S09.E11: The Opening Night Excitation

[Winston Wolfe]

 

Glad the women carried the relationship portion and the guys didn't know.  I'd hate for Howard to be sharing tips with Sheldon.  (Ick!!)

Although understated, clearly one of the writers' better choices.  Although it could have easily been played for laughs (and probably weakened the episode), can you imagine how unnerving the good-natured ribbing and "advice" from Howard, Raj and Leonard would have been to Sheldon?  Penny and Bernadette clearly realized this, and probably made a very deliberate decision not to tell the other guys.  Nice, thoughtful touch of friendship there.

[One Tough Cookie]

I am really stupid.

 

It took me until the second viewing to realize there is a difference between Star TREK and Star WARS!  I kept wondering why WW was booed in his costume!

[Chaos Theory]

Loved the episode.

But maybe it's just me... if my significant other had been looking forward to something like that for a long time, and it fell on my birthday, I'd say "GO!" It's just a birthday; you can celebrate it on another day. (Of course, once Amy knew about her "gift" that reaction wouldn't have been likely!)

The reverse is true as well. It's Amy's birthday and the two of them had JUST reestablished their relationship. Did Sheldon have to go opening night? It's not like Star Wars isn't going to be on for months.

[CherryAmes]

Did Sheldon have to go opening night? It's not like Star Wars isn't going to be on for months.

 

Absolutely!  I really don't get the way some people camp out for days, if not weeks just to be sure they get into the first showing of a movie like Star Wars.  Especially since these are the same people who will go back countless times and then buy it on DVD when it finally exits the cinemas. 

[sinkwriter]

The complicated part is that these guys are online every day - there's a huge risk of getting spoiled if you don't see the movie soon after it comes out.

 

Also, I don't understand why it's either/or (spend the day with Amy or go to the movie). Amy knows this means a great deal to Sheldon, he's been waiting for it for YEARS, so why not go together?

[BooksRule]

Did Sheldon have to go opening night? It's not like Star Wars isn't going to be on for months.

 

I think he did mention that he could go the next night, but he was afraid that someone would spoil the plot for him before he could see it.

 

I'm also guessing that it's just the fun of being one of the 'first' for something, be it a movie or a new product (I don't really understand why, but I know a lot of people like to be first).

[Chaos Theory]

Absolutely! I really don't get the way some people camp out for days, if not weeks just to be sure they get into the first showing of a movie like Star Wars. Especially since these are the same people who will go back countless times and then buy it on DVD when it finally exits the cinemas.

Have you ever seen Walmart on Black Friday? Line for a mile hours before store opens. I heard that when wedding stores have sales potential brides will wait on line for that perfect dress they will only wear once. Different strokes.

As for this. Single guys with disposable income and time on their hands. It's actually an intriguing story if the show decides to tell it. Sheldon more then Leonard has never really had anything get in the way of his immediate wants and needs. Now being a part of a couple means including Amy in his decisions on what is important which is new for him.

Edited December 19, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[sinkwriter]

 

I'm also guessing that it's just the fun of being one of the 'first' for something, be it a movie or a new product (I don't really understand why, but I know a lot of people like to be first).

 

I've never stood in line or camped out, but when the final Lord of the Rings movie was set to come out, a friend of mine bought a large block of tickets and we all paid her for one, so that we'd all go together on the first night it opened. It was fun for a one-time experience and to go with a bunch of friends, but I probably wouldn't do it again. It was jam-packed in the theatre so I felt a bit claustrophobic. I usually like to go to a movie after it's been out a few weeks, go at a time when the theatre is quieter and not very filled, and kind of spread out over two seats (purse and coat in one seat, me and my snacks in the other, LOL). Plus, I liked the experience of everyone's excitement in being there that day, it's fun to hear all the cheers and laughter, but it's also harder to connect completely with the movie because people are shouting at the screen (and sometimes being pretty obnoxious). That's fun on occasion, depending on the movie, but for some movies I really want to shut out everything and feel like I'm right there with the characters. I find it's much easier to get swept up in the movie when I'm not so conscious of everyone around me. Easier to do when there's less of a crowd.

[CherryAmes]

Amy knows this means a great deal to Sheldon, he's been waiting for it for YEARS, so why not go together?

 

Because in the Chuck Lorre universe women don't watch movies like Star Wars.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I can only think of two examples of women on this show who were even likely to know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek - the girl Leonard met in the comic book store and almost hooked up with when Priya was back in India and the girl who likes Sheldon in the episode where he is Raj's "wingman" at the university mixer. 

 

ETA:  I'm guessing Leslie Winkle as well but if the criteria is she's a scientist like the guys so should be into the same things that ought to hold true for Amy and Bernadette too but it doesn't so who knows!

Edited December 19, 2015 by CherryAmes

[sinkwriter]

Then Chuck Lorre is an idiot.  :D

[Bronzedog]

Sheldon desperately wanted to be back with Amy, not the other way around. If Sheldon went to the movie, they would be right back to where they were when Amy broke up with him. He needed to show her he had made some progress in putting her needs before his. That's pretty much what the sex as a present was too.

[zxy556575]

Also, tickets were sold out by that time!

[okerry]

The reverse is true as well. It's Amy's birthday and the two of them had JUST reestablished their relationship. Did Sheldon have to go opening night? It's not like Star Wars isn't going to be on for months.

Yesbut - they aren't going on opening night merely to see they movie. Being in the audience for a huge new film like Star Wars on opening night is an event in itself. You're in a theater filled with hard-core fans who love it as much as you do, *none of whom have seen it yet, either!* That is what makes seeing it on the first night a truly unique experience that cannot be replicated simply by seeing it later. #nerdlife

Also, I don't understand why it's either/or (spend the day with Amy or go to the movie). Amy knows this means a great deal to Sheldon, he's been waiting for it for YEARS, so why not go together?

I think the writers wanted us to know for sure that Sheldon really did want to become intimate with Amy, and was not being pressured into it in any way. If he'd give up the premiere of a new *Star Wars* film for it - there is absolutely NO doubt that he truly wanted to do it.

[peacheslatour]

I am really stupid.

 

It took me until the second viewing to realize there is a difference between Star TREK and Star WARS!  I kept wondering why WW was booed in his costume!

No you're not.  You're obviously a very intelligent and discerning person!  >^..^<

[chocolatine]

Also, I don't understand why it's either/or (spend the day with Amy or go to the movie). Amy knows this means a great deal to Sheldon, he's been waiting for it for YEARS, so why not go together?

 

Amy's also waited for years to be intimate with Sheldon and it meant a great deal to her. By passing up the opportunity to see Star Wars on opening night, Sheldon actually put Amy's needs before his own for the first time ever, which to me is even more momentous than the coitus. As for both going to the movie and celebrating Amy's birthday/having sex for the first time on the same day, the movie would have taken a huge chunk out of the day. Were they supposed to have sex beforehand, then get out of bed right away and meet their friends? Or wait until after the movie, when it was already late and Sheldon would have already been "satisfied" like the other guys? Unless Amy was also a huge Star Wars fan, seeing it on opening night is probably not how she wanted to spend her birthday.

[sinkwriter]

I didn't mean they should intertwine the two events in one day! Good grief, no.  *GRIN*  

 

I'm just saying, before coitus was even part of the equation for her birthday, why wasn't the option considered of asking Amy to join him for what was obviously an important movie day? That way he'd be sharing it with her instead of excluding her.

[MissL]

As much as I loved this episode I am disappointed Penny, Amy and Bernadette didn't want to see Star Wars. Myself and many many of my friends WHO ARE WOMEN are ridiculously excited about it.

But yes I laughed quite loudly when the cut to the guys in orgasmic bliss after seeing it.

[CherryAmes]

As much as I loved this episode I am disappointed Penny, Amy and Bernadette didn't want to see Star Wars. Myself and many many of my friends WHO ARE WOMEN are ridiculously excited about it.

 

I saw a news blurb about who were in the opening night audiences and the stats were something like 72% guys.  Which astounded me.  I really didn't think my sisters and my female friends and myself were in a minority in terms of "girls who like Star Wars".  And I still don't think we actually are.  I think women, generally, aren't fanatical fans who MUST see Star Wars the instant it comes out.  But I do think a lot of women plan to see this movie and I agree with you it bothers me a lot that BBT can't even have the women on the show want to see it - mainly because they've established at least a few times that they haven't seen any of the other movies - or if they have it's only because the guys made them watch.  Ugh.

[riverheightsnancy]

Because in the Chuck Lorre universe women don't watch movies like Star Wars.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I can only think of two examples of women on this show who were even likely to know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek - the girl Leonard met in the comic book store and almost hooked up with when Priya was back in India and the girl who likes Sheldon in the episode where he is Raj's "wingman" at the university mixer. 

There was at least one episode where Penny is telling Amy something and makes a distinction to her regarding Star Wars and Star Trek. And it is a funny bit, because after she says it, she sort of does the Ruh Roh, Scooby Doo thing, as if to intone, "How the hell did I know that". She has picked up a lot of info about the series and has watched some aspects of the guys favorites over the years. 

[PinkRibbons]

To me it might be a generational thing? I feel like a lot huge fans of Star Wars were exposed to it in the original run often as children and/or had their parents show it to them. The guys of this show strike me as the type who came across it entirely on their own, probably as kids since they were all drawn to comic books and D&D and Star Wars kind of comes naturally along with that. With me my parents are immigrants who weren't exposed to the original series and never had enough interest to involve me in it. I've seen five out of six of the previous movies but mostly because I was on a quest to become what my mother refers to as "culturally literate". Even if my folks had been American and seen the films when they first appeared, my mother's more disposed to be a Trekkie (her crush on Picard is adorable) and my father is an Older Father without much interest in sci-fi, and who wouldn't have bothered getting into the movies when they came out. I think a lot of times you need someone really passionate to get you as passionate as they are, especially when you are a child. So yeah, there are plenty of female Star Wars fans, but I can understand how the three girls could have fallen out of the general SW fan demographic. (Although honestly it does strike me as odd that Amy or Bernadette didn't care at all. Bernadette especially would have been a great surprise.)

 

Now if the content we were talking about was Harry Potter, I think we'd be dealing with a whole 'nother story. In college I had opportunity to poll everyone in two separate classes of mine (one a pre-requisite Psych 101 class, another a higher level English Lit Course) and discovered that every single person born within five years of me in both directions (my birth year being 1988) had read and loved the books. I'd be calling huge bullshit if they had the girls uncaring about that particular pop culture phenomenon, especially Penny since it's one of the few geeky things she's demonstrated knowledge of with no hint that she got her information from anyone but herself.

[shapeshifter]

That reminds me of what I think was the weakest moment of the episode - Penny says that she spoke to Sheldon and she thinks he understood after he stopped giggling. I would think Sheldon would get very clinical about the discussion, not giggley.  I think it would be more realistic if Penny said, "I told him what women like and don't like and I think, after he gave me the history of the word 'foreplay' and he drew a few diagrams, he understands what he should do."

In my alt version, none of that was necessary because a woman like Amy who has named her electric toothbrush should be able to instruct Sheldon herself.

My first thought when Amy seemingly agreed to once a year, was wait until the bliss wears off before you sign the contract, Amy!

I wondered if she was just relieved that he wanted to do it again at all.

[CherryAmes]

To me it might be a generational thing?

 

Possible of course but my kids are about the same age as Penny is supposed to be and they both got into Star Wars in a big way because they were the right age when the second set of movies came out to be surrounded by the hype.  Even if they had somehow never seen the original trilogy they'd have had to be trying pretty hard not to have been aware of the Phantom Menace and the other two (full disclosure, I have not watched and will never watch those 3  movies) - as you say, especially Penny as we know she's knowledgeable about pop culture.  Not being huge, geeky fans, I can see - not seeing the movies or even knowing much if anything about them, nope, not buying it.  At least not for all 3 of them.

[Vikitty]

If Sheldon is grey ace, then that really wouldn't surprise me, that they'd stick to a schedule or only do it for special occasions. I can't speak for all asexuals, but it's something we can do for the person we love even if we're not getting as much (or anything) from it. Though Sheldon's reaction makes it clear he enjoyed himself, and that's why I personally think Sheldon is more demisexual.

[Guest]

I saw a news blurb about who were in the opening night audiences and the stats were something like 72% guys.  Which astounded me.  I really didn't think my sisters and my female friends and myself were in a minority in terms of "girls who like Star Wars".  And I still don't think we actually are.  I think women, generally, aren't fanatical fans who MUST see Star Wars the instant it comes out.  But I do think a lot of women plan to see this movie and I agree with you it bothers me a lot that BBT can't even have the women on the show want to see it - mainly because they've established at least a few times that they haven't seen any of the other movies - or if they have it's only because the guys made them watch.  Ugh.

 

I think its a weekend before Christmas thing.  I like Star Wars.  I plan to see it but its the weekend before Christmas and I don't have time for it right now.  I think that women still do the majority of getting ready for Christmas with the gift buying and baking and stuff.  I bet the stats would be different if it were released in Summer.

[DrSpaceman73]

Well I enjoyed this episode. One of the few this season where the A and B plots intertwined and were interesting. The guys waiting years for Star Wars coming back and Amy waiting years for ........her moment were nice parallels.

And smart to play this the very night of the Star Wars premier.

Not sure why WW was wearing a Spock costume? Why not a Wesley Crusher costume?

I've never understood the whole Star Wars/Star Trek rift either. Its not an either /or for most fans. I like both, as do many sci fi fans I think. They are very different types of series and I like both for what they uniquely offer. And all of 4 of the guys on the show are obviously fans of both as well.

[zxy556575]

Not sure why WW was wearing a Spock costume? Why not a Wesley Crusher costume?

 

That was a little odd, but then, so is Wil, as portrayed on this show.

 

Is there really a rift in fandom between the two series? I think the booing was mostly for laughs in service of the plot. In my casual experience, people may prefer one or the other but generally like both. I might even go so far as to say that Sheldon at least feels a deeper kinship with Trek, just because of Spock. (And Data, to a lesser extent.)

 

I'll eventually go see The Force Awakens, but no way in hell would I drag my ass out the first night, or even the first week. Obviously I'm not a super fan, but I am female. A co-worker has a second part-time job as manager of a theater and he has been dreading this opening for weeks. Real, actual dread.

Edited December 20, 2015 by lordonia

[Chit Chat]

I'm just saying, before coitus was even part of the equation for her birthday, why wasn't the option considered of asking Amy to join him for what was obviously an important movie day? That way he'd be sharing it with her instead of excluding her.

 

Amy doesn't particularly want to see Star Wars, especially on her birthday, and Sheldon understands that.  I get that he planned on seeing the movie long before they got back together, but seeing as how the main problem between Sheldon & Amy was that he usually focused on what always worked for him, it finally dawned on him that he needed to make a sacrifice in order to prove to her that he truly loves her.  IMO, the relationship is in a fragile state.  Had he ditched her on her birthday, she'd probably have broken up with him and written him off.  I'm glad that didn't happen.   Amy wanted to spend her birthday with Sheldon, not a movie theater full of people.

 

I thought the entire episode was handled well.  I especially like that Sheldon went to Penny & Bernadette for advice, not the guys.  I think Leonard would've been understanding, but once you involve Raj & Howard in that kind of discussion, it would've ended up in juvenile humor, IMO.   I like how the writers handled a "first time" for Amy & Sheldon with love and respect, as well it should be.  YMMV.

[wknt3]

anna0852: Disney really can't claim copyright in using an opening crawl, just the words it contains. Star Wars very deliberately copied that style from the old Flash Gordon serials. To people who grew up with those movies, it was a siignal: we're from the same background you are, and you're going to have fun.

 

True, but it's not just using an opening crawl. It's an opening crawl in that font with the music (especially the music), the Jedi robes and lightsaber and other elements of Star Wars. At a certain point it goes beyond an open and shut parody and without Disney and Lucasfilm being on board it would become a very expensive legal matter. They have a great relationship with the BBT folks though and have worked with them in the past so it's not really an issue.

 

As far as the show itself? After getting my chance to see the movie last night I'm just happy that I'll be able to watch the reruns without the after movie scene in the theater being completely unbelievable and throwing me out of the episode.

[needschocolate]

Were there women in the audience when the guys watched Star Wars? 

 

I can get why the women on the show aren't Star Wars fans.  Much of the Amy character is about her not having friends and being rather sheltered or out of touch.  If she was a Star Wars fan she would have made friends with other Star Wars fans.  Penny is supposed to be the cool/popular one, and in the tv universe, liking sci fi is makes you a nerd and nerds are not cool.  Plus the Bernie and Penny characters provide the put-down humor, they make fun of the other characters for liking Star Wars.  

[toomuchtv47]

I went Friday to see Star Wars for a couple of reasons.  I didn't want to get spoiled which I would have been if I didn't go.  I was going to go Monday but remembered school would be out and I didn't want to be in a theatre full of students (nothing against anyone, just my preference).  I'm very glad I did but I was one of the only females in the showing.  There may have been up to 10 of us in the whole place.  In any case, I am looking forward to seeing it again.

 

Now, this episode was really good.  I kept waiting for something to happen like the guys didn't get tickets or some obstacle preventing the guys from seeing the movie so I was happy they got to see it.  The real reason why I thought it was good was I did a rewatch which I never do for most shows (regular reruns aside).  I loved the last scene with the guys.  I wasn't as blissful as they were, but I can relate to the big smile on my face when the movie ended.  

[zxy556575]

Were there women in the audience when the guys watched Star Wars?

 

You can see about 10 girls/women with the wide camera shot in the theater.

 

I was thinking about Professor Obi-Pro's advice to Sheldon that he can see the movie any time but only has a certain number of days to spend with Amy. Sheldon bought it, but it's backwards. There's a finite number of days to see the movie in the theater but Sheldon has every day until one of them dies to be with Amy. Unless I'm misunderstanding, but the actual line is: "Sheldon, you can see this movie whenever you want, but you only have a limited number of days that you can be with this woman. Be with her." Maybe it was supposed to be, "...limited number of birthdays..."

 

Anyway, no big deal. I'm just noticing more details because I've watched the episode three times. I never do that with any show!

Edited December 20, 2015 by lordonia

[Bronzedog]

I think the Professor's point was that you never know when you're going to be with someone for the last time. You can assume that a young couple has all the time in the world to be together, but, that's not always the case. A movie is, umm, a movie.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

By passing up the opportunity to see Star Wars on opening night, Sheldon actually put Amy's needs before his own for the first time ever, which to me is even more momentous than the coitus.

Sheldon's sacrifice is somewhat tempered by the fact that he's expressed his dissatisfaction with the franchise (although he doesn't consider it a failure like he does Babylon 5).

[Randomosity]

First time we've ever seen Amy's bare legs!

 

Actually, just caught some recorded eps from syndication, and she had a short-ish skirt with bare legs when she dressed as a school girl to apologize for lying when Sheldon was having his post-string theory crisis. Not that it matters, but just happened to see that ep by coincidence today.

[CherryAmes]

Sheldon's sacrifice is somewhat tempered by the fact that he's expressed his dissatisfaction with the franchise (although he doesn't consider it a failure like he does Babylon 5).

 

Oh I think despite that it was still a major sacrifice.  There was a lot of hope among fans that this new film was going to set things right again in the Star Wars universe (and based on the reviews and what people are saying it did).  Not going to see such a special movie on it's opening night was a big sacrifice on Sheldon's part.  Credit where credit is due :).

[MaiSoCalled]

Penny is supposed to be the cool/popular one, and in the tv universe, liking sci fi is makes you a nerd and nerds are not cool. Plus the Bernie and Penny characters provide the put-down humor, they make fun of the other characters for liking Star Wars.

I think Penny would see the movie, she probably just doesn't care enough to see it opening night. Didn't Leonard suggest giving her Sheldon's ticket, or am I misremembering? And she saw Star Trek without the boys.

I expect she'd go with Leonard the 3rd or 4th time he sees it. I can see Penny seeing the movie and enjoying it before Amy or Bernie.

[anna0852]

I think Penny would go just to make Leonard happy.

[Miss Dee]

Amy did see it and like it, according to the end tag. Just not as much as Sheldon did (he saw it again with her). But in her defense, she doesn't have the history with the franchise like he does.

[SmithW6079]

I thought the scene between Sheldon and Amy in bed just before coitus was very well acted; kudos to both Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik. However, the build-up to that moment was distasteful. I don't normally complain about the audience, but I hated all the hooting and hollering the audience/laugh track was doing each time Sheldon mentioned having sex. And Sheldon was being his usual selfish self -- he had no intention of spending her birthday with her until all of his friends had to tell him that he needed to do so. So, the same old Sheldon.

I liked the boys going to Star Wars, Wil Wheaton was great. I think he went as Spock because Spock is recognizable, even if you don't follow Star Trek. I think the fandoms can be divided; I'm a Trek fan, but I can take or leave Star Wars.

And while I love Bob Newhart, I hate Professor Proton, although the character was OK here.

Edited December 21, 2015 by SmithW6079

[Mislav]

I thought the scene between Sheldon and Amy in bed just before coitus was very well acted; kudos to both Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik. However, the build-up to that moment was distasteful. I don't normally complain about the audience, but I hated all the hooting and hollering the audience/laugh track was doing each time Sheldon mentioned having sex. And Sheldon was being his usual selfish self -- he had no intention of spending her birthday with her until all of his friends had to tell him that he needed to do so. So, the same old Sheldon.

I liked the boys going to Star Wars, Wil Wheaton was great. I think he went as Spock because Spock is recognizable, even if you don't follow Star Trek. I think the fandoms can be divided; I'm a Trek fan, but I can take or leave Star Wars.

He considered between first seeing the movie and having coitus with her instead. And he would still have coitus with her eventually. If that is your definition of "old" Sheldon, I don't know what show you've been watching.

I am surprised by how many people get hung up on a single detail in order to deny any growth to a certain character.

[ElderPrice]

he had no intention of spending her birthday with her until all of his friends had to tell him that he needed to do so. So, the same old Sheldon.

 

His friends did not tell him he had to spend the day with Amy. That was Obi-Wan-Proton, who of course is not real, he is a manifestation of Sheldon's subconscious when Sheldon is faced with a dilemma. So Sheldon told himself that the right thing to do is skip the premiere and spend Amy's birthday with her.

 

I am a major Star Wars geek since the beginning. I was there in 1977! I got my ticket for the first showing as soon as they went on sale, part of the experience is seeing it for the first time with like-minded people, the energy is great, everyone clapping and cheering. Would have missed something seeing it a few days later.

[madfortv]

I liked the episode but have a couple of issues with it. For the most part, I did not mind the juxtaposition between the movie and what was happening with Amy and Sheldon but disliked the last scene with the guys after they saw the movie. It was stupid.

The other is that according to this show, only guys seem to like science fiction movies. Boo to the writers!

 

Will Wheaton was great as always.  It was really funny when he walked into the theater.

[Homily]

I am surprised by how many people get hung up on a single detail in order to deny any growth to a certain character.

 

I've been amazed sometimes when I've read stuff here first and then actually seen the episode in question that what some people have torn to shreds and talked about for pages took less than 15 seconds to happen on screen and didn't seem to be a big deal at all!  But that's one of the things I love about this place.   Nobody in my real life wants to talk about picky details about shows I like, or even shows I don't like.

[rab01]

That was a little odd, but then, so is Wil, as portrayed on this show.

 

Is there really a rift in fandom between the two series? I think the booing was mostly for laughs in service of the plot. In my casual experience, people may prefer one or the other but generally like both. I might even go so far as to say that Sheldon at least feels a deeper kinship with Trek, just because of Spock. (And Data, to a lesser extent.)

 

I'll eventually go see The Force Awakens, but no way in hell would I drag my ass out the first night, or even the first week. Obviously I'm not a super fan, but I am female. A co-worker has a second part-time job as manager of a theater and he has been dreading this opening for weeks. Real, actual dread.

At one time, there really was something of a divide between some particularly vocal Star Trek and Star Wars fans. It was real enough that it wasn't totally out of left field when they tossed in a fight between them in the movie Fanboys. Personally, I liked both so I was surprised when I first encountered it.

 

The Big Bang Theory is always hamstrung by claiming to be about 4 very nerdy guys but only wanting to show those parts of nerd interests that are immediately recognizable to the mainstream so they like to call things like Star Wars "nerdy." I was a little kid when the original Star Wars trilogy came out and everyone saw it. That said, only the nerds read the follow-up books and comic books.

 

As for the gender divide, back then the girls saw the movies too but us boys saw it more often and acted out scenes more often on the playground. Also, the original trilogy can be incredibly off-putting for some women because other than Leia, there is a grand total of less than minute of other women in 3 movies.  Now that I have kids, I'd say the gender divide is similar but flipped with Disney princesses - my sons see all the Disney movies but their friends who are girls are way more into Frozen than they were.

Edited December 21, 2015 by rab01

[CleoCaesar]

but only wanting to show those parts of nerd interests that are immediately recognizable to the mainstream

 

At this point, what "nerd" interests AREN'T immediately recognizable to the mainstream? Star Wars. Star Trek. Lord of the Rings. Doctor Who. Harry Potter. Pretty much every freaking superhero movie. These are not some cultural niches that only the downtrodden nerds of the world enjoy. They are multi-billion dollar cultural juggernauts with fanbases reaching into the hundreds of millions.

 

I don't think the words "geeky" or "nerdy" have any real meaning anymore. The new Star Wars movie just had the biggest global opening in history. I'd like for anyone to explain how liking Star Wars is anything but mainstream.

 

(And this doesn't just apply to movies and TV. Things like ComicCon. Cosplaying. Magic: The Gathering. Anime. Comic books. LEGO. Action figure collecting. What was once nerdy is now completely mainstream and popular.)

Edited December 21, 2015 by CleoCaesar

[Chit Chat]

I was a little kid when the original Star Wars trilogy came out and everyone saw it. That said, only the nerds read the follow-up books and comic books.

 

Speaking of that, I was 16 when Star Wars first came out, and whether you were a Sci-Fi fan or not, this was a must see movie!  It was the biggest thing (graphics-wise) most of us had ever seen.  We were oohing and ahing when the text first appeared and started scrolling backwards!  That was huge!   My hubby and I have been fans of it ever since.  We even took our son to see the re-release of the original movies in the theater many years later.  Sure, he had seen them over and over again at home, but we wanted him to have the theater experience that we had.

 

I found it hilarious to have Raj, Howard & Leonard practically have an orgasm over the movie.  For them, that was totally appropriate given their level of anticipation and excitement, IMO.  Always love seeing Wil Wheaton on this show.  I love that he's a little bit of a jerk. 

[rab01]

CleoCaesar, I completely agree with almost everything you said. Nerdy and geeky labels are put on everything these days even the very most mainstream of big budget mass entertainment properties. It's also definitely true that Star Wars was never niche entertainment and was always the very most mainstream popular movie. I don't agree, however, that there is nothing left that is outside the mainstream. I couldn't say what most of it is since I'm no longer quite the nerd I was in high school. (As for what qualified as nerdy back then ... I got into fights in summer camp because I brought books with me to read, not because of what types of books they were.)

[FinnishViewer]

 

These are not some cultural niches that only the downtrodden nerds of the world enjoy. They are multi-billion dollar cultural juggernauts with fanbases reaching into the hundreds of millions

I don't think it's just about wanting to see, and seeing the movies. It's also about how a certain subset of the audience behave and react to these movies and comics. For example I've watch all these 'geeky', 'nerdy' movies, but I don't have a lightsaber toy at home, an Ironman helmet, I wouldn't want a Tardis prop, and also I wouldn't sit and debate who's the strongest superhero, or is Superman's powers a feat of strength, or something else.

[Homily]

Exactly.  And I wouldn't wait in line to see Raiders of the Lost Ark just because there is an extra 21 seconds in it - even if it does explain the submarine controversy!  That, to me, is what separates the "nerds" from the mainstream.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Homily

[theatremouse]

Not sure why WW was wearing a Spock costume? Why not a Wesley Crusher costume?

To me it made sense. WW trolling as Spock is conspicuous ST vs SW trolling in person. WW trolling as WC is still conspicuous trolling, but also more conspicuous ego-mania. Any kind of Trek outfit plays with his "sticking with the home team" spiel. Dressing as the character he played could be construed as having lost his grip on reality, so I appreciated they didn't have him do that. Plus most actors, 20 years later, would not enjoy wearing a costume in public of a character they played on television and are likely often still called instead of their own name.