the big bang theory
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HBO Max will be the only place to stream ‘Big Bang Theory’
HBO Max is snatching up content ahead of its launch in the spring of 2020. After announcing that Friends -- one of Netflix's most-streamed shows -- would become an HBO Max exclusive, the Warner-owned service announced that it would be home to The Big Bang Theory as well. This is the first streaming contract for the show, and it'll last for five years.
CBS launches its own TV-streaming service for $6 a month
Less than a day after HBO finally promised to let users cut out the middleman, CBS has decided to do the same. The company is launching CBS All Access, which charges $6 a month to stream new episodes of its shows the day after broadcast. You'll be able to stream 15 of its prime-time shows in this way, including big hits like NCIS and The Big Bang Theory as well as 6,500 episodes of classic TV from the CBS back catalog as a sweetener. That'll enable you to binge down on classic shows like, uhm, MacGyver and I Love Lucy whenever and wherever you want. The platform will also enable you to watch the live streams from the Big Brother house when that show returns next year, which seems like an adequate apology after CBS helped kill off Aereo.
The Big Bang Theory S1 and S2 will finally hit Blu-ray July 10th
Considering the usual subject matter of The Big Bang Theory it's a bit bizarre that the first couple of seasons weren't already available in high definition, but Warner Home Video has now announced they will be released on Blu-ray July 10th. While later seasons have already seen Blu-ray releases, those looking to start back at the beginning for Leonard, Sheldon, Penny and the rest of the crew had been stuck with DVDs. Assuming you're a fan of CBS' comedy series, you can preorder each Blu-ray / DVD combo release now, priced at $23.99 for the first season and $54.97 for the longer second season. Of course, what we're really wondering is what this means for other orphaned releases that only have some or none of their seasons available on Blu-ray as studios have shifted strategies, we're still waiting for How I Met Your Mother season one. Drop a note about any other shows you're following that have holes in their HD releases in the comments below, or just check out a video clip of the show with the canned laughter cut out -- it's... different.
Screen Grabs: Big Bang Theory's Raj falls head over heels... for Siri (video)
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. Finally! A TV show that we've actually seen (sorry, Gossip Girl). The Big Bang Theory's most recent episode featured Raj finding love with Siri. The uptight astrophysicist is incapable of speaking to women unless he's been on the sauce, but finds no such social inhibition with his iPhone's virtual assistant. Of course, like any geek receiving attention from the opposite gender, Dr Koothrappali soon becomes unhealthily infatuated with the handset, leading him on a trip to Cupertino to meet the person behind the microphone symbol. We won't spoil what happens, but you can probably work it out -- there's video past the break.
Siri guest stars on CBS's Big Bang Theory
The most recent episode of CBS's sitcom The Big Bang Theory rather prominently features Siri in its "B" storyline. Astrophysicist Raj, one of the show's main characters, buys an iPhone 4S and spends most of the episode interacting with the voice-activated "personal assistant." As is typical for the show, Raj's interaction with Siri rapidly goes off the deep end; the character is notorious for striking out with women due to a psychologically-induced speech block when any females are nearby, but he has no problem talking to Siri. His interactions with his iPhone begin with the initial novelty that all iPhone 4S users likely experience when they first use Siri, but over the course of the episode Raj's attitude toward Siri starts to become increasingly creepier. Both my wife and I noticed that Siri's real voice isn't used in the episode; we initially put it down to licensing issues, but it turned out there was an in-episode reason for using a human substitute for Siri's voice that pays off at the end. When I watched this episode last week I thought this storyline was pretty funny (the half-bottle of Merlot I had with dinner probably helped), but watching it again now makes me feel more uncomfortable than amused. I get that The Big Bang Theory derives most of its laughs from over-the-top exaggerations of geeky behavior, but toward the end of this latest episode it got to be a little bit too exaggerated. What's most interesting about this episode is that it must have gone into production not too long after the iPhone 4S was first announced, and probably no more than a week or two after the handset became available in the States. Within a relatively short space of time the show's writers managed to assemble most of the more humorous Siri interactions into a coherent storyline that's perfectly in line with the show's conventions. A video of Raj's interactions with Siri is embedded below, or at least until CBS releases the hounds on YouTube.
The Perfect Ten: MMOs in movies and television
While 1982's Tron explored what virtual life might be like inside a massive video game, it wasn't until fairly recently that real MMOs have crossed the divide between niche and mainstream to be referenced in television and films. Depending on how you see it, this mainstream acceptance of geek culture can be a thing to be either celebrated or shunned. What's for certain, however, is that we've only started to see the beginning of such mentions. In today's Perfect Ten, I cobbled together a list of the first 10 MMO references that I know of from movies and TV shows. Some might be nothing more than a background detail or a throwaway line, while others are completely centered around the advertisement, er, massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. I tried hard not to use "cheats" such as fake MMOs featured in shows like The Guild, so this list is all about real-world titles with no sugar substitutes. Ready? Insert quarter and hit player one!
Screen Grabs: Tango supplants FaceTime for Big Bang Theory videocall
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. It may not share the same level of name recognition as FaceTime (or heck, even Fring), but Tango's multi-platform videocalling app is still a very real alternative. So real, in fact, that it was just used in an episode of The Big Bang Theory as a highly fictional (and severely busted) character makes an outlandish videocall to a mythical group of friends. Or was it all just a dream? Hop on down to the source link (and fast-forward to the 13th minute) to find out. [Thanks, Sowmitra] %Gallery-115778%
The Daily Grind: Do MMOs belong in the mainstream?
Age of Conan on The Big Bang Theory. Second Life on The Office. World of Warcraft on South Park. The Guild transforming into an internet phenomenon. The Simpsons and FoxTrot creating parodies of virtual worlds. It seems as though everywhere we turn, MMORPGs are toeing the line between niche and mainstream, especially thanks to the whirlwind of WoW. As MMOs become less of a fringe activity and more accepted in popular culture, I have to ask -- is that a good thing? After all, geeks are highly protective of their territory, often seeing themselves as the faithful guardians of That Which Society Rejected. To suddenly see that pastime become accepted and embraced by the crowd may prove disorienting -- and even disturbing. So do MMOs belong in the mainstream? As they become more widespread, is there something essential that's being lost in the translation? Are the faithful guardians resentful of MMO devs who may cater to the casual crowd over them? Is there a risk of overexposure and backlash? Won't somebody please think of the children?
The Guild season 3, episode 8 (with gag reel)
Another excellent (and a little disturbing) episode of The Guild is out right now on MSN Video and the usual places (including right after the jump on this post). Wil Wheaton returns to his role as the rival guildleader, and the rival guild continues to push the envelope on revenge. Tink makes a return as well, but as for how that goes, we'll let you watch the show yourself. Elsewhere in Guild news, Wil Wheaton also made an appearance as himself on the geeky sitcom The Big Bang Theory last night. If you missed it, CBS has a few clips up on their website to watch right now. The appearance isn't actually World of Warcraft-related, though the game has appeared on the show before (and Felicia Day and I talked about Big Bang Theory a while back on our podcast). And The Guild has also posted a second season 3 gag reel, with behind the scenes footage of all of the guys... cursing like sailors. Enjoy! Like The Guild? We do, too! We chatted with all of the folks at BlizzCon, including Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and Jeff Lewis and Michele Boyd. We also saw their panel, and the guys were nice enough to stop by our meetup as well. Stay tuned here every Tuesday for a brand new episode of season 3!
Age of Conan conquers The Big Bang Theory
This week's episode of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory prominently featured Age of Conan, and its A-story dealt in a light-hearted way with online gaming addiction. If you're unfamiliar with the show, the premise is as follows: two extremely geeky twenty-something males -- both scientists at Caltech -- move in across the hall from a pretty but not-too-terribly sophisticated blonde woman. Commence unlikely friendship and all the humor that comes with it!In this week's episode, one of the two geeks is playing Age of Conan when the girl comes over. She starts playing the game and becomes addicted, rejecting responsibilities and basic hygiene for the remainder of the episode. The premise sounds typical, but the episode has a certain wink-like-quality to it. It's all in good humor, and there are a lot of inside jokes that only players of the game could get. Funcom's active participation becomes evident when cut-scenes rendered exclusively for the show make an appearance. It's likely that Funcom paid for this product placement, actually. We've embedded a brief clip after the break, but you should check out other (unembeddable) scenes at the show's website (watch any clip from season two, episode three), but be aware that CBS insists on living in some long-dead century by not making the complete episode available online.[Thanks, C.A.] Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
HDTV Listings for September 24, 2007
What we're watching: ABC, NBC and CBS are rolling out their fall premieres, with several returning shows and a few brand new ones. In between standbys like DWTS and Heroes, keep an eye out for the series premieres of Chuck, The Big Bang Theory and Journeyman. Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
