The Big Bang Theory – Episode 3-2 Review

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First an apology for typing that Sheldon was naked in bed with Penny in the last episode. It was Leonard. Although in my view, Sheldon deserved to get laid after Leonard screwed his data.

The really bad part about The Big Bang Theory moving to 9:30 p.m. is waiting an hour after How I Met Your Mother. Accidentally On Purpose creeps like a two hour long Lifetime movie. Two And A Half Men has never worked for me. Isn’t the kid big enough to be a whole man? Not like he can order off the child menu at Hooters when Charlie Sheen takes him out. Doubtful the CBS brass will ever swap Mother with Men. The new time slot had The Big Bang Theory top the CBS sitcoms in the 18-49 demographic. The show is becoming gold. The geeks will be bigger than the Sweathogs by Christmas. I want a talking Sheldon doll under the tree.

“The Jiminy Conjecture” has Sheldon, Raj and Howard at the comic bookstore. Sheldon declares Wolverine was born with bone claws. The others thinks he’s nuts. Leonard arrives late. Raj thinks he’d be too busy having sex with Penny to care about comic book night. The guys think he’s making a mistake since he’s needs to pack in all the sex before Penny dumps him. Leonard says the sex was “just fine.” He’s confesses that the sex wasn’t great. The guys pick him apart as to how it went bad. Howard says sex is never like he’s dreams it That’s cause in dreams, he’s a horse from the waist down. Sheldon arrives with comic book proof that Wolverine originally had bone claws. He will not be proven wrong.

The concept of getting laid as much as you can before she comes to her senses is real. There’s that constant fear that eventually, you’re going to say the wrong thing and it’s over. So the more you do it, the less chance you have of saying the wrong thing. It’s always dinner that gets a man in trouble with either bad food choice or that one horrible witty moment. Best to eat before you knock on her door. Turns out that Wolverine always had bone claws. Later the military coated them in Adamantium along with the rest of his bones. Sheldon did enlighten me more than those X-Men movies.

The gang including Penny is in the apartment sorting out the takeout. Leonard has swapped Chinese restaurants and Sheldon flips out. Leonard assures him that the new place is “just fine.” Howard points out that Leonard is an expert at “just fine.” Penny doesn’t catch onto the inside joke. Sheldon explains the crack to the room and Penny storms out. She doesn’t like everyone knows their business.

In Penny’s apartment, she and Leonard argue about the sex. She admits the sex was “O.K.” She’s never had this sort of non-experience. Instead of talking, she suggests a little wine. She thinks they should have had a little booze before bed the previous night. Leonard babbles about alcohol. She shuts him up with a drink.

Raj and Howard discuss the concept of Shiksa Goddess. Raj thinks Howard’s jealous that Leonard has one. Sheldon finally realizes explaining “just fine” was wrong. A cricket chirps and using his watch and the room temperature, Sheldon determines the type of cricket as a snowy tree cricket. Howard thinks the chirping guess is B.S. Howard swears it’s an ordinary field cricket. They wager on it with rare comic books. Raj points out the only way to win the bet is to catch the cricket. They surround the fridge. Raj wonders what the non-pathetic people are doing that night. Penny and Leonard make out and drink more wine. They’re going to do it right this time. Raj, Sheldon and Howard search for the cricket. They force open the elevator door since they think it’s down the shaft. Penny and Leonard have moved to drinking peppermint schnapps. They are wasted, but not ready for love. Sheldon has gone down the elevator shaft. Howard and Raj leave him dangling since they hear the cricket in the stairwell. Leonard pukes the booze up in the toilet. He tells Penny that after a little mouthwash, he’ll be ready to rock her world. She proceeds to puke in the sink. He finds more to ralph into the toilet. It’s such a lovey duet of evacuation.

This is just sad. Yet it needs to be a warning that while booze might lubricate the evening, it can also lead to messy consequences if you go beyond the critical load. Not to mention for some, it might lead to a non-performance issue. Never ever break out the schnapps if you plan on doing anything more than slurring your words and stumbling like Mickey Rourke at a wedding. When you date vomits, it’s pretty much a bad time to have sex unless you’re hooking up with Sid Vicious.

Raj shakes a jar with the cricket inside. He calls the captive bug Toby. Sheldon swears it should be named Jiminy. Howard shows the reference book saying it’s the field cricket. Sheldon swears it looks like his snow tree. Howard says something in yiddish that Sheldon doesn’t translate. Sheldon explains, “But Yiddish wasn’t spoken in East Texas and if it was, it wasn’t spoken for long.” To settle the argument, they decide to see the insect expert.

This is where they should have gone in the first place to get a real judgement. Books never solve anything.

The insect room glows blue. Raj gets a Silence of the Lamb vibe from the room. He doesn’t like bugs. Sheldon jokes that Raj must really fear ladybugs. The insect professor turns out to be Louis Black. He does his Back in Black routine from The Daily Show. He’s being let go by the university and isn’t happy. He thinks Raj is his outsourced replacement. He looks at the cricket and declares it’s a field cricket. Sheldon asks if he’s really sure. Black has a meltdown about how his wife left him when he was discovering a new species of dungbeetle.

Sheldon looks so sad going to the mailboxes. He holds his vintage comicbook that will soon belong to Howard. Penny wonders why he looks so down. He mentions the cricket wager. Penny jokes about wii cricket. She doesn’t think the game exists. Penny wants a little pity because the sex with Leonard isn’t working out. Sheldon points out that they can always go back to being friends. Howard will always have this moment to hold against him. He heads up to the stairs.

In the apartment, Sheldon tells Leonard about his chat with Penny. Leonard isn’t happy to know that Sheldon and Penny have talked about their love life. He heads out to talk to Penny.

Leonard is at Penny’s door. He asks her what Sheldon said. It does seem to make sense. They talk about just being friends. They seem to accept the fate. They give a friendly hug. After a pause they get open mouth kissing and clutching. Leonard shuts the door. He doesn’t want to go back.

For those wondering, you can play cricket on the wii. Ashes Cricket 2009 recently came out and maybe soon we’ll have Raj playing it. Do you have to wear a sweater when playing this on the wii? If you own a copy of this game, please comment on how you feel after batting a century.

Far as the episode goes, it might be the first case of synchronized vomiting on network TV. There might have been a very special episode of 7th Heaven, but that was father-son puking. This should be the first time two people hoping to do the nasty have both puked. Normally just one gives a Technicolor spew. Amazing what The Bang can now do in the 9:30 p.m. slot. The fact that they are coming up with entertaining bumps to keep Leonard and Penny from spending episodes shopping at Akia works for me. The only bad side of this episode is having Sheldon once more get proven wrong. He’s becoming too much of a whipping boy this season. He needs to be a genius and not a slightly there guy.

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.