In the series The Big Bang Theory, some absurd things have happened. The 4 nerds managed to surprise the audience with silly situations time and again. However, one of the first scripts had an idea that was even too absurd for the series.
What idea was it? Penny is one of the main characters of The Big Bang Theory. She is the stark contrast to the nerds, who are not always familiar with social norms. Thus, she is also a character with whom the theme of relationships and love is addressed in the series.
Before Penny became the way we know her, there were many ideas. Like another female main character, which was received negatively. One of the most absurd ideas, however, wanted Penny not to be human at all. She was supposed to become an android.
The 4 scientists would have built an android
What was the plan? In the book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, the author explains that Chuck Lorre had an absurd idea with one of the first scripts. She was supposed to be a robot or android built by the guys. He probably said the following:
There was a moment when I thought the female character might be an android that the guys built. We wrote a test scene and had a few actors read the scene for us. And when they had gotten halfway through the scene, I said, “Forget it!”
Source: The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series (Source: Slash Film)
Lorre quickly realized that the idea was too absurd for the series. Ultimately, we got the Penny we all know.
As 3DJuegos points out, the idea suspiciously resembles a comedy. The film Weird Science (in Germany: L.I.S.A – Der helle Wahnsinn) was released in 1985. There, two teenagers are the big losers of school. This leads them to create their own woman through the computer. The film has a score of 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb with nearly 99,000 ratings.
Whether Chuck Lorre was inspired by the film for his first idea, we will probably never know. Did you know the film, and do you think Penny as an android would have been better? Let us know in the comments. Another actor also had a big problem in the series, as he was supposed to be fired right before the start: The Big Bang Theory: One of the most important actors was fired without reason – But the creator brought him back
