The Big Bang Theory first aired in 2007, so it's safe to assume that some of the jokes haven't aged well. But, apparently, one scene from the show's pilot aged so badly that it's no longer aired in syndication.
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00:00The Big Bang Theory first aired in 2007, so it's safe to assume that some of the jokes
00:05haven't aged well. But apparently, one scene from the show's pilot aged so badly that it's
00:10no longer aired in syndication. According to Jessica Radloff's 2022 oral history, The
00:15Big Bang Theory, the definitive inside story of the epic hit series.
00:18Is this the high IQ sperm bank? If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't be here.
00:26The scene in question is the opening sequence of the entire series, in which Sheldon and
00:30Leonard try to make a deposit at a sperm bank for geniuses. They end up slinking out before
00:34going through with it, because Sheldon has second thoughts.
00:37There's no guarantee that our sperm is going to generate high IQ offspring. Think about
00:41that. I have a sister with the same basic DNA mix who hosts us at Fuddruckers.
00:45Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon, wasn't bothered by the scene when they shot it. It's a far
00:49different experience shooting a pilot than it is looking back on the episode after 12
00:54Not that he disagreed with series creator Chuck Lorre's decision to cut it. Parsons
00:58clarified,
00:59"'Nobody knew who Sheldon was yet, so the live audience accepted it for what it was.
01:02I get why Chuck took it out in syndication, because the episode is much stronger and more
01:06special without it.'"
01:07Cutting the infamous sperm bank scene from syndication was an artistic choice, but Lorre
01:12and his co-creator Bill Prady had a more pressing issue with the material when the show was
01:16bought by American Airlines for their family-friendly in-flight entertainment network. The airline
01:21simply said,
01:23No way.
01:24So Lorre and Prady found a clever workaround. They replaced the scene with footage of Parsons
01:28and Johnny Galecki addressing the audience. As Prady recalled,
01:31They said,
01:32"'We're not going to be able to show you the first scene, because it's a little grown-up
01:35and we don't know who's looking over your shoulder. So we'll jump in starting with the
01:38second scene.'"
01:39Then Jim said,
01:40"'As long as we have a few extra minutes, I'm going to explain how airplanes fly.'"
01:44And Johnny responds,
01:45"'No one on an airplane wants to hear how airplanes fly.' He wasn't wrong about that."
01:49Then there was the matter of a later callback to the sperm bank.
01:52What do you guys do for fun around here?
01:54Well, today we tried masturbating for money.
01:59That wasn't gonna fly. Pun intended. But Lorre and Prady found a way to work around that
02:03as well. In place of that little exchange, they had Parsons and Galecki address the audience
02:07again. Prady recounted,
02:09Jim and Johnny interrupt out of character and say,
02:11"'There's a joke here you won't get because it's about the first scene, but it's a pretty
02:15funny joke. Moving on.' And then it goes back to the show."
02:18These weren't the only changes to the Big Bang Theory pilot. In fact, they first shot
02:22an entirely different pilot episode in which Penny didn't even exist. The major female
02:26role, named Katie, was originally played by Amanda Walsh, but the powers-that-be weren't
02:30satisfied and scrapped it.
02:32"'Okay, you guys can buy me dinner, but that's the end of it.'
02:37"'The end of what?'
02:38We can only assume that that was the right choice, considering the show's success from
02:41its very first episode. And there was one moment in the actual pilot that worked immediately.
02:46Penny, Sheldon, and Leonard's very first meeting. Lori explained to Radloff,
02:50"'In my mind, the show truly began with those awkward hellos between Penny, Sheldon, and
02:54Leonard when she's unpacking boxes in her apartment.'
02:57"'Hi!'
02:58"'Hi!'
02:59"'Hi!'
03:00"'Hi!'
03:01"'Hi!'
03:02"'Hi!'
03:03Prady remembered,
03:04"'We wrote it, and then as with all good collaborative things, the actors made it
03:05better. We just knew, this is clicking. It feels like the look and sound of a home run
03:08in baseball. You just know, that's out of here. And we all knew it.'"
03:12"'Maybe we can have coffee sometime.'
03:14"'Oh, great!'
03:15"'Great!'
03:17Penny Cuoco completely agreed, saying,
03:18"'It was a song that came to life. It took a while to find, but once we did, it ended
03:22up being one of the most adorable, remembered scenes on TV.'"
03:24"'Well, uh, bye!'
03:26"'Bye!'
03:27"'Bye!'
03:28"'Bye!'
03:29"'Bye!'
03:30"'Bye!'
03:31"'Bye!'
03:32"'Bye!'
03:33"'Bye!'
03:34"'Bye!'
03:35"'Bye!'
03:36"'Bye!'
03:37"'Bye!'
03:38"'Bye!'
03:39"'Bye!'
03:40"'Bye!'
03:41"'Bye!'
03:42"'Bye!'
03:43"'Bye!'
03:44"'Bye!'