“Chinese” reference on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory Season 3 Premiere

By jozjozjoz | Tuesday, September 22, 2009 | 9 Comments

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Because I love geeks and because I love geek humor even more, one of my favorite TV shows is The Big Bang Theory on CBS. Last night, Season 3 started with our scientist heroes (Sheldon, Leonard, Wolowitz, and Koothrappali) returning from a research expedition to the North Pole.

I’m really not writing about the storyline so much as I am about a specific line that was uttered by the character of Sheldon’s mother, played by funny lady Laurie Metcalf. I would have shared a link to the clip except CBS doesn’t put full episodes online and the scene isn’t one of the featured clips. At the risk of ruining the line for people who haven’t seen the episode, the episode progresses so that Sheldon and his mom are at the dinner table and Sheldon thanks his mom for carving a smiley face into his grilled cheese sandwich. Sheldon’s mom replies, “His eyes came out a little thin, but you can just pretend he’s Chinese.” The line, delivered perfectly by Laurie Metcalf, made me LOL and pause the TiVo so I could stop laughing before moving on. Seeing as the show is produced by Chuck Lorre & gang, I know that the humor is written specifically to push the envelope as far as possible. (Lorre’s vanity cards routinely refers to things which the CBS censors made them change or take out.)

Did you see the episode and catch this line? What did you think?

(Note: The video above is from an old episode from where Sheldon is learning Mandarin. Especially hilarious if you understand Mandarin, I think! Special props for the final scene where Sheldon uses his mangled Chinese on the guy in the Chinese restaurant, played by veteran actor James Hong, who I met last week! Mr. Hong told me he’s been working on “Kung Fu Panda (2): The Kaboom of Doom!“)

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TBBTLover

I love that show as well, just love watching it with my family. Season 4 will be coming out on next September, I can't wait already :D

Jeff

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jamesmason66

All episodes of HIMYM are streaming at http://howimetyourmotherstreaming.com for free. you can watch it online :-) sweet !!

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jamesmason66

All episodes of HIMYM are streaming at http://howimetyourmotherstreaming.com for free. you can watch it online :-) sweet !!

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thile

I love big bang theory..one of the best shows out there..gosh i hate reality shows, i wished t.v would go back to showing real t.v shows like this one...how i met your mother is another great show..and rules of engagement...lol..
I was kind of offended, but sheldon's mom IS from texas...sighs...ha ha.
..btw, i just popped in here from reading joz's yelp reviews...great thing going in here! I"m a fan!!

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erika888

If I thought about it for a while I would find it offensive, but my first thought when it comes to deliberately offensive racial humor (particularly when it pulls out washed-out, overdone stereotypes) is "...way to be original". I don't find it remotely funny.

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jolene123

To be honest, I was a little offended by that comment too. Although I suppose the biggest offense should have been Texans, the way that they stereotype Asians (by being stereotyped themselves, ironically...)

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LindaChan

That's a great point you bring up John, about whether having thin eyes is a defining characteristic of being Chinese.

Joz, I've never seen this show, so thanks for posting this! And yeah, I was offended by this, but that's just moi. :)

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Natalie Woo

Heh, I'm not a fan of this show, but the "Aiyah/Oy Vey" translation in the subtitles made me laugh out loud.

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johnklin

I am a fan of "The Big Bang Theory" and did catch the premier last night. Actor Jim Parsons does an *excellent* job being Sheldon - he's got the most difficult acting job of the whole crew crew - with his elongated dialogue usually full of jargon.

I did catch the line u00e2u0080u009cHis eyes came out a little thin, but you can just pretend heu00e2u0080u0099s Chinese." and thought it was funny, if slightly offensive. Just because one's eyes are thin, that makes you Chinese? Is that the biggest defining characters of Chinese people?

Thanks for the video for the Sheldon is learning Mandarin - I must have missed that epsiode. Pretty funny. James Hong is certainly a Hollywood veteran - he's almost become a stereotype for being a character actor for whenever you need a Chinese person in a sitcom or movie.

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