The Big Bang Theory

Although Sheldon is clearly the breakout star of The Big Bang Theory, last week I complained that "The Einstein Approximation" was a little too much Sheldon.  This week's installment, however, focuses first on Leonard and Penny's relationship, giving Sheldon a chance to shine as an obnoxious supporting character.

During "The Large Hadron Collision," Leonard was given a plus one for his trip to Switzerland to see the CERN Super Collider on February 14th, and for obvious reasons, he choose to make it a romantic getaway with his girlfriend on Valentine's Day.  Sheldon, of course, during his lifelong dream to see a super collider, decided it was his right as a roommate and friend to go.

While any sane friend would never feel it was their place on the trip, the entire premise was well within Sheldon's crazy belief system and, heck, already recorded in their roomate agreement from years earlier.  Sheldon's antics that followed were, of course, as hilarious as could be expected.

Our only gripe with this episode was do you really think Leonard would have gotten away with going on the trip, leaving behind his flu-ridden girlfriend to spend Valentine's Day with Sheldon?  Sure, the Raj bit was hilarious at the end, and we always love to see this under-utlized member involved in the plot line, but we'd have to think there'd be long-term reprecussions for Leonard.

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As previously reported, Stan Lee will guest star on the March 1 episode of The Big Bang Theory.

This is great news for Sheldon, except for one problem: the character ends up in jail on that episode, following a minor traffic infraction and Sheldon's “lack of delicacy with the English language," as Jim Parsons explains to Entertainment Weekly.

“He gets pushed to his limits and gets cross with the judge,” Parsons told the magazine. “The phrase ‘catching more flies with sugar than with vinegar’ makes no sense to him. The truth is really all that matters.”

Of course, Sheldon soon “realizes he doesn’t [have] a private bathroom" in the cell, producer Chuck Lorre adds. Therefore, he's happy to apologize and get the heck out of there.

Will he actually get to meet Lee? Lorre says yes, but: “It doesn’t go well."

No shock there. But likely many, many laughs.

In what felt like a shortened episode of The Big Bang Theory, there was really only one main story line in this week's episode: Sheldon snapping when he can't solve a physics problem.  So if "The Einstein Approximation" was a half hour of pure Sheldon antics, how could we complain?

Well, we're critics, that's how!  Although we love Sheldon and he is 100% why we watch this show, it's not the Sheldon show for a reason.  In order to keep the show somewhat believable so that we buy into the fact Leonard and crew put up with Sheldon, you can't possibly give him the entire thirty minutes.  Even Penny was ready to break up with Leonard over it!

Don't get us wrong, Sheldon was unbelievably hilarious.  The swimming around the ball pit escaping from Leonard screaming "bazinga" was amazing both during the episode and after the credit roll.  Possibly one of the funniest Big Bang moments even.

However, we can't help but complain that some of this episode was out of even Sheldon's character, sleep deprived or not.  While the idea of him emulating Einstein's mundane job was believable, would a man as nutty as him not be able to touch other peoples' coins, but have no problem busing their food?  And really, we're expected to beleive a genius like Sheldon never thought particles could move in a wave?  Pretty sure that was high school physics.  Okay, we'll admit that last one was a bit of a silly complaint for a sitcom. 

Our final rant from this week's episode is the same one we've had since they paired up Wolowitz and Leonard into relationships: it's leaving Raj in the cold.  He simply set up the double date at the start and then disappeared until he could complain about it at the ned.  Nobody can deliver the sarcasm like Raj and we're missing the guy.  Maybe we need Raj to get together with Winnie and have some triple dating action!

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We weren't fans of CBS airing a rerun of The Big Bang Theory this week.

But we are fans of this guest-starring news: Spider-Man creator and comic book creator Stan Lee will appear on the March 1 episode of this CBS sitcom.

The 87-year-old, who has made cameos as himself in all the films based on his Marvel superhero creations (The Hulk, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, etc.). Look for him pop up in the show's comic book shop hangout.

On this week's episode of The Big Bang Theory, there was nothing nerdy about the generic sitcom plot line of Leonard and Sheldon's apartment being broken into.

We've come to rely on TBBT to have eccentric plotlines or at least eccentric reactions courtesy of the shows four geniuses, but this week's episode, "The Bozeman Reaction," was a bit of an exception.

Other than the guys building a Home Alone-esque security system that included dropping a net on potential bad guys, they had a fairly typical response to a break-in.  While Leonard seemed indifferent (possibly because he had a Penny to help him forget about his woes), Sheldon had a suprisingly normal response to a break-in.

The poor guy had his personal space violated, so the idea of him taking off to a safer city wasn't a typical, crazy Sheldon response.  We would have rather the show have taken a unique angle with his plotline that its characters allow them too.  I could have gone for more Sheldon and Leonard as a Holmes and Watson team as they searched for the criminals using more soda can clues.

Luckily, the half hour was basically a one-man show for its strongest character, Sheldon, and he was still able to carry the comedy, despite a lame plot.  Overall, it was a bit of a mediocre episode, but still kept us entertained with some of the following Big Bang Theory quotes, including a very obvious Microsoft plug:

Sheldon: You know, the more I think about it, the "mobster sauce" couldn't possibly contain chunks of mobster.
Leonard: And why is that?
Sheldon: It was listed under "Seafood."
Leonard: Maybe they were mobsters who "slept with the fishes." | permalink

Sheldon: I'm not crazy; my mother had me tested. | permalink

Sheldon: My new computer came with Windows 7. Windows 7 is much more user-friendly than Windows Vista. I don't like that. | permalink

Sheldon: The four of you are three of my closest friends, and one treasured acquaintance. | permalink

After waiting over a month since we heard that Danica McKeller was going to guest star on The Big Bang Theory, we finally got to see grown up Winnie Cooper make her appearance last night as Raj's potential love interest.

After Raj bribed Sheldon into going to a university mixer as his wingman, the two by some miracle managed to hit it off with Abby (McKellar) and Martha (Jen Drohan) and somehow even bring them home for some Rock Band.

The hilarious and only slightly unbelievably story line led to some hilarious moments including Sheldon's hulk impresions, his creepy smiling, declaration of scoring, and the more horrifying than hilarious walking away from a girl sitting on his bed.

That seems like the nail in the coffin for the Sheldon-Penny relationship some crazy fans seem to want.  We official declare Sheldon asexual after this episode and hope we never have to hear of that potential pairing again.

Meanwhile, Leonard and Wolowitz took their girlfriends on a double date and Leonard managed to get into an argument with Penny, when he discovered she believed in psychics.  Hence the episdode title, "The Psychic Vortex."  Leonard was slightly unchararistically jerky towards Penny, but man did it have us laughing.

While Leonard's story line wasn't nearly as entertaining as the mixer, it did lead to an interesting conversation between Wolowitz and Leonard at the lab, where Leonard seemed horrified that he'd have to give up all his beliefs just to continue sleeping with a consenual, attractive woman.  Sorry, buddy.

Overall we thought it was one of the best episodes of the season, even if Sheldon's move at the end had at us screaming at the television.  Now for some of our favorite The Big Bang Theory quotes from the episode:

Wolowitz: I once dated a girl who believed she was abducted by aliens.
Leonard: And that didn't bother you?
Wolowitz: Au contraire; it meant she was gullible and open to a little probing. | permalink

Raj: Come on, let's get a drink.
Sheldon: I don't drink.
Raj: Well I do, and when my wingman is carrying a Green Lantern lantern, I drink a lot. | permalink

Penny: Wow, that's all you got after you were the most obnoxious person on a double date that included Howard Wolowitz? | permalink

Sheldon: If outside is so good, why has mankind spent thousands of years trying to perfect inside? | permalink

When The Big Bang Theory returns with a new episode, "The Psychic Vortex," on January 11th, we're in for one heck of a surprise.   In one of the most unlikeliest of adventures, Raj and Sheldon head out to a University mixer together where they meet two women.

It looks like with Wolowitz in a relationship, Raj is forced to take on one of the worst imaginable wingmen, Sheldon.  However, by some miracle, the two of them manage to meet Martha (Jen Drohan) and Abby (Danica McKellar).

If that weren't impressive enough, Raj and Sheldon manage to take the two lucky ladies back to their place for a night of Rock Band.  Hopefully our wishes will come true and Raj will get over his inability to speak in front of women.  We certainly wouldn't mind having our childhood crush, Winnie, joining The Big Bang Theory cast.

Meanwhile, Penny and Leonard will enjoy their usual storyline of fighting.  This time the two will bicker when he finds out that she believes in pyschics.

Click to enlarge any of the following episode stills from the upcoming hilarity.

We were huge fans of Christine Baranski as Leonard's mom during her introduction during "The Maternal Capacitance."  Now that Baranski reprised his role this episode, she had some high expectations (at least from us) to meet.

The show certainly set things up for some great opportunities with her.  Beverly and Sheldon have kept in contact and she's been sharing all of her news, including her divorce with him, and none with her son.  Meanwhile, Leonard has still not told his mother about Penny.

The best scene with Beverly was during the initial ride home from the airport, with Sheldon coming off even more smug than usual with Beverly to egg him on.  The next best interactions, were definitely between Penny and Beverly, who ended up alone after a depressed Leonard went to bed.

Overall, the episode, "The Maternal Congruence," had plenty of laughs, but it certainly could not compete with her original appearance.  It did not help that CBS over-hyped the kiss between Sheldon and Beverly, to the point of spoiling what could have been a great surprise.  Instead, it was nothing. 

We also are starting to have issues with Raj's refusing to talk in front of women.  The joke has been over-used, and at this point, we've had to suffer through two episodes of not hearing a single line of dialogue from the guy.  We need a solution for him.

Raj rant over.  Now it's time for The Big Bang Theory quotes from the episode:

Penny: I always tear up when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes.
Sheldon: Tears seem appropriate. Enlargement of the heart muscle, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is a serious disease which can lead to congestive heart failure. | permalink

Sheldon: It's a bust of Sir Isaac Newton.
Penny: Oh sure, sure. Very Christmasy.
Sheldon: Well, excuse me, it's much more Christmasy than anything you put on the tree.
Leonard: Here we go...
Sheldon: December 25th, 1642. Julian calendar. Sir Issac Newton is born. Jesus, however, was actually born in the summer. His birthday was moved to coincide with the traditional pagan holiday that celebrates the winter solstice with lit fires and slaughtered guts, which frankly sounds like more fun than twelve hours of Church with my mother, followed by fruit cake. | permalink

Leonard: When we watch Frosty the Snowman, he roots for the sun.
Sheldon: Excuse me, but the sun is essential for all life on earth. Frosty is merely a bit of frozen, supernatural ephemera in a stolen hat. A crime, by the way, for which he is never brought to account. | permalink

Beverly: So, Howard, have you and Rajesh finally summoned the courage to express your latent homosexual feelings towards one another? | permalink

We already knew that Christine Baranski would be reprising her role as Leonard's mother on next week's episode of The Big Bang Theory.

She debuted as the character in February.

But we had no idea what Mrs. Hofstadter would be up to on "The Maternal Congruence" until we saw the photo below. Now, Monday night can't arrive quickly enough.

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On this week's episode of The Big Bang Theory, Wolowitz's relationship with Bernadette has proven to be more than the standard one episode arc most plot lines are given on this sitcom.

Wolowitz attempted to introduce and mingle Bernadette, who he now calls his girlfriend, to the gang and she seemed to get along a little too well with Leonard.  When she took an interest in Leonard's work, Penny decided to surprise him by making Sheldon tutor her in physics so she could understand as well.

As a result we were treated to some of the finest Penny and Sheldon interactions we've seen this season.  Overall, "The Gorilla Experiment" was a great episode and here are our quick observations from the half hour:

• Is it just us or does Penny spend more time interacting with Sheldon than her boyfriend?  No, we're not complaining.  It's hilariously awesome when she does.
• Raj needs to get over his fear of talking to women!  He had no role in this episode and we miss the meaner, more sarcastic and funny Raj from this season.
• We can see Sheldon getting frustrated, but was the college-ruled line too mean?
• While Wolowitz was a bit crazy jealous, does anyone else think he was right and that Bernadette might have a thing for Leonard? The stud really might get the prom queen and head of the decorating committee.
• Hmm, I had no idea Fig Newtons were named after Newton, Mass.  Who says you can't learn any Physics from television.

We have some of the best The Big Bang Theory quotes from the episode after the jump.

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