Character Penny

[queuetee]

Except that 98% of the would be actresses are not in a friendship with 5 PHDs. That is an oddity so to say that we have to keep Penny like the bulk of actresses is a cop out.  If she was written to be in unusual circumstances, then you can write her any way you want.

 

I do not like that she looks tired, purses her lips and drink too much. That is not a happy woman...and I don't think the P/L relationship is as positive as you portray it.

[Tensor]

Except that 98% of the would be actresses are not in a friendship with 5 PHDs.

The two are independent. Just because she has friends who are PhDs doesn't change the chances an acting career for someone dropping into LA from Nebraska, without, at the time, formal training.

 

That is an oddity so to say that we have to keep Penny like the bulk of actresses is a cop out.

In what way is writing her chances realistically a cop out? And I'm not quite sure why you mention this, I did say I agreed with you on this.

 

If she was written to be in unusual circumstances, then you can write her any way you want.

What unusual circumstances? That she became friends with the guys across the hall, or that she became friends with one of her co-workers?

 

I do not like that she looks tired,

Can you point out instances of this?

 

purses her lips and drink too much.

Can you point out exactly which episodes are showing her drinking too much?

 

That is not a happy woman...and I don't think the P/L relationship is as positive as you portray it.

I'll be more than happy to listen. Can you be specific (not general statements as "she looks tired", be specific) as to what you see as wrong and point out what is possibly wrong with the examples I gave you?

[Carlos]

When she said "The next time I get married, I will marry......for love". She did touch L's cheek as she said it. Did he and we think she was going to say"you"?? What little romance was in that gesture was negated when she continued "or money".

 

You totally misread the scene. When she holds his chin, she's implying that it's going to be him, And when you hear the "for money" by the expressions you clearly see that she's joking (in regards to the for money part)

[Guest]

You totally misread the scene. When she holds his chin, she's implying that it's going to be him, And when you hear the "for money" by the expressions you clearly see that she's joking (in regards to the for money part)

 

It appears that he/she don't just misread the scene...

 

When she said "The next time I get married, I will marry......for love". She did touch L's cheek as she said it. Did he and we think she was going to say"you"?? What little romance was in that gesture was negated when she continued "or money".

 

The relationship is going nowhere....her job is going nowhere. There is such a huge difference in the background of Penny and the rest of the gang, that  we see the dead-end of both the relationship and her job. For god's at least give her some kind of succes, even a small  acting gig. The rest of them are getting honors in their careers and she has nothing.

 

Do you even watch the series? Where is the relationship going nowhere? Compare season 7 with season 5 and the start of season 6. They are in a really good place right now. And for her acting career: She had some jobs, for example the spot in season 5.

So, I don't know what you are talking about. You throw things in the room without any grounds... that really stinks like an angry Shenny

[Dracones]

That's around 1 and a half years ago. I agree that the relationship is getting stronger but the premise that her acting career is going somewhere is axiomatically incorrect.

[Guest]

Yeah, well, just because she is an actress doesn't mean, that she is successful. What are the chances to be a successful actor today? It wouldn't really fit, if she mysteriously gets a permanent role in a series or something. She had some little spots and stuff in the past, but that's all.

[Tensor]

Yeah, well, just because she is an actress doesn't mean, that she is successful. What are the chances to be a successful actor today? It wouldn't really fit, if she mysteriously gets a permanent role in a series or something. She had some little spots and stuff in the past, but that's all.

Depends on what you mean by successful. Is making a living at it successful? I'm not talking about major or even minor star, making enough to live. Last time I looked, I think the AVERAGE yearly earning for SAG members was between 20-30 thousand dollars (would this be successful?). Think about that. To take one example, Kaley makes 325,000 an episode, that rounds to about 8 million a year. For the average to be (I'll use the middle value) $25,000, that means that there has to be 320 other members that make nothing for the year. If you add in Johnny and Jim, your looking at right around 1,000 SAG members that are making $0 for the year.

[Disgusted]

Actually, those actors are probably $200 in the hole....  http://www.sagaftra.org/content/paying-dues

[Guest]

Depends on what you mean by successful. Is making a living at it successful? I'm not talking about major or even minor star, making enough to live. Last time I looked, I think the AVERAGE yearly earning for SAG members was between 20-30 thousand dollars (would this be successful?). Think about that. To take one example, Kaley makes 325,000 an episode, that rounds to about 8 million a year. For the average to be (I'll use the middle value) $25,000, that means that there has to be 320 other members that make nothing for the year. If you add in Johnny and Jim, your looking at right around 1,000 SAG members that are making $0 for the year.

 

With successful I meant getting jobs at all. Not even make a living.

[bigbangsheldon]

On tumblr it's hard to find TBBT Penny related posts cause she doesn't have a last name so I've made up an unofficial tag for the characer

#Penny Blossoms

Please use it  

thanks

[capm]

Sheldon + Penny forever. Much better couple than Penny and short little Leonard, no one could possibly believe she'd go out with that little hobbit.

First of all, you know they dated in real life right?

Second, why wouldn't she go out with Leonard? Shes stupid, has no talent whatsoever, and is only mildly attractive. She would be lucky to be with a genious.

[3ku11]

First of all, you know they dated in real life right?

Second, why wouldn't she go out with Leonard? Shes stupid, has no talent whatsoever, and is only mildly attractive. She would be lucky to be with a genious.

 

First of saying Sheldon and Penny is better couple is an absoloute farce seeing they have never been, a couple and  neither do Sheldon and Penny have ever had that desire, Penny would vomit at that thought of it. I mean look at how Amy lets Sheldon walk all over her, do you think hypothetically if she saw Sheldon in that way, she would let Sheldon walk all over her? No way if a guy didn't put out in a week, she would dump him, don't understand why even hypothetically people think Sheldon is any different, I mean its Sheldon! Penny is a very physical, sexual person, Sheldon is not how anyone thinks he has any thing in common with Penny boggles the mind. Leonard is the only guy who is compatible with Penny. They both have similar backgrounds and upbringing's, in different ways but they have passive-agrressive relationships with their parents. And as for your character assanation of Penny 1. She is not stupid, just because her closest friends are geniuses, does not make her stupid. She has a lot of social and emotional intelligence, and can be very witty. 2. She is not mildly attractive, first that implys that Leonard is with Penny because of her looks, based on that logic Leonard is still the awkward hobbit who wants to sleep with Penny. But watch Middle Earth EP in S1, and It was clear he just wanted to be with Penny. Penny to me is more then just a hot blonde next door type, she has distinctive qualities that sets her part, she also has a personality as does Kaley which is rare. 3. And while I agree Penny should be luckey to be with a guy like Leonard, ala Priya and Alex. Devauling and Diminishing Penny's qualities to make Leonard look good is not necessary.

Edited July 23, 2014 by 3ku11

[capm]

First of saying Sheldon and Penny is better couple is an absoloute farce seeing they have never been, a couple and  neither do Sheldon and Penny have ever had that desire, Penny would vomit at that thought of it. I mean look at how Amy lets Sheldon walk all over her, do you think hypothetically if she saw Sheldon in that way, she would let Sheldon walk all over her? No way if a guy didn't put out in a week, she would dump him, don't understand why even hypothetically people think Sheldon is any different, I mean its Sheldon! Penny is a very physical, sexual person, Sheldon is not how anyone thinks he has any thing in common with Penny boggles the mind. Leonard is the only guy who is compatible with Penny. They both have similar backgrounds and upbringing's, in different ways but they have passive-agrressive relationships with their parents. And as for your character assanation of Penny 1. She is not stupid, just because her closest friends are geniuses, does not make her stupid. She has a lot of social and emotional intelligence, and can be very witty. 2. She is not mildly attractive, first that implys that Leonard is with Penny because of her looks, based on that logic Leonard is still the awkward hobbit who wants to sleep with Penny. But watch Middle Earth EP in S1, and It was clear he just wanted to be with Penny. Penny to me is more then just a hot blonde next door type, she has distinctive qualities that sets her part, she also has a personality as does Kaley which is rare. 3. And while I agree Penny should be luckey to be with a guy like Leonard, ala Priya and Alex. Devauling and Diminishing Penny's qualities to make Leonard look good is not necessary.

 

It has been confirmed on many occations that Penny is kind of stupid, for example in the scene with Professor Proton where she can't believe he can power a clock with a potato. The whole idea with the Penny character is clearly that she is a stupid blonde.

[Chiany]

It has been confirmed on many occations that Penny is kind of stupid, for example in the scene with Professor Proton where she can't believe he can power a clock with a potato. The whole idea with the Penny character is clearly that she is a stupid blonde.

 

I don't think Penny is stupid, and this example was just there for a laugh.

 

Penny obviously is the less intelligent of the group, but that doesn't mean she's stupid.

But this has always been used to show the difference between someone who is very good at social interactions (Penny) and those who aren't (the others).

 

Each character has their strenghts and weaknesses, although these have blended over the last couple seasons.

[Nogravitasatall]

I'm waiting for the topic fairy to teleport this to the Penny character thread. It's a real thing, you know. Unlike the necessity to categorise Penny as stupid when compared to elite intellectuals. The point is they play contrasts for jokes. Sheldon did not think to order in soup, for instance.

[capm]

 Unlike the necessity to categorise Penny as stupid when compared to elite intellectuals.

 

I wasnt. I was comparing her to people in real life, myself, people I meet, people I know, and so on. She really is so stupid.

[phantagrae]

I wasnt. I was comparing her to people in real life, myself, people I meet, people I know, and so on. She really is so stupid.

 

She's not stupid.  She's uneducated and she's not a scholar.  But she's not stupid.

[Martin Pollard]

She really is so stupid.

 

According to Wikipedia, "Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, wit, or sense." None of these apply to Penny. She is uneducated, to be certain, but not having an education doesn't make you stupid. If you want stupid, look no further than Zack, who fits the definition to a T.

 

But beyond all that, just what the F-bomb does this have to do with Amy, anyway?

[Martin Pollard]

I don't think Penny is stupid. Just as Phantagrae said, she's just uneducated. But I have to admit that I sometimes think, that the writers overdo it at times. Like when they depict her as being to slow a reader for a comic. Or the episode, where she apparently can't handle glue. I mean, what?!

 

Yeah, that's the writers sacrificing a character's established traits in order to go for the cheap laugh. Not much can be done about that, unfortunately, but thankfully, such things are more the exception than the rule.

[phantagrae]

I don't think Penny is stupid. Just as Phantagrae said, she's just uneducated. But I have to admit that I sometimes think, that the writers overdo it at times. Like when they depict her as being to slow a reader for a comic. Or the episode, where she apparently can't handle glue. I mean, what?!

 

Everybody"s dumb about something.

[Nogravitasatall]

I wasnt. I was comparing her to people in real life, myself, people I meet, people I know, and so on. She really is so stupid.

My thought is that she is written to be the ordinary person in the midst of exceptional brilliance. But they can't make the others too realistically brilliant or they would not all be pop-culture fanboys, so they re-scale the entire thing to make the viewer think they are as smart as the geniuses, so they are relatable. Penny then gets written own and we get the odd clanger. But we get the odd clanger from the others too. Zack is further down the scale, for sure, as Martin says. Still, it's all done in fun.

[djsurrey]

This Suzanne Somers interview about her audition for the role of the mystery girl in American Grafiti reminds me so much of Penny when she was a struggling to get acting parts...

Funny American Graffiti was really nothing to me the first time I saw it. Looking back though no movie reminds me more of my own transition away from high school (which did not happen until 1979). From http://www.film.com/movies/whats-the-big-deal-american-graffiti-1973

What’s the big deal: Without American Graffiti there wouldn’t be any Star Wars, which is reason enough for the film to be significant. Even aside from that, though, the movie serves as a time capsule of American life in the early 1960s, just as things were about to change drastically and permanently. As Roger Ebert put it, “no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie’s success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant.”

Edited July 1, 2015 by djsurrey
a few more thoughts

[lennyx3]

I accidentally switched on charmed and remembered that "Penny" is in an episode. And babaam she's in this episode :)

[Ant Death]

In the poll "Which characters would you prefer to live with? 49.8% voted Penny. I guess, being one of them, that at pretty much half it is the males that want to live with Penny

[JohnPhD]

After rewatching seasons 1 - 8 again, I think Penny's character development (not just her relationship with Leonard) is the most interesting and well-done long storyline in the show - almost as though the writers had a long-term plan. There's a pretty consistent emotional maturing and growth of confidence; and we also see more depth in her basic character. She's developed more than any other character; and one thing that's apparent in season 9 is that she's now the more grown-up in the marriage. The way she gradually overcame her commitment-phobia was beautifully done. I imagine there's more to come - Penny hasn't been fully revealed yet.

As for her failed acting career, I think the internal requirement for this was that it showed her courage and strength of mind as she stuck at it over 7 seasons - no other character has had to deal with any career setbacks worth mentioning. The external requirement was that if Penny had had actually become an actress the show would have been partly a comedy about the acting life - and there's not exactly a shortage of those. Comedys about scientists are not so common.