Carstairs Considers....: TV Show Review: The Big Bang Theory

Sunday, June 9, 2013

TV Show Review: The Big Bang Theory - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots and lots of laughs. Great characters. Did I mention the laughs?

Cons: Howard and his sexual comments often go overboard

The Bottom Line:

Lots of belly laughs

With likable characters

It is a winner

"Again, You're Caught Between a Rock and a Crazy Place." "I Hate When That Happens."

It's official. I am truly addicted to The Big Bang Theory. And after several years without a sitcom on my weekly TV schedule, I am thrilled. I recently caught up with the second season on DVD, and now that I've stopped laughing, I'll share my thoughts with you.

The show revolves around four physicists. Leonard and Sheldon (Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons) are roommates. They are good friends with Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) since all four work at Cal Poly. Across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon's apartment lives Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a want to be actress who pays her bills as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. In any other world, she'd be the normal one of the group, but as Sheldon points out at one point, "In this room, you are the one who is peculiar."

The season opens exactly where season 1 left off. Leonard has finally acted on his crush and asked Penny out. But she quickly dumps him and then confides the reason to Sheldon who almost moves out instead of keep the secret. Over the course of the season, Penny becomes addicted to an on-line roll playing game, Raj gets a big head after landing in "People" magazine, everyone tries to teach Sheldon how to drive, Penny and Sheldon wind up in a feud but they batch things up in time for Penny to give Sheldon the best Christmas present ever, Howard actually gets a girlfriend (temporarily), and Penny accidently hits Sheldon's couch cushion with paintballs.

Most of the focus on this show is on Sheldon, whose neurotic behavior is perfectly played by Jim Parsons. And there's a very good reason for that. Sheldon often gets the funniest lines or funniest stories, and Jim's acting is absolutely perfect. I really do feel that this character in anyone else's hands would be a disaster.

But that's not to knock the rest of the cast. All five of the leads are great comedians and brings their characters to full life with every episode. Kunal Nayyar has a hard job since his character is too shy to talk around women, but he still manages to get some great laughs out of us. When Howard isn't being a slimeball, he can be funny. And Leonard really is the most normal of the guys, and the one I identify with the most.

Which leaves us with Penny. She is the emotional heart of the show. While often frustrated with the guys and their lack of social skills, she also usually is quick to forgive and do something that will make you smile. Take for example the episode where she loses it with Howard for his suggestive comments. Honestly, I get that since I often find his remarks over the line. But their scenes together later in that episode are heartwarming.

Of course, there are the funny side bars in each episode, like the one where Sheldon expands the game of Rock-Paper-Scissors by adding Lizard and Spock. He does it to decrease the odds of ties, a plan that backfires in some of my favorite moments in the season.

Season two consisted of 23 episodes, which are preserved here on 4 discs. The fourth disc also gives us an interview with the real life physicist who helps with the show's incredible amount of science as well as interviews with the actors and creators about how the show progressed in season two. Finally, there's a great gag reel.

This show never fails to make me laugh. If you are looking for a great sitcom, look no further than season two of The Big Bang Theory.

Season Two Episodes:

1. The Bad Fish Paradigm

2. The Codpiece Topology

3. The Barbarian Sublimation

4. The Griffin Equivalency

5. The Euclid Alternative

6. The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem

7. The Panty Pinata Polarization

8. The Lizard-Spock Expansion

9. The White Asparagus Triangulation

10. The Vartabedian Conundrum