MovieChat Forums > Ball of Fire (1942) Discussion > THE BIG BANG THEORY

THE BIG BANG THEORY

posted 12 years ago by HarlowMGM
3 replies | jump to latest

Has anybody else noticed how the current hit tv show THE BIG BANG THEORY seems more than a little inspired by BALL OF FIRE? Sexy woman crosses paths with a group of nerdy educated genuises who lack all social skills. The characters are quite different, though. Sugarpuss is far more playful and coquettish than BANG's Penny, none of the professors have personalities like the BANG cast although Gary Cooper does have (at least for some time) Sheldon's lack of interest in anything hinting of romance while the other professors, like BANG's supporting guys, clearly want better interactions with the opposite sex but are at a loss at how to go about it

[–] RichN36 12 years ago

I have been a fan of this movie for many years and tonight was the first time I thought about that connection. While watching it I came away with thinking about Big Bang Theory and the connection.

Nice Call.

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[–] Tiburon75 11 years ago

I watched Ball of Fire recently on TBS, and also thought of THE BIG BANG THEORY, which proves 2 things:

1. Everything old is new again.
2. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

while the professors in the movie were not exactly like the guys in TBBT, the idea of "broadening their world" with a woman who is not like them really rings true. Maybe the folks responsible for TBBT might have seen this picture, and were influenced by it. The concept of the "nerd" is older than we think!
And props to Gary Cooper for a great and funny performance!

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

HarlowMGM says > Has anybody else noticed how the current hit tv show THE BIG BANG THEORY seems more than a little inspired by BALL OF FIRE?

It never crossed my mind until I read this post but now that it's been mentioned I guess I can see where the writer(s) of TBBT probably were inspired by this movie. That's about where the similarities end. I loved Ball of Fire. I found it to be fun, funny, romantic, and sweet. Those are hardly the words I'd use for TBBT.

The thing that bothers me the most about TBBT is how the character Amy is portrayed. I have nothing against the actress but for a supposedly smart girl she sure puts up with a lot of crap. How desperate would someone have to be to date the likes of the character Sheldon?

His own friends don't seem to like him very much and have to put up with him. In regards to his so-called girlfriend, he shows no interest and treats her horribly. I don't know if the character is supposed to be gay, like the actor who plays him, but he sure acts like he is. Also, the guy keeps winning awards but he seems no different when I see him being himself on a commercial or a talk show. I just don't get it.

Well, the point I'm making is I can see your point but I really wish I hadn't read this post. TBBT and BoF are two things I wouldn't want associated in my mind. I'm sure some people will disagree with my assessment of that show especially because it does seem to be very popular but I have a theory on that.

I have a sneaking suspicion the people tuned into a lot of the popular CBS shows are really old; people who probably used to watch Walter Cronkite way back when. Since then they haven't really changed the channel. They can't work a remote and getting up is a tad difficult. I don't mean to 'dis CBS but I find it odd that whenever one of those highly rated shows come up as a question on a game show, like Jeopardy, the contestants never seem to know what they are and can't name any of the actors. It's not scientific but it's odd given their so-called popularity - just saying.

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