“The Massive Bang Principle” has been an insanely worthwhile franchise for CBS, having spawned 12 seasons and a pair of spin-off exhibits (“Younger Sheldon,” “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage”) within the course of. However as is the case with most cable tv success tales, its destiny lies upon the reception of its pilot episode. You want a superb hook that might reel viewers into eager to spend time laughing with these characters each week. Sequence creators Chuck Lorre and Invoice Prady had among the proper components in place for the present’s first pilot, however there was no method “The Massive Bang Principle” would have amassed its legacy had it been aired.
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There have been quite a lot of weird decisions in that unaired pilot, as laid out by /Movie’s Nina Starner, that sign a really completely different type of sitcom from the one we ended up getting. Amongst one of the crucial notable modifications is that of the feminine lead. Earlier than Kaley Cuoco was introduced onboard as Penny, the candy midwestern actress from throughout the corridor, the function was initially examined with Amanda Walsh as Katie, an unhoused cosmetics saleswoman with a sardonic edge.
The issues lied much less with Walsh’s efficiency, which may presumably work if it operated from inside a sitcom with a crassier bent to it, however the character herself. Katie’s abrasiveness precipitated check audiences to not solely endear themselves to the innocence of Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), but it surely just about killed curiosity within the present’s prospects.
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What’s even weirder about Walsh’s character is that Katie was, amusingly sufficient, initially named Penny, however the higher-ups at CBS objected.
One other CBS pilot had a personality named Penny
In an excerpt from the tell-all guide, “The Massive Bang Principle: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Sequence,” writer Jessica Radlock reveals that Penny was the at all times the primary title selection for the feminine lead till CBS knowledgeable them that it will be a battle on curiosity (through The Hollywood Reporter):
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“The character’s title was initially Penny (‘Sheldon and Leonard encounter this lady on the road; she’s a fortunate penny,’ Prady explains), however on the time, CBS had one other pilot in rivalry with a personality referred to as Penny and requested Lorre and Prady to vary it to one thing else. They obliged. However even with a brand new title, the character of Katie was nothing just like the character of Penny that audiences would come to know and love.”
After some digging, I could not actually pinpoint which pilot CBS was referring to with that title, which matches to indicate which sequence in the end had the larger cultural affect.
It is probably not honest to evaluate somebody based mostly on their title, however within the context of the unaired “Massive Bang” pilot, Penny does not precisely go well with this character as written past Prady’s trashy joke. Katie extra appropriately matches the brashness of Walsh’s efficiency. Penny, nonetheless, matches significantly extra with Cuoco, whose bubblier persona makes for an general kinder presence. It is no surprise the title was modified again when the character was closely re-tooled for the pilot that did make it to air.
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Sheldon saying “Katie” when knocking at her door does not have fairly the identical ring to it. There’s an alternate universe during which Walsh obtained a second likelihood to play Penny because the extra light-headed method that launched Cuoco to stardom, however that is the unfair nature of Hollywood. Fortunately, Walsh does not have any laborious emotions concerning the expertise.
Each episode of “The Massive Bang Principle” is at present streaming on Max.
