The Big Bang Theory aired a new episode Thursday, and I am delighted to discover that the show has got its groove back.
Sheldon tries to order pizza in Italian. Leonard goes to have dinner with Priya and Raj and Howard. Sheldon refuses to go to a party, which would not be a party were the same people gathered to do the same things at Sheldon’s, because Sheldon doesn’t throw parties. Is Sheldon referencing Fiddler on the Roof? I haven’t actually seen the musical, so I’m not sure. Also, I really could have lived without knowing exactly what goes into blood pudding.
Sheldon follows Leonard to Raj’s, complaining about Raj’s TV. “So read a book.” “And be a social pariah? You know that’s not my style.” Howard mocks Raj’s having to watch Priya kissing Leonard, Sheldon complains about the food and the TV, and this episode is actually making me laugh! I knew there was a reason I still watched this show. Sheldon goes to the Cheesecake Factory where Penny is the bartender and asks for “water, neat, with a little umbrella”, hee. He prompts her to ask what’s wrong, which is apparently reggae music and girls not wearing shoes. Amy calls Sheldon, which allows for a Bechdel-passing conversation! (: Amy still thinks Penny’s upset over Leonard/Priya, and she might be right; she then tells Sheldon that Leonard’s the nucleus of the social group, which Sheldon finds absurd.
Sheldon sets out snacks at his apartment, even though Leonard says everyone is again eating at Raj’s. Sheldon invited over comic-book-store Stuart, killer-robot Barry Kripke, Penny’s ex Zach, and LeVar Burton. When LeVar doesn’t show, Sheldon starts the introductions, breaking the dead silence. Zach is apparently unemployed, Stuart is living in his store and came because he wants a shower, and Barry came because he was promised a raffle. Amy and Bernadette show up at Penny’s to kidnap her (playfully, Amy assures her) to take her mind off Leonard and Priya, something Amy cannot resist reminding Penny of. Penny comes on Amy and Bernadette’s promises to stop bringing up Leonard and Priya. Sheldon’s party is still going about as poorly as expected; Zach tells a story involving a naked drunk girl and a hot tub, interrupted by Sheldon’s fascinating story about Archimedes and the principle of displacement. I could insert a rant about the sexism inherent in Zach’s story but I’m having fun so I won’t. At Raj’s, the conversation is all about Sheldon and his quirks. It seems Sheldon was once punched by Bill Gates for saying Windows Vista should have taken priority over Gates’s charitable works. The gathering is sadly not quite the same without Sheldon; he tells the how-a-toast-got-to-be-called-a-toast story best.
Amy and Bernadette have no idea about where to go out dancing, so they ask Penny. Penny swears she’s cool with Leonard/Priya and with not being in a relationship. Amy offers to share “tension-relieving techniques for ladies”, which may not actually be code for masturbation but sure sounds like it, especially with Amy’s followup about electric toothbrushes. Penny decides it’s hookup night after all. Sheldon watches Barry and Zach do drunken karaoke. At Raj’s, the conversation still revolves around Sheldon; they’re reliving a few of the highlights of the past few years for Priya’s benefit. Sheldon knocks. “I had to leave. They were having fun wrong.” Sheldon criticizes Priya first for short-tempered-ness, then for know-it-all-ness, both faults (if they are faults) Sheldon is displaying more prominently than Priya; the latter criticism is because she headed the toast story off at the pass.
At Sheldon’s, Stuart, towel-clad, is singing karaoke with Barry and Zach when LeVar Burton shows up. “Oh, I don’t think so. I am so done with Twitter.”
This episode was absolutely hilarious, in the way The Big Bang Theory is supposed to be. I am definitely looking forward to—ah, damn, this is the last new episode before hiatus, isn’t it. *sad*