That can get complicated, except I guess for people who think Sheldon shouldn't have existed at all. In terms of a TV show Sheldon is kind of convenient because it's possible to wrap up several characters' worth of... conflict?... into one skinny package. Which is not at all "realistic" but, again, could work for a TV show, at least for a while. Especially when running times get shorter and shorter.

It might have been better overall if Sheldon had toned down over the time, perhaps actually "made progress" which some people insist he has done even though the evidence shows otherwise. Or maybe been distanced some, like he moves in with Amy at her apartment and they don't get seen as much.

One drawback to that idea, though, is that it loses a "tool" - both literally and figuratively! - that could help draw in new viewers over time. To the extent that's even realistic given how much other things have changed. People who came in after Leonard and Penny were already married, for example, wouldn't understand the interest the rest of us had who followed it from the start.

@Knixon said:

That can get complicated, except I guess for people who think Sheldon shouldn't have existed at all. In terms of a TV show Sheldon is kind of convenient because it's possible to wrap up several characters' worth of... conflict?... into one skinny package. Which is not at all "realistic" but, again, could work for a TV show, at least for a while. Especially when running times get shorter and shorter.

It might have been better overall if Sheldon had toned down over the time, perhaps actually "made progress" which some people insist he has done even though the evidence shows otherwise. Or maybe been distanced some, like he moves in with Amy at her apartment and they don't get seen as much.

One drawback to that idea, though, is that it loses a "tool" - both literally and figuratively! - that could help draw in new viewers over time. To the extent that's even realistic given how much other things have changed. People who came in after Leonard and Penny were already married, for example, wouldn't understand the interest the rest of us had who followed it from the start.

I'm taking from this that you're not crazy about Sheldon but you do see that he serves a purpose on the show. Is this correct?

@SpecialFlowers said:

To those who dislike Sheldon, would you have preferred:

A) that Sheldon existed as Leonard's friend and roommate, but his quirkiness and self-centeredness toned-down greatly

B) that Sheldon existed as a backup character seen with about the same frequency as Kripke- just some guy who worked with them at Caltech and occasionally made funny appearances

C) that Sheldon existed exactly as he is but was written off after the first two or three seasons

D) that Sheldon never existed at all

And for those who do like Sheldon, please describe in one word what you think is the most important thing he brings to the show.

Foil ("a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast.")

@FormerlyKnownAs said:

@SpecialFlowers said:

To those who dislike Sheldon, would you have preferred:

A) that Sheldon existed as Leonard's friend and roommate, but his quirkiness and self-centeredness toned-down greatly

B) that Sheldon existed as a backup character seen with about the same frequency as Kripke- just some guy who worked with them at Caltech and occasionally made funny appearances

C) that Sheldon existed exactly as he is but was written off after the first two or three seasons

D) that Sheldon never existed at all

And for those who do like Sheldon, please describe in one word what you think is the most important thing he brings to the show.

Foil ("a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast.")

FKA, I think that is a great answer and I wholeheartedly agree.

Here is my one word answer for the most important thing I think he brings to the show: neurosis

@SpecialFlowers said:

@Knixon said:

That can get complicated, except I guess for people who think Sheldon shouldn't have existed at all. In terms of a TV show Sheldon is kind of convenient because it's possible to wrap up several characters' worth of... conflict?... into one skinny package. Which is not at all "realistic" but, again, could work for a TV show, at least for a while. Especially when running times get shorter and shorter.

It might have been better overall if Sheldon had toned down over the time, perhaps actually "made progress" which some people insist he has done even though the evidence shows otherwise. Or maybe been distanced some, like he moves in with Amy at her apartment and they don't get seen as much.

One drawback to that idea, though, is that it loses a "tool" - both literally and figuratively! - that could help draw in new viewers over time. To the extent that's even realistic given how much other things have changed. People who came in after Leonard and Penny were already married, for example, wouldn't understand the interest the rest of us had who followed it from the start.

I'm taking from this that you're not crazy about Sheldon but you do see that he serves a purpose on the show. Is this correct?

He serves a purpose, he especially served a purpose early on, largely because it's a TV show. He's not someone who I think many people would put up with for long, in real life, no matter how "beautiful" his mind is supposed to be. And it probably would be better if he'd toned down some over the course of the show, and/or been seen less. Although that might be a problem for attracting potential new viewers, but potential new viewers are also likely to not understand the whole Leonard and Penny thing like the rest of us do, for example, since they've been married already for a few years. So keeping Sheldon as Sheldon-y as before (the people who think he's significantly "Changed" are proven wrong on a regular basis, by his behavior and his words) might be one of the things that can attract new viewers. Even if the rest of us are mostly sick of it by now.

E) that Penny socked him in the jaw like she did that one time to Howard.

F) that not all the main characters cater to his every whim like they have done. My problem is that having everyone bow down before the mighty Lord Wackadoodle just implies that the nerds are so dweeby and weak that anyone can push them around even one of their own.

G) that the show stops pushing Sheldon at us as if he is so important.

The most important thing Sheldon brings to the show is pissing off people like me who are kept waiting episode after episode awaiting his demise.

@znexyish said:

E) that Penny socked him in the jaw like she did that one time to Howard.

F) that not all the main characters cater to his every whim like they have done. My problem is that having everyone bow down before the mighty Lord Wackadoodle just implies that the nerds are so dweeby and weak that anyone can push them around even one of their own.

G) that the show stops pushing Sheldon at us as if he is so important.

The most important thing Sheldon brings to the show is pissing off people like me who are kept waiting episode after episode awaiting his demise.

What he/she said. ^{^}

Like I have said before, that character really pisses me off so I do not watch first run episodes. I can't see watching something that makes me that angry. I do occasionally watch reruns but mute it when he is the focus.

@znexyish said:

E) that Penny socked him in the jaw like she did that one time to Howard.

F) that not all the main characters cater to his every whim like they have done. My problem is that having everyone bow down before the mighty Lord Wackadoodle just implies that the nerds are so dweeby and weak that anyone can push them around even one of their own.

G) that the show stops pushing Sheldon at us as if he is so important.

The most important thing Sheldon brings to the show is pissing off people like me who are kept waiting episode after episode awaiting his demise.

I guess that's what leads some people to think Sheldon is somehow the center of the show. But he's really not. Leonard and Penny are the center, and Sheldon is just one of the obstacles they have to overcome.

@Knixon said:

I guess that's what leads some people to think Sheldon is somehow the center of the show. But he's really not. Leonard and Penny are the center, and Sheldon is just one of the obstacles they have to overcome.

I am not sure that the show even has a center, unless it is the apartment and what happens in it. Leonard and Penny are kind of there but I don't find that much surrounds them. I guess the show has just reached its limit with me . Now that Sheldon will be tempered a bit by the influence of Amy maybe he will be more tolerable. It s not that I can't stand him it is just that a little Sheldon goes a long way. Or that Sheldon's personality is that much out there than the rest of them.

Also Jim Parsons probably thinks Sheldon is the heart of the show, how else to explain "Young Sheldon"

@znexyish said:

@Knixon said:

I guess that's what leads some people to think Sheldon is somehow the center of the show. But he's really not. Leonard and Penny are the center, and Sheldon is just one of the obstacles they have to overcome.

I am not sure that the show even has a center, unless it is the apartment and what happens in it. Leonard and Penny are kind of there but I don't find that much surrounds them. I guess the show has just reached its limit with me . Now that Sheldon will be tempered a bit by the influence of Amy maybe he will be more tolerable. It s not that I can't stand him it is just that a little Sheldon goes a long way. Or that Sheldon's personality is that much out there than the rest of them.

Well I do think it's true that one benefit Sheldon brings especially to a half-hour TV show that might now have less than 20 minutes of actual show, is packing the dysfunction of several other characters into one. Which saves time for the writers, etc. Sheldon has some Bert, and some Kripke, and some Raj and Howard too, plus others, all in one ridiculous package.

Thanks folks for all of your answers! I understand what you are saying. The thing is, what I was getting at is this: Knowing what you know now about Sheldon, if you could go back to the beginning of the show and start all over again, which of my original choices A-D would you choose for Sheldon's route?

C

But change it to the end of the first season. He gets hit by a bus, or is exposed to some dreadful bacteria (flesh eating disease).