The first season of the American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...

'' was originally aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from September 24, 2007, to May 19, 2008, over 17 episodes. An unaired pilot also exists. The Season 1 DVD came without a

gag reel A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms o ...

and is, so far, the only ''Big Bang Theory'' DVD set not to have one. The reissued

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

, was released July 10, 2012, and includes a gag reel that is exclusive to the set. The episodes on Blu-ray are all in remastered surround sound, whereas the DVD version had stereo. Two of the main cast, Sheldon and Leonard, are named after actor, director, and producer

Sheldon Leonard Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. Early life Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-clas ...

Johnny Galecki John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms ''Ro ...

and

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and ...

both selected the episode "The Hamburger Postulate" as a Primetime Emmy Award submission for

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emm ...

and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively, at the

60th Primetime Emmy Awards The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the newly opened Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California to honor the best in U.S. prime time television. The ceremony was hosted by Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Ma ...

, but both ended up not receiving a nomination.

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...

selected the episode "The Pancake Batter Anomaly" as a Primetime Emmy Award submission for

at the

, but ended up not receiving a nomination.

Overview

The lives of physicists Dr. Leonard Hofstadter and Dr. Sheldon Cooper are shaken up when an attractive young aspiring actress from Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

named Penny moves into the apartment across the hall from theirs. Leonard begins to become hopelessly enamored of Penny, while she feels only platonic affection for him. She finds herself putting up with his closest and ever-present friends: his roommate, Sheldon, who appears borderline obsessive-compulsive and has a relentless need to assert his intellectual supremacy; engineering whiz Howard Wolowitz, a desperately sex-crazed

mama's boy Mother's boy, also commonly and informally mummy's boy or mama's boy, is a term for a man seen as having an unhealthy dependence on his mother at an age at which he is expected to be self-reliant (e.g. live on his own, be economically independent) ...

who thinks that his 1960s-style clothing and hairstyle give him an air of cool hipness; and Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali, who cannot speak to her as he is too shy to talk to women (a case of

selective mutism Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder in which a person who is otherwise capable of speech becomes unable to speak when exposed to specific situations, specific places, or to specific people, one or multiple of which serving as triggers. ...

), unless intoxicated in which case he becomes a smooth talking yet highly overly aggressive womanizing flirt. During Season One, Sheldon loses his job for insulting his new boss, finds his ego bruised by a child prodigy, and becomes unable to bear being part of a lie that Leonard has told, and Penny and Leonard go out on a date in the season finale. It is the only season not to feature John Ross Bowie as the recurring character Barry Kripke and Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom.

Cast

Main

as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter *

as Dr. Sheldon Cooper *

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (200 ...

as Penny *

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Sup ...

Howard Wolowitz Howard Joel Wolowitz, M.Eng. is a fictional character on the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by actor Simon Helberg. Among the four main male characters in the show, Howard is distinctive for being an engineer—rather ...

Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). Nayyar als ...

as Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali

Recurring

Brian Patrick Wade Brian Patrick Wade (born June 9, 1978) is an American actor and physical trainer, best known for his television roles as Capt. Craig Schwetje in the mini-series '' Generation Kill'', as Kurt (Penny's former love interest) in ''The Big Bang Theo ...

as Kurt *

Vernee Watson Vernee Christell Watson-Johnson (née Watson; born September 28, 1949) is an American actress, author, and acting coach. Watson-Johnson is best known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and as ...

as Althea *

Leslie Winkle The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', cre ...

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

as Mary Cooper *

Mark Harelik Marcus Frank Harelik (born June 5, 1951) is an American television, film, and stage actor, and playwright. Early life Harelik was born in Hamilton, Texas. In 1909, Harelik's Russian Jewish grandfather, Haskell Harelik—upon whom Harelik's ...

as Dr.

Eric Gablehauser The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', cre ...

Carol Ann Susi Carol Ann Susi (February 2, 1952 – November 11, 2014) was an American actress whose career spanned 40 years. Her best known roles were probably her first and last; she debuted as the recurring character of semi-competent but likable intern Mo ...

Mrs. Wolowitz The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', creat ...

Brian George Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019 ...

as Dr. V.M. Koothrappali *

Alice Amter Alice Amter (born 11 May 1966) Mrs. Koothrappali

Guest

Brooke D'Orsay Brooke D'Orsay (born February 17, 1982) is a Canadian actress, best known for voicing the character of Caitlin Cooke on the Teletoon animated series ''6teen'' (2004–2010) and Brooke Mayo in the 2005 movie '' King's Ransom''. For American audie ...

as Christy * James Hong as Chen *

Sarayu Rao Sarayu Rao (born March 7, 1975), also known as Sarayu R. Blue, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Angela on the Fox sitcom '' Sons of Tucson'', as well as Dr. Sydney Napur on David E. Kelley's ''Monday Mo ...

as Lalita Gupta *

DJ Qualls Donald Joseph Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in films including ''Road Trip'' (2000), ''The New Guy'' (2002) and '' The Core'' (2003), and for several appearances on television series such as ''B ...

as Toby Loobenfeld * Austin Lee as Dennis Kim * Andrew Walker as Mike *

Courtney Henggeler Courtney Healy Henggeler (born December 11, 1978) is an American actress known for her starring role as Amanda LaRusso in the Netflix comedy-drama television series ''Cobra Kai''. She is also known as playing the adult version of Sheldon Coope ...

as Missy Cooper

Production

The program's initial pilot, developed for the 2006/07 television season, was substantially different from its current form. From the later series, only Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons were in the cast, and their across-the-hall neighbor Katie was envisioned as "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior". Katie was played by actress

Amanda Walsh Amanda Walsh (born October 3, 1981) is a Canadian actress, writer, and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic. Early life Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec. She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec. Career Walsh star ...

. They also had a female friend called Gilda (played by

Iris Bahr Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

). The program's original theme music was also different, using

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

's hit "

She Blinded Me with Science "She Blinded Me with Science" is a song by the English musician Thomas Dolby, released in 1982. It was first released as a single in the UK in October 1982. It was subsequently included on the EP '' Blinded by Science'' and the 1983 re-release of ...

". The program was not picked up, but the creators were given an opportunity to revise it, bringing in the remaining leading cast and retooling the show to its current format. The original unaired pilot has never been released on any official format, but copies of it have circulated online. The second pilot of ''The Big Bang Theory'' was directed by James Burrows, who did not continue with the show. This reworked pilot led to a 13-episode order by CBS on May 14, 2007. Prior to its airing on CBS, the pilot episode was distributed free of charge on iTunes. The show premiered September 24, 2007, and was picked up for a full 22-episode season on October 19, 2007. Production on the show was halted on November 6, 2007, due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which the same thing happened in The Office Season Four, only to be replaced by a short-lived sitcom, ''

Welcome to The Captain ''Welcome to The Captain'' (previously known as ''The Captain'') is an American sitcom television series created, executive produced and directed by John Hamburg. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen also serve as executive producers. The show is about ...

'' on February 4, 2008, but returning on March 17, 2008, in an earlier time slot with nine new episodes.

David Saltzberg David Saltzberg is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles. Saltzberg received a Sloan Fellowship, NSF Career Award, and Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Award while an assistant profes ...

, a professor of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, checks scripts and provides dialogue, math equations and diagrams used as props. Clips from the season finale, "The Tangerine Factor", gained popularity on the Chinese video-sharing website

Tudou Tudou, Inc. () is a Chinese video-sharing website headquartered in Shanghai, China, where users can upload, view and share video clips. Tudou went live on April 15, 2005 and by September 2007 served over 55 million videos each day.Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 29 reviews, with the critics consensus reading "''The Big Bang Theory'' brings a new class of character to mainstream television, but much of the comedy feels formulaic and stiff." It also received a 57-point score on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on 23 reviews.

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer Pr ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' gave the show a positive review, saying "''Big Bang'' is the funniest new sitcom of the season". Robert Bianco of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' also gave the show a positive review, saying "This may not be the sitcom breakthrough for which we've all been hoping, but Lorre has produced a first episode that leaves you eager to try the second". David Bianculli of '' New York Daily News'' criticized the dialogue, particularly when the male characters explain jokes, writing that "People tuning in to ''Big Bang'' may not all be Mensa members, but they won't all be idiots, either", Henry Goldblatt of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' criticized the premise and plot of early episodes, writing that "To call this a one-joke sitcom would be a stretch", and Tim Goodman of ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' criticized the stereotypes presented in the characters, and wrote that "the writing here is so moronic and the situations so forced and mundane".

References

;General references * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Bang Theory, The 2007 American television seasons 2008 American television seasons The Big Bang Theory seasons