Tom's Take: Thursday Night for some reason has become my TV night. Normally I have several shows with new episodes on Thursdays, or if I don't then at least I take most of the night off to catch up on the shows I keep up with. Some great shows are on Thursday nights usually. The Office, Big Bang Theory, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Community. Usually.
Tonight that was not the case. Sunny and Community are on hiatus, (I'm actually quite worried that Community might be on the verge of cancellation) and The Office wasn't on tonight. So all there was for me was Big Bang Theory. But I guess that makes my job easier, since this is the first of my TV review posts. So here we go!
Tom's Review of Big Bang Theory: Season 5 Episode 14: The Beta Test Initiation
This episode has three sub plots to it. The main one is that Leonard and Penny are trying to give their relationship another chance, but want to take it slow. They agree to test it out and "report any bugs" which obviously leads to Leonard pissing off Penny with too many complaints, which he types up for her. She counters with her own list of complaints, in what is the most obvious choice given this plot scenario. Perhaps less obvious is Leonard's choice of making up to Penny by taking her to a shooting range, although it looked like it might have been the same one they've used on How I Met Your Mother, which prevented me from finding this all that clever of a writing choice. Leonard shooting himself in the foot was also an obvious physical gag that didn't even make me smile. All in all, this plot felt cliche and pedestrian, and I'm having a hard time even rooting for Leonard and Penny, though I was in the early seasons.
The second plot involved Raj falling in love with his phone which had a female voice. Ten or fifteen years ago this plot would have been quite funny. Now it feels cliche, and I find myself unable to root for Raj at all. He's just so unbelievably lame, to the point where it's unrelatable even to someone like me who isn't exactly the most popular with the ladies. I don't feel anything for Raj, and the writers have obviously jumped the shark with his character and don't care.
The third plot involves Sheldon trying to make his own Youtube show about flags. It sounds ridiculous, and it is, but it's frankly the only part of the episode that has any redeemable merit. I don't think I would be able to continue watching Big Bang Theory if it wasn't for the genius that is Sheldon Cooper. I almost wish the writers would drop the ball with him, so I could walk away, but as long as Sheldon continues to make me laugh, I don't think I'll ever be able to quit this show.
Rating: 6 out of 10 double sided flags.
This episode wasn't very good. The show felt like just another dumb sitcom, with the exception of Sheldon's parts. I don't think the show has been good for quite a while, and I'm not entirely sure if it can recover. It might be time that they find a way to resolve the Leonard/Penny relationship in a satisfactory manner, have Wollowitz get married, and end the show. If it keeps going too much longer, I'll probably just fast forward any parts that don't have Sheldon in them.
Sean's Take:
Sounds boring.
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