We Salute 10 Of Our Favorite Pop-Culture Humans Of 2009

by Linda Holmes
Source NPR
URL Link
Date December 29, 2009

Oh, we can all talk about work product and quality of entertainment, but there are also people you just ... trust. The ones you're glad are out there making things, talking about things, or generally contributing to your enjoyment of popular entertainment. These may not be the best pop-culture humans of the year, and we may leave off some who are delightful year after year, but they are ten to whom we owe a debt of gratitude in this particular year.

4. Jim Parsons. I came to The Big Bang Theory late, but I quickly became a Parsons convert. It's very hard to give a performance in a comedy as a character who is almost completely unrelatable, in that he barely registers human emotions like anger or sympathy, and have that character nonetheless feel real and interesting. Doing "quirky" well is actually terribly difficult, but Parsons does it wonderfully.

There's a good reason why the December 2008 Christmas episode, in which Sheldon struggles to exchange gifts with Penny, is one of the show's best and most significant. Writing and executing a brilliant geek joke that relies on the geek's attachment to Leonard Nimoy is a recipe for overplayed schlock, but it felt fresh and believable, and Sheldon's heart grew three sizes that day. I have no idea -- none -- what Parsons' range is like, but right now, this character is right in the pocket in the best way.

Tags pop culture

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