’s largest celebration of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) for young people, and is one of the largest youth events in the UK. The Fair takes place annually in June.
The Big Bang programme exists to bring science and engineering to life for young people. The Big Bang mission is to showcase surprising possibilities and connect young people to inspiring role models in STEM.
It is led by EngineeringUK in partnership with over 200 organisations across government, industry, education and the wider science and engineering community.
Since 2014, The Big Bang Fair has been hosted in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. The Big Bang Fair consists of hands-on activities, workshops and live shows, designed to inform and inspire young people aged 11 to 14 to learn more about careers in science, engineering and technology.
In 2024, The Big Bang Fair will take place on 19 to 21 June.
Criticism.
The Big Bang Fair has been criticised by NGOs such as the Campaign Against the Arms Trade and Friends of the Earth due to the heavy involvement of arms manufacturers and fossil fuel companies at the event. The event has been described as being a PR stunt rather than being a genuine attempt to educate children and get them involved in STEM in future. Furthermore it has also been criticised for presenting a "distorted view of the value of science" in reference to the involvement of arms manufacturers and oil companies.
References.
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The Big Bang (TV series)
The Big Bang is a CITV science show broadcast from 15 April 1996 – 8 September 2004 and produced by Yorkshire Television. It is notable for being one of CITV's longest-running science programmes. The aim of the programme was to make science fun and interesting for children.
History.
Starting in 1996, "The Big Bang" was originally presented by Gareth Jones and Kate Bellingham. Kate Bellingham left after the second series to care for her new child. Gareth Jones's long-time friend and now partner Violet Berlin was her replacement for the third series in 1998. The show essentially stayed the same before a new logo and set design was introduced for the fifth and sixth series in 2000 and 2001. Both Gareth and Violet left the show after the sixth series as they were, as said by ITV at the time, "concentrating on running their own company [WhizzBang] and looking after baby Indigo". However, Gareth Jones later revealed on his website that they left because "when we were asked to do the 2002 series it looked like many of the people who usually make the programme with us wouldn't be doing it any more. There were lots of changes planned for the Big Bang which Violet & I didn't agree with, so we said thank you for the last 6 series and wished them all the luck for the future."
For the seventh series the show had another rebrand, notably a new theme tune, the first since the beginning of the show, however the old theme tune was brought back for the final two series. There was also a new logo, and new presenters Kate McIntyre and Michael Underwood were introduced. The set stayed remained mainly unchanged, however the neon "The Big Bang" sign in the kitchen was not replaced with the new logo until series 8. Michael and Kate presented the show together for two series, until Michael left to present "Ministry of Mayhem", and for the ninth and last series he was replaced with Sam Pinkham.
In 2003, a shorter 5-minute version of the show, "The