Why Young Sheldon’s John Sturgis Doesn’t Appear on The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 successful seasonsand during this time several characters from the life of Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) appeared in the sitcom. His mom, brother and sister appear in on-screen roles, and his late father is mentioned. Still, not everyone who influenced Sheldon gets credit on the nerdy sitcom. Young Sheldon’s Paige Swenson (McKenna Grace) is missing from The Big Bang Theory despite being a prominent part of his coming of age, while Dr. John Sturgis (Wallace Shawn) is also overlooked despite dating and mentoring Mima Sheldon (Annie Potts).

Example: Sheldon’s Nobel speech in the finale of The Big Bang Theory brought the cast to tearsproving to be an emotional moment. In this scene, the socially awkward physicist thanks most of the important people in his life for supporting him over the years, marking a rare expression of gratitude from the character. However, Sheldon does not mention Sturgis during his big speech, despite the influence he had on his childhood and scientific development at the time. With that in mind, there is one scene in Young Sheldon that suggests the titular boy genius doesn’t have much respect for Sturgis, negating any need to mention him in The Big Bang Theory.

Sheldon Cooper is pretty self-centered throughout The Big Bang Theory. In fact, his aforementioned speech in the series finale is perhaps the only time he realizes how lucky he is to have his friends. At the same time, it’s no surprise that Dr. John Sturgis was left out of his prime, as Sheldon didn’t always see eye-to-eye with his mentor.

In Young Sheldon season 6 episode “Little Green Men and the Proposal”, Ian Armitage’s boy genius and Sturgis argue about the concept of extraterrestrial life. In the theory he put forward ScreenRantit is noted that Sheldon rejects his mentor’s ideas, which may have caused him to lose respect for the veteran’s scientific opinions. However, it’s also surprising that Sheldon didn’t even mention him in a negative light on The Big Bang Theory, as he was known for blowing up stories about people who upset him as a child, as evidenced by the time he recalled his an old neighbor. Billy Sparks (Wyatt McClure) was a bully, even though he wasn’t.

However, there are times when ideas and characters appear in this franchise, which means that some small details get overlooked. “The Big Bang Theory” creator Chuck Lorre even regrets killing off George Cooper (Lance Barber) this meant that “Young Sheldon” was indebted to the ideas presented in its parent show. Therefore, it is possible that the creators of the spinoff wanted to avoid unwanted crossover elements between both series.