PILOT REVIEW: Young Sheldon

YOUNG SHELDON

Starring: Iain Armitage, Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord, and Jim Parsons

Created by Chuck Lorre & Steven Molaro
Written by Chuck Lorre & Steven Molaro, Directed by Jon Favreau

THE PREMISE
A prequel to the hit CBS multi-camera sitcom The Big Bang Theory is a single camera family sitcom that feels much more like an ABC comedy. It is centered on a young Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) growing up in Texas in the late 1980s. Genius Sheldon is a 9 year old attending high school and trying to cope with his family including his understanding mother, Mary (Zoe Perry), his distant father, George (Lance Barber), his street smart twin sister, Missy (Raegan Revord), and his jock brother, George Jr. (Montana Jordan). Grown up Sheldon (Jim Parsons) narrates the action.

THE REVIEW
I have never been a fan of The Big Bang Theory or Jim Parsons. I may still be harboring resentment towards Parsons for beating out the brilliant Steve Carell at the Emmys in Carell's last chance to win for his iconic Michael Scott. So I was pretty uninterested in a series about a young Sheldon Cooper. But first seeing the trailer and now watching the pilot, I am so happy that this show is something completely different than its parent show. It is a warm family comedy that would feel right at home on ABC Wednesday and that is a good thing. Even the narration by Parsons wasn't annoying or distracting.

The young Iain Armitage has done a fantastic job at being pretentious without being annoying. Maybe it'll change after several episodes but for now, I find it endearing. Even better, the entire family is believable and enjoyable. Zoe Perry gives a warm performance as Sheldon's mother while Lance Barber is enjoyable as the father even if the resolution to the episode was a bit predictable even without seeing the trailer (which by the way, gave away every funny line of the episode). Raegan Revord is pretty hilarious as Sheldon's twin sister and I hope she is given more to do in future episodes.

Speaking of future episodes, I wonder what this show is going to look like on a week to week basis. My suggestion and hope is that it evolves into a family comedy that isn't always about Sheldon. I hope they can do plot lines or even full episodes where another member of the family is carrying the main plot. I think if this is always about Sheldon and how brilliant he is and how he doesn't fit in with everyone else, it's going to get old quick. But for now, I'll take Young Sheldon over Old Sheldon any day. This show is not for fans of The Big Bang Theory (though I'd be curious to see what they think). It's for fans of slightly sappy but mostly sweet family comedies of the ABC variety.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes, but I will have to wait until November 2. I don't know if I agree with the decision to premiere this show tonight and then hold it off for over a month.