Pilot 

A pair of socially awkward theoretical physicists meet their new neighbor Penny, who is their polar opposite.

Director:

James Burrows

Writers:

Chuck Lorre (created by), Bill Prady (created by)

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	...	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:

singing in a car | reference to astrology | reference to a zodiac sign | reference to sagittarius the astrological sign | reference to a horoscope | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second and successful pilot that was produced for CBS. The network passed on the first one. James Burrows directed both pilots, but has not directed any episodes since.

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Goofs

Sheldon, for the first time, gives his speech as to why he likes the spot he sits in. When mentioning the two windows he opens to get his cross-breeze, the unseen window he points to is somewhere where, if it existed, would be looking out into the hallway or into the adjacent apartment. Also, it would later be found that Sheldon would not open a window simply for air due to his yet-to-be-known (to the audience) fear of birds.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sheldon: So, if a photon is directed through a plane with two slits in it and either slit is observed, it will not go through both slits. If it's unobserved, it will. However, if it's observed after it's left the plane, but before it hits its target, it will not have gone through both slits.
Leonard: Agreed. What's your point?
Sheldon: It's no point. I just think it's a good idea for a t-shirt.

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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

References A Beautiful Mind (2001)

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Soundtracks

History of Everything (Instrumental version)
(uncredited)
Written by Barenaked Ladies
Performed by Barenaked Ladies
[Instrumental version of series theme song played over the closing credits]

User Reviews

A Hit from the Get Go

I think these are my people. Having seen every episode, I've gone back to my CD's of the first few seasons and I am amazed how funny they are years later. The ensemble cast, which has remained intact, is a a cool mixture of personalities. We have the autistic spectrum Sheldon, who has no sense of basic social mores, Leonard, the sincere nerd who has been victimized by the regular guys his whole life, Howard, who fancies himself quite the womanizer, and Raj, the precious, rich Indian kid. Of course, they are all very successful, working at Cal Tech in intense research. There is already a great chemistry. I plan on watching them all again and commenting on them.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Cantonese

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:

16:9 HD