Comic Con is a vast convention for all manners of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, gaming, and what-have-you. It used to be much smaller, but in recent years has gotten a huge surge from covering those topics in TV and movies, and now some pretty big stars show up.
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I was totally chuffed to score almost front-row seats at a panel for the TV show "The Big Bang Theory". The panel was moderated by my close personal friend Adam Savage™, and featured both executive producers Chuck Lorre and (sometime BABloggee) Bill Prady, and the entire cast.
It was incredibly funny, and one of the major highlights of the con for me. I taped the whole thing, and I suspect it’s OK to put up some short snippets, especially since I’ve been pimping the show.
I’ve made three short clips, and I’ll put one up each morning. This first one has the intro of everyone, then a very funny segment with Jim Parsons, who plays the incredibly OCD Sheldon, talking about science. You may recognize the voice of the lout who shouts something out at 5:30 in.
December 8th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Phil Plait: “I taped the whole thing,…”
Um… you still using a VCR, Phil?
December 8th, 2008 at 8:26 am
No, I have a videocam that uses digital tapes.
December 8th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I too am a huge fan of the show. It’s a regular Monday night Family event in my household. And I am pleased at how genuinely funny and warm some of the characters are.
The thing that frightens me though; I KNOW a lot of people that behave just like Leonard and Sheldon! I went to school with a lot of them!
December 8th, 2008 at 8:44 am
I just wish I could’ve seen you immediately after that you made that comment. You’re giggling like a geek!
December 8th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Ooo! Thanks for posting! A student got me hooked on the show (no, seriously – I’d never seen it, she thought I would really enjoy it). The hook for me was “hey, I think I went to school with those guys!”, too. The cool science makes the show better, but the characters are the key – if the characters weren’t so true-to-life, the show wouldn’t be so much fun.
Looking forward to the next clip…
December 8th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Larian LeQuella: “The thing that frightens me though; I KNOW a lot of people that behave just like Leonard and Sheldon! I went to school with a lot of them!”
You know a lot of people? Pfft. The only difference between me and then is that I’m not a super genius physicist!
December 8th, 2008 at 9:22 am
OT – Phil, in today’s print edition of the Boston Metro newspaper, there was a small article headlined “Scientists fear asteroid strike”. They included a picture of an asteroid from one of your favorite movies: Armageddon.
The article says that leading scientists have told the United Nations that the Earth needs a shield against asteroids, launching a satellite network to warn of approaching asteroids. It states that the International Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation calls for work to begin on three elements: “warning, deflection technology and a decision-making process.” The article ends by saying that the risk of a 45-meter diameter asteroid striking the Earth is around 2-3 every 1,000 years.
Click on my name for a link to the PDF, and ignore the larger article about Amsterdam’s red light district.
December 8th, 2008 at 9:28 am
[...] BA Blog article about the actors: A Big Bangin
December 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Todd W.: “… and ignore the larger article about Amsterdam’s red light district.”
That’s why I stopped buying tabloid newspapers: they mainly cater for the lowest common denominator.
December 8th, 2008 at 9:36 am
@IVAN3MAN
Not so much a tabloid newspaper as it is a collection of AP stories. And it’s free. I mainly get it for the crossword puzzle and sudoku.
December 8th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[...] BA Blog article about the actors: A Big Bangin
December 8th, 2008 at 9:58 am
That’s why I stopped buying tabloid newspapers: they mainly cater for the lowest common denominator.
What’s so LCD about Amsterdam altering their zoning laws?
Because it involves the red light district? Sorry, but not everyone shares the USA’s hyper-puritanical view of sex.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:10 am
@Tracker9
Methinks Ivan spoke before actually reading the article. I could be wrong, though.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Thanks for sharing, Phil! I’m looking forward to reading your introduction to your new book, “The Saucer Fleet” which should be out in the next couple of weeks?
December 8th, 2008 at 10:54 am
@ Todd W.,
Err… I did read the article in question. The point that I was trying to make is that tabloid newspapers have a tendency to give prominence to articles on the subject of ‘hanky-panky’, but science related articles just get a footnote.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:58 am
@IVAN3MAN
Gotcha. The Metro does have tendency to put science-related articles off to the side or bottom in small, easy-to-miss spots.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Okay, this vid is awesome, I’m so glad you posted it! I love this show, and the cast seems to be really pleasant.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
[shout]It’s only true if you stir![/shout]
December 8th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Hey, I still use a VCR.
December 8th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
This is the only TV show I never miss — thanks for posting.
December 8th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Thanks Phil, that’s awesome! Can’t wait for the others. Post the whole thing!!
December 8th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Since being mentioned here and on Slice of Sci Fi I’ve become hooked on the show. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve watched every episode from season 1 ep 1. Two of the best shows on TV now are TBBT and Chuck.
December 9th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Phil, your affirmation re the melting ice thing is probably a generalisation, as is the holding temperature of water at boiling point. This I have believed since High School Physics, but I think you will find that it is virtually impossible to evenly heat the fluid in question, to achieve it.
Ok, for small (very small) bodies to flip over the threshhold, but the nature of going from one state to the next involves a change of volume, especially at the boiling point, and means that new material supplants the original, and the process starts all over again. This is Convection heating (cooling – same process only in reverse). Otherwise we would have an instant change for all of the material, when the very last molecule has gained (lost, if cooling) sufficient heat to effect the change. Imagine a kettle boiling then! Or the condensation of water vapor if it all happened at once?
Even explosive material does have a very fast, but finite reaction time, though this is chemical I realise, it is still reminiscent of the mechanical nature of the processes we observe. The Internal Combustion Engine and the Steam Engine are good examples, as is Dynamite for the purely chemical example. That they react almost instantly, is credit to various physical properties, chosen judiciously, but they can be un-even in practice, though the dynamics of the system can mask the actual event. See Formula 1 and Space rockets – they weren’t fully developed overnight.
I suggest there is a hysteresis effect happening.
As a oneliner though, I agree in general with the comment.
What do others think?
Ivan.
December 9th, 2008 at 11:51 am
My wife bought me season 1 of BBT for my birthday last month (and she’s not a geek). Is it any wonder why I married her?
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 am
[...] "The Big Bang Theory". Regular readers know of my love for both him and the show (like here, and here and here) and it didn’t hurt that he left a comment here once. Bill is a great [...]
February 9th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
[...] A Big Bangin’ panel at Comic Con (blogs.discovermagazine.com) [...]