Camille

Fair point, it's a hypothesis (sue me--I'm a social sciences nerd).

THIS.

My theory: listen to the theme song lyrics--they lay out the show's premise right there in the opening. The "whole universe" for Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard (and in her own way, Penny) was in a static "hot, dense state" until the two forces came into contact with each other and sparked a "big bang"-like social reaction. The show tells the story of the subsequent expansion and growth in those 5 (now 7) lives as each learn to strike his or own balances between being true to themselves and getting along in the wider world. The show's taken such a gradual path that it's only the last season or so that you can look back and fully realize how much all of them have grown (except Raj, and I'm pretty sure season 6 will be his turn as well as Penny's). Whether change is "good" or not (I think it is inasmuch as it protects the core of the character's personality while allowing them to grow in a realistic way), it's been built into the premise of this show from the opening verse of the theme song. And for the record, while I mostly liked Hawkeye Pierce's character arc, somewhere toward the end, between the ep where he dated Nurse Kellye and he eulogized the nurse who died in the minefield, he got little too earnest for my taste.

Maybe I should come to the next meetup and show mine off, though I really only have an accent when tired or irritated.

Equal parts Texas and generic southern, with a dash of Midwest.

Pink panther Fraggle rock YCDTOTV The Monkees (reran a lot on nick in the 80s--a lot of geek girls are still kind of into them, might make a good B Plot some week to find out Amy or Bernadette still has a thing for one of them...) Cosby Thundercats Some other stuff I'm probably forgetting. they always were to be honest Creepy smurfs are creepy.

My growing hypothesis for Penny's S6 arc: Penny is going to say/do something deeply self-centered and hurtful to Leonard and/or Amy in the early part of the season (maybe related to being offered an opportunity for a management position at Cheesecake Factory that would end her acting "career"), which drives one or both of them away. Then her challenge becomes a: realizing she needs them in her life, and b: winning them back...

I honestly haven't been into a sitcom at this level in a v-e-r-y long time. Frazier (before it got stupid) might actually be the last one I fell for during it's run. I've been told I should check out modern family and the early seasons of the office, but it's that stupid "time" thing, or lack thereof.

That would be too predictable. I fully expect Sheldon regressing quite a lot (from fear) before he makes that leap. Agreed. If the premiere picks up Immediately after the handhold (which it might, this seems to be meant as a Key Growth Moment for all of them), the first words out of Sheldon's mouth may likely be a terror/denial response of "EEK! Don't touch me! Girlfriend Agreement Violation! *flees to bedroom*" and we'll get some 2 steps forward, 1 step back drama till he realizes he wants Amy in his life and feels safe with her in his life.

About 80% Bernadette, 20% Amy. Ish.

Total time spent watching or most viewings per episode? I the first case, I'd say good eats--250ish eps times 3-5 watches per(some more than others). Average repeats per episode...The Monkees (don't judge me!). Got into 'em when I was 9, dipped into the fandom on and off over the years. 58 eps plus 1 movie plus sundry specials, probably 15-20 times per...(mostly between the ages of 9 and 12)...Yeah. Next Gen, Golden girls, Mythbusters, M*A*S*H and a few other shows that I always stop on when channel surfing are also probably up there.

I also didn't like the ending of Speckerman--it seemed to ignore most of the last few seasons' worth of character growth to set up a punch line that was tired 30 years ago.

Because a part of him now wants to change, and has figured out (at least unconsciously) that Amy won't hurt him. As Spock reminded us, Sheldon is and has always been "half-human", and all the rules and quirks are an excellent way to protect oneself from being hurt. I'm also not at all sure that Sheldon consciouly chose to hold Amy's hand--my guess is that it was pure reflex.

True. And at the risk of taking this off topic, the show really needs to do a better job of getting us into Penny's head for this evolution into a better person, which I think/hope will kick into high gear in season 6. And I have a sneaking suspicion Amy will somehow be the catalyst for that.

We all know he gets the girl in the end--the question is how well the journey is portrayed. So far they've done a tolerable (not perfect) job with that storyline. Had major issues with a lot of the season three relationship, but I think they found the plot again at episode 100.