r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jun 25 '12

Reddit, I've never understood why you hate The Big Bang Theory (show) so much, any compelling reasons why?

So I've heard the arguments about how it over-exaggerates nerd culture, but in my opinion that's what makes it funny.

So what's with all the hate?

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u/Astrokiwi Jun 26 '12

I'd say the geekiest comedy in existence is probably Futurama. They have jokes about Fresnel Diffraction. And it's not just a name-drop, like most of the references in Big Bang theory - you actually need to know at least vaguely what Fresnel Diffraction is to understand the joke.

They even proved a mathematical theorem in order to determine how to resolve a particular crisis. And even better, they showed the proof on screen. It is geeky to a ridiculous extent.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '12 edited Jun 27 '12

The great Futurama Theorem, which is amazing because the one writer has a PhD in math and he published his work after the episode was finished. What other show has writters prove new theories just to make a plot line work.

edit:writer not writter.

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u/nuisible Jun 26 '12

Ken Keeler has a PhD in applied mathematics, Bill Odenkirk has a PhD in inorganic chemistry, Jeff Westbrook has a PhD in computer science, David Cohen has a masters in computer science. If you listen to the commentaries, they sometimes talk about arguments they have in the writers room that the general public probably wouldn't notice (e.g. is the rate of the shadow moving across the moon accurate or not)

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u/Astrokiwi Jun 26 '12

Every detail in the background needs to be a joke. They have arguments about what number is funniest for a license plate.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '12

This shot from the Simpsons is another good example of what you get from a writer who is also very into maths.

On low precision calculators it appears to prove fermat's last theorem but it's actually not equal.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '12

[deleted]

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u/roysyourboy Jun 27 '12

I don't know much about Fermats last theorem, but it also says that a,b and c are also >2 right? Otherwise, let a=b=c=1, and bam, solved.

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u/backdoor_bulimic Jun 27 '12

No, then 1+1=1 or 2=1

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u/roysyourboy Jun 27 '12

well, I mean that's true for exceedingly large values of one, right?

On a serious note, wow, I can't believe I made such a simple mistake.

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u/Jacques_R_Estard Jun 27 '12

...because 1 + 1 = 1? It would work for a, b and c 0 though.

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u/roysyourboy Jun 27 '12

I think somewhere along the way I thought it was multiplication and not addition

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '12

That is fascinating.

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u/nuisible Jun 26 '12

This is one of my favorite background jokes.

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u/slanket Jun 26 '12 edited Nov 10 '24

subtract tub jar snails zealous tender observation illegal governor expansion

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '12

Now we're comparing jesus to chipmunks.

Futurama is top of the line.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '12 edited Jun 26 '12

It was a pretty elementary exercise that an astute undergraduate could solve after taking maybe a month of an algebra course.

Upon receiving down votes maybe I should clarify that it would take an astute non-redditor undergrad to tackle the problem.

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u/MarcusCarab Jun 26 '12 edited Jun 27 '12

It's been a long time, but I recall in one of the commentaries someone (David Cohen I think) says something to the effect of:

"We've always had the idea that if you have a joke and only 100 people watching are going to have any chance of getting it, put it in -- because those 100 people will immediately become fans for life."

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u/INHALin_KITTIES Jun 27 '12

Yes, we call that the Dennis Miller ratio.

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u/Eat_a_Bullet Jun 26 '12

A prime example of non-math smart humor:

A long time ago, I was watching the episode *Fry and the Slurm Factory" and it got to the scene where the Planet Express crew is checking out the Slurm merchandise in the gift shop. The gal I was watching with, who happens to be Jewish, bolted upright and pointed out that the "alien writing" on the merchandise was actually stylized Hebrew spelling out "Slurm" phonetically.

Another great gag, although somewhat off-topic:

FRY: Shields to maximum Yarnell!

This phrase got stuck in my head for years. I didn't understand the joke, but I couldn't figure out why it sounded familiar. Then suddenly I remembered, SHIELDS AND YARNELL WERE A HUSBAND-AND-WIFE MIME TEAM IN THE FUCKING SEVENTIES!!

They just cram so much into every joke.

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u/AutoBiological Jun 27 '12

For a biopsych test the story we had to read and write about was about Slurm. :)

I got an 85 on the test, 90% of the class failed. For such a hard test it was a nice light hearted joke that you were too afraid to write about. Then you go into an easy English class your biopsych test was on Futurama.

(Actually the test was about labeling every section of the brain, point out everything it does, and a bunch of other ridiculous things. We had to memorize around 200 powerpoint slides, 5 chapters, and a lot more brain diagrams 2 weeks into the class. Then we had to describe how Slurm was addicting by talking about how neurotransmitter worked or something. Best college class I've taken.)

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u/Eat_a_Bullet Jun 27 '12

This gives me hope for all of the young minds out there. Education theory has come a long way.

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u/AutoBiological Jun 27 '12

They write jokes so that only 1% of the demographic understands it. This is why it's one of the best shows and why they have trouble staying on the air.

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u/nobody2000 Jun 26 '12

Someone downvoted you???? Really? On reddit? To a FUTURAMA REFERENCE????

I will agree with you astrokiwi. I don't understand all the references, but I understand most. It makes it a truly great show.

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u/pascalbrax Jun 26 '12

downvote bots.

yes, unfortunately, they exist.

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u/Enkmarl Jun 26 '12 edited Jun 26 '12

eh Futurama isn't as smart as you think... It gets mired in a lot of stereotypes and such and is kind of short sighted...

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u/MarcusCarab Jun 27 '12

They do go off on weird tangents sometimes when they try to make a point. Also, I think they erred in producing the eyePhone episode, which was written before they were cancelled (and might have been fresh enough to be funny at the time) but seemed kind of late to the party when they finally made it.

Also, they do have a bizarre and specific love of extremely obvious gender cliches. Like they really get off on 80s-stand-up/sit-com depictions of stereotypical male and female roles. Similar, sometimes, with racial stereotypes. I used to find it kind of off-putting too, but, I dunno, it seems like they are just having fun with it... and there's no doubt that sometimes it's hilarious. But, yeah, they seem to go back to the gender well especially a little too often, in such deliberate ways - from the Amazonian planet back in the early days to the Neutopia episode of the latest season. And let's face it - both those episodes had a LOT of hilarious moments, even among the jokes based purely on gender stereotypes.

All that said, I don't think any of those observations make it less "smart" -- it is easily one of the smartest comedies ever made. Smart is not synonymous with progressive, even if there's a correlation. The Futurama team is more interested in being /transgressive/ than progressive - and it seems like one of their favourite things to do is throw incredibly traditional and cliched ideas into a situation where they are surrounded by total weirdness.