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What's going on?
The Cornhuskers are getting Monday night football exposure. But they're not actually playing a game. Monday's 8:30 p.m. episode of the CBS primetime comedy “The Big Bang Theory” focuses on Husker football.
Why Husker football?
The episode, titled “The Cornhusker Vortex,” features Penny, the beautiful Omaha native, teaching her physicist boyfriend Leonard about football. Preview clips of the program feature plenty of Husker garb, complete with the geeky Leonard sporting an oversized No. 10 Nebraska jersey. That's Roy Helu's number, for those not in the NU know.
What's the university think about that?
The show's producers asked the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for permission to use the logos, said David Fitzgibbon, the university's manager of broadcast services. Officials obliged.
“We believe it's a good risk to get the Nebraska brand out there on national television and on a pretty popular show,” Fitzgibbon said.
What is the show like?
“The Big Bang Theory” is in its third season and focuses on the relationship between a waitress and aspiring actress who moves from Omaha to Los Angeles and her genius yet socially awkward neighbors. The show has been critically acclaimed, but its ratings were less than stellar until this season when CBS moved it into a time slot following the popular “Two and a Half Men.” As a result, ratings for “The Big Bang Theory” have jumped 38 percent.
Will there by more NU references on future shows?
Show officials wouldn't guarantee it, but producers told UNL officials they hope the Husker references further develop Penny's character.
— Dane Stickney
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