Big Bang Theory follows the lives of two brilliant physicists, Sheldon and Leonard, as they interact with their hot new neighbor, Penny.

I’ve been an advocate for a while against the progessive dumbing-down of television.  Many comedies aim for the lowest common denominator, so many viewers with half a brain find themselves scratching their heads and wondering, “How is this funny?”  So I have to give kudos to Theory…it goes in the opposite direction. 

The problem is, it goes too far.  If you don’t have at least a small bit of working knowledge of geekdom, which, let’s face it, the majority of Monday night CBS viewers won’t, then you won’t have any idea that a joke has been told…until the pervasive laugh track hits.  So we’re stuck with jokes that range from the categories of “it’s cool to be a dork” to “dorks are stupid”. 

Bottom line, this show has an identity crisis.  Is it aiming for the geek crowd (who probably aren’t watching anyway) with its geeky jokes?  Or is it shooting for the non-geek crowd with its mocking of the geek crowd?  I’m not sure, and I don’t think CBS is either.

D

The Big Bang Theory debuts Monday, September 24 at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.