(S03E17) This was one of the best episodes of 'The Big Bang Theory' in a while, not because of all of the 'Lord of the Rings' references (I never got into those movies), but because the writers finally figured out a way to get all of the characters together in one plot. Even though Wolowitz and Raj furthered their weird relationship by snuggling during a nap (which was actually only in Sheldon's dream, which raises even more questions), they weren't shoved off to the side in a b-plot.

We got back to the season one dynamic of the four guys having a story, while Penny interacts with them on the periphery. Since Penny has become such a big part of the show, this won't work for every episode, but it's nice to see what made us love the show in the first place. Especially since we needed all the happy thoughts in the world to replace the image of Sheldon as Smeagol. Congrats to the makeup crew, but dear God, I never want to see that again.

We laughed out loud when Sheldon called the ring "my precious," then looked in the mirror to see that he's become Gollum from 'Lord of the Rings.'

No other show does the geek factor as well as 'The Big Bang Theory' (Mon., 9:30PM ET on CBS), which is why we love both it and Sheldon Cooper. We're onboard for as long as it lasts.

Let's just hope Sheldon doesn't start seeing a big fiery eye in the sky.

Watch the video after the jump.

The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:

• Did you know that ten members of the Wayans family makes appearances in Dance Flick? Read the review here.
• If you remember, when Heath Ledger passed away, he was in the middle of filming the Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. It premiered at Cannes this week; you can read the review here.
• Michael Moore's next film sets its release date. It's a look at the current financial crisis, and comes out October 2, a year and a day after the $700 million Wall Street bailout.
• I'm saying right here and right now, that I have zero interest in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I would already be in trouble. Cinematical asks, "What films would you break up over?"
• It's been getting mixed reviews, so Cinematical asks how you rate Terminator Salvation.

BBC/HBO's Extras has some fantastic A-listers lined up to guest star in the upcoming season. Among the big names are Chris Martin (Coldplay), Daniel Radcliffe, Orlando Bloom, David Bowie, and Stephen Fry.

Sir Ian McKellen from X-Men and Lord of the Rings is also set to make an appearance, and, the word is, he's going to share an onscreen kiss with the star, Ricky Gervais. McKellen's a funny guy... I remember when he snuck a kiss from Jimmy Fallon when he hosted Saturday Night Live a few years ago. It threw me, a Fallon fangirl at the time, into a fit, but it was hysterical.

The Sci Fi network just announced its purchase of the U.S. rights to a German production, titled Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King, based in part on the Ring of the Nibelungs myth. Never heard of the myth? Apparently it's been known to have inspired composer Richard Wagner's operas and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so what's one more?

The movie stars Benno Furmann, Kristanna Loken, Alicia Witt, Julian Sands and Max Von Sydow. The German version first aired on German TV in 2004, where it was the year's top-rated TV movie.

Honestly though, if Sci Fi's track record is any indication, I have high hopes for this mini-series. Though, the question is, is this mini-series meant to stand on its own, or is it a test precursor to a full-blown series? The movie was top-rated on German TV in 2004, if that's any indication to its success here in the U.S.