As much as it isn’t my fault I will apologise if the formatting looks a little dodgy!!

E4, has always been one to bring new shows to the Channel Four conglomerate (perhaps that’s not quite the right word but it sounded better than the alternative I was going to use..) after all the remit of Channel Four is to produce innovative, diverse and educational programming (that remit has been changed since I last studied it..!) If you look at some of the programmes E4 has put out to the nation, it definitely fits more than half that remit, just look at Skins, the innovative nature of that is something that hasn’t been seen for a while on digital or analogue television, it seems because it is so different.. Anyway my little A-Level Media Studies rant over there.. The Big Bang Theory, despite being on about its millionth running on E4 at the moment is still one of the funniest things on the TV I think, and I’m sure there are a few people who will agree with me, mainly my boyfriend who is the main reason I love it in the first place..

So what is The Big Bang Theory?

The Big Bang Theory, in one word is - Fun.. I struggle to sit and watch one episode without laughing, which means watching it late at night is a big no-no else I wake up the whole house!! Whether it be Sheldon’s quips about Leonard and his lactose intolerance or teasing about his feelings for Penny, they are always making little digs at each other.. Although I have to say the majority of the time Sheldon totally deserves it.. The pair share a flat, after extensive research I have found out that is in California, which considering the female character Penny is an aspiring actress, should have been a little more obvious to me, I’m obviously having a senior moment (worryingly I’m only 18!!)
As I was saying before I got so distracted, Leonard and Sheldon share a flat, in a somewhat dysfunctional fashion.. More so than ever when an attractive blonde moves in across the hall, her name - Penny, waitress as she is, she is an aspiring actress albeit an unsuccessful one for the entirety of this season bless her!!
The boys are employees at Caltech university studying well physics mainly, along with their two friends Howard, somewhat of a sexual pest towards most of the poor unsuspecting women that dare to share air with him… Then there is Rajesh the poor guy who struggles to talk to the ladies, well get some alcohol in him and his tongue loosens quite a lot! There are a few characters that drop in and out the series, but the show itself is centred around the five characters below, and their - to say the least - Random lives!

Characters

* Leonard Hofstadter (PhD) - played by Johnny Galecki..

* In short Leonard is an experimental scientist at Caltech University, and apparently a lot of his work uses lasers, I am not going to pretend to be interested in his job because physics bored the hell out of me when I had to study it!! Still he apparently has an IQ of 173, which I think is pretty good, though I have to keep reminding myself he isn’t real.. Regardless of his obvious intelligence, he seems to be the only character in his group of ’Nerds’ with a shred of common sense, as he can seem to make a remotely normal conversation with Penny, which is something not possible for Rajesh, well at least not without alcohol..
During the course of the series Leonard has a few brief sexual encounters, with a lady that disappeared shortly before the series picked up the story, two with Leslie Winkle and as soon as he sees Penny, we he seems besotted.. There are a fair few jokes about him and his little Penny obsession but I’ll get to those at the particular episode they are mentioned in..
Sheldon is particularly cruel about his flat mate constantly teasing him about his love of Penny, and his various medical issues, such as lactose intolerance, sleep apnea and carsick.. Talk about taking all the fun!!

* Sheldon Cooper (PhD) - played by Jim Parsons..

* Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon.. Well as irritating as he is, he is also quite a bit of a laugh.. The character is also a bit of a smart-ass considering he has an IQ of 187, went to college at 11, has two PhD’s and a Masters degree.. The boy who went to graduate school at the age of 14, was a visiting Professor at 15.. I know he’s only a character but that is some talent.. Mind you the poor boy is slightly devoid of a sense of humour, because if any character says something even with a tiny bit of sarcasm - he just doesn’t understand and takes it quite literally, which the majority of the time is really quite funny.. Sheldon in general is a very funny character, he has some very particular traits, such as only wanting to sit in certain spots, where there is optimal viewing, or better acoustics, try sitting in the cinema with that!
Another annoying little thing about Sheldon is his inability to drive, and the fact that he refuses to drive and suspects that someone of his intellect doesn’t need to drive.. Don’t expect Sheldon to be getting a girlfriend any time soon either, any relationship he criticises, so his own efforts would probably come under some scrutiny from the others..

* Penny (No last name revealed!) - played by Kaley Cuoco..

* The only character in the show without a surname, of course I’m sure she has one but apparently it is something we as the viewer don’t need to know, mind you being the only significant female character, she only needs a first name.. Penny moved in across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard after splitting up with her boyfriend of four years, despite being a mere waitress she is an aspiring actress living in California.. Poor Penny and her relationships haven’t always been the best, after going for many re-bound guys and then letting the relationship deteriorate.. Well for a little while anyway..

* Howard Wolowitz M.Eng - played by Simon Helberg..

* The Jewish scientist, who is constantly teased by Sheldon for only have a ‘Masters in Engineering,’ however being the engineer in the group he is the one always coming up with some weird and wonderful way of creating things.. Whether it be giving free internet through Leonard and Sheldon’s flat or building a killer robot..
Even though he thinks he is a romantic, he never once seems to have a girlfriend mainly because of his overtly sexual nature towards women, which undoubtedly would annoy the hell out of me, and the majority of you if you had to live with him..
The way to recognise this sexual character - who still lives at home with him mum…… Is to look for a guy with a pudding bowl haircut and some distinctively retro clothing, and there you have Howard..

* Rajesh Koothrappali PhD - played by Kunal Nayyar..

* Yet another of the ‘mad scientists,’ with a PhD, he is often left behind with the other guys leaving him alone in the flat especially if there is a lady present, as without alcohol he cannot speak to them which makes for an amusing 5 or so minutes while he tries to get the courage to speak to Penny who seems to be ever present in Sheldon and Leonard’s flat..
Not only is he somewhat lonely despite have three friends, he also spends time on his laptop talking to his parents back in India, although it does seem they are not too keen on him being there, but he is a clever character, and seems to be the only one with and recognition of his achievements..

The Series in a little more detail..

* The Pilot Episode..

Leonard and Sheldon decide, to pay a visit to the sperm bank, upon arrival they ask the lady at the counter if it is the high IQ sperm bank, of which she replies saying ‘if you have to ask that maybe you shouldn’t be here.’ Which I did sit there whilst watching having quite a loud laugh at… Arriving back at their apartment, they see a blonde lady lurking in her doorway surrounded by boxes, after wandering over and getting her attention a round of awkward ‘hi’ are exchanged, and the look in Leonard’s eyes is so obvious he fancies her, and that is where the lust begins.. The boys decide to invite Penny over for something to eat, here is when we first see Sheldon and his tendency to get picky over his seat for some sort of daft reason - like its closer to the radiator to stay warm, or that he can hear better sat there.. However for the first and only time I can remember he actually sits somewhere else than ‘His’ seat, giving up his spot for Penny, the now definite object of Leonard’s attention.. So much so upon complaining her shower is broken, Leonard offers her his, and Sheldon’s shower, much to Sheldon’s annoyance, as he is somewhat of a hygiene freak.. Leonard is so besotted by his new neighbour he offers to retrieve her TV, somewhat unsuccessfully, and leaving a little less clothed than when he arrived..
* 4 Stars *
This episode is actually quite good, which is a little shocking considering pilots are usually less funny than the rest of the series if it’s produced as it is just used to test the water.. However it is very funny, as you see the love for Penny developing as he is willing to be exposed to get back her possessions.. As confronting Penny’s ex-boyfriend was hilarious, considering ‘Kurt’ is about 6 foot tall and Sheldon and Leonard looked very small in comparison.. It definitely is a great way to start the series, and definitely leads the way for some comedy in the next few episodes..

* Episode Two - The Big Bran Hypothesis..

The title by the way Leonard mentions in the episode referring to Sheldon and his obsession with fibrous cereal..
This episode follows the fun of Leonard and Sheldon signing for Penny’s furniture and having to carry it up several flights of stairs because for some reason their lift is permanently out of order.. Having managed to shove a ridiculously large box of furniture up the stairs, and having placed this large box in the flat, Sheldon is shocked at the state of the flat.. Given the fact that Penny gave them a spare key, Sheldon snuck in during the night and promptly re-arranged everything, leaving one fatal thing in his wake.. A description of how to organize the things in her wardrobe.. Leaving a very unhappy Penny in the morning.. However Leonard tries to patch things up, leading to a hug.. Between the pair, something that for the past two episodes I’m sure Leonard was desperate to do!!
* 3 ½ Stars *
As funny as this episode is, I just find watching them try to push a box up the stairs really quite boring.. Sheldon organising Penny’s wardrobe? Well that’s hardly too interesting, but yeah the episode is funny, some of the quips that Sheldon makes are relatively amusing.. It’s not the best episode in the series but it defiantly begins to show how much Leonard likes Penny.. Leading to constant teasing of course.. By Sheldon and a little jealously from Howard, and poor Raj just stands there, unable to speak to Penny..

* Episode 3 - The Fuzzy Boots Corollary..

This episode sees poor Leonard getting a little depressed when he sees Penny kissing someone else on her doorstep.. Seeing him become more and more depressed Sheldon and the boys try to persuade Leonard to try asking someone else out.. With dire consequences, not only did poor Penny end up kissing someone else, Leonard got turned down by another scientist at the University.. Being rejected again, he turns to depression and after Sheldon informs him that he never actually asked Penny out - asking her out she assumes it’s dinner with all four of them.. Not so simple.. After the ‘date/dinner’ with Penny, Leonard realises that ‘Doug’ is just a fling to get over ‘Kurt,’ so all is not lost!!!
* 4 Stars *
The start of this episode never fails to make me laugh, playing online games and Sheldon is just so spoilt and selfish but it is just the fun of Sheldon leaving them on their own to die in a game. The conversation between Howard, Sheldon and Raj about Sheldon being a Robot, is so funny because through the scientific garble they come to the conclusion he could be a robot.. However on the downside, Leonard’s love life in the dumps, as amusing as it is does make you feel a little sorry for him bless him..

* Episode 4 - The Luminous Fish Effect..

This episode sees some comeuppance on Sheldon for all his interfering in the past few episodes, after being a big mouth to his boss, he is fired and decides in his spare time breed luminous fish.. Despite his breeding plan Sheldon ends up remotely depressed and Leonard begins to have enough of this so in a last ditch attempt at perking him up, he phones Sheldon’s mother.. Which seems from the outset to be a bad idea, however it does end up getting him his job back, but Sheldon does resort back to being somewhat of a child while his mother is around..
* 3 Stars *
I’m not too sure if it is because this episode is mainly centred around Sheldon or just because this episode is substandard compared to the rest, but the jokes don’t seem so funny.. It’s not totally full of faults though the reaction Sheldon’s mother has to Leonard is pretty funny, but for a one time character it’s not really worth spending a whole episode on a story that is fairly obviously going to get resolved - unlike the Penny/Leonard situation.. Though admittedly having two complicated storylines running at the same time would be a pain for the viewer..

* Episode 5 - The Hamburger Postulate..

Talk about awkward, Leonard runs into Leslie Winkle, the scientist who he asked out and was turned down by, and all in the restaurant that Penny works in.. After expressing that Leonard should join her Orchestra, and well - Using poor Leonard she walks away leaving him feeling what can only be described as a bit of a fool.. However when Penny realised what Leonard was up to with Leslie she is somewhat jealous, however upon hearing that Leslie only used him for sex, well she walked away with a smile on her face.. Maybe there are feelings there?
* 3 ½ Stars *
Sheldon is never going to be one you can take out for a meal, as he constantly compares everything to his favourite foods and comments constantly on the people and waitresses around him.. I have no idea how he manages to stay in a restaurant for more than 10 minutes, because from his snide comments I know I would kick him out if I owned a restaurant.. Leonard is always trying to make him seem better and diffuse arguments, he is too much of a good friend in my opinion.. Anyway this episode is slightly funny especially Sheldon trying to choose a burger in ‘The Cheesecake Factory.’

* Episode 6 - The Middle Earth Paradigm..

The boys are invited to Penny’s Halloween party, something they initially turn down under the pretence that they must dance.. Something these nerdy fellas are not too keen on showing the world.. That it until penny mentions costumes, the look of happiness spreads across their faces - that is until they all pick the same costume, which despite the guys all being different does look somewhat like your seeing all four people the same - except Leonard looks funny with his glasses over his costume.. During the course of the night the fireworks happen with poor Leonard being ousted by ’Kurt,’ Penny feeling guilty and engaging in an apologetic kiss with Leonard, which I imagine perked his night up a little.. However not as perky as Rajesh, after getting friendly with a pretty lady who likes him because he listens… Someone ends up getting lucky….
* 4 Stars *
Yay is my word for this episode, Rajesh got a lady despite his silence!! Just because he’s quiet doesn’t mean he can’t have some fun.. It gives hope to even poor Leonard who is always suffering at the hands of someone else for the girl he so desperately wants. This episode is fairly funny considering Leonard being humiliated..

* Episode 7 - The Dumpling Paradox..

As Wolowitz actually pulls in this episode as shocking as it is, but within days of doing so Sheldon is going mad believing that the group is breaking down.. Even as he reluctantly lets Penny join them for ‘Halo night’ were the guys play Halo 3 together.. Sheldon’s big concern however is how they are going to eat in the Chinese that night with a dumpling too many.. Oh life’s little hardships.. However normal service is resumed when a row breaks up the happy joining of Howard and his new love..
* 4 Stars *
This episode never fails to make me laugh, similarly with any episode featuring Howard’s mother because despite Howard being in his twenties his mother still treats him like a child, and having a girlfriend move in is no different.. With some hilarious consequences.. Oh that and Sheldon behaving a little spoilt over Howard wanting to spend time with his girlfriend.. Never fails to pull a laugh with me..

* Episode 8 - The Grasshopper Experiment..

This title maybe sounds slightly scientific but believe me it’s not, poor Rajesh is a little uncomfortable talking to girls, and when Penny takes an extra bar tending job to get a few dollars she practises cocktails on the boys and low and behold a drink that cures Rajesh’s shyness is found.. However there are side effects - and funny ones.. Such as Rajesh’s attitude towards her is slightly offensive to the blind date his parents have set up for him.. Never mind it gives Sheldon a companion for the night as the blind date leaves with him - it is not a date though as he insists.. Rajesh has disappointed his parents by not having a successful date with this young lady and the alcohol did not get him back into their good books either..
* 5 Stars *
This episode is hilarious it just shows what alcohol does to people, especially ones who don’t talk to ladies without any.. I remember the first time I watched this I sat on my bed and literally laughed until I cried, I may be easily amused at watching someone ruin a date, but it was funny seeing Sheldon battle his way until they believed it was not a date.. Leonard comes out with a line that maybe should have been said in his head about grandchildren, the look on Sheldon’s face.. Well it has to be seen to be believed!!

* Episode 9 - The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization..

Confused yet? I was the whole title really didn’t make sense to what I was seeing.. Anyway this episode you get a lovely taster at how pathetic Sheldon actually is when it comes to intellect, he is selfish and despite having been given the chance for himself and Leonard to present some findings together he decides that neither of them will do the presentation.. However Leonard sees the invitation and upon reading it, he proceeds to do the opposite of what Sheldon wanted, leaving them open for a little argument that blows wide open when Sheldon for a mad reason decides he wants to try and blow Leonard’s head up.. Penny steps in to try and calm things but unfortunately she makes it worse.. After having a very public fight they seem to calm down but things are still hostile between the pair..
* 5 Stars *
This episode is another laugh until you cry episode, the fight in particular just never fails to make me laugh, rolling around on the floor having a little nerdy fight.. I can’t really comment on the rest because I just have to watch this scene over and over again, especially the total impossibility of blowing Leonard’s head up definitely makes me giggle..

* Episode 10 - The Loobenfeld Decay..

Aspiring actress Penny gets the chance to star in a play called ‘Rent,’ and without being too cruel she is singing somewhat totally tone deaf, to which I think Sheldon is quite cruel about regarding cats and singing.. Although he is right.. As much as Leonard is fond of Penny he can’t quite bring himself to go to her performance so he decides to lie to her, which for a starter is not good because Leonard is fairly transparent with his lies that even Sheldon can see through them.. So with the aid of a fellow physicist who is also a theatre graduate to back him up and play the addicted cousin Leonard used as his excuse.. Until Penny comes over with a recording of the occasion!!!!!
* 4 Stars *
Well what can I say other than the moral of this episode is not to lie, because it comes and bites you on the bum in the end! Poor Leonard has to put up with Penny’s dire singing regardless of his attempt to get out of it.. For lying his comeuppance is fairly funny his face when she announces the recording well you have to see it!

* Episode 11 - The Pancake Batter Anomaly..

Beware, if you don’t want to be even more irritated by Sheldon don’t watch this episode.. Returning from a family visit in Nebraska, Penny complains of everyone’s illness, something Sheldon automatically jumps on the illness (in a manner of speaking).. While hiding away at a ‘Planet of the Apes’ marathon, Penny ends up taking care of Sheldon who is comparing his bodily fluids to pancake batter.. Which is not a nice comparison to imagine.. The relationship between Leonard and Penny is strained when he comes back to the apartment because of broken glasses, leaving him with Sheldon..
* 3 ½ Stars *
This episode is a little dull but the tiff between Penny and Leonard makes you wonder if these two will ever make it together.. More importantly though will Sheldon ever stop complaining about anything and everything.. I don’t really recommend you watch this episode unless you don’t mind nasty images of bodily fluids compared to pancakes..

* Episode 12 - The Jerusalem Duality..

Now if you really want to hate Sheldon this episode is perfect for that… Over come by the fact that a child genius is making him doubt his own work, so he feels that he must criticise everyone else to make himself feel better.. To put a stop to this the guys decide to throw a party for Dennis (the child genius) where almost by accident he ends up with a girl and heads off to the mall.. The boys then wonder how on earth the 15 year old can get the girl but they really struggle to get a grip on a lady.. Especially Leonard and his crush on the little lady across the hall..
* 4 Stars *
This episode despite being one mainly focused on Sheldon and his insecurities as a physicist , it has some funny lines regarding Dennis getting the girl and their own inability to pull.. Which considering Sheldon is the only one that series not to have at least had a kiss he can’t really comment.. At least the others have had a session or two with the ladies..

* Episode 13 - The Bat Jar Conjecture..

You know what it was like at school, with kids in a group and you always have one that tries to take over? In this case that person is Sheldon, after deciding to enter the Physics Bowl that he will take over, and when no-one wants to work with him anymore he decides that he will form a rival team.. How childish.. Leaving an empty spot in the team perfect for Leslie Winkle to take, especially as it was to get back at Sheldon.. Penny decides to find out who is the most knowledgeable by testing them in a popular culture, neither Sheldon nor Leonard could answer one question..
* 4 Stars *
I wish it was as easy as bribing someone with a cookie jar to get rid of them.. I know from experience it doesn’t work that way.. Still this episode proves that you can have plenty of intelligence in one subject but when it comes to common sense, having extensive knowledge doesn’t really help..

* Episode 14 - The Nerdvana Annihilation..

Leonard bids on a replica time machine, believing it is only a miniature version, except when it arrives its full size.. The boys have fun playing with it, but a confrontation with Penny leaves Leonard wondering if he is just too nerdy and decides to get rid of all his nerdy paraphernalia.. In shock Sheldon confronts Penny about her love of all things Hello Kitty, and she apologises.. However when Leonard notices Penny has a new boyfriend he refers back to his nerdy ways..
* 3 ½ Stars *
This episode is fairly funny, when they are playing with the time machine, when set into the future, Leonard in the machine and the others running around in circles very quickly.. Well I just couldn’t stop laughing!! Though the fight with Leonard and Penny is now just getting boring…

* Episode 15 - The Porkchop Indeterminacy..

This episode again centres around Leonard and his sister who comes to visit for a wedding and to gat Sheldon to sign some papers, and low and behold Leonard, Howard and Raj fall in love with her.. Although Sheldon bans them all from dating her, although after a bit of a scuffle with his twin sister, he says she can date whoever she likes, consequently this ends up being neither Howard or Leonard.. Shamefully Raj and his drug trial to over come shyness wears off just before he asks Missy out.. Too late!!
* 4 Stars *
This episode is funny as the guys are falling over themselves to try and get Missy’s attention, to no avail mainly.. Funnily enough when Penny notices Leonard going after Missy she isn’t too bothered whish makes me wonder if her relationship with Mike is more permanent than Doug..

* Episode 16 - The Peanut Reaction..

Well this is slightly self-explanatory.. Given that is it Leonard’s birthday and that he has never had a birthday party Penny takes it upon herself to organise one for him.. However with Sheldon unaware of the fact he needs to buy his roommate a present, Penny takes him down to a computer store to help him buy a gift, where he ends up giving other people advice rather than buying his friend a gift.. To keep him occupied Howard pretends to eat a Peanut bar to make sure they are holed up at the hospital, due to Sheldon being a bit of an idiot and taking forever, Howard ends up eating a peanut bar to stay in the hospital.. Unfortunately by the time they get back the party is over and all that’s left is Raj singing drunk.. Penny shows him a video and gives him a kiss as a sort of apology..
* 4 Stars *
This episode seems to end all to quickly, running from shot to shot with Sheldon being an idiot, Howard trying to pretend to kill himself to save Leonard’s party.. Although the consolation kiss from Penny in the end would make it worth the fact he missed his party, considering how little they have been getting on recently.. Which is cute..

* Episode 17 - The Tangerine Factor..

Having broken up with yet another boyfriend, Penny is relying on the guys to help her through it. Leonard totally puts his foot in it and goes over to help but ends up making it worse.. Despite his mishap not everything turns out so badly, and the pair end up on a date of their own, which is what we have all been waiting for!! The fun continues though with Sheldon and Howard as Howard is teaching Sheldon to speak mandarin, which causes no end of problems as you can imagine with Sheldon around!!
* 5 Stars *
This episode is so good because everything we wanted happens, Leonard and Penny finally got together and there is a glimmer of hope because Penny knew something that Leonard did, which is a surprise but also gives us all hope that nerds and pretty ladies can be together.. Sheldon learning Mandarin is just hilarious because it gives him even more reason to pick people apart, than he already has!!

* My Opinion..

The writing of this show is really quite exceptional, when it comes to the quick and witty one liners that mainly Sheldon comes out with, they have a way of catching you off guard when you think that the next line will just be a response, a character comes out with something that you would never expect them to say.. Like Sheldon and his pancake batter, bodily fluids.. It all seems a little random.. I know it has been written in this way to make the audience feel like it was intentionally random and off the cuff - if only I could come up with these when someone said something remotely offensive or sarcastic to me..
The story lines are obviously all running along with the blossoming relationship between the two main characters, not Sheldon and Leonard sorry.. Although that is the only relationship really not covered in the story lines of this season there is no gay relationships that I can remember, they seem to focus on the heterosexual relationships.. Anyway..
The characters in this show as I’ve said before are just hilarious they are always coming out with new ways to annoy and undermine each other, the thing with this show is that it doesn’t really have a basis, it just revolves around these main five characters. Which is the nice simplicity about it, nothing is really strained from watching it, but it does provide a great level of escapism.. It’s easy to follow too, miss an episode and just watch the next one it always provides a catch up which is great because you can get the gist of a whole episode in about thirty seconds..

* Prices..

This 3 DVD box set varies in price across the internet from around £16.99 to £19.99, search around for the best deal its definitely worth it..!