More views from Pasadena

As always, life disrupts intentions to post more regularly, so I'm finally just going to post more of the best views from the Christmas party shared last time. Above, just a little bit more of a view of Penny's kitchen than we usually get.
I'm not sure how many of these holiday decorations were there for the holiday episode this year, "The Maternal Congruence," and how many were placed by the set decorators (at least one of whom was in attendance) for the party. (Does Penny know the bald guy in the frame?)

I threw this photo in to show you (well, just barely) one of the rarest Big Bang Theory

items out there: a clear-front refrigerator that sits in the back of the stage, with a "Big Bang Theory"panel on top where the brand name usually goes. Sorry it's so dark, but I really like this sort of thing. There's one (well, probably only one) in the entire world. It would go great in a fan's rec room, right by this custom ping pong table Kuyal Nayyar tweeted this picture of awhile ago. Aside from a prop, where are you going to find anything rarer than these?

Sort of a more normal angle from Leonard's desk towards the door - looks like the desk has some extra party related ribbons and candy on it.

Finally I lightened up a bit this view from high in the audience area, showing the sets laid out exactly as you see them on TV - Penny's apartment to the left, the hall, then the living room and kitchen. Looks like Sheldon's bedroom is off to the right of that, in the same location where I've seen the college cafeteria, and the lecture room Sheldon and Leonard came to blows in. To the left of Penny's apartment I've seen Leonard's room ("It's cooler when girls aren't looking at it.), the Physics Bowl, and Wolowitz's bedroom. Oh yeah, and once, the lobby of the building where Penny and Sheldon got their mail was being filmed way off to the left, out of sight of the audience.

That's all for now - just been wanting to get back to posting more regularly, of course. I hope you enjoy these views.

From the Desk of Doctor Sheldon Cooper: Literally

Some departments at Warner Brothers this year had the unique pleasure of holding their holiday parties on Stage 25, home of The Big Bang Theory set! I was not able to attend - employees only for these functions, which is fair - but someone very special to me went, and was able to share some terrific photography with me. These are just a couple of choice photos, I have plenty more to share later.

From up closer than we ever get to see Sheldon's desk, a view of superhero figures high in the kitchen that I'd never seen before - Batgirl, Superman, and possibly Black Canary look on frpom above the cookie jar made famous in "The Bat Jar Conjecture" - one of the episodes I got to see live. The folder - usually visible on Sheldon's desk right where it is here, is labelled "Hemoglobin test results." If I didn't know about the random nature of such set dressing, I'd be wondering what our favorite physicist is doing mucking around in the life sciences?

In this wide study of Sheldon's room, I'm glad to see one of the "House of Secrets" posters that used to be visible in the back has moved to a spot on his bedside not generally seen on the show. I believe these are called "fly"walls - if I remember correctly - extensions of the set often containing details never seen on screen. Don't worry about the photo on Sheldon's bedside, by the way - it's not a prop from the show, but was placed there as a gag by one of the gals taking pictures at the party.

Happy Holidays to all who find their way here - Big Bang fans and Michael Jackson researchers from all over the world alike. And also, happy holidays to my family and friends who make it here, and those of you afflicted with that interest called "collecting" that enjoy hearing about my struggles with the accumulative urge.

Happy holidays!!

The Persistence of Vision Principle

I've said before that I watch pretty much anything that's animated. While that's not entirely true, more discerning viewers than I might have missed a surprise appearance by Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny from The Big Bang Theory on tonight's episode of Family Guy, "Business Guy." To summarize:

When Peter's father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt is in a coma, Peter ends up in charge of his company, Pewterschmidt Industries. When Carter recovers, Peter stays in control of the company and as Carter's boss, forces him to do embarrassing things, like go cubicle to cubicle inviting coworkers to come over for a Big Bang Theory viewing party.

When no one wants to come over, Peter still makes him throw the party. Even his wife won't watch with Carter, but we get to see a clip of the show:

Sheldon: I'll have you know that I can bench press over 630 nanograms.

Leonard: Sheldon, that's less than two pounds.

Sheldon: Sounded better the way I said it.

Carter (watching): HA ha ha ha! Ohh, when I tell that joke at work tomorrow, people are going to be sorry they didn't come. This, this was a good night.

Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons recorded their characters voices! I think they did a pretty good job of animating the look of the living room set, too. But is this show taking a cheap shot at BBT? No, for Family Guy, this is a virtual love letter. And besides, at the end of the episode:

Carter invites Dr. House (actually voiced by Hugh Laurie) who he and Lois caught posing as a swamp monster, over to his house next week for a viewing of The Big Bang Theory.

Lois: Daddy, you don't have to do that any more.

Carter: I know, I know. I like it now.

You see, they were posing as swamp monsters to trick Peter into giving back control of the company. If you watch Family Guy, you understand. If you don't, but you want to see the BBT guys animated, you should be able to catch it soon on Adult Swim or Hulu.

Friends to Big Bang Theory in Two Moves...

I've always been a fan of obscure television. It's like, the harder a show is to see, the more interested I am in it. The less people have heard about it, the more I want to know about it. (Remember Struck By Lightning? The sitcom starring Jack Elam as the Frankenstein monster? No?). Whe I was a kid, with my first Beta VCR, the Syracuse papers used to always say on the tv page when a show was airing for the last time - and I would always tape it. That's why I have a Beta tape somewhere with the last episode of AfterMASH on it, and one episode of Dreams, the 80's trippy music video inspired dramedy starring John Stamos and Jami Gertz as members of a struggling rock & roll band. That's also probably why I bought the DVD set of the first season of Joey, the Friends spin-off starring Matt LeBlanc in the continuing adventures of actor Joey Tribbiani, moved to Los Angeles.

Of course, I also got it because of my interest in filming locations. The apartment house shown as Joey's on the show was less than a block from the apartment I lived in up until a year ago. There's a kind of a kick in seeing a real life location you know on TV in fictionalized form. (Notice how much bluer the sky is on tv....hmmmm)

As an aside, I want to relay a story Penn Jillette told on his radio about the time he guest starred on a fourth or fifth season episode of Friends. He said it was really interesting to observe the cast. They were all running around stressing about holding onto the level of fame they had obtained on the show. Only one of them was just enjoying every minute of it: Matt LeBlanc. So, in a way, it's kind of nice that he was the one that ended up with his own program for two more years than the rest of them.

Just recently I revisited Joey through the DVD set for the first time since they aired. I was kind of surprised to find that Joey's nephew Michael, played by Paulo Costanzo, really reminded me of the guys on The Big Bang Theory. Michael is a grad student at Cal Tech, and the humor comes out of his contrast with the less bright Joey:

Michael: Actually, right now we're designing a mock up for an escape module from the International Space Station.

Joey: (laughing) What are you, a rocket scientist?

Michael: (deadpan) Yes.

Sound familiar? But the similarity doesn't end there:

Notice that Michael tends to dress in a wide range of cool but nerdy t-shirts. Look familiar?

Well, I figured this unexpected little similarity between a fairly forgotten show and TV's new number one comedy might be fun about. I was more surprised, though, when I got to the third episode: Joey and the Party. In it, Joey and Michael throw a party to get to know their neighbors, and Michael's longtime rival Seth Tobin shows up with a girlfriend - meaning Michael is the last guy from his school to have a serious relationship. (Plot). So check out Seth when he shows up at the party:

That's right - Simon Helberg, better known as Howard Wolowitz on Big Bang. He's dressed more like Leonard, but his character is very similar to the Howard we all know.

Seth: I'm bench pressing 90 pounds. Can you bench press your body weight?

Even more like Howard, from the end, when he and Michael reveal that they've been jealous of each other for years, and his girlfriend is a fake:

Michael: Seth, why did you lie?

Seth: So I could beat you for once, ok? You got into CalTech's doctoral department, I got rejected. You've got this killer apartment, I live at home and share a bathroom with my grandmother!

I'm not, by any means, suggesting that anything on The Big Bang Theory was taken from, or even inspired by Joey... but it's likely that Simon had some great scenes on his reel when he was being considered for the part of Howard Wolowitz.

...I wonder of Matt LeBlanc gave him any acting tips?

Flashforward: Shrodinger's Tivo (spoilers?)

I'm really enjoying the new ABC show "Flashforward" - at this moment I'm one episode behind and just about to catch up. From a Quantum Mechanics point of view this is an interesting point to be: I don't know if that next episode, there in my Tivo DVR, is the best episode yet, or if it's just ok. Until I observe it, it's both, according to QM. Quantum Mechanics is a truly fascinating arm of science: it literally seems to break down to, for all intents and purposes, magic at the basics. We've observed a particle cease to exist in one spot and appear in another without existing in the space inbetween - teleportation. A split particle, whose halves vibrate identically from stimulus on one no matter how far apart they are may prove the key to faster than light (indeed instantaneous) communication over great distances in space - explaining how Captain Kirk and all those admirals could hold a conversation without delays in it light years apart.

The premise of Flashforward is that everyone on Earth simultaneously has a vision on what they'll be doing for 2 minutes and 17 seconds at the exact same time six months into the future. A fascinating idea. Some people see themselves in new jobs, which they go out and apply for after their visions. Others see unhappy changes in their lives that they hope won't actually unfold. Still others see nothing at all, leading them to believe they'll be dead in six months time. What's interesting, though, is that while many of them see themselves in a position that is created by the flashforward - like the FBI agent Mark Benford who literally sees himself investigating the cause of the flashforward, using clues seen in the future to guide his investigation in the present - none sees what is the most obvious thing that will occur at that moment: a pause, like midnight on New Year's Eve, as we reach the moment we have seen, feared, and anticipated for the last six months. One flashforward overhears a newsman on TV describing a senator's scandal - in fact, wouldn't he be saying "Here it is, we've reached the moment that changed the world when the global community saw it six months ago!"???

Of course, a vision of the future that merely reveals itself to

be aware of having been seen in the past (whew!) does not make for good TV. Rather than getting an immutable view of the future, the world in Flashforward seems to have been placed in a six month long Schrodinger's box - but given the view of one possible outcome. It's already clear on the show that's not the only possible future, as Agent Al Gough commited suicide to avoid his future vision of a world in which he accidentally killed the mother of two young boys. Despite having seen a future for himself, he now undoubtably will not fulfill it. Both states - alive and dead - were possible outcomes of the six month long box.

If you're not familiar with Schrodinger's Cat, Wikipedia can help you out here. Animal Man - one of the better, most underused characters in the DC Universe (for reasons I'll hope fully explain here one day) once described the thought experiment using a pizza, a hot pepper package in the box being either broken - making the pizza too spicy to eat - or whole, leaving the pizza edible. I only mention this because I really liked Animal Man, and I hung this comic on the wall for a long time.

Just as an aside, The X-Files once dealt with the question of future knowledge in a differentway. In the episode "Clyde Bruckman's final repose," Peter Boyle as Clyde warned Mulder that he would find himself in the dark kitchen of a hotel, chasing someone, only to be jumped and choked from behind. Mulder, finding himself in a dark kitchen and suddenly

realizing this is the vision described to him, whirls around with gun in hand to get the drop on his assailant - only to be set upon by the assailant, in the shadows that were directly in front of him, now choking him from behind. Mulder's vision was not a box with two possible outcomes, it was truly an immutable future, and any twist and turn he made to avoid it only brought him closer to it.

Poor Schrodinger's cat. Or not. As long as you don't open the box, it's okay to feel fifty percent sorry for him.

Fridge part 2

Well, I didn't quite manage to give away one of these snazzy 70's Superman magnets yet, though I did get some good guesses as to the geek interests seen on my fridge, below. Maybe five was too many to ask for. For the record, here's how I count them:

1) Freakies Magnets

2)DC Superheroes

3)Disneyland ride vehicles

4) Milk and Cheese (Evan Dorkin comic)

5) Star Trek monster magnets from the Las Vegas Hilton

6) Peanuts characters (Spike and Shermy from Schulz museum).

7) Mystery Science Theater 3000

8) Coca Cola machine

9) Young Simba from The Lion King

10) Lost (ABC TV)

The reason for keeping multiple Superman and Robin magnets, is they have different color schemes, so as a true completist collector I have to keep one of each variation.

This still leaves me with one Superman magnet I'm trying to give away - so maybe I should look for a Superman fan. I'll mail it to the first person who comments the answer to this Super-question:

What are two types of Kryptonite besides Green and Red?

Over at Questionable Content this morning, Jeph Jacques has depicted a typical interaction between a comic artist and a super fan.  Check it out here.