Worlds Collide in More Ways Than One in STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede   If Sheldon and Leonard from THE BIG BANG THEORY ever got a chance to watch the new spin-off STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE, what would they think of it? “They would argue about it,” said Bill Prady, co-creator of both shows, during a recent press conference. “We talked about this. This is the kind of show that they would watch and argue about. I think they would like the science-fiction puzzle aspect of it. They would probably focus on the mythology of it.” “But they’d pick it apart,” declared Chuck Lorre, also a co-creator of both shows. Will the massive and intensely loyal fan base of THE BIG BANG THEORY “pick apart” STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE, or will they embrace it as part of their wider comedic family? The answer to that question will begin to reveal itself when the latter premieres, Thursday, July 23, on Crave. Unlike THE BIG BANG THEORY and its first two spin-offs, YOUNG SHELDON and GEORGIE & MANDY’S FIRST MARRIAGE, STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE does not follow a traditional sitcom format. It’s more of a sci-fi fantasy/comedy. “Chuck (Lorre) actually made a joke really early on, that it was more DOCTOR WHO than WHO’S THE BOSS?, just to kind of distinguish the two genres a little more clearly,” said John Ross Bowie, who plays Barry Kripke, during a visit to Toronto for the Bell Media Upfront in June. “And he’s absolutely right.” The premise of STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE is that Sheldon and Leonard, who were played by Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki in THE BIG BANG THEORY, built a mysterious and powerful device that accidentally was damaged by comic-book store owner Stuart Bloom, played by Kevin Sussman. Thus, a “multiverse Armageddon” was created, and Stuart – essentially by default – is tasked with fixing everything. “What’s your plan?” asks Denise, played by Lauren Lapkus, in the first episode. “I don’t really have one,” Stuart replies honestly. “I’m kind of new to the action genre.” So is everyone involved. “We’ve heard people say many, many times that THE BIG BANG THEORY is now a comfort show – you know, ‘we have it on in the background,’ ” Sussman said. “But STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE does not seem like the type of show that will lull you to sleep.” “Well, if you watch it enough times … ” said Lapkus, prompting laughter from her castmates. Bowie observed, “there’s a lot of pyro in that first episode. I’m going to say, there’s more pyro in the first episode of this show than there was in 12 seasons of THE BIG BANG THEORY. I say that with a lot of confidence. So yeah, it’s an abrupt departure, but I think that’s also really exciting, and kind of unprecedented.” Indeed, STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE is an “abrupt departure” stylistically, but there’s one simple concept that links everything, according to Lorre. “As far as the melding of (sci-fi) with comedy is concerned, something’s funny or it’s not,” Lorre said. “All the special effects and computer graphics cannot make something funny that’s not funny. So we just had to remain honest with ourselves as we wrote these things that we were telling the truth. We think this is truly funny. We hope you agree.” And with that concept in mind, viewers don’t necessarily need to be hardcore devotees of THE BIG BANG THEORY to follow STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE. The general plot structure of the latter becomes quite obvious right away. As Lorre put it, “hopefully if you see a post-apocalyptic nightmare landscape, and there’s a functioning comic-book store in it, that’s still funny, whether or not you watch THE BIG BANG THEORY.” As for the unique title of the series, co-creator Zak Penn acknowledged that a few other options were considered, but STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE “sounded right.” “And it’s literal if you watch the show,” said Brian Posehn, who plays Bert. “Yeah, it’s kind of wonderful to title the show with the spoiler,” Lorre agreed. To which Bowie added, “Death of a Salesman works the same way.”   billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv