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Sheldon Cooper

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Butt Anus McPenisworth
File:Sheldon Cooper.jpg
Jim Parsons as Dr. Sheldon Cooper
First appearance"Pilot"
Portrayed byJim Parsons
In-universe information
AliasSheldor the Conqueror (Age of Conan)
Shelldor of Azeroth (World of Warcraft)
NicknameShelly (by his family)
Moon Pie (by his grandmother)
Smelly Shelly, Dr. Dumbass (mockingly)
TitleDoctor
OccupationTheoretical physicist
FamilyMary Cooper (mother)
George Cooper, Sr. (father, deceased)
Missy Cooper (twin sister)
George Cooper, Jr. (older brother)
Relatives"Meemaw" (grandmother)
Edward "Stumpy" (uncle)
Carl (uncle, deceased)
Unnamed grandfather (deceased)
ReligionChristianity (formerly) Irreligious (current)
NationalityAmerican

Sheldon Lee Cooper,[1] B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D.[2] (born 1980) is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Jim Parsons. Parsons has won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for this role.

Sheldon is a Caltech theoretical physicist, who shares an apartment with his colleague and best friend, Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki). They live across the hallway from Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Sheldon exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a total lack of social skills, a tenuous understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor, and a general lack of humility or empathy. He is vocal about his own superior intellect compared to those around him. These characteristics provide the bulk of his character's humor and the center of some episodes. He has been described as the show's breakout character.[3][4][5][6] Reviewers and fans have speculated that Sheldon's personality traits are consistent with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and/or obsessive–compulsive personality disorder and asexuality.[5][7]

Creation and casting

The character of Sheldon Cooper was inspired by a computer programmer that series co-creator Bill Prady knew.[8] He is named in honor of actor/producer Sheldon Leonard,[9] and Nobel Prize Laureate Leon Cooper.[10] Chuck Lorre originally intended Johnny Galecki to play the role, but Galecki thought he'd be "better suited" for the character of Leonard.[11] Lorre said that when Jim Parsons auditioned for the role, he was "so startlingly good", that Lorre "asked him back to make sure he hadn't gotten lucky," making Jim Parsons re-audition.[12]

Characterization

Early life

Originally from Galveston, Texas,[13] he was raised by his father (George Cooper, Sr.) and his mother (Mary Cooper) along with an older brother (George Cooper, Jr.) and a twin sister (Missy Cooper). His mother is a devout Evangelical Christian and she raised Sheldon according to her beliefs, for example enrolling him in a Christian youth bowling league and teaching him how to pray.[14] He was taunted and bullied by the neighborhood children and his classmates, as he claims they were threatened by his intelligence.[15] Sheldon was a child prodigy,[16] as evidenced by his many extraordinary accomplishments while still a child: he built a poorly-working CAT scanner that incinerated his sister's guinea pig,[a][13] a so-called "Supreme Anus Destroyer",[15] and an armed robot constructed using integrated circuits made from materials cooked in his sister's Easy Bake Oven, which he modified, and which burnt her eyebrows off.[17] Sheldon entered the University of Texas in Austin at the age of eleven, right after completing the fifth grade.[18][19] When Sheldon was twelve years old, he wanted a titanium centrifuge to separate radioactive isotopes.[20] Around this time, he dabbled in lasers (eventually getting him sent to boarding school).[21] According to his mother, he also tried to build a nuclear reactor at the age of thirteen in order to provide free electricity for his town; however, this was halted after a government agent informed him that it was illegal to store yellowcake uranium (which he wanted to buy on the Internet) in a shed.[15] At age fourteen, he graduated from college summa cum laude, began doctoral work, and was the youngest person at the time to receive the Stevenson Award when he was "14 and a dick".[22] Sheldon worked as a visiting professor at Heidelberg University in Germany at age fifteen,[23] and received his first Ph.D. at sixteen years old,[24] working on twistor theory.[25] He then spent four years on his second dissertation, and at the beginning of the series had held his current job for three-and-a-half years.[15]

Personality

The first four episodes of The Big Bang Theory portray or allude to Sheldon doing things that are inconsistent with his later characterization, including trying to impress Penny, knocking at doors in a "normal" way, participating in a salsa class, and attempting to donate to a sperm bank (though he eventually refuses as he feels there is no guarantee his sperm will produce high-IQ offspring).[26] According to Prady, the character "began to evolve after episode five or so and became his own thing".[7]

Aside from his idiosyncrasies, Sheldon is logical. He possesses an eidetic memory[23] and a length of 187in, although he claims his penis cannot be accurately measured by normal tests.[27] He has claimed to have a Masters Degree and two doctoral degrees in early episodes.[21][28] However, by the episode "The Love Car Displacement", his list of qualifications had increased.[2] Sheldon has an overly extensive general knowledge, as shown by his comments regarding various details of anecdotal knowledge (for instance, the introduction of the fork into Thailand).[29]

Despite his intelligence, Sheldon is usually inept in most social interactions. His eccentricities, direct remarks, and demanding nature put him at odds with his own friends and especially his genitals. He has a distinct lack of emotional maturity and is often baffled by even the most common social interactions. He not only fails to understand the simplest sarcastic jokes made by Leonard,[21] but also regards Penny's sadness over one of her breakups with blatant confusion.[26] However, recently, he has begun to understand the concept of sarcasm, attempting unsuccessfully to employ it himself towards Penny in the second season,[30] and successfully employing it towards his friends in the third season. Sheldon occasionally uses slang (in a very unnatural fashion), and follows jokes with his catchphrase "Bazinga!" ("Bazinga!" is now officially trademarked by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)[31] He is not entirely sure how to hug someone, and he avoids human contact whenever possible. Sheldon's expression of his more advanced intelligence has gotten him fired from his job,[15] and even Leonard is surprised to learn that Sheldon is conceited enough to believe that Isaac Newton is intellectually inferior to himself.[32] Despite his egocentricism, Sheldon appears to be somewhat aware of his social ineptitude, particularly his lack of understanding of sarcasm. He mentioned that he keeps a record of his daily social interactions after Penny snapped at him and Leonard asked him why, to which he suggested that Leonard "review my log of daily of social interactions, to see if there's a blunder I overlooked."[33] Sheldon is also a difficult person to work with. In "The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation", Sheldon finds out that the others have tampered with his experiment, in order to make him more pleasant to work with. He also found out that they were considering killing him and had even come up with a plan to do so. When Leonard comes up with an idea for an iPhone application to solve physics problems, Sheldon immediately tries to seize control of it. When Leonard makes it clear that he is in charge, Sheldon continues to annoy the others, resulting in his getting fired by Leonard. When Sheldon asks him why, Leonard tells him "[he is] impossible to work with". At the end of the episode, Leonard takes him back at Penny's request, but he is then shown working with Penny on an application for identifying women's shoes, implying that he was fired again. Sheldon also generally displays apathy to the world around him; in "The Toast Derivation", Leonard notes that Sheldon criticized Bill Gates for focusing on his charity work rather than Windows Vista, a remark that earned him a punch in the face from Gates.

Sheldon also has childlike qualities. For example, even though he does not seem to realize it,[34] he must get his way, such as in naming the Caltech Physics Bowl team (Army Ants) or deciding to go to San Francisco by train instead of flying (due to his fascination and love of trains) for a conference where he seeks Nobel laureate George Smoot's approval. He needs his mother (or Penny) to care for him when he is sick, which involves singing "Soft Kitty" [b] and rubbing Vicks VapoRub on his chest. He cannot stand to be interrupted, concede when he does not know something, keep a secret, or hear people bicker or argue, crinkling his lips with intense frustration when any of these events occur.[24][35][36] Sheldon does not have a driver's license (although he does possess a learner's permit); he relies upon his friends for transportation to work or other places. He has attempted to learn to drive on a simulator, but he fails miserably and attempts to obscure his failure by claiming he is "too evolved" to drive.[25] He immediately accedes to his mother's wishes, despite openly arguing with her. An example of this is his apologizing to Penny after an argument.[37]

Like his friends, Sheldon is scientifically inclined, and is fond of comic books, costumes, roleplaying games, video games, customizable card games, action figures, fantasy, and science fiction, specifically Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Stargate, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Firefly, although he strongly dislikes Babylon 5.[38] Sheldon is particularly fond of the Star Trek franchise and apparently considers it analogous to religion, as evidenced during a conversation with Amy Farrah Fowler where he "turn[s] to a force greater than [himself]", and answers "Star Trek" after Amy guesses "religion".[39] He has claimed to be an honorary graduate of Starfleet Academy,[40] and is an avid fan of science officer Spock. When Penny gave Sheldon a napkin used by Leonard Nimoy, the actor who originally played Spock, this greatly overwhelmed Sheldon as he realized he now possessed the DNA of his famed idol.[41] However, Leonard Nimoy and Stan Lee have both applied for restraining orders against Sheldon.[38][41] He also used to idolize fictional prodigy Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation for qualities of the character Wesley Crusher he found similar to himself, but Wil Wheaton's surprise cancellation of an appearance at a Jackson, Mississippi Star Trek convention in 1995 soured him to both the character and actor. Other favorite characters of his are Green Lantern, Batman[24][42][43] and The Flash.[42][44][45] Sheldon often wears vintage T-shirts adorned with superhero logos specific to the DC universe, among them the Flash, Superman, Aquaman, and the logos of the various Lantern Corps. He usually wears a long sleeve shirt underneath it along with plaid pants. Sheldon is tall and thin (setting him apart from his shorter colleagues), with Penny (and later Leonard) saying he looks like a giant praying mantis, and Raj likening the robotic C-3PO of Star Wars as "a shiny Sheldon".

Sheldon likes playing Halo every Wednesday[46][42] and paintball on the weekend with his friends.[42] Unlike Leonard, Sheldon embraces his genius fully and is not ashamed of admitting his particularly eccentric interests (such as Klingon Boggle).[26][37] He can also play the piano[47] and theremin,[48] and seems to be a very good Tuvan throat singer, but would be better if not for a section in his roommate agreement with Leonard denying him time to practice.

Despite his strange behavior, Sheldon has, at times, demonstrated a much softer side to himself. In one instance, when Penny was low on money, Sheldon let her borrow a large amount of his savings, but while she worried about paying it back, he was entirely uncaring as to when he got it back. This was later described by Leonard as "one of the few idiosyncrasies that doesn't make you want to, you know, kill him".[33] Also, after Penny let him stay at her place when he locked himself out of his apartment, Sheldon sincerely thanked her for it.[49] When Penny gave Sheldon a Christmas present, he was extremely anxious because he did not know what it was and therefore did not know how to reciprocate. He purchased multiple gift baskets of bath items (in order to choose one which matched the value of her gift), only to find that she got him a napkin autographed by Leonard Nimoy (which he had also wiped his mouth with, and therefore had his DNA on it). This prompted him to give her all the baskets and a hug (the first time he has demonstrated any physical intimacy with anyone).[41] Sheldon sees himself as a protagonist and hero,[50] and Penny appeals to his admiration of heroic qualities when Howard's mother is hospitalized.[51]

Sheldon's attitudes on finances seem to be mixed. He once remarked that he would prefer to live alone, but could not afford the rent.[46] However, he is also shown to have thousands of dollars hidden around the house (as his expenses only amount to 46.9% of his after-tax income) or in uncashed checks which he claims is money he does not need, as the things he wants to buy have not been invented yet.[33] He is agreeable to lending money, and Leonard remarks it is one of the few positive attributes of Sheldon's eccentric behavior. He wants more funding at work and fails to understand why his colleagues are not let go so that more of the school's grant money can be given to him. This does not stop him from spending the money on personal conveniences for his own office, but he refuses to spend money on a desk for Raj. Sheldon distrusts banks, believing that when computers take over the world "the ATMs will lead the charge."[52]

In contrast to his profoundly religious mother and devout Christian upbringing, Sheldon has no interest in religion. He tends to ignore or express dislike for religious celebrations such as Christmas, and wastes no time in bringing up the pagan origins to each festival. Additionally, his scientific beliefs often come into conflict with the spiritual beliefs of his mother, Mary. Nevertheless, he has an agreement with his mother to attend church once a year, and his upbringing leads him to exclaim "Thank you, Jesus!" upon scoring a strike in bowling

Sheldon also appears to have problems understanding societal laws at times. He is shown to drop objects out his window into traffic without regard, in addition to breaking into buildings. He has expertise with picking locks and disarming alarm systems.[53] Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security notifies his mother when he acts contrary to federal law. As he states later, "Apparently you can't hack into a top secret government supercomputer and then try to buy uranium without the Department of Homeland Security tattling to your mother."[54] This implies that Homeland Security is familiar with him, as instead of arresting and questioning them, they simply inform his mother and have her deal with him.

With few exceptions, Sheldon refuses all drugs, including alcohol and caffeine, as a promise to his mother. He does not tolerate them well; after consuming two glasses of wine at an award ceremony, he becomes intoxicated and behaves inappropriately during his acceptance speech, finally mooning the audience. In addition, when Penny mixes alcohol into his drink, he began to play the piano and sing "To Life" in front of an audience.[47] A small amount of coffee has made him extremely hyperactive in one instance, but unproductive in another.[55] Taking valium also has affected his behavior.[43]

Idiosyncrasies

Sheldon exhibits a strict adherence to routine, such as doing specific recreational activities on specific days of the week, going to the bathroom at a specific time every morning, eating specific food items on specific days, being unable to reconcile changes to food orders, doing laundry on a specific day and time (every Saturday night at 8:15), or knocking on the door a certain number of times while repeating the name of the person he is seeking with a particular frequency ("[knock knock knock] Penny [knock knock knock] Penny [knock knock knock] Penny" being the most common). He also makes loud noises (or musical notes with a xylophone) in every theater before a movie, attempting to locate the "acoustic sweet spot". However, he can adapt to seats with sub-optimal conditions, such as suitable cushion densities and light dispersion, provided he has the opportunity to test them.[56]

He refuses to sit anywhere other than his designated spot on the left cushion of the couch in his apartment, which he considers his "single point of consistency in an ever-changing world"[57] and "the singular location in space around which revolves my entire universe", exceeding his love for his mother.[58] He regularly reproaches Penny and other people for sitting in his spot, even when he is not intent on sitting in it himself. Even disruptions to this location are enough to disturb him. Although he did allow Penny to sit in his spot in the first episode, as well as Howard, for a short time in "The Apology Insufficiency", only 94 seconds later he reclaims his spot. Sheldon's need to sit in certain spots goes beyond even his own apartment, for instance when he had dinner at Raj's apartment he insisted that they all figure out where they were going to sit. Raj's sister Priya dismissed this and suggested they all sit anywhere. Sheldon continued to insist they figure out spots until Leonard told him to sit down after which Sheldon claimed they were all like "hippies at a love in." Leonard again told him to sit to which Sheldon replied "right on man, right on."

Sheldon is constantly worried about others touching his food. He washes his hands as often as he can, and he showers twice daily.[46] Leonard used Sheldon's concerns for food to mock him in "The Einstein Approximation", as did Raj in "The Engagement Reaction". Penny has stated that he still has not learned not to insult those who handle his food, to which Amy Farrah Fowler agrees.[59]

He is extremely worried about becoming sick. He became worried about Penny infecting him with influenza and subsequently contracted it.[23] Another time, he wanted a full medical examination by Leonard's girlfriend, Dr. Stephanie Barnett, in order to discover the cause of a high-pitched noise in his head.[60] When Howard's mother is sent to the hospital, Sheldon refuses to go due to exposure to pathogens and germs, until Penny confronts him. He accidentally wanders into a biohazard room at the hospital, after fearing the restroom's cleanliness, and endures a two-week quarantine.[51]

When Sheldon is complicit in a lie, he exhausts all of his efforts in his almost always unsuccessful attempt to make it believable.[61] Similarly, he cannot be entrusted with a secret because he develops nervous tics.[43] However, it is easier for him to lie if he has prior knowledge of the deception or an "ironclad alibi" thought out in advance, as opposed to it being "impromptu dishonesty".[62][63]

Once, he was distraught when Penny entered his room in the middle of the night.[64] On another occasion, Sheldon hesitantly let Penny in his bedroom to get a key for his desk to retrieve a flash drive, constantly reminding her that, far from creating a permanent easement, it was only one-time permission.[65]

While perfectly comfortable speaking to small groups, Sheldon cannot speak to crowds deemed large enough to trample him (36 adults or 70 children) without having a panic attack.[19] In general, he obsesses over safety.[66]

He also keeps a record of what he considers faux pas "strikes", which he allocates to those who violate his self-imposed conditions. Upon receiving three strikes, Sheldon gives them the choice of either apologizing or taking a "class".[37] For many of the characteristics aforementioned, Sheldon's friends often consider him "insane" or "crazy" despite Sheldon's repetition of another catchphrase "I'm not insane/crazy! My mother had me tested."[57][67]

Sheldon is also seen as one who holds grudges - as evidenced in season five, when he claims that he has a list of mortal enemies (which comprises 61 people) that he began when he was 9. At the end of the episode "The Russian Rocket Reaction", it is revealed that he now has 63 mortal enemies (having added Brent Spiner and the person responsible for quality control at Verbatim, Inc at 1989). He also says that Penny has only recently been deleted from the list, even after knowing her for five years.

Career

Sheldon is a senior theoretical particle physicist, conducting string theory research at Caltech.[53] Throughout the course of the show, Sheldon has switched disciplines from bosonic string theory to heterotic string theory, reconciled the black hole information paradox using a string network condensate approach[42] and worked on time-dependent backgrounds in string theory, specifically quantum field theory, in D-dimensional de Sitter space.[51] With Rajesh, he has worked on the string theory implications of gamma rays from dark matter annihilations and considered a method for optimizing a 500 GeV particle detector to this end.[68]

In the second-season finale "The Monopolar Expedition", Sheldon receives a grant from the National Science Foundation to travel to the North Magnetic Pole for an experiment in search of magnetic monopole particles, with Leonard, Raj and Howard as his support team.[69] In the experiment he detects what he believes is significant monopolar magnetic charge, validating one of the chief predictions of superstring theory. Though Sheldon publicly announces he has confirmed string theory and will receive a Nobel Prize, he learns that the charge detected was actually static electricity from the others' electric can opener, forcing Sheldon to issue a retraction to his announcement and severely damaging his reputation at the university.[14]

Sheldon and Leonard jointly wrote a paper on supersolids to be presented at an Institute for Experimental Physics topical conference on Bose-Einstein condensates.[32] He has also lectured on topological insulators.[70]

Like Leonard, Sheldon keeps a whiteboard in the living room for scientific theories. It usually contains virtual particles in quantum mechanics or series of Riemann zeta functions, but is sometimes used to play pictionary. He often rambles on about his imaginative ideas and theories, much to Leonard's annoyance, but does not listen to his friend concerning his (Leonard's) research.

Once, when he was obsessed with solving a physics problem, he took on menial tasks to clear his thought processes as to emulate Albert Einstein's success under similar circumstances. Much to Penny's dismay, one of the menial tasks he takes on is serving food at the Cheesecake Factory where she works, even though he was not an employee.[53] Sheldon became offended when he found that Missy inaccurately tells others he is a rocket scientist; he apparently thinks the title is beneath him.[17]

It is also mentioned at some point that Sheldon is a qualified Notary Public.

Asperger syndrome

Several viewers have asserted that Sheldon's behavior is consistent with Asperger syndrome.[5][7][71] The writers have stated that they did not use Asperger syndrome as a basis for the character, but instead thought of his actions as "Sheldony".[71] Series co-creator Bill Prady stated: "We write the character as the character. A lot of people see various things in him and make the connections. Our feeling is that Sheldon's mother never got a diagnosis, so we don't have one".[7] In an interview, Jim Parsons noted the writers' response, but added that in his opinion, Sheldon "couldn't display more traits" of Asperger's.[72] Parsons, who plays Sheldon, has read John Elder Robison's memoir Look Me in the Eye about his life with Asperger syndrome, and said that: "A majority of what I read in that book touched on aspects of Sheldon". However, he also stated that "the way [Sheldon's] brain works, it's so focused on the intellectual topics at hand that thinking he's autistic is an easy leap for people watching the show to make".[73]

Relationships

Family

Sheldon contrasts strongly with his family, as they are neither scientists nor intellectuals. His father, George, died before the start of the series and has characteristics of a "redneck" and a stereotypical Texan, including a fondness for football, skeet shooting, and heavy drinking.[15][36] His death occurred close enough to the start of the series that Sheldon's sister, Missy, visits him to bring him paperwork regarding their father's estate.[17] Sheldon recalls that his father would force him to watch football, despite his lack of interest for the sport, and would take him outside to show him how to "shoot close enough to a raccoon that it craps itself".[74]

Sheldon's mother, Mary, is a devout Christian whose spiritual beliefs often come into conflict with Sheldon's scientific ones. Despite this, his upbringing influenced him enough that he shouts "Thank you, Jesus!" after bowling a strike, before hastily adding, "As my mother would say". Mary is characterized as a doting mother and is readily available when Sheldon needs her. Sheldon expresses his love for his mother more than once (though he claims to have stronger feelings for the spot on his couch), and she is the only person that he capitulates to. Leonard calls her Sheldon's "Kryptonite".[37] After Sheldon and Penny get into a bitter, days-long war, Leonard gives Mary's phone number to Penny. After Mary chastises Sheldon, he immediately apologizes to Penny.[37] On another occasion, when Sheldon has a falling out with Amy Farrah Fowler and begins hoarding cats, Leonard himself calls Mary, who meets with both Amy and Sheldon and reports that she is glad they broke up, as she would have forced them to stop seeing each other anyway. Sheldon, not realizing his mother is using reverse psychology, proposes that they "set aside their differences."[75] Nevertheless, Sheldon remains very much attached to his mother, albeit he does not display it in front of her. When he was taking acting lessons from Penny (wherein he decided to make up his own skit involving Spock), he got so absorbed into his own acting that he cried about leaving his mother. Not sure how to react, Penny immediately called Sheldon's mother, saying "I think I broke your son!"

Sheldon has a fraternal twin sister, Missy. A tall, attractive brunette, Leonard, Howard, and Raj all made efforts to date her. Upon Sheldon realizing that within Missy's eggs lay the potential for another "superior mutation" like himself, he declares his friends unsuitable to be with his sister, an action which Missy resents. Missy also kicks Sheldon in the testicles (revealed in "The Pork Chop Indeterminacy").[17] Sheldon also has a yet-unseen older brother, George Jr.[44] Both Missy and George Jr. beat Sheldon up as children, and their mother describes them to be "dumb as soup".[15] Despite this, it appears that Missy admires her brother, mentioning that she regularly refers to him as a "rocket scientist" (which unwittingly offends Sheldon, who considers rocket science to be beneath him).

Sheldon is very fond of his grandmother, whom he calls "Me-maw", who in turn calls him "Moon Pie".[65]

Friends

At the outset of the show, Sheldon's closest friends are Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrapali. Penny, the neighbor across the hall, soon becomes another close friend. Sheldon is upset when he realizes Leonard is the center of their group of friends, but does not know that they actually miss and reminisce about him at this time.[76] Sheldon is best friends with Leonard, as they live together and are accustomed to tolerating each other ever since Sheldon put out an ad for a roommate with a list of criteria to follow. Despite Sheldon sometimes making remarks to the contrary, he appreciates Leonard and assures Leonard that his friend will not die alone. Prady stated that "the fact that, despite everything, Leonard considers Sheldon his best friend reminds us of Sheldon's essential humanity."[77]

Sheldon can only handle having a limited number of friends in his "landing party" at a time. Sheldon once tried to cut off Raj from his circle of friends to make room for Barry Kripke although the sole reason for that was because Raj got one answer for his questionnaire wrong. Otherwise he likes Raj because of the ethnic diversity he brings about in the group and the fact that he too likes monkeys and trains.[35] He lends help to Koothrappali by giving him a job under his supervision, and considers him a good friend.[68]

Sheldon often makes fun of Howard for not having a doctoral degree and for being an engineer, referring to engineers as "noble semi-skilled laborers" and "the Oompa-Loompas of science",[22] and calling engineering "the slow younger brother of physics".[78] In addition, he mocks his friend Leonard's work in experimental physics as unoriginal and simple. In "The Bozeman Reaction", he referred to Howard as "a treasured acquaintance" instead of a friend like the others.[79] However, he still helped him in his work and shows dismay when Howard is distracted by Penny's friend Christy during Halo night.[46] He also referred to him as "the funny one" in their group. In the episode "The Apology Insufficiency", Sheldon angers Howard by revealing details to the FBI that prevent him from obtaining a much needed security clearance. Howard refuses to accept Sheldon's apology, until Sheldon gives Howard his spot on the couch. However, Sheldon asks for the spot back after only 94 seconds.[58] Howard has vacillated between not really caring whether he and Sheldon are friends and being visibly wounded when Sheldon is dismissive of him. When Sheldon was considering who to jettison from his circle of friends and said critically that Howard did not have a Ph.D. and was not available to play video games during the Jewish High Holidays, Howard seemed pleased that he might be freed from Sheldon's friendship, only to watch as Sheldon then ordered a horrified Raj out of the circle of friends. Later, the "treasured acquaintance" remark makes Howard's face fall, as he is upset that Sheldon does not consider him a friend but does consider Leonard, Penny, and Raj friends. In "The Bus Pants Utilzation",[48] Sheldon also picks on Howard on numerous occasions. For example, when Leonard reveals his idea for a smartphone application regarding solving differential equations (using Schrödinger's equation or Fourier analysis), Sheldon points out that Howard does not do such a thing, because he is only an engineer. Secondly, when Sheldon tells his side of the story on why Penny likes to hang out with the guys all the time, he refers to their group of scientists as "a group of geniuses and their friend Howard", thus ruling him out. When Sheldon, unsatisfied with Leonard's leadership of the team, calls for a change in leadership, he says it is necessary to "dissolve the bonds that tie three competent scientists together", referring to only himself, Leonard, and Raj. In addition, when trying to lure Raj and Howard to abandon Leonard's project and join him in a rival company, Sheldon offers them, amongst other things, custom mugs. While on Raj's mug is written "World's greatest astrophysicist", Howards's mug only contains his name, with Sheldon explaining that he typed "World's greatest engineer" into the label maker, but could not bring himself to press Enter. A more subtle example is when Sheldon, after being kicked off the team for his inflexibility, learns that the guys named the app "Project Len-Wolo-Pali", and asks if the name "Koothra-nard-owitz" (with Howard's name at the end rather than the middle) had already been taken.

Despite Penny not being a scientist nor sharing many of the group's interests (Parsons described the characters of Sheldon and Penny as "polar opposites"[80]), and having constant fights with Sheldon in the early episodes, they became close friends, due to some time alone with each other, such as when Penny cares for Sheldon during illness[23] or when Penny takes him in as he is locked out of his apartment while his friends are in Las Vegas.[49] Sheldon returns the favor as he cares for Penny when she dislocates her shoulder. In all of these instances, the story line ends with one of them singing "Soft Kitty", a song Sheldon's mother used to sing to him, when he was sick.[23] On the one hand, Sheldon and Penny spend a lot of time getting on each other's nerves: Sheldon often mentions how uneducated or untidy Penny is, while Penny likes to irritate him by sitting in his spot, messing with food, and they once started a futile war (Penny blocked Sheldon from doing his laundry on his laundry day, and he replied by exposing her clothes and underwear outside the window). However, they also efficiently team up, for example to plan Leonard's birthday or to develop Penny's "Penny Blossoms" business, singing along sailor songs to motivate the other ones. They end up spending a lot of time together as two close friends, help each other and give each other advice (Penny helping to find a suit for Sheldon for an awards ceremony, or seeking Stan Lee's address for him because he couldn't meet him as the other members of the group did; Sheldon teaching Penny physics to help her in her relationship with Leonard), and, on a few occasions, they appear to share a sort of intimacy that Sheldon doesn't have with anyone else: they both take care of each other when they don't feel well; they stayed together in the flat, cranky and grumpy, as they had both caught flu after a hug they had exchanged; Sheldon has an immediate very nervous and alarmed reaction when he hears Penny calling for his help from her flat; they sing together "Soft Kitty" as a round in a kind intimate moment; Sheldon adds an amused "Bazinga!" to one of Penny's jokes, to which she replies with a tender "Hmm..."

Sheldon acknowledges Penny as one of his closest friends (along with Leonard and Raj), while he considers that Howard is a "treasured acquaintance", though he has known him a lot longer than Penny. Also, when Penny and Leonard break up, Sheldon still considers Penny a friend and makes dinner plans, which he tries to hide when Howard informs him that it is inappropriate behavior and "bros come before ho's". He actually goes through a lot of trouble (hiding frozen hot dogs in his pants, confronting a huge threatening dog ... ) just to dine with her, though he's already been forced to eat a whole meal with the boys. In the end, Leonard and Penny in a way share custody of Sheldon, taking him to Disneyland and out to buy new shoes.

The interaction between Sheldon and Penny has been praised by critics. James Chamberlin of IGN wrote: "Cuoco and Parsons are great in their own right, but when put together, they truly shine."[81] Matt Roush of TV Guide said that Sheldon and Penny's "scenes and episodes together are usually Big Bang at its best".[82] Todd WanDerVerff of The A.V. Club wrote that they "made such an inspired odd coupling that at times, it seemed as though the entire show were about them" and their chemistry "has some of the rattle and rhythm of the great comedic duos".[83] Chuck Lorre stated that Sheldon and Penny have "become a natural comic pairing" and they "bounce off each other beautifully".[84]

Some fans support a romantic relationship between Sheldon and Penny.[85][86] Lorre, however, is opposed to this, saying: "We've stumbled into creating a character who has chosen a lifestyle for himself that is unique. And I don't see any reason to modify it."[84] WanDerVerff was also critical of the idea writing: "TV teaches us that any time a man and a woman are in some sort of relationship with any sort of spark to it, that man and that woman will inevitably begin sleeping together, and I think that's what the Sheldon/Penny shippers are responding to, but The Big Bang Theory is showing us that that doesn't necessary [sic] have to be the case".[83] Kaley Cuoco said that if they dated, "Penny would kill Sheldon".[87] In The Infestation Hypothesis, Sheldon and Penny acknowledge they are like an old married couple.

In the Season 3 finale, Raj blackmails Sheldon into meeting a woman that he and Howard discovered on a dating website. Initially incredulous, Sheldon is surprised to learn that the woman (Amy Farrah Fowler, played by Mayim Bialik) is largely a female version of himself, to the horror of Howard and Raj. Amy agreed with her mother to go on a date once a year (in exchange for her mother not bringing up the issue, plus occasional use of a George Foreman Grill). Over the course of a few lines, the two realize they have a connection to each other and go on the date.[88] The relationship continues in the fourth season. In the first episode of the fourth season, Sheldon reveals that they have been in contact via numerous electronic means over the summer and that they plan to have a child together without marrying and without sexual intercourse. Their decision to have a child in this manner is thwarted by Penny, who threatens to tell Sheldon's devout Christian mother of his plans to have a child that will be born to unwed parents. Despite their compatibility and empathy towards each other, Sheldon often points out that they are not in a romantic relationship, most often by saying of Amy, "She is a girl who is my friend, but not my girlfriend!" Despite Sheldon's assessment that Amy is not the free spirit he is,[45] he delights in how she has gotten him experimenting in the social sciences.[89] The two enjoy intellectual games they create, and Amy openly expresses the same intellectual superiority to people around her that Sheldon expresses to his friends.[75] For instance, when Sheldon does not understand how Amy, a neurobiologist, could ridicule Bernadette Rostenkowski, a microbiologist, for her studies,[66] Amy remarks, "I study the brain, the organ responsible for Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Bernadette studies yeast, the organism responsible for Michelob Light." The two temporarily broke up after an argument regarding whether theoretical physics or neurobiology is the superior academic discipline, but quickly made up after Sheldon's mother intervened.[75] Amy has sometimes shown romantic interest in Sheldon.[40][90] After Sheldon inadvertently infers that Leonard and Amy may have had sex after a wedding reception both attended together, he has an unexpectedly violent reaction, karate-chopping Leonard's neck with his left hand, while telling Leonard "She's not for you...not for you!"[91]

Sheldon has formed a strong bond with Leonard's mother, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter (Christine Baranski). The similarity in their personalities allowed them to bond on a level Sheldon has been unable to find with anyone else.[92] After their initial meeting, they have kept in touch via e-mail, sharing information and research papers. When she visits to inform Leonard that she is divorcing his father, Penny gets her drunk. She kisses Sheldon in a fit of passion, but rejects seeking further physical intimacy with him.[93]

Sheldon has claimed to not like Leonard's girlfriends, with the exception of Dr. Stephanie Barnett (Sara Rue).[13] He clashes with Priya Koothrappali (Aarti Mann), Raj's sister and Leonard's girlfriend, when she employs her Cambridge University law education to nullify his roommate agreement with Leonard by noting ambiguities in the document. After seeking advice from Amy, Sheldon re-drafts the agreement, eliminating any ambiguities, and blackmails Priya by threatening to tell her parents about her relationship with a non-Indian if Leonard did not sign the revised document.[40] Yet, he has had the most conflicts with Penny.

Sheldon shows little interests in forming social relationships outside of his current circle of friends – an indifference that extends to romantic attachments. Despite such indifference, Sheldon somehow manages to attract the romantic interest of at least three women and one man (including Leonard's mother), although on three of those occasions, he is initially oblivious to their advances. In the episode "The Cooper Nowitzki Theorem", Ramona Nowitzki is a graduate student who Sheldon grows tired of after she inserts herself into his life and curtails his recreational activities. He finally dismisses her from his apartment when she asks for shared credit on his scientific discovery.[42] Penny once asks what Sheldon's "deal" is, alluding to his sexual orientation. Leonard responds that "we've been operating under the assumption that he has no deal", with Howard suggesting that Sheldon might reproduce by mitosis.[42] Series co-creator Chuck Lorre said: "Part of what's wonderful and unique about [Sheldon] is he has chosen not to play in the relationship game either way -- heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, any sexuality".[84]

Critics and viewers have postulated that Sheldon may be asexual or aromantic, while others dispute this assertion. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club stated that "giving Sheldon a girlfriend, boyfriend or even a "friend with benefits" would be [...] far outside the scope of the character".[94] Kona Gallagher of TV Squad wrote that "the idea of Sheldon with a lady is a jarring one".[95] In contrast, Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "the right woman could draw [Sheldon] out of his shell".[85] In an interview, Parsons said that he thinks that his character eventually will have a romantic relationship.[86]

More recently, in Season 5, Sheldon shows that he isn't okay with Leonard getting together with Amy. While Amy considers Sheldon to be something like a boyfriend, she dislikes some of his idiosyncrasies and doesn't seem to be quite as asexual as he is. In fact, Amy has opened sexual negotiations. Her opening offer involved a torrid encounter; those negotiations resulted in, at least, cuddling; and Sheldon would mention 'spooning' in a later conversation. Second base was not reached, however.

Enemies

Sheldon has rivalries with two of his co-workers: Barry Kripke and Leslie Winkle.[96] Barry is a plasma physicist with a case of rhotacism. He pitted his robot, the Kripke Krippler (or, as he called it, the "Kwipke Kwippwer"), against the guys' robot, M.O.N.T.E., in an unofficial robot fight.[78] Kripke continued his antagonism towards Sheldon when he pulled a prank on Sheldon when the latter was a guest on NPR's Science Friday.[97] However, Sheldon has attempted to befriend him on only two occasions, to gain access to an open science grid computer and as a prospective member in a new group of friends.[76] Leslie is a sometime lover of Leonard, and an optical physicist. Leslie and Sheldon mutually consider themselves to be intellectually superior to the other; however, Leslie is wittier, generally besting Sheldon in their repartee.[96] She often calls him a "dumbass." In Seasons 1 and 2, Sheldon considers her his "arch enemy".[98]

However, the person Sheldon considers to be his "mortal enemy" is Wil Wheaton. Sheldon's hatred of Wheaton stems from Wheaton's cancelling an appearance at a science fiction convention in Jackson, Mississippi that Sheldon had gone to some lengths to attend years previously. In Season 3, the two encounter each other at a customizable card game tournament, and Sheldon's antipathy towards Wheaton is heightened when Wheaton uses gamesmanship to defeat him in the tournament. He tells Sheldon that he cancelled the appearance because his grandmother had died and he went to her funeral, causing Sheldon to throw the game out of sympathy, only to find out the story was a ruse.[16] Sheldon's animosity towards Wheaton is further reinforced during a bowling face-off between Sheldon's team and Stuart's team, on which Wheaton is substituting for another player. Again resorting to gamesmanship, Wheaton senses relationship troubles between Leonard and Penny (two of Sheldon's bowlers) and manipulates Penny into dumping Leonard, causing her to leave the bowling alley in tears. Sheldon's team is thus deprived of its best bowler, and they eventually lose the match.[99] In Season 4, Sheldon spites Wheaton by stealing a print of Raiders of the Lost Ark with 21 seconds of unseen footage after Wheaton jumps ahead of him, Leonard, Howard, and Raj in line at the screening.[100] However, Wheaton and Sheldon make up as Wheaton gives Sheldon his last mint copy of his action figure, causing them to be friends. After Wheaton gives Sheldon a mint condition, unopened and signed Wesley Crusher figure, Brent Spiner grabs it and opens it, causing Sheldon to add Spiner to his "mortal enemies list", maintaining the number of names at 61.

Reception

Jim Parsons' portrayal of Sheldon has received outstanding reception from critics, and is often cited as the main reason for the program's success.[101][102][103] James Chamberlin of IGN wrote: "It's hard to imagine what The Big Bang Theory would be if it weren't for Jim Parsons' great portrayal of Sheldon Cooper."[104] Matt Roush of TV Guide stated that "there's a spark of divine inspiration in Jim Parsons' uproarious Sheldon Cooper".[105] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Parsons is doing something rare on network TV: making intellectualism admirable, even heroic".[6]

On July 16, 2009, Jim Parsons was nominated for an Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Comedy for the role of Sheldon.[106] He was nominated again on July 8, 2010, and won the award for "Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" on August 29, 2010 in the 62nd Primetime Emmys.[107] In August 2009, he won the Television Critics Association award for the highest individual achievements in comedy.[108] He was also nominated for a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor[109] and a Satellite Award for best actor in a comedy or musical series.[110] On January 16, 2011 Parsons won the Golden Globe for best actor in a television series, and the award was presented by co-star Kaley Cuoco. He won his second consecutive Emmy on September 18, 2011.

Notes

^ a: His sister's guinea pig, Snowball, caught fire in Sheldon's homemade CAT scanner, which created a strange phrase in his household, "Not a Snowball's chance in a CAT scanner". Sheldon was hospitalized for radiation burns due to the same incident.
^ b: The entire song consists of the following four lines: "Soft kitty, warm kitty/little ball of fur/happy kitty, sleepy kitty/purr, purr, purr". In "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency", Penny makes Sheldon sing the song to her after her injury.

References

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