This prequel to The Big Bang Theory has its share of guffaws but not without some fluff here and there
Set in East Texas in 1989 where a little smarty-pant is fiddling with his train set to exhibit Newton’s first law of motion, we catch an early glance at the boy’s contempt towards the family and that pretty much sets the speed for us. As the years rolled on and TBBT spiralled into oblivion, fans stayed hooked to the unravelling in The Young Sheldon albeit sometimes squinting in disbelief or fretting over some obvious mess-ups in the script. No doubt, as a spin-off, Young Sheldon has done a decent job dissing the multi-camera sitcom setup for single-camera style. At one time when both the shows were running simultaneously on CBS, viewership skyrocketed to astounding heights. It signalled a kickstart which sadly could not be sustained throughout.
Continuity is a major element in prequels or sequels if showrunners intend to authenticate the original story, decades later or not. The narrative of Sheldon’s life falters at places and how.
Throughout TBBT, fans have heard Sheldon’s rant, nonchalant confessions, and sometimes boastful tirades about not having friends while growing up. Apparently, his childhood was soaked in a mire of experimentation, an abusive father, dumb siblings, and an overprotective, fanatic mother. In Young Sheldon, we see a beaming circle of friends, most remarkable being Tam—Sheldon’s closest buddy in high school. Paige and other college dormmates are another crucial group who partake in Dungeons & Dragon, giving the show an ounce of its hilarity.
Wallace Shawn of "Clueless" and "The Princess Bride" fame plays Dr. Sturgis under whose mentorship the genius and intellect of Sheldon bloom and flourish. As a teacher and somewhat of a father figure, Dr. Sturgis plays a pivotal role in the formative years of Sheldon. Yet in TBBT, we barely get a mention of this absolute enigma of a presence during Sheldon’s childhood. The puzzling absence of his confidante is something to ponder upon!
While referring to his clan, Sheldon made one thing absolutely clear: In “The Porkchop Indeterminacy,” Sheldon narrates the Easy-Bake Oven ploy to keep his sister away from his bedroom. Young Sheldon, however, presents a different reality. We see sister Missy not merely tiptoeing around but living in his room, a gaping hole in the narrative.
The fuss about Soft Kitty had Sheldon confirm many times that the lullaby was to be sung only when someone fell ill. A reprisal of Soft Kitty in Young Sheldon gives us the origin of this lullaby and also a confusing reality when young Sheldon sings to soothe a crying baby. In another scene, we see him singing the lullaby to himself to calm his nerves as he fidgets with a bike. It seems he cooks up theories and realities for fun but bewilders audiences regarding the truth of it all.
In TBBT, Sheldon once talked about a whiny canine which had to be put down eventually. In stark contrary to this, there is absolutely no dog mopping around in Young Sheldon. In "A Dog, A Squirrel, and a Fish Named Fish," we see how Sheldon is paranoid about dogs. In fact, his cynophobia reaches a peak when the Coopers agree to dogsit for a relative. This is quite a discrepancy if you come to think of Sheldon’s calm allusions to any dog incidents from his childhood.
