It's here! The Big Bang Theory is back, as we open with the new season (8), and things are certainly new; new hairstyles, new problems and new comedic events to laugh at! We're going to kick it off with a brief recap of both episodes, so if you don't want to spoil it for yourselves, then scroll down to the 'review' section and read our review of the episodes there, instead.
'The Locomotion Interruption' - RECAP [spoilers]
45 days after he left Pasadena, Sheldon arrives at a train station in Arizona missing his pants and the rest of his belongings, having been mugged while sleeping. He quickly finds his way to a police station (one way or another) and rings Leonard to come get him. Leonard brings Amy with him and they arrive to pick Sheldon up. Amy is visibly annoyed that Sheldon didn't ring her in the first place to come get him, and he appears disinterested in her being there. In the car back, Amy voices her anger and Sheldon admits that he didn't want Amy to think he couldn't cope by himself, and to think any less of him. She states that she doesn't mind if he isn't perfect. Sheldon arrives back at the apartment, ready to embrace change (or so he says) until he opens the door and sees Penny has cut her hair and he doesn't like it/can't cope and he leaves. He shows Leonard and Penny photos of his trip (which he spent solely in train stations or on trains).
Meanwhile, Penny has a new haircut, and is looking to get a job. Bernadette manages to get her a job as a Pharmaceutical sales person, and although Penny tries to back out of it, claiming she knows nothing about sales, Bernadette is insistent and makes Penny go. At the interview, Penny unsurprisingly fails miserably, not managing to answer any questions appropriately, and is about to leave the interview until she admits that she only came because Bernadette made her and she is afraid of her. In turns out the interviewer is also afraid of Bernadette and the two bond over their mutual fear, leading Penny to get the job anyway.
Howard and Raj go to Howard's house and still find Stuart living their even thought he was supposed to move out, and Howard is not pleased. Later, Stuart and Howard have an argument and Howard is afraid of the questionable relationship between the two.
'The Junior Professor Solution' - RECAP [spoilers]
Sheldon is informed by Mrs. Davis (Regina King) that he can keep his job at the University and that instead, they are promoting him to Junior Professor so he can still study dark matter and teach at the same time with a significant pay rise. Sheldon is still not pleased. He gears up for his first day with his class, hoping to delight in failing them all, but Sheldon has a reputation and no one has turned up for his class due to it. Howard wants to join the class so he can finally get his doctorate, but Sheldon is reluctant and refuses to believe he can handle it. Despite doing well on Sheldon's tests, the two argue and play games with each other to annoy one another. They manage to eventually mend their relationship with a quiz game that features scientific topics.
Meanwhile, Bernadette is frustrated with Penny who hasn't looked over the material for her job yet, despite having training days coming up. Penny says she will get to it, but Bernadette isn't happy and the two are annoyed with each other. Amy uses this to her advantage by bonding with each one separately and employing 'mean girl tactic' to insult and gossip about the other whilst with the friend she is with. Amy's good times don't last as Bernadette and Penny eventually make up. They attempt to ring Amy (who is standing outside the door eavesdropping) and the former runs down their staircase quickly to take their call, so she can go out for drinks with the both of them.
'The Locomotion Interruption' & 'The Junior Professor Solution' - REVIEW
The Big Bang Theory is back – and so is Sheldon, who returns
forty five days after his departure from Pasadena with a refreshed outlook and
ready to tackle any challenge. Only kidding! He’s pretty much still the same.
Season 8 of the series opened with two new episodes for audiences to revel in,
‘The Locomotion Interruption’ and ‘The Junior Professor Solution’, the former
covering Sheldon’s return to the gang and the latter focusing on his
appointment as a Junior Professor so he can still study dark matter (and get a
pay rise).
Surprisingly, the series felt refreshed in a way, with
Penny’s haircut ushering in a new era of the series, which at times has felt
like it might have run its course. The first episode, however, seemed to be
more on track in terms of where it was going, and the questions it managed to
answer and solve. Sheldon’s absence and eventual return meant that characters
had time to shake up their personalities a little, with Penny’s new look and
subsequent job interview showing that her character is progressing in both
appearances and her career. Cuoco-Sweeting did a brilliant job of portraying
the more serious side of Penny at points where she really did try to perform in
her interview, whilst still managing to retain some of the character’s classic
humour and silly mannerisms.
The jokes and one-liners also felt less
forced and more genuinely funny, in particular regards to Bernadette’s feisty
nature and also Stuart’s continual presence at Howard’s Mother’s house. There
seems to be plenty of directions which the comedy show could take now, and
that’s a strong element of the series which means that we might get some even
more exciting storylines in the future, as you have the whole Stuart/Debbie
relationship as well as the impending marriage of Leonard and Penny.
You might think that the second episode must have therefore
been a bit lacklustre, but that was not the case at all. ‘The Junior Professor
Solution’ offered Parsons’ character an opportunity to try and solve some of
his conflict with Helberg’s Howard, over the former’s disregard for engineering
in general. But it wasn’t just Howard and Sheldon who locked horns in the
episode, Bernadette and Penny were at logger-heads over Penny’s disinterest in
studying for her pharmaceutical job, and Amy was benefitting greatly from their
feud, becoming the sort of ‘middle woman’ the two could confide in. This
element of the episode was particularly humorous and possessed an air of Mean Girls, with Amy becoming the new
‘popular girl’ and gossiping with each friend about the other. The school-like
behaviour was particularly funny coming from Bialik’s character that had never
excelled in the social side of the classroom, and it was interesting to see her
transporting herself back to those days which she missed, and how they have an
impact on her behaviour now.
Overall, The Big Bang Theory seems to have benefitted from its break and
returned with fresh, new storylines that still maintain the essence of the
characters but offer them more personal development, and relationship
development with certain characters that have not interacted properly for a
significant period of time. It’s safe to say that certain things have changed
in the series, but it seems to be revitalised and have a more vibrant energy to
it that has been lacking in previous seasons of the show.
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