TV Quote of the Day (‘The Big Bang Theory,’ In Which Sheldon Voices His Eternal Dilemma)

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper has been rehearsing his Nobel Prize speech.]

Dr. Amy Farrar Fowler [played by Mayim Bialik]: “Sheldon, why are you talking so fast?”

Sheldon [played by Jim Parsons]: “I'm trying to get my speech down to ninety minutes.”

Amy: “Nobody's going to be able to understand a word you're saying.”

Sheldon: “Welcome to my life.”—The Big Bang Theory, Season 12, Episode 24, “The Stockholm Syndrome,” original air date May 16, 2019, teleplay by 13 writers!, directed by Mark Cendrowski       

So, after 12 seasons, The Big Bang Theory is finally over. True, the show may have stayed on about three years too long and the finale a bit predictable. But at least showrunner Chuck Lorre wasn’t untrue to the spirit or premise of the show or make a hash of the whole thing, the way Seinfeld went out. 

Remarkable, too, isn’t it, that with roughly seven co-equal stars, Lorre does not seem to have a major problem with any of them—unlike his other megahit, Two and a Half Men, which had far fewer leads to handle, but one of them happened to be Charlie (“I got tiger blood”) Sheen.

(As you might be able to tell from the credits listing above, I am rather astounded that 13 writers contributed to the finale. I always thought it remarkable that eight screenwriters had a hand in the old Tom Hanks movie Turner and Hooch, about a man's relationship with his dog. But I guess that the necessity of ending this sitcom on--pardon me!--a bang required extreme measures.)

The Big Bang Theory ended with Sheldon’s resounding professional success, but even if he and Amy hadn’t ended up winning the Nobel, the series had already made plain, they and their friends had already succeeded—by finding personal happiness through mutual friendship and love. 

It’s an old message, maybe even a clichéd one, but in this time and culture celebrating winning at any personal cost, maybe it has to be taught and learned all over again.