Pilot (The Big Bang Theory)

"Pilot"
The Big Bang Theory episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 1
Directed by	James Burrows
Written by	Chuck Lorre Bill Prady
Production code	101
Original air date	September 24, 2007
Guest stars
Vernee Watson-Johnson as Althea Brian Patrick Wade as Kurt
Episode chronology
← Previous — Next → "The Big Bran Hypothesis"
List of The Big Bang Theory episodes

The second pilot of The Big Bang Theory originally aired on September 24, 2007. It was written by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, and directed by James Burrows. It marks the first appearance of all five main characters in the series, and also guest stars Vernee Watson-Johnson as Althea and Brian Patrick Wade as Kurt.

This is the only episode whose title is not written in the style of a scientific theory or phenomenon.

Plot summary

Two brilliant young physicists, Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, are the kind of "beautiful minds" that understand how the universe works (this episode reveals that Sheldon and Leonard have a combined IQ of 360 with Leonard having 173 and Sheldon having 187). But their Ph.Ds don't help them interact with people, especially women. All of this is about to change when a free-spirited newly single beauty named Penny moves in next door. When Leonard and Sheldon meet Penny, Leonard is immediately interested in her, saying that their babies will be smart and beautiful, but Sheldon, who feels Leonard's dream is unlikely, says, "Not to mention imaginary".

Sheldon is quite content spending his nights playing Klingon Boggle with their socially dysfunctional friends, fellow geeks Howard Wolowitz, a wannabe ladies man, and Rajesh Koothrappali, who suffers from selective mutism, in particular when Penny is around. However, Leonard sees in Penny a whole new universe of possibilities. He is so infatuated with her that after letting her use their shower on account of hers being broken, he agrees to try and retrieve her TV from her ex-boyfriend, a tall, muscular man named Kurt. However, Kurt depants Leonard and Sheldon, and they are unable to retrieve the TV. Feeling bad, Penny offers to buy them and their friends dinner.

Alternative/unaired scenes

There are alternative scenes in this episode. In the alternative intro, they had finished donating their sperm. Also, in the alternative car scene when Leonard and Sheldon were planning to pick-up Penny's TV, the dialogue was different and they didn't discuss Leonard's ex-girlfriend, Joyce Kim.

Reception

Jim Chamberlin of IGN praised the episode, calling it "a great start for the series", and stating that the writing was "some of the best we've seen in a standard sitcom in some time". Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe, however, gave a negative review, saying that the show is "one of those laugh-track sitcoms that has exactly one comedy routine and just keeps hammering it home".

Cast

• Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter
• Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper
• Kaley Cuoco as Penny
• Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz
• Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh Koothrappali
• Vernee Watson-Johnson as Althea
• Brian Patrick Wade as Kurt

Original unaired pilot

The show's initial pilot, developed for the 2006–07 television season, was substantially different from its current form. Leonard (Galecki) and Sheldon (Parsons) were effectively the same characters as in the reshot Pilot; however, in place of Penny, they were joined by Katie, "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior" played by Amanda Walsh. In place of Raj and Howard, the roommates had a female friend and colleague named Gilda who was played by Iris Bahr. The boys meet Katie on the street, having just broken up with her boyfriend. They invite her to stay with them in their apartment. When Gilda meets Katie, she acts jealous and threatened.

The unaired pilot used Thomas Dolby's hit "She Blinded Me with Science" as a "theme". A new apartment set was built for the reshot pilot. The show was not picked up, but the creators were given an opportunity to revise the show, bringing in the remaining leading cast and retooling the show to its current format. The original unaired pilot has never been released on any official format, but copies are available on the Internet. On the evolution of the show, Lorre said "We did the 'Big Bang Pilot' about two and a half years ago, and it sucked... but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that was Johnny and Jim. We rewrote the thing entirely, and then we were blessed with Kaley and Simon and Kunal." As to whether the world will ever see that original pilot, maybe on a DVD, Lorre said "Wow that would be something, we will see. Show your failures..."