We will hold our hands up and admit that the idea of Young Sheldon, a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, was not something we thought could ever work. But it does, and a new episode of the show actually helps to solve an issue we had with the finale of the original series.
Young Sheldon season 6 has come to an end, and while we wait for the Young Sheldon season 7 release date, we are doing what any nerd would do and we’re digging deeper into the connections between this show and The Big Bang Theory.
It may be one of the best comedy series ever made, but there was one major discrepancy that kept bugging us in the timeline between Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory – why did Sheldon never even mention Dr. Sturgis in his adult life?
Any show wanting to be considered among the best TV series of all time needs to fix those kind of plot holes. Well, Young Sheldon has done just that with season 6 episode 18 – titled ‘Little Green Men and a Fella’s Marriage Proposal’.
In the finale of The Big Bang Theory, we see Sheldon Cooper finally realize his dream of winning a Nobel Prize. But, when accepting his award, there is no mention of his former mentor, Dr. Sturgis. In fact, the man who got a young Sheldon into physics in the first place doesn’t get a namecheck throughout the entirety of The Big Bang Theory.
Now, that could simply be because the character was created retrospectively for Young Sheldon, but it has always irked us somewhat. Thankfully, the aforementioned episode of Young Sheldon has put our mind at ease, by revealing that our titular scientist ultimately dismissed Sturgis as his mentor, after the latter refused to help him search for extra-terrestrial life. Fair, if you ask me.
While the pair still remain friends, this adds context to the fact Sheldon no longer considered Sturgis his mentor, and many years later, didn’t feel the need to credit him for helping him on the path to success. I have to say, I think I would still have given someone like that a little nod in my Nobel Prize-winning speech, but Sheldon had his reasons, I guess.
For more on the show, here’s how Young Sheldon clears up one thing about George, and we’ve got a celebratory update on Young Sheldon season 7 from the writer. Alternatively, move away from this kind of science and think about new movies on the way, like Avatar 3.