Why Big Bang Theory Had to Retire Sheldon’s Bazinga Catchphrase

But what makes a character iconic? Probably their instant recognizability. Something in their appearance or personality, something they do or say that we inevitably associate with them.

Think Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Aside from his eccentric personality, Sheldon has a lot of very peculiar habits that set him apart from the rest of the show's characters.

Halfway through the series, however, the show's creators decided to drop one of Sheldon's most famous catchphrases: ‘Bazinga!’

‘Bazinga!’ is inexorably associated with Sheldon. He would shout it out every now and again to mark that he was joking. This word was frequently used by Sheldon until season 12, and then it disappeared, and none of the characters said it again. But why? According to one of the sitcom's producers, Steve Holland, the catchphrase was affecting The Big Bang Theory in a somewhat negative way, so it had to go.

In the Jessica Radloff’s book ‘The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series’ Holland says that even though ‘Bazinga!’ was one of the show's trademarks for a decade, it was beginning to be used mockingly to parody TBBT. That was why the catchword was retired altogether.

"We had a complicated relationship with bazinga because it felt like it was becoming a catchphrase in a sort of not-great way, so we retired it almost entirely," Holland said.

Nevertheless, he thinks it’s a pity that it had to be done because people seemed to like ‘Bazinga!’ and to stick to it as Sheldon and sitcom’s salient feature.

If you are wondering what the catchphrase even means and how it came about, TBBT’s prequel Young Sheldon devoted to the titular character’s childhood reveals the mystery.

It was a logo of Bazinga Novelty Company that said ‘If it's funny, it's a Bazinga.’ Boy Sheldon heard it and must have started to associate the word with humor. It became such an annoying habit of his, that it simply had to be eventually dropped.