Cut Stephen Hawking Scene That Could've Made TBBT Finale So Much Better
The Big Bang Theory was one of the most popular shows on television for years before the series finally ended. The show was all about pop culture references and dorky humor, all of which were handled masterfully by the actors.
The series included many prominent figures from geek culture ranging from Will Wheaton to Stan Lee, Adam West, and Mark Hamill himself. The show's cameos were often the most exciting parts of episodes.
The Big Bang Theory was a love letter from Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, and Steve Molaro to all things nerdy. However, the show had one other cameo which many people are unaware of. Stephen Hawking sadly passed away in 2018 and the show wanted to honor him by a tribute.
While Hawking had starred in multiple episodes of the show as a guest, his inclusion during the season finale was poignant. The tribute was expected to air during the season 11 finale when Jim Parson's Sheldon and Mayim Bialik's Amy were getting married.
The scene was shot, but never aired due to time constraints. The wedding episode was long enough and there was little room for the inclusion of a cameo. Although the showrunners wanted to give tribute to the late physicist, they were on a tight schedule.
Fortunately, the cameo was still released by the Network the next day. In a bittersweet moment, the scene shows a gift that was mistakenly delivered to Leonard (played by Johnny Galecki) and Penny's (played by Kaley Cuoco ) apartment. It is later revealed that the gift was sent by Hawking to the couple before passing away.
The gift turns out to be a pocket watch. Leonard quips about it saying it might be Hawking's last formula. Sheldon jokes about it too (totally in character for him) before reading the actual message which says, "Sheldon. I'm so glad you finally married Amy. It's about time. Ha ha ha. Love, Stephen."
A final message was also sent to the late physicist at the end of the scene.
It read "To one of the greatest minds in the universe and dear member of our family. We will miss you deeply. With love, from everyone in The Big Bang Theory family."
Fans of the show would have no doubt been quite excited about the scene and it would have been a heart-touching moment for the characters too. It is a shame that such an amazing sendoff and tribute had to be scrapped due to time constraints.