When Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady came up with the idea for “The Big Bang Theory,” they produced a pilot episode that they presented to CBS. However, the pilot episode was significantly different from the series as we know it today. Only ‘Sheldon’ Jim Parsons and ‘Leonard’ Johnny Galecki from the current cast were present. Amanda Walsh (“Lost Girl”) also played Katie, who works at a beauty salon and happens upon the two nerds and moves in with them – before they can defend themselves.
When the broadcaster rejected the pilot, but liked the basic idea and asked for a new version, Katie became the future actress Penny (Kaley Cuoco), who becomes the nerds’ neighbor. But above all – like thereported – Sheldon massively overhauled!
Sheldon was completely different in the first pilot, especially in one way
In the original episode he could do a lot more with sex than he can now. The scene in the second pilot (the one we all know), where Leonard and Sheldon visit a sperm bank, was heavily changed!
While they leave the bank there having accomplished nothing, because the sperm of geniuses does not necessarily produce intelligent children, Sheldon becomes a donor in the original. After “the work is done”, he notes to Leonard that he had a few problems making the donation because he was distracted by the idea that he was actually committing fraud (since their sperm does not guarantee intelligent children).
But then he luckily came across a magazine full of women with huge asses. Leonard answers that he did not come across this book by chance; after all, he had brought it from home. In the original, Sheldon liked big women’s butts and had a collection of porn magazines, which was hidden in his sock drawer, by the way.
In the first pilot, Sheldon even had sexual experiences with other women. The original opening episode introduced the character of Leonard’s colleague Gilda (played by Iris Bahr), who was later removed. A flirtation ensues between her and Leonard, but this is complicated by the revelation that Sheldon once had sex with her on the sidelines of a Star Trek convention. Their reasoning: He so convincingly played a Vulcan currently in the… Pon-Farr mating cycle found she couldn’t refuse.
The original pilot, in which nerds Howard and Raj did not appear at all, has not yet been officially released despite requests from many fans. However, the fan community still holds out hope that it will one day be included as an extra in a home theater release of the hit series.