DJariya

AMY GETS NERVOUS WHEN SHELDON HIRES A YOUNG FEMALE ASSISTANT, ON "THE BIG BANG THEORY," THURSDAY, OCT. 11

"The Higgs Boson Observation" - Amy feels threatened when Sheldon hires a young female assistant, and the pressure of being in space takes its toll on Wolowitz, on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Thursday, Oct. 11 (8:00 - 8:31 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.



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redsea

Who played the female astronaut?

Penny looks good. She's dropped some weight and toned up.

grenier

You mean assistant I assume, it was Margo Harshman.

Charlie Goose

Well, it used to be a show with 1 chick. Now there are 3!

Double_Oh_7

They need to end the Howard in space stuff. Now, immediately... it's just painful.

redsea

Sorry, assistant. I guess I was out in space along with Wolowitz. Thanks!

Josh-da-man

Yeah, it feels like when Suzanne Somers was in a contract dispute with Three's Company and they reduced her appearances to a thirty second phone call with Janet at the end of the episodes.

brayzie

Some thoughts during the episode:

I thought the Howard-in-space moment was better than usual. His mind going was creepy but funny.

I dunno if there running out of material that they keep inserting poop jokes.

I'm liking Sheldon's girlfriend more and more.

I really hope Sheldon's assistant stays on and they draw out the jealousy angle a bit. I like Penny but I find it more entertaining seeing Leonard date other women. Plus the assistant is cute and nice.

Joe Schmoe

Jason

Four now, by the look of it.

Jimmy James

As long as they keep Howard's mother('s voice) way away from the show they can launch Howard wherever they like. They can follow up space with a season-long sub adventure.

It is remarkable given how much initial hate there was for her that Amy is the best thing about the show quite often these days.

Fielding Mellish

Is it me... or has this show seemed absolutely joyless this season? None of the characters seem to even like each other anymore.

Josh-da-man

Sort of, yeah. Probably doesn't help that they upgraded Stuart, the sad-sack comic shop guy, to a regular. Now there are two completely pathetic losers on as regulars.

I want to say that the problem is having Howard separated from the core group, but I think there's been a shift in tone before that, almost like the writers hold the characters in contempt.

dstrauss

I think the biggest problem is that the characters haven't changed a bit from when the show started. Wolowitz has matured a tiny bit due to his marriage, but basically the other guys are exactly the same as they were in the pilot.

Edited to add: The Raj stuff stopped being funny 2 years ago. Geez, put the guy on some meds and let him talk to women.

Coral

I'd say Wolowitz has changed a decent amount. He's no longer the creepy perv, but the downside of that is the show loses a comedic element without it.

Sheldon's changed a bit as shown from the last episode. He actually did care about Penny hurting Leonard - which is a pretty big thing for him. Plus the fact that he's in a relationship with Amy (as unconventional as it is) shows some growth in the social aspect. He was even jealous of someone else dating her. I think Sheldon can't grow too fast or you lose a HUGE aspect of the show.

Leonard just seems to stand in the background making snide remarks about Sheldon now... he doesn't seem to be as active as he used to be. Nothing has changed with Penny - shouldn't they have her be a little more aggressive with her acting career? Outside of 2 or 3 episodes where she's mentioned auditions - you hear nothing about it. She should at least be doing community theatre or some commercials. They could open up her storyline a little this way.

I agree. All they did was make him a little more feminine. At the very least, by now he should be comfortable enough around Penny, Amy and Bernadette to talk to them without alcohol.

PhantomStranger

The show's current writing is listless and the staff is now mailing in the jokes. A lot of the changes seem to be instigated by CBS, to protect the ratings. The addition of all the female characters smacks of network interference.

I've stopped watching new episodes unless they get a very positive response on the Internet.

Mike86

I agree with this. I like the show but the Raj not being able to talk to women stuff has gotten a bit on the ridiculous side. It was funny at first but going on five years and he still hasn't made any progress (unless he drinks) when he regularly is around Penny, Bernadette, and Amy is kind of dumb.

Jimmy James

The two added female characters enhance the show at this point, which is sad.

Sheldon is fine where he is. He's supposed to not change too much. Leonard has been pretty much eviscerated as a character. If they'd lose his mother, Howard would be perfect. Seriously, kill her. It would be funny. Raj is a problem. In fact, didn't we get over the talking issue somewhat last season? Why the fuck is it back?

Penny is really the biggest problem. Apparently the writers aren't smart enough to realize that they can get some good comic material out of Penny actually becoming a semi-successful actress. Give her a part in some B-movie sci-fi or a cult TV show along the lines of The Walking Dead. Make her more successful in financial terms than the guys are. Best of all would be having her play a physicist in some Bones or CSI-like procedural pilot.

redsea

Actually, Penny playing a physicist has a lot of potential.

Josh-da-man

If Penny gets a job as a regular on a show like "Walking Dead" then she moves out of the apartment building. Guest spots would probably be okay. Maybe she'll get a bit part on "Game of Thrones" and then find out she has to do a nude scene.

redsea

If Penny got a lead role on a hit series (and it lasted a couple of seasons), she'd move out of the apt. A recurring role wouldn't change the dynamic. Most working actresses don't make a whole lot of money, and Penny isn't even a working actress.

madcougar

I think I'd rather watch a show about the ladies than the guys at this point...

Jason

I always figured the best way to end the series would be for Penny to get successful and move out. The final scene would be Leonard and Sheldon walking up the stairs and meeting the new hottie moving in next door. Sort of a "here we go again" moment.

But sadly it looks like it's going to eventually end up with a triple wedding of Leonard/Penny, Sheldon/Amy and Raj/graduate assistant (or maybe Stuart?). It's really starting to turn into a relationship comedy as opposed to offbeat nerd humor.

Jimmy James

It wouldn't necessarily kill the show to have Penny move. The only thing that is absolutely dependent on the location of her residence is the Penny, Penny, Penny gag, and if they were creative writers they could find a few ways to handle that. She's not around these guys due to proximity at this point -- she has sort of adopted them as her people.

fumanstan

I thought the show was the best when it was just Penny and the guys. I think it's gotten stale trying to do storylines for all the girls and their relationships, versus before when it was Penny dealing with the nerd stuff.

Evolving Penny to being a somewhat successful actress would be fun.