“Patterns of speech are relatively stable and predictable, with most turns lasting roughly two seconds and pauses between turns usually lasting around 200 ms—about the length of a single syllable (Levinson 2016).8 The upshot is that when a speaker or an exchange diverges from these patterns, things can get awkward. We’ve all had the experience of a conversation where both parties start to speak at the same time, then pause, then start to speak simultaneously again. This can be awkward—the verbal equivalent of a failed sidewalk pass. Conversation requires coordination, and we depend on certain regularities that allow us to project and anticipate others’ utterances (and their timing) before they happen, which in turn allows us to time our own interjections. This is a generalization, of course. Part of what’s interesting about timing patterns is that they carry normative information, but what that information is depends on the type of conversation and the speakers’ identities, roles, and attitudes.” (Palkias, 1.5)
In her chapter on awkwardness, Alexandra Palkias specifies that there are no awkward people, only awkward situations which are frequently caused by people going “off script”– meaning that they don’t follow typical speech patterns, behaviours, or conventions. This happens quite frequently in The Big Bang Theory with most of its main characters. However, Leonard’s awkard moments seem to be the most consistintely cringy or comedically awkward. I beileve this is because Leonard is the most socially adept of the main four, therefore he has the ability to acknowledge when he’s gone off script in a social interaction, yet is unsure how to fix it, which goes back to how Palkias describes awkwardness– not knowing how to act. In contrast, Sheldon creates awkward situations by going off script, but he is rarely aware enough to try to fix it, or if he is aware, he simply does not care to fix it. Howard and Raj have many awkward moments as well, but they are somewhere in between Leonard and Sheldon. Their awkwardness frequently comes in the form of extreme candor/too much information or ill timed political/racial/religious/sexual/etc. jokes. They are sometimes self aware enough to know they’re “off script” and to attempt to fix it, like Leonard, and other times, like Sheldon, they are not aware enough to know that they’re creating an awkward situation and if they are they don’t try to fix it. This contrasts paints Leonard as the most awkward within the group.
A good example of going “off script” would be the first clip in this compilation. The repeated ping-pong of the words “hi,” “great,” and “bye” is awkward because it is not something that would happen normally in the conversation. Sheldon createsLeonard attepts to fix this with small talk and pleasantries, but it is clear he is uncomfortable, which causes another blunder, which he again attempts to fix, this time by overcorrecting and making the situation more awkward. This also lets the audience know his discomfort comes from the fact that he is messing up in front of a pretty girl, as Leonard is very clear to specify that he and Sheldon live together in “separate heteosexual bedrooms.” By the time the conversation starts to ping-pong again, Leonard leans into it and adds on another “bye” as a way of attempting to make the previous conversation less awkward by establishing the ping-pong exchange as the conversation’s status quo. However, this just makes it seem more awkward because the conversation has gone too far “off script” to be rescued.
I think this is such an interesting example of awkwardness, and I especially like how you differentiate between Leonard’s self-awareness of his going “off-script” with Sheldon’s ignorance/ambivalence, as it reflects the difference in the awkwardness of the situations they each get into!