The Big Bang Theory Season 1

The 2007-08 debut season, rebuilt from a rejected pilot and cut short by the writers' strike.

The Big Bang Theory Season 1 is the first run of the CBS sitcom, which aired from September 24, 2007 to May 19, 2008.

Quick Facts

Season number

Showrunner

Bill Prady

Starring

Johnny Galecki
Jim Parsons
Kaley Cuoco
Simon Helberg
Kunal Nayyar

Network

CBS

First aired

24 September 2007

Last aired

19 May 2008

Episodes

Facts from the source article.

Background

The show's initial pilot, developed for the 2006-07 television season, was substantially different from the series as made. Only Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons carried over from its cast; their across-the-hall neighbour was Katie, a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman played by Amanda Walsh, and a female friend called Gilda was played by Iris Bahr. Its theme music was Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me with Science". CBS did not pick it up, but gave the creators the chance to revise it with the remaining leading cast. James Burrows directed the second pilot, which led to a 13-episode order on May 14, 2007, and the show was picked up for a full 22-episode season on October 19.

Production stopped on November 6, 2007 because of the Writers Guild of America strike; the short-lived Welcome to The Captain filled the slot from February 4, 2008, and the show returned on March 17 in an earlier time slot. David Saltzberg, a UCLA physics professor, checks the scripts and supplies the equations and diagrams used as props.

Reviews were mixed. Galecki and Sara Gilbert both submitted "The Hamburger Postulate", and Parsons "The Pancake Batter Anomaly", for Emmy consideration without earning nominations. The Season One DVD is the only set in the series without a gag reel; the 2012 Blu-ray reissue added one. Sheldon and Leonard are named after the actor and producer Sheldon Leonard.