Big Bang Theory Pilot Revisited: 15 Memorable Moments (Including A Few In-Hindsight Continuity Errors)
In honor of The Big Bang Theory's 15th anniversary, TVLine is revisiting the episode that started it all. No, not the unaired, 2006 pilot that only exists in the deepest, darkest corners of the Internet, but the reshot pilot that became the actual series premiere, which aired on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007.
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Our rewatch left us with more questions than answers. Among them: What ever happened to Penny's screenplay? Was Sheldon getting pantsed a blessing? And where would Howard have wound up without Bernadette?
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All of the above barely scratch the surface. We've also made note of several in-hindsight continuity gaffes (which serve to underscore just how much the show and the central gang has evolved since the pre-Amy Farrah Fowler era). And while much had changed after Penny moved into Apt. 4B, there was at least one constant for the duration of Big Bang's 12-season run. (Hint: It involves a certain seating arrangement.)
All 279 episodes of The Big Bang Theory are available to stream on HBO Max (sign up here). Keep scrolling for a shot-by-shot stroll down memory lane, then hit the comments with your reactions.
Leonard finishing the nurse's crossword puzzle feels like a total "Sheldon" move.
Who needs super asymmetry? Sheldon could have presented this nurse (played by Bob Hearts Abishola's Vernee Watson) to the Nobel committee as proof that time travel exists, seeing as how she's also appeared in two episodes of Young Sheldon and doesn't look a day older here than she did in 1989.
Sheldon: "Leonard, I don't think I can do this."
Leonard: "What, are you kidding? You're a semi-pro."
What Leonard is implying seems totally out of character for the Sheldon we have come to know. Also out of (future) character? That it was his idea to donate sperm in order to afford faster internet in the apartment.
Sheldon tells Leonard that his parents shipped him off to boarding school — but when exactly did that happen? Did his stint away from home take place before the events of Young Sheldon?
The layout of Apt. 4B must have changed between Episodes 1 and 2. Penny's kitchen is nowhere to be found.
Sheldon tells Leonard that he has 212 friends on Myspace, which begs oh-so-many questions about his profile. Among them: Who was in his Top 8 (aside from Leonard, Howard and Raj)?
Penny: "I'm... writing a screenplay. It's about this sensitive girl who comes to L.A. from Lincoln, Nebraska to be an actress, and winds up a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory."
Leonard: "So it's based on your life."
Penny: "No, I'm from Omaha."
Penny sure has come a long way from the "dumb blonde" archetype presented in the pilot. Also: What ever happened to that screenplay?
One thing that hasn't changed since the pilot? Sheldon not wanting anyone — least of all Penny! — to sit in his spot.
We'll assume those are sodas, not beers that Sheldon has just grabbed from the fridge. Shelly wouldn't even drink caffeinated beverages in future episodes, having promised his mother Mary that he "wouldn't start doing drugs" when he moved to California.
Just think, had Melissa Rauch's Bernadette not been added to the cast in Season 3, we would have been stuck with the old, creepy Howard. His advances towards Penny have not aged well.
Raj has but a couple of lines in the pilot. It's a good thing he eventually discovered that alcohol allows him to talk to women (and that he was "cured" of his selective mutism in the Season 6 finale).
Let's face it: Kurt did us all a favor when he stole Sheldon's pants. Those slacks were hideous.
Meanwhile, this is the best that Howard has ever dressed. A simple, pattern-less shirt and dark jeans? He's practically runway-ready (minus the dickey, of course).
Leonard: "One day I'll win the nobel prize and I'll die alone."
Sheldon: "Don't think like that. You're not going to die alone."
Leonard: "Thank you, Sheldon. You're a good friend."
Sheldon: "You're certainly not going to win a Nobel prize."
Sheldon wasn't just hitting Leonard when he was down. He was also slyly (albeit unwittingly) foreshadowing the series-ending plot that found Sheldon pursuing his own Nobel prize. Holy bookend, Batman!
Leonard: "Our babies will be smart and beautiful."
Sheldon: "Not to mention imaginary."
Sheldon's sick burn was eerily prescient: A major Season 12 plot point found Penny confirming that she never wants to have kids. (Of course, that changed.)
Press PLAY on the video above to see the original trailer that ran ahead of The Big Bang Theory's 2007 debut, then hit the comments with your reactions to seeing the pilot again in 2022.