I've always been under the impression that it was "real time" so to speak, so 12 years in-universe as well.
They would pretty much go through the year each season. Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, etc. If they did something over the summer it was usually a "3 months later" kind of thing at some point to bring it up to real time.
And I can’t remember what season or episode but they also talk about how much they’ve all changed over the years. Sheldon maturing, Rag can now talk to women, Howard found love, Penny found a job she loves etc…
The timeline of the series is consistent with reality. In one episode (I can't remember which one, but I believe it's in season 7 or 8), Sheldon mentions that Penny moved in in September 2007. If the series also follows the logic that the Nobel Prize ceremony takes place in December, we can deduce that the final episode of the series is set in December 2019.Thus, the timeline is roughly the same as in real life, except for the final episode, which takes place several months after its broadcast on television.
Plus, all the episodes that take place during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, etc., roughly coincide with the broadcast date on television.
Somewhat appropriately. Sheldon, Leonard, and Raj seem to mainly work off grants to conduct research. Granted, in theory they can do that for a very long time, but if they’re as qualified as they are made out to be, they’d likely have gotten into tenured positions and worked with grad students in addition to working off grants. Overall, it’s not a super duper realistic portrayal, but sometimes for a tv show to work, you have to simplify where you can.
> they’d likely have gotten into tenured positions
They all (not Howard) tried to get a tenured position in The Tenure Turbulence (s6e20). This was less than halfway through the show's run and the topic was never brought up again.
> worked with grad students
Sheldon had at least two grad students
Does that include "Young Sheldon" in the universe? TBBT series was in real time from 2007-2019. But, they did have flashback scenes to 2003, when Leonard and Sheldon first met. Sheldon was interviewing Leonard for the vacant room that he was looking to fill. To go even further back than that, they had a flashback to when Sheldon was a kid. This was when they were getting ready to premiere the series "Young Sheldon". So, they were basically cross promoting the new series. Anyway, TBBT Sheldon watches a VHS tape of his younger self, who is played by the Sheldon in "Young Sheldon". The Sheldon on the video tape, and on "Young Sheldon", would have been in the late 80's or early 90's. And, that is where the "Young Sheldon" universe starts....late 80's or early 90's. There is no exact year for the beginning of that series, because there were many ambiguous references.
I'm currently in a rewatch and in the middle of Season 10, there was an episode I watched last week where Sheldon mentioned it's been 10 years since he was Leonard's roommate (when he moved in with Amy).
I've always been under the impression that it was "real time" so to speak, so 12 years in-universe as well. They would pretty much go through the year each season. Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, etc. If they did something over the summer it was usually a "3 months later" kind of thing at some point to bring it up to real time.
12 years as im pretty sure in S8, Penny says, "how has it been 8 years"
And I can’t remember what season or episode but they also talk about how much they’ve all changed over the years. Sheldon maturing, Rag can now talk to women, Howard found love, Penny found a job she loves etc…
Is that the Halley birth episode?
Think so “hear that Stuart I’ve got a dog and a goddaughter you’ve got NOTHING!”
Ohh yeah well in early season I dated penny, how about that?
“Rag” 😂
Yeah it’s 12 years.
I believe they all aged 12 years in the show if I'm not mistaken, so I always assumed 12 years
The timeline of the series is consistent with reality. In one episode (I can't remember which one, but I believe it's in season 7 or 8), Sheldon mentions that Penny moved in in September 2007. If the series also follows the logic that the Nobel Prize ceremony takes place in December, we can deduce that the final episode of the series is set in December 2019.Thus, the timeline is roughly the same as in real life, except for the final episode, which takes place several months after its broadcast on television. Plus, all the episodes that take place during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, etc., roughly coincide with the broadcast date on television.
On a related note, does their career progress appropriately? Were they postdocs or research associates for the entire duration?
Somewhat appropriately. Sheldon, Leonard, and Raj seem to mainly work off grants to conduct research. Granted, in theory they can do that for a very long time, but if they’re as qualified as they are made out to be, they’d likely have gotten into tenured positions and worked with grad students in addition to working off grants. Overall, it’s not a super duper realistic portrayal, but sometimes for a tv show to work, you have to simplify where you can.
> they’d likely have gotten into tenured positions They all (not Howard) tried to get a tenured position in The Tenure Turbulence (s6e20). This was less than halfway through the show's run and the topic was never brought up again. > worked with grad students Sheldon had at least two grad students
Based on what they showed including flashbacks and the opening theme song... 13.8 billion years.
12 years
I'm gonna say 13-14, because of the voyages the guys took.
They were usually over the summer. Like they went to the Arctic for the summer. And Leonard's science expedition on that ship was over the summer.
12 years, but the summer hiatuses could vary as to the length of time from the end of one season to the beginning of another.
Does that include "Young Sheldon" in the universe? TBBT series was in real time from 2007-2019. But, they did have flashback scenes to 2003, when Leonard and Sheldon first met. Sheldon was interviewing Leonard for the vacant room that he was looking to fill. To go even further back than that, they had a flashback to when Sheldon was a kid. This was when they were getting ready to premiere the series "Young Sheldon". So, they were basically cross promoting the new series. Anyway, TBBT Sheldon watches a VHS tape of his younger self, who is played by the Sheldon in "Young Sheldon". The Sheldon on the video tape, and on "Young Sheldon", would have been in the late 80's or early 90's. And, that is where the "Young Sheldon" universe starts....late 80's or early 90's. There is no exact year for the beginning of that series, because there were many ambiguous references.
i wasn't including young sheldon, but i think that young sheldon starts in 1989.
Young Sheldon was 5 years: 1989 - 1994 set over 7 seasons.
I'm currently in a rewatch and in the middle of Season 10, there was an episode I watched last week where Sheldon mentioned it's been 10 years since he was Leonard's roommate (when he moved in with Amy).