Sheldon Cooper. Aspie, or offensive parody?

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He was funny before he got Flanderized, though he was always a one-trick pony. The other characters tend to have more comedic range.

I don't think Sheldon Cooper is really that offensive to Aspies The creators of the Big Bang Theory simply created a funny character whose personality traits happen to be similar to someone with Asperger's. The show does not imply that all people with Asperger's act like him. I think the Big Bang Theory is an excellent show, and I don't find it offensive at all.

Sheldon is the show. I like Big Bang, Sheldon is clearly an Aspie and I often agree with him.

Sheldon is really good at heart. I don't always agree with him, and there are many times I do not particularly like him.

I do find him endearing though at times.

My favourite Sheldon moments include his explanation of Saturnalia and Christmas trees and his hug to Penny.

Okay, so I am only on season 2 (I don't have cable and depend on DVDs) but I think that Sheldon and Leonard are great roommates.

I do believe that writers on the show researched the characteristics of AS and used it to write Sheldon. They know perfectly well that they're puting an aspie at the center of the commedy. But, obviously, if they would diagnose him as an aspie, it wouldn't be funny anymore.

That being said, I don't think the commedy is mean, so I don't feel offended by it. It's good to laugh at ourselves.

If I like to watch edgy commedy, such as Louis CK's, where he jokes with a lot of things most people find offensive (allways without being mean), why would I be offended when commedy is directed at me?

I wonder if there will be a year when this is not brought up? I think with all the negative media aspies are getting Sheldon is a good thing.

Despite being a caricature of an Aspie, Sheldon still puts a positive face on Asperger's, despite his many misanthropic quirks.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Sheldon is cute. I am surprised that the guy who plays him is gay and 40 years old. He looks much younger.

Not only is it not surprising to hear he is gay- in fact its interesting to hear that.
His sheldon character seems to have a fay vibe- not that thats per se bad but its an annoying nonsequitar to the nerdy/aspieness of the character he is supposed to portray.

So apparently the gay vibe I pick up from him is the actors real personality (probably unintentionally) coming through, and not part of his deliberate character persona.

After looking at this topic I looked over the creation and biography of the character, Sheldon Cooper on wikipedia-weither if this site is trustworthy or not- and it did state that he showed characteristics of Asperger's and several other disorders. However, it is stated that co-creator, Bill Prady repeatedly protested that Sheldon's character was not developed or conceived with regard of any of the conditions. Reading that, Sheldon Cooper is not a parody to Asperger's Syndrome. I find it sad, really. He's such a lovable character. Jim Parsons himself, I have no idea if he has AS or not.

Even if it was a parody, what's wrong with that?

Exactly. There's nothing wrong with us Aspies laughing at ourselves. After all, there are black comedies, where black Americans can laugh at stereotypes about themselves, as long as it's not cruel.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

i was ill last week, so finally i had the opportunity to watch the first 4 seasons. i think sheldon has many aspie traits, yet i would not call him an aspie. he's rather a mix of many disorders i guess. i think the character is somewhat exaggerated, with such behavior i doubt he could reach where he is in the series. what makes me think that the authors did not purposely create an aspie character is that he constantly maintains eye contact to others. i don't think an aspie could do that for a prolonged time.

In the episode where Leonard meets Sheldon for the first time Sheldon doesn't mantain eye contact. He learned how to do it through time.

Anyone see last weeks show? I'm wondering if the girl that Raj met has AS. Lots of traits in Her IMO.

I thought at the very least, she had acute social anxiety.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer