Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, I’m continuing my look at The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019, CBS), which is currently available on DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming!

The Big Bang Theory stars JOHNNY GALECKI as Leonard, KALEY CUOCO as Penny, SIMON HELBERG as Howard, KUNAL NAYYAR as Raj, and JIM PARSONS as Sheldon.

This is Big Bang at its most consistently great. Although the series’ novelty of premise is already waning, Season Three’s wiser understanding of its characters allows stories to become even more individualized when playing to the situation. Sheldon, of course, continues to be the boldest player, the lead most regularly exemplifying the core theme of it being difficult to maintain human relationships when one is unaccustomed to them. He’s still paired a lot this year with Penny — they’re the best duo for situation comedy, given their established roles within the ensemble. But as the series continues to hone its view of Sheldon, he’s growing even more helpful himself. In fact, most ideas here stem from his well-cultivated personality traits — his fastidiousness, childishness, competitiveness, etc. — all of which then also play, naturally, to the situation, for they emphasize his rigidity, which opposes him to the empathetic adaptability needed for successful socialization. As designed, he is innately situation-corroborating, and, after two years, funnier than ever. Speaking of socialization, this is the year where Leonard and Penny are finally coupled, and the show continues to be pretty good at deriving conflicts from their differences. Excepting their clumsy and clichéd fourth-quarter breakup — due to somewhat generic “commitment” issues — Three often mines the pair’s conceptually obvious tension, which comes from key discrepancies that simultaneously reinforce both the premise and their characters. This will seldom be the case later. Meanwhile, this season also proves great for Howard, who enjoys a new love interest, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch). She and Mayim Bialik’s Amy (debuting in Three’s finale) will join the main ensemble next week, pivoting the series into a more familiar three-couple design that explores the thesis implicitly but invites ideas that are less unique to it. Fortunately, Three is still inspired; Penny is the one who sets up Howard, which directly connects this development to the initial premise, for she’s not only socializing Sheldon and Leonard, but Howard as well. And indeed, in boasting all that thematic tightness with support from leads who have grown to become more acutely defined, Three is Big Bang’s best, offering the run’s highest quality baseline and its most gems. After this, there’s lots of good stuff, but rich situation comedy will be less easy to find outside of Sheldon alone.

 

01) Episode 45: “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary” (Aired: 10/19/09)

Howard insists that Leonard have Penny fix him up with one of her friends.

Teleplay by Lee Aronsohn & Steven Molaro | Story by Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

Evidence of Season Three’s elevated sense of its characters can be seen in its use of Howard. He gets his first serious love interest here in Bernadette, who’ll join the main cast in Four and remain on the series until its conclusion. She’s never exactly well-defined, but actress Melissa Rauch quickly exaggerates her voice, which enables the writers to play both to and against the inherent qualities she’s suggesting. So, she nets laughs. More importantly, this is a sitcom about nerds learning to form human relationships, which means her very presence is textually ideal, for she accentuates Howard’s social dysfunction, poking through his false bravado and helping him, the mama’s boy who still lives at home, mature. This is obviously an idea rooted in the situation. However, her debut is especially identity-affirming because Penny is the one who matches them, and because Penny is the premised catalyst for the guys’ interpersonal evolution, this is an explicit example of the series fulfilling its foundational terms. That makes this outing a clear winner. Meanwhile, and speaking of debuts, Sheldon’s nemesis Wil Wheaton first appears here as well, in a subplot that not only sets up their recurring rivalry, which is specific to this series and its greatest character, but also shows some signs of Sheldon’s emotional growth, as he’s suckered in by Wil through actual empathy — and in a way that’s unique to Sheldon and his expanding backstory (via Meemaws), rendering this a display of his slowly evolving depiction.

02) Episode 48: “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” (Aired: 11/16/09)

Sheldon must care for Penny after she injures herself.

Teleplay by Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari | Story by Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady & Dave Goetsch | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

My choice for this year’s Most Valuable Episode (MVE), “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” is the best half hour from Big Bang’s best season, boasting a terrific examination of the premise through its smart utilization of the main characters, and with an abundance of laughs that come from both their depictions and the situation at large. First and foremost, Sheldon and Penny are partnered for an A-story that is their finest of the entire run. After several entries that have found her teaching him empathy by practicing it to him (like when he was sick or lonely), this excursion flips things around and forces Sheldon to show his care for her, when she accidentally dislocates her shoulder while the rest of the guys are away. This is delectable, for the sheer pairing of these two — the most extreme version of the guys’ collective social difficulty and the “normal” counter who was premised to be the impetus for their growing capacity to build real interpersonal relationships — intrinsically and explicitly explores the situation, and with character comedy that indicates Big Bang’s peak-era awareness of its best practices. But more than this, this is the perfect idea for them, highlighting their personalities through conflict, for rather than just acknowledging the differences separating Sheldon and Penny, as most do, this time there’s comedic and dramatic tension based on his need to evolve when he’s pushed out of his comfort zone, caught between his growing friendship for her and the still strong dysfunction that makes it tough for him to, say, drive, or fill out a hospital form, or soothe her in an actually helpful way. Accordingly, the story spotlights his characterization and the premise by engaging it literally — pressing him to confront his eccentricities for the sake of a genuine human bond. Simply by doing so, we observe both his growth and the rigidity that still allows for the series’ necessary status quo maintenance. Additionally, the subplot where the other guys unknowingly get high as they’re out camping is a play to their own inexperience — that is, they’re not used to this kind of social activity, so their behavior reveals their relatively sheltered nature in that regard, enabling easy yuks that nevertheless work for this hangout ensemble and their shared characterizations. As such, I can think of no The Big Bang Theory installment that is as fully or enjoyably a sample of the series and what it wants/promises to be.

03) Episode 49: “The Vengeance Formulation” (Aired: 11/23/09)

Sheldon plans revenge on a rival while Howard frets over his new relationship.

Teleplay by Richard Rosenstock & Jim Reynolds & Steve Holland | Story by Chuck Lorre & Maria Ferrari | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

Season Three’s strong use of the characters is proven through ideas they directly motivate, adding humor that is personal and, at this point, still often premise-specific. Here, thanks to both Sheldon and Howard, there are several big comedic moments, the best remembered of which is probably Sheldon’s revenge prank that he pulls on his foe at the university, Kripke (John Ross Bowie), who humiliated Sheldon by pumping helium into his office while Sheldon was in there doing a radio interview. Sheldon’s retaliation is a similarly science-related stunt (which is thus character-validating), and it speaks not just to his well-known and sometimes dysfunctional competitiveness, but it’s also motivated through an already established rivalry that therefore makes this definitionally good situation-based comedy. Also, there’s comic gold in the Howard subplot, as his lack of experience in romantic relationships causes him to spiral when Bernadette wants some assurance of the future, culminating in him embarrassing her with a proposal during a shift at the Cheesecake Factory, and then winning her back with a bit of awful public singing. I love this because it’s an application of his character that elementally reveals his premised social awkwardness and romantic inexperience, with bystander Penny well-affiliated. So, with key regulars well-deployed for a handful of big-laugh scenes, this is another winner.

04) Episode 50: “The Gorilla Experiment” (Aired: 12/07/09)

Penny asks Sheldon to teach her about physics, while Howard is jealous of Leonard.

Teleplay by Bill Prady & Steven Molaro & Maria Ferrari | Story by Chuck Lorre & Richard Rosenstock & Steve Holland | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

Another top-tier outing, “The Gorilla Experiment” is behind only my chosen MVE as this year’s finest, with two stories that brilliantly use the leads in either explicit or implicit exemplification of the premise. Its A-story has Penny asking Sheldon to teach her basic physics, so that she has a greater understanding of Leonard and what he does. This is a wonderful idea, for it provides an excuse to pair the show’s most situation-accentuating regulars in Sheldon and Penny for long scenes where their contrasts (and, specifically, his extremes) yield big laughs, while also calling attention to the major differences between Penny and Leonard as well. Those differences, extrapolated from his series-defining brilliance, are particularly well-displayed throughout Season Three, which is accordingly a peak collection because of selections like this, where the lovers’ known discrepancies are employed for weekly plots that are personalized to them and the show. Naturally, this is something that only Big Bang could do — it needs these characters and their relational dynamics, and the situation is well-invoked due to their smart usage. Meanwhile, the subplot finds Howard getting jealous when Bernadette takes an interest in Leonard’s work. These insecurities highlight the falseness of Howard’s bravado and his clear lack of experience in healthy long-term relationships, making this a wise exploration of the elemental premise of anti-social nerds struggling to maintain real human connections.

05) Episode 52: “The Psychic Vortex” (Aired: 01/11/10)

Leonard and Penny argue about psychics, while Raj tries to use Sheldon as a wingman.

Teleplay by Chuck Lorre & Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds | Story by Lee Aronsohn & Steven Molaro | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

As with the above, what I enjoy most about this underrated excursion is that it derives a conflict for Leonard and Penny that is entirely predicated on differences in their characterizations, which are premised to be opposed in precisely this manner. Specifically, their disagreement on the value of psychic readings hits to the heart of his depiction as a scientist (and the male cast’s collective series-defining ethos), which makes him a more black-and-white thinker when it comes to explaining the world. Penny, who is more simply an “average” human, is much more open in her perspective, and that difference creates episodic tension here that also signals fundamental distinctions in the ensemble at large, and their roles within it. As for the subplot, it’s amusing for Raj to ask Sheldon to be his wingman — it emphasizes just how much both of them are still socially weird, particularly when it comes to women, and this both offers a chance to feature the strong and ambassadorial Sheldon characterization, and also to reiterate some of the show’s premised givens regarding these nerdy guys and how they exist with others. So, this is just another indication of why Season Three is supreme — it’s got the series’ best samples.

06) Episode 54: “The Einstein Approximation” (Aired: 02/01/10)

Sheldon is frustrated when he can’t solve a physics problem.

Teleplay by Chuck Lorre & Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan | Story by Lee Aronsohn & Dave Goetsch & Steve Holland | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

This installment is purely a showcase for the show’s crowning achievement — the well-defined Sheldon Cooper character, the boldest and most extreme representative of the entire male ensemble and therefore the premise they collectively invite. Its idea itself is rooted in his depiction, for his inability to solve a physics problem keeps him up at night — a dilemma that is tailored specifically to the fact that he’s a brilliant scientist, and an exaggeratedly obsessive one at that. The most well-known moment here is the big block-comedy centerpiece where he tries to conceptualize the problem by going to a children’s ball pit. But there’s equally funny stuff in other scenes as well, once Sheldon decides to follow in Albert Einstein’s footsteps and take on a menial job in order to revitalize his thinking. This leads to fun exchanges at a job center, and later at the Cheesecake Factory, where he unofficially starts working, much to the annoyance of Penny. Okay, all of this is pretty easy — “let’s insert the reliable Sheldon into X basic scenario” — but that’s what the show can do when it has a character as naturally fruitful as this one. And with enough particulars about him and the series motivating both the logline and the turns in the plot, it’s also a fine and unique example of The Big Bang Theory. 

07) Episode 57: “The Precious Fragmentation” (Aired: 03/08/10)

The guys become competitive when they come into possession of a Lord Of The Rings prop.

Teleplay by Bill Prady & Steven Molaro & Richard Rosenstock | Story by Lee Aronsohn & Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

Of all the selections highlighted this week, “The Precious Fragmentation” feels the most like something we could find later in the series, for its main idea doesn’t have much to do with the premise — of four social misfits learning to form human connections from their proximity to a catalyst like Penny. And, actually, at its core, it’s the type of logline that could be done on any low-concept sitcom, with characters in fierce competition over an item they all deem valuable. Big Bang merely tweaks the notion for these regulars through more personalized details, like having the object be a prop from The Lord Of The Rings. This isn’t necessarily individualized to any one player in particular, but it sits on the guys’ collective definition as geeks, which is one of the primary things that makes this low-concept ensemble hangout comedy unique. And as a reference to a popular piece of fantasy culture, it enables idea-driven allusions and gags that cater to fans of that franchise. In that regard, this is akin to the basic sitcommery we’ll see more of in the middle and final years, when there are fewer stories explicitly about their struggles when forming relationships (with help from Penny), and more generic ensemble fare that, at best, can be enlivened by these kinds of specifics, colored by the overarching nerd bent that renders this, yes, a form of situation comedy, just less fully, sublimely so.

08) Episode 58: “The Pants Alternative” (Aired: 03/22/10)

Sheldon seeks help in dealing with his fear of public speaking.

Teleplay by Eric Kaplan & Richard Rosenstock & Jim Reynolds | Story by Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady & Steve Holland | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

Jim Parsons won his first of four Emmys for his work as Sheldon Cooper this season, and “The Pants Alternative” was the submission that earned him that statue. It’s another straightforward showcase for him, the emergent star, but I mention his Emmy win to note that the series’ rising success here in Three was also vaulting him and his character to even greater heights outside the show — making this the start of Sheldon’s reign as an iconic figure within this genre, serving as an ambassador not only for Big Bang, but also for multi-camera sitcoms in the 2010s, and heck, all network sitcoms in the 2010s, where this became the most commercially successful, with Sheldon best explaining its appeal. Indeed, the trend-makers of the 2010s tended to pooh-pooh the multi-cam, and thus underestimate its most visible representative, but the Sheldon character was undeniably strong and capable of transcending such criticism, evidenced by Parsons’ continued recognition by the Academy, which further helped cement his legacy. This installment is a window into why, as the socially awkward Sheldon is tasked with speaking in public, a duty that thoroughly frightens him, setting up a centerpiece where he overcomes his nerves with alcohol. This allows Parsons to let loose, with comedy derived from the play against Sheldon’s usual rigidity, while simultaneously reinforcing just how unaccustomed the character is to booze because he’s still so limited in experience — the very thing this premise is primed to explore.

09) Episode 62: “The Staircase Implementation” (Aired: 05/17/10)

Leonard tells Penny about how he and Sheldon became roommates.

Teleplay by Chuck Lorre & Dave Goetsch & Maria Ferrari | Story by Lee Aronsohn & Steven Molaro & Steve Holland | Directed by Mark Cendrowski

Although flashbacks are something of a gimmick, they’re a familiar sitcom convention that goes back to radio, and they’re often notable because they aim to validate a situation by explaining how some portion of its status quo came to be. Plus, in the process, they often spotlight and refine the characters by filling in their individual and shared backstories. That’s exactly what happens here, as we learn how Sheldon and Leonard first met and became roommates — details that strengthen our comprehension of them and the situation in a way that’s straightforward as sitcommery, hinged directly on them and their dynamic within this setup. And in introducing the other guys as well, while also revealing bits of series-specific lore — like how the elevator got busted, and how Sheldon claimed his particular seat on the couch — this is a half hour that, formulaic flashback construct aside, is unique to Big Bang in terms of its actual contents, personalized to the situation commendably, memorably. I wouldn’t say this is a favorite of mine — Penny is not as involved in the main action as she is in the best entries — but it’s still a hit.

10) Episode 63: “The Lunar Excitation” (Aired: 05/24/10)

Penny has trouble dating after Leonard; Raj and Howard make Sheldon an online dating profile.

Teleplay by Lee Aronsohn & Steven Molaro & Steve Holland | Story by Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady & Maria Ferrari | Directed by Peter Chakos

Season Three’s finale is best remembered for introducing another future regular — Sheldon’s love interest Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), who is initially depicted as the female version of Sheldon. She’ll quickly soften into a variation of him (like the other guys), with similar awkwardness and inexperience but more natural emotional insight and sociable instincts, particularly in the context of their relationship. Her arrival here signals a pivot not just with Sheldon’s character, as he is about to have his first romantic relationship — which is a necessary occurrence for the premise as established — but also in the series, for it will soon morph into a more familiar three-couple comedy, with more generic narrative fare as a consequence. This, then, is an interesting turning point, and a climax in its own right, bringing the show from one era into the next. As for the rest of this outing, Leonard and Penny sleep together when she finds that she’s unable to go back to dating stupid men after being with Leonard — a fun idea related to how she’s evolved as a result of their relationship, for she too now is smarter. That’s the lesser-explored other half of their equation, where we’re often focusing on his evolution towards more social “normalcy” (a main manifestation of the series’ basic situation). So, this is a fine use of character and premise, capping off the show’s first — and best — quarter.

 

Other notable episodes include: “The Maternal Congruence,” in which Christine Baranski returns as Leonard’s mother for a funny entry where Penny takes her out drinking (I wish there was room for it above), along with “The Gothowitz Deviation,” which has a Sheldon-specific story for him and Penny, and a fun subplot for Howard and Raj where their social awkwardness is on display, “The Bozeman Reaction,” which uses Sheldon well, as his obsessive childlike anxiety causes him to worry after the apartment is burglarized, “The Excelsior Acquisition,” where Sheldon’s lack of social understanding gets him arrested for a traffic violation, and “The Spaghetti Catalyst,” which tries to restore the status quo after Leonard and Penny’s split via the joke that Sheldon is like their child over whom they’re sharing custody.

 

*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Three of The Big Bang Theory goes to…

“The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” 

 

 

Come back next week for Season Four! And stay tuned tomorrow for a new Wildcard!