The Big Bang Theory's Original Currency Was Very Different (and Worse)

The original Penny in The Big Bang Theory was a very different character, but he never made it past the unaired pilot. Kaley Cuoco played the series' only main female character in its first three years, starring alongside Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Simon Helberg (Howard) and Kunal Nayyar (Raj). Only in season 4 did the show bring in Melissa Rauch's Bernadette and Mayim Bialik's Amy, which not only expanded the cast of The Big Bang Theory but also increased female representation on the sitcom. However, Penny appears since the first episode in 2007.

Before The Big Bang TheoryIn the official premiere of , its unaired pilot had a significantly different cast of characters besides Leonard and Sheldon. Penny, Raj and Howard are missing and in their place are two other female characters. Gilda, played by Iris Bahr, resembles Sara Gilbert's Leslie Winkle, and Katie, played by Amanda Walsh, is undoubtedly the original incarnation of what would be Cuoco's character. Creators Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre decided to scrap Walsh's role after her character received a negative response from audiences during test screenings.

The Big Bang Theory's Original Currency Explained

Katie was played by Amanda Walsh

The non-airline pilot The Big Bang Theory shares several similarities with the show's eventual pilot episode, including Leonard and Sheldon at the sperm bank, them meeting a beautiful woman and getting her to move in, and some initial communication difficulties between them. However, in the non-airline pilot, the boys meet Katie as she cries on the sidewalk as the break-up means she is now homeless. She ends up moving in with them because she needs a free place to stay, gets drunk and complains about everything in life.

Penny, on the other hand, is moving across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard and has a job to support herself, as well as dreams of being an actress. She also recently broke up with her boyfriend, but is not as tragic or helpless a figure as Katie. She's also much nicer - although both characters have no interest in 'nerdy' activities, Penny seems more confused than evil. It's also worth noting that Penny ends up befriending the boys despite being able to ignore them, while Katie needs them to avoid becoming homeless.

The original 'Penny' was very cruel

Kaley Cuoco's Penny has softened her interactions with the other characters

Although Katie and Penny are similar, viewers thought the former was too harsh on Leonard and Sheldon. While the problem wasn't Amanda Walsh's performance, the character of Katie was written as being much more antagonistic to the two main characters. Given how quickly Leonard and Sheldon endeared themselves to fans, it's not surprising that Katie's tendency to pick on them didn't work out well. The best thing about Penny and how Cuoco played the role is that despite her usual indifference towards the boys' academic and nerdy interests, she wasn't mean to them.

Penny may have cracked the occasional joke at their expense, but ultimately, she is a trustworthy friend to them all. No matter how much Sheldon irritated her or Howard irritatingly flirted with her, she offered help when they needed it. Although Katie only appeared in one episode, she could have changed over the course of The Big Bang Theory if she had stayed, it was a little disheartening to see how she treated the two main male players in the series.

It's hard to say if The Big Bang Theory'The popularity still would have exploded if CBS moved forward with the show's original pilot. However, looking back at its 12 years on the air, it's hard to imagine any other character playing the role that Penny played as an audience surrogate for the show. It is true that, although The Big Bang Theory There was some problematic treatment of her character, especially in the early years of the sitcom, no one can deny that Cuoco had great chemistry with Parsons and Galecki, as well as the rest of the cast.

Penny went on to have the best arc in the Big Bang Theory

Where Penny ended up in the end showed the most growth of any other character

Kaley Cuoco's career skyrocketed after playing Penny in The Big Bang Theory - and her character undoubtedly had the best arc of the series. Characters need to change over the course of an overarching narrative, and many of them TBBTThe cast went through steep transitions and major life events. Most of the crew got married, with Howard and Bernadette having children of their own, Amy and Sheldon getting married, and Penny and Leonard starting a life together.

However, Penny's character is night and day from the beginning of The Big Bang Theory at its end. She started out as an eccentric actress/waitress who actually showed more interest in her love life than her ambitions. Over the course of the series, she slowly gave up her more intangible hopes and dreams of having a successful career and marriage. However, Penny was the one who changed everyone in the group the mostand it was obviously the right choice to put her character in Katie's shoes in the pilot The Big Bang Theory.

What Amanda Walsh did after the pilot

Walsh continued to find jobs in front of and behind the camera

Like the original version of Penny in The Big Bang Theory'In the pilot, it's easy to look at Amanda Walsh as an actress who missed a big opportunity. In fact, it must be difficult to star in a pilot for a show only to be replaced and watch that show become one of the biggest shows on television. However, the version The Big Bang Theory which Walsh was a part of would probably never be a success and Walsh has managed to maintain a solid career since then.

Notable roles of Amanda Walsh:

Although she never found the success of something like The Big Bang TheoryWalsh has continued to act since then. As a sign that there was no bad blood after the reworked pilot for The Big Bang TheoryWalsh starred in another Chuck Lorre sitcom Two and a half men.

Walsh played Elizabeth Helm in the Canadian action series lost girl. She also appeared in several episodes of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and continues to have guest roles in high-profile programs such as Control your enthusiasm and, more recently, Chemistry Classes. Walsh is also a writer who was part of the team behind the Emmy-winning film Schitt's Creek.

Big Bang Theory isn't the only show to change an actress from the pilot

Several iconic female characters were almost unbelievably different

While Amanda Walsh was swapped for Kaley Cuoco after The Big Bang Theory pilot was a big change, the story is far from unique. Many TV shows are significantly changed after feedback from unaired soft-pilots, and there are several examples of series that would have been incredibly different with actresses from the original programming.

For example, Alyson Hannigan was a reference in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Willow, Buffy's best friend and eventual witch. However, in the original Buffy pilot, Willow was played by Riff Regan. Regan was recast due to a lack of chemistry with Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander. Given how iconic Hannigan ended up being in the role, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Willow, just as it's hard to imagine The Big Bang Theory without Penny.

Another well-known example of an actress being recast is Meg in Family man. Meg was voiced by Rachael MacFarlane, Seth MacFarlane's sister when Family Guy was conceived for the first time. Eventually, she was replaced by Lacey Chabert (who, in turn, ended up being recast, with Mila Kunis taking over the role). However, Rachael MacFarlane has starred in her brother's other shows, including voicing Hayley in American father.

Interestingly, a key member of the Family Guy cast, Alex Borstein (who voices Lois) also lost a role after an unaired pilot. Melissa McCarthy's early career was defined by the sitcom Gilmore Girls, in which she played Sookie. Like Penny in The Big Bang Theory, Sookie was such an integral part of the show, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than McCarthy in the role. However, in the unaired Gilmore Girls pilot, Alex Borstein played the character Sookie. This was probably the right fit for the show, given how popular Sookie was, and Borstein even appeared on Gilmore Girls in a much smaller capacity as a guest star.

Ultimately, there are many examples of actresses who were recast after non-airline pilots. Amanda Walsh being removed from The Big Bang Theory the casting was not an unusual circumstance. What's more, just like in more or less every other similar case, the final decision seemed to have been the right one for the show.