Why George Sr. Was The One Who Took Sheldon To Caltech In Young Sheldon

Sometimes the way we look back on our lives can really change with time and experience, and in the case of Sheldon Cooper, a little bit of earned wisdom helped him reshape the way he thought about his father. In “The Big Bang Theory,” Sheldon (Jim Parsons) remembers his dad as a nearly abusive adulterer, but in the prequel series “Young Sheldon,” he seems to have softened on his dad, George Sr. (Lance Barber), just a bit. One of the first times we get a chance to see a truly sweet side of George is in season 3 when he takes Sheldon on a visit to his dream school, California Institute of Technology, and it turns out that was a very deliberate decision on the part of the creative team behind the show. Sheldon’s visit to CalTech is a big deal because it’s where he will one day meet his best friends from “The Big Bang Theory,” which made some fans wonder why his mom Mary (Zoe Perry) didn’t take him. (Mary has a stronger connection to both her son and “The Big Bang Theory,” where she’s played by Perry’s mother, Laurie Metcalf.) 

In an interview with TV Line, series co-creator Steve Molaro explained that season 3, episode 16, “Pasadena,” was an important moment for George and Sheldon’s relationship and that it was important for them to get a little more time together. By the end of the series, George was a beloved member of the family, and his death near the series finale was a truly devastating blow. 

George and Sheldon don’t always see eye-to-eye, and they don’t really seem to have much in common. So when George took Sheldon to CalTech, it provided an opportunity for them to bond a little onscreen, as Molaro explained: 

“I think it can be touching when [Sheldon and his father] bond at unlikely times … I was so attached to the idea that when Sheldon has the panic attack on the plane, that Dad could talk him through it through ‘Star Trek.’ That just seemed like something that could only happen between the two of them.”

George uses “Star Trek” because it’s pretty much the only shared language he has with his son, something we see again when Sheldon imagines his father saying goodbye a’la Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” after his death. They had a hard time communicating because they are such different people, but it seems like George was not nearly the monster the “Big Bang Theory” version of Sheldon made him out to be. Molaro said that part of their reasoning was that the Sheldon narrating “Young Sheldon” is older with children of his own, which makes him reflect upon his father in a whole new way. Not only that, but the team behind “Young Sheldon” isn’t entirely beholden to the “Big Bang Theory” canon, taking a looser approach with it, like “Cheers” and “Frasier.”

Though George is a real jerk in Sheldon’s memories on “The Big Bang Theory,” Barber makes him into a kind of goofy teddy bear who just wants the best for his family. The moment where he helps Sheldon with his fears on the plane is really charming and heartfelt, with him telling Sheldon to channel Spock and then later holding his hand as they take off. (I get it, Sheldon. I also hate taking off. It’s terrifying.) 

The series later completely retconned the time when Sheldon thought he saw his dad cheating on his mom, and they turned George into a pretty excellent sitcom dad, with a really great performance from Barber. Thankfully, George will be back in dream form on the “Young Sheldon” sequel series “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” which takes place just a few months after the “Young Sheldon” finale, so we haven’t truly seen the last of him or Barber in the “Big Bang” franchise.