Do you need to have Aspergers to appreciate The Big Bang Theory?

Just caught Ethan sneaking in another episode of The Big Bang Theory while he was meant to be in the throes of tidying the boys' room with them (while I tidied Ava's with her, I might add - and I definitely had the harder task due to both the room and the child!).

He has very quickly become completely addicted to the sitcom - he's like a junkie having to squeeze in a quick fix before embarking on the kids' bedtime or cooking the tea (I know - I should be grateful he does these things in the first place...). But that's Ethan all over - he doesn't do anything in moderation. He'll eat a whole family size tub of Ben and Jerry's while he absent-mindedly watches TV (probably back-to-back episodes of The Big Bang Theory!), a couple of years ago he decided he wanted to get into cycling and bought not one but two new bikes (and he's barely used either), when he thought he had a problem with alcohol a couple of years ago, he enrolled in AA, bought the book (roughly the same size as a Bible) and read it insatiably.

Right now it's The Big Bang Theory that's dominating his life- it's a TV programme, so that already rates it high on Ethan's pleasure list. Secondly, in his words, 'it makes him not feel so alone' - he's aware that the characters aren't real, of course. But the fact that someone out there knows all about the mental and behavioural make-up of a person with Asperger Syndrome and has reflected this for the world to see, helps Ethan feel that he's, in a way, 'normal' - at least normal for a person with Aspergers. And, although he says that there are the odd moments in the programme that make him feel pretty depressed (when the guy with Aspergers offends someone or when other people misunderstand him) for the most part, it does Ethan good to laugh at some of the, admittedly more extreme, characteristics of Aspergers. It would probably do us both good - except that, the one episode I watched, in consolidation with Ethan, I found, erm, well,  irritating: not funny - it didn't even muster a smile, I actually found it quite dull, in an irritating kind of a way. But maybe that's because I've not got Asperger Syndrome and so I'm not relating to it - I'm one of those people in the sitcom who misunderstand the central player.

I'll give another episode a go (it is meant to be the most watched sitcom currently) so perhaps my episode was a dud, or I'm missing something. Maybe, the more I watch, the more I'll begin to understand Aspergers and Ethan. If nothing else, it's something to do together. And, if I can't beat him, I may as well join him!