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

[Zoe]

Well this latest episode seems to confirm that adult Sheldon embellishes his past with the way he talked about Tam.

[thebigboot]

I’m glad I’m not the only one. All I’ve seen recently is coddling and why Sheldon is such a prick in BBT.

[craziness]

I wish they would have Tam visit adult Sheldon on BBT sometime.

[Driad]

Are we sure that Tam was not Sheldon’s roommate in the flashback, who wrote “Die Sheldon Die” on the wall of his room (later Leonard’s room)?

[CherryAmes]

That could be funny but I hope they don't go there.  The contrast between young Sheldon and BBT Sheldon is bad enough without making him so horrible his childhood friend wanted him dead!

Edited January 9, 2018 by CherryAmes

[Zoe]

17 hours ago, Driad said:

Are we sure that Tam was not Sheldon’s roommate in the flashback, who wrote “Die Sheldon Die” on the wall of his room (later Leonard’s room)?

That was Glen before he moved back to Atlanta to deliver pizzas.

[Gothish520]

On 12/15/2017 at 1:00 PM, OtterMommy said:

While I am not discounting the alternate universe, I personally am leaning towards TBBT Sheldon being an unreliable narrator.  For example, let's say that the liquor store owner cried and cried--Sheldon sees that as evidence as his father's drinking.  It could be--or it could be something like George had coached the owner's son and was an important force in his life and that is why he was crying.  Or maybe he went to school with George and they were old friends.  Sheldon--in all his incarnations--is incredibly emotionally myopic and could very well have never picked up on anything like that.

But we'll see....I have a feeling that George's downfall will most likely be a last season sort of thing, so we may have some time before we see it.

Love your take on why the liquor store owner may have been crying!

I do not subscribe to the alternate universe stuff. So far I have not seen anything on YS that is that inconsistent with TBBT. Children's memories are often spotty, and they don't always know and/or understand why adults are acting the way they are acting. And even a genius like Sheldon may have skewed memories that fit his personal narrative. Plus, as someone else pointed out, Sheldon is prone to exaggeration when retelling stories or describing scenarios.

[OtterMommy]

In the 1.11 thread, @AnnaRose wrote:

Quote

I don't remember the pilot that clearly, but perhaps Billy didn't realize how much that tormented Sheldon?  I mean, Billy loves his chickens and is very simple-minded.  I don't think he necessarily did that with malice, but that wouldn't make it any less upsetting to Sheldon.

If I remember correctly (which is always questionable!), Billy was holding a chicken and Sheldon freaked out.  I don't recall anything nefarious on Billy's part.  And, yes, I took it as this was where Sheldon's bird phobia began.  Also, didn't he say in TBBT at one point that someone named Billy terrorized him with a chicken and that's where it started?  Between these two shows, my mind is starting to combine things so I'm not entirely sure if what I'm remember happened as I thought or if it happened at all...

 

On 1/5/2018 at 10:40 PM, Zoe said:

Well this latest episode seems to confirm that adult Sheldon embellishes his past with the way he talked about Tam.

And this is another one.  I think the set up between these two shows, having a history from Sheldon's viewpoint being told on TBBT and then a more objective-ish history shows that Sheldon's world view doesn't always jive with reality.  I don't think that he actually embellished his conversation with Tam.  Instead, I think he felt that Tam should be upset that Sheldon was leaving and then overlaid that on what actually happened.  That sort of thing has happened on TBBT as well. 

Honestly, I find this sort of story telling to be intriguing.  When this show started, I wasn't sure how they were going to get YS to jive with TBBT, but I think they may have found a way that enhances both iterations of Sheldon.

[babyhouseman]

http://www.tvguide.com/news/young-sheldon-big-bang-theory-crossover-characters/

This is an article about characters from YS appearing on BBT according to Chuck Lorre. This is just speculation, nothing concrete. 

[joanne3482]

Do we know how Sheldon's dad died? I can't remember if it has been revealed in BBT. 

[BlossomCulp]

I thought it was a heart attack but I don't remember now if that was ever explicitly stated.

[OtterMommy]

3 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

I thought it was a heart attack but I don't remember now if that was ever explicitly stated.

I remember that as well.  And it shows that YS is working towards some continuity as they've already had George dealing with heart issues.

[lorbeer]

On 1.12.2017 at 4:11 AM, chocolatine said:

So apparently Young Sheldon doesn't do the triple *knock knock knock* <name> thing (yet).

On TBBT he said he started this after ha caught his father having sex with another woman in their own home.

[anna0852]

I'm having a really hard time seeing this version of George not only cheating on Mary but in their house is well.

[Medicine Crow]

Did I miss a new episode of Young Sheldon??  I didn't see it on my line-up!!

[LoneHaranguer]

No, it looks like YS & TBBT are both in reruns for this month.

[DarkRaichu]

On 2/11/2018 at 3:46 PM, lorbeer said:

On TBBT he said he started this after ha caught his father having sex with another woman in their own home.

Eh, I hope it turns out to be some kind of misunderstanding.  I like the dad character so much I hate to see cheating plotline forced upon him.  

Actually I like this show so much more than the last few seasons of TBBT, I'd rather the 2 shows maintaining some "fuzzy" but not exact continuity.  It should not be hard since TBBT does not maintain any continuity from season to season either. :P

Young Sheldon is shaping up to be a 90s version of Wonder Years (with comedy sprinkled here and there).  I hope it continues that way without any burden of TBBT continuity

[BlossomCulp]

19 minutes ago, DarkRaichu said:

Eh, I hope it turns out to be some kind of misunderstanding.  I like the dad character so much I hate to see cheating plotline forced upon him.  

Sheldon was 13 so with any luck they won't keep Young Sheldon going until that point but even if they don't directly reference specific things Sheldon talks about (his dad having sex with another woman in their house; his dad's girlfriend trying to buy Sheldon's love with action figures - to name two) it's hard to see how they can avoid having the marriage start to fall apart.  I guess they can just pretend BBT never happened.

[anna0852]

If the showrunners were smart, when they were first planning out this series they went back through all of BBT listing out every reference to Sheldon's childhood, parents, siblings and upbringing. And then started working out how they were going to maintain continuity. 

[HyeChaps]

I hope that means we will see dance lessons

[lorbeer]

21 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

Actually I like this show so much more than the last few seasons of TBBT, I'd rather the 2 shows maintaining some "fuzzy" but not exact continuity.  It should not be hard since TBBT does not maintain any continuity from season to season either. :P

Personally I'm suprised by how much I like this show.

21 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

Sheldon was 13 so with any luck they won't keep Young Sheldon going until that point but even if they don't directly reference specific things Sheldon talks about (his dad having sex with another woman in their house; his dad's girlfriend trying to buy Sheldon's love with action figures - to name two) it's hard to see how they can avoid having the marriage start to fall apart.  I guess they can just pretend BBT never happened.

And his mother screaming she was going to put glass to his father meatloaf.. His parents constant arguments are the reason why Sheldon hates shouting so much and why he freaks out when people scream at each other. So I don't really see how they can avoid this... But I guess it was quite smart to start at the point were everybody seems to be happy ;)

[anna0852]

I'm trying to think how we're going to get from the decently happy family we see now to the fractured one that will exist when George dies several years from now. The next episode references Mary going to work as the Church secretary. Presumably this is to help alleviate the economic pressure in the household. Money is clearly tight. And George doesn't seem to be the type that would gracefully accept his wife going to work. Not because he has a problem with her working but because of the implication that he's not supporting his family. And the financial pressures are going to get worse as Sheldon gets older in particular because of the burden of keeping up with his education. He's in public school now but we know he's not going to stay there long. College is on the horizon and he's too young to be sent by himself. Which means either a parent will have to go with him or they're going to have to pay someone to supervise him.

I think the mounting financial pressures and the continuing challenges of raising Sheldon plus what seem to be some personality differences between George and Mary are all going to add up to the beginnings of the family issues. There was a clear implication in the brisket episode that Mary was pregnant when they got married. When the kids were young it was easy to overlook compatibility issues because kids keep you that busy but as they get older and don't need quite so much hands-on care, the small things between spouses can become much bigger. So I wonder if it's going to be a combination of factors that will need to start kicking in fairly soon if they're going to remain coherent with what we've been told on BBT.

[CherryAmes]

How old is MeeMaw supposed to be?  In Young Sheldon she seems to be mid 60s (which is how old Annie Potts is - not that the age of the actor is always the same as the age of the character they play) but in the BBT episode when MeeMaw visits I think she was meant to be about 80 or so.  That doesn't work with the time line though of YS taking place about 30 years ago.  Is 1989 MeeMaw meant to be younger than I thought?

[Chit Chat]

On ‎2‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 10:51 AM, anna0852 said:

I think the mounting financial pressures and the continuing challenges of raising Sheldon plus what seem to be some personality differences between George and Mary are all going to add up to the beginnings of the family issues.

He talked to Sheldon in episode one about how he lost his coaching job and that's why they had to move.  He told Sheldon that he missed that job.  I think there's a general sadness in him regarding that situation.  There's been some tense conversations between he and Mary on how to deal with Sheldon.  Sometimes I think Mary tends to do what she wants to in regards to Sheldon.  I can see where George might feel like his input doesn't matter (not that Mary is to blame for everything.)  IMO, there's a foundation being laid where we will be able to look back and see what small issues end up causing big problems.

59 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

Is 1989 MeeMaw meant to be younger than I thought?

I'm thinking that TBBT didn't completely think that through when they had MeeMaw on their show!  Speaking of which, I recently saw that episode on re-run, and now that we know the younger MeeMaw, I just don't think she would've been so mean to Amy when she met her.  I think this MeeMaw would've talked to Amy about how it broke Sheldon's heart when she broke up with him, but I don't think she would've been as harsh as the future MeeMaw was.  I think this MeeMaw would've listened to Amy's side of the story and could've commiserated on how difficult it can be to deal with Sheldon, but then I think she would've joked about it and told Amy the things she could do to make it easier on herself when dealing with Sheldon.   That's how I wish they would've handled it.  YMMV.

[thebigboot]

Bottom line, writers are kind of screwed at this point. Either Sheldon is a liar who embellished what happened to him as a child or this show is going to go very dark.

So far we’ve seen nothing but Sheldon having his every whim catered to. Kind of explains why he’s such a dick to his friends.

[OtterMommy]

8 minutes ago, thebigboot said:

So far we’ve seen nothing but Sheldon having his every whim catered to. Kind of explains why he’s such a dick to his friends.

That sort of explains a lot of TBBT, though.  As a kid, Sheldon getting what he wants is a little different--not that it is right, but I don't think he goes into situations with an expectation that he will get what he wants (yet).  Mary seems to at least try to have a spine, even if she ends up caving.  Now, as this continues as he grows, it is easy to see how kid Sheldon who is surprised when he doesn't get what he wants turns into adult Sheldon who expects everything to go his way and will make sure that others will be made to feel as if it is their fault if he doesn't get what he wants.

[anna0852]

I'm hoping that what Adult Sheldon describes isn't willfull lying but rather the distortions. His childhood (what we've seen so far) isn't that bad. But combine a rigid worldview with some deep emotional immaturity and you get the childhoo that Adult describes but that Child didn't really experience.

And Mary (along with Memaw) are *screwing* Leonard, Penny, et al so hard right now. And unfortunately we know from Adult Sheldon that the catering isn't going to stop. I wonder if that's going to contribute to the eventual problems between Mary and George. We see George trying very hard to reign Sheldon in and teach him that he has to get along in the world and Mary undermines him quite a bit.

[BlossomCulp]

5 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

That sort of explains a lot of TBBT, though.  As a kid, Sheldon getting what he wants is a little different--not that it is right, but I don't think he goes into situations with an expectation that he will get what he wants (yet).  Mary seems to at least try to have a spine, even if she ends up caving. 

I like the way they have handled this so far.  I think it's very understandable that Mary and George are out of their depth dealing with someone like Sheldon.   

[anna0852]

9 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

I like the way they have handled this so far.  I think it's very understandable that Mary and George are out of their depth dealing with someone like Sheldon.   

Oh boy are they! And it's just going to get worse as Sheldon gets older. Navigating him through high school and maybe even undergrad might be doable but beyond that, Sheldon's parents are going to have a harder and harder time connecting with him. George *might* have a bachelor's (if he's teaching, I don't see how he couldn't have one) but I really don't think Mary does.  Sheldon's world is just going to get more incomprehensible and after he's 14, Mary will be handling it alone.

[LoneHaranguer]

13 hours ago, anna0852 said:

And Mary (along with Memaw) are *screwing* Leonard, Penny, et al so hard right now. And unfortunately we know from Adult Sheldon that the catering isn't going to stop.

Since he starts college when he's 11, it won't be long before he'll be like Dennis Kim in The Jerusalem Duality, with schools willing to do whatever it takes to get Sheldon to pick them. 

[anna0852]

17 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Since he starts college when he's 11, it won't be long before he'll be like Dennis Kim in The Jerusalem Duality, with schools willing to do whatever it takes to get Sheldon to pick them. 

And I'll bet that's where his big ego got it's start. You don't really see it in Child Sheldon but the Adult is insufferable and it had to come from somewhere.

[BlossomCulp]

On 3/16/2018 at 12:23 PM, anna0852 said:

And I'll bet that's where his big ego got it's start. You don't really see it in Child Sheldon but the Adult is insufferable and it had to come from somewhere

Agreed.  Sheldon talks a lot about winning a Nobel prize, having streets named after him and having people write books about him.  He is genuinely interested in science for its own sake but he's also positive that he's as good, if not better, than Einstein.  Whether the show will ever have him get the kudos he craves will be interesting to see because for the most part it seems like most of his major accomplishments in terms of recognition from others came when he was much younger.  He got a lot of ego boosting awards and so on when he hit college.  I'm not saying it's been downhill ever since (clearly he is still well regarded at Cal Tech) but as he once said to George Smuth (paraphrased) "what has Sheldon Cooper done lately?"

[Yeah No]

I like the young Sheldon but somehow they forgot to give the character a sense of humor.  The adult Sheldon has one even if it is a bit quirky and strange so why wouldn't the child Sheldon have a similar one too?  Like the way he thinks certain things are funny but no one else does.  I also think the young Sheldon should be a bit more of a drama king like the adult one is.  Plus so far they haven't used very much of the stuff the adult Sheldon mentions from his childhood on BBT.  Sometimes when I watch repeats of BBT I hear him refer to funny things that happened in his childhood and think they could use that on this show and it would be a great plot device.

Edited April 14, 2018 by Yeah No

[OtterMommy]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I like the young Sheldon but somehow they forgot to give the character a sense of humor.  The adult Sheldon has one even if it is a bit quirky and strange so why wouldn't the child Sheldon have a similar one too?  Like the way he thinks certain things are funny but no one else does.  I also think the young Sheldon should be a bit more of a drama king like the adult one is.  Plus so far they haven't used very much of the stuff the adult Sheldon mentions from his childhood on BBT.  Sometimes when I watch repeats of BBT I hear him refer to funny things that happened in his childhood and think they could use that on this show and it would be a great plot device.

The humor in this show definitely comes from those around Sheldon more than Sheldon himself....however, that is actually pretty much in line with the very early days of TBBT.  When the show started, Sheldon was actually the clueless (socially) guy who lived with Leonard (who, at that point, was actually the center of the show).  It actually makes sense to me that Young Sheldon eventually grows in to THAT Sheldon.  And it wasn't long before Sheldon took center stage with TBBT and his character started to change (like halfway through season 1, if I recall correctly).  So, I guess I can buy it if I look at it in the terms of Young Sheldon--Early TBBT Sheldon--Later TBBT Sheldon.

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

Plus so far they haven't used very much of the stuff the adult Sheldon mentions from his childhood on BBT

With this being the only the first season I guess they just use them sparingly. It would be a bit weird if all those happened when he was 9.

[Driad]

Sheldon mentioned once on BBT that he learned Hindi when he was 8, but this has not been mentioned on YS. Maybe he didn't tell his family.

[TurtlePower]

On 3/16/2018 at 9:23 AM, anna0852 said:

And I'll bet that's where his big ego got it's start. You don't really see it in Child Sheldon but the Adult is insufferable and it had to come from somewhere.

It's long been speculated by some fans--though never addressed officially on the show as far as I know--the Sheldon may be on the spectrum as high functioning. It would explain his ego and poor social skills. Being it's not a cookie cutter condition and every person is different, it's just speculation but there could be more going on with Sheldon than him being an egotistical jerk, though in TBBT he has shown the capacity to grow and learn many social skills (but fails miserably in others). Just my thoughts. 

At least we know he's not crazy. His mom had him tested. 

[anna0852]

 The showrunners have gone on record and said they are never going to state that Sheldon has some kind of condition. Sheldon is simply Sheldon. And his less than pleasant behavior is exactly the reason why. They don't want to be in the position of stating that he's been diagnosed with something and then have to worry about misrepresenting or poorly representing something real.

[BlossomCulp]

22 minutes ago, TurtlePower said:

At least we know he's not crazy. His mom had him tested. 

Although she does sometimes regret not following up with that specialist in Houston!

[TurtlePower]

18 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

Although she does sometimes regret not following up with that specialist in Houston!

Right? Back in that day (my day lol), parents were afraid to think that something about their child wasn't "normal" (including my own). Not like it matters and maybe it's not meant to--Sheldon is a person who's different and often misunderstood, but learns to grow. His friends must understand; they're still friends with him despite some bumps in the road.

[CherryAmes]

In another thread the conversation has touched on seeing Missy and Georgie on BBT theory as adults now that we've "met" them as children.  It's certainly going to be interesting to see how this gets handled!  I mean the Missy we met in that early BBT episode really could have been little Missy all grown up but the references they've made to Georgie on BBT have been mostly negative, he chases around after "whores" and is an idiot according to Mary and almost all the things Sheldon says about him involve Georgie hurting him (hitting him in the head with a golf ball etc).  But the Georgie we see on YS has a sweet side to him and I'd hate for him to come onto BBT as a "mouth breathing idiot" who bullies others!  

[BlossomCulp]

14 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

But the Georgie we see on YS has a sweet side to him and I'd hate for him to come onto BBT as a "mouth breathing idiot" who bullies others!  

Or as similar to Penny's brother sort of a lovable loser type character.  I don't want them to retcon (is that the right word?) Georgie and make him some fabulous success story or anything since that's not consistent with what we've been told but I hope they give Georgie a good life even if it's not the kind of life his mother wants for him and even if he's the kind of person Sheldon wouldn't have much use for (I mean Sheldon would look down on him if he was teaching science in high school, the bar is pretty low here!!)

Edited April 21, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[OtterMommy]

On 4/21/2018 at 12:53 PM, CherryAmes said:

In another thread the conversation has touched on seeing Missy and Georgie on BBT theory as adults now that we've "met" them as children.  It's certainly going to be interesting to see how this gets handled!  I mean the Missy we met in that early BBT episode really could have been little Missy all grown up but the references they've made to Georgie on BBT have been mostly negative, he chases around after "whores" and is an idiot according to Mary and almost all the things Sheldon says about him involve Georgie hurting him (hitting him in the head with a golf ball etc).  But the Georgie we see on YS has a sweet side to him and I'd hate for him to come onto BBT as a "mouth breathing idiot" who bullies others!  

Yes, but 95% of what we know about adult Georgie comes from Sheldon--who thinks everyone in inferior to him.  He thinks Penny is an idiot, but he also thinks that Leonard, Raj, and Howard aren't that smart either.  The only fellow scientists he seems to hold in any real esteem are Bernadette and Amy, and he's still made potshots at Amy's field of study.  Whenever anything is said or done that makes Sheldon look bad, he lashes out at the other person.  Honestly, in some ways, YS Sheldon is more mature in that TBBT Sheldon.

As I've said before, I've just come to accept that TBBT Sheldon is an unreliable narrator.  He has such a tunnel view of things that it's hard to believe what he says sometimes.  This even comes across (at times) in YS when the narration is clearly in contrast to what is actually happening on the screen.

And, yes, the other 5% comes from older Mary and, yes, she has been negative--but YS Mary seems to line up with that.  She doesn't seem to be the loving mother to Georgie that she is to Sheldon and even Missy.  Now, that may be in part because Georgie is older and, maybe, she was just as loving to him when he was 9.  Or it could be the Georgie is "George's" and Sheldon and Missy are "Mary's."  Or maybe she just doesn't hold her oldest child in any sort of esteem.  It will be interesting to see how they portray adult Georgie, now that YS is a thing.  Are they going to try to integrate the shows?  So far, YS has been trying to fit into the TBBT mold, but maybe the tables will be turned in this case.

[BlossomCulp]

15 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Or maybe she just doesn't hold her oldest child in any sort of esteem. 

What we do know is that Sheldon left home while he was still in his teens but Georgie lives near Mary. If she doesn't hold him in any sort of esteem it's most likely because she has seen him living his life first hand and she's not been happy with the choices he's been making!  It will be interesting to see if that's because she is just mad because he's not living the Christian life she wants for her kids or if it's because he really has done some idiotic things.

18 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Yes, but 95% of what we know about adult Georgie comes from Sheldon--who thinks everyone in inferior to him. 

Absolutely!  I don't really put much stock in what Sheldon says about either Georgie of Missie when it comes to their intelligence - he'd be sneering at them no matter what career they went into.  If they aren't theoretical physicists they're clearly substandard to say the least!  I do though think we're meant to believe Sheldon when he has talked about Georgie hitting him and otherwise being rough with him.  And considering there is a 5 yr age difference that really bothers me.  I don't see Georgie on YS being as hands on mean to Sheldon as we're led to believe he was but I also don't think Sheldon on BBT was lying or exaggerating when he told those stories.  I agree it's going to be interesting on BBT when we meet grown up Georgie to see which version, if either, they decide to go with.

[FinnishViewer]

There was the episode where Sheldon tried to tutor Georgie because Georgie needed a passing grade to continue with the football program, and in the end Georgie cheated to get the B grade. So, I think the show has established that Georgie is at least not academically very gifted.

[Chit Chat]

4 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:

So, I think the show has established that Georgie is at least not academically very gifted.

So true.  He's not motivated either.  Sheldon's the eager beaver when it comes to learning.  Georgie, not so much. 

[BlossomCulp]

And when you consider in the most recent episode that he had to work hard to do grade 4 homework I think it's pretty clear that poor Georgie isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.  Couple that with a lack of motivation and I don't think it's a stretch to assume Georgie made it through high school by the skin of his teeth - if that!  I do really like though that Georgie has not been presented as that "mouthbreathing idiot" Sheldon claimed him to be.  Unless we're meant to assume a lot more water goes under the bridge in the years between YS and BBT and the idiot comment about both siblings had more to do with dumb life choices than academic intelligence.

Edited April 23, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[LoneHaranguer]

3 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

And when you consider in the most recent episode that he had to work hard to do grade 4 homework I think it's pretty clear that poor Georgie isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.  Couple that with a lack of motivation and I don't think it's a stretch to assume Georgie made it through high school by the skin of his teeth - if that!

Has Georgie always been less than bright, or is that a result of being knocked around too much playing football?

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

I do really like though that Georgie has not been presented as that "mouthbreathing idiot" Sheldon claimed him to be

Sheldon uses hyperbole a lot in TBBT though when describing a lot of things, and his bar for considering someone at least half smart seems much higher than normal. So I don't think we are meant to interpret his descriptions of his childhood word for word.

[BlossomCulp]

18 minutes ago, FinnishViewer said:

Sheldon uses hyperbole a lot in TBBT though when describing a lot of things, and his bar for considering someone at least half smart seems much higher than normal. So I don't think we are meant to interpret his descriptions of his childhood word for word.

That's true but since the only other Lorre show I'm familiar with had a teenager on it who could legitimately have been described as a "mouthbreathing idiot" I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd gone that route with Georgie.  Lorre has a history of thinking profoundly stupid people are hilarious.  Anyway I'm just glad they didn't do that.  Georgie may be none too bright but he's a likable character so far for me.