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[07/25/08 - 10:15 AM]
Live at the San Diego Comic-Con: "The Big Bang Theory"
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

The Big Bang Theory Screening and Q&A

The panel's description: "Positive proof that physics is funny, The Big Bang Theory makes its Comic-Con debut with a screening of the �Nerdvana Annihilation� episode and a Q&A with the show�s creators and stars. Come talk with executive producers Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men) and Bill Prady (Dharma & Greg), as well as series stars Johnny Galecki (Roseanne), Jim Parsons (Garden State), Kaley Cuoco (Charmed), Simon Helberg (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) and Kunal Nayyar (NCIS). Adam Savage (MythBusters) will moderate the session. From Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television, The Big Bang Theory returns for a second season on September 22 and airs Mondays at 8:00 PM< ET/PT on the CBS Television Network."

10:09 AM - And so day two begins! The con not surprisingly is on pace for its largest crowd to date. Tomorrow should prove to be the nerd version of "Sophie's Choice" - wait in line for hours for Hall H ("Heroes" and "Lost") or wait in line for hours for Ballroom 20 ("Dollhouse" and "Battlestar Galactica") - even though neither group of panels overlap from a time standpoint. If you have an passionate reason why I should do one group over the other, feel free to drop me a line. I'm easily swayed at this point.

10:15 AM - As usual, we're running a little late.

10:17 AM - Hey it's our WBTV friend Susan Kesser. She's brought a clip package from the show.

10:32 AM - Look it's Adam Savage from "Mythbusters." He's here to debut a music video of the show's theme song.

10:34 AM - It's Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar!

10:36 AM - Bill notes that all of Sheldon's white boards are checked by actual physicists.

10:37 AM - Adam plus SheldonsShirts.com, a web site devoted to the various shirts of Jim's character. Jim goes on to reveal the cast spends "a great deal of time together" when they're not working.

10:39 AM - "We're just as dumb as we've always been," Simon says when asked if they've learned anything since joining show.

10:40 AM - Jim says the nerdiest fact he's learned is that he knows the temperature of glass of water filled with ice cubes doesn't go up until the last one melts.

10:41 AM - Random fact: Kunal was an amateur badmitton (sp?) player back in India. A fact he's learned to downplay.

10:42 AM - Simon reveals he once sported a duck tail in the '80s, which he subsequently cut off and still keeps in a bag.

10:43 AM - "I'm like awesome at ping pong," Kaley says is her geekiest trait.

10:44 AM - Jim says he's obsessed with talk radio, goes to bed early and the timber of his voice are his geekiest traits.

10:45 AM - Johnny was a theatre geek as a child. Plus he played the cello. "I was a real rock star," he deadpans. Other loves: action figures and Elfquest.

10:46 AM - "I was 24 before I ever asked a woman out and I'll leave it at that," Bill reveals.

10:47 AM - Chuck says he was into monster models as a child "but mostly for the glue."

10:48 AM - Chuck talks about the show's original pilot shot two and a half years ago with Jim and Johnny (but not Kaley). "It sucked," he admits. But CBS gave them a second chance and then "we were blessed with Kaley."

10:50 AM - Adam asks whether or not Jim's characer has Asberg's Syndrome (sp?). Jim and Bill say they don't think he was ever diagnosed. His mom just accepted him for who he is/was.

10:52 AM - Johnny says his relationship with Jim somewhat mirrors their characters - they simply just met and clicked at their jobs.

10:55 AM - "She has a genuine love for them," Kaley says about Penny's relationship with the guys.

10:56 AM - "Talking to a girl is scoring for him," Simon says about his character. He's a real life Pepe La Pew (sp?). Bill says he's based on a guy he once knew whose mantra was - "Proposition every woman, have no standards."

10:57 AM - Audience Q&A time. "Back in sitcom-land is my favorite place to be," Kaley says when asked about doing this show versus "Charmed."

10:59 AM - "It's comedy, it won't turn out well," Chuck says about the events of the season finale.

11:00 AM - A fan offers up his "Star Trek" archetypes for the cast. "He often shares dialogue with Mr. Spock," Bill says about Jim's character.

11:02 AM - Kunal says he hopes his character learns to talk to women and go on another arranged date. As for Simon, "It's pretty obvious what I want and I just want it so bad."

11:03 AM - "I'm usually cast as the romantic lead's assistant," Johnny says about how thrilled is with his role and how pleased he is with where Chuck and Bill are taking the character. "Kissass," Kaley quips.

11:04 AM - A fan asks if anyone can define the Doppler Effect. "I'll take this one," Kaley jokes. Jim goes on to give his own self-described "sloppy" definition.

11:08 AM - Bill notes their writers' assistant is very good with "Star Wars" references but not so much with "Star Trek." It's starting to drive him mad.

11:09 AM - "We were never writing about geeks and nerds, we were writing about remarkable people," Chuck says about the show's premise. He then adds that they just hope to learn more about them as the new season progresses.

11:10 AM - Johnny's inspiration for his character: a school friend, a meerkat and J.J. Abrams.

11:11 AM - Bill and Chuck note that Lenny, Penny and Kenny were the original working names of the characters.

11:12 AM - Jim says Sheldon's hated from Leslie in the quiz bowl episode seems like it could turn to romance.

11:13 AM - Chuck confirms Sara Gilbert will be back for a few episodes.

11:14 AM - Bill says the writers' room's geekiness is almost as if you took a row of the people here and put them in the room to debate whether Pluto is a planet.

11:15 AM - Last question - someone asks which actor is most like their character. Kaley jokes that Kunal hasn't said a word to her in two years while Simon says he hasn't stopped talking to Kaley. "This is a freakishly nice group of people," Bill notes. Bill reveals that the cast rented a boat yesterday with Kaley driving - much to Chuck's horror.

11:17 AM - Chuck gives a heartfelt thanks to the fans. And that's a wrap!

Note: My apologies for the lackluster picture quality - the lighting in room 6CDEF makes it impossible to get a decent shot without moving directly in front of the panel.


Kunal Nayyar, Jim Parsons, Bill Prady, Simon Helberg, Johnny Galecki, Chuck Lorre, Kaley Cuoco


Adam Savage, Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady


Bill Prady, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg





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· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· SAN DIEGO COMIC CON (TFC)





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