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TBBT vs Young Sheldon: Nitpicks, Anomalies, and Historical Facts In An Evolving Universe, presented by Sheldon L. Cooper


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On 6/15/2022 at 2:56 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

Did they ever use the song "She Blinded Me With Science" in an episode?  I don't recall it.  I'd think it would be a natural.

I also don't think 'Buckaroo Banzai" was ever mentioned either, which would have been a popular cult film with nerds and fanboys.

6 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I wonder when Sheldon learns to Ballroom dance? TBBT Sheldon knows how, but YS Sheldon’s church is conservative Baptist…no dancing.

I just saw the BBT episode where Sheldon talks about how in "In the South, preadolescent children are forced through a process called cotillion, which indoctrinates them with all the social graces and dance skills needed to function in 18th century Vienna."  This gets completely contradicted on YS when we find out that Mary won't even let Missy go to a school dance.

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On 9/30/2022 at 3:33 PM, Elizabeth Anne said:

I just saw the BBT episode where Sheldon talks about how in "In the South, preadolescent children are forced through a process called cotillion, which indoctrinates them with all the social graces and dance skills needed to function in 18th century Vienna."  This gets completely contradicted on YS when we find out that Mary won't even let Missy go to a school dance.

I would like to see at least 1 episode of Missy and Sheldon doing this.

They missed an opportunity regarding George Sr. shooting Mary's china plates during the time when he lost his job and was skating by with the part time at the sporting goods store.  I can see him getting drunk one night and skeet shooting Mary's plates while he was drunk.

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I will never understand the whys and wherefores of what they take from BBT to use in Young Sheldon and what they ignore.  Right now they had the opportunity to stay consistent with BBT where we are told that Georgie married for the first time at 19.  Which, if they had stuck with the real ages the twins and Georgie would be right now would be fairly close to Georgie being 19 if he and Mandy were to marry. But nooooo they had to bring in that stupid pregnancy storyline and hammer home that :gasp: Mandy slept with a high school aged teen.  It's just so dopey to me.  Why bother with Mandy and the pregnancy at all?  Will she and Georgie marry? (god I hope not) and if they do would they wait another 2 years (or make that at least 4 years in the Young Sheldon universe!!) so that they would jive with BBT?  

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18 minutes ago, Dani said:

I watched that one not long and he doesn’t say that. 

In the 4th season premiere Sheldon references his mother ‘always wanting a grandchild.’ To my ears that means she doesn’t have one. Came up when Penny threatened to tell Mary that he and Amy were planning to reproduce via in-vitro and a surrogate.

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19 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

In the 4th season premiere Sheldon references his mother ‘always wanting a grandchild.’ To my ears that means she doesn’t have one. Came up when Penny threatened to tell Mary that he and Amy were planning to reproduce via in-vitro and a surrogate.

I do remember that one and it sounded the same to me. There are so many inconsistencies throughout Big Bang about Sheldon’s childhood. I feel like the things they said about Sheldon’s childhood after they decided to make this show are probably going to be accurate. Before that everything is in risk of being retconned. 

7 hours ago, Dani said:

 I feel like the things they said about Sheldon’s childhood after they decided to make this show are probably going to be accurate. Before that everything is in risk of being retconned. 

Then there’s a pretty big plot hole around Sheldon’s wedding since there was no mention at all of Georgie’s daughter. Not just that she didn’t attend but that Georgie didn’t even mention her when going off on Sheldon about the family distress after George’s death. Georgie brings up Mary being a mess and having to ride herd on teenage Missy but not even a ‘while parenting a toddler at the same time!’

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28 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

Georgie brings up Mary being a mess and having to ride herd on teenage Missy but not even a ‘while parenting a toddler at the same time!’

Even in the first season of YS they talk about Georgie marrying "the first time" at 19.  IT could still work with Mandy if they want to stick to that but I think they handwaved that comment away when they decided to go with a George is a teen parent storyline.

12 hours ago, anna0852 said:

In the 4th season premiere Sheldon references his mother ‘always wanting a grandchild.’ To my ears that means she doesn’t have one.

4 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Then there’s a pretty big plot hole around Sheldon’s wedding since there was no mention at all of Georgie’s daughter.

We might be able to handwave some of the problem away if Mandy took Constance far enough away that Mary could hardly ever see her.  But I have kind of given up on consistency between BBT and YS, since the writers don't care.

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13 hours ago, anna0852 said:

In the 4th season premiere Sheldon references his mother ‘always wanting a grandchild.’ To my ears that means she doesn’t have one. Came up when Penny threatened to tell Mary that he and Amy were planning to reproduce via in-vitro and a surrogate.

But it can also be interpreted to mean Mary always wanted one from Sheldon.

5 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Then there’s a pretty big plot hole around Sheldon’s wedding since there was no mention at all of Georgie’s daughter. Not just that she didn’t attend

Missy didn’t bring her child to Sheldon’s wedding either.

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4 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Missy didn’t bring her child to Sheldon’s wedding either.

Her children were referenced though, but I agree Georgie not bring a child (or wife/girlfriend for that matter) doesn't mean anything.  That said I think all the stuff that we learned about Georgie from BBT pretty much went out the window when they started YS.  I know there were occasional references on BBT to Georgie being pretty wild, several wives, at least one girlfriend Mary called a whore - and you are never until the wedding episodes given any reason to think Georgie was successful or a rock to lean on for Mary when George died!

That said they do somewhat, on BBT, give Georgie a "happy ever after" but they definitely do not do that for Missy!  I hope that adult Sheldon keeps dropping hints that life turn out well for Missy.  

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9 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Then there’s a pretty big plot hole around Sheldon’s wedding since there was no mention at all of Georgie’s daughter. Not just that she didn’t attend but that Georgie didn’t even mention her when going off on Sheldon about the family distress after George’s death. Georgie brings up Mary being a mess and having to ride herd on teenage Missy but not even a ‘while parenting a toddler at the same time!’

I don’t see it as a plot hole. Georgie was barely invited to the wedding and I can’t see Sheldon having any relationship with his sibling’s children. Those episodes were probably written without the intention for Georgie to have a kid at 17 but they really don’t contradict what is happening on YS. Georgie would know that Sheldon wouldn’t care about his plight as a father.

3 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

That said I think all the stuff that we learned about Georgie from BBT pretty much went out the window when they started YS.

I feel like Georgie’s appearance on TBBT was deliberately used to emphasize that Sheldon is an extremely unreliable narrator which is one of his most consistent traits throughout the show. Of course the man who thinks his MIT graduate and NASA engineer friend is an idiot is going to see his high school dropout brother as unsuccessful. 

 

3 minutes ago, Dani said:

feel like Georgie’s appearance on TBBT was deliberately used to emphasize that Sheldon is an extremely unreliable narrator which is one of his most consistent traits throughout the show. Of course the man who thinks his MIT graduate and NASA engineer friend is an idiot is going to see his high school dropout brother as unsuccessful. 

 

Totally agree, one of the consistent things about Sheldon in BBT was that, frankly, he looked down on everybody else!!  That said though we aren't just given Sheldon's word for Georgie on BBT, Mary has a few comments to make over the years!  I guess they could have gone either way when they knew YS was in the works and kept Georgie the way Mary and Sheldon had conveyed him to be.  I am so glad they didn't do that though.  I really like Georgie and Sheldon has enough to contend with just being Sheldon without having had a bullying older brother into the bargain!

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16 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

That said though we aren't just given Sheldon's word for Georgie on BBT, Mary has a few comments to make over the years!  I guess they could have gone either way when they knew YS was in the works and kept Georgie the way Mary and Sheldon had conveyed him to be.  I am so glad they didn't do that though.  I really like Georgie and Sheldon has enough to contend with just being Sheldon without having had a bullying older brother into the bargain!

Mary’s BBT comments have all been pretty generic about how stupid Georgie is and him not living up to her moral standards. She’s more blunt than I would expect based on YS but I still don’t find it all that inconsistent. She is judgmental and looks down on people including her family members. 

On BBT, Mary has referred to Georgie and Missy being “dumb as soup,” but that could easily be her opinion about them being based on how their relationships have worked out. I think it’s safe to say that just about every comment made by Mary and Sheldon from the mothership show can be said to be colored by their own perceptions and might not be actually true.

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The door-knocking incident could have happened when Mary and George were separated but to Sheldon, who takes his contracts seriously, it could still be seen as cheating, because his parents were still married.

At Sheldon's wedding, he and Mary both wish his dad could be there.  I know time can heal wounds and weddings bring out emotions but this doesn't track with what we knew about George from the rest of the series. IMHO Sheldon is an unreliable narrator and his memories of his childhood fade and change over time, just like the rest of us, despite his eidetic memory.
 

 

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It's fun stumbling across early seasons of Young Sheldon.  The writers seemed very careful to set the stage and give it real Texas details.  

On Sheldon's first day of high school, Mary dropped him off with some advice that was spot on for Texas.

Mary:  If anybody bothers you, what do you say?

Sheldon:  My father is the football coach.

Mary:  And if that doesn't work, what do you say?

Sheldon:  My brother is on the football team.

 

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In one episode of BBT, Sheldon mentioned that he had learned Hindi at age 8 (before YS began).  This is not mentioned in YS.  I suspect he never told his family, because his mother would disapprove of his learning a language used by many non-Christians.

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The upbringing Sheldon describes in TBBT (alcoholic father, house on wheels, etc.) is not the one shown in Young Sheldon. Young Sheldon should be a much darker and more depressing show for it to be accurate. I know this because I was born in east Texas in 1985 (not far from Medford per the weather map Mandy points at during her interview at the news station). When Sheldon was describing his life as a child in TBBT, I could picture exactly what he was talking about because I grew up here. Young Sheldon does not convey it accurately. 

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On 3/23/2024 at 2:55 AM, eastxgirl said:

Young Sheldon should be a much darker and more depressing show for it to be accurate.

Young Sheldon would not be a hit sitcom if it was a "much darker and more depressing show".

While the showrunners have done a decent job with continuity, they have said more than once that they are more interested in making a great show, than in following the fine print of the BBT bible.

And good for them, because otherwise it wouldn't have lasted one season.

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On 3/26/2024 at 7:18 PM, astrohip said:

While the showrunners have done a decent job with continuity, they have said more than once that they are more interested in making a great show, than in following the fine print of the BBT bible.

I totally get why they chose to do that but some stuff still makes me wonder "what the hell"!

I mean by the 10th season of BBT they knew Young Sheldon was in the works but in that season we still had Mary say George was stupid (compares him to a Neanderthal) and this is the season where Sheldon explains why he knocks three times.

You'd have thought they'd have started to walk back some of the things they had said but instead they doubled down.

 

Not sure if this is the right place for this but here goes!  In the most recent episode of YS we see Sheldon and his Dad being very sweet together when they go to MIT (well the airport on the way to MIT) and that made me wonder about that moment in the earlier episode where Sheldon seems to think he has seen his father with another woman.

So?  Did Sheldon know that the blond woman was Mary in a wig?  Because otherwise he seems awfully chummy with George considering he thought his father was cheating on his mother!

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(edited)

From TheFutonCritic:

Quote

THURSDAY - Thursdays feature a thematic night of comedy and humorous dramas. At 8:00 PM, the new comedy GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE leads into the #2 comedy series, GHOSTS, at 8:30 PM. The amusing new legal drama MATLOCK, starring Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, debuts at 9:00 PM and serves as lead-in to the critically acclaimed #2 new series, ELSBETH, at 10:00 PM.

So, if the title of the new spinoff is "GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE," does that mean they get married to each other more than once (like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton)?
And, if so, how would this mesh with TBBT's Georgie marriage backstory?

Edited by shapeshifter
grammar
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(edited)
48 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So, if the title of the new spinoff is "GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE," does that mean they get married to each other more than once (like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton)?
And, if so, how would this mesh with TBBT's Georgie marriage backstory?

They are retconning the retcon!  Not only do they seem to be somewhat ignoring the way Georgie on BBT claimed he was the one who held the family together after George died, with that title they also seem to be suggesting that even if Georgie and Mandy divorce they end up married to each other again??  

Quote

Sheldon Cooper: Aw. It's a congratulations text from my meemaw.

[his phone buzzes]

Sheldon Cooper: Ooh. Oh, and there's one from my mom.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: And my sister.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: And my brother.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: And my brother's ex-wife.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: My brother's other ex-wife. Boy, they don't tell you when you win a Nobel, it chews up your phone battery.

I get changing things from the earlier years of BBT, even the softening of George  I understand, but to change things that they stated when Young Sheldon was already on the air?  

Edited by Dimity
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7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

From TheFutonCritic:

So, if the title of the new spinoff is "GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE," does that mean they get married to each other more than once (like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton)?
And, if so, how would this mesh with TBBT's Georgie marriage backstory?

I don't know. It could be interpreted as being the first marriage for each of them, but their second, third and so on marriages are to other people. The title doesn't have to mean that they'll get married to each other for a second time after they divorce.

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19 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

From TheFutonCritic:

So, if the title of the new spinoff is "GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE," does that mean they get married to each other more than once (like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton)?
And, if so, how would this mesh with TBBT's Georgie marriage backstory?

I like this idea for a series. Show them divorce, get married to other people, but also have to stay on speaking terms/somewhat in each other's lives because they have a daughter together. 

19 hours ago, Dimity said:

They are retconning the retcon!  Not only do they seem to be somewhat ignoring the way Georgie on BBT claimed he was the one who held the family together after George died, with that title they also seem to be suggesting that even if Georgie and Mandy divorce they end up married to each other again??  

Quoting myself here to add that I am being irrationally angry about this.  For years now the show runners on YS have been throwing up their hands and insisting "Sheldon is an unreliable narrator". 

Well Georgie claiming he was the rock that Mary and Missy relied on after George died is now proving to have been a pointless way to build up Georgie and diminish Sheldon for the sake of one single episode.  Because how can Georgie be that rock when apparently the new series will not include any of the other Coopers?  Sounds like he will be no more a part of Mary and Missy's life than Sheldon was.

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On 5/2/2024 at 5:54 PM, Dimity said:
Quote

Sheldon Cooper: Aw. It's a congratulations text from my meemaw.

[his phone buzzes]

Sheldon Cooper: Ooh. Oh, and there's one from my mom.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: And my sister.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: And my brother.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: And my brother's ex-wife.

[another buzz]

Sheldon Cooper: My brother's other ex-wife. Boy, they don't tell you when you win a Nobel, it chews up your phone battery.

I get changing things from the earlier years of BBT, even the softening of George  I understand, but to change things that they stated when Young Sheldon was already on the air?

I could actually buy the guy who insisted on coming up with the term 'niblingo' referring to Mandy as two separate ex-wives if she and Georgie were divorced more than once but it still doesn't make sense for Mandy to have texted her congratulations twice. And this retcon doesn't even really solve the 'they don't end up together' issue because they were both ex-wives

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13 hours ago, Dimity said:

Well Georgie claiming he was the rock that Mary and Missy relied on after George died is now proving to have been a pointless way to build up Georgie and diminish Sheldon for the sake of one single episode.  Because how can Georgie be that rock when apparently the new series will not include any of the other Coopers?  Sounds like he will be no more a part of Mary and Missy's life than Sheldon was.

We haven't been told that none of the other Coopers will be in the new series although it looks like Reagan Revord who plays Missy might not be on it given her comments about not being asked to appear.

And this article from TV Line produced this quote from the series co-creator:

Quote

It has not yet been announced whether any other Coopers will appear in the Georgie-and-Mandy spinoff — though series co-creator Steve Holland says the door is always open for guest appearances.

“I think, certainly, the characters in the world of Young Sheldon still exist in this world,” he told TVLine on May 2. “They’re still around and can make appearances and drop by.”

And regarding Missy, this, which is interesting given the impression we got is that she wasn't asked to come back:

Quote

However, Raegan Revord, who plays Georgie’s younger sister Missy, has indicated that she’s ready to move on.

“I’ve spent half of my life here, so I’m kind of ready to see what’s next, but I am so insanely happy for Montana,” she recently told TV Insider. “He is so talented and amazing. And I’m so happy for Emily. They’re amazing actors and they’re just going to kill it.”

 

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(edited)

And another BBT  Georgie complaint was how all the extra money in the family went to fund Sheldon away at school. No longer a valid complaint with the new sitcom as George is either on his own with Mandy or living with her parents. Either way expecting Mary to support him over her two other children is a bit cheeky to say the least!

Edited by Dimity
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5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

We haven't been told that none of the other Coopers will be in the new series although it looks like Reagan Revord who plays Missy might not be on it given her comments about not being asked to appear.

If Missy isn't in the spin off I think we can be confident that Mary won't be either.  Because unless they keep coming up with ways to keep Missy offstage (which may work with a Maris or Mrs. Hofsteder but likely wouldn't with a teenage daughter) I can't see how that would make sense.

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Another retcon.  Young Sheldon asks Tam to a final lunch in the school library.  Tam mentions he already graduated from the school while Sheldon babbles about going to CalTech.  In TBBT Sheldon has cut Tam out of his life (and memories, apparently) because they were both going to go to CalTech and Tam backed out at the last minute, so Sheldon had to go to California alone.

I know I stand alone, but I refuse to believe TBBT Sheldon made up all the stories about his father cheating, shooting his mother's collector plates, being the liquor store owner's best customer, etc.  In my mind, Young Sheldon is one of the infinite universes that exist and this George was flawed but ultimately a loving dad and husband.

I love this George and this Mary (who would never tell outsiders that Missy and Georgie were dumber than a box of rocks) and I'm perfectly happy to watch this version of the Coopers.

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44 minutes ago, gentlespirit512 said:

Could we be heading for another Roseanne finale? That would explain the retcons. They were intentional.

Well, the title of the last episode is Memoir.  Not sure what I think about that idea, though.  Sometimes in the history of the series they go in what I consider odd directions (like the vasectomy episode), but sometimes everything hits spot on (like the one that followed it).  I continue to hold onto hope that they will stick the landing without resorting to Roseanne-level shenanigans.

10 hours ago, Frost said:

Another retcon.  Young Sheldon asks Tam to a final lunch in the school library.  Tam mentions he already graduated from the school while Sheldon babbles about going to CalTech.  In TBBT Sheldon has cut Tam out of his life (and memories, apparently) because they were both going to go to CalTech and Tam backed out at the last minute, so Sheldon had to go to California alone.

Sigh.  Yet another example of something that directly contradicts BBT that they did not have to do!  Just don't bring it up on Young Sheldon - would that have been so hard?   

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Just saw a BBT episode that seems to indicate that Mary Cooper was at least 25 when she got married but I know I've read here and elsewhere that according to Young Sheldon she married George as a teenager.  I can't think of any Young Sheldon episode where this is stated  but given how much changed in terms of how the Cooper family was portrayed in the two different series this wouldn't surprise me.  Anyway can anyone point me to a YS episode where Mary's age is mentioned?

Spoiler for final episode

Spoiler

I just read about the series finale and it comes up with the one explanation I accept about the discrepancies between the shows:  Young Sheldon is the adult Sheldon's memoir and he doesn't want to put in some of the bad stuff.  So the bullies weren't as cruel, his dad wasn't drunk and didn't cheat on Mary, Mary wasn't as dismissive of her other two kids, etc.

To be clear, I would have been just fine with the Cooper family as they are portrayed in YS, IF they had been described in a similar way on TBBT.  My beef was making Sheldon's memories completely out of tune between the two shows.  Having YS be a nostalgic look back from a mature Sheldon who is now a father himself makes me feel better.

Now I'll have to rewatch the entire YS series without snarking about retcons!

 

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(edited)

I know it’s going to piss a lot of people off, but I believe that’s what’s going to happen. Even if they use the word “memoir,” that doesn’t mean they’re using it absolutely correctly. That’s something we’ve seen before, and we’ve been given all kinds of hints about it along the way. Now whether it’s intentional, I don’t know. But there’s precedent. So if it does happen, I won’t be shocked this time. Did they ever say what kind of book Roseanne wrote when she played around with details?

 

I also noted that George said it was “hot” when YS Mary acted like TBBT Mary. That could be part of why she changed her attitude.

Edited by gentlespirit512
Musing
20 hours ago, Frost said:

Spoiler for final episode

  Hide contents

I just read about the series finale and it comes up with the one explanation I accept about the discrepancies between the shows:  Young Sheldon is the adult Sheldon's memoir and he doesn't want to put in some of the bad stuff.  So the bullies weren't as cruel, his dad wasn't drunk and didn't cheat on Mary, Mary wasn't as dismissive of her other two kids, etc.

To be clear, I would have been just fine with the Cooper family as they are portrayed in YS, IF they had been described in a similar way on TBBT.  My beef was making Sheldon's memories completely out of tune between the two shows.  Having YS be a nostalgic look back from a mature Sheldon who is now a father himself makes me feel better.

Now I'll have to rewatch the entire YS series without snarking about retcons!

 

 

18 hours ago, gentlespirit512 said:

I know it’s going to piss a lot of people off, but I believe that’s what’s going to happen. Even if they use the word “memoir,” that doesn’t mean they’re using it absolutely correctly. That’s something we’ve seen before, and we’ve been given all kinds of hints about it along the way. Now whether it’s intentional, I don’t know. But there’s precedent. So if it does happen, I won’t be shocked this time. Did they ever say what kind of book Roseanne wrote when she played around with details?

 

I also noted that George said it was “hot” when YS Mary acted like TBBT Mary. That could be part of why she changed her attitude.

Oh no. No. No Roseanne shenanigans! I don’t want to have been dicked around all this time! I thought this show was better than that!

50 minutes ago, Frost said:

I don't understand the Roseanne references. 😒

I think folks are referring to the last season of Roseanne (pre-revival).

I'll put it in spoilers since it's a different show.

This description of season 9 from Wikipedia describes it better than I can:
 

Spoiler

The Conners win the Illinois state lottery jackpot of $108 million; Dan ponders the meaning of life, Jackie meets her (real-life) prince, DJ finds love, and Darlene, after pre-natal medical issues, gives birth to a daughter. John Goodman is absent for most of the season, as he was busy filming The Big Lebowski; in later episodes, Goodman resembles his "Lebowski" character Walter Sobchak.

In the season's final episode, Roseanne reveals the entire series itself is actually a fictional story written by Roseanne Conner, inspired by her real life. To cope, Roseanne twisted major elements of her life for the story, which the audience does not discover until the final moments of the season. In reality, Dan's heart attack near the end of Season 8 was fatal and the Conner family did not win the lottery. A story arc running through the final season that Dan betrayed Roseanne by having an affair is revealed to be false; Dan's betrayal was not having an affair, but dying.

I think there's a fear that the last episodes of YS could retcon too much.

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