RETURNING: Big Bang: Missing Leonard; Leonard's Return

Opening the season with two episodes can be a lot of fun, but it really just means another week without a new installment later down the line. And, when funny moments include things like Leonard showing coworkers a clip of Penny in a shower scene from a horror film, that's not great. Similar awesome tidbits that Big Bang-less weeks will miss include finding out that Sheldon owns nine pairs of pants and nine pairs of underpants, and that he is interested in creating robots OR mutants, depending on how a Kickstarter goes. Close to everything the characters talk about interests me, really, and with Stuart getting more screen time, I think that the season will be a great one, even if the audience will have to go a week without at some point. 

The Big Bang Theory "The Hofstadter Insufficiency" (S07E01): While dreaming, Sheldon calls Leonard during a storm to complain about the Back to the Future DVDs being in the wrong cases. [hahaha!] But, when Leonard gets eaten by a Kraken, Sheldon rushes to Penny, wanting to sleep in her apartment so "she" won't miss Leonard as much. [Sheldon is FUNNY, guys. is it any wonder that Jim Parsons gets the Emmy??] She sees right through him, but plays along, even though he sleeps in her bed. [he would just sleep in someone else's bed? that doesn't seem like Sheldon to me...] Another day, Sheldon tries to get Penny to play 3D chess, but he enjoys it so much he doesn't want to win and end the game. [who reads a magazine backwards??] They then call Leonard on the ship, but he's at a party, making Penny miss him more. The lonely duo talk, and Penny admits to being topless in a horror film. Sheldon not only saw the film (thanks, Howard!), but feels that an equivalent secret would be that he doesn't like the YouTube rating system. [what a real moment between he and Penny after that!]

Meanwhile, Raj sees Lucy everywhere he looks, so Howard accompanies him to a post-doc party to meet someone... but he keeps striking out, even though he is now able to talk to women without the aid of alcohol. He tries talking to the HR lady, but he insults her before actually connecting with her on a human level. [where could that really go, though? she's probably going to play by the don't-date-colleagues rule...]

Elsewhere, Amy and Bernadette are at a neuroscience conference, and two guys at the hotel bar buy them drinks. After imbibing, Bernadette suggests that Amy could do better than Sheldon, and the two later realize that they might be interested in the other's type of man. [whaaaa? also, "sweet baboo"?? like Sally Brown calls Linus??]

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The Big Bang Theory "The Deception Verification" (S07E02): Sheldon wants to find a gift for Leonard, and Stuart tries to sell him an Aquaman statue. He isn't interested until Stuart talks it up of being "rare" and "for a true collector," and then he bought a $1200 statue and a $200 Batman squirt gun. [hilarious!] Leonard comes home a few days early to spend time with Penny, and the two try hard to keep Sheldon unaware, but the nosy neighbor is afraid that Penny is cheating on Leonard, and instead discovers that Penny was trying to cover up for Leonard. Sheldon then claims that Leonard is not actually his friend, but after a few days, everything goes back to normal. [Sheldon wants to be Popeye for Halloween because Leonard got him a sailor's cap, haha! This makes Amy Olive Oyl. Also, I LOVE the cardigan to the right that Amy is wearing!]

Howard has put on a few pounds and been cranky lately, but it turns out that he has been absorbing estrogen from the cream he rubs onto his mother's back. [oh goodness!] It will take weeks to wear off, and before that, he asks Raj if his breasts are larger, and the two are soon comparing in every way. [initially funny, sure, but I think it would have been better if the scene had quit while it was ahead.]