After The Big Bang

© by Gerald So | 8:00 AM

The Big Bang Theory aired its final episode last night, after twelve seasons. I got into the show the summer after its WGA strike-shortened first season. I was already a fan of Johnny Galecki from Roseanne and Kaley Cuoco from 8 Simple Rules... and I still find their characters' romance the best developed on the show.

While the others seemed contrived to me, the additions of Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik in Seasons 3 and 4 gave the show a much-needed female perspective to balance the male. Penny became more than the girl of Leonard's dreams. Viewers got to see her insecurities whether she could maintain a relationship with someone smarter than she was. I think it was the key to the show's longevity.

In its later seasons, with almost all the characters coupled up, the show lost some direction. Marriage and children are as far as most TV characters can go, so it made sense for the show to end while still relatively popular.