Home Theater Geeks 548 Transcript
Please be advised that this transcript is AI-generated and may not be word-for-word. Time codes refer to the approximate times in the ad-free version of the show.
Scott Wilkinson [00:00:00]:
In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I talk about one of my favorite new streaming shows, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. So stick around. Podcasts you love.
TWiT.tv [00:00:16]:
From people you trust. This is TWiT.
Scott Wilkinson [00:00:22]:
Hey there, Scott Wilson.
Scott Wilkinson [00:00:31]:
Hi, I'm Jim Wilkinson here, the Home Theater Geek. In this episode, I'm starting a new occasional series on Home Theater Geeks. I'm calling it What I'm Watching, and I'm going to be talking about content that I'm enjoying and would like to share with you and hope you'll enjoy it too. In this episode, I'm going to talk about Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. Which was created by Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, and Zach Penn, and it's streaming on HBO Max. It's a spin-off from The Big Bang Theory, the 4th spin-off in fact from The Big Bang Theory, which is one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. Yes, there are some cringe elements. But as a bona fide geek, I find most of it to be hilarious.
Scott Wilkinson [00:01:32]:
As my wife will tell you, I laughed more loudly watching The Big Bang Theory than any other program when it originally aired from 2007 to 2019. Now, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is not a sitcom per se. Although it is very funny. The basic premise is that the 3 main— 3 of the main characters from The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard, have invented a device, a quantum device that breaks the boundaries or the barriers between the universes in the multiverse and allows passage between them. Now, the Stuart in the title of this show is Stuart Bloom, played by Kevin Sussman, who was a secondary character in The Big Bang Theory. And as the backstory for this new show goes, he accidentally knocks over the device that Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard built, and And breaks it and causes chaos. He, he actually enters into another universe and meets up with alternate Stuart from that universe and warns him of the problem and implores him to try and fix it. Before he disappears, the original Stuart.
Scott Wilkinson [00:03:15]:
So alternate Stuart has to try to repair this device and prevent all of reality from collapsing. Unfortunately, Stuart is what we might call hapless. He's a sad sack. He's not a scientist. He's a failed artist. And so there's not much hope of him actually doing this. of succeeding in fixing the device. Now, joining him in the quest are 3 other secondary characters from The Big Bang Theory.
Scott Wilkinson [00:03:51]:
One of them is Stuart's girlfriend, Denise, played by Lauren Lapkus, seen here second from the left. Geologist Bert Kibler, played by Brian Posehn, seen here, uh, in the far right of this image. Stewart's in the next to him, between him and Denise, and the physicist Barry Kripke, played by John Ross Bowie, uh, who is there on the left. And he has the best chance to repair this device, being a physicist, but he seems to have other priorities most of the time. Now Each episode takes place in a different universe, so the show is quite a bit like Sliders. Do you remember that one? I love that show too. At least the first couple seasons were excellent. It kind of went downhill after that.
Scott Wilkinson [00:04:46]:
Hopefully that won't happen to this show. It's also a little bit like Quantum Leap, uh, which didn't travel to different universes, but the main character found himself suddenly in an unknown situation, in a different life, in a different set of circumstances that he had to try and figure out. The same is true for these characters. Each episode is going to be in a different universe, and they have to figure out where they are, what the rules are, and how they're going to get out of it and hopefully get back to their original universe. So as such, this show could continue indefinitely. I really hope it doesn't succumb to the problem of that some of these other shows have, which is after a few seasons, they kind of fall into less good than they used to be. We shall see. We shall see.
Scott Wilkinson [00:05:47]:
One of the really cool things about the show is that other characters from The Big Bang Theory do make cameo appearances. Uh, we've seen Raj, played by Kunal Nayyar, uh, Penny, played by, uh, Kaley Cuoco, Bernadette, played by Melissa Rauch, uh, Amy Farrah Fowler, played by Mayim Bialik, uh, and Wil Wheaton, who plays himself, sort of. Uh, and they're all— these characters are different. Than their original Big Bang Theory characters in one way or another, depending on the universe that they appear in. And what's— I love this— what's even better is even if their character dies in a given episode, they can always come back because they'll be in a different universe and they'll be a different version of themselves. Now, one character That will likely never appear is Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons, who has made it clear that no amount of money would ever get him to reprise that character. Um, I'm sorry to hear that because he was brilliant at it, but he really— he was the reason The Big Bang Theory stopped. He said, I'm done.
Scott Wilkinson [00:07:13]:
And they figured we can't do the show without him, and they were right, I think. So the Big Bang Theory had to stop. Jim Parsons went on to do other stuff and is continuing to do other stuff. We won't see him in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, but I sure hope we see some of the other characters, including Howard, Leonard, and other characters that are That have, have been in The Big Bang Theory and could easily show up here and do any number of strange things. Now, The Big Bang Theory was what's called a multi-camera sitcom. Each scene was shot as a complete scene with multiple cameras in front of a live audience, and that would allow the producers to choose different angles during a scene, a complete scene that was shot, and compose a show out of that. This, you know, so that's— that was a common— that's a common means of doing sitcoms. It was pioneered by Desi Arnaz, who invented it essentially for I Love Lucy back in the '50s.
Scott Wilkinson [00:08:36]:
And most sitcoms are done that way, even up to this day. By contrast, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a single-camera shoot, which is more like movies and television dramas. And there's no studio audience, and there's one camera. You may shoot a scene several different times from several different angles, But there's usually only one camera going at a time. And also, The Big Bang Theory had virtually no special effects, but Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is full of them, both practical and CGI. So that's another difference between these two. Now, technically, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is light-years beyond The Big Bang Theory because it's streaming. And because it was created for streaming, it's presented in UHD resolution with Dolby Vision high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos sound.
Scott Wilkinson [00:09:46]:
Um, and all of these elements are significant improvements over any broadcast television at this point. Um, so for example, the Atmos soundtrack really really makes use of, is very effective for things flying overhead. And when the characters are falling from one universe to another, they're kind of in a limbo situation, and that sound is all over the place. Similarly, uh, the 4K resolution and the Dolby Vision high dynamic range just look great. So the creators of this program are really Using that, that technology well, I think. Now, I've watched the first 6 episodes, which are all that are available. It drops every Thursday on HBO Max, and I think they're all hilarious. Of course, they're not without a few problems.
Scott Wilkinson [00:10:44]:
I mean, I'm a geek. Any geek will notice something. For example, when these characters drop into a new universe, They suddenly have the characteristics that others in that universe that were native to that universe have, uh, even though they're not native to that universe. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, um, although it does drive some of the comedy. So okay, I'll give them that. And even so, I'm enjoying it immensely. If you were a fan of The Big Bang Theory, you will almost certainly love Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. And as I said, new episodes drop every Thursday.
Scott Wilkinson [00:11:32]:
And when you check it out, be sure to watch the opening credits. A lot of time, particularly on streaming shows, there'll be a button that says skip opening credits. don't do it because Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and, uh, the others have made subtle changes each time. In fact, they hide messages in each opening credit sequence that's different for each episode. Um, and another interesting thing about the opening credits is the theme music was composed by Danny Elfman. And so it's pretty interesting. In fact, I want to show you the opening credits for episode 1. Check it out.
Speaker E [00:12:22]:
Do what he tries to reset our lives, but he fails to save the universe. Our own actions, as he tries and he tries, but he fails to save the universe.
Scott Wilkinson [00:12:54]:
So as I said, each opening credit for each episode is actually a little different. There are hidden messages in, in each of them. And they flash back by pretty fast. So it's kind of fun to try and catch them all. I have one here to show you, just one that came from, I think, episode 6, which is a doormat with a long sequence of alphanumeric characters. And they're actually ASCII or hexadecimal ASCII text. And you'd have to actually go look it up probably unless you're really fluent in hexadecimal ASCII text, but what it spells out is hidden message. I really love that, and there's a bunch of them.
Scott Wilkinson [00:13:48]:
So don't scroll past or jump past the opening credits for each episode because there's going to be something new there, and it's going to be something cool and interesting. So finally, I wanted to play you the official trailer for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, um, to give you a flavor of what it's about. So check it out.
Speaker E [00:14:13]:
Unbelievable.
Scott Wilkinson [00:14:14]:
Everyone's being so nice to each other.
Speaker F [00:14:16]:
Yeah, they have devices in their necks to make them nice.
Speaker D [00:14:19]:
What are you talking about? This is gonna be the stupidest—
Speaker F [00:14:24]:
Oh, you might be on to something.
Scott Wilkinson [00:14:26]:
Yes?
Speaker F [00:14:30]:
Denise, you and I are destined to be together, and I want you to come with me.
TWiT.tv [00:14:35]:
Well, that is really something.
Scott Wilkinson [00:14:37]:
Mind-blowing.
Speaker F [00:14:38]:
Okay, you're— so you're like a running joke in all this, aren't you?
Scott Wilkinson [00:14:41]:
Here we go!
Speaker D [00:14:44]:
We're all going to die!
TWiT.tv [00:14:50]:
It's Raj.
Speaker F [00:14:51]:
He's not dead here. That's nice.
Speaker D [00:14:53]:
The fabric of reality is at risk of collapse!
Speaker F [00:14:57]:
You think you're scared now?
TWiT.tv [00:14:57]:
Oh my God!
Scott Wilkinson [00:14:58]:
You might want to tighten your sphincter. We gotta get out of here!
Speaker D [00:15:03]:
We need to get out of here! Push the button and get us out of here!
Speaker F [00:15:07]:
I'm not a hero. I own a comic book store.
TWiT.tv [00:15:11]:
Anyone can be a hero if they're trying to make life better for other people.
Speaker F [00:15:16]:
What if we just stay in this universe?
TWiT.tv [00:15:18]:
You like the outdoor toilets?
Scott Wilkinson [00:15:21]:
Nah, out of the way!
Speaker F [00:15:24]:
We gotta go.
Speaker D [00:15:24]:
3, 2, 1.
Scott Wilkinson [00:15:30]:
All right, give it a whack.
TWiT.tv [00:15:40]:
Mama really missed her big daddy.
Speaker F [00:15:43]:
I, I'm big daddy?
TWiT.tv [00:15:45]:
Yeah, you are.
Speaker F [00:15:45]:
Okay, yeah, just checking.
Scott Wilkinson [00:15:49]:
So if you have HBO Max and you really enjoyed The Big Bang Theory like I did, I highly recommend Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. So I hope you check it out, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Now, if you have a question for me, send it on along to HTG@twit.tv, and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. And if you have a home theater you're proud of, Send me some pics. I'd love to see them. And maybe we'll get you on the show to talk about it and show to everybody else. Until next time, geek out. Keith512 says, I'm wondering if it would be a bit hard to judge Stuart Fails to Save the Universe if you have not seen the other show Young Sheldon or Georgie, Mandy and Georgie's first marriage, whatever it's called.
Scott Wilkinson [00:17:01]:
No, I don't think so. It won't matter one bit. If you haven't seen The Big Bang Theory, then that might be a little bit of a problem because there's an awful lot of— well, there's a lot of characters from that show that appear here too. And Uh, you know, having the experience of relating to those characters on The Big Bang Theory makes it all the more special to see them in this show where they are in fact somehow different from their Big Bang characters. Uh, I, I think it's great. Uh, it makes, makes it special for me to see them in new contexts. If you didn't see them, if you didn't see The Big Bang Theory and you weren't familiar with them to begin with, It might not be as interesting. So, and there are 12 seasons of Big Bang Theory, so that'll take a while to get through.
Scott Wilkinson [00:18:02]:
But I do recommend it if you haven't seen it and you're a geek, despite some of the cringy elements. And yes, there are some cringy elements. I mentioned that in the show. Howard's approach to women is very creepy. And the sort of homoerotic/homophobic, uh, nature of the relationship between Howard and Raj. I, I cringe at that. Uh, I didn't think that was necessary. Um, but it's there.
Scott Wilkinson [00:18:35]:
There it is. Oh well. And Sheldon can be, you know, a real pain in the ass most of the time, but that's the point. Um, I do recommend it. I, like I said in the show, uh, when I watched Big Bang Theory when it was on, I had, I had to close the door to the theater room because my wife— I laughed so loud that she, she was not into it. She, she's not into that show, uh, partly for some of those reasons I said. But in any event, uh, I laughed so loud at that show. So I I think, uh, you should, you should check it out.
Scott Wilkinson [00:19:15]:
Keith's 512 wonders if Sheldon's mom Mary is in this one. Not yet. However, uh, Leonard's mom, played by Christine Baranski, is. That's all I'll say. Um, so, and I'm sure we will see other characters from, from The Big Bang Theory here.
