The Big Bang Theory: A Lesson in Longevity and Laughter

Longevity in Laughter: The Big Bang Theory’s Secret Sauce

Writing about long-running shows can be a challenge. They often become formulaic, which is both the reason for their success and their ultimate downfall. However, tonight’s episode of The Big Bang Theory reminded us of the reason for its longevity. You might think it’s complicated, but really it’s pretty simple: it still has an uncanny ability to be funny. Sure, there are down episodes, but even shows earlier in their runs have to deal with long seasons and fluctuating writing quality. At its core, Big Bang still has comedic chops and funny stories to tell.

This Week’s Episode: A Return to Form

In this week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory, Bernadette returns to work, leaving her, Howard, and Stuart to lament the loss of Halley to daycare. Burt, the geologist at the university, announces that he now has a girlfriend. Everyone is shocked when she is attractive, but they think his money might have something to do with it. Amy and Sheldon do a “Fun with Flags” retrospective episode.

I believe that The Big Bang Theory can learn a few things from this episode. Playing to their strengths is a big takeaway. This episode was much funnier than their last few because Sheldon got to make snarky comments, which is true to who he is. Howard did classic impressions. Jokes were made about the improbability of Leonard and Penny’s relationship. All of the characters stayed true to who they were, and the best parts of the show came to the forefront. Though I’ve enjoyed watching the characters grow up over the years, seeing them behave like their classic selves was a real treat and worked for this episode.

Emotional Growth Amidst the Laughter

Among all of the funny moments this episode brought, there was still some emotional growth. I have not yet experienced leaving my child in daycare full-time, but I can imagine how painstaking that must be. Humor always shines best through truth, and that story, in particular, rang true for me. Melissa Rauch absolutely killed it, and Simon Helberg and Kevin Sussman added some much-needed laughs to the story.

I almost got the feeling that they knew they turned in a bad one last time, so all the actors stepped up to try and make this episode better. Sometimes not all of the characters even make it onto any given episode, but this one involved everyone (and even Bert!) and they all brought their A-game. But as LeVar Burton would say, “don’t take my word for it”.

Notable Moments and Quotable Quotes

Here are some other thoughts and funny moments from the episode:

• Fun with Flags is a treasure, but especially so when Howard and Raj’s music enters the fray.
• Howard’s impressions are always impeccable, but his Stuart was a cut above the rest.
• “I already set up Howard and Bernadette, so it’s your turn to ruin some poor girl’s life”
• Sheldon was ripping sick burn after sick burn in this episode. My favorite was “what’d you do? Delete your photo?”
• “Your first date? Didn’t you even measure her walls?”
• Isn’t what Bert wants what all guys want? “A young hot blonde who likes me for me”?

All in all, this was a great improvement from their last episode. Hopefully, this leads to a strong finish to the season.

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know in the comments!

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS