Back with its third episode of the season, The Big Bang Theory delivered up a surprisingly awkward adventure for Howard, who quickly signed himself up to pitch the first ball for the LA Angels of Anaheim - bad idea. Keep on reading for the recap or scroll down for our review of the night's episode.
Recap
In the ever-expanding relationship land of Leonard and Penny, the two managed to find themselves engaged in another battle with Sheldon and Amy, the latter couple thinking that their relationship was superior to that of the former. Sheldon, using a on-line test, managed to determine the high mark that Sheldon and Amy got for their relationship, and encouraged Leonard and Penny to do the same, whilst the four dined together on a double-date. Penny got upset and went to drown her sorrows at the bar, with Leonard in quick pursuit. The two manage to resolve their differences by agreeing that they are both scared for the future of their relationship.
Meanwhile, Howard has agreed to pitch the first ball for the LA Angels of Anaheim and Bernadette isn't pleased. She, knowing Howard, asks him if he can actually play baseball, and it is determined he cannot. She agrees to train him on how to pitch the first ball. Howard's space buddy also agrees that he should not participate in the game as if he does good, no one will remember, but if he does bad, it'll be on YouTube forever. Bernadette attempts to train Howard but he is so bad it is impossible. In the end, Howard gets the Mars Rover to pitch the ball, but the machine takes so long that people (including Sheldon) start booing Howard whilst he stands idly by, no doubt wishing the ground would swallow him up.
Review
Landing in this week is ‘The First Pitch Insufficiency’,
which rather obviously references some inability with sports. So, just who
could have some terrible athleticism? Well, with plenty of people to pick from,
it was Howard who stepped up to the plate to showcase his absolutely diabolical
sportsman skills.
This week’s episode focused mainly on
Howard’s poor athletic ability and Sheldon’s idea that his relationship with
Amy was superior to that of Penny and Leonard. The episode kicked off in usual
fashion, with Leonard and Penny’s newly developed relationship (engagement)
sewing its way into the plot lines, as the subject of when the marriage is
going to happen comes up; something that is likely to be at the forefront of
viewer’s minds. Penny and Leonard seem to have more genuine moments in the
season so far, as their relationship has been a particularly rocky one over the
series, and the episode dealt with the instability of the two in an actual
believable manner, not deviating from the two character’s usual persona but
still adding in little lines and quirk that make the storyline humorous and
satisfying. Galecki and Cuoco-Sweeting really managed to focus the attention on
their characters, which is something that is difficult to do when you have to
compete with the scene-stealer that is Bialik’s Amy and the ever-captivating
Sheldon (portrayed by Parsons).
There were plenty of clever in-jokes in the episode that
helped to balance off the tension between Sheldon/Amy and Leonard/Penny, which
made this an all-round hit for the current season. The pacing was overall
suitable, except for a point near the end of the episode which felt like it was
a bit abrupt, and could have possibly done with a smoother ending to what was,
so far, a confident instalment in the eighth season.
But it wasn’t just Cuoco-Sweeting and Galecki’s characters
who got a chance to shine, Helberg’s Howard breezed his way to the forefront of
the episode, with his goofy mannerisms and silly plans making sure the
attention was all on him (whether he liked it or not). It’s been shown in
previous episodes that Helberg’s Howard doesn’t always think things through
before doing them, and this was never more evident in this episode, where he
agreed to pitch the first ball for the LA Angels of Anaheim in honour of space
day, as an astronaut. Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette was quick to pick up on this,
and demonstrated one of the many reasons that there is to love Rauch’s
character. Quick-witted, ruthless to an extent and straight-talking, Bernadette
made sure Howard knew what he was getting himself into and Rauch did an
excellent job portraying the feisty side to her character that only comes out
when someone is doing something stupid, when she’s angry, or when she’s in a
particular competition (remember ‘The Scavenger Vortex’?).
Aside from the uneven pacing towards the latter half of ‘The
First Pitch Insufficiency’ and the abrupt ending, the episode gave you a lot to
love in terms of classic humour from Sheldon, with his relationship agreement,
the complications in Leonard and Penny’s relationship and, of course, Howard’s
hilarious gym sequences with Bernadette and Raj (who was throwing that ball!).
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