The Big Bang Theory

:

Season 1
  • Network: CBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 24, 2007
Season #: 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 23
  3. Negative: 4 out of 23
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Critic Reviews

  1. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    60
    This is a comedy that does what it's supposed to do, which is to make you smile and giggle at the appropriate points. Be that as it may, the pilot never ascends beyond the level of being cute and nice.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    60
    That said, there are some qualms surrounding how long the producers can mine the Leonard-Penny aspect of the show, a shallow vein if there ever was one. More promising is the interaction among the key duo and their Mensa-worthy friends.
  3. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Hal Boedeker
    60
    The sporadically amusing Big Bang Theory needs some fancier moves.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    60
    It's just the same joke endlessly repeated--the everyday translated into geek-speak, and the obscure and difficult treated as if it were common knowledge.... These are perilous times for sitcoms, and Lorre & Co. may want to think up another.
  6. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Aaron Barnhart
    60
    I didn't get much of a sense where this show was going from the pilot, though there was nothing to hate about Big Bang Theory, and the writing’s every bit as sharp as "Two and a Half Men" and "Dharma & Greg," comedies overseen by Big Bang producer Chuck Lorre.
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    60
    "Chuck" has interests similar to those of the heroes of Big Bang, including a lack of interest in chasing women, but his comedy is more inventive--the better bet in a new era in which the nerd no longer loses, but the best nerd show wins.
  8. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    50
    Standard setup? Sure. Standard execution? For the most part.
  9. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    50
    While it's got that professional Burrows sheen of unerrant joke delivery--especially from the talented Galecki, who can do this in his sleep--you have to assume the pile of scripts on his desk in this hurting age for the three-camera studio-audience format isn’t what it once was.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Henry Goldblatt
    42
    To call this a one-joke sitcom would be a stretch.
  11. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    40
    The show might even have been engaging, if the one-liners came less frequently and the characters had a little more dimension. As it is, Sheldon and Leonard are merely laughable, if sweet, and they are even less fleshed out than the characters on "Two and a Half Men."
  12. PopMatters
    Reviewed by: Todd R. Ramlow
    40
    Other shows do complicate and elaborate the geek mystique ("CSI" and "Bones" come to mind), but all we’re likely to get from The Big Bang Theory are missed communications, fumbled opportunities, and general yuckety-yucks.

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best TV Season of 2007
2
#2 Most Discussed TV Season of 2007
3
#3 Most Shared TV Season of 2007

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1348 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,107 out of 1348
  2. Mixed: 73 out of 1348
  3. Negative: 168 out of 1348
  1. BowsAndArrows
    Aug 13, 2010
    3
    I'm sorry but there is something seriously, fundamentally, achingly, scarily wrong with that 8.2. I'm actually literally scared for the wellI'm sorry but there is something seriously, fundamentally, achingly, scarily wrong with that 8.2. I'm actually literally scared for the well being of myself and this country.… Full Review »
  2. xlogan123
    May 24, 2012
    1
    I heard so much hype about this show that I decided to give it a shot and watched maybe 5 episodes with the hopes that it might improve. II heard so much hype about this show that I decided to give it a shot and watched maybe 5 episodes with the hopes that it might improve. I honestly didn't find it entertaining in the least, much less, funny. I consider myself a geek in a lot of respects so I thought I could empathize with the characters, but they're at best just stereotypical characters making for stale entertainment. The creators don't seem to see that understanding references to geek/nerd culture does't and and of itself make the show appealing to geeks and nerds. I don't mean to make a broad generalization here, but the friends of mine who do enjoy this show are the ones who have high thresholds for offensive content (i.e.: the idea that women will stop being rational and forgive your wrongs if you give them a tiara) and are typically thought of as the daft ones in the group, though, they don't identify as geeks or nerds either.… Full Review »
  3. austinbond
    Sep 23, 2010
    10
    Although it can sometimes feel like jokes are repeated, the show is a shining example of geek culture, full of funny comic, movie and videoAlthough it can sometimes feel like jokes are repeated, the show is a shining example of geek culture, full of funny comic, movie and video game references that young people, like me, will lap up.… Full Review »
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