Young Sheldon Fans Can't Get Over This Big Bang Theory Mistake
For both The Big Bang Theory and its prequel series, Young Sheldon, there are some plot holes and continuity errors that fans can't help but notice. In a series as long-running as The Big Bang Theory, though, a discrepancy here and there is inevitable and finding them can even make the show that much more entertaining.
Some fans have taken to Reddit to point out these plot holes and many of them seem to revolve around Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon is an incredibly gifted, but nerdy physicist and one of the shows central characters. The character was such a hit that CBS developed a prequel series centered on him, Young Sheldon. This sitcom details a 9-year-old Sheldon's childhood and the difficulties he faces being a child a genius.
While these plot holes don't impact the cohesion of the show or take away from its success, it can still be exciting to catch an error that the writers probably hoped you wouldn't notice. Read on to learn about the mistake The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon and fans can't get over.
The Big Bang Theory doesn't get Sheldon Cooper's age right
When it comes to Sheldon Cooper's age and his past, some details just don't quite add up. Played by Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory and Iain Armitage in Young Sheldon, the character Sheldon is said to be 27 years old at the start of season 1 of The Big Bang Theory as it is established that he was born Feb. 26, 1980. As the Reddit user dgiannak pointed out, however, a certain line in Season 1, Episode 4 contradicts that and Sheldon's entire life timeline.
In the episode "The Luminous Fish Effect," after Sheldon loses his job and debates trying to get it back, he says, "I've spent the last three-and-a-half years staring at grease boards full of equations. Before that, I spent four years working on my thesis. Before that, I was in college, and before that, I was in the fifth grade."
Based on this timeline and the fact that Sheldon started college when he was just 11 years old — a major plot point of Young Sheldon — the observant Reddit user discovered that Sheldon should actually be around 22 years old.
Sheldon Cooper's birthdate and birthplace don't add up
Another goof surrounding Sheldon Cooper's age and birthdate came to light in a line from the Season 1 episode "The Peanut Reaction," in which Penny refers to Sheldon as the astrological sign of Taurus. The remark contradicts his birthdate of Feb. 26, 1980 and suggests he was born between late April and late May, as Insider reports. Sheldon should actually be a Pisces and, later on in the show, he is correctly labeled as one.
Not only does the date of Sheldon's birth get confused, but fans have also called the place of his birth into question. In the episode "The Luminous Fish Effect," Sheldon's mother Mary pays a visit and mentions that Sheldon had a pretty unconventional birth story. "I'll tell ya, I love the boy to death, but he has been difficult since he fell out of me at the K-Mart," Mary claimed. In a later episode, the writers contradict this story with Sheldon claiming he was born at the (fictional) Lawrence Memorial Hospital, per Houstonia Magazine.
Pointing out these plot holes and discrepancies are all in good fun, though, and the successful 12-season show certainly made up for any slips by providing fans with excellent television for many years.