Topic: "Big Bang Theory" Marathon

[Tom]

Before I foget it:
I am out of the country during the following week. So expect my comments on the last disc on Friday at the earliest.

[Achim]

My head is spinning when I think about that last disc Besides that I should be watching as much horror as I can, I am half-way addicted to playing Burnout: Paradise online and sometime this week I should be getting the first of five new games that will be released in October. I think I need a vacation (Well, lucky enough Friday 10 is holiday here).

[lyonsden5]

7. The Dumpling Paradox
Synopsis: Wolowitz gets a girl. Penny beats Sheldon at Halo. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

My Thoughts:
I love the beginnings of these shows, and this one is no exception. Anyone who has used voice technology can relate with the phone sketch. And then the discussion on how to make up the lost 6 minutes from starting Halo late is very funny. When it was suggested to split the difference and cut short the three breaks by two minutes each Howard worriedly replies “If we’re having anchovies on the pizza we can’t take it out of bathroom time” 

This is one of my favorite episodes. I love how penny not only can compete and keep up with the guys in Halo but she keeps blowing off Sheldon’s head.  The whole Halo scene was so freggin funny.

Fast forward to the restaurant… more  Sheldon honestly can't order without their being a forth. 

The end, with the Halo scene, Penny and her friends finishes the show perfectly. Great episode

Favorite line (Sheldon gets so many of these , and well deserved, but this one goes to Howard and Penny):
Penny walks into the apartment
Penny talks about her visitor and says “… and washing the sluttiest collection of underwear you have ever seen in my bathroom sink”
Howard excitedly asks (as he is leaning off the edge of the couch) “Is she doing it one thong at a time or does she throw it all in? Like some sort of erotic bouillabaisse?”


8. The Grasshopper Experiment
Synopsis: Rajesh flips over his gorgeous blind date. But she only has eyes for Sheldon. Sheldon?!

My Thoughts:
My least favorite episode so far. The most enjoyable parts were those involving Sheldon and Penny regarding his virgin Cuba Libres.

Favorite line: [Howard imitating Raj and making the date for him]


9. The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization
Synopsis: Leonard and Sheldon go from physics to fisticutts when tempers flare at the symposium.

My Thoughts:
Another fantastic beginning (controlling the house via the www).

I loved the closet scene. Poor Leonard, trying to explain everything to Penny.

Favorite line: [Sheldon trying to blow up Leonard’s head]


10. The Loobenfeld Decay
Synopsis: Sheldon cannot tell a lie. He has to tell at least seven. And they are all "un-unravelable!"

My Thoughts:
One word to describe this whole episode

Un-unravelable 


11. The Pancake Batter Anomaly
Synopsis: Everyone knows to head to the hills when Sheldon gets sick. Everyone except Penny, that is.

My Thoughts:
A side of Sheldon we didn’t know, but not unexpected. I loved him using lime jello to grow his germs.

Favorite line: Penny singing “Soft Kitty” as she rubs Sheldon’s chest (counter clockwise of course) 


11. The Jerusalem Duality
[b[Synopsis:[/b] When a child prodigy arrives on campus, Sheldon graciously sets out to destroy him.

My Thoughts:
Great episode although I did miss Penny. I think her interaction with the four guys is what makes the show. Not that all the scenes have to have her, it was funny watching Sheldon visiting his co-workers. “So, it’s a shelf”

Favorite line: I agree with Achim on this, “Build it and they will come” has to be the best



2 down, 1 to go. I’m waiting to watch the S:2 premiere until I finish with disc 3.

[Achim]

I just finished the last disc, in one session. For me, with the rather average (which isn't saying anything bad given what I'm talking about) this is the best bunch of episodes of the first season! It seems like the actors finally got really comfortable with their characters and can really rip through the material.

Great times are to be had with Sheldon being unable to be a team player, a time machine, Raj on medication ("Surprise!" ) and Sheldon actually giving wise advice (without knowing it, of course).

The bad part about this disc: Now begins the long wait for Season 2 (luckily this show is not running on Fox).

Thanks to all of you who "talked me into" buying this.


One more thing: I previously complained about the laugh-track but slowly got the feeling that it's an actual live audience watching the taping of the show; the special feature on the last disc eventually confirmed that. (Live audiences are slightly less annoying than laugh tracks.)

[DJ Doena]

One more thing: I previously complained about the laugh-track but slowly got the feeling that it's an actual live audience watching the taping of the show; the special feature on the last disc eventually confirmed that. (Live audiences are slightly less annoying than laugh tracks.)

Are they watching a tape or are they watching the taping? Because I know that (for example) Friends and Home Improvement were shot in front of a life audience.

[Achim]

Are they watching a tape or are they watching the taping? Because I know that (for example) Friends and Home Improvement were shot in front of a life audience.

I am sure they said "live audience", so same to Home Improvement...

I don't think they ever have an audience watching the taped show, they probably get the laugh track otherwise...

[addicted2dvd]

Slipped in a couple episodes.... need to get this last disc watched this week.

13. The Bat Jar Conjecture
Sheldon is the MVP on the guys' Physics Bowl team: "Most Vain Physicist."

My Thoughts:
In my opinion this one is only an OK episode. I actually didn't laugh a single time while watching it. It was good to see the character of Leslie back in the episode though.

14. The Nerdvana Annihilation
Leonard is thrilled with his prop Time Machine from the 1960 film, until Penny tells him it's unhip to play Morlocks and Elois.

My Thoughts:
This is another one that in my opinion even though it was good... I didn't find it as good as the previous episodes.  Once again there was just no parts that actually made me laugh in this episode.

Unfortunately a couple episodes that just didn't do it for me this time. Hopefully the next I watch will be better.

[Achim]

  You're just glad you're watchig horror again, so a good dose of comedy just doesn't do it for you right now

[addicted2dvd]

  Yeah... maybe that's it. 

[addicted2dvd]

15. The Pork Chop Indeterminacy
Sheldon's twin Missy is nothing like Sheldon... which makes her the other guys' newest dream girl.

My Thoughts:
After a couple OK episodes.. this one was much better. I enjoyed every second of it. It was hilarious seeing the guys going after Sheldon's sister.... as it was to see Rajesh on that experimental medication for his shyness.

16. The Peanut Reaction
Leonard's birthday finds Wolowitz and Leonard in the ER and Penny and Sheldon sharing a shopping trip from hell.

My Thoughts:
This is another one I enjoyed. Liked seeing Penny and Sheldon shopping together... and Wolowitz after eating peanuts was fun as well.

17. The Tangerine Factor
Nervous about their first date, Leonard and Penny seek advice from the same romance-savvy sage: Sheldon.

My Thoughts:
Well... that's it... the final episode of the season. It is such a shame the first season was so short (Damn Writer's Strike!)  but at least we got 17 episodes of this hilarious series. I really enjoyed this episode as well. There was several good laughs... though nothing that stands out that much for me. Just a really good episode.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 2

The Dumpling Paradox

Synopsis: The group's order is seriously disrupted when Howard makes out with a acquaintance of Penny's and Penny becomes the fourth player of the "Halo" night.

My Opinion: I loved it when Penny kicked Sheldon's ass, especially with the plasma grenade. But I have to point out that we've seen Sheldon sleep with his head towards the door a few episodes earlier.

The Grasshopper Experiment

Synopsis: Penny works one shift as a barkeeper now and she practices with the four guys when the unfathomable happens: Raj talks to her! And why? Because his parents try to pair him off with some indian girl.

My Opinion: All the alcohol-induced scenes were great, especially the one at the end. And it was also great to see how Sheldon swept her off her feet without knowing what he was doing.

The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization

Synopsis: Leonard and Sheldon get an invitation to present their findings about a project to a wider scientific community but Sheldon is above such things and forbids Leonard to present it alone. But Leonard has no intentions of not going.

My Opinion: What did Penny have against Leonard's clothes? I thought they looked decent. And while the remote controlling of the lamp and the stereo via Internet connection was really geeky I really liked it. It's that kind of thing that proves that every man has a child in him - and why should we be as serious as women?

The Loobenfeld Decay

Synopsis: Leonard makes up a lie to prevent him from going to a play in which Penny's starring. But Sheldon has the fear that she might see through it and constructs an entire lie web that sucks more and more people into it until it's un-unravelable.

My Opinion: I nearly fell off the couch when "Leo" suddenly sat in the kitchen and Sheldon and he discussed the "origin of his drug addiction". And the idea that he had to stay way longer to prevent the truth from coming out, it was great.

The Pancake Batter Anomaly

Synopsis: Alert: 'Condition Red'! Sound 'General Quarters'! Action Stations! Sheldon is sick! And while Leonard, Howard and Raj know exactly what that means and abandon ship, Penny has no idea and is on collision course with the iceberg.

My Opinion: I have to admit that Sheldon's constant whining became a bit annoying over the course of the episode. But I liked all the scenes where the three tried to avoid Sheldon at any cost.

The Jerusalem Duality

Synopsis: A 15-year-old north-korean boy starts to work at the university and he is smarter than Sheldon! With all hopes lost to ever win the Nobel Prize Sheldon finally gets interested in what the others do but for reasons unknown to him, he always has to "go away".

My Opinion: I liked the obnoxious Sheldon much better than the whiny one. But somehow I felt this was similar to The Luminous Fish Effect with Sheldon looking for new tasks. But the idea of moving Jerusalem to Mexico and the subsequent discussions about the Wailing Wall and the Promised Land were brilliant.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 3

The Bat Jar Conjecture

Synopsis: The four are going to attend a science quiz - but not on the same team. Sheldon is leader of the "Army Ants" (AA), while Leonard, Raj, Howard and Leslie form the "Perpetual Motion Squad" (PMS). Let the best geek(s) win!

My Opinion: This was a great episode and I laughed a lot and the best parts were the janitor's 15 seconds of fame and Penny's very own quiz.

The Nerdvana Annihilation

Synopsis: Leonard wins an auction for a miniature time machine from the original The Time Machine. Unfortunately it's not that miniature, the scale is more like 1:1. But that proves his geekiness to Penny (again) and he's seeing it, too.

My Opinion: Another great episode. I liked all the time travel scenes, both real and imagined and I really liked how Leonard helped Penny to get down in the elevator shaft - even though it was only a dream.

The Pork Chop Indeterminacy

Synopsis: Sheldon's non-identical twin sister is in town and she's hot! And Rajesh becomes a test subject for a new drug to get rid of his shyness.

My Opinion: It was great to see how the three of them tried to hit on her. It was especially funny to watch Raj's attempts and him dealing with the side effects of the drug.

The Peanut Reaction

Synopsis: Leonard has never had a birthday party because his parents didn't think of it as a good concept. But now Penny's going to change that. Leonard is getting a surprise party, no matter the cost.

My Opinion: What was a funny element here - no service personnel in the store and one customer has to advice another - is a sad reality in Germany. And I admired to what lengths Howard was willing to go to prevent the surprise from being spoiled.

The Tangerine Factor

Synopsis: Penny has dumped yet another boyfriend and Leonard has the guts to ask her out. But when she has agreed, both aren't sure anymore whether this was actually a good idea. And there's only one way to find out: Schrödinger's cat.

My Opinion: This was a good conclusion to the season although it is quite obvious to me that something is going to happen at the date. After all, it's the cliffhanger and it's a sitcom. Ross and Rachel needed 10 years to finally make it.
I really liked the different reactions to the Shröderinger's cat analogy. It pretty much summed it up what this year was about.

[Tom]

13. The Bat Jar Conjecture (2008-04-21)
Writer: Bill Prady, Robert Cohen, Stephen Engel, Jennifer Glickman
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Sara Gilbert (Leslie Winkle), Mark Harelik (Dr. Gablehauser), Adam Gregor (Dimitri), Sandra Marquez (Woman), Sergio Enrique (Son)

Great episode. Sheldon not wanting to win if it meant having to submit to team working. The beginning of the episodes are usually one of the best parts. This episode is no exception.


14. The Nerdvana Annihilation (2008-04-28)
Writer: Stephen Engel, Steven Molaro, Bill Prady
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Andrew Walker (Mike)

Another great episodes. Jokes about time tavel are always fun. But sometimes I am not sure if Sheldon knows that Star Trek isn't real


15. The Pork Chop Indeterminacy (2008-05-05)
Writer: Lee Aronsohn, Bill Prady, Chuck Lorre
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Courtney Henggeler (Missy)

A decent episode but nothing special.


16. The Peanut Reaction (2008-05-12)
Writer: Dave Goetsch, Steven Molaro, Bill Prady, Lee Aronsohn
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Vernée Watson (Althea), Judith Moreland (Jan), Ronald Hunter (Dan), Chuck Carter (Stan)

An okay episode but nothing really funny.


17. The Tangerine Factor (2008-05-19)
Writer: Lee Aronsohn, Steven Molaro, Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), James Hong (Chen)

More Sheldon = more fun.
Also now they got Penny and Leonard together, they can start season 2 by building up the break-up and then get to the real couple of the show: Penny and Sheldon

[DJ Doena]

But sometimes I am not sure if Sheldon knows that Star Trek isn't real

I don't follow. What do you mean "not real"?

[Najemikon]

But sometimes I am not sure if Sheldon knows that Star Trek isn't real

I don't follow. What do you mean "not real"?

Of course it's not real.

The historical documents are in that documentary called Galaxy Quest...