There’s a difference between good and funny. I watch The Big Bang Theory because I find it funny. But is it good? I recently got hooked on Community (there will be a DVD Flashback Friday post on that later today) and am now faced with a decision: Come January 20 when new episodes of Communtiy air at the same time as The Big bang Theory, what gets watched live and what gets recorded? I think the answer is that Community gets watched. Because The Big Bang Theory just isn’t as good.
Take last night’s episode. Yeah, there were some funny lines and interactions. But it felt tired and recycled, and certainly didn’t match the hilarity of How I Met Your Mother or Modern Family from this week – and HIMYM was sad!
The plot was singular – Leonard came up with a good idea for a nerdy app, Sheldon predictably overtook the leadership role, acted obnoxiously and got kicked off the team. Penny predictably had no interest in the app and suggested making one that would identify shoes. (Seriously, though? I would totally buy that app.)
Sheldon on the outs was pretty funny, particularly when he took to playing the theremin to distract the guys, and it was nice to see more focus on Leonard and Sheldon’s relationship, but I felt that they could have taken it further. Isn’t Sheldon capable of creating the app on his own? Couldn’t he have tried to woo Raj and Howard over to his side with something more than monogrammed trinkets? One of my favorite episodes was the one where Penny and Sheldon were at war – I think Sheldon’s feud with Leonard could have gone a little further. Or, I would have liked to see Sheldon actually take Penny’s app seriously and embarrass the guys by making a ton of money off it. Sure, it would be a little bit like the earlier episode where the guys helped Penny make her hair accessories “Penny Blossoms”, but I still think it would have helped this episode.
All in all, I thought it was a rather disappointing start to the rest of the season. However, having seen a picture of Rick Fox as Bernadette’s ex in an upcoming episode, I’m not writing off this show by any means. What did you think of the episode?
Here’s some of the things from “The Bus Pants Utilization” that I did like:
- Howard trying to tell his mom how to check the email over the phone. We’ve all been there with someone.
- Sheldon trying to name the app “Surprisingly Helpful Equation Link Differential Optimize Numerator” (SHELDON) and then suggested the code name “Project NODLEHS”
- Sheldon was on fire when it came to making fun of Howard this week. I love when he belittles the stupid engineer who only has a Masters degree.
- The bus pants. Which got sticky and will probably have to be thrown away.
- Raj’s dream that he and Howard bought side-by-side mansions with a connecting tunnel.
- “Whatcha doing? Trying to contact your home planet?” – Penny, when she sees Sheldon playing the theremin
- “Is it better than your idea to move to Los Angeles and become a famous actress?” – Sheldon, who was also throwing a lot of singers Penny’s way this week
