The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season – DVD Review

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Geeks took over the dial last TV season. After two seasons as a cult hit, The Big Bang Theory became the top sitcom. The network moved it to 9:30 p.m. on Mondays. It paid off royally. The show about smart guys flourished in the slot behind Two and a Half Men. There had been other shows that became major successes in their third season. The most obvious example is Happy Days when the series allowed the Fonz to become the focus of the episodes. Luckily for Big Bang fans, the producers didn’t have to do anything as drastic as letting a supporting character move into the apartment over the garage. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) was allowed to shine, but not to point of turning the other three geeks into his supporting stooges. Everybody gets a chance to shine on The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season. Although Parsons dazzles the most since he walked away with the Emmy.

“The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation” returns the bearded quartet to humanity after months at the North Pole. Sheldon has a beard like alternate universe Spock. The second season cliffhanger involved how Penny (Kaley Cuoco) really did want to get back with Leonard (Johnny Galecki). Instead of teasing us all season with this promise, the duo heat up quick. Their passion gets paused when a dejected Sheldon runs back to Houston. Turns out the others spiked his readings with the assistance of a can opener in the cabin. Leonard along with Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) must fly down to Texas to retrieve their friend from his holy roller mother. The running narrative of the season is the romance between the brainy Leonard and the waitress/actress Penny. Each tries their best to understand the other outside of the bedroom. “The Cornhusker Vortex” educates Leonard to the world of college football. But who is his teacher? Why it’s the super geek Sheldon. Turns out growing up in Texas does has its advantages. “The Gorilla Experiment” makes Penny the student as Sheldon gives her a cram session about what Leonard does in his physics lab.

The relationship between Penny and Sheldon gets closer as the duo have their bonding moments. “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” has him take her to the hospital after she has a tub accident. There’s such a warmth between them at the end that it seems like she might completely seduce the geek. Not so much out of a forbidden passion, but to see what happens when Sheldon’s libido is activated. “The Pants Alternative” is the Sheldon highlight of the season. This is the episode that won Jim Parsons the Best Actor in a comedy Emmy. Penny does her best to get him dressed for an award ceremony and overcome his fear of crowds. It’s a brainiac Pretty Woman. The end of the season episode “The Lunar Excitation” prevents Penny and Sheldon from an unnatural bonding. No need to spoil the finale.

Howard and Raj involve themselves in “The Gothowitz Deviation” as the duo score with goth chicks. They look so cute when dabbling in the darkness. Sheldon however steals the show when he uses chocolate to make Penny do his bidding. “The Pirate Solution” forces Raj to choose between leaving America or working for Sheldon. “The Eye of the Tiger” montage is tremendous. Howard even gets a girlfriend this season. But can he handle her without cramping his style? “The Large Hadron Collision” has Leonard choose between taking Sheldon or Penny to see the CERN lab on Valentine’s Day. There’s a super geekout in “The Precious Fragmentation” when they fight over ownership of a prop ring from The Lord of the Rings.

The show has become the peak of geekdom so that the stars are now lining up like they once did for Batman. “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary” introduces us to the Sheldon’s greatest nemesis: Wil Wheaton. The former star of Star Trek: The Next Generation faces off with Sheldon in a fantasy card game. It’s legendary. “The Vengeance Formulation” slips Battlestar Galactica‘s Katee Sackhoff into a bubble bath with Howard. “The Psychic Vortex” lets Raj and Sheldon pick up Wonder Years‘ Danica McKellar and a friend. Stan Lee gets stalked by Sheldon in “The Excelsior Acquisition.” Wheaton proves to be evil to all in “The Wheaton Recurrence” when he tears things apart for the geeks in a bowling alley. This is so much more memorable than his work on ST:TNG.

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season might have been the big implosion. It just seemed like a show too smart for its own good. The scripts mixed in as much science as a PBS special. Sheldon evolved into a fusion of Mr. Spock, Felix Unger and Don Knotts on the screen. This series appeared destined for an internet Save Our Show campaign. Yet America embraced the geek fun. No longer is this a cult series yet it didn’t dumb down to keep the Charlie Sheen audience. This is a comedy that deserves its success.

The Episodes
“The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation,” “The Jiminy Conjecture,” “The Gothowitz Deviation,” “The Pirate Solution,” “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary,” “ The Cornhusker Vortex,” “The Guitarist Amplification,” “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency,” “The Vengeance Formulation,” “The Gorilla Experiment,” “The Maternal Congruence,” “The Psychic Vortex,” “The Bozeman Reaction,” “The Einstein Approximation,” “The Large Hadron Collision,” “The Excelsior Acquisition,” “The Precious Fragmentation,” “The Pants Alternative,” “The Wheaton Recurrence,” “The Spaghetti Catalyst,” “The Plimpton Stimulation,” “The Staircase Implementation” and “The Lunar Excitation,”

The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The colors pop on the cool t-shirts worn by the cast. You can even make out comic book store details. The audio is 5.1 Dolby Digital. There’s a crispness to Sheldon’s words of wisdom. There’s a Portuguese dub for Pele’s enjoyment. The subtitles are English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai.

Take-out with the Cast (10:24) has the five stars out of their geek personas and chowing down on the living room set. It’s quite interesting to hear them speak without the science words spewing from their mouth. They answer questions found inside fortune cookies. They reveal which star couldn’t grow a beard for season premiere.

Set Tour with Simon and Kunal (7:41) gets us inside their soundstage. It’s interesting to explore the spaces with an unleashed camera.

Gag Reel (7:49) proves these guys are not one take wonders. Tons of flub lines are captured on rough videotape. Jim Parsons can’t keep a straight face on every line.

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season is a series still on a creative high. The show didn’t completely turn into Sheldon and His Friends. All the characters are all given plenty of chances to steer the stories. Sheldon has become an icon in the geek world. This season he finally meets his match in Wil Wheaton. It’s a relief that in an era of utterly dumb comedy, The Big Bang Theory can make you laugh without leaving your brain next to the remote control.


Warner Home Video presents The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season. Starring Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar. Boxset Contents: 23 Episodes on 3 DVDs. Released on DVD: September 14, 2010.



Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.