TV Show Review: The Big Bang Theory - Season 12

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Lots of laughs, perfect ending

Cons: The season started a little rough

The Bottom Line:

Final season laughs

Entertains and wraps up well

Show goes out with bang

“This is the Rest of Our Night, Huh?”  “No.  This is the Rest of Our Lives.”

Twelve years is a phenomenal run for a TV show, and that’s the run that The Big Bang Theory just ended.  While season twelve got off to a shaky start, I found overall I enjoyed the final season of this fantastic, funny show.

The season picks up where season eleven ended.  Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) have just gotten married.  While they are off on their honeymoon, the rest of the gang deals with Amy’s parents (guest stars Kathy Bates and Teller, who actually speaks in his guest appearances this season).  But once they get back, things begin to fall into mostly familiar patterns for these friends.

Raj (Kunal Nayyar), tired of being the only single member of the group, decides to let his father set him up with Anu (guest star Rati Gupta).  Penny (Kaley Cuoco) makes an announcement that shocks Leonard (Johnny Galecki).  Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) don’t get any major storylines this season, although Bernadette’s drug makes it to market with Penny as the head of sales for it.  Plus, they have to deal with the fact that Stuart (recurring guest star Kevin Sussman) now has a steady girlfriend, Denise (guest star Lauren Lapkus), who is staying over at their house quite a bit.  But it is still Sheldon and Amy who drive much of this season with their research on super asymmetry.  They keep pursuing the potential breakthrough they had at their wedding.  Is it a viable theory?  If it is, will they will a Nobel for it?

As I said, the season got off to a rough start.  Part of it is because the friends seem to spend more time sniping at each other than usual.  Yes, they are often unkind in search of a punchline, but it was a bit uncomfortable how much they were sniping at each other.  Honestly, another issue I had with the first part of the season was Raj’s arranged marriage.  Of all the characters, he’s been in love with love so long that to watch him appear to be settling for Anu was a bit disappointing.  And that’s not a slam on Anu, but how things felt between them early in the season.  However, watching how the writers played out this particular storyline was ultimately satisfying.

There were plenty of laughs to be had over the course of the season.  You might think we’ve laughed as much as we could at these characters, but I found myself laughing at their antics once again.  It amazes me how the writers can still find variations on themes to make us laugh after twelve years.  My hat is definitely off to them.

Of course, the actors are still in top form.  They bring these characters to life perfectly, milking every joke from the script.

As the season went on, the writers tied up a few plot threads that have woven in and out of the entire series.  They left a few open as well, but that’s okay.  That’s life.  And I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by not finding out about those things.

Which brings us to the series finale.  Perfection.  It is hard to land a long running series, and I’m sure the writers felt the pressure for years.  I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.  There were lots of laughs and some tender moments.  It wrapped things up while leaving the door open for us to think about these characters’ lives continuing on even if we don’t get to check in on them anymore.  And trust me, I want to keep checking in on them.  That right there is the sign of a good finale to me – it left me wanting more.  If you can leave me wanting more about twelve years on the air, you’ve done something right.

Season twelve consisted of twenty-four episodes.  In addition to the episodes, this set consists has several special features on the final days of the series and its impact.  It also includes the half hour special that aired on CBS the night the show’s finale aired back in May.

All good things come to an end.  While some grew tired of the show years ago, I am finding a Big Bang Theory sized hole in my TV viewing schedule this fall.  Fortunately, now that season twelve has hit DVD and Blu-ray, I can revisit any of the gang’s adventures any time I want.  And I will be revisiting them often.