The Big Bang Theorys rivalry between Wil Wheaton and Sheldon Cooper was a stroke of genius and well miss it

The Big Bang Theorys final season is getting us all reflective, and one thing we cant escape is how much weve really enjoyed Wil Wheatons extended guest appearances as a fictional version of himself over the past 12 series. One of the reasons his memorable run has been so enduring and entertaining is his rivalry-turned-friendship with Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons).

For a sitcom going on for over a decade, there must be common threads to keep the story moving naturally, with enough callbacks from supporting characters to make it more interesting than following the same four nerds making the same jokes.

Thankfully, the real Wil – the unsung hero of The Big Bang Theory – threw himself into the snide version of himself, and its made for some of The Big Bang Theorys best moments.

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Firstly, it should be noted that getting the Star Trek: The Next Generation star to play himself was a stroke of genius from The Big Bang Theory team. Seriously, it was perfect casting and storytelling – hes recognisable enough to be a big deal, but not so much (no offense) that it seems outside the realm of possibility.

Right from the off, it all made sense: Sheldon had Wil on his list of mortal enemies after taking a 10-hour bus ride to the 1995 Dixie Star Trek Convention to meet the sci-fi actor, only to be left bitterly disappointed that he wasnt in attendance.

The pair first crossed paths on screen during a Mystic Warlords Of Kaa card tournament at Stuarts (Kevin Sussman) comic book store, with Sheldon determined to get to the final and come face-to-face with his nemesis. His foe showed his hand early on though, drawing him in by claiming he wasnt at the fan event in 95 because of his grandmothers death.

This manipulation – Sheldon let Wil win the competition and the $500 prize – kick started one of the shows best recurring storylines, with the Star Trek star constantly getting one up on the physicist in the best ways.

Over the years, the rivalry was always a welcome reference on screen, with Dr. Coopers cry of “WHEATON!” always getting a good laugh. If only “WilWheatonstinks.net” was really a thing (we checked, it just takes you to a Warner holding page. Boo!).

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The card tournament wasnt the peak of the story though – far from it.

Who could forget the lengths Wil went to just to win at bowling? Come on, he actually got into Pennys (Kaley Cuoco) head and convinced her to break up with then-boyfriend (and teammate) Leonard (Johnny Galecki). Too far, Wil? Too far!

Sheldon always seemed a step behind, even mangling an attempted dig with the Wesley Crushers team name sounding more like an ode to the Star Trek character than the threat it was intended as.

Of course, it didnt end there.

A special screening of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark – with a whole 21 extra seconds of footage set to fill in glaring plot holes – was always going to capture the imagination of the gang, and Sheldon himself was so excited as they patiently (ahem) waited in line at the cinema.

Brilliantly reminding viewers of Wils celebrity status in more than his rivals head, the actor was able to skip the line with his own crew as they left the comic book shop and got let in ahead of the queue by the bouncer, who just so happened to be a big fan.

By the time Sheldon, Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Leonard made it to the front, it was at full capacity and they were forced to miss out, thanks to Wil and his line-skipping. The rest of the group were disappointed, but unsurprisingly Sheldon took it a step too far as he literally stole the film canister from the projection booth and made a run for it (complete with the Indy theme song blaring out. IconicRead More – Source