'Young Sheldon' S2 BD: We Are Sheldon

Warner Archive aptly co-ordinates the September 3, 2019 Blu-ray release of the "Big Bang Theory" prequel sitcom "Young Sheldon" with going back-to-school ahead of the Sep. 26, 2019 S3 season premiere. This tale of titular 10 year-old boy-genius Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) facing the daunting challenges of being the smallest (and smartest) member of his high-school sophomore class in his '80s era not-so-enlightened East Texas community is relatable to many of us who excel more at academics than other aspect of school life.

Archive earning its good name by releasing what broadly can be considered the prequels of corporate sibling Warner Bros. Home Entertainment makes Entertainment the apt one to release the epic "Theory" BD CS  limited-edition collector's set on November 12, 2019 in time for the holidays. 

The other historical note as to "Sheldon" is that it aptly is reminiscent of cult-classic '80scom "Sledge Hammer" about the titular cop who is a blend of Dirty Harry and Rambo.

​Like the best brains behind "Sheldon," real-life boy genius Alan Spencer of "Hammer" does not include a laugh track. Spencer aptly concludes that viewers do not need to be told when something is funny. The comparison extends to Sheldon being justified if he ever adopts the "Hammer" catchphrase "trust me; I know what I'm doing." 

The following CBS promo for "Sheldon" S2 features a few S2 highlights sans inarguably the funnest scene in the entire season; this has loving grandmother Connie "Meemaw" Tucker (Annie Potts) frantically waving the flag and otherwise enthusiastically showing her patriotism in her front yard in the wake of Sheldon innocently advocating communism in the heartland of the Bible Belt. 

This follow up season to the (reviewed) S1 of "Sheldon" commences with a story line that is relatable to both the highly attuned and those who must endure a boy with something extra. Our lead is convinced that the refrigerator is broken because it sounds differently than usual. His family of "muggles" is equally certain that there is nothing wrong with that appliance. 

Presumably equally motivated to fix the problem and to prove that he is right, Sheldon takes the refrigerator apart. A "sit" that adds to the "com" related to this is that Sheldon experiences the Humpty Dumpty Syndrome (which would have made an awesome "Theory" episode title). This requires his high-school football coach father George (Lance Barber) to "shell" (pun intended, i.e. Bazinga) $200 in 1988 dollars for someone who is smarter than all the king's horses and all the king's men to put "Humpty" back together again.

The aforementioned episode in which Meemaw "flags" down the neighbors revolves around a similar theme as the season premiere. Sheldon notices that the bread that mother Mary (Zoe Perry) uses to make his school lunch has a different taste than before. Of course, no one initially believes Sheldon. It is equally predictable that he is proven correct. It is not expected that this leads to a logical but naive comment by Sheldon getting his family branded Cold War era "reds" deep in the heart of Texas.

One of numerous personal we are  "Sheldon" aspects of these episodes begins with a three-year battle with a particular Starbucks. The chain was responsive to consistent reports that the frappuccinos at that branch did not taste right; they also made repeated efforts to address the issue, including having regional managers taste the drinks, only to insist that there was nothing wrong. They further repeatedly stated that no one else was complaining about the drinks. 

The store ultimately disassembled the pump used to make frappuccinos. They discovered a thin crack that reduced the amount of syrup that made it into the drink. It is recalled that someone fairly high up in the Starbucks food chain (pun intended) called to apologize.

A generally amusing element of S2 is Sheldon making a comment in class only to have a teen classmate named Derek tease him; this leads to Sheldon responding in a manner to make Derek look foolish,

The personal anecdote this time is getting up in a high-school US history class to make a peer-graded presentation. A friend called out that he was going to give me an F; I immediately responded "f you, Peter." The entire class laughed, and the teacher quickly made us move on.

Another notable episode is similar to an S1 outing in which Sheldon tries living with the head of a school for gifted children. The S2 variation has recruiting by colleges prompting Sheldon trying the experiment of staying overnight with his absent-minded professor/mentor/friend/potential new grandfather Dr. John Sturgis (Wallace Shawn). 

Hilarity fully ensues in the evening that young and elderly Sheldon spend together; the best line in the episode has John suggesting that girlfriend MeeMaw move into his apartment so that she can take care of both him and Sheldon. 

The lesson here is that someone has to be an adult; although not totally relevant, this is the same observation that a friend makes after I match a seven year-old girl move-for-move when she starts sticking out her tongue at me during a Christmas concert.

An episode in watch Sheldon is hospitalized a few weeks after a real-life "incarceration" hit especially close to home. Concern about germs and HATING having a roommate were ripped from-the-headlines.

Wanting to go home to rest in my king-sized bed, be with my cat, and getting to watch some of 1,000s of DVD and Blu-rays was a variation of the whining of Sheldon. Ordering a few meal items in (failed) efforts to combine some of their elements into one edible entree outsheldoned Sheldon. The observation here was that my jeans somehow expanded at least two inches during this period.

The "Sheldon" season finale that airs on the same night as the "Theory" series finale nicely ties the two shows together and helps bridge the generation gap. The "Theory" two-parter revolves around adult Sheldon winning (and accepting) the Nobel Prize for physics; "Sheldon" has the younger version of that character planning a 5:00 a.m. party to listen to the Nobel winners 31 years earlier. A "Theory" babies bonus is a special treat for fans of both programs.

The big (no pun intended) picture relatability of this is several years during the early 2000s in which I would go to the home of friends virtually every Friday night to eat take-out and watch "Stagate" series and other shows in the Sci-Fi Channel line up. This was a nice era that ended when neither side arguably was an adult.

The first conclusion to draw from all this is that "Sheldon" is one of the most cute and amusing sitcoms that currently grace the airways until CBS All Access makes it a streaming exclusive. The second takeaway is to trust someone who is smarter than the average bear; the odds are forever in his favor that he knows what he is doing.