Why Did a Fan Cry When She Met Jim Parsons?

Chuck Lorre tells a story from his book about an early Comic-Con for The Big Bang Theory. Thousands of people camped overnight to see the panel. He sat beside Jim Parsons at an autograph line, where fans brought a cast picture to be signed. A girl walked up with shaking hands, handed Jim Parsons the picture, and cried from joy at being close to him.

Chuck Lorre said he had been doing the work a while. People were always happy to see Jon Cryer and Charlie. Nobody ever cried, and nobody cried when they saw Roseanne. The girl was crying from sheer joy. He realized something was happening with the characters that the writers did not plan and had no way to plan. The characters had hit a nerve.

Chuck Lorre said the misfit bond is a giant part of it. The characters become a surrogate family. They support one another and hold each other up. They are losers in a life raft, odd in a way he called endearing.