PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2018: THE BIG BANG THEORY {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 35th William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television's creative community. This PALEYFEST 2018 seminar honors "The Big Bang Theory," the comedy series about a quartet of nerdy scientists in Pasadena and their attempts to master the cooler aspects of life and love.
Jessica Radloff (West Coast Entertainment Correspondent, Glamour magazine) introduces a clip from an upcoming episode, "The Gates Excitation," in which Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) struggles to focus on topics other than her children as the guys excitedly scheme to meet legendary computer programmer Bill Gates, who is in town on business. When they track down Gates at his hotel, an overwhelmed Leonard struggles to maintain his composure. After the clip, Radloff moderates the following panelists: executive producer/co-creator/director/writer Chuck Lorre; executive producer/co-creator/writer Bill Prady; executive producers/writers Steven Molaro and Steve Holland; and cast members Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), and Kaley Cuoco (Penny Hofstadter).
The panelists touch on such topics as: their efforts to make small talk with guest star Gates; the "true honor" of meeting the late Stephen Hawking, who appeared in several episodes, and their sadness at learning of his death while still on-set; memories of the show's early days back in 2006, including Cuoco's awe at Galecki's then-brand-new iPhone; Galecki and Parsons' chemistry read and drunken "accelerated bonding" upon being cast as longtime best friends; reshooting the pilot episode after rewrites and additions of several supporting characters; Lorre's longtime friendship with Galecki, who appeared as David Healy on "Roseanne"; memories of Parsons' "staggering" audition and the producers' fear that he could not replicate his performance; coming up with the characters' names, including the tribute to Hollywood producer Sheldon Leonard, Nayyar's selection of Raj's culturally accurate name, and the specifics behind "Amy Farrah Fowler" (Mayim Bialik); Cuoco's fond memories of "The Scavenger Vortex," the 2013 episode involving an elaborate scavenger hunt; Parsons' enjoyment of laundry-room scenes with Cuoco; memories of Sheldon and Penny's shocking romantic scene in a 2015 episode – revealed to be a dream sequence; the "time-capsule" effect of catching old episodes in rerun form; exploring unique aspects of parenthood with Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette; Raj's personal evolution and Nayyar's "Christmas-morning" enthusiasm upon receiving new scripts; the realistic ups and downs of Penny and Leonard's longtime relationship and marriage; Cuoco's disinterest in the couple having children and interest in Penny's life as a modern working woman; the decision not to show Howard and Bernadette's two children on screen, with a funny "Friends" comparison from Parsons; Sheldon and Amy's upcoming wedding, including hints about their bachelor and bachelorette parties; their determination to secure busy actress Laurie Metcalf to return as Sheldon's mother Mary in the wedding episode; how the non-traditional couple will change after marriage; the actors' exasperation with the stairs in the apartment set and the long-running joke about the broken elevator; ideas about the show's eventual conclusion, including Galecki's suggestion of a "Newhart"-like dream reveal involving Sara Gilbert, who played his love interest on both "Big Bang" and "Roseanne"; and their feelings on the show's longevity and social impact, including their hope of inspiring young scientists and the creation of the The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment for science, technology, mathematics, and engineering students at UCLA.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: Raj's memorable "romantic" scene with Penny; praise for how the show "makes science cool"; Parsons' praise for the writers in creating his breakout character; how consultant Dr. David Saltzberg maintains the show's accurate depictions of science; Jerry O'Connell's upcoming appearance as Sheldon's brother George Jr.; Cuoco's description of her father's faithful presence at every episode's taping; and a funny story about Radloff's embarrassing red-carpet encounter with Galecki at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 8:35 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 132052
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rene Reyes … Host
- Jessica Radloff … Moderator
- Kunal Nayyar … Panelist
- Jim Parsons … Panelist
- Johnny Galecki … Panelist
- Kaley Cuoco … Panelist
- Bill Prady … Panelist
- Steve Holland … Panelist
- Steven Molaro … Panelist
- Chuck Lorre … Panelist
- Mayim Bialik
- Bill Gates
- Sara Gilbert
- Stephen Hawking
- Simon Helberg
- Sheldon Leonard
- Laurie Metcalf
- Jerry O'Connell
- Melissa Rauch
- David Saltzberg