As a viewer, I owe the Big Bang Theory many hilarious moments. That is why I wasn’t surprise one bit at the amount of entertainment I had doing this research. While production was indeed helpful and some cast members more friendly than others, I actually learned many new facts from speaking with some surprising people, such as a cast member’s personal injury attorney and the studio’s electrician. The following will surprise and sometimes shock you!
Jim Parsons has never actually seen Star Trek.
Chuck Lorre created other great shows.
You may not realize it at first, but you’ve definitely seen The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre’s name in other TV shows. In case you need a little reminding, he’s also the creator of other comedies like Two and a Half Men and Dharma & Greg . He’s also one of the writers for Mike & Molly . Don’t be surprised if you see any similar story lines or scenes in these shows!
‘Bazinga’ originated from a grapefruit joke.
The term “Bazinga,” which means “I got you” on the show, actually originated from writer Stephen Engel, who used the term whenever he played practical jokes on other people. His favorite practical joke involved taping up a grapefruit in their office. Of course, if you always see it while brainstorming and writing, it’s bound to end up in the script somewhere! That’s what you call creativity and innovation, people!
Mayim Bialik, who plays Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, is actually a neuroscientist.
The cast has admitted to having a little trouble memorizing their lines and pretending that they actually know what they were talking about, especially when they have to say physics terms and other brainy words. But not Mayim Bialik! The actress, who plays Sheldon’s love interest Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on the show, is actually a neuroscientist and is the only cast member with a PhD! Bialik once admitted to correcting her script based on her own knowledge. Cool!
Sheldon Leonard is a famous TV Producer.
As it turns out, the names for two main characters Sheldon and Leonard was inspired by a real person. They were actually named after the late producer-director Sheldon Leonard Bershad, who was behind some of the most successful TV series in the 60s, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show . He passed in 1997 at the age of 89.
Penny was originally named Katie.
Penny’s character was actually the last lead to be developed after the creation of The Big Bang Theory . And in the first pilot, she was named Katie and was played by actress Amanda Walsh. You may remember Walsh from Disturbia, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Beauty & The Briefcase . Walsh was later replaced by Kaley Cuoco in the second pilot, which then also featured the new name for the character.
The characters learned how to play the instruments.
In some of the episodes, the lead characters had to play real instruments. Mayik Bialik actually had to learn how to play the harp for her character Amy and Jim Parsons had to learn the ancient theremin for his character Sheldon. Johnny Galecki, however, already knew how to play the piano and is even a cellist in real life. No wonder Kaley Cuoco was fascinated by him!
There is only one set of stairs.
You may have already guessed this, especially if you have any experience working in a TV or film studio. In some of the episodes where the lead characters conversed while coming down flights of stairs, the building floor set had to be redressed to make it look like they have reached a different floor. That’s a lot easier and more cost-effective than having multiple sets of stairs, or worse, having an actual building!
The Big Bang Theory is also a Rosanne reunion.
Back in the 90s, Johnny Galecki played one of the main characters on the hit American sitcom, Roseanne. A couple of episodes into the first season of The Big Bang Theory , he reunites with his Roseanne co-star Sara Gilbert, who used to play his girlfriend Darlene Connor but then played his ex-girlfriend Leslie on The Big Bang Theory . Sheldon’s mom, Laurie Metcalf, also played Jackie Harris on Roseanne . Aww!
Exec Producer, Bill Prady, has the Raj-women problem.
Raj’s problem of not being able to talk to women unless he’s drunk is not just something that the kooky writers came up with. Turns out, it was actually based on the executive producer Bill Prady’s real life problem. We hope he doesn’t have this problem anymore, or else the women who have learned about this little fact might assume that he’s always drunk!
Every episode is named after a scientific theory or episode.
Remember when Friends started their episode names with “The One With…”? Well, The Big Bang Theory also had their own trend for their episode titles — mouthful scientific theories or episodes, like “The Positive Negative Reaction,” “The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization” and “The Vartabedian Conundrum.” The only one that didn’t follow the trend is the first episode, which was titled, “Pilot.”
“Soft Kitty” is real!
Remember that song that Penny sings to Sheldon whenever he needed to relax and sleep? Again, it wasn’t just something that the writers composed. It was actually a real song that Bill Prady learned from his daughter’s preschool teacher from Australia. We hope the teacher is very proud! We also hope she got some sort of honorarium, at least.
We still don’t know Penny’s last name.
That’s right. Didn’t you realize it earlier? You can search all you want, Google her name even, but the show — or Cuoco herself — hasn’t given us any hints. We have absolutely no idea why the writers decided to leave her with just a mere nickname, as we assume that Penny is also just short for something. Penelope, perhaps?
Johnny Galecki’s glasses are fake.
We remember seeing Johnny Galecki on the red carpet and in other shows and we’d be a little weirded out by the absence of his ever-present black frames. That’s because he doesn’t actually have any eye problems and his glasses are just for his character Leonard. And because the studio lights will reflect on the frames, sometimes he wears them without the lenses.
There is a bee named in honor of the show.
If real life names and incidents get incorporated into the show, why shouldn’t the show also be able to affect real life? As it turns out, the species of bees found in Brazil, Euglossa bazinga, was named in 2013 after the widely-used catchphrase that Dr. Sheldon Cooper made famous on the show. No bazinga here, it’s a fact!
BBT set a record with back-to-back renewals.
We all know how hard it is for modern TV shows to keep going after a couple of seasons. Sometimes, they don’t even make it past two! But for The Big Bang Theory , the entire hardworking cast and crew are incredibly lucky. To date, they’re the only modern scripted show to ever be honored with three-season renewals… twice! As of 2016, they’re already halfway through the 10th season and there are even talks of them being renewed for its 11th season. Hooray!
Kaley Cuoco Suffered From A Nasal Spray Addiction
In 2014 Cuoco underwent a surgery in her nose, which was immediately rumored to be a nose job – but was actually a sinus surgery. The reason for it? Kaley confessed on The Ellen Degeneres Show that she used to be addicted to nasal spray for several years, and the surgery was really to repair the damage done to her sinuses due to the addiction. She also said she’s surprised that there aren’t ant photos of her snorting the spray. So are we!
Mayim Bialik was referenced in a Blossom joke.
It seems the writers were already cluing us in on Mayim Balik possibly joining the cast long before she ever joined the show. In an episode where they were playing bowling, Raj’s script included suggesting the actress (as herself) to join their bowling team. Guess she did more than that, she became a part of the main cast for the years to come… and even became a love interest for Sheldon!
Bernadette’s voice isn’t real.
We’re sure you were also intrigued by Bernadette’s tiny voice. For those who tried to stalk the actress Melissa Rauch and searched for videos of her, you may have been surprised to hear that her real voice is a lot different from Bernadette’s. That’s because she actually made up Bernadette’s voice and based it on her own mother’s. Not sure if that’s a compliment or not!
The show wasn’t originally called The Big Bang Theory.
As with any other TV show, writers and producers have a long list of temporary names before finally deciding on a final title that’s both striking and easy for viewers to remember. The Big Bang Theory seems to be the perfect choice but believe it or not, it was initially named Lenny, Penny and Kenny . Ack. Aren’t you so glad that they changed it?!
Jim Parsons was cast on the spot.
The show’s creator Chuck Lorre himself conducted the interview when Jim Parsons came in for his second. Lorre was already determined to get Parsons for the role of Dr. Sheldon Cooper so when Parsons nailed the interview, Lorre offered him the job right then and there. He obviously made the right choice because Parsons is a brilliant actor!
Howard Wolowitz is named after a real person.
Like Sheldon and Leonard’s name, Howard Wolowitz’s name was actually inspired by a real person. Turns out co-creator Bill Prady also had something to do with this one and named actor Simon Helberg’s geeky self-professed “ladies’ man” character after one of his (Prady’s) former colleagues at a computer company that he used to work for.
The show has an official science advisor.
When you have a show that frequently references scientific terms, theories and experiments, you’ll definitely need the script to be verified by someone who actually knows these things. Of course, The Big Bang Theory has that person and his name is David Saltzberg. As a science advisor, he helps the writers with the scripts and is also present at every taping session so he can help edit or answer last minute questions that the cast or director may have.
Despite discussions on the topic, Sheldon Cooper does not have Asperger’s.
For a couple of times throughout the show, it was argued and established that Jim Parson’s character Sheldon Cooper has Asperger Syndrome, a type of autism that affects social skills. According to the writers, Cooper doesn’t have any disorders behind his difficulty in social interaction and nonverbal communication. That’s just the way his character is, or as they described it, “Sheldony.”
It’s become a “thing” for real scientists to be featured on the show’s whiteboard.
The Big Bang Theory proved to be one-of-a-kind, with many scientists tuning into the show and finally giving American sitcoms a chance. Better than that, many have actually participated by pitching their own calculations and results to the show, hoping that it will be the next to appear on the cast’s whiteboards. What a way to rake in the attention and smart fans!
The Big Bang writers typically don’t plot the season out too far in advance.
Unlike writers of many other TV shows, the writers of The Big Bang Theory don’t actually plan their plots in too far in advance. Instead, they go with the flow and see what inspires them. Besides, Johnny Galecki said he believes there are still a lot of stories to tell about the lead characters. No wonder the show has lasted this long since airing in 2007!
Kevin Sussman (who plays comic shop owner Stuart Bloom) actually worked at a comic book store in New York.
Turns out, Kevin Sussman had a lot of real life experience to back up his acting on The Big Bang Theory . He plays the geeky Stuart Bloom, the owner of the comic book store that the scientists (and their network of fellow geeky acquaintances) often frequent for their almost daily comic fix. In real life, he owns the New York comic book store, Jim Hanley’s Universe.
Science enrollment in universities has increased since the show aired.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons behind the success of the show is its positive effect on viewers. Because it references and exhibits a lot of scientific studies and terms in a relatable and sometimes hilarious ways, its fans have become more interested in science. The University of Michigan physics department, for one, has reportedly seen a 150% increase in student admissions since the show aired.
The show wasn’t pitched in a traditional manner.
Most TV shows pitch their plots to their preferred networks; that’s the usual process before any of our favorite television series even gets the go signal for a pilot. But for The Big Bang Theory, the actors went ahead and performed the script for the President and CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves. It was a risky move. Fortunately, he liked it, and for good reason!
TBBT actually consulted with NASA for Wolowitz’s space story line.
Remember that part where Howard Wolowitz had to leave earth to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to outer space? It wasn’t just a dream concept that the writers brought to our screens. As with the rest of their script, the writers consulted and verified their story with NASA in order to make this part of the story line as authentic as possible. Way too cool!
The Big Bang Theory is the most watched TV series in America.
Unlike in the 90s, we admittedly have way too many TV shows on air nowadays that it’s almost hard to keep track of them or at least know which one’s the most watched and loved. Well, we’re telling you now — The Big Bang Theory is actually the number 1 most watched TV series in America with consistently over 19 million viewers since their 7th season aired in 2014.
There was a Big Bang copycat show.
Perhaps because of the huge success of the show, it birthed a Belarusian version in Eastern Europe titled The Theorists in 2010. It became a local hit, as expected, and was a blatant copy of The Big Bang Theory with its title, story line, and even its cast of characters named Sheldon, Leo, Hovard, Raj. Chuck Lorre and CBS quickly took legal action against the show. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before the show stopped airing as the actors themselves refused to continue after finding out that the entire show was plagiarized.
TBBT creator Chuck Lorre shows ‘vanity cards’ at the end of each show.
The show’s creator Chuck Lorre is actually very present and hands on when it comes to his shows, it seems. You may have noticed that, at the end of every show and in between sponsored ads, he shows a lengthy excerpt of his own writing on the screen — just for a second, which is obviously not long enough for the audience to read them. They could, if they have a copy and put it on pause!
Penny’s recurring purse.
You may not have noticed this, but it seems Penny left most of her bags when she moved of her boyfriend’s apartment because during the first and second seasons, she used the same maroon shoulder bag. She had it on the way to work at the Cheesecake Factory, whenever she went on dates or when she hung out with the boys. Thank goodness her wardrobe assistant decided to do something about it!
Kaley Cuoco missed filming two episodes of season four because of a broken leg.
You may have missed Penny in season four after not seeing her in two consecutive episodes. This is because the actress, who’s actually an avid equestrian, fell off her horse during her riding lesson and had to miss the filming for two episodes in order for her to recover. She later went on The Ellen Show and detailed the accident, sharing that the horse actually stepped on her leg and heard her bones crack. She only realized it was broken when she saw that her foot was facing her. Ack!
Jim Parsons is somewhat different to Sheldon.
Jim Parsons’ character Sheldon can’t drive so he spends a lot of time bugging his friends to drive him around. In real life, however, Parsons gets motion sickness when he rides cars so he actually prefers to be the driver. Ah, just another stark difference between an actor and the character he plays on television. (Did we mention he’s also gay in real life? Yep.)
Sheldon wears tops with 73 on and Jim Parsons was born in 1973.
We’re not sure if it’s a coincidence, but both his wardrobe assistant and the show’s writers have had Sheldon wear shirts with the number 73 on it and mention it as his favorite number. It happens to be Jim Parsons’ favorite number in real life, so maybe he suggested it to the staff? Wouldn’t hurt to incorporate it anyway.
Jim and Kaley are the world’s highest paid TV actors.
As mentioned earlier, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco are now currently the highest paid television actor and actress. They’re currently earning a whopping $1 million for each episode so that’s easily $24 million for a single season. What more when the 11th season officially gets approved?! Congratulations, guys. You truly deserve it!
The theme song was written by Canada’s Barenaked Ladies.
Sing it with us, “… Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery, it all started with The Big Bang… Bang! ” The super catchy and fitting song was actually performed and recorded by the Canadian rock band, The Barenaked Ladies, who first rose to fame in the late 90s to early 2000s. (Yes, they’re still active.) That’s another reason for 90s kids to love this show!
Kayley presented Jim Parsons with his first Golden Globe in 2011.
Over the years, Jim Parsons has amassed a handful of awards for his memorable role as Dr. Sheldon Cooper, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series! In 2011, he won his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a TV Series Musical or Comedy, which was presented to him by his co-star Kaley Cuoco. Truly well deserved!
Penny’s character was originally going to be a hard-drinking makeup artist.
Penny’s character was developed to be a Cheesecake Factory employee and aspiring actress. Initially, however, she was supposed to be an alcoholic who made a living by becoming a makeup artist. We can imagine it, but we suppose it might be tedious to always include alcohol in scenes. She might come off as a bad example and her lines as a drunk lady might be a little more difficult to compose so thank goodness for the last minute change!
