8. The Big Bang Theory Ensemble The Big Bang Theory
Considering that Big Bang Theory is a series where the main joke is that four of the main characters are geeks, you'd expect a certain amount of crazy sitcom hijinks in the workplace. Notable examples include Howard trying to impress women by letting them drive the Mars Rover, Leonard bringing home actual rocket fuel to power a model rocket (it goes about as well as you'd expect), Howard crashing the Mars Rover, Sheldon leaving a snake in Raj's desk drawer because... well... because Sheldon, Howard getting a robot arm stuck in an intimate area, Raj getting drunk at work and hitting on co-workers after an attempt to self-medicate his selective mutism/social anxiety disorder and Bernadette casually handing out untested medicine to her friends which may or may not cause them to lactate uncontrollably or cry acidic tears. The examples go on and on. Possibly the worst offender is the office share between Raj and Sheldon, which soon descends into a childish prank contest involving a comically oversized desk, keeping a live bird in the office and an attempt from Sheldon to smoke Raj out with hydrogen sulphide gas which ends badly when Raj tries to cover the smell with aromatherapy candles. Bear in mind that during this episode Raj is facing deportation if he finds himself out of work, so either he has a supreme (and based on past experience justified) confidence in his employers' tolerance for unprofessional behaviour or he literally cannot help himself. And to be fair, in a confined space with Sheldon Cooper, most of us probably couldn't either. Even Penny, the one non-scientist on the cast, is a terrible waitress and somehow a worse actress (to her credit at least she tries with her acting). And while sub-standard waitressing isn't likely to send diners rushing to the decontamination showers, having had a string of waitressing jobs in my teens I can guarantee that skipping work to go to Disneyland, being openly hostile to diners and threatening to spit in food is guaranteed to have your bosses rushing for the P45s.
Kate Taylor has a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing and an MRes in Creative Writing. Her nonfiction, reviews and other articles have appeared on Cuckoo Review and Mookychick as well as WhatCulture. Her fiction has been published in Luna Station Quarterly, Eternal Haunted Summer and in anthologies by Paizo and Northumbria University Press. She is 23 and lives in the North of England.
