Is Big Bang Theory reaching Friends status?
Stefano92
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Thought of this because of the performance of the show since around 2009, where it has been getting 16-18m constantly, and I am sure it's the first sitcom since Friends to constantly get these ratings continuously. BBT hit 20m the last series too.
Big Bang has actually generally done better than the first 5 series of Friends which is very interesting. It also has repeat power. In the US currently the repeats are getting 8-9m viewers, which is a few million more what some new US dramas are getting on the same day!
Do you agree? Is this going to be remembered as a classic like Friends?
Big Bang has actually generally done better than the first 5 series of Friends which is very interesting. It also has repeat power. In the US currently the repeats are getting 8-9m viewers, which is a few million more what some new US dramas are getting on the same day!
Do you agree? Is this going to be remembered as a classic like Friends?
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It is a good show but I wouldn't call it a classic like Friend's to be honest I am actually starting to get bored with it.
Some impressing viewing figures there.
Very impressive how it has grown by average.
Season 1- 8.31m
Season 2- 10.0m
Season 3- 14.14m
Season 4- 13.14m
Season 5- 15.82m
Season 6- 18.68m
Though arguably got less funny and more Friends like as it's gone on.
I still enjoy it but the earlier seasons are much better in my opinion.
For me the earlier seasons of Big Bang were a lot better.
In terms of longevity and ratings though, then yes, it's certainly emulating Friends, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it end up doing 10 seasons or more. If the ratings stay so high or even continue to increase this year, then it could easily get a multi-season pick up sooner rather than later. And I hope it does - it's the only US show I currently make the time to watch!
As an international tv hit, no where near Friends. Remember when Friends would get 5 million on Channel 4.
Where TBBT is way behind Friends is being a cultural hit. All women wanted the Rachael hair cut, it made big coffee cups fashionable, it helped the whole coffee shop culture explode, everyone bought the theme song on CD, eveyone would talk at work about what was going on with Ross and Rachael. TBBT has none of this, and to me, though i enjoy it, i cant stop comparing parts of it to Friends.
Perhaps not in terms of numbers, but TV viewing habits have changed, and TBBT is the highest rating show on E4, and usually gets among the highest digital channel ratings. So it may not be as huge as Friends in terms of viewer numbers, but I think that's a sign of the times more than anything else.
Agree. Friends was to Ch4 what BBT is to E4. The two most successful things on Ch4 were Friends and Big Brother, the two most successful things on E4 is Big Bang Theory and The Inbetweeners (when it was in it's last series).
Big Bang Theory constantly gets the highest multichannel rating of the week for any channel when a new episode is on, so it is extremely popular here. If they showed new episodes on Thurs/Fri on Ch4, I am sure they could get 2.5m-3.0m every week. (around 3.5m officials)
BBT got 3.3m officials for it's first episode of S6 here and averaged around 2.6m for the whole series.
But I hate the Big Bang Theory, it is a really poor sitcom. I don't see the appeal.
It's really not a poor sitcom
You have done your homework. Sheldon would be so proud of you
It started fine. Began slipping during season 4. But the end of season 5 was unwatchable, and I haven't returned since...
I also think there's a small debate to be had over the "appropriateness" of Sheldon as a character. The writer's appear to be using Asperger's as a model, even making thinly veiled jokes about it. And then denying all knowledge when questioned on it, presumably to try and avoid accountability.
Yet according to aforementioned audience figures it's become watchable for more people.
Clearly, although I didn't explicitly state it, that was personal opinion. Perhaps it was the mainstreaming of the show (by which I mean the changes it made to become popular) that I didn't like...
I also find that I can rewatch an episode once or twice before being bored with it unlike Friends which I can watch over and over.
But dont forget a lot of the extra viewers would have been people who would had seen it for a first time in syndication, and decided to watch the new episodes.