The Best Director

Chapter 328: Chapter 328 Happy Troubles

“The Big Bang Theory is, without a doubt, the best and most entertaining sitcom for a long time. It has fresh ideas, some real geeks, but the general audience (I’ve recommended it to some friends who are totally not the ‘nerd’ type from TBBT) definitely finds it hilarious, almost every scene is, and sometimes even startlingly so. You sit there and think to yourself, ‘Did I really just hear him say that?’ The first couple of episodes were full of new material and things, it will surely get better afterward, and I never dare to underestimate the magic of Wang Yang.”

At Metacritic.com, last night’s premiere of The Big Bang Theory currently holds a 9.4 user rating (out of 10), with the over 200 positive reviews naturally featuring a soothing sea of green circles, perfect 10s, 9s…

Rabb, who gave it a perfect 10, praised the show but didn’t think The Big Bang Theory was without flaws, going on to write, “I can handle all the geek elements, they’re fun; what I can’t handle is when he rattles off a long sentence and I don’t understand what it meant, not at all, never have, it’s really not funny, that will only cause the ratings to drop. However, Sheldon is, on a television screen, the most aggressive, fearsome geek I’ve ever seen, other characters as well; some scenes are so classically unique, you’ll never forget them, you won’t see these scenes in other sitcoms.”

Long sentences and scientific knowledge theories are like a double-edged sword, or rather, it’s impossible to satisfy everyone 100% as things themselves always are, they bring freshness while also not hitting the funny bone of certain audiences. This is essentially a “subculture difference”; translated jokes might crack up those in physics, while those who aren’t as well-versed either find a different kind of humor, enjoy some slapstick, or find it dry and boring; just as an audience that never watches or interacts with Star Wars, probably wouldn’t find Leonard holding a lightsaber funny.

The highest rated peak third season of The Big Bang Theory’s viewership seemed to have significantly reduced references to scientific theories like “Here-We-Go,” and added elements and events from comic book movies such as The Lord of the Rings and Green Lantern. It’s a matter of degree, and Wang Yang has long been aware and has strategies to solve this. The comedic material from the first season of The Big Bang Theory has now been adjusted to a value that is most popular, and its exploration of better values continues along this best-viewed trajectory.

“Fun! I like such episodes, but you really need to pay attention to what the characters are saying, the jokes are a test of your IQ, love it!” Connor M said, while Gav96 added, “This series is for those with IQs above average. If you like cars, pretty girls, action, and muscular men, please switch to Furious Cars, because you won’t get the fun of it and will only add to the misunderstanding. The Big Bang Theory is a wonderful new sitcom.” RobertW also gave it a 10, “American popular programs have never had truly clever jokes before; they’d only mix in purely foolish antics. If you know a bit of physics, you’d find The Big Bang Theory’s jokes five times more effective; sadly, the average person can’t get these pleasures, but for us nerds, it’s gold!”…

The nerds seem a bit arrogant, or anxious about the misunderstandings The Big Bang Theory has suffered, but in fact, countless viewers love these scientific jokes, and whether the long lines are understood or not isn’t seen by the audience as much of an issue nowadays.

The main issue viewers now congregate over is arguably unsolvable, because it’s not about giving 10 points, it’s about giving red-circle zero points – they hate, despise, abhor this new series. Rudyard says, “If it weren’t for Wang Yang as the creator, I would never give it a second glance. A busty blonde, several virginal nerds who’ve never seen a woman naked, sad! Who is he mocking?” Jason G cursed when he wrote, “Such a show is reinventing the negative stereotype of nerds as stiff and dull, for the writers to bully, pluck, and mock; it’s unbelievable that Wang Yang, as an Asian, would do this! I hope one day, their sons and daughters will experience these kinds of jokes at school, even more so.”

ChrisC writes with moral indignation, “Multi-camera sitcoms generally lack credibility, but this one is too bad! Wang Yang offered up stereotyped nerds so much so that I don’t believe he and his team have ever met a real nerd. It seems their goal is to make the audience feel good about their high school years at the expense of insulting an entire group, which is more absurd than any joke.” PN wrote, “Before the premiere, Wang Yang said he wanted to change the nerd image, now all I see is him twisting, fortifying, and mocking it.”…

It’s unclear if they’re nerds themselves or just taking a stand for them; of course, nerds have their haters and their fans. However, with such comments and criticism received, Wang Yang can’t help but sigh at their oversensitivity, he very well knows what a nerd, a geek, and being unpopular is like and he understands what it’s like to be bullied and laughed at. Still, with some feedback from his high school friends and Asian friends, everyone finds The Big Bang Theory full of fun, eagerly anticipating the appearance of a Chinese character.

Why is that? Graham Linehan and Bill Prady’s programmer friend, the quintessential “nerd” David Saltzberg, as well as his student friends, equally enjoyed the show. It’s like how some people are just born not liking apples, you either like it or you don’t.

Changing the image of the nerd isn’t about immediately having them put down their books and put on a baseball cap, or swapping out comic books for a basketball—it wouldn’t be them anymore. Nor is it about tackling high schoolers’ psyches more seriously, like “Freaks and Geeks,” or creating serious documentaries like “Bowling for Columbine.” No series that gets axed could ever achieve that. It’s about making the audience fall in love with the nerds, seeing their words and fashions as trends to emulate. Only then will people get to know nerds better, see a sunny side to their impressions of this group, and foster more interactions and friendships. That is the real change.

Wang Yang didn’t dare claim that he was incredibly diligent or unique, but he certainly didn’t mean to mock anyone. He and his team had only one mission: to make the audience fall in love with nerds through laughter.

“I’ve never seen anyone as interesting as Sheldon on TV, even though he’s a complete oddball and difficult to deal with in real life, I just can’t help liking him!” said Kanderson, and Trod added, “Last night, unless you were a dentist, all the jokes would have driven you mad. Sheldon and Howard were impressive, and The Amazing Yang also had a seamless cameo performance. I really look forward to his next appearance!” NickyB said, “Absolutely great! I’m hooked! Those who say The Amazing Yang is destroying nerds should really think twice; don’t miss out on a brilliant show!”

Belyeu said, “I’ve been wondering what ‘Juno’ would look like as a sitcom for years and what The Amazing Yang could bring to it. Last night he showed us—perfection! Sheldon is the perfect amalgamation of Juno and Jeff Ma; he could be the most popular TV character in the future.”…

Fortunately, those scoring zero were only a very small part, and the audience generally responded well to the characters. It looked like “The Big Bang Theory” team had taken a solid first step toward achieving one of their goals. Right now, Sheldon was the most popular. Leonard and Howard were also well-received. Raj, who had little screen time and few lines yesterday, was mentioned less often. Penny had no standout moments aside from her stunning smile and feigned ignorance. Nonetheless, the actors playing these roles had become the hot topic of the media overnight, with their careers looking bright.

Not only were the folks at NBC overjoyed, but so were those at Flame Entertainment, as well as Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and their agents—it was all so sudden, so incredibly sudden!

“Oh my God!” Upon hearing the viewership numbers—21.28 million and 22.70 million—Kaley Cuoco couldn’t help but exclaim aloud, completely stunned. The Amazing Yang was truly… unbelievable! Of course, she was already very satisfied two years ago with an average of 10.85 million viewers for the first season of “The Eight Simple Rules,” but suddenly soaring to twenty million viewers, what’s next!? She couldn’t even hear what her agent was saying, just kept shouting: “Incredible, incredible, incredible! I love The Amazing Yang!”

That day, Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki were walking on the streets as usual when they were unexpectedly recognized and asked for autographs—people calling them “Sheldon” and “Leonard.” Just two episodes, in one night! From unknowns to former child stars, they could soon have the popularity of “Prison Break” star Wentworth Miller, even mentioned by the media as the next generation of “Friends”… Simon Helberg received his casting director mother Harriet B. Helberg’s proud praise: “Son, you were wonderful. I’m proud of you,” without the shrill roar of Howard’s mother.

Every member of “The Big Bang Theory” team and family was basking in happiness; nobody thought the average viewership of 21.99 million for the first two episodes indicated anything but success. Certainly not for the first season that NBC had already fully booked. It wasn’t blind optimism; there seemed to be no reason for doubt. Even though the media’s feelings were mixed, The Amazing Yang was someone who broke away from market rules and critical assessments. He had his own set of rules.

This momentum seemed to continue the success of “The Devil Wears Prada.” While the audience was shouting praises and admitting addiction, with only here and there some cursing, many critics held different views. Metacritic.com compiled 19 TV reviews of “TBBT,” with nine giving a rating above 60, six average, four negative, and an overall score of just 62. Opinions were split, nowhere near the opening reviews of classic multi-camera sitcoms like “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” or “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and even the newcomer “Two and a Half Men.”

Wang Yang wasn’t surprised, because the 2007 version of “The Big Bang Theory” scored an even worse 57, and it didn’t face the pressure of succeeding “Friends.” Heaven knows why those TV critics didn’t like it—perhaps they were just too old!

But then again, it wasn’t all bad. The 60-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Tom Shales gave it a 90 and couldn’t wait to declare in his decades-long column for “The Washington Post,” “The Big Bang Theory is the funniest sitcom of the new season.” Robert Bianco of “USA Today” gave it an 85, much to his liking, “It may not be the breakthrough sitcom we’ve been waiting for, but it’s a breakthrough, and you start looking forward to the second and third seasons after just the first episode.” “A promising NBC comedy,” said Adam Buckman of the “New York Post,” with a score of 75. …

“It’s an interesting thing, whether it’s in movies or TV shows, Wang Yang always seems to lack interest in pursuing girls, this time he brought us a bunch of geeks. His comedy is very creative, and in this new era, I believe geeks will no longer vanish; but the best geeks win,” said “The New York Times” critic Alessandra Stanley, who rated it a 60. Her opinion represented the results of many comparing “Freaks and Geeks” to “The Big Bang Theory.”

“The Big Bang Theory” won’t be another “Freaks and Geeks,” they all knew that. Instead, characters like Sheldon might be on our screens for years, even a decade, creating a new era of sitcoms; however, they are not the best geeks—”Freaks and Geeks” were.

Tim Goodman of the “San Francisco Chronicle” went even further with a score of 25 to criticize, “Forced by worldly commercialism, the writing here is so dull. Wang Yang clearly knows how to get high ratings, but that doesn’t mean it has magnificent flight.” The famous Wang Yang critic, Jeffrey Westhoff, sarcastically commented on his blog, making it hard not to feel he was nitpicking: “Wang Yang is a fully evolved commercial beast, and now he can no longer surprise us, whether on the silver screen or TV. ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is another one of his unconvincing, meaningless farces.” …

Since taking the Oscar for Best Director, Wang Yang’s new works, “The Devil Wears Prada” and “The Big Bang Theory,” have destroyed the critics’ perfect image of his screen and television work. When will he win back the critics’ hearts? Or maybe engage in another big battle?

“I want to make a guest appearance! Don’t try to talk me out of it, I want to be on ‘The Big Bang Theory’!”

After a productive day in the editing room, Wang Yang returned home to continue with another busy session, barely having time to go on his blog and post a celebratory entry saying, “We are on our own path!” because many people were interested and excited about making a cameo, perhaps influenced by his performance last night. Natalie immediately said she wanted to make a cameo when she called up. Hearing her, Wang Yang, who just sat down on the couch with a soda, laughed, “Why would I talk you out of it? There are plenty of opportunities, you can definitely realize your wish to play opposite Howard, I think it would be very exciting.”

“Haha!” Natalie burst into laughter, remembering being repeatedly KO’d last night with no power to fight back, she laughed and sighed, “So how are you going to torment me again? I’m almost dead.” Wang Yang shrugged and joked, “Then I’ll torment you until you’re really dead, I’m very kind.” Natalie laughed it off, “Alright, that’s really fun! I’ll keep watching; I really almost died laughing last night. And don’t mind those damn critics and those guys.”

Suddenly she yelled loudly, managing to say quickly, “I’m so angry! I went online today and saw some comments, I can’t believe there are so many people talking nonsense, a bunch of annoying folks! I’m a geek, I know how good ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is! Who doesn’t know I’m a geek? You? As if I was never bullied at school, why doesn’t her chest grow, huh? She should play ‘Lolita!’ She is just a whore! Look at that Hollywood… I tell you, they are hormonally imbalanced, don’t bother with them; and those geeks who misunderstand you, they will come to their senses sooner or later. One question though, can Howard get the girl?”

“I thought I was chatting with Sheldon Cooper,” Wang Yang said with a sense of wonder, impressed by her lung capacity! Looking towards the kitchen where Jessica was up to something, he laughed, “Yes, a Catholic girl.” Natalie was silent for a few seconds before saying with a headache, “You’ve put me in a big mess, my mom is going to go crazy.” Wang Yang snapped his fingers joyfully, “Yes, Howard’s mom almost went crazy.”

“Hahaha! How can this be so funny,” Natalie laughed uncontrollably, as if something had just occurred to her. She said with a giggle, “I must make a cameo.” Wang Yang rolled his eyes and chuckled, “I know, in fact, I have another idea.” Natalie asked curiously, “What?” As Wang Yang thought about this new plan, he took a sip of soda and explained, “Maybe Flame Entertainment will produce a new reality TV show, somewhat related to ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ I want to invite you as the first guest to participate in the game.”

Natalie questioned, “What kind of show? Like ‘America’s Next Top Model’?” Wang Yang really wanted to elbow her and shook his head with a laugh, “That would be playing to your weaknesses, not a modeling competition.” Natalie interrupted, “You should really go talk to Revlon, you know, I could have been a child model back in the day.” Wang Yang replied, “And then remain a child model until now, at the age of 23.” Natalie shouted fiercely, “Ah!” Wang Yang instantly became serious, “It’s a quiz game show, a simple quiz show. We preliminarily plan to have two guests per episode…” Natalie immediately asked, “Who else will be on the first episode? You?” Wang Yang immediately said, “No, why would it be me?” Natalie chuckled mockingly, “So conclusive? I always feel there’s a catch. Okay, let’s put it this way… um, I’ll partner with you. A quiz show? It’s definitely not simple; it could be set up to make me look foolish. ‘Harvard graduate can’t answer?’ ‘Oh, hahaha!'”

“Okay… I’ll consider it. The show isn’t finalized yet,” Wang Yang was somewhat helpless. Why did she have to be so quick-witted? They chatted a bit more and then ended the call, but another call came in right away: “Yang, I want to make a cameo!” It was Rachel’s voice, followed by Zachary Levi, Michael Pitt also wanted to make a cameo, “Just let me play a rock singer.” Eliza Dushku texted saying she really liked ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and would love a cameo opportunity; ‘Freaks and Geeks’ star James Franco texted that he hoped to be a geek again… Robert Downey Jr. said, “Susan really likes your show, let me come on for a cameo!”

“Hello, thank you, thank you! There will definitely be a chance for a cameo, definitely! Hearing you say that makes me so happy…” Wang Yang had just hung up the phone when another text message zoomed in: “Oh COME-ON!” Were these people jealous of his good acting or what? They’ve gone crazy! Having big stars make cameos is great, sure to boost ratings; but if every episode is designed to introduce a new character just for a cameo, that kind of pace would not work for the show. So maybe this is what you call the troubles of happiness.

Looking at Jessica who was walking over, Wang Yang picked up another call, all the while muttering, “HERE WE GO. Hello, hello! Thank you…” It took a good while before he put down the phone. Wang Yang spread his hands wide, gaping, “Wow, Will Smith also wants to make a cameo! Will, Will, Will, what role does he want to play? An MIT professor? A math genius? Hey, do you think if Will had gone to MIT, he could have been part of the MIT-21-TEAM? Haha!”

“STOP!” Jessica interrupted him, looking into his eyes, and then eagerly asked, “Darling, have you come up with my cameo plan yet?”

“Wow!” Wang Yang raised his hands in near madness and got up to walk to the kitchen, “Maybe since 9/11, everyone’s become incredibly jumpy, thanks a lot, Bin Laden! This is just great! So great—” Jessica hopped along behind him, rolling her eyes playfully, “Should I cameo as myself? Or play another character? A housewife? A spicy bar chick? A rowdy, tough Texas cowgirl! Oh my!…”

She didn’t notice Danny’s toy ball on the floor and stumbled as she stepped on it, lunging forward, her mouth agape!

“Now you know why you still trip, even without a height difference!” The thump of her falling didn’t happen; Wang Yang spun around and caught her, laughing as he pushed his forehead against hers. Jessica grimaced in pain and looked down to check the floor, “Because Danny didn’t clean up his toys? And keeps leaving things like slippers all over the place?” Wang Yang hoisted her up so her feet dangled off the floor, unsteadily carrying her forward, “Yes! Thanks so much, Danny!” “It’s like a minefield! Bad boy!” “Bad boy!”

Danny was still lying blissfully asleep on the living room carpet, simply letting out a long snort, having no interest in dealing with them.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com – your support is my greatest motivation.)