The Big Bang Theory Season 6

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom about four nerdy thirtysomething scientists who work at CalTech. It stars Johnny Galecki, Darlene’s boyfriend from Roseanne. This was how the sitcom was originally described to me. So unappealing was the description that I didn’t watch it for a year. Once I finally did, I devoured it; it instantly became my favorite sitcom. The rest of America agreed. As time went by, more and more people discovered this show. In its final seasons, it was consistently the highest-rated sitcom in the country. There’s a good reason for that: this show is great!

The four scientists are:
– Supersmart theoretical physicist Sheldon, who is as advanced in physics as he is stunted in social skills. Many have speculated that Sheldon has Aspergers. The shows writers initially stated that they did not write Sheldon to have Aspergers. I don’t just think Sheldon has Aspergers – I think they all do. Sheldon is portrayed by Jim Parsons, who has rightfully won numerous Emmys for this role.
– Experimental physicist Leonard is Sheldon’s long-suffering roommate who pines for the neurotypical girl next door, waitress and wannabe actress Penny. Johnny Galecki’s portrayal of Leonard is perfect. In general, all of the actors are well cast, and the ensemble cast really clicks.
– Astrophysicist Raj initially suffers from selective mutism; he cannot speak when a woman is present.
– Mama’s boy engineer Howard rounds out the group.

At its heart, this sitcom is about the development of these four young men, especially in regards to their relationships with women. The sitcom never just stays with its successful formula. Instead, it permits its characters to really develop. Relationships with women – some long, some short – come and go. Marriages take place. Forever unseen babies are born. It is a delight to see the characters make real progress in their lives.

One of the ways in which this sitcom really shines is in guest appearances. Wil Wheaton is a recurring favorite, as is Stephen Hawking. Guest stars are drawn from such shows as Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. Bill Gates makes an appearance, as does Neil Gaiman. The guest star list is nerd nirvana.

My favorite aspect of the show is the constant references to the things geeks like, whether it’s TV shows or movies, video games or ComicCon. This show has validated an entire subculture. And, really, why shouldn’t it? Why should grown men be belittled for having paraphernalia from a favorite franchise while other grown men decorate their man caves in sports paraphernalia? Why is one socially acceptable and the other not? Well, thanks to The Big Bang Theory, no more.

12 years. Not a single weak season. Sure, there was an occasional weak episode. But this show could have gone on forever and never gotten old.

(The one weak spot is the Leonard-Penny relationship. These two have literally nothing in common, and it shows. In the end, the best the writers could do was envelop them in insult humor. That’s not to say that one of these brainiac boys could not have had a successful relationship with an intellectually-inferior attractive blonde. It’s just that this particular relationship clearly does not work.)

-DisneyDenizen

As TBBT enters its golden years as a television series, it has grown and deepened in some lovely ways. The addition of Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik to the cast as regulars back in Season 4 was a stroke of genius — a much-needed dose of estrogen and some girl-brains to offset Penny’s dumb-as-dirt bit. The balancing act works in reverse, too: Kaley Cuoco’s Penny has some of her best scenes when she’s introducing her science-y besties to, say, the concept of an eyelash curler. Or shocking them with her sexual exploits (“It’s a joke! Based on real-life experiences…”) and incipient alcoholism (drinking an entire bottle of alcohol during a girls’ night get-together). Another reason to love The Girls of TBBT: Bernadette has done wonders for Howard, using her wit and wiles to teach him that being a man means much more than being in a constant amorous state. It means being responsible about money, showing up for friends, and running an orderly household.

Which brings me to the “but” part of my review. I have three “buts”:

1. Why is it that TBBT writers will always, always go for the gross and disgusting? My partner and I most often watch the show during dinner — perhaps not the best choice considering that if one of Bernadette’s experiments is going to have a side effect, you just know it’s going to be icky. Listening to Sheldon describe to the dry cleaner just why his couch cushion needed cleaning after Howard sat on it naked (“The Parking Lot Escalation”) almost ruined a lovely spaghetti dinner. In fact, my partner and I have created a TBBT drinking game — taking a drink every time one of the characters says something gross and/or gratuitous. If we drank actual alcohol we’d be Penny-wasted by the end of most episodes.

2. We love Sheldon. But why do the writers turn him into SUCH a jerk far too often? Using Amy as a human shield (“The Closet Reconfiguration”) was way out of line, even for Sheldon. It’s one thing for our Top Nerd to be a bad and clueless boyfriend, but when he crosses over into demeaning and humiliating behavior, he’s edging into the land of the verbally abusive. Not cool. And not entertaining.

3. Raj needs to stop needing alcohol to talk to women. I’m hoping that the addition of Kate Micucci to the cast in the form of Raj’s equally-socially-awkward new girl friend (as in, friend who is a girl, as — at least at this point in my Season 6 viewing — they have not officially hooked up) will stop the need-a-flask gimmick once and for all. Kunal Nayyar is a talented comic actor but even he stopped making that “joke” fresh and new several seasons ago.

So — Three Buts and a Yay. I love this show. I always have and I always will. But my deep affection doesn’t keep me from wincing and squirming through about 20% of the writers’ choices. I honestly don’t know who the show’s target audience is. I’m sure I skew much older than the desired demographic but I don’t think that’s the problem. I like edgy, I can even appreciate a dose of outrageous here and there. But gratuitous gross-outs have never done much for me as entertainment fodder. We viewers, like Amy Farrah Fowler, deserve better.

-Lady Ann

The Big Bang Theory delivers on an impressive sixth season as the directors continue to develop each individual character.

Howard and Bernadette’s relationship begins to intensify after the former returns from his NASA space mission; he starts to bond with Bernadette’s father while figuring out why his own father left him behind.

While the Leonard/Penny and Sheldon/Amy storylines consume most of the show, it is Raj that seems to grow the most in this season as he goes from essentially the friend in need to having his own lengthy romantic storyline. Although Raj does not get the girl in the need, he conquers his fear of talking to women when he talks to Penny (without the aid of alcohol) in the season finale.

Two episodes stand out. The first is the one where Howard and Sheldon have a dispute over a parking spot at the school; I won’t spoil the episode for you, but it is a must watch, and the second is the boys’ trip to a sci-fi convention which doesn’t go as planned.

The extras are also great – the cast actually communicate with a member of NASA directly from space in one extra which is quite breathtaking.

-Terry Hawes

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Producers: Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Steven Molaro, Eddie Gorodetsky
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: Portuguese, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Korean
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: September 10, 2013
Run Time: 660 minutes