If you've seen the Wonder Years, you can pretty well equate this show with that one in many ways. Of course, in this case, the series is about the younger years of the "funniest" character in another TV show (Big Bang Theory). Sheldon, I dare say, is the one that cracks most people up in the Big Bang Theory. This show taps into his young life as a child genius who lives in his own little world. However, the production team realized early on that they needed to be multi dimensional about this. I think it is safe to say they got some inspiration from "The Wonder Years" in the way they didn't revolve the show totally around young Sheldon. Other characters show their nuances and get a chance to be "clowns" for a day. Which is the charm of this show, much as it was for Wonder Years.