Pilot (24 Sep. 2007)

A pair of brilliant theoretical physicists meet a woman who shows them how little they know about the real world.

Director:

James Burrows

Writers:

Chuck Lorre (creator), Bill Prady (creator),

Stars:

Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Johnny Galecki	...	Leonard Hofstadter
Jim Parsons	...	Sheldon Cooper
Kaley Cuoco	...	Penny
Simon Helberg	...	Howard Wolowitz
Kunal Nayyar	...	Raj Koothrappali
Vernee Watson-Johnson	...	Althea (as Vernée Watson)
Brian Patrick Wade	...	Kurt

Storyline

Twenty-somethings Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper are friends, roommates and physics geniuses working at Cal Tech. As such, they are self-professed geeks. Their social companions are Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali (who does not speak to women), fellow geniuses at Cal Tech. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, beautiful Penny, a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory and an aspiring screenwriter and actress, moves in next door to them in their apartment building. On their initial social interaction - an impromptu lunch in the guys' apartment - the guys learn that Penny has a different mentality than them. This difference however does not stop Leonard from being attracted to her. They also learn that Penny is heartbroken from the end of a four year relationship. Just because she asked, Leonard agrees to pick up her television from her ex-boyfriend, with who she is having a dispute about the ownership of said television. Getting the television may be more difficult than Leonard ...

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Plot Keywords:

waiting room | singing in a car | depantsing | molecular model | white board | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 25, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chuck Lorre Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sheldon and Leonard are seen drinking bottled orange sodas, which sparked controversy over whether it was beer or not, due to Sheldon's incredibly low alcohol tolerance.

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Quotes

Sheldon: If by "Holy Smokes", you mean a derivative restatment of the kind of stuff you could find scribbled on the wall of any men's room at MIT, sure.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening scroll of the time line when it gets to 91,000 there is a mistake the dates read 93,000BC 92,000BC 91,0009C 90,000BC for some reason 91,000 is a 9c not a BC.

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Connections

Remake of The Big Bang Theory: Unaired Pilot

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Soundtracks

"The Big Bang Theory Theme (Instrumental)"
Written by Barenaked Ladies
Performed by Barenaked Ladies

User Reviews

A Flying Start

There are many aspects of the pilot show which serve excellently to comically drive the narrative and introduce the characters. Leonard and Sheldon are shown to dress awkwardly, their apartment is decorated with models of atoms and flip-boards and this fits them perfectly. Penny's colourful character and juxtaposition to their world works excellently. The topics and lexis of the physicist's conversation is shown as obviously abnormal through Penny's reactions and humour at their quirky ways, which we can relate to. Through the editing and use of cutting scenes with atoms, the beginning of their new, different story has a fantastic start.