“The Big Bang Theory” co-creator/executive producer Bill Prady answered every one of the questions that was submitted before the deadline. He even addressed the questions that Jim Parsons’ couldn’t answer.

With the season finale of the CBS comedy looming Monday, it seemed like the perfect time to post the results.

Before "TBBT," Prady (far left in the picture to the right, flanking the cast with Chuck Lorre) wrote for shows such as "Dharma and Greg" "Gilmore Girls" and began his Hollywood career working for Jim Henson Productions. He is a fan of many things the characters on the show like, particularly "Star Trek." He was previously a computer programmer and said he worked with people who were very bright but couldn’t fit in well in the world and that this was the genesis for the characters we’ve come to love

Before we get to your questions, I'd like to share with you some tidbits we gathered at the “Big Bang” panel at the Paley Festival, which my colleague Cynthia Littleton moderated.

• The original working title of the show was “Lenny, Penny and Kenny.”
• The show was not “pitched” in the traditional way. Normally a writer would go to the network with an outline of the premise, the characters and a vision for where the show would go in the future. For what eventually became “The Big Bang Theory,” Prady and Chuck Lorre wrote a script, hired some actor friends and “put on a show” for CBS honcho Leslie Moonves. “It was crazy,” Lorre said. But it worked.
• Kaley got teary-eyed every time someone on the panel or a guest in the audience gave her a compliment. It was really quite endearing. My favorite line of the whole panel — from Jim Parsons to Cuoco — “Did you think these people were going to throw fruit at us?”
• Asked why the show works so well, Lorre and Prady agreed that everyone, no matter how confident they may seem, at some point feels as if they are on the outside looking in and so the audience can easily identify with the characters.
• The staff calls the scenes between Penny and Sheldon “Peldon" or “Shenny" scenes
• Parsons, told by his manager that he was being asked to audition for a Chuck Lorre pilot, thought it was a Chuck Woolery pilot.
• Musing about how difficult it is to find the perfect actor for even one role in a pilot, Lorre said he felt they'd captured "lightning in a bottle five times" with the "Big Bang" gang. We couldn't agree more.

And now, on to your questions. I’ve chosen the elevator question as my favorite because it made me giggle. Nicola, I will contact you about your prize.

Q. As much as I love the awkward staircase conversations in “TBBT” I want to know if the elevator will EVER be fixed? It would be so funny to watch someone get trapped in there with Sheldon. (Nicola)
A. Our broken elevator does two wonderful things for us. First, it eliminates the traditional sitcom L-shaped apartment building hallway and second, it allows us to do “walk and talk” scenes without having to create a city street or similar set. We’re proud of the set, which required we jackhammer a hole in the floor of Stage 25 (to make room for the stairs going down). I can’t tell you whether it will ever get fixed, but if it does, I’m sure things won’t go well.

Good news all you fans of “The Big Bang Theory”: We had so much fun with the Jim Parsons Q&A  that we’re doing one with the show’s co-creator Bill Prady.

We chatted with Bill after a taping back in November and he’s enthusiastic about answering your questions regarding the awkward genius quartet (Sheldon, Leonard, Wolowitz and Koothrappali) and their gal pal Penny.

The show has continued its hot ratings pace and has been picked up for two additional seasons.

As always, here are the guidelines. We’ll send questions to Bill in about a week. I’ve saved some of the queries you all sent in for Jim Parsons that he didn’t have answers for (see the first comment below). We’ll see if Bill can provide you with the info you’re seeking, especially the ever-popular “Will Sheldon and Penny ever hook up?” question. I don't know how much future plot Bill is able or willing to give away so phrase those questions carefully.

1) Hit the comment button below and ask your question by April 3.
2) You may ask more than one question but we are looking for quality, not quantity. Asking more will not guarantee that you’ll get an answer. In the spirit of fairness, we try to give plenty of folks a chance.
3) Read through the other comments to make sure you’re not repeating something that’s already been asked.
4) Be clever and have fun.
5) The person who asks the best question will receive a special prize to be determined.

Posted by Kathy Lyford

Here are the answers to your questions for “The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons, who plays neurotic genius Sheldon Cooper on the CBS comedy, which is one of my favorite shows and one of the few comedies that qualifies as appointment TV for me.

For this Q&A we’re trying a little something different: All your questions were answered via video. It seems actors aren’t as camera shy as showrunners.

Many of you were curious about how much Jim has in common with Sheldon. Well, the answer is not much. Let’s see. They look alike. They sound the same, right down to the Texas twang. They’re both adorable. They’re both smart, but in different ways. They both excel in their chosen professions.

The differences are more profound. Jim dresses better. (Although if you dig Sheldon’s wardrobe, visit this fan site devoted to his t-shirts). Sheldon is socially awkward to the point of ineptitude. Jim is personable, charming, outgoing and witty. Sheldon is seemingly interested only in science, video games and comic books. Jim's hobbies don't include any of those. And while I would never pretend to know about his interests after a two-hour meeting, I can tell you that Jim and I chatted before and after the interview about many topics of interest to both of us: Theater, the state of the economy, the recent election, L.A. real estate, ping-pong (he plays; there's even a "BBT" cast and crew tournament), poker (I try to play), crosswords, blogs and chatrooms, documentaries, the changing television business, critics, movies, restaurants and “Friday Night Lights” (I can bring that series up in any conversation. I’ve now proved it.)

Jim made my job very easy. He not only answered the questions he read them too (sometimes with comments directed toward the person asking). So I got to just sit there and enjoy his delightful company and giggle. Of course, I did have to edit and upload the videos — hence the slight delay. Turns out I’m more of a Penny than a Sheldon when it comes to technology.

Before we start the questions, here’s a short thank you from Jim for all of you who participated plus a special announcement about which one of you won the autographed season one DVD set.

"The Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons is set to answer your questions right here on Season Pass and we couldn't be more thrilled to get to know him better.

We're expanding our Q&A series to include actors and we're starting with a thesp whom we at Variety are big fans of. Parsons plays neurotic, socially challenged scientist Sheldon Cooper on CBS' hit sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," co-created by Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre.

My colleague Brian Cochrane and I were lucky enough to attend a taping of "Big Bang" last night on the Warner Bros. lot. Parsons and the entire cast are every bit as talented as we expected, reeling off the show's special brand of peculiar, rapid-fire scientific dialogue with very few dropped lines or re-takes.

Although we love the whole cast, Parsons has been a particular favorite of ours ever since we saw the pilot episode. He seemingly came out of nowhere - at least he was not on our radar - and became an instant star. He has great comic timing, excels at physical comedy and, let's face it, he's adorable.

If you're a fan too, this is your chance to learn more about this intriguing actor. Be clever and please don't ask things that you could learn from a simple search of his IMDB bio.

Here are the rules:

1) Hit the comment button below and ask your question. You have until Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m.
2) You may ask more than one question but we are looking for quality, not quantity. Asking more will not guarantee that you'll see your queries answered. In the spirit of fairness, we try to give plenty of folks a chance.
3) Read through the other comments to make sure you're not repeating something that's already been asked.
4) On Friday, Nov. 7, I will have coffee with Jim and present him with the 20 best questions. He's agreed to answer between 10 and 20.
5) Visit Season Pass on Wednesday, Nov. 12 for the answers.
6) There are no restrictions on what you can ask but keep in mind actors are not always privvy to future story arcs.
7) Any change to this schedule due to unforseen circumstances or conflicts with Jim's schedule will be updated right here on this post.

Have fun and thanks for reading Season Pass. While you wait for the answers to this Q&A, please read our completed sessions with showrunners from your favorite series. Check out the menu there on the right for links.

Posted by Kathy Lyford

P.S.

We have lined up a Q&A with "Big Bang's" co-creator Bill Prady. So if you're a real fan of the show, keep checking back. We're aiming for late November or early December on that one. Bill had some fascinating stories about the show's development process, which we'd love to share with you.

It's official. The hypothesis offered by all the Season Pass contributors who gave two thumbs up to "The Big Bang Theory" has been upheld by America. Show's a hit.

It's not a "Friends" or "Everybody Loves Raymond"-size hit, at least not out of the box. But it has held up solidly in its six airings to date (last night averaging 8.9 million viewers and 3.6 rating/9 share in adults 18-49) and is ranking No. 2 in its time slot behind ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." "Big Bang" builds on its "How I Met Your Mother" lead-in -- probably not as much as CBS would like to see, but for a new show, anytime the numbers are going up rather than down, it's a victory.

Most of all, "Big Bang" is funny, with an ensemble (Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) that is getting better by the episode. Gee, maybe there's hope for the multi-camera comedy format after all. Kudos to series co-creators and showrunners Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and all the other hard-worker staffers on the Warner Bros. TV skein. Here's hoping that the course of human events and WGA-AMPTP negotiations don't conspire to shut them down any time soon.

--Cynthia Littleton

Theoretically, writers have plenty of time to put together a script for their pilot. They can tinker all they want, right up to the taping, so it should be a grand effort. There's no excuse for a lazy or poorly executed finished product.

It's episode No. 2 that often gives viewers a more accurate sense of the quality of the series, of what they're going to see for the next 21 episodes. And that's why I was so excited to see "The Big Bang Theory" hold up incredibly well creatively.

While the pilot made me laugh, there was little, if any, letdown last night. With the story by exec producers Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, and the teleplay by Robert Cohen and Dave Goetsch, the characters were delivering one zinger after another, and not necessarily the kind where you could see the jokes coming from a mile away.

Maybe more than any other new show, the casting is spot on. Johnny Galecki has been a pro since his "Roseanne" days but relative newcomer Jim Parsons has comedic timing that would seem virtually impossible to teach. Either you have it or you don't, and he's got it. Big time.

Their buddies — Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar — add just the right notes as well and 21-year-old Kaley Cuoco, who feels like a TV vet at this point after turns on "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" and "Charmed," plays ditzy with more charm than most actresses would.

Ratings held on strong in week two as well (read Rick Kissell's story here), which is a good sign this one will be here for awhile.

And don't forget to pause the Tivo and read Lorre's rants on the title cards at the very end of the show. Hilarious.

If these geeks are around for years to come, that's fine by me.

— Stuart Levine