The Big Bang Theory:
This is a live-action Sitcom genre which has been running since 2007. It was/is created and developed by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. There are currently 7 series of the TV program (150+ episodes) and each episodes run for about 20 minutes (25-30 with advert breaks).
The show has a laugh track when filming which creates the illusion of a real audience laughing at the jokes. The episodes differ each week as sometimes it is either a new storyline or continued, either way Big Bang is better compared to other sitcoms as it always has one main storyline running in the background of each episode (with other drama on top). For example Leonard and Penny's relationship is always on off, but is always running in the background (started from the first series to the 7th series), however the show may focus on Sheldon & Amy's for a while, but always links back to Leonard and Penny. This is very good as those who have watched the show from Series 1 understand what is going on, but also those new viewers are not confused and still enjoy the episode (making them want to watch more).
The show is mainly centred on five characters: Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Rajesh & Penny, who all encounter different scenario's in the specific episodes. Others come into the different story-lines later on, such as Amy, Bernadette, Stuart and others but the main show focuses on the 5 above, as it has from the 1st episode. As the group of four friends are completely different (socially and mentally) compared to Penny it contrasts well. The storyline is addictive as the stereotype is that the nerd never gets the popular pretty girl, but throughout the different series the show gives you little hints about Leonard and Penny's future. Although Leonard is really smart, he has another aspiration in life, to marry Penny. Sheldon doesn't understand this and he is different to others, and focuses solely on his work. This is effective as it seems like Leonard & Sheldon couldn't be best friends, however they are.
The most viewed episode to date for Big Bang was shown on 26th September 2013 (The Deception Verification) it was the 2nd episode of Series 7. This brought in a huge 20.4 million views in one showing. Each new episode in the past few series has had 7+ million viewers each broadcast. Big Bang Theory is very mainstream now since everybody watches it. When the Big Bang was introduced in 2007 it was just created for a small audience, mainly people who enjoy scientific comedy. As the show episodes continued and developed it started to attract a different type of audience, because the show started to introduce new characters and another genre (romance between Leonard & Penny, Howard & Bernadette and Sheldon & Amy).
Narrative Structure:
Multi Strand-
The Big Bang Theory is classed as Multi Strand, this means that the narrative/script of each episode focuses on a central group of characters, and has a couple of others in the background. It tells a story from more than one persons view, for example Leonard could have a dilemma, but Sheldon would have his input, so would Penny and maybe others. Multi Strand is effective as the show can finish off one story and start another one the next episode without confusing the audience or new viewers.
Linear-
Parts of Big Bang can be seen as linear as it has a story which is always continuing just with other incidents on top of it. For example when Leonard&Sheldon are driving in the car it usually shows them setting off, then a clip of them having a conversation whilst driving, and then arriving at destination. Between these clips they can go to different scenes of the episode, for example between the girls (Penny, Bernadette & Amy) but then go back to Leonard & Sheldon travelling.
Non Linear-
The majority of Big Bang is non linear as it includes flashbacks and flash-forwards (future visions). Flash-forwards are good because it gives the audience a hint of what could happen, and leave them on a cliffhanger (especially when it goes to adverts or the episode ends straight after). Cliffhangers make the audience question what is going to happen next, leaving them attracted to the program. Most episodes/seasons continue a certain story throughout which can be seen as linear however if you took some episodes individually they would be non linear as they include a number of different story lines between the different characters. Flashbacks are part of non-linear, they are effective as it makes the audience feel like they are part of the characters emotions. They also give you a better understanding of the current story.
The producers use non linear for comedic value by showing parts of the past by flashbacks or just the character explaining them, for example Sheldon describing his dad who was an alcoholic and the difference between that and his mum who is a strong catholic. This is effective as the audience feel like they are part of the characters life when they are involved in a series, by including the background characters (family) you feel like you know everything which is good to keep the audience interested.
Open Ending-
Most of the episodes are open as they leave the audience on a cliffhanger and wondering what is going to happen next. They are mainly used in certain series to ensure that the viewers will watch it again the next time it's on. In the first couple of seasons of Big Bang the producers made it so you were always getting different hints on what was going on between Leonard & Penny. With the last episode they would do something like Leonard kissing Penny right at the end, this left the viewers having to wait till the next release to see if it went well or not.
With the newer series they always try to focus on either Leonard & Penny getting married or Sheldon & Amy becoming more of a physical couple. In mid-series Sheldon gives hints saying that it is a possibility of him and Amy taking the relationship further, but always leaves the audience uncertain. Final episodes always lead up to them doing something but it never shows you, for example after playing Dungeons & Dragons they went to Sheldon's room and Amy told everyone else to go away. This gives you the impression something happened but you don't know for sure.
Not every episode is open as sometimes the scenes continue through a couple of episodes, if every episode was open they would leave the audience on a huge cliffhanger each time but thy only really do this at the end of the series' when the audience has to wait a couple of month till the beginning of the next series.
Closed Ending-
Big Bang isn't really a closed ending yet as it is still in production for more series. If i had to chose a closed ending I'd say it was when Howard & Bernadette got married. Since they met it had built up to them getting married, including awkward scenes with Howard and Bernadette's dad. Towards the marriage Howard was offered his dream job at NASA being an astronaut. This really built up the suspense as you didn't know if he was going to choose this opportunity over his marriage, and if he did if he would make it back in one piece. Now they are married the Big Bang Theory doesn't really focus on them but they are still in the background of each episode.
Some audiences may see the Big Bang Theory as closed as the viewers are able to watch a specific episode one day and then not watch for the next couple of days. After that they are able to go back and watch without getting too confused, this is helpful with the use of sub-stories linked to the main story, but keeping the new viewers entertained.
Mise en Scene:
This is french for 'putting on stage' which basically means everything on stage is put there for a reason. The props are always the same for continuity within each episode and gives the audience a good feel and idea of what type of person each character is.
Setting and Props-
Most of the Big Bang is set in Sheldon & Leonard's apartment, the props used show a good understanding of what type of character each of them are. With the books, science posters/objects and whiteboards full of equations it shows that they are very smart and are in good earning jobs. Also around the room you sometimes see movie or game items, this could be anything from a Star Trek figure to a collectors Game of Thrones sword.
Characters: Costume, Hair and Makeup-
The costumes given in Big Bang really describe each individual character. Howard always wears bright colours to represent his bubbly and outgoing character. On the other hand Penny shows that she is outgoing by wearing a lot less clothing, it shows that she is not ashamed to get her body out to try and attract men's attention. From the 1st episode you could get an idea of Sheldon's personality straight away, with his clean-shaven face, simple haircut and older generation clothes you know that he is not one to keep up with the certain generations fashion, as he is too busy focusing on his work. The cast have made Amy suitable to be the perfect match for Sheldon, with her old grandma cardigans and skirts, and with a passion for Science they made her and Sheldon match together tremendously. The makeup is important (for the female characters) as they show Penny as always wearing makeup trying to impress others, whereas Amy doesn't really bother. This shows the girls different personalities and suggests to the audience what they are trying to achieve.
Facial Expressions and Body Language-
This also determines the different characters personalities by how they act when with others, for example Sheldon doesn't really understand the common jokes or sarcasm, but he finds his own (science based) jokes hilarious. With body language he is always trying to avoid the nice gestures such as hugging, hand shaking and kissing. On the other hand Penny is the exact opposite as she is always hugging or cuddling into somebody. For example at her Halloween party (or other parties) she usually had a boyfriend, but always went to Leonard for advice and ended up kissing him. This shows the complete different personalities between the characters which is effective as they all seem to still get on well together. With body language you can see that Sheldon is a very formal character as he always sits upright in 'his spot'. He has the seat in the perfect place in the room to avoid any injury or interruption. With Penny she is usually slouched or has her feet up on the sofa. This shows that she is more friendly and open, she doesn't mind squeezing into someone where Sheldon would find that incredibly uncomfortable.
Lighting and Colour-
The setting is always bright and outstanding, this is to show that it is a sitcom and that it is a happy environment. If the show was a horror they could use lower lighting and shadows but that would not show the same effect for the script used now. With bright colours it gives a happy, warm feeling of the characters which makes the audience enjoy the comedy more. The lighting within Cal-Tech (Sheldon, Leonard, Rajesh & Howard's workplace) is usually pretty plain but bright colours, this suggests that it is a serious/formal yet quite relaxing environment. They all get along but the work gets done. For example in Howard's bedroom he seems to have fairly dark colours but contrasted with lights (his ornament lightsabers) to make it seem romantic. With his leopard print covers and silk pyjamas he tries to make him room a kind of love shack, hoping it will attract some women to sleep with him (it doesn't really work).
Positioning Characters and Objects-
This is how the cast decide to position each character between each other to give hints about certain relationships or story lines. As you can see in the picture below each character is set out between each other to represent the different relationships.
You have: Bernadette & Howard, Leonard & Penny, Sheldon & Amy, and then Rajesh on the other couch, which implies that he is single and lonely. With Sheldon in 'his spot' he is almost in the centre of everyone, which implies that he is seen as the leader of the group, and always gets his way. Also, with Penny in the centre of the girls it is like the others look up to her and do as she says.
Analysing Representations:
In Media products there are usually four different types of character representations, these are usually found in character(s), i will be analysing:
-Character Gender
-Character Age
-Character Ethnicity
With age in the Big Bang I think they are the perfect age as they are all settled and have moved away from their parents, I think the fact that Sheldon & Howard are still incredibly close to their mothers shows that they are both still more like children (compared to the others), even though they are in high earning, professional jobs. Big Bang producers use the childish age of the scientists for comedy as Howard has always had his way (with his mum) and then once he is with Bernadette he expects her to do it all for him too. With Sheldon his mum can make him do anything, he looks up to her which shows a deeper meaning of the Sheldon character, however also uses comedy as she can change his attitude completely (for example when he buys lots of cats). Again, Penny seems to be the most grown up as she has moved cities and started her life all on her own, she doesn't hear much from her dad although you get hints that she was close to her dad. She is seen as the mum of the group as she always ends up looking after the rest in some form and mainly makes the big decisions.
The different ethnicity's is important in Big Bang as they use it for comedy so it isn't seen as racist. The group are always joking about Raj as he is from India, his race is seen to workship different animals (cows) and every time he eats a burger at least one other character has something to say. With Howard being Jewish he always gets mocked for some reason or other, and they always tend to relate his mother (because of her weight and size). As Penny is from Nebraska Sheldon always portrays her as the more manly character, as she lived on a farm and he was a city child. For example when Sheldon breaks Leonard's Star Trek toy he tries to blame penny because of her 'man hands'. They always relate back to where Penny is from especially when they need help with something, they think that because she was brought up roughly she can reflect it in the presence of the show to help them out.
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