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. (And the episodes with Zach. 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 season 8 hair cut 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 chopstick properly, Sheldon can’t do a proper Vulcan salute, and Leonard and Sheldon’s horrible Klingon pronunciation. ↩