Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After using the device to transport themselves to another universe, Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ), Bert ( Brian Posehn ) and Barry ( John Ross Bowie ) discover they are in a world dominated by an AI overlord that punishes anyone who shows any sort of aggression. While Bert and Barry go to Caltech in search of answers, Stuart goes in search of Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ). My Thoughts: What happens to the other versions of Stuart and company? Since they didn't run into other versions of themselves, I can only assume they replaced their alternate versions. Do those versions get transported to the universe they traveled from? Are they also using their own version of the device? Are they confused about what is happening? Along those lines, why didn't anyone recognize Bert and Barry? Stuart apparently owns a comic store in every universe (or at least the ones we've seen). Shouldn't the same standard apply to his friends? Barry and Bert worked at Caltech and yet Ramona No...

Synopsis: In a dystopian Pasadena ruled by Barry Kripke ( John Ross Bowie ), comic bookstore owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) is visited by an alternate version of himself and learns an accident with a device invented by his friends has caused an alternate reality. He, along with geologist Bert Kibbler (Brian Posehn) search for the device and with help from his former girlfriend, Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ), try to bring the world back to its normal state. My Thoughts: This should have been a movie. Not necessarily a feature-length Hollywood-budgeted film but maybe a 60-to-90-minute pilot that deep dives into the main plot and sets up the story for the rest of the series. There was an awful lot being crammed into the 30-minute episode, making it seem rushed and making it difficult to become invested. I have so many questions about dystopian Pasadena. For one, when did society collapse? The episode suggested it happened during Stewart's lifetime but at the same time, everyone seemed...

I needed a moment to regroup following the Green Bay Packers' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last night, ending their season and, as is often the case in situations like that, I found some familiarity by watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory .  As I was doing that, I realized I have now seen every episode at least a half dozen times, despite not even watching the series until a couple years ago, when it was already off the air.  That reflection resulted in me being reminded of some storylines throughout the series that were one-offs without any real resolution. Even to this day, with the added benefit of the Young Sheldon spinoff clearing up a few questions (while creating a few more), these three storylines, which were major plot points for one episode each, remain unresolved. Who Received Tenure? The season 6 episode, "The Tenure Turbulence", put Leonard ( Johnny Galecki ), Sheldon ( Jim Parsons ), Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and Howard (Simon Helberg) in direct competition ...