Jim Parsons on his fussy Sheldon character on 'Big Bang Theory'

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When CBS's "Big Bang Theory" (8 p.m. EDT Monday) began last year, it immediately seemed like a sitcom success. Through its first season that proved to be the case, largely thanks to the performance of actor Jim Parsons and the direction the writers took his character, Sheldon.In lesser hands, Sheldon could be an immensely unlikable character: Fussy, smart and nursing a superiority complex, he can be abrasive. But more than anything, he's funny. Hilarious, even, in this story of grad-school nerds in Pasadena, Calif."I would never look at it as Sheldon being mean," Parsons said of his character in July at an overcrowded CBS party in Hollywood. "But there were times when we'd go through some scenes and I would think, 'Sheldon is just a pain ... But that's also part of his charm. He walks that fine line. His factualness and literal takes on a situation can certainly be blunt and a tad crass."The writers realized the comedy gold mine they had in Parsons and Sheldon. Even Monday night's season premiere, although it does pick up the story of Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and his date with Penny (Kaley Cuoco), is largely about Sheldon and his reactions to the date.When Penny says she'll "die of embarrassment," Sheldon notes, "That is physiologically impossible." Viewers also learn he keeps a pre-packed disaster evacuation bag in his room "as recommended by the Department of Homeland Security and Sarah Connor." In the Sept. 29 episode, when someone tries to compliment Sheldon by saying he's smart, he takes offense: "Smart? I'd have to lose 60 IQ points to be classified as smart!"Parsons has heard people note that he reminds them of David Hyde Pierce, who played the similarly fussy Niles Crane on "Frasier." Parsons and Pierce have never met, and when he first heard the comparison while acting in a play in high school, he hadn't watched much "Frasier." Since then, he's seen reruns."He's hysterical," Parsons said. "I'm kind of thrilled when people do compare us. I'm fine with that."I never purposely tried to emulate him, but maybe there is something innately similar in how we talk or how we move," Parsons said. "I'd love to play his relative in something. If there's some sort of uncontrollable similarity, let's use it in some way."(Contact TV editor Rob Owen at rowen(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)