Comparing Shows

[Kimberly Rose]

      Did it ever occur to you how unoriginal The Big Bang Theory is? Yes, it has a very generous fan base; you can include me on that. But sometimes their material was, shall we say, copied from another designer. The shows I will be comparing are The Big Bang Theory to That '70s Show.

      To begin, Donna and Penny are both sassy, tough girls who dye their hair blond. They both have green eyes, and they both date a nerd who read their journals. Penny currently resides in Pasadena, California and Donna went there. (They should have met. Fez and Howard would most likely meet in the dirty store. I can totally imagine a Big Bang circle.) Donna hits Kelso upside the head when she learns about his erotic fantasy including all the girls; and Penny punches Howard when he tries to kiss her. While attempting to keep Penny's community college secret, Sheldon shamelessly quotes Fez: "Good day, Leonard! I said good day!"
      Penny and Leonard take Sheldon to Disneyland to make up for their frequent fights, act like they're one big unhappy family, and Penny complains that Sheldon won't want his dinner, because he ate so much junk food. And the exact same thing happened to Donna and Eric - when Fez spoiled his dinner with the ice cream he got on his face.
      Raj and Fez both say Amedica, and Red and Leslie both say dumbass. While teasing Eric about his future, Hyde pictures Eric in a complete Spock outfit, coming home from a convention; and I know they're two different shows, but the Nerds all dress up like Star Trek characters. Both shows feature Special Brownies. And, in the episode The Deception Verification, Sheldon walks by a pizza man who smells of marijuana and says his uncle used to wear that scent. How cool would it be if his uncle were portrayed by Tommy Chong?
      Kelso and Howard both have a daughter. A toy helicopter runs rampant in both shows. Red and Sheldon both own a train set, and don't allow their friends, or brother, to play with them.

      In the episode of That '70s Show, titled Prom Day, Eric imagines what his relationship with Donna would be like if they meticulously planned it out. Viola! A relationship agreement is born. And...something else itches at the back of my mind. Oh yeah! I remember a quote from Raj, in the episode called The Nerdvana Annihilation. What was it he said? Oh, right. "Stuff that in your Speedos, JACUZZI BOB." In That '70s Show Donna's father, Bob Pinciotti, has been known to lounge about in his hot tub in his Speedos.

       Honestly! Raj's neighbor Jacuzzi Bob SHOULD BE Bob Pinciotti, having moved to California after Midge tells him how great a time she had. It's just so perfect!
      The Koothrappalis and the Hofstadters are not the only couples to break up. Donna's parents, the Pinciottis, also separated. And Raj and Donna are both used as a conduit for their parents' arguments.
      The Nerds have Aquaman briefs and Forman has a Spiderman bed sheet. Mary and Kitty both make smiley-face pancakes for their sons. Sheldon lost his father and Howard lost his mother. Lisa Robin Kelly, the woman who portrayed Eric's sister, died of an overdose, so technically Eric lost his sister. Penny's brother is in rehab, Hyde's first father was in rehab. And you know that dude Sheldon hired to avoid hearing Penny sing? They called him Leo.
      In a Big Bang episode called "The Isolation Permutation", Amy reveals that her friends trapped her in a sauna with a horny otter. In a That '70s Show episode called Immigrant Song, Eric reveals Laurie trapped him in port-o-potty with a horny goat. And guess who each slept with his cousin...? Eric and Howard!
      Donna does yoga with her mother and Penny does yoga with Sheldon. Kitty and Raj both own a small dog. Eric sees an angel and Sheldon sees a ghost. Sheldon and Donna were both on the radio.

      Raj and Fez are both not from the location the show takes place, and their love lives are often inactive. Jackie and Bernadette are both short and squeaky, but Jackie would bond more with Raj because they're both rich and spoiled. Like Sheldon, Eric is a fan of Star Wars, and builds models. I can imagine them building the Starship together; Sheldon quietly correcting Eric's work. Maybe they get into a big fight over it and Donna and Penny walk in on them...They all get high and Sheldon says some uncharacteristically stupid things!) Sheldon, Kelso and Eric all try to do the Jedi mind tricks. In The Sales Call Sublimation, Penny goes to a therapist, who says she went to college during the '70s; and Penny asks her if she ever had sex with a stuffed Wookie watching. And Eric and Donna's marriage counsellor just can't shut up about Star Wars!
      Hyde and Chrissy...Howard and Christy.

      Fez and Howard both dress up as Batman. Eric dressed up as Luke Skywalker and Professor Proton wore Obi Wan Kenobi's ensemble. (You can say he was never caught alive in those clothes, but it counts.) Sheldon wears a maid's outfit, Eric wears a dress. Zack's a dumbass, Kelso's a dumbass. And oh my God! Can you imagine Red Forman and Mike Rostenkowski in the same room? Kitty Forman, Mary Cooper. They'd get along great. Big Bang Theory still needs a landlord, though, and I know just the guy. FENTON!
      And let's not forget...The Loop. Carol Ann Susi (Howard's mother) appeared in That '70s Show, where Mila Kunis portrayed Jackie and Ashton Kutcher portrayed Michael Kelso. Kutcher also portrayed Walden Schmidt in Two And A Half Men, after the death of character Charlie Harper, portrayed by Charlie Sheen who appeared in The Big Bang Theory; where Kaley Cuoco and Katey Sagal reunite for the mother-daughter relationship they had in 8 Simple Rules. John Ritter appeared in 8 Simple Rules; and he also appeared in Three's Company. His landlord, Mr. Roper, would later appear in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, and one of the characters from that show would later find her way into The Big Bang Theory.
      But wait, it gets weirder. My brother wants Bob Pinciotti to portray Howard's father, because much like the character of Mrs. Wolowitz, he's big, hairy, scary, and  has been known to occasionally leave his robe open.
      So...can you find any more similarities? Or have I pretty much covered it?

[3ku11]

So your saying TbbT is unoriginal. Not saying the show has many similarities to other shows.. In any regard. The show has more in common with Friends then that 70s show. I wouldent call TbbT unoriginal though. Trends have been done so many times. It's hard to be original these days. TbbT interpretation is original. 

Edited February 28, 2017 by 3ku11

[Kimberly Rose]

9 minutes ago, 3ku11 said:

So your saying TbbT is unoriginal. Not saying the show has many similarities to other shows.. In any regard. The show has more in common with Friends then that 70s show. I wouldent call TbbT unoriginal though. Trends have been done so many times. It's hard to be original these days. TbbT interpretation is original. 

Actually, "I stated it outright". I know very well the similarities it has to Friends - a blond waitress dates the dark-haired scientist who lives across the hall from her. He wears glasses and seduces her in his lab. Their relationship is filled with drama and jealousy but they end up together. But if you really read what I wrote, it's undeniable that The Big Bang Theory and That '70s Show have much more in common. In fact it seems like Big Bang actually ripped off That '70s Show.

[Tensor]

3 hours ago, Kimberly Rose said:

      Did it ever occur to you how unoriginal The Big Bang Theory is?

snip...

      So...can you find any more similarities? Or have I pretty much covered it?

I would suggest you look at some of the 50s television shows such as  "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners",  "My Three Sons", The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet".  Along with quite a few radio shows from the 30s and 40s, and even some TV shows in the 70s and 80s to see how That 70s Show, and even Friends ripped off situations.  After all these are all situation comedies.  But, while the situations may be the same, the reaction to those situations are different for a fairly well written shows.  So, I don't see a big deal.  Both That 70s Show, and TBBT were both at or above 200 episodes.  It wouldn't be too hard to find similarities.  

[April]

If you want to catalogue what kind of stories are similar to other kind of stories there's a huge database for you that already did this:

http://tvtropes.org

Knock yourself out!

[Kimberly Rose]

Oh! There's also Burt from That '70s Show and Burt, the geologist from Big Bang!

[Kimberly Rose]

Howard and Kelso both know sign language.

[Tensor]

There's a connection between I Love Lucy and TBBT.  Both had a Ricky that smoked.  

[Kimberly Rose]

Nice! Thanks for helping. Another similarity is that in both shows, the actors went to see Planet Of The Apes in theatres.

Kelso: Those apes were good actors!

[Kimberly Rose]

Neat! I just did some research and discovered a Ricky in That '70s Show, as well. He was in the episode Eric's Burger Job. Also in that episode, Hyde acts like Donna's therapist; just like Sheldon did to Leonard - and vice versa - in The Pants Alternative.

[Tensor]

Yes, many shows use the same plot devices, and character names.  Go to the site tvtropes.org, and you'll find how many shows use the same premises, over and over again.  It's not all that remarkable. 

[Kimberly Rose]

Actually, it's very remarkable. Between the two shows, my family and I have found a minimum of forty similarities. And here's another. Hyde was always going from place to place, looking for shelter. Just like Raj. Here's another one. Raj and Fez both considered marrying just so they wouldn't be deported.

[Kimberly Rose]

Hey, all! Good news, I found more similarities!
Okay. In That '70s Show, Hyde's mom is portrayed by Katey Sagal, who appeared in Married With Children. They both appeared in 8 Simple Rules. And the similarities between those two shows? Check it out. In the episode "All I Want For Christmas", Paul speaks (instead of sings) "Fa-la-la-la-la". Leonard and Penny do the same thing in The Maternal Congruence. In the episode Rory's Got A Girlfriend, Bridget says she should wear glasses and put her hair up because now she's smart and hot. Leonard says Penny is smart and hot after she gets glasses and wears an updo in The Egg Salad Equivalency. In Anne Frank And Skeevy, Bridget does a production of Anne Frank; consistently mentioned by Penny. In Opposites Attract, Bridget dates a brown-haired nerd who wears glasses. And, um...Leonard, hello? And there is a Missy in both shows. Oh, and by the way, Penny squirts whipped cream into her mouth just like they do in That '70s Show. Stephanie Barnett shares the surname to Hyde's real father, William Barnett. But Hyde thought his real father was some guy named Bud, who shares the given name to the son on Married With Children. Okay, now listen to this. Remember when I said Charlie Sheen appeared on Big Bang? In The Vartabedian Conundrum Sheldon presses on one ear and squeals, thinking he has a tumor. In Two And A Half Men Charlie Sheen starred alongside Jon Cryer, who did the exact same thing after spending some time at a loud club.

[Tensor]

41 minutes ago, Kimberly Rose said:

Hey, all! Good news, I found more similarities!
Okay. In That '70s Show, Hyde's mom is portrayed by Katey Sagal, who appeared in Married With Children. They both appeared in 8 Simple Rules. And the similarities between those two shows? 

Does that mean there are similarities between Modern Family and Married with Children?   Oh, and don't forget the links between Home Improvement and Last Man Standing.    And the links between The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland, or the links between The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Big Bang Theory.  

You do realize that anyone could find similarities between shows.  It mean, here is one trope from the list of tropes starting with "A", and there are 100 of them starting with an "A".  

Quote

• Invoked by Colonel Flag on M*A*S*H.
  I'm with the CIA, but I tell people I'm with the CIC, so they think I'm with the CID.
• In the Get Smart episode "A Man Called Smart", Max is looking for someone known only as 'T.B.O.'. While standing at a catering truck, this exchange occurs:
  Maxwell Smart: Bediyoskin told us to contact you. He even wrote your initials on a slip of paper. T.B.O.
  Tom Orlando: T.B.O. can mean a lot of things.
  Maxwell Smart: Oh really? For instance, give me another T.B.O.
  Caterer: One T.B.O. forty cents.
  Maxwell Smart: T.B.O.?
  Caterer: Tomato and bacon on an onion roll.
• The Golden Girls: Blanche's middle name is Elizabeth, and she keeps a journal with her initials on the cover. Her initials spell BED, and the girls mistake it for a logbook of people she's slept with.
• Veep: In "The Choice" the characters have difficulty differentiating between the pro-life and pro-choice organisations because of their similar acronyms.
• In Grounded For Life, Lily placed some ads to get friends for her grampa Walt. Seeing it in other adverts, she lists as one of the interests of his grandfather t/v, thinking that it means to watch TV, without realizing that it's a reference to transvestism. The replies that Walt get to these ads are surprising, to say the least.
• Given an extra-confusing twist in one of the "Get Me Hennimore!" sketches in That Mitchell and Webb Look - the hapless Hennimore has to look after two different groups, the Murder In The Dark (MITD) club, and a wine-tasting day for a charity for nervous incontinents (Nervous Incontinents Tasting Day - NITD), while simultaneously having to deal with a printing press that keeps switching Ns for Ms. What a mightnare.
• In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Bat Jar Conjecture," Sheldon decides to name the team "Army Ants" due to the insects' strength. He even gets team T-shirts, which have "AA" written on them. Leonard points out how people may mistake the initials may make people think of something else. Sheldon doubts anyone will mistake them for "Anodized Aluminium."
  • There's also Raj, Leonard, Howard, and Leslie's team, "Perpetual Motion Squad" or "PMS" for short.

 

According to you, it's obvious that MASH and The Big Bang Theory are linked.    Unless you can show the similarities are intentional, it's just random noise.  

 

51 minutes ago, Kimberly Rose said:

Okay, now listen to this. Remember when I said Charlie Sheen appeared on Big Bang? In The Vartabedian Conundrum Sheldon presses on one ear and squeals, thinking he has a tumor. In Two And A Half Men Charlie Sheen starred alongside Jon Cryer, who did the exact same thing after spending some time at a loud club.

Do you think that may have something to do with the fact that there are writers (and executive producers) who wrote and produced for both Two and A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory?  Not to mention they wrote and produced for both shows at the same time.   

[Kimberly Rose]

There's also Smeldor and Smellso.

[Kimberly Rose]

Oh, and Chrissy and Howard both ride a Vespa! This is fun, but I can't watch either show now without looking for similarities.

[Tensor]

You can find similarities in any show, not just these two, it's not that big of a deal.  

[April]

53 minutes ago, Tensor said:

You can find similarities in any show, not just these two, it's not that big of a deal.  

At this point I get the impression you might as well be talking to a brick wall. It's not like Kim has acknowledged any post that it pointing that out. lol

[Tensor]

It's for those who come by and may think there is something to it. 

[Kimberly Rose]

On ‎23‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 0:07 PM, April said:

At this point I get the impression you might as well be talking to a brick wall. It's not like Kim has acknowledged any post that it pointing that out. lol

Pointing what out? I'm not hurting anyone; I'm playing a game. You should see me with a dictionary. 

[Kimberly Rose]

Okay, here's some more. Just like Penny, Midge went to community college. In the episode of That '70s Show called The First Date, this conversation takes place: Then I'm in. No, you're not invited, Fez. Then I'm out. Doesn't it sound familiar? Maybe because of this conversation that takes place in the episode The Love Spell Potential, this conversation happens: Another quest by Wolowitz; count me in! Sheldon, they're talking about sex. Oh, then I'm out.

[Kimberly Rose]

Eric's cousin is named Penny!

[Tensor]

On 7/30/2017 at 9:41 PM, Kimberly Rose said:

 Doesn't it sound familiar? Maybe because of this conversation that takes place in the episode The Love Spell Potential, this conversation happens: Another quest by Wolowitz; count me in! Sheldon, they're talking about sex. Oh, then I'm out.

Yeah, look how close they are

70's                                                          TBBT

Then I'm in.                                            Count me in

No, you're not invited Fez                   Sheldon, they are talking about sex

Then, I'm out.                                        Oh, then I'm out.

 

It doesn't appear that they are that close at all.  Besides, if it was That 70s show, and  it involved sex, Fez would have been in, not out.   In TBBT, Sheldon would have come along anyway.   So, the comments are, in fact, the opposite of what the other show indicates.      

[Kimberly Rose]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Fez would have been uninvited especially if it involved sex. And Sheldon would have avoided that situation, just like he chose to. In any event, with the comment you quoted me on, I was comparing the similarity of the dialogue, not the situation.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Kimberly Rose

[Tensor]

 

5 hours ago, Kimberly Rose said:

Actually, I'm pretty sure Fez would have been uninvited especially if it involved sex.  And Sheldon would have avoided that situation, just like he chose to. In any event, with the comment you quoted me on, I was comparing the similarity of the dialogue, not the situation.

Well, here's the thing, you keep talking about the similarities of the two shows.  In this case Fez, whether invited or not, would have willingly tried to participate, not avoid sex, as Sheldon would have.

And that's the whole point, you are cherry-picking what you see as evidence, ignoring all those instances that don't support  your point, or are examples that occur in multiple shows, not just the two you are trying to show are similar.