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Bernadette Rostenkowski/Melissa Rauch: Teeny but Mighty!

Lisin

By Lisin
in The Big Bang Theory [V]

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taanja

taanja

 

, Bernadette did not start out sounding like a little girl. Changing someone's voice bothers me

 

I believe that is the choice of the actor.

 

Anyone remember Will & Grace? The character Karen didn't start out with that annoying voice ---she developed it as the series went on to the point it became her "trademark" so to speak.

 

CherryAmes

CherryAmes

Bernadette isn't a shrew, at least IMO, she's a married woman who isn't under any illusions about her husband.   I'd hate it if they let Howard get away with the crap he's pulled since they got married!  I mean it would be nice if he didn't do stupid stuff like not help around the house and spend tons of money on toys but that would limit the storylines I guess.  At least Bernadette stands up for herself and doesn't let Howard call the shots. 

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PinkRibbons

PinkRibbons

I noticed that Bernadette is now wearing a Star of David necklace instead of her Cross.

 

I think it's actually just a regular five-pointed star; the one that Howard took into space with him and brought back so she could now wear a star that had truly been in space. (Take that, every other guy who'd ever given her anything!) The actress is Jewish so it's possible she herself asked them to let up on having her wear the cross, but I don't think it's a Star of David.

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chocolatine

chocolatine

(edited)
I think it's actually just a regular five-pointed star; the one that Howard took into space with him and brought back so she could now wear a star that had truly been in space. (Take that, every other guy who'd ever given her anything!) The actress is Jewish so it's possible she herself asked them to let up on having her wear the cross, but I don't think it's a Star of David.

 

 

Yes, I thought it was the five-pointed star as well. FWIW, I know a few Christian women who have married Jewish men but didn't convert to Judaism, and they also switched to non-religious jewelry after they married. But it also could have been Melissa Rauch's request/idea. I know from Mayim Bialik's blog that production accommodates her preferences for Amy's wardrobe, makeup, and hair, so I wouldn't be surprised if Melissa was allowed the same input regarding Bernadette.

Edited by chocolatine
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Pippin

Pippin

Melissa Rausch was on Craig Ferguson last night.  [incredibly shallow observation]  She wore a nice little black dress (form fitting, not A-line skirt, knee-length) and her hair uncurled and high heels and wow, she looked good! This from a straight girl, too.  [/incredibly shallow observation]  Funny and smart, too.  Kept pace with Ferguson, which some guests cannot.

Now why do the writers have to write her as Debbie Wolowitz V.02?

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SmithW6079

SmithW6079

(edited)
At least Bernadette stands up for herself and doesn't let Howard call the shots.

 

How Bernadette acts around Howard (and everyone) isn't just "standing up for herself." She's mean and nasty.

She treats Howard like a child -- putting him on an allowance and wanting to vet his purchases. He has a job himself, presumably one that is well paid. She treated Leonard like shit during the scavenger hunt, constantly berating and belittling him, and she's done that to Leonard on numerous occasions, and she has shared Penny's confidences about Leonard to Leonard, just to be mean to him. 

Edited by SmithW6079
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CherryAmes

CherryAmes

She treats Howard like a child -- putting him on an allowance and wanting to vet his purchases. He has a job himself, presumably one that is well paid.

 

I'd totally agree with this if it wasn't made such a freaking big deal on the show that Bernadette makes the money and Howard makes peanuts.  Which wouldn't be so had if Howard himself would say "maybe in comparison to you I don't make a lot but I do make a good living", he doesn't.  Instead he bragged about having a rich wife because that meant he could spend his money on any foolish item that happened to catch his eye.  He acts like a child about money so he gets treated like a child.  Seems fair to me even though I wish the writers wouldn't make it seem  like a former astronaut working at a major university earns a pittance!

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hnygrl

hnygrl

She's such a huge bully, everyone on her floor refuses to use the same bathroom as her!!! Everybody in that place is terrified of her because she pulls the "Oh, it's because I'm SHORT isn't it???" Card so often. I'm beginning to seriously despise her character. She's just awful, with no redeeming qualities left.

 

Whatever happened to the Bernadette that Howard married? You remember, the one who comforted him and was so there for him with the "card from my dad" thing went down? Where is the wonderful, sweet, kind, loving Bernadette that Howard wrote that romantically sweet song for?

This shrewish bitch sure ain't her! And when confronted with her sins? Does she change? HELL no. She just ups her game with TEARS.

 

I thought I hated Penny. Bernie's quickly winning that contest.

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Pippin

Pippin

I really hate how they've changed Bernadette.  You can stand up for yourself without becoming a total bee-yotch, which is not what they have done with her character.

I don't blame her for getting mad at how Howard throws money at stupid stuff without consulting her.  If the roles were reversed and she went out and bought, say, $3,000 shoes and he hit the roof, would anyone say he was being unreasonable?  Theoretically, he should have a fairly large savings account since he lived at home and so had neglible living expenses.  The fact that he doesn't tells me that he spent his money on a lot of stuff like comics and conventions, which is fine when you're single, but when you get married, you have to take your partner's POV into consideration.

 

And I also don't blame her for being angry that he expects her to be his live-in maid.  They both work, and it won't kill him to do some of the housework.

But the way they have her go about it is such a 180° turn from the way she was originally presented ... !  And as I said previously, she could express her anger without becoming a bully or grotesquely unlikeable.
 

I guess in the BB universe, women are either sluts or shrews.  Heaven forbid that they be human beings.

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Actionmage

Actionmage

I caught that Paley Center special on comedies this evening. When they covered TBBT, they had Melissa speak about a couple of things; her voice threw me a little because it wasn't Bernadette's!  *g*

 

I guess in the BB universe, women are either sluts or shrews.  Heaven forbid that they be human beings.

 

This. ^ *sigh*

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tominboston

tominboston

The Boston Globe's film reviewer mentions it favorably in an overview piece on the Sundance festival:

 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2015/01/26/sundance-this-year-women-loom-large/sZhB1URdga4lS8sfYSiYMM/story.html

 

Oddly, there's no mention of her connection to BBT, which is where probably 98% of readers would know her from.

Enjay

Enjay

Last night I watched a rerun of The Parking Spot Escalation.  Aside from being one of the funniest episodes ever (naked Sheldon in Howard's car almost makes me pee myself laughing), I noticed last night just how awfully vindictive Bernadette is.  She takes delight in torturing Sheldon and Amy.  I can't believe I never really noticed that in this episode before.  I'm not a big fan of Howard and think the two deserve each other.

CherryAmes

CherryAmes

(edited)

I noticed last night just how awfully vindictive Bernadette is.

 

I think they had this aspect of her character in mind almost from the get go -or at least from when she and Howard got engaged anyway.  I saw an episode the other night from season 5 where they are talking about staying friends with ex boyfriend/girlfriends:

 

Bernadette: Boy, I don't know if I could be friends with Howie if we broke up.

Howard: Why not?

Bernadette: I'm a very vengeful person.

Howard: Really?

Bernadette: With access to weaponized smallpox.

Edited by CherryAmes
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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

I understand and respect Bernadette not wanting kids, but lying to her father about Howard being the one that didn't want them and raining dust on the two of them in a vain attempt to prevent the truth coming out was a bitch move. People complain about Sheldon's regression, but Bernadette is becoming more unlikable with every season.

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Driad

Driad

In an episode when Bernadette had her own apartment, someone was at the door. The peephole in the door was too high for B to see through, so she got a stool and stood on it. I wonder why she or Howard didn't make a periscope.  It's easy with two mirrors and some cardboard. B should have had at least a physical science class in high school or earlier.

rmontro

rmontro

On 11/18/2014 at 1:53 AM, chocolatine said:

I know from Mayim Bialik's blog that production accommodates her preferences for Amy's wardrobe, makeup, and hair, so I wouldn't be surprised if Melissa was allowed the same input regarding Bernadette.

I saw an episode tonight, The Locomotive Manipulation I think it was.  It was a rare occasion when Bernadette was showing some cleavage.  But she had her hair in a ponytail, and had the ponytail draped over her chest.  Kind of annoying for a male viewer like myself, lol.  But Melissa seems to like to dress modestly, on the show anyway.  Or it might be to differentiate her character from Penny, who shows more skin.  Bernadette is, after all (according to Amy) supposed to be "cute in the right light" while Penny is supposed to be beautiful.

Cowgirl

Cowgirl

(edited)

I really hated the episode where Bernadette finds out from Penny that she is not well-liked at work.  She made up a nickname for the woman in the wheelchair and was so mean to her she couldn't even use the ADA compliant bathroom they'd installed for her because Bernadette took it over herself.  She was just awful in that episode, even after finding out why she was disliked.  If I recall correctly, she even asked if she could keep the bathroom.

I also hated how they wrote her character in the treasure hunt puzzle episode.  She was truly awful to Leonard. 

I really like the character except for these two episodes. 

Edited by Cowgirl
CherryAmes

CherryAmes

Watching earlier episodes they wrote Bernadette as being sweet and nice to everyone, not just in her own mind but really.  Somewhere along the way they decided it would be funnier to have this sweet little girl be a real bitch.  I dunno.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.  I actually didn't mind the competitive bitchy Bernadette from the scavenger hunt but I loathed the Bernadette who would mock a disabled colleague.  That just did not ring true to me.  At all.

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LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

18 hours ago, Cowgirl said:

I also hated how they wrote her character in the treasure hunt puzzle episode.  She was truly awful to Leonard.

I thought that was very true-to-life, and if any of the gang had actually participated in one while in college they would have known that's the kind of thing that would happen and told Raj it was a bad idea. Since they'd also have known that what they were doing was a road rally, rather than a scavenger hunt, maybe Amy was the only one willing to admit they had trouble finding a teammate.

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rmontro

rmontro

On 6/28/2017 at 5:08 PM, Cowgirl said:

I also hated how they wrote her character in the treasure hunt puzzle episode.  She was truly awful to Leonard. 

Leonard had it coming though.  As usual, he was wanting to drop out of the game because he was mooning over Penny.

Maybe they decided to turn Bernadette into a bitch to make her less likeable in comparison to Penny.  Penny already had several flaws, with the drinking and the promiscuity.  In fact, it looks like the creators enjoy giving the characters flaws, because they're all flawed.

Fans talk a lot about how Amy has changed, but Bernadette has also changed quite a bit since the first time we saw her.  As has been said, she used to be more sweet, plus she was kind of clueless because she didn't get Howard's jokes.

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wknt3

wknt3

On 7/3/2017 at 8:07 AM, rmontro said:

Maybe they decided to turn Bernadette into a bitch to make her less likeable in comparison to Penny.  Penny already had several flaws, with the drinking and the promiscuity.  In fact, it looks like the creators enjoy giving the characters flaws, because they're all flawed.

Fans talk a lot about how Amy has changed, but Bernadette has also changed quite a bit since the first time we saw her.  As has been said, she used to be more sweet, plus she was kind of clueless because she didn't get Howard's jokes.


Writers always enjoy flawed characters. Especially on a comedy since it's funnier when characters are flawed. The problem is when the flaws become their only personality traits and overwhelm their likeable aspects. I don't think it was deliberate in this case, more that they find something an actor does well and push it and push it further and further. Just as Kevin Sussman is good as hangdog so they turned Stuart into a pathetic loser and lost everything else about the original character, Melissa is good at doing bossy/mean so they've kept going in that direction and forgot that it wasn't only the visual of someone tiny being so dominant that made it funny, but the contrast - she was usually nice, but would snap when pushed too far or in a competitive situation. And in both cases it's made the characters less funny and less rounded. It's a shame as I think Bernadette would be a better character if they kept more of the original character and you didn't know what direction she was going to go in a given scene - was she going to be the sweet and supportive straight woman or was she going to go all scary and get the laughs? At least they didn't write her completelt into a corner like Stuart and Raj...

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rmontro

rmontro

19 hours ago, wknt3 said:

Melissa is good at doing bossy/mean so they've kept going in that direction and forgot that it wasn't only the visual of someone tiny being so dominant that made it funny, but the contrast 

Another reason they like the bossy/mean version of Bernadette is that it plays well with Howard's "mama's boy" character.  It's hard to imagine him not getting pushed around in his marriage.

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rmontro

rmontro

19 hours ago, Driad said:

Has Bernadette developed a sense of humor, or has she just stopped saying "I don't get it"?

I think she's just stopped saying "I don't get it".  She's gotten into the routine flow of the marriage now.  

Wasn't there an episode where she laughs at Howard's joke, and says something like "I don't understand the joke, but he gets so tickled when he tells it, he makes me laugh"?

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LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

On 7/6/2017 at 9:15 AM, rmontro said:

Wasn't there an episode where she laughs at Howard's joke, and says something like "I don't understand the joke, but he gets so tickled when he tells it, he makes me laugh"?

That was The Gorilla Experiment. Shortly after the opening credits, Penny says she doesn't think something Howard said was very funny, and Bernie agrees, but explains that "he just lights up when I laugh". So, she laughs to make him happy. There's a more recent scene in a restaurant where she tells him about only pretending to laugh and demonstrates.

CherryAmes

CherryAmes

On 7/5/2017 at 1:21 PM, Driad said:

Has Bernadette developed a sense of humor, or has she just stopped saying "I don't get it"?

Heh,  I'm not sure it's fair to suggest Bernadette didn't have a sense of humour.  Howard's jokes weren't really funny and I don't think the audience was supposed to do anything but roll their eyes at them most of the time!

rmontro

rmontro

18 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

Heh,  I'm not sure it's fair to suggest Bernadette didn't have a sense of humour.  Howard's jokes weren't really funny and I don't think the audience was supposed to do anything but roll their eyes at them most of the time!

True enough.  But there's a difference between not thinking a joke is funny, and not getting it.

OtterMommy

OtterMommy

2 hours ago, Frost said:

Melissa is pregnant and due this fall.  Are Howard and Bernadette going to have number 2 or will Bernadette be standing behind a lot of couches?  I know the character usually wears kind of flowy clothing, but that will only help for so long!

My guess is that it won't be an issue in the show.  If she's due this fall, that means that she was pregnant for the last part of filming for last season and, other than the fact that Bernadette put aside her tight cardigans for looser tops, there was no change (since Rausch is tiny, my guess is that she was showing fairly early on).  I mean, even with the wardrobe change, I never suspected Rausch was pregnant.   

Plus, Bernadette isn't such a big character that the show can't survive fewer scenes from her for a while.  Since this show films in front of an audience, my guess is that Bernadette will go on a business trip or something while Rausch is on maternity leave.  Again, no big deal.

Also, I really, really, really hate when characters are pregnant only because the actress is pregnant.  It is easy enough to work around (and I've found that audiences are more than willing to, ahem, turn a blind eye when necessary.

All that aside, congrats to Melissa Rausch and her husband!

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BlossomCulp

BlossomCulp

(edited)
7 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Also, I really, really, really hate when characters are pregnant only because the actress is pregnant.  It is easy enough to work around (and I've found that audiences are more than willing to, ahem, turn a blind eye when necessary.

It can also be really funny when the show winks at the audience with a pregnancy.  On the show The Nanny one of the actress's was pregnant and there were at least a few episodes where they would have her walk across the stage carrying a huge suitcase or potted plant or the like making it clear what they were trying to hide.   It was pretty funny :).

Edited by BlossomCulp
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Bort

Bort

(edited)
22 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

It can also be really funny when the show winks at the audience with a pregnancy.  On the show The Nanny one of the actress's was pregnant and there were at least a few episodes where they would have her walk across the stage carrying a huge suitcase or potted plant or the like making it clear what they were trying to hide.   It was pretty funny :).

I remember that. While carrying the huge props, the dialogue had the character going on about how Seinfeld did a poor job hiding Julia Louis-Dreyfuss's pregnancy. I found it hysterical -- so much that I still remember it after all these years.

Ha, they even mention it in the Wikipedia entry.

Edited by kariyaki
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Gbb

Gbb

On July 11, 2017 at 3:04 PM, OtterMommy said:

My guess is that it won't be an issue in the show.  If she's due this fall, that means that she was pregnant for the last part of filming for last season and, other than the fact that Bernadette put aside her tight cardigans for looser tops, there was no change (since Rausch is tiny, my guess is that she was showing fairly early on).  I mean, even with the wardrobe change, I never suspected Rausch was pregnant.   

I didn't suspect she was pregnant, but I did notice the loose, flowy tops. I just thought the show was doing a good job of acknowledging that a woman's body doesn't bounce right back to normal immediately after birth. 

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Driad

Driad

rmontro wrote in the “Tesla Recoil”episode thread:
 

Quote

Character growth in Bernadette's case would probably be becoming less of a bully, it wouldn't be necessary to eradicate it completely.  That said, I don't think they started her out as a bully, they kind of grafted that trait onto her later to flesh her out as a character.  It wouldn't bother me at all if they got rid of it.

Agreed.  Unfortunately the writers (or someone in charge) apparently thinks it is hilarious that teeny Bernadette is such a bully, so they write her that way a lot.  Another unfortunate case of Flanderization.

sigmaforce86

sigmaforce86

After seeing her picture in a Dancing With the Stars article I'm surprised, and a little disappointed, that Evanna Lynch was never cast to do a guest spot as Bernadette's sister (or cousin would be good too).  A fun little Harry Potter crossover and the resemblance is amazing; I would easily believe that these two are related.

 

 

 

 

evanna melissa pic.JPG

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