The Big Bang Theory (Re-cut)

My list of essential episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang Theory

It’s a guilty pleasure but I still enjoy The Big Bang Theory. While it’s far from perfect¹, I believe cutting out the fluff would make it better, so here is my list of essential episodes.

Initially, I wanted to deal only with Leonard and Penny’s relationship, but the show wouldn’t make any sense if I cut all the Sheldon/Amy or Howard/Bernadette episodes, so I decided to keep just the important relationship and character growth episodes for all the characters. I also kept the episodes with Zach because he was hilarious.

After watching the series all the way though here are my conclusions:

• 137 of 281 episodes are required. (49%)
• 39 episodes are maybe’s that could be added for more depth or are very funny.
• Season 9 and 12 tied for the most required episodes. (16 episodes, 67% of each season.)
• Season 3 has the fewest required and one maybe episode. (7 episodes, 30%)

I’ll have to re-watch the series for a third time after I complete this list, so I may be completely sick of the show by the third time through.

Bold are required. Italics are a maybe.

SPOILER WARNING

Season 1

• Ep01 Pilot - Introduction of Leonard, Sheldon, Penny.
• Ep04 The Luminous Fish Effect - Introduction of Mary, Sheldon’s mother.
• Ep05 The Hamburger Postulate - Introduction of Leslie.
• Ep06 The Middle Earth Paradigm - Leonard and Penny’s first kiss.
• Ep08 The Grasshopper Experiment - Introduction of Raj’s parents.
• Ep11 The Pancake Batter Anomaly - Introduction of Soft Kitty.
• Ep15 The Pork Chop Indeterminacy - Introduction of Sheldon’s sister.
• Ep17 The Tangerine Factor - Leonard and Penny’s first date.

Season 2

• Ep01 The Bad Fish Paradigm - Leonard and Penny’s first date pt 2
• Ep02 The Codpiece Topology - Leonard and Penny break up.
• Ep04 The Griffin Equivalency - maybe, a funny episode.
• Ep05 The Euclid Alternative - maybe, Sheldon’s driving lessons.
• Ep06 The Cooper-Nowitski Theorem - funny episode, Second Barenaked Ladies song.
• Ep07 The Panty Pinata Polarization - Sheldon and Penny fight.
• Ep08 The Lizard-Spock Expansion - Introduction of Stephanie
• Ep09 The White Asparagus Triangulation - more Stephanie
• Ep10 The Vartabedian Conundrum - last of Stephanie
• Ep11 The Bath Item Hypothesis - Leonard Nimoy napkin.
• Ep15 The Maternal Capacitance - Introduction of Leonard’s mom.
• Ep19 The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition - Growth in Penny’s character.
• Ep20 The Hofstadter Isotope - Introduction of Stewart.
• Ep21 The Vegas Renormalization - maybe, funny. The Jewish-girlfriend experience joke.
• Ep22 The Classified Materials Turbulence - maybe, Penny slips Leonard’s name.
• Ep23 The Monopolar Expedition - North Pole trip.

Season 3

• Ep01 The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation - Leonard’s reunion with Penny is botched.
• Ep02 The Jiminy Conjecture - “just friends.”
• Ep05 The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary - Introduction of Bernadette.
• Ep08 The Adhesive Duck Deficiency - maybe, it’s a hilarious episode.
• Ep11 The Maternal Congruence - Penny and Leonard’s mom meet.
• Ep19 The Wheaton Recurrence - Leonard and Penny break up.
• Ep20 The Spaghetti Catalyst - Leonard is friendzoned.
• Ep23 The Lunar Excitation - Introduction of Amy Farrah Fowler and Zach.

Season 4

• Ep01 The Robotic Manipulation - Penny is dragged along on Sheldon and Amy’s first date.
• Ep06 The Irish Pub Formulation - Introduction of Priya, Raj’s sister.
• Ep09 The Boyfriend Complexity - Penny’s Father sides with Leonard.
• Ep10 The Alien Parasite Hypothesis - Includes Zach.
• Ep11 The Justice League Recombination - Halloween party. Plus it includes Zach.
• Ep13 The Love Car Displacement - Penny and Leonard discuss their relationship.
• Ep16 The Cohabitation Formulation - Penny is replaced by Priya.
• Ep17 The Toast Derivation - More Penny vs. Priya.
• Ep20 The Herb Garden Germination - Howard Proposes to Bernadette.
• Ep21 The Agreement Dissection - maybe, roommate agreement fight, Leonard and Priya fight.
• Ep23 The Engagement Reaction - maybe, Howard, Howard’s mother, and Bernadette talk engagement.
• Ep24 The Roommate Transmogrification - Penny says she shouldn’t have let Leonard go, but then sleeps with Raj.

Season 5

• Ep01 The Skank Reflex Analysis - The aftermath of Penny sleeping with Raj.
• Ep03 The Pulled Groin Extrapolation - maybe, Howard and Bernadette test a weekend out together. Leonard accompanies Amy to a wedding.
• Ep07 The Good Guy Fluctuation - Leonard tries to cheat on Priya. Leonard and Priya break up. (Good, I couldn’t stand Priya.)
• Ep08 The Isolation Permutation - maybe, Amy’s feelings are hurt by Penny and Bernadette.
• Ep09 The Ornithophobia Diffusion - Leonard and Penny go on not a date.
• Ep12 The Shiny Trinket Maneuver - Howard and Bernadette talk kids. Amy gets a tiara.
• Ep13 The Recombination Hypothesis - Leonard and Penny go on a date.
• Ep14 The Beta Test Initiation - maybe, Leonard and Penny beta test their new relationship.
• Ep19 The Weekend Vortex - Sheldon treats Amy badly.
• Ep20 The Transporter Malfunction - maybe, Introduction of Raj’s Yorkie.
• Ep22 The Stag Convergence - Howard’s bachelor party.
• Ep23 The Launch Acceleration - Leonard and Penny move faster.
• Ep24 The Countdown Reflection - Howard and Bernadette’s wedding.

Season 6

• Ep01 The Date Night Variable - Howard in space.
• Ep02 The Decoupling Fluctuation - More Howard in space.
• Ep03 The Higgs Boson Observation - maybe, Howard goes crazy in space.
• Ep04 The Re-Entry Minimization - Howard comes back from space.
• Ep08 The 43 Peculiarity - Penny admits she loves Leonard.
• Ep10 The Fish Guts Displacement - maybe, Amy deceives Sheldon and he punishes her.
• Ep15 The Spoiler Alert Segmentation - maybe, Roommate try to move in.
• Ep16 The Tangible Affection Proof - Valentine’s Day goes wrong. Raj meets Lucy.
• E18 The Contractual Obligation Implementation - maybe, Raj plans a date with Lucy.
• E19 The Closet Reconfiguration - A letter from Howard’s Dad.
• E21 The Closure Alternative - Raj and Lucy. Penny tries to be passionate about Leonard’s interests.
• E22 The Proton Resurgence - Introduction of Professor Proton.
• E23 The Love Spell Potential - Raj and Lucy’s date. Howard does impersonations during a D&D game. (The impersonations are hilarious.)
• E24 The Bon Voyage Reaction - Leonard goes to the North Pole. Raj can talk to women now.

Season 7

• Ep01 The Hofstadter Insufficiency - Leonard sneaks back home.
• Ep02 The Deception Verification - Sheldon feels betrayed by Leonard.
• Ep05 The Workplace Proximity - maybe, Amy and Sheldon fight.
• Ep06 The Romance Resonance - Penny tries to romance Leonard. Howard sings to Bernadette.
• Ep09 The Thanksgiving Decoupling - Penny and Zach are married.
• Ep10 The Discovery Dissipation - continuation of Ep06.
• Ep11 The Cooper Extraction - maybe, it’s kinda funny.
• Ep12 The Hesitation Ramification - Penny quits her job.
• Ep13 The Occupation Recalibration - maybe, Leonard tries to be supportive of Penny’s quitting.
• Ep17 The Friendship Turbulence - Penny has second thoughts about quitting the Cheesecake Factory.
• EP19 The Indecision Amalgamation - Penny gets a job in a cheesy movie.
• Ep20 The Relationship Diremption - Penny helps Sheldon with his string theory career.
• Ep22 The Proton Transmogrification - Professor Proton dies.
• Ep23 The Gorilla Dissolution - Penny gets fired from her movie.
• Ep24 The Status Quo Combustion - Sheldon is upset about Leonard and Penny’s future move out.

Season 8

• Ep01 The Locomotion Interruption - Penny interviews for a new job.
• Ep04 The Hook-up Reverberation - Raj and Emily. Emily doesn’t like Penny.
• Ep06 The Expedition Approximation - maybe, Howard and Bernadette fight over money.
• Ep08 The Prom Equivalency - maybe, prom for Sheldon and Amy.
• Ep09 The Septum Deviation - Leonard gets surgery, Raj’s parents are divorced.
• Ep11 The Clean Room Infiltration - maybe, Sheldon and Amy exchange presents.
• Ep13 The Anxiety Optimization - maybe, Emily vs Cinnamon game. Very funny.
• Ep14 The Troll Manifestation - Leonard and Sheldon write a paper.
• Ep15 The Comic Book Store Regeneration - Mrs. Wolowitz dies.
• Ep16 The Intimacy Acceleration - Penny and Sheldon do a relationship experiment.
• Ep18 The Leftover Thermalization - Continuation of Leonard and Sheldon’s paper.
• Ep20 The Fortification Implementation - Howard finds out he has a brother. Leonard and Penny fight over money.
• Ep21 The Communication Deterioration - Penny contemplates going back to acting.
• Ep23 The Maternal Combustion - Leonard and Sheldon get an award for their paper and their mothers meet.
• Ep24 The Commitment Determination - Everyone breaks up. (Sort of.)

Season 9

• Ep01 The Matrimonial Momentum - Penny struggles with Leonard’s confession.
• Ep02 The Separation Oscillation - more with Sheldon and Amy’s break up.
• Ep03 The Bachelor Party Corrosion - maybe, Penny tells her family she’s married.
• Ep05 The Perspiration Implementation - more with Sheldon and Amy’s break up.
• Ep07 The Spock Resonance - Sheldon tries to propose.
• Ep08 The Mystery Date Observation - Amy has a date with another man.
• Ep09 The Platonic Permutation - Sheldon and Amy spend Thanksgiving together as friends.
• Ep10 The Earworm Reverberation - Sheldon and Amy are back together.
• Ep11 The Opening Night Excitation - Sheldon and Amy hook up.
• Ep14 The Meemaw Materialization - Sheldon’s Meemaw visits.
• Ep15 The Valentino Submergence - maybe, Bernadette’s reveal is only at very end of the episode.
• Ep16 The Positive Negative Reaction - Bernadette reveals she’s pregnant.
• Ep17 The Celebration Experimentation - maybe, funny and Adam West guest stars.
• Ep18 The Application Deterioration - Patent application.
• Ep19 The Solder Excursion Diversion - maybe, Amy learns about Sheldon’s secret failures.
• Ep20 The Big Bear Precipitation - Secrets are revealed on a camping trip. (Watch Leonard cuck again.)
• Ep22 The Fermentation Bifurcation - Zach takes an interest in Raj’s not-girlfriend.
• Ep23 The Line Substitution Solution - Penny has trouble connecting with Beverly.
• Ep24 The Convergence Convergence - All the parents meet. Introduction of Leonard’s Dad.

Season 10

• Ep01 The Conjugal Conjecture - Leonard and Penny’s re-wedding.
• Ep02 The Military Miniaturization - The military wants to fund the project.
• Ep03 The Dependence Transcendence - maybe, more Air Force project.
• Ep04 The Cohabitation Experimentation - Sheldon and Amy start their living together experiment.
• Ep05 The Hot Tub Contamination - maybe, Sheldon and Amy fight over living together.
• Ep07 The Veracity Elasticity - Amy’s lies to Sheldon about her apt.
• Ep08 The Brain Bowl Incubation - maybe, Sheldon wants a baby with Amy.
• Ep10 The Property Division Collision - Stuart moves in with Howard and Bernadette again.
• Ep11 The Birthday Synchronicity - Bernadette’s baby is born.
• Ep12 The Holiday Summation - maybe, Sheldon and Amy recount a bad holiday trip. Sheldon’s Mom
• Ep13 The Romance Recalibration - maybe, Leonard and Penny’s relationship agreement.
• Ep16 The Allowance Evaporation - maybe, Raj stops his Dad’s money.
• Ep17 The Comic-Con Conundrum - Sheldon handles Raj’s spending.
• Ep18 The Escape Hatch Identification - Raj moves in with Howard or Leonard.
• Ep20 The Recollection Dissipation - maybe, Bernadette worries about going back to work.
• Ep21 The Separation Agitation - Howard and Bernadette have to leave Halley at daycare.
• Ep22 The Cognition Regeneration - Zach offers Penny a job.
• Ep23 The Gyroscopic Collapse - Raj moves out. The Air Force takes over the gyroscope project.
• Ep24 The Long Distance Dissonance - Ramona makes moves on Sheldon.

Season 11

• Ep01 The Proposal Proposal - Aftermath of Sheldon’s proposal. Bernadette is pregnant again.
• Ep04 The Explosion Implosion - Leonard’s mom bond with Penny.
• Ep05 The Collaboration Contamination - maybe, Penny deals with Sheldon with the help of a parenting book.
• Ep06 The Proton Regeneration - maybe, Bernadette ends up on bed rest.
• Ep09 The Bitcoin Entanglement - Zach has a video of a confession that Penny made.
• Ep10 The Confidence Erosion - Raj gets a job at the planetarium.
• Ep11 The Celebration Reverberation - Raj and Howard make up.
• Ep12 The Matrimonial Metric - Amy finally picks a maid of honor.
• Ep15 The Novelization Correlation - maybe, Leonard’s book.
• Ep16 The Neonatal Nomenclature - Howard and Bernadette’s second child is born.
• Ep17 The Athenaeum Allocation - Sheldon and Amy finally get their wedding venue.
• Ep20 The Reclusive Potential - Amy’s bachelorette party.
• Ep21 The Comet Polarization - Introduction of Denise.
• Ep22 The Monetary Insufficiency - Amy picks out her wedding dress.
• Ep23 The Sibling Realignment - Sheldon convinces his brother to attend the wedding.
• Ep24 The Bow Tie Asymmetry - Sheldon and Amy’s wedding.

Season 12

• Ep01 The Conjugal Configuration - Sheldon and Amy’s honeymoon.
• Ep02 The Wedding Gift Wormhole - Stuart goes on a date.
• Ep03 The Procreation Calculation - Penny doesn’t want kids.
• Ep04 The Tam Turbulence - maybe, The girls meet Anu.
• Ep08 The Consummation Deviation - Raj and Anu try to get physical.
• Ep09 The Citation Negation - A Russian paper disproves super asymmetry.
• Ep10 The VCR Illumination - VCR pep talk.
• Ep11 The Paintball Scattering - Raj and Anu break up.
• Ep12 The Propagation Proposition - Zack wants Leonard’s baby.
• Ep13 The Confirmation Polarization - Two other scientists prove super asymmetry. Penny’s a new team leader.
• Ep15 The Donation Oscillation - Penny tries to derail Leonard’s baby plans.
• Ep17 The Conference Valuation - maybe, more of Penny’s sales leadership.
• Ep18 The Laureate Accumulation - Sheldon and Amy confront the other scientists vying for the Nobel Prize.
• Ep19 The Inspiration Deprivation - maybe, Sheldon and Amy get called into HR.
• Ep20 The Decision Reverberation - Leonard gains some confidence.
• Ep21 The Plagiarism Schism - The other scientists vying for the Nobel are found to be frauds.
• Ep22 The Maternal Conclusion - Leonard forgives his mother.
• Ep23 The Change Constant - Sheldon and Amy await big news.
• Ep24 The Stockholm Syndrome - The End.

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1. Penny’s haircut in season 8 was enough to make me stop watching for 5 years, but Sheldon’s destain for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Babylon 5, calling the latter’s writing “derivative”, is objectively wrong. It’s proof that the writers didn’t know what they were talking about; they just looked up geek pop-culture references and threw them into the show. More BBT failings include: Sheldon doesn’t like pulp in his orange juice, Sheldon can’t use chopsticks properly, Sheldon can’t do a proper Vulcan salute, and Leonard and Sheldon’s horrible Klingon pronunciation. ↩