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Episode Reviews

The Psychic Vortex

Big Bang Theory returns with a strong showing. Leonard puts his foot in his mouth with Penny again, while Raj and Sheldon hang out and have a great time with some real live girls from another department.

Tonights episode is a welcome change of pace from the normal.  Instead of the usual Howard/Raj and Leonard/Sheldon parings, we find Howard and Leonard going out on dates with their girlfriends Penny and Bernadette while Sheldon and Raj end up at a cross department faculty mixer.

The bribe to get him to go is of course a Green Lantern lantern and ring combination, which Sheldon naturally brings with him to the mixer. It’s a good thing too, because it becomes a conversation starter with two girls they meet, Abby and Martha, who actually recognizes the lantern. This of course leads to them going back to the apartment to play Rock Band, national pastime of all geeks. Don’t all geek parties end up playing Rock Band?

The next night, we have Sheldon and Martha having a stimulating discussion on Flatland. Martha is definitely into him, but of course Sheldon is completely oblivious to her interest. Not that it would matter I guess. Sheldon is the type of guy who has transcended the need for romantic relationships. As Raj and Abby make out on the chair, Sheldon innocently suggests it’s time for bed, which of course excites Martha. Too bad he of course meant that in the literal sense. Even after inviting Martha into his room, he misunderstands it and goes to sleep in Sheldon’s room.

I guess is apparently there is someone for everyone, even Sheldon. Sheldon is also starting to grow as a person. I would have thought the normal reaction would be to let her into Sheldon’s room to stay instead of having a strange girl he doesn’t know all that well to stay in his room unsupervised.

On the other less interesting storyline, Leonard and Penny continue their relationship rough spots which I have to wonder is just the tip of the iceberg for the eventual breakup again. So far, the writers have not spent a whole lot of time with Leonard and Penny actually happy together since they got back together.

As I noted at the beginning, it’s refreshing to see a change in pace for our characters. Raj and Sheldon are easily the strongest of the 4 characters in terms of humor and being interesting. Pairing them up together is a welcome sight.

Funny Observations

  • Penny believes in psychics, ghosts, astrology, pyramid power, and voodoo…but not healing crystals
  • Bernadette is taking things very slow with Howard, but I thought she was about ready to sleep with him after the third date?
  • “The salute to zoot, sounds like a hoot.” – Raj
  • “If outside is so good, why has mankind spend 1000 of hears trying to perfect inside.” – Sheldon
  • Flatland is a real book by Edward Abbott.  It’s a satirical novella “offering pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture”.
  • That Green Lantern lantern and ring set is awesome. It’s probably a real thing, but I’ve never seen it for sale. If I ever find it, I’m so taking that to every party I go to.
  • Raj gives up Stan Lee autographed Hulk hands?  Wow, that’s along the lines of the Leonard Nimoy napkin.
  • I love Venn diagrams, and drawing a dot on Leonard’s hand, calling it the perfect girlfriend, is a stroke of brilliant double entendre.
  • Danica McKellar (Wendy Cooper) guest stars as Abby.  Of interesting note, Danica has a degree in mathematics, and is the co author of the Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem

By Kien Tran

Based in Dallas, Texas, Kien Tran is an avid television enthusiast. After spending hundreds of hours wasting away on a couch, he decided to actually do something creative with his hobby and created this very blog.

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