Belarus May Steal Big Bang Theory's Format, But They'll Never Successfully Clone Jim Parsons (We Hope)

Weird Variations of Jim Parsons Day continues here at Movieline with the amusing story of an unauthorized knockoff of The Big Bang Theory from Belarus called The Theorists. Like Parsons' Big Bang character, his Belarusian counterpart is a wiry, science-nerd know-it-all named Sheldon. And the similarities don't end there, according to one of Bang creator Chuck Lorre's signature, text-heavy vanity cards that ran after last night's show:

Belarus is a small, land-locked country next door to Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. According to Wikipedia, one of its major exports is cattle by-products. Which begs the question, what horrible shape are the cattle in, if all they're good for is felt hats and wallpaper paste? But Belarus does have a bustling TV production industry. One of their most recent hits is a sitcom about four nerdy scientists who live next door to a beautiful blonde waitress. The characters are named Sheldon, Leo, Hovard, Raj and Natasha, and the show is entitled, The Theorists. Each episode begins with a rapid-fire montage of images which takes us from the dawn of time to the present moment. Keeping with that theme, the montage is scored with what is probably the worst piece of recorded pop music since the dawn of time. And finally, each episode appears to be a Russian translation of a Big Bang Theory episode.

Seems like an open-and-shut case of intellectual property theft. Except for one thing: The Theorists is a production of the Belarus government, a rogue state that floats comfortably above the law when it comes to matters of international sitcom copyright infringement. Yes, theirs is a woefully corrupt system that is willing to stop at nothing, including the kidnapping of an entire American studio audience to underscore the purloined punchlines with an authentic soundtrack of premium snickers and guffaws.

· 'Big Bang' In Belarus: The Theft of a Sitcom [The Wrap]