TV snobs love to hate on "Young Sheldon."
If you're not familiar with the show, Young Sheldon is a spin-off of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. And it follows the daily (mis)adventures of a young Sheldon Cooper as he navigates his life as a boy genius in Medford, Texas.
Many people love The Big Bang Theory, I included. I admit it's got its share of problems, which TV snobs also love to point out. But overall, I find it a joy to watch. Over its 12 season run, it has been consistent in its tone and in its characters.
Much of Chuck Lorre's shows have that quality but they also have a tendency to become monotoned. TBBT never had that problem.
I attribute it to good writers but I think the magic comes from the cast. Jim Parsons is the perfect Sheldon Cooper. But Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, and my favorite, Simon Helberg were just as perfect in their roles as Penny, Leonard, and Howard.
While many enjoy Big Bang, my more "sophisticated" friends hate it. I put sophisticated in quotes because they're not sophisticated, I think they are just like me who likes highbrow and lowbrow trash (whether they would like to admit it or not).
But the thing that makes me different from the rest of them is I don't justify enjoying a show with a pretentious analysis of why it's good and make others feel stupid for not sharing my "intellectual" opinion. I know when to acknowledge that trash is trash.
On the flip side, I'm the type of person who intellectually nitpicks a show I HATE. I justify my vitriol with research: research is what I call going on Reddit to find kindred spirits and quoting their better-crafted comment as fuel for my next argument with my TV-loving friends.
Going back to Young Sheldon, I think people love to hate this show because they resent the original material it was based on. I see tweets from friends say "Who even watches this show?" while quoting an article with the headline that the show is renewed for season 4.
For me, Young Sheldon's main problem is that it pokes holes in The Big Bang Theory canon. Some details ruin the continuity of the already finished show and there are no more opportunities to address them.
In the last season of TBBT, they had to cram in a storyline about Sheldon and his childhood best friend because Young Sheldon introduced a new character that was never mentioned in the previous 11 seasons. But I think while the two shows are connected, they're meant to be consumed independently of one another.
At the core of it, Young Sheldon is a heartwarming show about a kid finding his way in the world. Despite his understanding of the universe, he still has a lot to learn. I would even say that the younger Sheldon Cooper is more emotionally mature than the older Sheldon in the original series.
--SPOILERS AHEAD--
The episode that made me cry was episode 1 of season 4: Sheldon and his twin sister Missy's graduation. Sheldon was moving on to college while Missy was graduating from elementary school. Sheldon was supposed to be featured in the local news for graduating high school at the age of 11 but had a meltdown when he was being interviewed. He was overwhelmed by all the changes that he was about to face as a little boy in the big world.
Later that evening, Missy says that she understands how Sheldon feels while her brother says he doubts it. Missy then goes on perfectly describing how Sheldon feels
"You're scared everything's gonna be different and it'll be hard. And you're gonna miss the way that it was."
Sheldon, surprised by his sister's accuracy asks how she knows how he feels. Missy simply replies "'Cause that's how I feel."
On his graduation the next day, Sheldon is set to deliver a speech as the class valedictorian. He says he has awful stage fright and shared that a trick to overcome it is to imagine that the speech is being delivered to only one person. And he dedicated his speech to his sister Missy.
I invite you all to watch his speech below:
Here's a transcript* too:
Hello. I'm not very comfortable speaking in front of crowds. But there's a technique to reduce stage fright by focusing on one person in the audience and delivering your speech just to them. That's what I'll be doing today. If it weren't for this person, I wouldn't be here right now. They've taught me a lot, and it's by their example that I found the courage to move forward into this new and exciting chapter of my life. Missy...
... this is for you.
Change can be scary, but I know we're going to be fine...because like you said, "It's okay to be scared. We just have to do it anyway." So if any of my fellow graduates are nervous about the future, know that you're not alone. I suggest you all try to be as brave as my twin sister. That's my plan. Missy, I wish I could give you advice about middle school, but I was so smart, I skipped it. If you make it to high school, we'll talk. Thank you.
It's an okay series. Like many family comedies, it features predictable dialogue and often flat jokes. It does get you to chuckle every now and then but there aren't many laugh-out-loud moments. It doesn't push the boundaries of what comedy is. But when has that been the criteria for something to be good or the very least, not heavily ridiculed like this show is?
It may fall short in the technicalities set up by experts, critiques, and much of TV Twitter but shows cannot just be measured in their techniques. Much of what makes something good is measured in how it makes us feel. And Young Sheldon tugs at all the feels.
It can be saccharine at times but never trite. It doesn't force a lesson or feeling where it doesn't fit. It can be aspirational but also honest. It captures what it's like to have siblings and how those relationships are filled with fights and friendship. It does not neglect to point out how other characters are affected by the main character and how they have their own lives not relative to young Shelly.
Some days, we have the emotional and intellectual bandwidth to watch more complicated shows. I watch Fleabag to witness how knowing a character by heart looks like (and to see PWB nail every fourth wall break.) I watch The Office to see the magic of a perfect ensemble cast (and when I have the capacity to absorb second-hand embarrassment.) I watch Veep when I want to be reminded of how ridiculous politics is (and to memorize perfectly cruel insults.)
But some days, we don't have the energy to analyze the layers of what we're watching. Some days, all we have energy for is to watch a kid genius and his family live a somewhat eventful life in 1980s Texas.
And it's just TV. It shouldn't take a genius to watch it.
Sources:
Speech Transcript taken from: https://tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org/viewtopic.php?f=858&t=39525&sid=a209532fe4e8c59fca91184e91aa335c&view=print
Photo:
https://www.rawpixel.com/image/3031467/free-illustration-png-bow-tie-man
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