Retrospecticus – The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, is about a group of physicists and outcasts, Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) whose world is thrown for a loop (and changed forever) when Penny (Kaley Cuoco) moves into the apartment across the way.  The seasons explore their exploits as they deal with life both professionally and personally in Pasadena, California. The Big Bang Theory lasted 12 seasons and originally aired on CBS. It’s not currently streaming on HBO Max.

16 years ago in May 2006, the unaired pilot of The Big Bang Theory premiered. The next year it premiered on CBS during the fall as one of the network’s new comedies. Never in their wildest dreams would they think that The Big Bang Theory would last for 12 seasons and become one of the most celebrated comedies in the last 20 years. It created stars out of the actors and became a cultural phenomenon. Jim Parsons particularly benefited in this career-defining role that also awarded him numerous Emmy awards. It also helped reintroduce us to Johnny Galecki of Roseanne fame and Kaley Cuoco of 8 Simple Rules fame. The theme song by the Barenaked Ladies slaps too. I admittedly didn’t have a lot of expectations for this show since the premise felt a little lame and like they were making fun of the main characters. I found the embrace of “nerd culture” to be heartwarming, especially since we are hitting on a lot of different fronts from comics, to TV shows, to the actual embrace of physics. It even has a very successful spin-off, Young Sheldon, which chronicles Sheldon’s early years in Texas as a gifted young student in a predominantly Christian town.

In honor of the unaired pilot turning sweet 16, here are the top 15 episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Spoilers ahead:

15) The Barbarian Sublimation (Season 2, Episode 3)

Penny is definitely out of her element in this episode which shows her down on her luck and finding comfort (and addiction). It’s always so funny when Penny takes a liking to some of the things the guys like to do. Everyone finding a way to rally to help her and find the root cause of her addiction is wonderfully hilarious. 

14) The Robot Manipulation (Season 4, Episode 1)

Wolowitz has a hilarious turn with a robot. I laughed really hard during this episode and props to Helberg for keeping his stuff together long enough to actually make this a compelling story. Sheldon and Amy (Mayim Bialik) also go on their first date and Penny has to come along to coach them both through it. As shocking as it was to see Sheldon actually going on a date, it was nice to see him and Amy navigating this together. This was the first of many firsts between these two lovebirds. 

13) The Adhesive Duck Deficiency (Season 3, Episode 8)

We see a few different things turned upside down in this episode. Sheldon does get a lot of flack for not being more empathetic towards the group. It’s an understandable knock however he does have certain moments where he shows care and understanding to some people. When Penny gets hurt in an unfortunate shower incident, Sheldon comes to her rescue and does a decent job of taking care of her. Leonard, Wolowitz, and Raj all go to watch a meteor shower and get questionable snacks that take them on a trip. I sincerely hope those three had a blast making this episode.

12) The Middle Earth Paradigm (Season 1, Episode 6)

Halloween was always a great time on the show because all the characters got to dress up in great costumes. The first Halloween episode is great because the cold open involves them all dressing up as the Flash and Raj have a great idea for keeping them all together. The Middle Earth-themed costumes were all great though. The Flash costume for Sheldon would eventually come back in another Halloween-themed episode.

11) The Opening Night Excitation (Season 9, Episode 11)

They actually went there. They had sex. Sheldon and Amy’s relationship finally got to this point after years of wondering if it’ll ever happen. It took five years to get to this point and it was certainly worth the wait. It is handled with a surprising amount of care and shows a rare moment of evolution for Sheldon, which doesn’t really happen that often.

10) The Hawking Excitation  (Season 5, Episode 21)

There were guest stars galore on this show. There were a lot of notable scientists but none that were as notable as Dr. Stephen Hawking. THe primary conflict between Wolowitz and Sheldon sets the stage for a great moment between Sheldon and Dr. Hawking, who is Sheldon’s hero. Dr. Hawking is sharp with Sheldon and proves that he can have some funny moments. To have someone of this caliber on the show proved this was a different type of program.

9) The Lunar Excitation (Season 3, Episode 23)

Season 3 ends in the best possible way. When Wolowitz and Raj decide to set up an online profile to get Sheldon a match, they both probably didn’t realize they were altering the trajectory of the show forever. When we first met Amy, it was one of the best and most uncomfortable meet-cutes ever on TV. Thankfully, we all know where this ends up and it all started here.

8) The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary (Season 3, Episode 5)

Every show needs a good villain. In this case, Sheldon has a mortal enemy in Will Wheaton. Wheaton, who plays himself in a fun, meta way, is introduced as Sheldon’s nemesis and when he beats Sheldon by manipulating him using his grandma, Wheaton’s smug face slays me each time. Calling Sheldon moon pie as he wins the game and tournament is just the cherry on top. Wheaton may go down as one of the best guest stars this show has ever had. Also, this is our first experience and thankfully not the last of Bernadette (Melissa Rouch), who eventually becomes Wolowitz’s wife. Their first date does not go well but thankfully she stuck around and became a core member of the show.

7) The Scavenger Vortex (Season 7, Episode 3)

The gang often engages in fun activities throughout the series. From video games to trivia to intellectual games, no game was as fun as Raj’s scavenger hunt. After being rebuked for trying to do a murder mystery game, Raj decides to create a scavenger hunt. The pairs were ones we typically don’t see together so that was a refreshing change of pace. The ending of this though is what makes this episode so great.

6) The Pancake Batter Anomaly (Season 1, Episode 11)

The other season one episode introduces one of the fan-favorite moments of the show. Sheldon goes through a rough time this episode as he gets sick. When Penny is the only one around to take care of him, he introduces her to “soft kitty,” a childhood song that helped him feel better when he wasn’t feeling well. It’s such a cute and stupid song but you can’t help but smile anytime you hear it.

5) The Einstein Approximation (Season 4, Episode 14)

Sheldon can be a pretty insufferable character. There were plenty of times when I became frustrated with him. So when there are times when the audience sees Sheldon struggle with something he can’t logic his way out of, it’s actually a little refreshing to see but also oddly humanizing for Sheldon. To see him short-circuit in this episode was hilarious but also goes to prove that he really can’t figure anything out. The scene in the ball pit is one of the funniest moments of the series.

4) The Stockholm Syndrome (Season 12, Episode 24)

The series finale capped off 12 seasons getting to see this group grow together in a funny and emotional way. It was one of the better series finales of a show in the 21st century. There were lots of surprises but the emotional punches this episode pulls, as a series finale should, is what really makes this episode special. It was time to say goodbye and it felt like the right time to do it. The show was still funny, but it had lost a little bit of its flair so for this to be the end was needed. It didn’t change the fact that it was hard to say goodbye to everyone.

3) The Comic Book Store Regeneration (Season 8, Episode 15)

The Big Bang Theory wasn’t exactly known for its more serious moments. Most of the serious moments involved break-ups that ended up almost always being short-lived. The comic book store opening after a fire destroyed it was another instance of something coming back after a serious incident. Wolowitz’s mom’s death was something not only permanent but something that altered Wolowitz for the better. She had a profound effect on the group and for her to be gone had everyone reaching for tissues. This was probably the peak of seriousness this show ever got, but it was affecting and significant.

2) The Precious Fragmentation (Season 3, Episode 17)

The Lord of the Rings makes multiple appearances in this show but none were as memorable as when they find a replica ring from the set of movies. This had such hilarious moments and Sheldon’s line of “wait on the count of three do we move or do we pee” is one of my favorite non-recurring lines of the show. Everything from who gets the ring to Penny punching Sheldon, to Sheldon being the Gollum of the group was all perfect.

1) The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis (Season 2, Episode 11)

This is the episode that made me (and probably a lot of others) fall in love with this show. Sheldon doesn’t really like to give presents because he feels that it’s illogical to ever match a gift of equal value. So his reaction when Penny gives him a napkin signed by Leonard Nemoy was so over the top that it was hard not to smile. His meltdown when he realizes it has his DNA on it was amazing. Sheldon giving Penny a hug was so wonderfully awkward and one of the most memorable moments of the show.

Honorable Mention: The Cushion Saturation (Season 2, Episode 16) – The cold opens for this show is great, on par with some of the better sitcoms lately. This episode’s cold open involves paintball and Wolowitz hooking up with one of Leonard’s ex-girlfriends. It’s a hilarious turn from an event that happens early in the season. This is another great episode where 

Honorable Mention: The Wheaton Recurrence (Season 3, Episode 19) – Mortal enemies Sheldon and Will Wheaton come back again in a rematch, this time at bowling. Also, this is the episode where we really get a sense that Leonard and Penny were in jeopardy of breaking up. They had been a fairly solid couple more of the season but for them to be at crossroads now was the start of this show’s “Ross and Rachel” couple.
Honorable Mention: The Lizard Spock Expansion (Season 2, Episode 8) – One of the other fun tropes that come up from time to time is in this episode. When the gang is introduced to rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock, the audience knew where this was going. Of course, everyone would pick Spock the vast majority of the time. We also get to see Wolowitz flex his more vulnerable side while also getting into conflict with Leonard.