The Big Bang Theory - Season 8 Episode 9 - The Septum Deviation

The Septum Deviation, episode nine of season eight of The Big Bang Theory, is another fun, entertaining episode overall that also touches on something more serious.

Like usual, there will be spoilers for people who haven’t watched yet so read at your own risk.

Leonard arrives home with Penny after having gone to the doctor about his breathing problems - trouble breathing, lots of sinus infections, and snoring.  It turns out he has a deviated septum.  When Leonard mentions that he is having surgery to fix it the next week, Sheldon does not react well and thinks it is a very bad idea even though he has complained about Leonard’s snoring for years.  Sheldon now claims he won’t be able to sleep without hearing Leonard snore.  Sheldon is also freaking out a bit and is convinced that Leonard will die in surgery.  Sheldon has even done research and discovered that one in 700,000 die from general anesthesia. 

Sheldon keeps obsessing, all but guaranteeing that Leonard will die because of math that he has done.  Since he won’t stop it, Leonard and Penny try to cover up the surgery, telling Sheldon they are going swimming.  Sheldon finds out while Amy is driving him to work by badgering her until she tells him.  He wants to go to Leonard - so he can be at Leonard’s bedside when he is dying to say “I told you so.”  He makes a point of calling Penny a liar before wanting to talk about Leonard’s funeral preparations.  When there is a small earthquake and the lights go out in the waiting room, Sheldon insists he is going to check on Leonard and no one can stop him.  He was sort of right - a glass door that wouldn’t open stopped him.  At home, Sheldon and Leonard have matching bandages - Sheldon broke his nose on the door - and Penny finds it funny.  Sheldon is still annoyed that Leonard had the surgery. 

Raj is trying to figure out what to get his parents for their fortieth anniversary.  He is shocked when he learns they are splitting up when he dad calls to say he is moving out.  Raj acts all right at first, but then breaks down.  Later, Howard and Bernadette stop by Raj’s office to try to cheer him up and end up making nasty cracks to each other about their parents.  That evening Bernadette talks about how she doesn’t want her and Howard to end up like Raj’s parents.  They start sharing things they like about each other before it spirals out of control into a sort of passive aggressive type argument before Raj arrives for dinner.

The last little bit of the episode is at least a few days later - the bandages are much smaller - and Sheldon has received something he ordered before Leonard’s surgery.  He bought matching engraved urns for himself and Leonard.  The one for Leonard says that he thought he was right but he was wrong and it was his roommate that was right.  Sheldon’s says “I’m with stupid.”

At the very end, after the credits and a promo for another CBS show, there is a very nice tribute to Carol Ann Susi, the actress who provided the voice for Mrs. Wolowitz who passed away a few days before the episode originally aired.  Mrs. Wolowitz isn’t mentioned at all in this episode, but that isn’t exactly unusual.  There have been many other episodes where she wasn’t in or mentioned.  I haven’t heard how the writers plan to deal with this in the show yet. 

It is funny, as well as a bit sweet, to see Sheldon worrying and fretting so much about Leonard having surgery, though he goes way, way overboard about it.  I get being worried about someone having surgery, no matter how minor because, well, it is surgery.  I haven’t dealt with the best when my mom had a knee replacement or her gall bladder removed - though there were some extra complications with the gall bladder surgery that added to the stress of the situation.  I did, while alone, have small meltdowns each time, but then I was fine.  I didn’t obsess over every tiny thing that could go wrong like Sheldon did, though that does seem believable for him.  I do get why Leonard and Penny tried to keep the surgery from Sheldon as well.  It was really funny when Sheldon ran into the door at the hospital. 

The other storyline going on in the episode is tied to Raj learning that his parents are splitting up just before their anniversary.  This part of the episode stays more serious.  It has been a while since we have seen them talking to Raj with some kind of video chat.  There have been hints in at least one or two of their most recent video chats that things are not happy between them, so their separation isn’t exactly a surprise.  Raj seems all right at first, which makes sense since he’s even made remarks about their marriage before, though he does have a bit of a meltdown.  Later in the episode, he is better about it while Howard and Bernadette end up having an argument about their marriage.  Some of what came out has come up before - like how Howard won’t do anything around the apartment - and there were a few new things as well.  It is good that they sort of discussed those things, but nothing is really settled. 

Probably the coolest thing that came up in the episode is when Howard was telling Raj how he found a fencing school that gives lightsaber lessons.  Unfortunately, that was at the time that Raj learned about his parents, so he couldn’t properly appreciate it.

The Septum Deviation is another fun, entertaining episode of The Big Bang Theory.  It will be interesting to see if more comes out about Raj’s parents, and if he and Howard follow up on the lightsaber fencing.

The episode is available at the CBS website and through various streaming services.

The Big Bang Theory Season 8 Recaps/Reviews
The Locomotion Interruption and The Junior Professor Solution ~ The First Pitch Insufficiency ~ The Hook-up Reverberation ~ The Focus Attenuation ~ The Expedition Approximation ~ The Misinterpretation Agitation ~ The Prom Equivalency ~ 

The Big Bang Theory Season 8 Episode 8 - The Prom Equivalency

 The newest episode of The Big Bang Theory, The Prom Equivalency is the eighth of season eight, is another fun, entertaining episode that also has a surprising development.

As usual, there are spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.

Howard is a bit upset to hear that his mother Debbie and Stuart were at Beninhana the night before even though he says he is all right.  It doesn’t help that Raj says that once they got back to the house - Stuart is still living there - they probably put on matching pajamas.

Amy and Bernadette arrive for an evening at Penny’s.  The living room is full of clothes because Penny had to make room for her new work clothes in her closet.  They start talking about proms after Amy and Bernadette see Penny’s prom dress.  Penny actually went six proms and enjoyed them.  Amy was on the clean up crew for her prom, and only danced with a mop.  Bernadette had a date, but he only went with her because he was trying to get to her friend.  Bernadette says how she thinks it would be cool if they had their own prom now by getting the guys to dress up in tuxes and decorate the roof.  Amy likes the idea too, though Penny is less interested.  She comes around when Leonard says that he would like it.

Bernadette is happy that everyone is coming, including Stuart who is bringing a date.  Howard flips out some about that, thinking that Stuart is bringing his mother.  Howard decides to call him, and then is upset when Stuart says he is bringing someone else.  Sheldon is less than pleased about the idea of going to a prom.  In high school, he spent his time studying - though he was also younger than his classmates since he graduated so early.  He decides to talk to Penny about it since he knows she isn’t as into the idea either.  His idea for getting through the evening is to pretend that he’s an alien that is taking part in a human ritual to learn about humans.  Penny doesn’t want to do that.  She does ask Sheldon if he will be taking part in any post prom mating rituals.

On the night of their prom, Sheldon kind of freaks out after seeing Amy in her dress.  He runs back into the apartment while Penny and Leonard head to the roof and start to enjoy their evening.  Raj, Emily, Howard, and Bernadette are in a limo going to pick up Stuart and his date.  Howard is shocked and upset to see that it is his second cousin Jeanie.  Yes, that second cousin.  Howard is also upset by the fact that Raj starts talking about the incident and it only gets worse when Emily says that she already knows because Raj told her ages ago.  Howard is not dealing well and things devolve to the point where he and Stuart start fighting in the car.  Emily is having a great time.  Amy goes to check on Sheldon and he talks about all the pressure he is feeling tied to this prom and how it is more than he can deal with.  Amy says she wasn’t putting pressure on him for anything and she just wanted to have a nice evening.  Sheldon then says something incredibly shocking that I absolutely did not expect.

I really enjoyed this episode and thought it was very fun and entertaining.  The prom do over is only main story in this episode, though a few subplots do come up.  Overall, I think the idea of them doing their own prom on the roof is sweet and fun.  There are a few really nice, even sweet moments with some of the characters that come about because of the prom.  It is completely believable that Penny went to multiple proms and made out with the football captain at one of them.  I think Amy and Bernadette’s prom experiences are completely believable too.  It was fun to see Bernadette so excited about something since her mean side has been out more in recent episodes.   Amy gets to show a slightly different side as well with dressing up.  It may seem a little silly to some people, but I think it makes an entertaining episode.

It is interesting that there is a bit more about Howard’s cousin Jeanie who has only been mentioned a few times, usually when one of the other guys is teasing Howard.  I still find it funny how Howard is dealing, or really not dealing with - Stuart living with Debbie and their strangely developing relationship.  Things are not fully normal there, but Howard’s relationship with Debbie isn’t exactly normal either.  I find it very interesting to see Howard more and more crazy about Stuart and Debbie.  I just find it very funny.  It is clear that Debbie sees Stuart as a surrogate son with what we have seen.  She was probably a bit lonely after Howard moved out even though he was still going over there somewhat often for various reasons.  At the very end of the episode, Stuart gets a call from Debbie and immediately has to leave, something that use to happen to Howard.  Howard and Stuart getting into what is basically a brawl in the back of a limo is hilarious.  There is another development in Amy and Sheldon’s relationship that is very surprising.  It isn’t a bad thing and it is progress, but it is surprising.

The Prom Equivalency is a very fun, entertaining and somewhat surprising episode of The Big Bang Theory.  Fans of the show should definitely enjoy it.

The Big Bang Theory - Season 8 Episode 7 - The Misinterpretation Agitation

After airing on Monday nights for just over a month, The Big Bang Theory is back to airing on Thursday nights at 8 pm EST for the seventh episode of Season eight, The Misinterpretation Agitation.  I think it is another fun, entertaining episode.

I will be discussing the plot of the episode a little, so there will be spoilers for people who haven’t seen the episode yet.  You have been warned.  Proceed with caution.

Bernadette is excited to have been chosen to be featured in a story about the sexiest female scientists in California.  Penny is happy for her friend while Amy doesn’t like the idea of the article, saying that women scientists should receive attention for their minds, not their looks.  Later when Bernadette and Amy meet for dinner, Bernadette shares that the article isn’t happening after all.  Amy goes on about how it is for the best because women scientists shouldn’t be looked at as sex objects before finally admitting that she complained to the college about the article and that is why it isn’t happening.   

Right after returning home, Sheldon discovers someone he thinks is a delivery man trying to get into the building.  The man is actually there to take flowers to a woman he is interested in and that he believes returns that interest.  During their conversation while walking up the stairs, Sheldon discovers that the man is there to see Penny.  Dr. Lorvis is a doctor with several famous patients.  He ends up in Sheldon’s apartment talking about some of those patients.  He is still there when Leonard arrives with the food.  He is surprised to learn that the doctor is interested in Penny and believes the interests is returned.  He is also surprised to hear that Penny doesn’t wear her engagement ring while working.  The guys head off to the doctor’s house to see his collection of movie props.  Things take an interesting turn when the doctor once again heads back to see Penny, only to decide he likes Amy after she is nice to him.

This episode does bring up another issue with Penny’s new job.  She sort of flirts with doctors to help her sales.  It has already been said previously that flirting is part of the job and that she should do well because of her looks.  This is the first time it has come up that one of the doctors Penny flirts with thinks it is anything more than just flirting.  Dr. Lorvis seems nice enough, though he is very shy and possibly more of a nerd than the guys.  He has no clue about how to interact with women and he takes everything out of context.  Leonard and Penny do end up talking a bit about her flirting and the fact that she doesn’t wear her engagement ring when working.  She claims it is no different than what she did as a waitress to get tips.  I think that shows that even though Penny is being more mature and responsible about some things, she is still the same person.  Leonard is a little bothered by what is going on, but it didn’t seem like a huge deal.  They didn’t really fully discuss the issue or settle anything about it, but it is good that they at least brought it up.

I think it is believable that Bernadette would have been happy to be featured in the article about sexy scientists.  She has shown that she is comfortable with her looks and doesn’t mind if people notice.  I also think it is believable that Amy would have a problem with it, both for why she says, and maybe because she is a little jealous as well over not getting any sort of attention herself.  Their disagreement is a real issue that women have to deal with - getting more attention for their looks than their brains or work accomplishments.  It was an interesting storyline even though their positions weren’t surprising.  Personally, I enjoyed what was going on with the doctor a little more, both with how the guys started to look at him as some sort of hero because of who some of his patients were, and how Dr. Lorvis himself reacted in certain situations.  His basement is full of movie props and classic arcade games.  It is a nerd paradise. 

The Misinterpretation Agitation is another fun entertaining episode.  It would have been fun if something tied to Halloween had come up - I tend to like holiday episodes - but the episode is still fun and entertaining.  Fans of the show will probably find something to enjoy about it.

The episode will be available on the CBS website.  It may also be available through some streaming services.

The Big Bang Theory - Season 8 Episode 6 - The Expedition Approximation

Season eight of The Big Bang Theory continues to be funny and entertaining.  The sixth episode, The Expedition Approximation, tackles another issue in Penny and Leonard’s relationship in a funny way.  This episode is also the last that will air on Monday night.  Starting on October 30th, the series is returning to Thursday nights at 8:00 P.M. EST. 

As usual, there are spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.

During a group dinner, Bernadette admires Penny’s new suit and then asks Sheldon about his new research into dark matter.  Sheldon claims that it is an exciting time in that field because he is now working on it.  Raj then shares how he heard that there are new grants being given out for work in dark matter.  Whoever receives the grant will have to spend hours in mines observing things.  Raj suggests that he and Sheldon team up to try to get one of the grants so that they could possibly make new contributions to both physics and astrophysics.  Penny finds the idea of Sheldon spending hours in a mine hilarious since he freaked out going through a car wash.

Later, Penny and Leonard are having a dinner at her apartment.  Penny is distracted and thinking about work while Leonard talks about a video game.  Penny then presents Leonard with an envelope full of money.  She has a company car for work now, so she didn’t think it made sense to keep the car that Leonard got her not that long ago.  She sold that car and is giving Leonard the money so they are even.  She also gives him a picture of them in front of the car in a decorated pink frame that says best finance ever.  Leonard says that the car was a gift and he didn’t want to be paid back.  The two keep insisting that the other keep the money.  The next day, they talk about it more, with Leonard finally suggesting that they open a joint bank account with the money and use it for the wedding or something else in the future.  Penny likes that idea too, but the disagreement picks back up when Penny claims that Leonard doesn’t like that she can pay for her own stuff now and it makes him insecure. 

Sheldon and Raj talk more about the idea of trying to get one of the grants for dark matter research.  Sheldon is most put off by the idea of having to use a bucket for a bathroom.  Raj then suggests that they should try to find a simulation for a mine which leads to them heading down in to a steam tunnel under the college where it is hot, humid, and cramped.  Amy is standing by to lead a rescue attempt if necessary.  They are both struggling with things, but they seem to be dealing.  Sheldon actually admits to Raj that he finds his change in work scary since he is starting over.  Raj shares a nice story tied to what keeps him motivated, but Sheldon freaks out and runs away screaming when he sees a few rats, leaving Raj to fend for himself.

Penny and Leonard are over and Bernadette and Howard’s and ask them how they handled money issues.  It quickly goes downhill after Bernadette makes sure to emphasis that she makes a lot more money.  That then evolves into them having a fight over the chore chart Bernadette made for Howard and how he won’t get his allowance if he doesn’t do his chores.  When Bernadette leaves the room to check on Howard, Penny and Leonard decide they don’t want to end up with them and they will figure it out.  The argument starts up again, but Penny doesn’t want to leave until they hear if Howard got a star for making the bed like a grown man. 

This episode has two different storylines going on, something that tends to happen on the show, and both of them are very funny and entertaining.  So far this season, Penny and Leonard have addressed a few issues in their relationship.  I think that has been a good thing and it shows that both of them have matured.  In the past, they would avoid things which led to more problems.  This time, they are at least starting to deal with money issues.  I kind of see both of their sides of the issue.  Leonard still wants to be able to do things for Penny, while she doesn’t want to feel dependent on him for money issues.  Things don’t get fully resolved, but it is progress. 

Money has come up between Howard and Bernadette before.  She really does seem to be more responsible in that regard, though she does sort of put Howard down at times as well because she makes more.  Howard has been impulsive with money before - like when he and Raj bought a 3D printer - but Bernadette’s way of dealing with it is to treat Howard like a child instead of an equal.  Yes he can be childlike in some ways, and I can see him not wanting to help around the apartment after his mother babied him his entire life, but I don’t like when this side of Bernadette comes out that much.  It was funny at first, and aspects of it still are, but she just comes across as so mean at times, and I don’t like that.  Bernadette is basically a bully, and that came out some earlier this season with how she was acting about Penny and the new job.

Sheldon is still trying to deal with changes, including now doing research in dark matter.  He seems all right about it for much of the episode, but he does finally share with Raj how afraid he is to be starting over.  It is a big deal for Sheldon to confide something like that in anyone.  Of course he follows that up by saving himself and leaving Raj to fight off rats, which is a typical Sheldon move.  Sheldon has been going through different things lately, and I like that they are exploring him more than him just having a lot of quirks.  Both of the stories are funny at times.  The funnier moments are when Sheldon and Raj are in the tunnel and after Bernadette and Howard get into an argument. 

This episode of The Big Bang Theory is another fun, entertaining episode that also deals with a few more serious things as well.  The show is still going strong and still well worth watching. 

The Big Bang Theory - Season 8 Episode 5 - The Focus Attenuation

The Focus Attenuation, the fifth episode of season 8 of The Big Bang Theory, is another fun, entertaining episode.  I just about choked when I took a drink at the wrong moment and started to laugh while trying to swallow. 

There are spoilers for this episode, so anyone who hasn’t watched it yet may want to stop now.

The guys end up talking about how they haven’t come up with idea for things to invent in a long time.  Sheldon claims that Leonard lost focus on that stuff when Penny moved in.  They get the idea to take the weekend to focus on trying to invent something.  When Leonard checks in with Penny, the girls decide to go to Vegas for the weekend.  Right after they get there, Penny gets a message from her boss about a meeting or presentation getting moved up to Monday, so she now just has two days to prepare instead of just over a week.  Penny decides to stay in the room to get some work done while Bernadette and Amy head off to have fun.

Almost immediately Sheldon, Raj, and Howard get distracted by talking about movies.  They have an idea connected to Back to the Future II, so it is decided that they need to watch the movie.  They get into a discussion about the time travel stuff that even includes the proper tense of words to use when describing someone from the future going to the past to change something and then returning to the future.  Eventually they decide to go the college and work in Leonard’s lab, but once again, they are quickly distracted by videos online while Leonard gets more annoyed.  An attempt to come up with a deterrent results in them starting to watch Ghostbusters in the lab and then returning home to watch the entire movie.  In Vegas, Bernadette and Amy get plastered and decide that Penny is a party pooper because she stayed in to do work.  The next morning Penny is ready to go to the pool while Bernadette and Amy have horrible hang overs.

At first, it seems that Penny is still the same.  Going to Vegas is her idea, and she is talking about getting so drunk on margaritas that she pukes just before she gets the message from her boss.  Once she sees that message, she decides that she needs to stay in and do some work first, something that Penny hasn’t done before.  Even when Bernadette and Amy return to the room and try to get Penny to leave, she still says no.  Penny does end up going with them to some sort of show, but she is working there while the other two get drunker.  It is nice to see Penny be more responsible and not the one getting fall down drunk.  It seems like she is taking her job seriously, something else that is nice to see and shows that Penny is finally growing up some. 

The guys getting constantly distracted is funny, including the idea that they come up with to try to stop the distractions.  I also think it is funny how often the stuff that distracts them leads to them wanting to watch some movie.  I kind of feel like watching Ghostbusters myself now.  I don’t think I have ever seen Bernadette and Amy as drunk as they were in this episode.  They have been drinking with Penny before, and Bernadette has gotten a little tipsy, but they are both so drunk they are all but falling down.  I thought that Bernadette was really funny, especially when she mentions a certain show that she wants to go see. 

A lot of what happened in this episode is silly in some way and won’t have a large overall impact, but there are indications that Penny is maturing and starting to take things more seriously.  The episode is fun and entertaining and I think I’ll enjoy it just as much when I watch it again.

The episode will be available to watch on the CBS website eventually.  I think it will show up on Tuesday the 14th.