The Big Bang Theory: 10 Things Fans Would Change About The Show, According To Reddit
Even though it's been over two years since the last episode of The Big Bang Theory aired, it's still a beloved show because of the memorable characters and their stories. From Penny's struggles to get her acting career off the ground to Sheldon's hilarious attempts to navigate social interactions, there were a lot of things that played out on the show that fans loved.
The show was brilliantly done, but it had its flaws from time to time. There were some things that happened on The Big Bang Theory that fans weren't happy about and would have changed. Reddit is one popular platform where fans share these storylines and plot points that they wish were done differently, offering some fascinating, alternative directions for the show.
10 Penny's Job
Penny's career was a key part of her story throughout the show. From seasons 1 to 7, she was a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory. The job was meant to be a part-time thing to help her pay her bills while she waited for a big break in her acting career. Eventually, she quit waitressing and gave up on acting when she took a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative.
Reddit user Justice_Prince suggested that Penny should have been a voice actor and said "it would have been better to let her eventually become successful as an actress." In defense of this, they pointed out that her new job relied on her looks, just like how she hoped her looks would make her a successful actor, which didn't send much of a good message or show any character development. The voice actor job would have also let her dream come true, albeit in a different way from what she expected.
9 Stuart's Screen Time
Since Stuart owned the comic book store where the guys often hung out, he made a couple of appearances occasionally on the show. Although the guys were mostly friendly with him, they usually treated him as a backburner friend and an afterthought—and the show was no different.
The Redditor joel523 listed one of the things they'd change about the show as to "have Stuart in more episodes." His life was miserable for most of the show but he was a funny and entertaining character that the audience didn't get to see enough of - especially since his story had so much room for growth after the main characters' ones were basically complete.
8 Raj's Marital Status
Raj had several successful and unsuccessful relationships on The Big Bang Theory and he was the only one out of his close friends who was single by the time the show ended. The final season gave the audience some hope that that would change with his arranged marriage to Anu, but that didn't work out either.
Reddit user Drain-U said one of the things they'd change is to "give Raj a woman that he marries." After all his struggles with love, it was rather sad that he didn't get a happy ending with a woman he loved and several fans wished that could change. On the other hand, Raj's ending showed that the conventional happy ending of marriage and kids isn't all that's needed for someone to be happy and feel complete.
7 Bernadette's Introduction
Bernadette joined the show in "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary" when Penny set her up on a date with Howard. After a couple of ups and downs, they got married and had kids. The relationship changed both of their characters drastically, with Howard becoming less creepy and Bernadette becoming less sweet.
joel523 on Reddit said they'd delay the couple's meeting because "single Howard was amazingly funny." While some fans enjoyed Howard's character when he was still single, others were relieved when that came to an end with Bernadette's introduction. He evolved into a mature, loving husband and father, and still had his humorous moments.
6 Sheldon's Relationship Status After The Breakup
When Amy broke up with Sheldon in "The Commitment Determination," he remained single until they eventually got back together. However, while Amy dated a few other men during their separation, Redditor Drain-U also commented that Sheldon should have "had another girlfriend for a few episodes."
This almost happened when Sheldon tasked Raj and Howard with finding him another girlfriend in the episode "The Mystery Date Observation." Unfortunately, even though Vanessa Bennett figured out their puzzle, Sheldon turned her away. Still, it would have been interesting to see if anyone else could handle a relationship with Sheldon as well as Amy did.
5 Zack And Beverly's Screen Time
As Penny's on-and-off boyfriend, Zack showed up a number of times on the show. Even though he didn't get much screen time, he still left a memorable impression on fans. The same applied to Beverly, whose strained relationship with her son, Leonard, was the subject of most of her storylines.
The Redditor lurkingaround08 wanted to see more of Zack and Beverly because they were the "best two characters." Of the many secondary characters on The Big Bang Theory, these two were certainly entertaining so it's no surprise some fans wanted to see more of them. For Beverly especially, her evolving relationship with Leonard and even Penny could have been fleshed out further over more episodes.
4 Barry Kripke's Presence
Like the other supporting characters, Kripke was only present in limited episodes for a few minutes at a time. He was still quite entertaining whenever he showed up, especially when he riled Sheldon up and bickered with him.
The Redditor _howard_wolowitz commented about having more of Kripke on the show said they "loved his and Sheldon's fights." Those were prominent whenever Kripke made an appearance and always fun to watch, like the time he fed helium into Sheldon's office during an interview and Sheldon's foamy revenge. His rivalry with Sheldon was certainly a highlight on the show.
3 Bernadette & Amy's Character Development
Both Bernadette and Amy changed the most during the time they first joined the show and when it ended. By the series finale, Amy was less uptight and robotic and Bernadette was meaner and scarier.
While character changes are a given in any show, many fans, such as Reddit user MrBigd77, complained that "they shouldn't have changed [sic] that much as quick as they did." The changes would have been easier to accept and get used to if they'd happened gradually over time, rather than suddenly and out of the blue.
2 Penny's Pregnancy
Besides Sheldon and Amy's Nobel Prize win and the elevator finally working again, Penny's pregnancy was another surprise in the series finale. This development came after an argument between Leonard and Penny over having kids, where she insisted she didn't want any and he eventually made peace with it.
Like several fans, the Redditor Superb_Lime_1734 felt that this ending for Penny on The Big Bang Theory didn't make sense and said, "Penny says she doesn't want children and Leonard makes peace with it and yet somehow Penny is pregnant and Amy isn't?" With Penny's decision not to have kids, the writers had a good opportunity to show that it is perfectly okay for an individual to be child-free (as others do in reality). Instead, they chose the cliché happy ending.
1 The Nobel Prize Winners
One of the highlights of the series finale was Sheldon and Amy winning a Nobel. For Sheldon, especially, it was a life-long dream finally coming true and he was sharing it with the love of his life. Many fans loved that and the particularly sweet speech Sheldon gave at the end when he received the prize.
However, some fans hoped for something different, like the Redditor yahyrohat who said "if Sheldon and Leonard had won this award, it would have been much more emotional and meaningful." Since they were best friends and worked together on many projects, this view is understandable. Still, Amy's win was also emotional and meaningful because they came up with the idea at their wedding and her win gave the show a chance to inspire other young women who want to pursue science.