The Big Bang Theory’s pilot episode aired over 15 years ago, and since then fans have uncovered what appear to be some major plot holes in the beloved US sitcom
The Big Bang Theory seemed to air a big plot hole in one of its early episodes.
The hit sitcom first aired on CBS on this day (September 24) back in 2007 and ran for 12 seasons until 2019. The show followed five socially-awkward scientists, including physicists Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) who share an apartment.
And when your sitcom manages to shoot a whopping 279 episodes, it’s likely one or two mistakes might slip through the net. But if they end up on the TV, it’s likely they’ll be caught by eagle-eyed fans who are bound to have seen the show countless times.
In the third episode of the show’s first series, The Fuzzy Boots Collary, Sheldon objects to Leonard adopting a cat and bringing it into their apartment. It seems like this is because he’s got asthma, something that can be irritated by a cat.
Leonard reassures his pal, saying: “I know what you’re thinking, I’ve taken your asthma into account.” However, in later episodes it emerges that Sheldon never had asthma.
In Season 12, The Donation Oscillation, Sheldon says: “I’ve don’t have asthma.” And in the third episode of Season Four, The Zazzy Substitution, Sheldon ends up getting several cats, including Zazzles, suggesting he is in fact able to own a cat despite suggesting this was not possible in the early episode.
One fan took to the show’s Reddit community to share the apparent mistake and wrote: “I’m sure writers either forgot about the original line or just decided that it made more sense for the character of leonard to have asthma over sheldon for whatever reason – but it is an interesting error to me!”
A fellow fan joked: “Schrodinger’s Asthma.” And another fan highlighted the cat blunder on a separate thread in the community asking if fans had noticed any plotholes.
They commented: “First one that came to mind. S01E03, Sheldon doesn’t want Leonard to get a cat because it will bother Sheldon’s asthma, implying he’s allergic. Sheldon having asthma is never mentioned again and Sheldon gets a large amount of cats and keeps them in his room in SO4E03.”
A user replied: “Ughh, I forgot that one.” Another pointed out: “And it was Leonard who had the asthma in later episodes.”
One user added: “The asthma bit is annoying. As for the fact that Sheldon buys a whole Manhattan Project of cats, I chalk that up to Sheldon being the kind of guy who wants to cast the first stone.”
It’s unknown whether or not the writers actually forgot about Sheldon’s supposed asthma and dislike of cats or if they just decided to change their mind further down the line. After all, a lot can change after a show’s pilot season.
It’s also possible that Sheldon was simply lying about the asthma in order to get his own way. It’s not inconceivable for someone who freaks out every time someone sits in his “spot” on the sofa.
