MovieChat Forums > Freaks and Geeks (1999) Discussion > Sheldon Cooper who?

Sheldon Cooper who?

posted 9 years ago by Ace_Spade
4 replies | jump to latest

Jim Parsons gets a lot of accolades for his role as Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, portraying a quintessential geek.

It's not that he's bad at it, he's actually pretty funny, but two seconds of watching Martin Starr do his thing as Bill shows how far off-base Sheldon is. It's nothing to do with Parsons, really, it's just that Sheldon Cooper is a mainstream pop culture palatable geek but Bill is the real deal. That's what a geek really looks and acts like, with all his charm, idiosyncrasies, foibles, hang-ups, and blind-spots.

It's a great character and a great performance by Martin.

[–] rbcp 9 years ago

Can you really compare the two? Freaks and Geeks was a realistic show set in the 80's, where being a geek was considered a very bad thing. And BBT is a modern comedy with a laugh track, set in a day where being a geek is awesome and celebrated. Not to mention the difference between high school and whatever age group Sheldon is in. (I don't watch the show.) Both geeks were played well for the time periods they were set in.

[–] catjoescreed 8 years ago

I agree that Martin Starr does a phenomenal job at portraying geekdom, but can there be only one kind of geek? Sheldon Cooper is clearly on the autism spectrum, unlike Bill.

Also, of course, BBT has gone through several seasons, and its writers long ago started taking the typical shortcuts with writing the character, relying more on caricature and over-writing and less and less on actual character development. This never happened in F&G, frankly because the show didn't last long enough for the writers to get lazy.

[–] aliholly-62819 8 years ago

Sheldon is the high and mighty geek that nobody in high school would've liked. We think he's funny because he's over the top, but if you think about it Sheldon is an a$$. He's definitely a geek/nerd, so is Bill. They're just different

[–] Rebuild_Reclaim 8 years ago

A gay high and mighty geek that no one would have liked. Too gay and too douchey.