leonard hofstadter

(S03E03) So we get our first episode of Leonard and Penny together, and it's... weird. She's in their apartment, making French toast, and somehow I feel nearly as uncomfortable as Sheldon when faced with the prospect of eating French toast on a Monday. It's kind of odd seeing Leonard and Penny acting all boyfriend/girlfriend-y. I've gotten so used to their casual banter, that them talking about breaking beds is kind of weirding me out.

However, what really struck me as odd about the opening scene is how mean Sheldon is to Penny. Now, obviously Sheldon would hate having his space invaded, especially by someone who doesn't understand that Mondays are for oatmeal. But the way he and Penny interacted was like early season one. Since then, between Leonard Nimoy's DNA and "Soft Kitty," they have formed somewhat of an uneasy bond. I understand that they need to have conflict at the beginning in order for the rest of the episode to make sense, but it didn't need to be so heavy-handed.

(S03E02) I really want to hear from you guys about this episode, because as I was watching it, I was thinking, "Oh, man. People are going to be pissed." I'm talking, of course, about the fact that for most of the episode, it appeared that once again, after we waited patiently for Leonard and Penny to get together, the writers would find some reason to rip them back apart, only to give us yet another season of, "will they or won't they."

It wouldn't have been that implausible. Sometimes, if you spend all of your time building something up in your head, it doesn't live up to expectations. It's not completely unreasonable that after years of pining, it turns out that Leonard and Penny simply aren't compatible beyond friendships. That's life -- but it's certainly not satisfying.

(S03E01) Thank you, thank you, thank you, Big Bang Theory. Thank you for not dragging out the "will they or won't they" thing with Leonard and Penny throughout the third season. The guys return from the North Pole looking like a pack of Teen Wolves (all except for Sheldon, whose goatee was much scarier), and the first thing that happens is Penny sticks her tongue down Leonard's throat. There is no dancing around, no skirting the issue. She missed him and had three months to realize that she wanted to give it a shot, so she did.

I especially love that the writers slyly copped to dragging the whole thing out for two seasons, with Leonard and Penny's constant interruptions. "I just can't catch a break!" Although, come on. They flew down to Texas to go after Sheldon. Are they trying to make me believe that Leonard didn't have a few spare minutes before he went to the airport?

It's a match made in geek heaven: Wil Wheaton has just announced via Twitter that he is going to guest star on an episode of The Big Bang Theory this season. Wheaton, who is currently attending PAX (The Penny Arcade Expo), tweeted, "An announcement of extraordinary magnitude: I will be on an episode of #thebigbangtheory this season. That's all I'm allowed to say. GLEE!"

It's not every day we get to review a TV episode that a former Squadder is guest-starring on, so I'm eagerly awaiting his Big Bang Theory appearance. As Wheaton is a self-proclaimed geek, he's obviously going to fit in great with Leonard, Sheldon, and the rest of the crew. The big question, of course, is what about Penny?

Will he be another rival for her affection? We left off last season with oceans and continents separating Leonard and Penny, and I doubt that they'll just run into each others' arms in the season premiere. So could Wil Wheaton be one of the things that continues to keep them apart? If so, is that such a bad thing?

(S02E23) Buzzinga! This episode, which is the season 2 finale, kind of blew my mind. Sheldon is almost a real boy! Not only was he able to correctly identify emotions not once, but twice, but he has started pulling honest-to-goodness pranks. Funny ones, at that! The whole bedtime conversation between he and Leonard about Penny wanting him carnally? You know that wouldn't have happened a year ago.

Speaking of Penny, there was one glaring thing about this otherwise enjoyable episode -- she was practically non-existent! Granted, she played a big role in the over-arching storyline if not the episodic one, but nonetheless, her absence was definitely noticeable.

(S02E22) Space poop! That's really all you need to know about this episode-- oh, and Penny still totally has the geek hots for Leonard. But mainly, this episode came out of the writers' desire to see how many poop jokes they could fit into a half-hour show. The answer? A lot.

The whole thing about Wolowitz's toilet for the space station was kind of great, because it showcased Sheldon's continued evolution. He actually recognized that jokes were being told! And he thought they were funny! In fact, other than the whole "breakdown of the social contract" thing with regards to Leonard's voicemail, Sheldon really wasn't his usual nitpicky, neurotic self. Instead of making everything about his compulsions, he actually managed to fit in and become a member of the group. Sheldon has had a lot of personal growth throughout this season, so it was nice to have it showcased in this episode.

(S02E21) It's not often where you have an A and B story that are both hilarious, but The Big Bang Theory pulls it off in this episode. It sucks that she didn't make an appearance, but I'm glad the show didn't completely forget about the whole Howard and Leslie thing and wrapped up that storyline tonight.

It was a little weird that Sheldon was the one who suggested that they all go to Vegas, but I loved how he didn't even consider for a second actually going himself. I also loved how Leonard didn't even try to convince him. When Raj and Leonard were immediately approached by a prostitute when they got there, I assumed it would be a one-off joke about Raj's inexperience with woman. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be quite a funny storyline.

(S02E20) Don't you hate it when a show is so great for the first 29 minutes, but then in minute 30 it all seems to fall apart? That's what happens on this episode of The Big Bang Theory. Penny falls for a comic book guy and all of the characters show actual growth and development -- until minute 30. That's when they go for the fat joke.

The joke, which was basically just a sight gag that had Raj making out with a rotund woman in a tight pink dress, was obvious and lazy. In and of it self, it makes me roll my eyes, but doesn't really bother me. What bothers me about it is BBT is better than that. Why would a show that spends so much time humanizing and making us love a group of people who generally gets made fun of, make a thoughtless fat joke?

The Big Bang Theory continues to impress me. With only a few exceptions, it's been consistently strong and is quickly becoming one of my favorite sitcoms. One of the things I enjoy about it so much is that it answers a lot of questions the viewers have in the back of their mind: "What would Sheldon be like if he got a girlfriend?" and "Is Wolowitz just a perv, or is there something more?" And in tonight's episode, "Does Penny realize she's a user?"

Penny having to come face-to-face with a more successful version of herself was a brilliant way to address her relationship with the guys. Even though it's evolved over the past few years, there is still a very definite social hierarchy upon which she finds herself on the top. But now that Alicia is on the scene, she's forced to take a look in a mirror: a very hot mirror.

(S02E18) As much as I love Leonard, tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory only further proves that Penny and Sheldon are meant to be. Maybe not in a romantic sense (I still have a hard time picturing Sheldon in a relationship with any woman), but in a platonic life mate sense.

Proving that there is, in fact, a market in everything, Penny manages to start selling her Penny Blossoms, which are really hideous flower barrettes. This obviously means that the guys are going to get involved and geek it up, which they do in a splendid fashion that somehow involves charcoal.

I also learned an important tip: If you're looking to sell something to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered market, design your website like a 13-year-old girl's MySpace page. They are apparently attracted to the same graphic design sensibility -- which Leonard apparently possesses.

This was a crazy episode. Basically, it seemed like a half-hour long ad for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Summer Glau guest-starring and the guys not being able to keep their fanboy-ness at bay makes total sense, except for the fact that Big Bang Theory is on CBS, and Terminator is on FOX. It's rare that you see that much cross-network love going around, so that was strange, but interesting.

Now, I don't watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I did see the pilot, so Summer Glau's robot affectation on that series made some sense to me. She's playing herself on this show, though, so what's her excuse? She wasn't given very many lines, but everything she said was so flat and emotionless that it would have made more sense for the plot if they had just explained that she's really Method and never breaks character. But they didn't, so it was just... bad.

(S02E16) I wouldn't quite call this a Wolowitz-centric episode, but he sure was featured pretty heavily this week. Surprisingly, he didn't creep me out! It always seemed as though a Leslie/Sheldon match-up would be a logical choice, so I was kind of surprised to see Leslie and Wolowitz get together, but it worked for me. She's of course using him, as that seems to be her personality, but instead of just using him for sex, like she did Leonard, she's using him, as she says, for sex and arm candy.

In exchange, she gives Wolowitz new equipment and a trip to Geneva. I find this interesting, because with Leonard, she seemed to believe that sex with her was enough. He didn't get any extra perks. Does she really have to try harder to win Wolowitz over? I mean, it's Wolowitz. Maybe she's just becoming more generous as she matures.

(S02E15) Well, it was a big episode that we almost missed due to the Presidential address tonight. This was a great episode for one simple reason: we finally find out that Leonard and Sheldon are friends because Leonard is trying to have sex with his mother. Wait -- that's not quite right. But seriously. How great is it that Leonard's mother and Sheldon are basically the exact same person?

I like the direction they took with it: They didn't go the predictable route of Leonard feeling as though Sheldon is replacing him; they hinted at a Mrs. Robinson relationship, but didn't quite go there. Instead, the writers made their reactions believable. Sheldon and Mrs. Hofstadter spent a great deal of time talking about brain scans and played Rock Band, which as we all know, is the great equalizer.

(S02E14) Yay, The Big Bang Theory is back, and it didn't let me down. While this episode as a whole wasn't overly spectacular, it was full of fun interactions that definitely makes it one of the better ones of the season so far. As soon as we saw Penny and Sheldon together, you knew it was going to be good. Even better? Sheldon, for perhaps the first time, shows a side of his crazy that isn't completely off-putting.

I really like how, in his own way, Sheldon tries to be the best friend possible. In the cold open, where the gang was trying to figure out where they would go to the movies, and everyone decided to just go without him, Sheldon didn't get angry -- he realized that it was, in fact, the only option. While self-awareness may not be his strong suit, at least he does recognize that people can't always bend to his idiosyncrasies.

(S02E13) This episode was much better than last week's, which made me really uncomfortable. It was a Sheldon-centric episode, and while those can be hit or miss, I thought this one was pretty good. I enjoyed the subject of the episode, Sheldon trying to make a friend, because I'm sure that everyone who watches BBT has at some point wondered how this guy has any friends at all.

Sheldon has no idea how he has any friends either, so he has to invest a lot of time in research in order to come up with some sort of answer: the friendship algorithm. He's got some pretty strong science behind it; I may just have to reference it the next time I'm in the market for a friend.