Season finales these days usually have to have an event of some kind in them. Whether it’s a death, a birth, or some other life-altering moment television has gotten into the habit of using these events for premieres, sweeps week stunts, and season finales. Fortunately, no one died on this season finale as Howard and Bernadette instead finally made their trip down the aisle, or rooftop in this instance, tying the knot and becoming the first in the BBT gang to make that leap.

Despite the fact that things went off without too major of an issue, there was still the very slightest sense of the unknown involved in whether or not Howard would stay on the rocket he’s been preparing to inhabit most of the season. Having the rocket launch and Howard getting married in the same episode was a nice way to wrap up one of the outstanding story threads of this season. The nature of their nuptials was a sweet and intimate affair that saw the duo saying ‘I do’ on the rooftop of Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny’s apartment building in full view of the Google Earth satellite when they couldn’t get through the line at city hall in time for a last-minute marriage before Howard’s recently rescheduled launch. All of their friends together officiated the ceremony after they passed the online course and that stood out as a memorable moment for this TV wedding.

By keeping the other couples (and Raj) involved in the ceremony itself it gave all the characters moments that were outside of the wedding story, but that reflected on where they were at in their own lives. There’s still plenty of tension in the air with Penny and Leonard following last week’s botched proposal attempt to her while they were in bed together. I understand getting swept up in the moment of being around your best friend when they’re about to make such a life-changing step, but it makes the normally fairly sensible Leonard come off looking like How I Met Your Mother’s Ted Mosby in his quick claim to affection and commitment even when he and Penny have barely been back together this season. She’s clearly not ready for that sort of thing anyway and he needs to just drop it. But I’ve never bought them as a couple that could make it that far, unless it was in a very sitcom-y way of constant eye-rolling and that trusty trope of the ‘hot wife’ and the ‘average/dorky’ guy. With how childish they were acting toward one another during Bernadette and Howard’s big day it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were headed to that kind of conclusion someday if the show continues to insist on them being together.

As for Sheldon and Amy, their continued dance of will-they, won’t- they, what-are-they-really continued as throughout the wedding itself Sheldon continued to be Sheldon all the way especially when he attempted to perform his part of the ceremony in Klingon. He definitely had the best speech of the ensemble as it was well-stated, the tone of it was so very ‘him’, and most of all it was expected to tilt on the side of self-centered—it’s Sheldon Cooper and we expect him to take such a moment to talk about how awesome he is instead of really paying proper tribute to the couple. When Penny and Leonard did it, it just came off as more uncomfortable than funny.

But where the show seemed to really lay it on the line for the remaining couples was during the gathering to watch Howard’s televised launch. Everyone tightly grasped the hand of the person sitting next to them as Bernadette held Raj’s hand for mutual support, Penny and Leonard got caught up in the emotion of the moment much like Leonard did during the lead-up to the wedding, and Sheldon without provocation gripped Amy’s hand as they watched Howard blast off into the stars. He could easily argue later on that he was just adhering to the social convention of the moment, but I want to hope that the show was saying something significant about where they’re going to let Sheldon go next season in terms of his character development. He’s already come so very far in these past five seasons from the person we met in the pilot. If they can make such emotional and personal growth work for someone like reformed pervy wannabe ladies man Howard Wolowitz then there may be a chance that Amy Farrah Fowler can wear that tiara she favors so much down the aisle herself one day. In the distant future though, let’s be real it’s going to take some time.

This season has meant some big changes for some of our favorite characters and it’s going to be interesting to see where they’re at when the show returns this fall. There are some lingering practical questions for Howard and Bernadette such as where they will wind up living, for example, that have been left to be answered in season six. Plus, now that one couple has wed it might also be in the cards for another pairing to get a little more serious by then, but only time will tell what The Big Bang Theory has in store for its future.

The Big Bang Theory 5.24 Review: Howard and Bernadette launch into marriage

Is that wedding bells we hear in tonight's season finale of The Big Bang Theory?  It just might be.

Howard is still very concerned about heading off into space on his NASA tour.  While Howard and Bernadette exchange a cute moment before his tour, she mentions that she doesn't want to wait until his space journey is over to marry him.

But with his departure in two days, that's not a lot of time to plan a wedding.  The gang rallies around to put together a quick ceremony at City Hall.  But the actors hint that while there may be a wedding, the writers refused to guarantee it.  Is it true?  Will they go through with it or will they make it to the altar, only for the nuptials to be interrupted?

Meanwhile, Penny and Leonard have their own quasi-marriage troubles and will have to deal with the fallout of Leonard's spontaneous "marry me!" request in the previous episode.

Watch a sneak peek and behind the scenes featurette below for tonight's season finale of The Big Bang Theory, airing at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.  Use the arrows above to browse through photos for the episode.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peeks: Will There Be a Wedding in Tonight's Season Finale?

Leonard pegs it early on when he states that wedding fever has hit the gang on this week’s episode. As Howard and Bernadette prepare to tie the knot, Leonard and Sheldon both find themselves in a spot of relationship trouble. On Leonard’s side, he and Penny find themselves acting more affectionate and ‘couple-y’ than they’ve been since they got back together this season. However Leonard gets a little carried away when in mid-coitus with Penny he proposes to her. It’s like he just can’t realize how commitment-phobic Penny is and has been over the past five seasons of this show. But she definitely has cause to be put-off by Leonard popping the question in that moment. It doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on their relationship overall, but we definitely know that Penny is immune to the fever—at least for now.

As for Sheldon, well his problem is tailored to fit only him as he suffers through Amy’s experiments to further their relationship level. She’s finally realized that going about trying to seduce Sheldon through the standard social conventions won’t work—so it’s time to get creative. Namely, she tries to use Sheldon’s own attachment to childhood nostalgia in order to foster a deeper level of attachment in his heart toward her. Amy employs a triple attack of classic video game theme tunes, the sweet allure of strawberry Quik, and she even goes so far as to cosplay in retro Star Trek TOS nurse outfit in order to bind his good feelings associated with these memories with whenever he thinks about her. Pretty clever move there Ms. Fowler and it seems to work better than anything else has thus far. Who knows, maybe we’ll see Amy unlocking the achievement of better intimacy with Sheldon by season’s end at this rate.

Howard gets to struggle with his off then on-again NASA mission being rescheduled to coincide along with his wedding. It turns out that amusingly Howard doesn’t even want to go into space any longer so he was beyond thrilled when the mission was canceled in the first scene. It figures that after he realized how dangerous and-gasp- physical being involved in a space mission is that he’d quickly lose interest. However, when NASA calls and tells him it’s back on, Howard faces his inability to tell anyone that he doesn’t want to go. He even goes so far as to meet personally with Bernadette’s frequently mentioned intimidating ex-cop father in order to get him to put his foot down for him about not being able to go. It backfires spectacularly as he claims that the only time he was ever close to liking Howard was when he found out about the mission—claiming that not many men get to have such an opportunity so he must be worthy of his daughter’s affections. Seems the Wolowitz-Rostenkowski nuptials are in danger of not happening after all but only the end of the season will tell if Howard becomes an astronaut and gets to marry the love of his life. I’m just glad that someone (Bernadette’s dad) finally called Howard out on his incredibly ridiculous haircut.

The Big Bang Theory 5.23 Recap

"Don't EVER grow up to be like me."

I have settled into a habit this season, one that I suspect is not unknown to fellow viewers, but certainly is unknown to viewers of any other show—I don’t look up the title of a Mad Men episode until long after the show is over.

The importance of titles to Mad Men is another facet of Matthew Weiner’s literary leanings. Sure every television series’ episodes are titled, but few carry the same kind of weight, provide deeper insight, or allow for profitable rumination than this one—similar post-episode homework on a show like The Big Bang Theory may yield passing wisdom into certain strains of scientific supposition, none more eye-opening than the paradox of a show about “smart” people that is so staggeringly stupid (And cartoonish. And vapid. Don’t forget profoundly and unforgivably laugh-free. And yet, somehow, self-satisfied.)

Part of the allure of Mad Men is that can withstand a critical appraisal, and is such good goddamn TV that it demands it. I say this because I truly love the show, but when I sit down to write about it (this season, at least) I feel like I spend more time on wet-faced raspberries than roof-rattling huzzahs. But when a show is this good, it only gets better the more you dig.

Which brings me back to the titles. I’m sure that a good deal of my post-episode investigation regarding the titles stems from the lack of inclusion in the show itself. You’d think that for a show that places so much thematic weight on the title, and aims so hard at a literary target, that they’d include the title at the episode beginning—white letters on a black screen signifying the beginning less of another episode than a new chapter.

That said, I like having that carrot waiting for me at the end of each show. “Signal 30” and “Far Away Places” have their concrete place in each respective episode, but “At the Codfish Ball” is such an oblique title that it almost benefits from less investigation and more cogitation.

It nicely sums up the award party that Don and family attend at the episode’s end. A collection of characters who are left grappling with a disenchantment that no one else at the table can truly understand. Don seems (oddly) deflated by the side-swipe he receives from Ken Cosgrove’s father-in-law Ed Baxter (Ray Wise). The man shoots down Don’s (again, oddly) naive belief that the award being given to him (for his lacerating full-page letter set upon American Tobacco) will lead to more business by telling him that no none will want to work with him after he’s “bitten the hand that feeds” so publically.

Megan’s parents are in the middle of a slow-burn dissolution of their marriage (played with acidic perfection by Ronald Guttman and Julia Ormond). Megan doesn’t seem all that disenchanted with the Edward Albee-level of marital fustigation displayed by her parents (interesting to note that Albee was also name checked in this episode when Don offered to get the Heinz executive and his wife tickets to his new play—most certainly A Delicate Balance, another blistering portrait of matrimonial malaise). No, she’s seen it before and thinks they’ll get past it. Worse is the skewering Megan receives from her socialist-intellectual father, reacting poorly to the affluence that surrounds his daughter and her new husband. It leaves a mark, but it speaks more about her father’s disappointment with his floundering publishing career than true dismay at his daughter’s choices in life—he might make a good point about her turning her back on her passions, but Megan has moved from a model to a copywriter, surely a more creatively fulfilling endeavour. And while Megan might understand that as she lays in bed later that night, at the moment a jab from one’s father still lands with precision.

Then there’s Sally—this is where I get to the raspberry versus huzzah part of the program.

As a character, Sally continues to develop into an astonishing character one, who even at a young age, is as capable of cruelty as she is of kindness (a trait she comes by honestly—thanks Dad). As a performance, Kiernan Shipka continues to amaze. The whole Sally Draper situation puts me in mind of The Piano, the 1993 film from director Jane Campion that received as many jeers as accolades for what some perceived to be an impossibly self-aware child in the character of Flora McGrath (a performance that won eleven year-old Anna Paquin a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, lest we forget).

Luckily, I haven’t heard as much in the way of derision with Sally Draper’s development as a fully- if not altogether sympathetically-drawn character. In comparing it to The Piano¸ I think we see the advantage of a serialized drama over a feature film—characters are allowed room to breathe and develop. The audience can watch Sally (or any character) conduct herself in ways both admirable and despicable and not become bogged down in judgments by keeping in mind that a larger portrait is being painted. In a feature, a young girl can betray her mother and we won’t see how the young woman deals with the fallout. At the very least, we aren’t allowed to see her help an elderly lady across the street a year later. As a result, judgment is easy.

(Sidebar for million dollar idea: once Mad Men is done its run, there’s a spin-off featuring Sally Draper, in her late teens, volunteering with an organizing committee for the American bicentennial. It’s all post-Watergate cynicism and mountains of blow.)

Sally has started the bumpy ride to young womanhood and likely isn’t as ready for it as she thinks. She might roll her eyes at Don’s insistence that she remove her make-up and go-go boots before attending the award ceremony, but when she staggers back to the table after seeing Megan’s mother Mme. Calvert bury her head in Roger Sterling’s lap, it’s hard not to agree with Don. Although like everyone else at the table, Sally will keep her disenchantment to herself.

Here’s my issue with this part of the episode, or with any dramatic writing. When a character “stumbles” upon an important event, red flags circle my head so fast I can’t see the screen. Let’s put aside the inconsistency of Megan accompanying the Heinz executive’s wife to the powder room but allowing the pre-teen Sally saunter into a bathroom in the middle of a busy party—we’ll chalk it up to a generational discordance, one before “street proofing” kids was a catch phrase. And we can even put aside the fact that the only room we see Sally walk into is the one that features a “dirty” snapshot upon which the continuing erosion of her innocence hinges—we’ll say that’s a dramatic distillation of events. But the fact that Sally just happens upon this scene in toto is almost unforgivable. It wouldn’t have been difficult to make it less plodding—Roger had been acting as her dashing date, so we could have easily believed her spying Roger and Megan’s mother leaving the room in a wake of lustful glances and trailing them to their seedy tryst out of an inchoate sense of romantic betrayal. Instead, Sally just walks in on the scene, convenient as you please.

Episode author Jonathan Igla (writer of the season four ender “Tomorrowland”) is in good company. A dramaturgical heavyweight like David Mamet is prone to this “happy accident” mode of storytelling, a crutch all the more distressing considering the skill that surrounds this (generally act two-ending) blunder. House of Games, Homicide, Redbelt—they all suffer from the same poor plotting of a protagonist fortuitously overhearing/espying a vital plot development. Igla should take comfort in one major difference (because I’m sure he’s reading this and taking my sentiments to heart): Mamet’s characteristic fumble is present for no greater aim than to move the plot along. At least in the case of this episode, it leads to a greater characterization of an already well-drawn player in the drama. While that make it easier to swallow, it doesn’t make the move any less lazy and ill-suited for an elegant drama such as Mad Men.

In the end, it is Sally who resonates at episode’s end. Not just for the fact that telephone conversations between her and the endearingly creepy Glen Bishop (played with increasing precision by Matthew Weiner’s son, Marten) bookend the episode. For me, it comes down the title question: in this case, a clip I found on line of Shirley Temple singing “At the Codfish Ball”: while the performance is classically adorable, I can’t help think of a young girl forced to perform beyond her years, shoulder the burden of carrying a feature film, and providing for the family that surrounds her. While the connection to Sally Draper isn’t direct, I can’t help but look at her and think that she’s going to age beyond her years in the coming seasons.

Especially if I that spin-off idea gets some traction.

Mad Men: "At the Codfish Ball"--An Expert Opinion

The big day is getting closer for Howard and Bernadette so it’s time for the guys and gals of The Big Bang Theory to engage in, as Sheldon would say, the social convention of the stag party. However, things don’t go quite as smoothly as Howard may have hoped they would as a viral video from the event causes Bernadette to question her decision to spend the rest of her life with Wolowitz in this week’s episode. It’s about time they had Bernadette realizing just what kind of person her fiance used to be, but there’s no denying the effect that she’s had on Howard’s personality in her relatively short time of knowing him and this episode definitely gives him a chance to prove it.

Everything kicks off with the boys gathered around the university lunch table as Sheldon initiates some nerdy hypothetical that only he knows the ‘correct’ answer to. This week he posed the question, what would the best organism be for a human to fuse with? The boys gave answers ranging from swan to horse to kangaroo for various reasons, (and if you’ll note especially with Howard and Raj that their wardrobe’s color scheme matched that of the answers they gave, so awesome job TBBT wardrobe dept.) but Sheldon believed that lichen was the only correct answer. No one should be terribly surprised that while the others picked more conventional beasts, Sheldon picked something with the qualities of both algae and a fungus in order to make himself a real ‘triple threat’ post-fusion.

Once that show-opening bit is out of the way it’s time to discuss the actual plot of this episode which centers on Howard’s stag party. Now, the Wolowitz of the past would have been all over the idea of a lavish affair packed to the gills with as many half-naked women as he could fit into a room, fire code permitting. Even when he claims there will be no strippers at the party you wouldn’t be alone if you felt that he may have only said that because he thought he should in order to avoid getting into trouble with the soon to be Mrs. Rostenkowski-Wolowitz.

But when the stag party goes down it’s all scotch, fine food, and a select group of the recurring male characters who the boys still keep acquaintance with including Wil Wheaton, of course. Along the way we learn that Wil Wheaton is close enough with Howard to be invited at all, and that Stuart’s comic shop must not be doing too well as he practically does everything but panhandle for change with the other guests. Each of the core group takes their turn telling what are supposed to be the requisite embarrassing but ultimately good-natured stories about Howard. Sheldon’s mostly insulting toward him but that’s his way so it gets a pass, Leonard uses the venue as a display of his own insecurities which shocks no one, and then…Raj stands up.

His speech goes from being an endearing ode to his first friend when he came to this country to a pretty grimace-worthy account of some of Howard’s less than savory former sexual conquests all while a gleeful Wil Wheaton records the whole thing on his phone. The most scandalous of the stories is Raj, Howard and a girl in a Sailor Moon costume having a three-way at Comic Con. I could say a lot about how this show declines passionate female nerds of the fandom-participating persuasion the same respect they do with the boys, but I digress.  Thanks to the instantaneous nature of viral videos on the internet, Bernadette is already livid at them both when she has to leave her own wedding gift bag assembly project with Penny and Amy to come pick Raj and Howard up. It does manage to pose a genuine roadblock for what, so far, has been relatively smooth sailing for she and Howie as Bernadette has to come to terms with what her man was like before they met.

There actually aren’t a lot of episodes of this show that manage to keep the focus on those other than Sheldon and Leonard, the arguable leads of The Big Bang Theory. But this episode was wise to let them both mostly take a backseat so that Howard Wolowitz could get the chance to prove that he really has become a changed man because of his relationship with Bernadette. When she gives him the silent treatment and openly doubts if she should go through with the wedding to Amy and Penny, Howard shows up and delivers a nicely understated but sincere speech about what knowing her has done for his evolution as a person and as a man. It’s especially the part when even he admits that the former Howard was someone he was ashamed of being that it’s clear he’s truly had some impressive growth as a character from the desperate horndog with a penchant for cheap pick up lines and multi-colored polyester pants, (well he still has the same wardrobe but you get the meaning) that long-time viewers of the show remember very well.

So all’s well that ends well as the wedding stays on-track to happen likely near the end of this season. Though it really begs the question of whether or not Raj will get a little tipsy and wind up being someone who objects to the nuptials—he’s shown himself many times to love Howard as a very good friend and certainly…nothing more than that. Really, there’s going to have to be a point where this show definitively pulls the trigger on Raj's thing for Howard because even if he denies being anything other than straight—someone tell that to the show so they can stop insisting on the jokes claiming otherwise, it’s getting to be tiresome if nothing will come of it. It's starting to show as being a pretty cheap chance for laughs at the character's expense as it's still being used continuously all while Raj clearly has a deep affection for his best friend. You can't have it both ways, show.

The Big Bang Theory 5.22 Recap 'Howard Wolowitz, a changed man'

Over the years Sheldon Cooper has made no secret of what he thinks about Howard’s chosen field of engineering. He’s almost relentlessly mocked his friend’s course of study as well as the fact that Howard is the only member of their group without a doctorate. Last night’s episode provided Howard with a chance for a little payback against Sheldon when he received the honor of working on something for Stephen Hawking—one of Sheldon’s absolute idols. At the end of it all though it’s worth wondering if the whole exercise in trying to make Sheldon a little less condescending was even worth it.

It’s just as Bernadette says to Howard at one point during the course of the Labors of Sheldon, in his worldview he’s not being unnecessarily mean to Howard about anything. Any reason that Howard may feel as such is just evidence that maybe he should work to fix the things that Sheldon makes him feel down about—not having that doctorate for instance. The whole scenario was a display of Howard lashing out about some of his own insecurities which, while Sheldon can be counted as being condescending to others sometimes as Penny noted later on in the episode, are ultimately no instance of Sheldon being cruel for the sake of it. It’s all his attempt to improve upon the world around him and that means sharing knowledge that he has and that he feels other people need despite the fact that socially it rarely goes over very well.

The majority of the acts we witnessed Sheldon forced to endure in order to meet a childhood hero were typical sitcom blackmail tropes. Handling Howard’s unmentionables while doing his laundry, helping Howard’s mother literally fold and squeeze herself into a dress, and speaking of dresses Sheldon even winds up in one in front of the entire campus lunchroom. It’s fairly hard to defend this series as being just as smart as any other comedy on the air when they stoop to having their lead prancing around in a French maid outfit. At least they were smart enough to make mention that Howard’s fiancee Bernadette had already refused to wear it for him.

Following a half-hearted to some, but really as good as it gets for him, apology from Sheldon it’s revealed that not only had Howard already given a copy of Sheldon’s latest paper to Dr. Hawking but that he wanted to meet Sheldon in person. Try as Howard may have throughout the half hour to make Sheldon feel humble for even a moment he couldn’t come close to the response that came from Hawking pointing out one error in his research. It led to a good payoff but the set-up itself of the episode was fairly tired and mostly not that funny unless sight/gross-out gags are your favorite forms of comedy. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy either, but when they’re just so obvious it’s not too much to demand a little more wit from this show. This episode was also an example of why this show seems to benefit more from splitting the group up and having two concurrent storylines going on at once—that way one always has the possibility of working better than the other. As it stands, this isn’t one of the better episodes of this season of The Big Bang Theory, but having Hawking appear was a definite highlight.  I look forward to hearing a future joke about Sheldon adding his restraining order from Stephen Hawking to his collection, just as Leonard thought might happen.

The Big Bang Theory 5.21 Review 'When Sheldon Met Hawking'

The Big Bang Theory seems to be on a roll with guest stars.  Last week it was Leonard Nimoy (one of Sheldon's favorite actors).  Tonight, one of Sheldon's heroes - physicist Stephen Hawking - will be making a guest appearance on the show.

In tonight's episode, titled "The Hawking Excitation", Wolowitz has an opportunity to work with the great Stephen Hawking.  Knowing that Hawking is one of Sheldon's idols, he plans on introducing his friend to the physicist.  At least, that's the plan until Sheldon stops by the cafeteria to announce that he's made headway with the Higgs-Boson particle equation and then insults Wolowitz's ability to properly understand physics.  As a result, Wolowitz is no longer eager to introduce the two, but Sheldon is determined to do anything to meet Hawking.

"When people would ask us who a ‘dream guest star’ for the show would be, we would always joke and say Stephen Hawking – knowing that it was a long shot of astronomical proportions," said Executive Producer Bill Prady.  "In fact, we’re not exactly sure how we got him.  It’s the kind of mystery that could only be understood by, say, a Stephen Hawking."

Watch a sneak peek below for tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.  Use the arrows above to browse through photos for the episode.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek: Stephen Hawking Guest Stars Tonight!

For years now, The Big Bang Theory has had a few dream guest stars and on last night’s episode they not only got a huge sci-fi icon to appear but also in a way that made a lot of sense beyond some flashy cameo. After Penny was made to feel guilty (by Sheldon) for mooching free food off of the boys all the time she decided to do something to pay them back for it. Upon a visit to Stuart’s comic book shop she returned with two rare Star Trek collectibles of the transporter device from the series. Of course, being how they are, Sheldon and Leonard refused to open their new prized possessions as they want the collectible to remain ‘mint in box’. That doesn’t stop Sheldon from being convinced to open his anyway and that’s where Nimoy comes in.

Appearing only in voice-over form, but being no less awesome for it, Nimoy basically plays himself and Spock as he appears as the voice of Sheldon’s original Spock action figure. It works so well as a cameo not only because it’s Leonard freakin’ Nimoy and he makes everything he’s involved in lately just a little bit cooler, but it’s because this Spock is actually serving as Sheldon’s conscience. If any pop culture figure were to be Sheldon’s conscience it makes the absolute most sense that it be Spock. One could accuse Sheldon of having Vulcan-like emotional capabilities not to mention an unwavering devotion to the ways of logic.

His own inner voice convinces him via Spock figurine to open his toy and play with it. Of course it doesn’t take much to break a toy all the way from 1975 and so when he does Sheldon then must deal with the moral dilemma of having replaced his broken toy with Leonard’s. Eventually he breaks down and tells Leonard (and Penny who is really good at getting to the heart of things with Sheldon more so than anyone else) the truth, but the whole storyline was elevated by the Nimoy cameo. It’s probably only going to be a one-time appearance but let’s hope that Leonard Nimoy finds his way back onto TBBT since those scenes were some of Sheldon’s best all season—all due to Jim Parsons excellent interplay with Nimoy.

Elsewhere Raj has his own dilemma to deal with as he starts dating again thanks to the time-honored tradition of arranged couples. His parents set him up with a woman named Lakshi who seems to be the perfect woman for Raj. She’s intelligent, lovely, oh and she also happens to like other women not men. This leads to an extended ‘Raj is probably gay’ joke on a series that has had many of these moments, but it’s worth nothing that he’s not viciously offended when the case is made for it. He decides that perhaps he will go ahead and marry Lakshi so that they can both get their families off their backs while still being able to pursue other interests.

Howard finds out about this and he’s less than supportive. It’s funny that someone who was once portrayed as a fairly sleazy guy when it came to his thoughts about women and dating has turned into ‘that’ guy. You know, the one who finds marriage so sacred all of a sudden just because he’s on that track himself. It’s true that Raj marrying Lakshi is a controversial choice, but he would also be doing something incredibly considerate for someone who can’t live her life very easily being who she is within their culture. We don’t see her again after that but it might be fun to have Lakshi show up again as a female friend of Raj. Let’s face it, when he’s not with the boys (who are now often with their own mates) he’s alone so that wouldn’t be the worst development to come out of their meeting.

5.20 The Big Bang Theory Recap 'Sheldon Listens to his Inner Spock'

Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy will be making a guest appearance on tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In tonight's episode, Penny goes to the comic book store to pick up authentic 1970s Star Trek collectibles for both Sheldon and Leonard.  But when Sheldon breaks Leonard's toy, he's haunted by the voice of Mr. Spoke (Nimoy).

“Leonard Nimoy's first appearance on The Big Bang Theory was as DNA on a napkin,” stated Executive Producer Bill Prady. “For this episode, we are delighted to hear his voice. We look forward to introducing Mr. Nimoy, body part by body part, over the course of many seasons to come."

Meanwhile, Raj decides he has met the “Future Mrs. Koothrappali” after his parents set him up on a date.

Watch a preview and a sneak peek below for tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory, airing at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Use the arrows above to browse through photos for the episode.

The Big Bang Theory Preview: Leonard Nimoy Guest Stars Tonight!

The Big Bang Theory’s roster of outstanding guest stars is about to be turned upside down.  It’s true: Stephen Hawking, world-renowned physicist and cosmologist, is joining the cast for a special appearance on April 5, 2012.  For a show that has managed to acquire top-notch talent in the past (note: Wil Wheaton, Christine Baranski, Laurie Metcalf and LeVar Burton, to name a few), securing Hawking is the icing on the cake.  “When people would ask us who a ‘dream guest star’ for the show would be, we would always joke and say Stephen Hawking – knowing that was a long shot of astronomical proportions” notes The Big Bang Theory’s Executive Producer, Bill Prady.  “In fact, we’re not exactly sure how we got him.  It’s the kind of mystery that could only be understood by, say, Stephen Hawking.”

For fans of The Big Bang Theory, Hawking’s cameo is just one more thing to add to the show’s equation for success.  Even the brilliant Sheldon Cooper couldn’t have predicted Hawking’s eventual appearance in Pasadena, so how will our four favourite scientists handle the big news?

Let’s face it, these boys aren’t smooth when it comes to, well, most things, so meeting Stephen Hawking will probably be more awkward than listening to Howard and Bernadette singing “I Got You Babe” during a road trip.  Fingers crossed they pull it together enough (or at least have a stash of paper bags for hyperventilation emergencies) to make the most of their time with their real-life hero.  While CBS notes that Hawking will be paying a workplace visit to Sheldon, you can bet word of his arrival will spread like wildfire through the University, with Leonard, Raj and Howard being first on the scene.

What can the rest of us do to prepare?  May we suggest reading (re-reading, downloading an audio version or Googling) A Brief History of Time, A Briefer History of Time, The Theory of Everything and The Universe in a Nutshell?  If none of these options strike your fancy, there’s probably nothing better left to do but start a countdown to April 5.  Think of it as your mission, should you choose to accept it – let the force be with you.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about Hawking’s upcoming appearance on The Big Bang Theory.  Share your comments below!

New episodes of The Big Bang Theory air Thursdays at 8:00pm EST on CBS.

The Big Bang Theory: Stephen Hawking to Guest Star

Much has changed from the first seasons of The Big Bang Theory up until now. These socially awkward guys have in many ways grown up including finding themselves girlfriends. That doesn’t sit right with Raj who remains the only member of the core group who’s part of the ‘forever alone’ category, and so he decides to try to bring the core group together for a weekend of nostalgia, junk food, and nonstop gaming.  What he gets is a weekend full of couples drama, low-cal snack food, and the reminder that he’s the only guy in the group that hasn’t ultimately matured that much.

Surprisingly, Sheldon is the one in the midst of the drama as he tries to get out of his commitment with Amy to hang with the boys. Except no one could be too shocked that Sheldon would choose a weekend of the Stars Wars online game over a 93rd birthday party for Amy's grandmother. I always find it interesting how Sheldon paints himself to be a man of principle and yet he’ll break them constantly if need be. In this instance however, one would think that because Amy did everything per the Relationship Agreement by the book in order to arrange them going to her grandma’s birthday that Sheldon would ultimately relent. Instead he acts fairly childish to her throughout the episode up until the point where she angrily tells him to just go if he wants to. Sheldon Cooper is a fairly strange TV character in that some weeks it feels like he’s made significant progress, for him at least, while others are two giant steps back. This was a two steps back week.

There’s no denying that the group overall has changed and it was great to have an episode where Raj clearly showed that he was not okay with it. No one likes to be the third, or in this case, seventh, wheel in a group of friends and having him want a weekend of things just as they used to be was a good expression of his loneliness now that the other boys are all attached. Though, one could really argue the true nature of whatever it is that Penny and Leonard are doing being a relationship but I digress. Even Leonard was looking for a little bit of caring, even if it was contrived, from Penny about the fact that he was going to be unavailable for the entire weekend. So what does that tell you about where the beta test version of Leonard/Penny is heading?

Mostly it was difficult not to feel awful for Amy as she was denied the chance to try to show Sheldon off to her family. Having an episode where Sheldon acts like a brat yet again was a disappointment when there could have been more humor in Sheldon actually charming the Farrah-Fowlers instead. That would have truly been a great opportunity for fresh comedy from this show. There were honestly times in particular scenes and jokes with just the boys that I had to actually remind myself that I was watching the new episode not one of the TBS repeats.

So, what can be taken away from this episode is that change is good. Raj may not like it, but that’s the story of what usually tends to happen with groups of friends even ones like this particular group. You could say it’s even harder to be on the outside when your group of friends is a delightfully nerdy group and even they manage to hook up with others—something that someone like Raj may never have thought would really happen. It disrupts the group dynamics of old, but as this episode proved, The Big Bang Theory is moving on from the show it was. Everyone’s growing up, or at least trying to, and that means that they can’t just have things exactly the way they were before. Hopefully Raj will be able to adapt to this new dynamic as lately he’s been doomed to the worst regions of sitcom sidekick-dom—barely even appearing in some episodes at all.

The Big Bang Theory 5.19 'Raj Wants the Old Group Back' Review

Another Thursday, another brand new episode of CBS' The Big Bang Theory.  Sheldon and the boys plan a 48 hour gaming marathon in tonight's episode after Koothrappali suggests they do it up like the old days with the new Star Wars game.  But the girls threaten the weekend when Amy asks Sheldon to accompany her to her aunt's birthday party.  Instead, Sheldon elects to stay home and play video games with the boys, landing him in hot water.

This isn't the first time Sheldon's lack of social skills has had an impact on his relationship with Amy.  Between the girlfriend contract, refusing to go to the birthday party, and everything in between, we have to wonder whether Amy will put up with his shenanigans any longer.

Watch a sneak peek below for tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory, airing at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS.   Use the arrows above to browse through photos for the episode, titled "The Weekend Vortex".  A rerun of another episode will also air at 8:30 p.m. EST.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek: Sheldon Blows Off Amy to Play Video Games

One of the most amusing character traits about Sheldon Cooper is his obsessive need to stick to his routines. Of course, what’s amusing to a few is just as frustrating to everyone else as the man can’t do anything outside of its planned day or without the right person. When Sheldon’s regular barber winds up in the hospital it winds up leading him down a path to his own version of unplanned chaos.

The merits of Sheldon taking a break from his usual way of acting can be argued, but it’s always fun to get to see Jim Parsons do something on the show that he hasn’t before. You can clearly see him enjoying himself in scenes such as Sheldon up at three in the morning disruptively playing bongos. It also gave Leonard the chance to finally get to call out the roommate agreement on Sheldon for a change even if it was reliably dismissed by the latter’s logic about no rules existing within chaos. When this new Sheldon even started to annoy Amy it became clear that someone had to lay down the law and at least have him get his hair cut which was what started the madness in the first place. As usual, it’s Penny who convinces Sheldon to let her do it and things go well enough until…well, let’s just hope that Sheldon can remain oblivious to the patch shaved out of the back of his head.

I was watching the syndicated earlier seasons of this show right before the new episode and what a difference a few years makes for everyone involved. Specifically for Penny who really hasn’t had much of a storyline of her own in quite some time. No, sort of being with Leonard every other episode doesn’t count (even if she gets to beat him at chess much to his confusion),as there was a time when she had a full life of other things going on. Lately we never hear about anything—rarely even an acting audition or mention that she’s still doing that. Did she give up on it off-screen and that’s why she sucks down wine in her apartment almost every time she’s there with the girls? Maybe that’s something that could change by the end of the season, but I tend to doubt it as she’s been relegated to the sidelines along with Raj who was barely even in the episode.

As for Howard, he was off at the NASA training camp proving he had the right stuff for his space mission. Actually he was off being a physical wreck from the endurance tests required to become an astronaut. The majority of his interactions in the episode were with Bernadette via webcam and he definitely got to deliver some of the funniest lines of the night. Picture what it would be like to get motion sickness in zero gravity conditions and you’ll have an idea of what Howard went through. Despite all of the obstacles he’s facing, it’s commendable that Howard wants to stick to this and fulfill his childhood dream of going into space. Bernadette showed why she’s such a good girlfriend as she decides to go stay with him to support him during his training—no one should have been remotely shocked that Howard’s mother seemed to have already been there all along. What, you didn’t think he’d leave his mom home alone by herself, did you? Oh how I can’t wait to see what Bernadette and Howard’s living situation will be like after the wedding as I’m sure that his mother will continue to remain part of it.

It’s strange to even write that, but if there's something about this season in particular, it's that the gang has had so many separate storylines this season. Usually paired off by couple and I guess that’s part of the boys (and girls) growing up. Howard’s going to be a married man soon, and who knows where Leonard/Penny and Amy/Sheldon will wind up in another season or so? For now it’s been fun to get to focus on the smaller segments of the group and the new dynamics they have with one another, but let’s hope they have the chance to go on a few more escapades as the full group by the finale.

The Big Bang Theory 5.18 Review 'Sheldon Embraces Chaos'

The big question on everyone's mind in tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory is "what's wrong with Sheldon?"

Penny and Leonard are shocked when Sheldon doesn't want to take his usual spot on the couch, which leads both of them to wonder what could have possibly happened to him to make him change his routine.  As it turns out, Sheldon's barber got sick and has been hospitalized, which completely ruins his entire schedule and sends him into a tailspin.  When Penny offers to give him a trim, he replies "I know you mean well offering the skills of the hill folk, but here in town we don't churn our own butter, we don't make dresses out of gummy sacks and we sure as shootin' don't get our hair cut by a bottled blonde."  When Leonard chastises him for being mean he explains "it's the bad boy attitude that comes with this hair".

Meanwhile, Wolowitz gets a letter from NASA to report for astronaut training on Monday.  While he enjoys rubbing the fact that he's an astronaut in his friends' faces, his experience with the training makes him rethink his decision to head up into space.

Watch a sneak peek for an all new episode of The Big Bang Theory below, airing tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS.  Use the arrows above to browse through photos for the episode.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek: Sheldon's Routine is Disrupted in "The Werewolf Transformation"

After having shared an office with Raj for quite some time, Sheldon jumps at the chance to get one of his own on this week’s episode. Unfortunately, he’ll have to fend off the shared interest in the vacant office from his nemesis Kripke. While Penny has her own problem in the form of a ghastly unwanted gift from Amy that tests the resolve of their friendship.

First off, I just have to sincerely thank the writers for giving us a chance to view how non-athletic outside of paintball Sheldon really is. Watching Sheldon and Kripke battle it out on the basketball court was one of the best moments this season. Every single earnest attempt at scoring a basket was underscored by the fact that both men are incredibly uncoordinated when it comes to this particular skill. Leonard may have gotten tired of watching them try for forty-five minutes straight with no results, but I could have watched those two for much longer. The final contest had Sheldon winning the new office much to his delight of course—nothing makes Sheldon happier than ultimately getting his way. I also need to make special mention of when Jim Parsons had to explain the rules of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock (the first proposed way to settle the battle for the office), to Kripke--bet he never thought he'd have to go through that again at least not twice in a row.

When he starts to enjoy his new solo space, Sheldon quickly realizes that these spoils are in fact just spoiled by a number of issues such as the thermostat being in the office next door, a mysterious hole in the wall, and an appearance by another of Sheldon’s lifelong nemeses, a bird outside his window. That plus the fact that the recently retired Professor Rothman still shows up and without any clothes on have made Sheldon’s new space a personal living hell. Certainly one of those careful what you wish for scenarios for Sheldon but he was still using it by the end of the episode. It remains to be seen if he’ll stay there or move back in with Raj again once someone helps him get his head out of that hole in the wall he just had to personally investigate all in the name of scientific exploration. I would have done the same thing as Leonard when he snapped a picture and appeared to be preparing to tweet it while Sheldon remained stuck.

Outside of the university, Amy shows up at Penny’s apartment with a rather large gift in her hands. It’s a less than flattering painted portrait of the two of them and all the jokes made throughout the episode about how Penny looks in it are spot on—it’s really bad. I think we’ve all been there with a friend, especially a newer friend who may be a little more sensitive to receiving the truth about the feelings toward a gift. Penny does her best to keep from hurting Amy about it, but eventually she’s caught red-handed when Amy sees that she took it off the wall.

Penny goes over to Amy’s place to apologize and to insist she wants the painting back. She doesn’t, however, ever tell her that it’s not really something she wants on her wall because that’s what you do when you want to keep a friendship intact. I loved that Penny ultimately passed the buck to it being about Bernadette when she claimed to Amy that she was hurt by not being in it as well. The story ended with the duo sharing what could probably be their most creepy interaction yet, but hey at least they're still friends. Her girl crush on Penny seems to cross so many lines, but it’s all in the name of comedy and it certainly provides that. Even if the viewer likely can’t get the mental image of that painting’s origins as a nude portrait out of their heads.

The Big Bang Theory 5.17 Recap 'Sheldon goes one-on-one with Kripke'

Most people can’t wait to cash in their vacation time to have a nice trip, or just some time to themselves without clocking in everyday. Of course Sheldon would fall into the category of people who don’t as in this week’s episode where the president of the university (always a fun appearance by Josh Malina) demands that Sheldon use his vacation time next week. When he realizes that he doesn’t want to travel or stay at home, Sheldon decides that perhaps just being in another lab will count as he turns his vacation time into ‘reluctantly take your boyfriend to work day’ over at Amy’s lab.

After he fails to be able to do even the smallest of tasks, Sheldon confronts Amy and demand he be challenged more. Ever since he’s known her Sheldon has belittled the contributions of the field of biology to a science as a whole (as whole as Amy's position as a biologist) when compared to that of his own field of study, physics. But that’s an element of Sheldon’s character that’s always been effective on this show, he's a genius but certainly not with most things outside of his own realm. Upon being given the chance to do something more substantial in her lab, Sheldon quickly succumbs to his own weakness at the sight of blood—his own especially—and hits the floor.

Later, after some encouragement from Penny and probably at least a couple of Sheldon’s favorite rum-free cocktails at The Cheesecake Factory’s bar, Sheldon goes back to Amy’s lab to apologize for his rude behavior. What’s great about these two is how Amy consistently keeps pushing against Sheldon’s boundaries. There aren’t that many people who can get a legitimate apology out of Sheldon and every time they have these little moments of progress it certainly helps make him into a better character than the version back in season one. While Leonard and Penny might be sort of/kind of back together lately, it’s really Sheldon and Amy who deserve their spot as a main couple of the show.

The other main couple, Howard and Bernadette ran into an issue of their own as Howard eventually finds out from his friends that Bernadette’s dad wants her to seek a pre-nuptial agreement. It’s yet another story focusing on how Bernadette is more successful on paper than Howard is and if their relationship can survive that difference. So that’s getting slightly old, however this storyline will be worth it if we someday get to see Bernadette’s father. When she talks about him at the end of the episode I can’t be the only person hoping that they actually cast some great actor to come in for this role. If anything we’ll hopefully get to see this character at the wedding if everything goes according to plan and these two make it down the aisle together. Also have to make special mention of the traditional wedding invitations with Klingon writing on the back of them. An excellent example of compromise considering that Bernadette is no hardcore Trekkie like Howard, and it’s a good sign for these two in the future.

The Big Bang Theory 5.16 'Vacation? Sheldon Doesn't Want It' Recap

It’s taken five seasons of Leonard living under the demands and restraints of the infamous roommate agreement, but in last night’s episode of The Big Bang Theory he finally decided that enough was enough. Leonard invoked a clause that would strip the agreement down to its bare essentials as well as remove his friendship with Sheldon. An idea that Sheldon thought wise years ago when the agreement was written up, but now it was something that was harder to live with than he expected as no one is willing to take up Leonard’s former duties. As for the other story of the episode, Howard is preparing to go into space with his NASA crew, but finds that he too would like a ‘cool astronaut nickname’. He’ll soon realize he would have been better off without one when his attempts to sway his teammates into picking one that he wants for himself instead of coming up with one on their own ultimately backfire.

Leonard having had his fill of all the obligations Sheldon requires him to perform under their agreement was of course a long time in the making. There’s hardly anything that Sheldon wishes to do on his own from his list of daily errands such as going to the dentist or to the good train shop. Leonard even admits later on that he doesn’t mind driving Sheldon around to do these things, but what he needs is a little appreciation for it. I don’t think anyone can see a world where Sheldon constantly verbally thanks Leonard for everything so coming up with the faux holiday, Leonard’s Day was a nice way for Sheldon to at least show that the appreciation is there even if he doesn’t want to constantly express it.

But before they come to an agreement to basically go back to things as they were, we get the chance to see Sheldon’s attempts to woo Leonard back into his friendship. It’s pretty clear that Sheldon values Leonard as a friend but his own principles and way of viewing the world make it difficult to show it. So he tries to logically present to Leonard the perks of being his friend again during a sudden blackout at their apartment building. This includes using the temptations of his emergency glow sticks, viewing the complete series of Red Dwarf on DVD thanks to a generator for their entertainment system, as well as freshly melted S’mores. It wouldn’t shock anyone that Penny is the one who winds up convincing Leonard to be full friends with Sheldon again—she’s always had a bit of a soft spot for him likely because she can realize he’s a pretty lonely guy without a best friend around. It also shouldn’t surprise anyone that it was clearly Sheldon who caused the blackout in order to try and have the perfect circumstances to get Leonard back.

Over with soon to be astronaut Howard Wolowitz, Raj attempts to help his friend convince Howard’s crew as to  what they should pick for his nickname. They attempt to have Elton John’s song, ‘Rocket Man’ as Howard’s ringtone in hopes that one of his fellow astronauts will hear it and be inspired to start calling Howard ‘Rocket Man’. Unfortunately for all involved, when Howard gets the chance to video conference one of his team leaders it’s his mother’s shouting which wins over rocket man and Howard ‘Fruit Loops’ Wolowitz is born. Hopefully that’s not the kind of nickname that will go down in history when the crew goes on their expedition into space in a few months. He really should have just stuck with Raj’s suggestion of Howard ‘Crash’ Wolowitz.

The Big Bang Theory 5.15 Recap 'Nicknames and Leonard's Day'

CBS's Thursday night line-up is all new tonight, which means a new episode of The Big Bang Theory.  Sheldon continues to put tiring, selfish and unreasonable demands on Leonard's time, which leads Leonard to question whether they should continue to be friend.

Meanwhile, Wolowitz shows his friend the announcement about his upcoming space flight and Koothrappali remarks that he's the only member of the group without a "cool" astronaut nickname.  Wolowitz says that it's a big faux-pas to pick your own name and it should be chosen by your fellow astronauts.  Also, there's a wicked-awesome lightsaber.

Watch a sneak peek below for tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory, airing at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS.  You can also use the arrows above to browse through photos.  Tonight's episode is set to run an extra minute long, so make sure to adjust your DVR accordingly.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek: Wolowitz Tries to Pick a Cool Astronaut Name Tonight

This week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory dove right into the return of Penny and Leonard as a real couple. Following the events of last week’s 100^th episode dream what-if scenario, the two still decided to give it another go for the Beta test version of their relationship. This means working out the bugs on both ends. Meanwhile, Raj falls in love with the Siri app on his new phone. Yeah, that’s basically all he gets for the rare episode that Raj has a plotline of his own.

What was fun about this episode was the way it held a glimpse into the dating lives of all four of the boys. We got to see Leonard and Penny giving their relationship another go, Sheldon and Amy’s rather unorthodox but to use a phrase many find deplorable, ‘adorkable’ shared activities. Meanwhile Raj struggled as he consistently remains the most socially stuck of the group. Honestly, there’s something sort of wrong here when everyone, even Howard formerly the most juvenile and romantically challenged of the group, have steady relationships and Raj is reduced to falling for the sexy sounding guide voice on his iPhone. Stories like this one definitely show that there are still ways that The Big Bang Theory should grow in its coming seasons. Though to his credit, Kunal Nayyar is always game to commit to whatever wacky bit of dialog or scenario that Raj is given. Bernadette said it best when she mused out loud if his crush on Siri was, ‘cute or creepy?’

She’s right to question it as some characters do unorthodox much better than others. How much do you want Fun with Flags with Dr. Sheldon T. Cooper (ft. Amy Farrah Fowler and introducing Ferdinand T. Flag) to be an actual thing? There was this moment where Penny complained to Leonard that when you ask a girl over to hang out that you should have a plan. What makes Amy and Sheldon such a great couple is you’re never very sure if when he asked her to come over that night he included that she’d be wearing a giant pretzel costume for the German edition of Fun with Flags. These two seem like they have a bit of a better chance than Leonard and Penny because of the fact that they’re both so comfortable with their quirks. When Amy brought in the flag with a face character for their show there was an instant where it seemed as if Sheldon might be displeased at Amy as though she were treating their show as a joke. But when it turns out that he thinks the idea is a brilliant one, it shows that these two mesh perfectly. Penny and Leonard couldn’t even go the full twenty-two minutes without handing each other a long list of things they couldn’t stand about the other person which could be as trivial as the height of the other person’s shoes.

At one point during an attempt at a planned romantic date Leonard takes Penny to the gun range and shoots himself in the foot. Could there really be a more accurate metaphor for what he was doing by even coming up with the bug report idea? There’s no denying the sweet and fun chemistry of Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco, but I’ve yet to be shown how their characters could last for the long haul. Unless everything is brushed away at the end of the episode as it was last night—in that case they could have pure sitcom love for years to come.

One last thing, this episode featured the return of Sheldon Cooper’s former nemesis—no not Wil Wheaton, but Barry Kripke. When you stop and think that Siri is voice recognition based software it only makes sense to have Kripke pop up for a small bit about how his Siri app can’t understand him. I don’t know about you, but I was pleased to see him have a few moments on the show after a lengthy hiatus. When he walked into the room the studio audience, that they film live in front of, audibly gasped and groaned at the sight of the character. The Big Bang Theory gets their fair share of flak from some TV fans for being made with the live-audience format, but when you can get as instant of a reaction from the fans as the one they made toward Kripke it shows that this format works for TBBT. It gives some energy to the proceedings that it might not have had and these performers really respond to what they’re given so they can make each episode lively and purely entertaining. Clearly, the viewers have responded as this show keeps stomping its American Idol competition into the dirt. The formula is working and, with time, one can hope that the few remaining bugs in the system keep getting worked out.

The Big Bang Theory 5.14 Review 'Things get 'sewious' for Penny and Leonard'

The Big Bang Theory is coming off of its 100th episode last week and it looks like Leonard and Penny are going to give the dating thing a try again.

In tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory, Leonard and Penny are contemplating exactly how to take the next step coming out of the decision they made last week.  Penny suggests that if they try dating again, maybe they should take things a bit slow.  Leonard counters with a suggestion that they try "beta testing", or a "trial run".

Meanwhile, the iPhone is getting prominently featured on tonight's episode when Raj gets very attached to Apple's virtual assistant software, Siri, who turns into the new "woman" in his life.  And Amy will be helping Sheldon with a new project.

Watch two sneak peeks below for tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory, airing at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS.  The episode is scheduled to run an extra minute long, so be sure to adjust your DVRs accordingly!  You can also browse through photos for the episode by clicking the arrows above.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peeks: Are Leonard and Penny Back On?

Person of Interest | Is someone going to die soon? EW recently talked to Executive Producer Jonathan Nolan about what's coming up for the last four or five episodes of the hit show's first season, and fans should be a little afraid of what he revealed: "None of these characters are safe. You always have to be willing to [kill off characters]. Nothing is given." Uh, oh.

The Vampire Diaries | Could the newly hinted at 'Klaus and Caroline' actually become a thing? Not so fast. We are talking about a murderous vampire who's also kept his entire family under lock and key. Still, there could be some hope. "We're going to learn more about his past and what would've made him so closed-off," Joseph Morgan says. "If he can learn to trust, then he has a chance at loving again."

Plus, for more on these two, check out stills from the Feb. 9 episode "Dangerous Liaisons," where "Caroline discovers a side of Klaus no one would have suspected."

The Big Bang Theory | Are Leonard and Penny ready to give their relationship another try? This week's 100th episode "The Recombination Hypothesis" gave fans a big surprise when the two finally agreed to go out on another date. And on the Jan. 26 episode "The Beta Test Initiation," we'll see the couple still going strong as they continue to take their renewed dating status for a test-drive. There's just one problem: how fast or slow should they go?

Meanwhile, what's going on with Leonard and Sheldon? In the Feb. 2 episode “The Friendship Contraction,” there's going to be trouble in roommate paradise. It seems Leonard has had enough of Sheldon's crazy antics, and he's ready to throw in the towel. Are the two friends and roommates really done? A sudden power outage may help put everything into perspective.

Grey's Anatomy | Who might be leaving Seattle Grace Hospital? Well, that all depends on who doesn't pass their medical board exams. Creator Shonda Rhimes teased TVGuide about the episodes leading up to the season finale: "Some people pass the boards; some people fail the boards. Some people's careers survive; some people's careers don't." Sounds like they'd better start studying.

Is Arizona going to become pregnant? Jessica Capshaw recently stopped by Twitter to announce she's pregnant with her third child, so of course everyone's been wondering whether or not it will now be written into the show. Creator Shonda Rhimes had this to say: "I don't think it's gonna have any impact on story at all for us. Arizona's not gonna be pregnant and I think (hope, pray) the schedule will work out so Capshaw won't even miss an episode."

Will things between Teddy and Owen begin to heat up? Only in the dramatic sense. Following the death of her husband Henry, Teddy is going to be looking for someone on which to take out all her anger and grief. Kim Raver explained to TVLine, "It’s going to be difficult between her and Owen. But it’s also exciting what starts coming out of Teddy’s sadness, and it’s pointed toward Kevin McKidd’s character." Could this perhaps turn into a love triangle of sorts?

The Mentalist | Which Firefly actor will soon be dropping by the show? In the Feb. 16 episode "War of the Roses," 'psychic' consultant Patrick Jane will once again come up against Morena Baccarin's Erica Flynn. At the least, Simon Baker sounded excited about it to EW: "They were both deceptive characters and they enjoyed that in each other. And so to bring her back, there’s a bit more friction between the two of them that could potentially open things up for the Jane character."

Spoilers: Is Someone Going to Die on Person of Interest? Plus: The Vampire Diaries, The Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy, The Mentalist

To reach the 100th episode is a huge milestone for any television series. Some celebrate it with flashy stunts such as using lots of guest stars, having a big shocking moment like a death or surprise wedding, and some shows even flip the script entirely on what you think you might know about the plot. Obviously, The Big Bang Theory didn’t off one of their characters last night, but what they did do was celebrate by using a classic television trope: the what-if scenario.

Having a what-if episode has become pretty popular lately as the airwaves prep for the Grey’s Anatomy what-if episode, and Community’s best episode of the year was a series of what-if scenarios all based on who performed one simple act. In this instance, the series decides to put its flagship on again/off again characters back together as Leonard rekindles his relationship with Penny. It all seemed so sudden and spontaneous on Leonard’s behalf to do it, but it led to an interesting scenario with the two characters.

One of the fundamental elements of their relationship was how Leonard always (remember that’s the bad word for describing things) over-thought things and how Penny has never really been out for a complex emotional relationship. So in this instance they realized that if they were to reunite it would all be centered on post-fight sex at odd hours in the morning that would then have to be hilariously explained away to Sheldon whenever Leonard got caught. Even after the whole scenario played out and the show put us back into the present reality, Leonard still chose to take this path and ask Penny out again. She accepted and we’re left to wonder if the show is truly serious about putting these two back together considering the less than favorable version of a relationship we were shown after their first reunion date.

The other main bit of fun involved Sheldon’s displeasure at being sent the wrong Spock standee. It’s funny how a show like The Big Bang Theory can get a lot of good comedy out of something as simple as that very sitcom-y situation. Instead of the classic Leonard Nimoy Spock, Sheldon receives the Zachary Quinto Spock from the newer JJ Abrams film. It’s one of those great ‘it’s funnier than the on-screen joke itself’ moments, as every time Parsons gets to slag off Quinto it’s a good-natured nudge toward the actor who wound up playing a role that at the time several fan sites suggested Parsons himself was perfect for. Nice one, show.

This show has come a long way from being ‘that show about the group of non-social nerds and the hot chick that lives across the hall.’ The Big Bang Theory is a successful mix of solid characters and an ability to breathe and thrive off of the pop culture that these characters and the fans of the series itself embrace whole-heartedly.  The show also has a real lack of fear toward changing their group dynamics, and they’ll even add new characters to the mix which will allow The Big Bang Theory to  continue to live long and prosper all the way to their next big milestone.

Fav. Quotes

"Oh, 8:30.. did you and Penny decide to go out and paint the town beige?"--Howard to Leonard upon his early return home from his date with Penny.

"Needy baby, greedy baby indeed."--Sheldon referring to the title of one of Leonard's mother's books.

"Why would I feel safer with Zachary Quinto at the foot of my bed?"  "I dunno, he was pretty bad-ass on Heroes."  "You're right I'll give him a shot."-- Sheldon and Leonard discussing the benefits of having the Spock standee of Quinto's version of the character.

The Big Bang Theory 5.13 Review 'Live Long and Suck It, Zachary Quinto'

Tonight, The Big Bang Theory celebrates a milestone 100th episode.  Tonight's episode is titled "The Recombination Hypothesis" and it's all about the possibility of change.

In the episode, Leonard extends a spur of the moment invitation to Penny for them to go out on a romantic dinner date.  The question, of course, is whether the pair will get back together after their date.  This leaves their friends pondering the ramifications if that happens.

Below is a sneak peek for the episode featuring Penny and Leonard on their date.  Tonight's episode is set to run an extra minute long, so be sure to adjust your DVRs!  In addition, CBS has put together a countdown video of their favorite top 10 scenes of the show to celebrate tonight's 100th episode of The Big Bang Theory.  You can also watch that below.

Use the arrows above to browse through photos for the episode and don't miss a new episode of The Big Bang Theory tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

The Big Bang Theory 100th Episode Sneak Peeks

In its first episode back after the winter hiatus, The Big Bang Theory dove right into focusing on the current two lead couples of the show. Sheldon and Amy went on their first date night and things didn’t go very well as Sheldon had to learn about the give and take involved in being a real boyfriend. While Howard and Bernadette came to realize that one of them has a major problem with something considered to be a standard step in building a life together: having children.

The shiny trinket maneuver

Following a bit of a disastrous date night, Sheldon enlisted the help of Penny and Leonard to try to figure out a way to make it up to Amy. He apparently hadn’t learned the well-understood rule that one is supposed to at least try to take an interest in their significant other’s own interests. So after a night of aimless wandering and digital alcohol guzzling during a game of Red Dead Redemption, Leonard suggested that Sheldon get Amy some sort of meaningless gift in order to avoid the real emotions at the center of the problem. No truer words have ever been spoken about that particular practice and, sure enough, it works with Amy. Loved the delivery from Mayim Bialik when she started tearing into Sheldon for being a shallow jerk until she could reveal that her gift was a shiny tiara—of course as most girls dreamed at one point of being a princess she completely freaked out and instantly forgave Sheldon.

It was nice to see Sheldon and Amy making a real go of it as well as run into the types of problems that couples without signed and notarized relationship agreements do. Their first major fight while in a relationship even led to some moments between the two that were very emotionally pure. When Amy received the tiara she not only flipped out but she also ran right to Sheldon and gave him a kiss and one death grip of a hug. That might not seem like much to most people but for these two it was like achieving the silver medal in the intimacy Olympics.

Bernadette vs. maternal instinct

As for the engaged couple of the series, Howard and Bernadette come to find that having kids may not be something that winds up happening, much to Howard’s chagrin. Howard volunteered to do a magic set at his cousin’s birthday and during the act it became very clear that when Bernadette said she didn’t really like kids, well she meant it. It turns out that she basically had to raise her own younger siblings and it was through that experience that she decided that having her own kids was so not for her. Of course, Howard is disappointed by this revelation and at one point even considered calling off the engagement entirely. Ultimately they come to a compromise of sorts as Bernadette declares she be the breadwinner and Howard be the stay-at-home dad if they wind up having children. Certainly made him change his mind about it a little if he ended up being the one having to change diapers and endure fussy screaming.

When so many female characters on television are unquestionably baby-crazy right away it was nice to see that The Big Bang Theory had a character who wasn’t and with good reason. Of course there were a few efforts made to sort of nudge Bernadette into feeling guilty on her position so she would change her mind, but the solution to the storyline was perfect. It was easy for Howard and the guys to sit around and wonder why she wouldn’t want children when guys don’t make as many sacrifices for a baby as women naturally do. Ultimately Bernadette would find a way to win the argument without really having to keep saying no—turning things around on Howard was the best plan she could have come up with to get him to drop the issue for now. Howard’s mother however, that will likely be a different story as she definitely wants little Wolowitz grand-kids running around at some point.

Fav. Quotes

• "Oh I see why you’re confused. No, her news sounded important but her achievement was in the field of Biology. That’s all about yucky squishy things."—Sheldon to Penny about his lack of support toward Amy's big news.
• "You skip over any attempt to repair your emotional connection and you win back her affection with an empty financial gesture." – Leonard explaining the nature of gift-giving in relationships to Sheldon.
• "That’s it! No cake for you, anyone else wanna join the no cake club?!"—Bernadette at a magic trick-ruining kid at the birthday party.
• "Don’t you think it’ll be different when the child is ours?"  "Right, when it’s our kid that’s ruined my body, and kept me up all night and I’ll have no career and no future or anything to be happy about for the next twenty years? Sure, that’ll be completely different!"  "Well, yeah…"-- Bernadette and Howard’s discussion about having kids.
• "Hey, just because a man shows caring for another man doesn’t mean he’s displaying the love that dare not speak its name!"—Raj defending his support for Howard.
• "Yeah, you can watch Barney, and pull Cheerios out of their noses, and go on play-dates.  And I’ll work and have conversations with people my own age and enjoy my life!"—Bernadette’s perfect solution to their problem, Howard can be the stay at home parent.

The Big Bang Theory 5.12 Recap 'Relationship Issues for All'

Bullying is a pretty common topic from most people’s lives, especially when they were back in school. This week, Leonard faces up to a bully from his past while Penny faces up to her past as a bully. Can Leonard face up to one of his former tormentors or will he buckle under intimidation?

Last night’s episode started with Leonard receiving a Facebook message from one of his apparently many former bullies, Jimmy Speckerman. He’s asked Leonard out to meet up for a drink since he’s in the neighborhood. Sheldon, of course, tries to get him to keep ignoring the guy but Leonard decides it might be a way to finally put to rest those bad memories of being picked on and tormented so he agrees. He’s joined up by Sheldon, Raj, and Howard as they meet Jimmy Speckerman who apparently tracked Leonard down because he has this big money-making plan: glasses that make every movie you watch into 3D. There’s no intention on his behalf of apologizing to Leonard and he actually thinks there’s nothing to apologize for. At least not until later on when he gets drunk and realizes what a colossal jerk he’s been to Leonard throughout his life and does finally say that he’s sorry for the rather long list of things he’s done.

It’s no shocker to anyone that the boys of The Big Bang Theory dealt with bullying first-hand when they were younger. What’s entertaining is that Penny realizes only now that back in school she herself was a total bully. Amy and Bernadette try to support her sudden onslaught of guilt as Penny attempts to reach out to her former victims and apologize—much to no one’s surprise her apologies are rejected all around. So she decides to do something charitable and, in this case, that means donating clothing to the needy. Unfortunately for them, the clothes in the donation box happen to be cute and in Penny’s size so instead of donating her own stuff, Penny winds up stealing from the donation box instead.

Back at the apartment, Jimmy’s sleeping off his hangover on the boys’ couch while Leonard and Sheldon eat breakfast. Of course when Jimmy wakes up he has absolutely no memory of saying sorry and promptly goes back to his old ways. You do not steal Leonard’s French toast and it finally inspires him to say enough is enough when he stands up to Jimmy—a man who’s easily a foot taller than Leonard and much larger. Needless to say one of the funniest moments of the episode was Leonard and Sheldon running down the many flights of stairs in their building while still in their pajamas. At least Leonard can say he finally stood up to a bully, even if it didn’t exactly work out.

Meanwhile, Penny takes the girls with her back to the donation box the next night for ‘a new load’. She, unlike Leonard’s bully, is finally able to see that it’s wrong to steal the clothes and puts back what she was about to take. Penny and Amy leave the donation box, but not before Bernadette walks back to claim some suede boots in her size of course.  Both Leonard and Amy learned that dealing with your past isn’t always an easy thing. It was believable that Penny was a bully to other girls in high school ,and in classic Penny fashion, she didn’t so much deal with her problems as she just shrugged and moved on from them by episode’s end. As for Leonard, I have to agree with Sheldon that he would have avoided so much grief had he just ignored the Facebook message in the first place.

Favorite Quotes
“I believe you're capable of great change, like when I finally got you to stop saying 'Valentime's Day.”—Sheldon to Penny.

"I'm going to go see him and say all the things I should have said in high school: pick on somebody your own size, oh you did not have sex with my mother, and yes I DO know why I'm hitting myself!”—Leonard wanting to stand up to Jimmy.

“The Newcomb medal? Please, that's the scientific equivalent of a smiley face sticker on your homework."—Sheldon mocking Leonard’s accomplishments.

“I was just following Penny into a life of crime and looking forward to the day we might be cellmates.”—Amy as they prepare to scavenge in the donation box again.

'It's okay I serve soup to poor people!'—Bernadette’s reasoning for why it’s okay for her to go back for the boots.

The Big Bang Theory 5.11 Recap 'Bully of the Past'

Tonight’s episode of The Big Bang Theory centered on dealing with kinds of remorse, now hang on a minute, no one breaks up or dies or anything. But the geek’s variety of buyer’s remorse is a very real thing. It afflicts countless collectors the World over whenever an expansion pack or worse yet, a special collector’s edition of an item one already owns is available on the market, and with better added features. If you continue to resist, you may well eventually come to regret it. Leonard, Raj, and Howard deal with trying to keep from getting ensnared in the countless special editions of a card game that have been directly marketed toward them, (who would win in a one on one fight between Billy the Kid and the White Wizard anyway?) While Sheldon attempts to avoid a more personal brand of remorse that of preventing the loss of a relationship, as he finally decides to cement what he has with Amy Farrah Fowler.

Amy tags along with Sheldon for new comic book night and while she’s less than impressed with Sheldon’s chosen vice she does manage to walk out having attained the interests of comic shop purveyor, Stuart. The two decide to go out on a coffee date after Amy  gets some advice from Penny and Bernadette about whether or not she  should, considering how she’s technically somewhat with Sheldon. Meanwhile, when Sheldon isn’t dissing Leonard’s ‘stalled’ career, he’s forced to come to terms with whether or not he’s truly okay with the idea of Amy dating another guy. Sheldon goes through all of the modern-day stages of denial when someone else is dating your ‘ex’. He attempts to distract himself with pursuit of his hobbies (the card game with the boys), monitor the new beau’s Facebook page for pertinent relationship status updates, and he even goes so far as to attempt to ask Penny out on a date to potentially make Amy jealous.

When all is said and done however, Sheldon winds up taking Penny’s advice as he straps on a pair and finally asks the question fans have anticipated since he and Amy became ever more serious together: will you be my girlfriend? Of course, with Sheldon saying yes to the question comes with a freshly printed copy of the Relationship Agreement and that previously untouched physical boundaries will remain as such. Hey, at least now they’re official…officially still the same unconventional couple it’s a delight to see navigate the travails of their relationship every week. It’s standard Sheldon Cooper to make a huge leap on paper while still never really having taken a step forward. It’s basically like if Sheldon and Amy were the card game from the episode and their newest expansion pack included bonus exclusivity and relationship confirmation. As for that card game, I don’t blame Leonard at all for breaking down and getting the collector’s tin—that Sherriff’s badge/wand is sweet.

Memorable Quotes

- A. Comic books employ storytelling through sequential art, a medium that dates back 7,000 years to the cave paintings of Lascaux. And B. you play the harp, like that's cool. --Sheldon's comeback to Amy's less than enthused response to new comic book night.

- I've passed many an exciting evening playing this game. and I'm sure it's a lot more exciting when you play with other people.--- Amy extolling the virtues of Twister.

- Amy, little vixen! Working it under all those layers of wool and polyester!--- Penny after Amy gets asked out by Stuart.

- Hang on a second, are you telling me that Sheldon's patented combination of condescension and no sex isn't enough to hold onto a woman?--- Howard reacting in faux shock at Sheldon's less than conventionally affectionate manner toward his girl-slash-friend leading to the possibility of him losing her to Stuart or another guy.

Big Bang Theory Recap 'Presenting, the relationship agreement'