TBBT Conundrum: What Turned the Cultural Phenomenon into a Cringe-Fest?

The show itself was arguably the first sitcom to feature a lead character who is on the autistic spectrum (yes, I know it's never explicitly stated).

In that respect, TBBT could have been a huge step forward. But in truth, it made fun of neurodivergent people.

Viewers were supposed to laugh at the way that Sheldon struggled to cope in social situations and was awkward around girls.

And while you might argue that comedy should be allowed to explore real-life scenarios such as this, TBBT failed to delve into the matter and simply made fun of it.

Think about the way in which other characters were constantly mucking about with his chair just to upset him. These days, we'd call that bullying.

But it wasn't just Sheldon who was poorly represented. When you look at the way Raj and Howard were treated due to their ethnicity and religion, you'd be forgiven for thinking the show was written in the 70s.

The horrific killing of George Floyd that turned the Black Lives Matter campaign into a global phenomenon shone a light on the ways in which people who happened to not be white males had been portrayed in the media.

Mocking Raj's voice and making Howard such a stereotype were just two examples of how TBBT fed into this. Let's not forget it was one of the biggest shows on TV and, like it or not, it had an influence over young minds.

Likewise, Howard is what we would look on in this post-Me Too era as a sexual predator.

Again, it seems strange to think that, in this century a character in a light-hearted show could just create a gadget that spies on women and audiences would laugh along with him.

Yes, it was supposed to highlight the extent to which nerds would go to get their kicks. But why was it ok to laugh at nerds? Why was it deemed wholly acceptable to laugh at people just because they were 'not normal'?

And, for that matter, what was with the running stereotypes that hinted at some level of homosexual attraction between Howard and Raj and between Penny and Amy?

Just like the misogyny, sexual misdemeanours, and bullying, this was sort of always hinted at in a negative way. The whole undertone is that being gay is somehow weird. And that it's impossible to be gay without knowing where boundaries lie.

There's no getting away from it, TBBT was a cultural phenomenon. But watching it back can feel a little like taking a glimpse into a different world. One that, for all it may have claimed that it was, really wasn't that diverse or inclusive.