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'

A new episode of The Big Bang Theory will be airing tonight on CBS.  In the episode, titled “The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition”, Amy will be going on a date with Stuart from the comic book store.

But when Sheldon finds out about Amy's date, he'll be incredibly jealous about her seeing another man.  This leads him to debate whether he should take his relationship with Amy "to the next level".

We've got a sneak peek for you below from tonight's Big Bang Theory.  Leonard wants to ask Sheldon a serious question, but Sheldon just assumes Leonard is going to complain about his career. Instead, Leonard warns Sheldon that Stuart is interested in dating Amy and wanted to make sure it was alright with Sheldon.  In the end, Sheldon just dismisses Stuart as a threat, because he doesn't think he's in Amy's league.  I guess Sheldon will be signing a different tune soon enough.

You can also use the arrows above to browse through photos for tonight's Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek: Sheldon Gets Jealous in Tonight's Episode

It's sort of surprising that Penny and Leonard haven't done anything together under that all too confusing label of 'just friends' since they broke up. But in tonight's episode, the pair give the idea of just hanging out with 'sex completely off the table' a go. Meanwhile back at home, Sheldon learns to get over a life-long fear with the help of Amy and Bernadette.

Leonard and Penny meet up in the beginning of the episode and make plans to go to the movies together as friends only. When they get there, things begin typically enough with Penny forcing her choice of movie on Leonard (something with Jennifer Aniston of course). But Leonard suddenly comes to the powerful realization of how different things can be when you and your former significant other go out after the relationship has ended. This cocky take-charge Leonard uses his newly found powers for what some would say is evil, as he tells Penny that they will be skipping the latest insipid rom-com in favor of a documentary. About a dam. He also makes Penny pay for her own ticket as hey, let's be honest, when it's not a date that is exactly how things should be—pretty girl or not.

Following the movie, Penny and Leonard go out for a bite to eat when Penny decides to gain some revenge on Leonard for the choice of movie. She starts flirting with a handsome 'ironic geek' type with agreeable bone structure. Once he realizes what she's doing, Leonard finds his own cute girl to do some less than successful retaliation flirting with. It's pretty apparent that with this story-line, the show is starting to inch the audience back toward the idea of Penny and Leonard being together. It was healthy for them both to come clean about the little white lies they told during their relationship; perhaps in an attempt to try again at it in the future. I may not be one of the Leonard/Penny shippers out there, but I can get behind any story that brings Penny back into the forefront of the show. She's been on the sidelines an awful lot lately.

Back to Sheldon and what he deals with when Leonard's out for the evening. Before Leonard left, Sheldon was getting frantic at a rather large bird that has nested outside of their window. If memory serves, they've mentioned Sheldon's distaste and downright fear toward birds before, and of course this situation proved no exception as he struggled to shoo the bird away from his window. After running through the gamut of ideas including making cat sounds, calling animal control, and finally devising a high-pitched bird-deflecting noise emitter (which only succeeded in shattering all of the glass in their windows), Sheldon calls on Amy and Bernadette to assist him in avian removal. Part of me wonders if Howard and Raj got to watch any of Stars Wars on Blu-ray while Sheldon was dealing with his ornithological problem. The girls, (also in Sheldon's mind the best-suited to deal with a bird problem as they're the biologists of his core of friends) assist Sheldon once he makes the mistake of opening the window and allowing the bird to fly into the apartment.

By being able to overcome his fear of birds, Sheldon makes another of his many small steps toward being able to socialize properly. Of course, it was Amy Farrah Fowler who said what some of us might have been thinking, in that how come Sheldon can get used to being affectionate toward a small animal, but he freaks out (as we saw last week) whenever he has to comfort another human being? Even though the Leonard and Penny situation was clearly the big focus of the episode, Jim Parsons again stole the show with his performance as Sheldon anxiously tried to get the bird to go. I can't be the only person who wants to see the return of the egg that was left behind when the bird left in a future episode right? Seeing Sheldon care for it is a premise that sounds a bit cliché on paper, but this show is spoiled with a beyond-capable cast that are able to really sell the sometimes overly 'sit-com-y' scenarios they get to perform.

Memorable Quotes

- 'I'd like to report a dangerous animal. A Blue Jay. This is animal control, I don't understand why all the laughter."--Sheldon upon attempting to call on Animal Control to deal with the bird.

- "No, you always picked and it was always the same. An hour and a half of beach-houses in the rain until the woman turns around and realizes, 'love was here all along!'--Leonard describing his movie-going experiences with Penny picking the films they see.

-"To this day I can't see a Sandra Bullock movie poster without getting both bored and aroused."--Leonard to Penny again about her taste in movies.

-"I'm pushing play. I mean it! If we don't start soon, George Lucas is going to change it again."--Howard about the Star Wars Blu-ray waiting to be played as Sheldon deals with his bird issue.

-"Hummingbirds are pretty." " Hummingbirds are the vampires of the flower world."-- Raj and Sheldon talking about the differences in the ways they see Hummingbirds as Sheldon goes through his long history with birds having it in for him in some way.

-"Guess you gotta have hollow bones to get some sugar around here."--Amy regarding Sheldon's nearly instant bond with the bird while she remains in the limited-affection zone.

-"Get back here you stupid bird so I can love you!"-- Sheldon once the bird flew Casa de Cooper.

The Big Bang Theory 5.09 Recap 'The power of the non-date'

A new episode of The Big Bang Theory will be airing tonight on CBS.  The episode, entitled “The Ornithophobia Diffusion”, features Sheldon trying to get over his fear of birds.  Wolowitz, Amy and Bernadette all try to help Sheldon with his fear and his battle with a bird on his balcony.

Meanwhile, Leonard and Penny try to figure out whether "friends with benefits" can still be friends without the benefits.  The two of them decide to hang out alone, but Leonard doesn't want Penny to think they're going out on a date, so naturally things are a bit awkard.

Below is a sneak peek for tonight's new episode of The Big Bang Theory, featuring Sheldon trying to scare aware a bird, while Leonard debates what to wear on his non-date with Penny.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek & Photos: Sheldon's Scared of Birds in Episode 5.09

After a noticeable lack of Amy Farrah Fowler in last week’s Halloween prank-fest, she’s back in all of her socially awkward glory this week as preparations for Bernadette’s wedding get underway. Sure enough, this episode focused entirely on Amy as she struggled with being left out of a pivotal part of the wedding festivities—shopping for a bridesmaid dress. In the midst of the drama, Sheldon has his personal boundaries nudged just a little further in his attempts to comfort Amy.

As an unabashed fan-girl of all things A.F.F. this episode was fantastic. I was glad to see that the show addressed some of her insecurity issues, which having a friend like Penny it was bound to come up sooner or later. The always-had-friends type of girl can never quite fully be on the level of understanding of what it was like for someone like Amy while they were growing up. It was sweet that Bernadette offered to make amends for upsetting Amy by letting her be the maid of honor in hers and Howard’s wedding, even though we’ve already gotten hints as to how being picked to have such a title is going to affect Amy. Boy and they thought she was an over-excitable bridesmaid, clearly Penny and Bernadette have quite the adventure ahead of them before the big day if the glimpse of the trio’s shared dress-shopping endeavor was anything to go by.

Another highlight would be the focus on expanding the boundaries just a little bit more in Sheldon and Amy’s relationship. I’m sure it’s probably frustrating for some viewers that the show hasn’t seen it fit to push Sheldon into more of a ‘normal’ relationship with Amy. Especially given how much Amy’s own personal boundaries have grown throughout her tenure on the show. But to have Sheldon refuse to do more than bend his own limitations for physical and emotional contact slightly is a pretty gutsy move in this era of ‘when are they going to just be with each other already’ you see on so many other shows across genres. Mayim has excellent control of her performance, especially during the scene where Amy plays a rendition of ‘Everybody Hurts’ by R.E.M. that could have been a bit overwrought in its presentation. We also got some drunk!Amy which is always a real crowd-pleaser as all of her filters crash down immediately once she gets a bit tipsy.

It would also seem that now that Leonard is single once more, he’s been relegated back to an unfortunate side-kick status, at least for this episode. It’s funny that in a show where the premise used to circle around four geeky guys and one hot girl across the hall getting into misadventures, we’re now at the point in the series that if a character isn’t romantically linked with somebody then they don’t really get much of a story of their own. Except for Sheldon of course, his arsenal of one-liners and quirky behavior have always happily put him beyond the realm of needing an attachment in order to have a plot-line. I just wish with Leonard it could be the same way as Johnny Galecki is an unsung hero of this show’s cast and I don’t see why he can’t provide more than a snide quip to someone else’s joke when some of the other characters get their own full-fledged stories. I hope they find something substantial for him to do in future episodes despite Leonard being suddenly single. The same could easily be said about Penny as well, unless you count the one-sided girl crush Amy seems to have on her. Those two are easily the new Howard and Raj of that writer’s room.

Fav. Quotes

"...So it seems that the odorless cloud of deadly gas had a silver lining after all."--Amy telling the story of how she has access to free unused bridesmaid's dresses. It involves carbon monoxide poisoning.

"Stand back while I turn this conversation into a conver-sensation."--Sheldon busting out prepared conversation topic notes in an attempt to liven up the state of their social discourse.

"I would have been a great jockey if I weren't too tall. And scared of horses."--Leonard's greatest moment in the episode. He hilariously plays a horse-racing game on the Kinect.

"The two of you, need to get your women in line!"--An exasperated Sheldon after being 'strong-armed into a night of harp music and spooning' with a saddened Amy Farrah Fowler. He demands that Leonard and Howard make Penny and Bernadette apologize to Amy. Mostly so he can get back to his plans of building his LEGO Death Star model.

"She keeps on telling us stories about bridesmaid’s traditions in other cultures. And they’re all about getting naked and washing each other."--Bernadette explaining to the boys how Amy is slightly overzealous with her need to partake in bridesmaid activities.

"And where’s Amy? She’s right here, the sad little tumor that nobody wants to go dress shopping with."-- Amy comparing herself, Penny, and Bernadette to the brain matter she was working with in the lab. Only this show could make that analogy work the way it does.

The Big Bang Theory 5.08 Review

A new episode of The Big Bang Theory will be airing on CBS tonight.  If you missed last week's Halloween-themed episode, read Keysh's recap here.

In tonight's episode, Bernadette and Penny decide to have a girls day to go shopping for a wedding dress.  Unfortunately, the girls don't invite Amy (Mayim Bialik) to accompany them and she's absolutely heartbroken when she's excluded.  Sheldon, of course, isn't that good at comforting women, but Leonard tricks him into helping Amy with her sadness.  Right after he listens to her sing a heartbreaking rendition of REM's "Everybody Hurts" with a harp accompaniment.

Watch a sneak peek  for tonight's Big Bang Theory below.  To browse through photos for the episode, click the arrows above.

The Big Bang Theory Photos & Sneak Peek: The Girls Go Wedding Dress Shopping Tonight

It's all about trick or treat on the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory as Sheldon declares a prank war after falling victim to shenanigans at the university late one night. Outside of the trick part of the episode, Leonard discovers a real treat: a hot girl who's into comics and him as well. Will he cheat on long-distance girlfriend Priya?

Everything starts off with Sheldon working late in his office when your standard set of creepy circumstances occurs: lights going out, eerie voices echoing from down the hall, and blood-scrawled messages with improper grammar on the walls. Ever the logical scientist, Sheldon mocks most of these happenings until Howard and Raj come forward as the would-be pranksters. Admitting defeat they all head back to Sheldon's office where, unbeknownst to Sheldon, a masked Leonard is still lurking in the shadows. Level-headed logic cannot compete with a well-planned scare tactic.

The next day, Sheldon and the other boys wind up at their favorite local (and just so very DC-saturated) comic book store to browse the back issues when that rarest of creatures, the hot pierced-up 'alternative' chick, strolls into the shop and sends Stuart into a memorable fit of nervousness. Undeterred from that attack of awkward social graces, Alice (Courtney Ford, formerly of Dexter and, recently, True Blood) goes up to Leonard. The two flirt over a shared want of a particular issue, (of a Dark Horse property which somewhat stunned me as I figured they'd both want a DC book such as Green Lantern or Batman). She gives him her digits and leaves the shop as a stunned Stuart declares Leonard worthy of the Wall of Heroes for talking to a girl successfully within the store's walls.

Throughout the rest of the episode, we see Sheldon attempting to get back at Howard, Raj, and of course Leonard as well by using a variety of techniques ranging from snake in the desk to electric hand buzzer. Nothing works until the end of the episode and it led to the new best Bazinga moment ever. Sheldon+ zombie paint+sneak couch attack = perfect retribution.

Regarding Alice, Leonard does go hang out with her and it becomes a little something more. After he feels immediately guilty and goes to Penny for advice. Poor Penny with her wine and gigantic bowl of macaroni and cheese being asked for relationship help by her ex-boyfriend. I swear they're making her sadder by the episode these days. Leonard is seeking validation for wanting both Alice and his girlfriend, Priya but of course we all know that he's too good of a guy to go on like that. So he breaks it off with Alice and decides to come clean right away with Priya. Unfortunately, Priya won the contest as sleeping with bests small make-out session every time. I can't be the only person who was glad that the Priya thing seems to finally be over. I'm excited to see more of Alice with Leonard considering that she really seems to be, on paper anyway, quite a good match. As a final note, we didn't get to see any Amy in this episode and for a Halloween episode that's such a disappointment. She could have helped Sheldon with his prank war, or at least give Penny someone to share her mac 'n cheese with.

Fav Quotes

• The most frightening thing about that, is the missing comma!--Sheldon responding to the bloody message on the university's walls.
• Watch out Sheldon, this little boy Casper is a g-g-ghooooost!--Leonard mocking Sheldon at the comic book store following the scare prank.
• It's a rough month when Halloween and PMS hit at the same time.--Penny about her inability to keep candy stocked in her apartment.
• You might be from Texas, but I'm from New Jersey.--Leonard besting Sheldon at his attempt to get him back by rigging their mail box.
• No, but Jessica Alba did rub my furry belly.--Leonard explaining a particular Comic-Con experience to Alice. He was dressed as Lion-O from Thundercats. Why did we not get to see more than a drawing of such an epic thing?
• I tried to scare an Indian with a snake. Come on, Cooper! You're better than this.--Sheldon following his failed attempt at scaring Raj while they were working in the office.

The Big Bang Theory 5.07 Recap 'A bit of pre-Halloween hi-jinkery'

The Big Bang Theory is celebrating Halloween tonight with a few old-fashioned spooky tricks.

Sheldon tries to scare his friends for Halloween as payback for their own pranks against him.  But it looks like the joke's on him, because he's far more easily scared than they are.

Meanwhile, when a cute comic book artist appears, Leonard and Priya's relationship is tested.

Check out a sneak peek for tonight's all new episode of The Big Bang Theory below, featuring Sheldon encountering some bleeding walls, a glowing skeleton and an alien.  You can also view photos for the episode by clicking the arrows above.  Note that this episode is scheduled to run an extra minute long, so make sure to adjust your DVRs!

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peek & Photos: Halloween Episode Tonight!

Sheldon Cooper will never grow up. It's always been part of the humor of his character that someone so very intelligent could be so immature. This season on The Big Bang Theory there seems to be a recurring theme of not only addressing his unchanging ways, but also to perhaps attempt to start changing aspects of his immaturity and dependence on the ways he's refused to see beyond. What better way to do that than by having a visit from mama Cooper?

We've met Mary Cooper a couple of times before, but never has she been in the majority of the episode like she was last night. She's visiting California while on vacation before she heads out on her Christian cruise, yes you read that right. While there, she wants to spend time with not only her darling 'Shelly', but also his friends. Her visit was a perfect time to point out and address the various issues our favorite characters have been dealing with lately without having them whine about their problems all on their own. It's a neat little guest star trick shows like to use from time to time, and Mary Cooper was at her best while she moved around Sheldon's social circle—solving problems with her unique perspective on the World. Loved Leonard trying to stay on top of correcting Mrs. Cooper whenever a racial epithet would casually tumble out despite her best efforts at trying to say what's 'better' now. She's definitely a product of her upbringing and generational beliefs so when she says something a bit off-color, well she is trying at least to change that. Though they really did milk having her character say such things as a way to get to be more 'outrageous' than normal.

Back to Sheldon, I loved that his mother didn't spend the entire trip just waiting on Shelly's every beck and call for fried chicken and pecan pie. She's clearly trying to grow as an individual and would like to visit Sheldon sometime and see that he's done the same; even if it's only in some small way like not having to have his way all the time. While voicing her concerns about her son throughout the episode, Mary acts as an advocate of the audience themselves. Fans of the show do legitimately wonder what the deal is with Sheldon and Amy, for an example. As well as when Raj will finally be able to talk around women. Laurie Metcalf is right up there with fellow maternal member of the TBBT recurring family, Christine Baranski who always so memorably portrays Leonard's less than nurturing mother. There were a couple of times this episode where I was sure that the cast themselves were about to crack around Metcalfe's sharp-tongued comedic delivery punctuated with a sassy twang. Not to mention, seeing her sing the infamous 'Soft Kitty' to recently ill Sheldon was a nice moment between mother and son who, no matter how many cultural differences they have, will still have their close bond together as family. Even if making Nobel laureates want to cry isn't something they both take great joy out of doing.

Memorable Quotes

• You write your sins on a clay pigeon, they fire it up into the air and you pulverize it with a 12 gauge shotgun full of our Lord’s forgiveness.--Mary Cooper explaining cruise activity, Gunning with God.
• My mother’s fried chicken is the reason we had to buy my dad the extra-large coffin.--Sheldon explaining just how necessary it is for his mother to fry chicken while she's visiting.
• It’s kind of like the Loch Ness monster, maybe there’s something there, maybe there isn’t. We’ll probably never know. But sometimes it’s fun to creep yourself out thinking about it.--Leonard describing the will they/won't they/are they mystique surrounding Sheldon and Amy.
• Sheldon when is your landlord going to fix that elevator?--Sheldon's mom asking the question I think we've all been wondering for years.
• That top has paid for itself in free drinks ten times what it cost.--Penny talking about a somewhat skimpy top in her laundry load.
• And the best part, at the Q and A after, I’ve worked up a couple of Q’s that’ll stomp his sorry A.--Sheldon's excitement in besting the person holding the lecture.
• None of our Gods have abs like that.--Raj bemoaning the state of Hindu gods when compared to Jesus.

The Big Bang Theory 5.06 Recap 'Mama Cooper hits L.A.'

There aren't a lot of recurring bits on The Big Bang Theory, but one of the best is the ongoing rivalry between Sheldon and his 'mortal enemy', Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame. It's made for some of the most hilarious moments in the show's history, and this week it seems the end of an era is upon us as Will decides to end the contentious state of their relationship so they can finally bury the hatchet. Luckily, there are plenty of other former Star Trek: TNG actors for Sheldon to despise.

Perhaps this is just personal bias coming out, but there's always something special about the scenes that take place in Stuart's comic book store. It's probably a combination of all the replicas on the shelves, artwork on the walls, and the nature of their dialog but it's just always seemed like the place where we're truly seeing the boys in their perfect element. This week, such a scene centers around Sheldon and Leonard debating the purchase of a Game of Thrones replica sword. After we learn Sheldon has absolutely no concept of the value in a good haggling session, the one and only Wil Wheaton enters the store and invites not only Stuart and Leonard, but Sheldon as well to a party he's throwing. And so it begins, as Sheldon views Leonard's acceptance of said invite as a definite betrayal to their friendship.

Later on however, once Sheldon is lured to the party, with the promise of Brent Spiner being in attendance, it's a landmark moment for Sheldon V. Wheaton as Wil makes a move to end the rivalry. I knew as soon as he went to go get something that it had to be a Wesley Crusher action figure since that was the only way this back and forth could ever end--Sheldon ultimately getting his way.

While I'm going to miss the passion and humor of their interactions as enemies, I also really look forward to the potential of Wil and Sheldon: Best Friends Forever. Not to mention, what this new rivalry with Brent Spiner could shape up to be like. There are levels of offense, and I'm pretty sure ruining a mint-in-the-package collector's figure trumps not showing up to a convention for Sheldon.

Elsewhere, there was more growing up for Howard to do as he found a childhood dream of going into space clashing with the fact that he has to consider another person's opinions toward his decisions now that he's getting married soon.This was a nice little aside from the Wheaton story, and it showed that Bernadette and Howard truly could be fit to go for the long haul. Melissa Rauch's impeccable timing and delivery continued to please and now that Howard's mother is aware of this little space expedition, I doubt that he's going to be going anywhere near the upper levels of the atmosphere. He'll be lucky if he can leave his room--she'd probably try to ground him even at his age.

Fav. Quotes.

• Two grown-men with a hobbit’s dagger, wouldn’t we look silly?--Sheldon to Leonard after he mentions buying a replica of Frodo's sword, Sting.
• It’s hard to put a price on something that’s a copy of something that was on pay cable.--Stuart referring to the GoT replica sword the boys were interested in purchasing.
• Oh, Boo-Hoo! You're not going to space!--Bernadette telling Howard off after he tried to get her to feel sorry for him.
• Of course you would have to believe that, evil always thinks it’s doing right.--Sheldon to Leonard about his attitude toward going to Wil Wheaton's party.
• I'm going to a party, I’m not turning R2-D2 and C-3PO over to the empire!--Leonard defending his decision.
• It's not for us to judge, we’re just here to provide comfort and support while you come to grips with what a despicable thing you’ve done.--Amy voicing her and Penny's role in being there for a guilt-ridden Bernadette.
• Howard: want to take a one man sub to the lowest depths of the ocean.  Bernadette: Really? You got seasick on Pirates of the Caribbean.
• Don't worry,it doesn't take up a whole lot of your time.--Wil Wheaton to Brent Spiner after Sheldon declared the former Mr. Data his new mortal enemy.
• 2 for $30. And you come to my birthday party.--Leonard haggling with Brent Spiner for some Data dolls. As well as getting him to agree to attend his birthday party.

The Big Bang Theory 5.05 Recap 'The Next Chapter in the Sheldon v. Wheaton Saga'

Sheldon's old nemesis, Wil Wheton, returns as a guest star in the October 13 episode of The Big Bang Theory.  Sheldon and Leonard get invited to a party at Wil Wheton's house and Sheldon tells Leonard he has to make a choice: the Wil Wheton party or their friendship. Meanwhile, we learn that Sheldon doesn't understand the concept of bargaining when he and Leonard try to buy a replica sword at a comic book store.

Howard also gets an "out-of-this-world" opportunity, but Bernadette isn't very happy about it.  Other guest stars for the episode include Brent Spiner as himself.

To view photos for the October 13 episode of The Big Bang Theory, click the arrows above.  Below is a trailer for the episode.  The second video contains three sneak peeks.

The Big Bang Theory Sneak Peeks & Photos: Will Wheton Returns in Episode 5.05

This week's episode was all about Raj. Almost the entire half hour focused on Raj's loneliness getting him down as he realized that everyone else around him had a girlfriend, or at least, a sort of kind of version in the case of Sheldon and Amy. It was starting to have an effect on his passion for D and D as well as his waistline as he wallowed in the midst of a Koothrappali pity party. Penny decided to step in and help as she fixed Raj up with a girl named Emily from her spin class.

Before anyone can stop and wonder how Raj can even date a girl when he can barely speak to them outside of a state of inebriation, well don't worry, because the show has that covered. You see, Emily is deaf. So...it's not like she can hear him anyway, but they manage to get some pretty good comedic potential out of this concept. Raj doesn't know sign language, but Howard does so their first date includes Howard signing what Raj is saying. I love that the show found a situation where the normally openly inappropriate Howard had to actually be Raj's filter before he messed up his opportunity with Emily. Let's just say that cool and aloof doesn't really translate in signing.

It turns out though that money is the only thing that can cross language and sense barriers as Raj showers Emily with expensive gifts over the course of a month. I loved Penny's reaction to the accusation that Emily could be a gold-digger, no matter her physical impairment. Poor sweet naïve Penny. Even better, was when she confronted her about it via Howard at their shared gym as Emily cursed her out too fast for Howard's hands to keep up. Of course when Raj's parents threatened to cut him off for not dating an Indian girl, Emily changed her mind about dating Raj and he wound up in the comfort of Penny's arms by episode's end.

Unfortunately, this episode just showed how much Raj has yet to learn about dating and relationships. He acted basically like a total ass until he learned that it was easier to express himself by buying Emily things and I know that Raj can do better than that. It's interesting that he keeps winding up in Penny's arms one way or another, they have this sweet little chemistry together. While I don't think they should date, I do like the growing friendship between them this new season. Besides, what's more believable? All of the core four guys having steady girlfriends or having at least one odd man out, as it were, who doesn't. It needn't be a bad thing that Raj is single, if anything he'll always have dinner company as his friends now also know he's well-off and can always foot the bill, willingly or not.

Sheldon shenanigans of the week: I've decided to start putting these in their own separate section since Sheldon hasn't had as much in the way of pure plot lately as he has the decision to do various quirky activities. This week, Sheldon came to the decision that he was going to stop making most of his own decisions. Instead, he would roll his D and D dice in order to determine 'unimportant' decisions such as menu selections at The Cheesecake Factory or how much of his face he should shave. In typical Sheldon logic, he reasoned that doing things this way was opening his time up to put thought toward only important problems and ideas. Among other results, Sheldon found himself with a shabbily grown mustache and one dinner consisting of corn succotash, a pitcher of margaritas to wash it down with and in one lucky roll, a hot fudge sundae for dessert.

Fav Quotes:

• "When you play chutes and ladders, do you complain about all the chutes, all the ladders?"--Sheldon to Howard for complaining about a dragon being in a dungeon during Dungeons and Dragons.

• "Now that Howard's getting married, maybe he'll inflate one of his old girlfriends for you?"--Leonard's response to Raj's loneliness.

• "We went cake-tasting yesterday. Raj came along. He cried and ate half the samples". --Bernadette to Amy and Penny regarding Raj being their third wheel.

• "The dice giveth and the dice taketh away."—Sheldon's feelings toward a unfortuante roll of his D and D dice.

• "No one can put a price on love. Although the people at Cartier took a pretty good shot at it."--Raj 'to Emily after giving her a genuine ruby necklace.

• Penny, you're great but... I had a long talk with my parents and they said if I date an Indian girl, I get a Maserati". -- Raj 'letting Penny down gently' when he assumed she was trying to hit on him after he and Emily broke up.

The Big Bang Theory 5.04 Recap "Money Talks So Raj Doesn't Have To'

If the characters in relationships on The Big Bang Theory had a collective Facebook status setting it would definitely be: it's complicated. Tonight's episode gave us an idea of how much that's true by focusing on the couplings of Howard, Bernadette (and Howard's mother who's remained a condition of dating Wolowitz) as well as the interesting new development of no-sided Leonard and Amy. I'll explain what that means in a minute, but the great thing about this is it starts to put a 'kind of, sort of' name to what it is exactly that Sheldon and Amy have now.

The episode started off in typical TBBT fashion with the gang hanging out at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment surrounded by the takeout food choice of the week. Following the parting of the ways for the evening we were left with the very atypical pairing of Amy and Leonard. The fact that these two characters haven't spent much time outside of group gatherings was apparent with their awkward chemistry. But the main outcome of this shared time together was Amy asking Leonard to accompany her to a wedding. I could sit here and say I never expected they'd toy with Leonard and Amy except for Leonard is a bit of a man-whore if you will, and Amy definitely has an active libido which she'll remind people of at any time.

When I referred to it as a no-sided coupling earlier, well, it's because it's clear at this point that neither side has feelings for the other but at least Amy believes Leonard to be smitten. But by the end of the episode Sheldon is staking claim on Leonard not staking claim on Amy all while earlier on Amy refers to Sheldon as her 'kind of, sort of' boyfriend at one point. Nice to see the folks at TBBT putting part of a label on this thing she and Sheldon have engaged in over the last two seasons. They're unconventional people socially, it only figures that their accepted idea of dating wouldn't fit something more mainstream. And I get why Sheldon chopped at Leonard, reprimanding him for saying he had a fun time with Amy. Look at what the Penny thing did and still manages to do to their group dynamic, which Sheldon holds onto like a security blanket. It's no shock he wouldn't want that to happen again. Or, he could possibly be starting to put his own label on he and Amy's relationship. After four full seasons, who knows? This could be the next step in Sheldon's social development.

Elsewhere, we got to revisit Howard's ever-present mother issues as Bernadette realizes he has no intention of moving out of his mom's house when they get married. Instead, he expects Bernie to move in with them and become a second-string nurturer for him. It wasn't a shock that Howard couldn't let go of being there for his mom and vice-versa—he's easily the most immature of the four boys and Bernadette is incredibly patient for even staying the whole weekend on her 'trial run'. The highlight of these scenes had to be the normally soft-spoken Melissa Rauch getting to bust out her shouting voice, which is wonderfully similar to that of Mrs. Wolowitz herself, to fantastic comedic effect. It's the little reminders like that which show us that Bernadette is more than capable of handling Howard's childish ways when they do tie the knot, (and hopefully move out anyway because that woman and her son have zero idea about concepts like personal space and boundaries.)

Quote Highlights

• Of course we know it's O-Gauge or no gauge.-- Sheldon about his preferred size of model train.
• Raj take me to the train store and then I don't care what you people do--Sheldon's typical response to anything that detracts from his intended goal.
• Self-respect and a hymen are better than friends, love mom-- How Amy's mother signed her yearbook. She was the only one to do so.
• Frankly after all your little sleep-overs with the brown boy, a girl is a big relief!--Mrs. Wolowitz joking about the very close friendship of Howard and Raj.

The Big Bang Theory: 5.03 Recap

CBS hit us with a back-to-back shot of brand-new The Big Bang Theoryepisodes tonight as things pick up the morning, or I should say, afternoon after. If you’ll recall,  the cliffhanger of last season had Raj and Penny having apparently slept together following a night of one too many glasses of wine. The scene at the lunch table was great as are most of their scenes in that oft-repeated location. It’s usually the place where the dynamic between the four main characters is at its strongest and tonight was no different as Sheldon quickly lost interest in personal matters in favor of concocting strategy for their upcoming inter-department paintball tournament.I’m glad that not only did the show quickly wrap up the did they/didn’t they between Penny and Raj but that they in fact...did not. Well it’s slightly more complicated than that, but I’m sure Sheldon would be pleased to ever find out the answer to the riddle he was pondering in the cafeteria of "It’s not what it looks like.”

It was smart to give Leonard something to get upset about because it shows that, current relationship with Priya or not, he definitely hasn’t stopped carrying his torch for Penny. But it also didn’t go on forever and encourage more tension in the group dynamic than the show could handle having. Having it handled in one episode is something that The Big Bang Theory is good at. This isn’t a show that cares to break the sitcom rules, they just want to have their talented cast tell geeky jokes and poke some fun at the boys, (and the constantly wonderful Amy Farrah Fowler) recurring issues at dealing with social situations and personal relationships.

When they have Penny say she’s going to move back to Nebraska because her acting career is on life-support and things are awkward with her friends, you know that she won’t be on a train by episode’s end.In the second episode, Sheldon comes to face with the worst enemy of someone who has a very set way of doing things aka he sits on a chair Penny found out on the street.

I loved seeing Leonard deal in both episodes with how freaking impossible it is to do things in real-time on Skype or any other program that supports web-cams. Constant freezing, buffering and audio going out of sync with video--not to mention unexpected other people in the room when you’re trying have a romantic private moment were all things Leonard dealt with. Ultimately I doubt that he and Priya will be together much longer. Anyone who remembers how they were last year can see that she wanted to change the Leonard we know and love into someone much more mature, sophisticated, and annoying.

The nice thing about having characters like Amy and Bernadette around more is it just shows that there are definitely girls out there other than Penny who would gladly spend time with the boys--I’m positive there’s a much better much woman out there for Leonard and wouldn’t be surprised if we met her this year. At least it’s giving Galecki more scenes away from the gang, I feel that he’s really one of the unsung heroes of this cast and hopefully his Emmy nomination this year will be one of many to come for this role. To play against Parsons’ Sheldon Cooper the way he does while still remaining endearing and not bogged down in his character’s eye-rolling bouts of sarcasm is a tricky balancing act that he’s gotten quite good at handling.

While Leonard deals with relationship issues, Sheldon is pitted against Penny in a war over a comfortable red chair she just so happened to find out on the street. It was a great twist to have there actually be something inside of the chair cushions instead of it being another case of Sheldon’s quirky tics getting the better of him for no reason. And it provided a reason for Sheldon and Amy to have an all-too brief scene together in her apartment. Parsons and Mayim Bialik have perfect chemistry for playing such similar-on-the-surface characters. Mayim and the writers have definitely made Amy her own unique character, not just the 'girl Sheldon’ she started out as in the beginning. It also gave Jim Parsons some nice scenes of physical humor as the dreaded red ‘garbage chair’ inspired both a bug-infested dream sequence as well as one of the best interruptions of Sheldon’s signature three-Penny knock to date. I’m glad someone (Amy) finally called that ritual out as the obsessive compulsive trait it is after all this time too.

Fav. Quotes and Moments (for both eps)

• Sheldon self-declares his paintball rank of captain much like ‘Kirk, Kangaroo, and Crunch before him.’
• Raj making his own ‘ship name for he and Penny’s hookup: Koothrapenny
• I have genitals, they're functional and aesthetically pleasing--Sheldon
• One of the best things about having Christine Baranski in the CBS family for The Good Wife is she can sporadically show up on The Big Bang Theory as Leonard’s impersonal psychiatrist mother. ‘Buck up sissy-pants’, indeed Mrs. H.
• Absolutely any time Amy busts out her ‘secret language’ Op. I hope that becomes recurring.
• You can’t ruin friendship with sex. That would be like ruining ice cream with chocolate sprinkles--Raj to Penny
• Jamba Juice is for heroes--Sheldon
• Geology isn’t a real science!--Sheldon before being pelted with a barrage of paint-balls in order to inspire his team to continue the fight in the tournament.
• Penny FINALLY getting a legit acting gig, albeit one for a hemorrhoid commercial. Preperation H: for ladies.
• The differing time-zones compromise of calling Priya and Leonard’s shared Skype meal ‘dinfast’.
• I miss the old days when your romantic partners could be returned to the video store--Sheldon to Leonard
• There's a wet band-aid on the shower floor!--Sheldon after freaking out about where the new red chair he’s been sitting in came from and running into Penny’s shower.
• As a man with a keen sense of style, that chair does not work with the room--Sheldon trying to get Penny to throw the chair away.
• I'll google how to do this and call you right back--Leonard failing at ‘dirty talk’ with Priya over the webcam.
• The whole Howard/Raj main scene in the second episode was...certainly um interesting. Basically the only thing they got to do all ep until the end when they take the ‘contaminated chair’ from the curb.

The Big Bang Theory 5.1/5.2 Recaps

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has launched a Facebook social game based on the hit CBS show, The Big Bang Theory.

"The Big Bang Theory: Mystic Warlords of Ka'a" allows fans to play the characters' favorite card game.  Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment said "We worked closely with Warner Bros. Television to create an authentic 'Mystic Warlords of Ka'a' game experience where fans can play for a just a few minutes or dive in deeper for more strategic challenges with friends."

"The Big Bang Theory: Mystic Warlords of Ka'a brings the characters' favorite card game from the hit comedy to life in an all new digital collectible card game on Facebook. Fans can play with characters from the series, as well as challenge their friends in the in-depth and accessible gameplay. The game features two play modes: "Duel Mode," a casual game providing quick and easy matches, and "Battle Mode," where players explore the more strategic elements of the card game, battling it out and challenging their friends. Players can also collect and trade rare cards with one another."

You can find the game at: http://www.facebook.com/mysticwarlords.

The Big Bang Theory returns for its fifth season tonight on CBS with a special one-hour premiere.  You can view photos for the first episode here and the second episode here.

The Big Bang Theory: Warner Bros. Launches Interactive Facebook Game

Fans of The Big Bang Theory will be getting a double-dose of new episodes when the show returns for its fifth season on September 22.  First up is the season premiere, "The Skank Reflex Analysis", which will begin at 8:30 and will air an extra minute long (view photos from the premiere).  Beginning at 8:31 p.m. ET, episode 5.02, "The Infestation Hypothesis", will air.

In episode 5.02 of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and Penny will get into a fight, which will leave Amy caught in the middle, so she'll try to resolve the problem.  Leonard, meanwhile, will be missing his girlfriend Priya.  To keep their long-distance relationship going, Leonard will try to spice things up. Brian George and Alice Amter will be making guest appearances as Dr. and Mrs. Koothrappali, respectively.

To view photos for this episode, click on the arrows above.  The Big Bang Theory returns with an all new season on Thursday, September 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

The Big Bang Theory Photos: Sheldon & Penny Fight in Episode 5.02