The Big Bang Theory – Episode 4-2 – Review

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The moving of The Bang to Thursday night at 8 p.m. isn’t quite bringing in the old ratings. But CBS dominates the night. There is a dip during the Shatner show. There things even a geek can’t stomach. There will be a few Penny-less episodes upcoming since Kaley Cuoco is recovering from a broken leg. It was a horseback-riding accident. Probably from a horse that swore Mister Ed was canceled for her series. Instead of writing the injury into the show, they’re going to let her recover. She did drop a bombshell in the press the other day by admitting she and Johnny Galecki (Leonard) secretly dated for two years. They’ve broken up now. Guess that’s the answer of how they can look realistic playing ex-lovers on the show.

“The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification” sticks Sheldon scribbling on a series of white boards in the living room. Leonard asks if he’s working on a new plan for catching the Road Runner. Sheldon figures out the joke and gives a slight laugh. Turns out Sheldon is predicting how many years he has till his death. Leonard thinks more people are looking into this answer. Turns out one of Sheldon’s relative was killed by a badger. What disappoints him is his equation shows he’s only got 60 more years. He’ll miss the time when he can put his mind inside a robot. He will also be missing the Dogopus – man’s underwater best friend. While Sheldon hates dogs, he can’t hate a dogpus since it can play fetch with eight arms.

Dogopus is probably right now in production for a SyFy original movie. The idea of a dog and octopus hybrid goes right up their with the Shark-Octopus freak monster.

It’s pizza night at the apartment. Raj and Howard chip in on their share. Penny realizes she has to chip in cause she’s no longer sleeping with Leonard. Raj laughs. Penny asks him what’s funny. Naturally he can’t answer directly so he whispers it to Howard. Raj thinks if he had women’s parts, he’d never pay to eat. Penny points out that he’d also not be able to talk to himself. Turns out she can’t pay Leonard her share since she’s got nothing in her wallet. She’s cute and can normally get by without cash. Sheldon has decided Thursday is no longer pizza night for him. It’s Cruciferous Vegetable Night. He’s going to chow down on brussels sprouts. He needs to eat right so he can live long enough to turn himself into a robot. Penny swears he’s already done it. He accepts her compliment. He also wants to start jogging. He’s had a history of running from bullies and chickens. Howard thinks he should run with Penny. Howard swears it’s Raj that watches her with binoculars as she runs. Raj is upset at being accused of Howard’s creepy deed. Howard points out this is the price of his silence in front of Penny.

Leonard is woken up by Sheldon’s knocking on his door. The roomie’s gut is killing him. Leonard swears it’s an appendicitis. Sheldon feels the cruel irony that he makes the commitment to extend his body and now it rebels. As they head to the front door, he farts really loud. His aching is cured. It might have been the sprouts.

This has to be the smartest fart joke ever done on television. We’re used to Benny Hill and South Park unloading the gas, but a genius? Did Mister Wizard ever let one rip in the lab? Had Julia Child cut the cheese on PBS?

Sheldon shows up at Penny’s door ready to jog. He’s got his Flash t-shirt and heart rate monitor. While warming up for the run, he can’t touch his toes or do any bending. As they head down the staircase, Sheldon trips. As Penny helps him up, he farts.

Back in the apartment, it’s Indian dinner night even though Raj has ordered McNuggets. Penny needs this meal put on her tab. Turns out she owes over $1,400 to Leonard for meals and rent. Raj is amazed she no longer has to sleep with Leonard to get free stuff. Sheldon joins the dinner club though his robot. He’s put a flatscreen TV with monitors on a mobile unit. His t-shirt hangs below his monitor. Sheldon has decided to stay in a safe space to avoid anymore injuries until he can really fuse his mind with a machine. The robot tells Penny to move over on the sofa. She’s in his spot.

The Robot Sheldon is somehow twice as creepy with his head on the monitor. There’s a wild distortion effect that makes him look like the kinda of robot that will destroy humanity. He is truly the face of Hal from 2001. The t-shirt on a hanger is a brilliant touch to humanize a machine that represents a man who is a machine.

Can CBS run more promos for their shows? Only thing that isn’t advertised is Andy Rooney’s Ultimate Fighting Megathon.

The gang sit around eating while Robot Sheldon explains that in time they’ll get used to Sheldon being this way. Penny’s accustomed to it already. Leonard wants to see him in person. Sheldon swears he’s in an undisclosed location. Leonard knows it’s his bedroom. The robot chases after him to stop his fruitless search. Penny offers to sell her underwear to Raj or Howard for $1,400. They laugh, but look serious.

Leonard gets in the bedroom. Sheldon demands his roomie looks only at the robot and not the man on the bed. Leonard won’t help transport him to work, but he must. It’s in the roommate agreement. The monitor switches from Sheldon’s face to the agreement.

Someday they need to release a pdf version of the roommate agreement so fans can use them when apartment hunting.

In the car to work, Robot Sheldon sits in the passenger seat. Leonard gets frustrated. Sheldon is excited with how he can now enjoy the view without worrying about vehicular death. It’s just like the Knight Rider. Leonard wants to play a game using a doctored photos of a science conference. As if that is safe. Leonard turns off the screen, but it pops back on with Sheldon shouting “Bazinga!” The shock causes Leonard to nearly wreck. Sheldon’s happy he’s not really in the car.

At work, Robot Sheldon can’t get into his office. He hasn’t conquered the doors. Howard calls him R2 D-Bag. Raj swears it was his joke. He ends up opening the door so he can be a lamb.

The three and Robot Sheldon sit at the Cheesecake Factory. Howard wants to sell him to the Jawas. Penny refuses to serve Robot Sheldon since he can’t eat. Sheldon extends the robot so he can report her to a manager. But he gets distracted when he spots Apple legend Steve Wozniak eating at a nearby table. Penny knows him from Dancing With the Stars. Penny wishes they’d eat at Olive Garden. The Woz likes Robot Sheldon. After a short chat that mocks Steve Jobs, the Woz agrees to stick around so he can sign Sheldon’s vintage Apple II computer.

Sheldon runs out of the apartment holding the computer with the monitor. He heads down the stairs and trips once more. He’s hurting.

While the Woz has become a reality star over the last few years with DWTS and Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List, he’s pretty hammy in his short screen. I don’t get why Sheldon had to also bring the old bulky monitor with the Apple II? I guess that has to be done for the non-geeks to understand what he’s really carrying in his arms.

Robot Sheldon-bot comes out of his apartment to knock against Penny’s door. She answers. He wants her to sing him “Soft Kitty.” He hurt his ankle and needs the warmth of the song. She doesn’t want to sing to a robot. He offers for her to come over. She begins singing to the monitor.

This episode took a little time to warm up. The funny completely arrived with the Robot Sheldon. While the Woz’s guest spot was a bit bumpy, he was the perfect character to cameo. And at least he didn’t try to dazzle us with his fancy footwork. The big mystery is if either Howard or Raj turned into Japanese businessmen when it comes to Penny’s unmentionables.

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.