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Penny/Kaley Cuoco: What IS Her Last Name?

Lisin

By Lisin
in The Big Bang Theory [V]

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Oldernowiser
Oldernowiser

YMMV...I always felt like Penny as a character held her own with the geniuses because she was quick-witted and intelligent, just not in a formally educated kind of way. Where I live now there are many

BlossomCulp
BlossomCulp

I've liked Kaley since her days on 8 Simple Rules.  She may not be a stand up comic but she's a competent actress and brings a lot to the show.  I can't imagine BBT theory without Penny and Kaley brin

chocolatine
chocolatine

She's the Jennifer Aniston of her generation.

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NoWillToResist

NoWillToResist

(edited)

I loved early Penny.

I'm not a fan of the recent dumbing down of her character or her increased dependency on alcohol. I think I'm supposed to find these traits funny, but I really, really don't.

Penny was never intellectually strong, but she was 'normal' and had street smarts. Now, the girl doesn't even know how to fucking use GLUE properly.

I miss old Penny. :(

Edited by NoWillToResist
  • Love 5
KirkB

KirkB

It's kind of weird, actually. In a group full of doctors and geniuses Penny was always going to look, at best, average. Which is fine. Early on they showed that what she lacked in higher schooling she had street smarts, as NoWillToResist said. She had practical experience and could keep most of the guys grounded. But somewhere along the line they decided to stress the differences between Penny and the guys by making her dumber. The problem is, they're running the risk of making Penny too different from the character that made her popular in the first place. Or maybe there was a note from on high which said instead of Penny being a nice pair of breasts on a clever and witty young woman they just wanted to focus on the breasts.

Meushell

Meushell

I loved early Penny.

I'm not a fan of the recent dumbing down of her character or her increased dependency on alcohol. I think I'm supposed to find these traits funny, but I really, really don't.

Penny was never intellectually strong, but she was 'normal' and had street smarts. Now, the girl doesn't even know how to fucking use GLUE properly.

I miss old Penny. :(

I agree. I like Penny, but I liked the older version. I'm hoping things will change for her, and that the writers will remember who she used to be. Not knowing how to use glue just isn't funny. It's just sad, and not in a good way.

Happy to be here

Happy to be here

Every so often she does say something smart.  I liked her during the Star Wars episode when she kept spouting out Star War trivia and say what you will about the pairing but she does still have chemistry with Leonard it isn't hot to trot chemistry but it is old married couple chemistry which is....interesting.  Plus even now her scenes with Sheldon are usually still worth the price of admission.  

  • Love 3
lilabennet

lilabennet

I gave up on this show a while ago, but could somebody answer some questions for me?

 

Have any of the characters picked up on Penny's alcoholism yet?  I don't mean notice enough to make a snide comment; I mean notice enough to get their supposedly good friend help.  Amy studies addictions, right? 

 

I am so tired of shows ignoring their own history and/or character development for the sake of a few cheap laughs.

  • Love 1
shlbycindyk

shlbycindyk

I know this is just a TV show, and the characters are all ficitonal, however, why is alcoholism now considered a humorous trait for a TV character?  I've worked in emergency medicine and have also done work in alcohol and drug rehab clinics and trust me, there is nothing funny about any of it.  I really liked the Penny character when the show first started but now she just makes me uncomfortable.  In fact I seldom watch this program anymore because of the Penny storylines.  Get some writers with some talent that can actually write funny, witty scenes without falling back on cheap overdone laughs.  

  • Love 1
magpye29

magpye29

The other thing that bothers me about current Penny is how sloppy and unkempt she looks.  When the show started, she was cute and pretty and looked nice.  Now her hair is all stringy with dark roots REALLY showing, she looks like she's gained weight (which doesn't bother me per se, except in how it affects her wardrobe), and she always has a sour expression on her face.  Really she just looks tired and over it all.  There's little of the tender sweetness she had toward Sheldon and Leonard, and her relations with the other women on the show have devolved into sniping snarkfests, which isn't as much fun to watch as I might have expected.

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LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

 

Really she just looks tired and over it all.

She's lost her enthusiasm. She's stuck in a dead-end job with no real prospects for her acting career to go anywhere, and she's thrown in the towel romantically and settled for Leonard (who's better than the jerks and losers she used to date, but doesn't excite her). Always being put down by those around her doesn't help; Howard and Stuart are the only ones who don't insult her.

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chocolatine

chocolatine

I think the hair is cute, but she doesn't look "hot" anymore with that cut (I'm a heterosexual female, so YMMV). I wonder if the reduced "hotness" will become a plot point in terms of her relationship with Leonard. Up until now he did everything she wanted and accepted her ambivalence towards him because he got to fulfill his fantasy of dating the hot young blonde in tight clothes. Now that she's older, short-haired, and more covered up, I wonder if the bloom is going to be off the rose for him a little bit.

CleoCaesar

CleoCaesar

Same here, chocolatine. I think the new cut makes Penny look a lot older, and not in a good way. Then again, I thought everyone in last night's premiere looked old and tired. The new haircut makes Kaley look more...matronly, I guess. It'd be interesting if they worked that into the plot, that she's no longer a fresh Hollywood ingenue and it's time to start being realistic about her dreams of being an A-lister.

editorgrrl

editorgrrl

The Big Bang Theory's Penny Finally Explains Her Drastic Pixie Cut (and Her Answer Might Surprise You) (Glamour)

Cuoco-Sweeting reveals that the cut wasn't inspired by her new wife-life or her new career on TBBT. Rather, she chopped her locks (which have been relatively the same since she burst on the scene in the '90s) for a movie she was filming this summer in New Mexico (indie drama Burning Bodhi). After making the change, she offered to wear extensions on TBBT, but the producers were "on her side" and wrote it in.
Kalliste

Kalliste

I haven't seen any of season 8 yet but I think it looks ok in pictures.. It makes me feel like it's a 'grown up' Penny.. she needs to get on with life and stop being the wannabe actress who works in a restaurant.. I know she quit at the end of season 7 but still, it's not like she did much of anything else.

 

Unrelated, is it standard for people in the US to have somewhat deadend jobs for a long time? All the guys in the show (and Penny) have held the same job the entire time.. also in the US version of The Office they basically all stayed the same which made me wonder if it's a for TV thing or if that is how things actually are.

editorgrrl

editorgrrl

(edited)

Is it standard for people in the US to have somewhat deadend jobs for a long time? All the guys in the show (and Penny) have held the same job the entire time.. also in the US version of The Office they basically all stayed the same which made me wonder if it's a for TV thing or if that is how things actually are.

If a show is set in the workplace, then leaving the job = leaving the show. The only exception that comes to mind is Peggy on Mad Men, but her new firm soon merged with her old one, so some of her new co-workers continued on the show, while others were let go. Edited by editorgrrl
Katmai

Katmai

 

I think the new cut makes Penny look a lot older, and not in a good way.

I agree with this, too. But my hubby said it made her look a lot younger (?) but he hated it on her. I always thought she looked her prettiest when she had her longer hair in some loose form of an updo.

 

Penny's business suit looked dated and frumpy to me, like something worn 20 years ago and by an older, matronly, all business, older woman. I would think they'd dress her in a more current and age appropriate, yet still professional, wardrobe. What do I know about fashion? Nothing, I live in jeans.

LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

 

Penny's business suit looked dated and frumpy to me, like something worn 20 years ago and by an older, matronly, all business, older woman.

Maybe she raided the donation bin again for her outfit. I could see her at least conserving funds by shopping at a thrift store.

 

 

Is it standard for people in the US to have somewhat deadend jobs for a long time? All the guys in the show (and Penny) have held the same job the entire time.

I don't think there's really an upward path for the guys without leaving the kind of work they like to do. It's normal for someone like Penny to move up, but she's never considered that her career, and has never bothered to do the quality of work that would merit being promoted.

Hecate7

Hecate7

(edited)

She's lost her enthusiasm. She's stuck in a dead-end job with no real prospects for her acting career to go anywhere, and she's thrown in the towel romantically and settled for Leonard (who's better than the jerks and losers she used to date, but doesn't excite her). Always being put down by those around her doesn't help; Howard and Stuart are the only ones who don't insult her.

This is a really good point!

 

The show needs to finally address what Penny is doing. If she is just a failed actress with a sad life and no prospects, who is willing to settle for Leonard because he means a secure lifestyle, that's not going to work, but that seems to be what they're setting up.

 

It would be nice if they let Penny get back to being bright and street smart, and let her either have an acting career, or let something else pop up that's exciting for her, such as maybe making a living off the science fiction conventions and cosplay world making costumes and selling them online, or doing the makeup for movies or TV shows or something like that. Bring back Penny's business sense and resourcefulness, and let her occasionally put the boys in her place with a remark like, "I can waltz six different ways. Can you?" ANYTHING but having her on a slow road to self-destruction being a failed actress, failed waittress, and very unhappy person settling for a cute college professor she doesn't really appreciate.

Maybe she raided the donation bin again for her outfit. I could see her at least conserving funds by shopping at a thrift store.

 

I don't think there's really an upward path for the guys without leaving the kind of work they like to do. It's normal for someone like Penny to move up

Unrelated, is it standard for people in the US to have somewhat deadend jobs for a long time? All the guys in the show (and Penny) have held the same job the entire time.. also in the US version of The Office they basically all stayed the same which made me wonder if it's a for TV thing or if that is how things actually are.

Yes, it is standard for people in the US born after a certain date to have dead end jobs forever. Academia has turned into "dead men's shoes" and adjunct professorships. Every other job is pretty much "see how long you can tread water before getting fired." The US is basically The Office. People either stick to it forever or get fired and bounce around, but that whole zipping up the corporate ladder thing died in the early 1980s. Those Americans who have jobs are terrified of losing them. It's pretty stagnant from what I can see.

 

It is not normal to "move up" at a restaurant. The manager is a guy in a tie and an MBA who got the job long before you came to work there and will probably work that job til he dies. Waittresses are usually pretty people waiting tables while they try to think of something else to do, not someone who thinks of it as their career.

Edited by Hecate7
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LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

 

It is not normal to "move up" at a restaurant.

Once you've gone as far as you can at a restaurant, you go to another, either a better position or a better restaurant. But, to do that, you have to be aiming for a career in "food service", rather than just idling in a job of "waitress" until something else comes along.

Hecate7

Hecate7

They're actually doing a good job now with Penny. She quit waiting tables to focus on acting. This was a grown-up thing to do. She had never been any good at that job, but managed to hold onto it because she was pretty and actually does have some sales skills.

 

I didn't think I was going to like her hair, but I do. I like it a lot. She looks even prettier than she used to. And they're handling Leonard and Penny better, now, too. The pharm rep career thing is slightly dated, but it can still work. They are what flight attendants used to be--gorgeous people making lots of money. I'm actually waiting for Penny to decide to be a yoga instructor. I'm loving watching her do it.

  • Love 2
CherryAmes

CherryAmes

And how did that work out for her?

 

I think it was a good move.  It made her finally accept that she wasn't going to be a big movie star, or failing that a big TV star.  As long as she could keep finding excuses for why she wasn't making it in show business she could keep the hope going.  Having no excuses anymore was the best thing that could happen.  But then I've always felt the writers handled Penny's lack of success extremely well.  I'm sure there are an awful lot of waiters and waitresses in Hollywood waiting for a big break that never came.

  • Love 4
Enjay

Enjay

I've been pondering why I dislike Penny so intensely this season.  I think It's because she has changed the dynamic of the group and went from someone who may have not been nearly as smart as everyone else but brought them a sense of normalcy and balance to someone boring and blah who doesn't add anything.  Penny the waitress hanging out with a bunch of physicists (and Howard) is funny.  Serious business woman Penny is not.  I hope she relaxes a little bit.

 

As an aside - my husband is partial to Bernadette but says about Penny this season, "the character was better as a ditzy blonde."

Italian Ice

Italian Ice

(edited)

I hate Penny this season about as much as I hated Lucy, and trust me when I  say...that is saying something. I literally cringed every time Lucy was on the screen.

 

Penny's not even pretty anymore, and she adds nothing to the dynamic of the show now, as others have noted. She's boring, antagonistic, and she's not even cute anymore. Ugh, just make it stop. I want early Penny back. I really can't deal with yet another couple in this group where the female totally emasculates the man, like Bernadette and Howard.

Edited by Italian Ice
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Hecate7

Hecate7

I agree with Italian Ice about Penny.  The relationship was always  Penny -- hot looking and light hearted, and Leonard --smart and successful.  Penny as a serious career woman just leaves Leonard  in an inferior position.  It's out of balance now.

 

Nobody is young, pretty, and light-hearted forever. Without success, Penny was becoming a bitter alcoholic. Now, she is going to be a highly successful pharm rep and earn $100,000 or so a year.

 

Early Penny isn't coming back. That was ten years ago. The success of a woman does NOT "emasculate" the man, and if Leonard can hold onto a hot girl like Penny even as she matures, and if she marries him not because she needs him, but because she loves him, it doesn't get any better than that.

  • Love 7
JudyObscure

JudyObscure

The big pharmaceutical companies lead the Fortune 500 because they don't mind making huge profits off the backs of sick people, so for me, Penny's new job doesn't represent such a big step forward or a reason to give up alcohol.  But then, I never did see anything shameful in being a waitress/actress.

 

There's nothing emasculating about a woman making more money, but selling his gift and giving him the money was just plain bad manners and if she takes Bernadette's example and starts doling out stars and allowances then I would hate that.  One spouse, controlling and dominating the other one seems wrong to me no matter what gender is doing it.

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Italian Ice

Italian Ice

Did Penny even pass her exam though? I don't recall it being mentioned anywhere. I find it hard to believe that a woman who couldn't even string two coherent setences together about slavery, and had to get Bernadette & Amy write her papers for her because she was too dumb to do it on her own, would even be smart enough to be a pharmaceutical sales rep. Most of them have at the very least, bachelor's degrees in a scientific field.

  • Love 1
LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

 

The relationship was always  Penny -- hot looking and light hearted, and Leonard --smart and successful.

When was Leonard successful (other than with Penny)?

 

 

The big pharmaceutical companies lead the Fortune 500 because they don't mind making huge profits off the backs of sick people

They make their money off insurance companies who in turn make their money off healthy people.

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