The Big Bang Theory: The Workplace Proximity

"Did you know Los Angeles has a Little Sri Lanka?"

The men are annoying their womenfolk again - except for Leonard. Meanwhile, Amy's got a new job. And a new monkey. And whatever happened to Raj's job. Let's put this episode under the ol' microscope and over-analyze it Sheldon-style.?

The Big Bang Theory: The Raiders Minimization

"With or without him the Nazis find the ark, open it and die."

In this episode, Penny reads all about Leonard's childhood, Raj reunites with buddy Stuart and hits the online dating scene and Sheldon and Amy have a fight about a very serious (to Sheldon) issue. Let us review where no fan has reviewed before!

The Big Bang Theory: The Scavenger Vortex

In a departure from the traditional "fifth wheel" episodes where Raj laments his singlehood as the others couple-off, this 22 minutes of Big Bang had Raj playing puppetmaster and running the others all over the places on a nerdy scavenger hunt. Rivalries form, bonds are made and broken. Neil Diamond is sung way more than he needs to be. There will not be a quiz on this later, but let's review anyhow...

So Raj is upset because the gang blew off his last murder mystery party. Apparently there have been a lot of them and they're a real drag. He comes up with another idea - an obscure reference geek-friendly scavenger hunt - and everyone's in.

I don't think they did as much with this concept as they could. For one, we got another episode right off with Penny and Sheldon paired up, and not much new and exciting happened.

Then we had Bernadette as the over-competitive caricature which wasn't too funny (and the "I made that up..." thing was predictable, wasn't it?) We've seen this characterization of the person who gets crazy over competition before. And when Howard asked Amy "Have you never played a game with her before?" and Amy said no-- that was just one of those suspend your disbelief moments.

Speaking of those two...

While Howard and Amy bonding over Neil Diamond was funny - and the actors sold the heck out of it-- it wasn't funny five or six times. And since - as was noted- those two hardly ever hang together, there seems like they could have done something else or more. Neil should have been the start not the entirety of their bonding experience.

Another gripe? The clues should have been more inventive and funny. The ones we saw weren't either of those things, really, and the ones we didn't see, well, we didn't get to see them. Raj's surprise ending was cute but not really worth the 22 minutes it took to get there.

Funny things were present, though. This is Big Bang after all. Howard and Amy's singalong (the first few times...). Stuart with his comical lamenting of always being left out. Sheldon and his laundry. Raj and his smoke maker and then his smoking jacket. And I did like how Raj wasn't the sadsack this time, but the initiator of the mayhem.

I'm not saying this was a bad episode, but definitely under-cooked. They didn't push their concept to the comic limit, or at least out of the predictable.

Oh! And one last thing. I'm no scientist, and I'm sure scientists have joking rivalries about their different universities, and Sheldon thinks everyone is stupider than he is. But do scientists really make fun of Princeton as some kind of second-tier school? I mean, Sheldon would, but Howard- who isn't even a PhD? They hit that one a little too much last night.

Anyhow, let's bang out again together next week. Thanks for reading!

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The Big Bang Theory: The Deception Verification

The Big Bang Theory has done a lot of good episodes where secrets get out of control. Who knows the truth about Leonard's return to dry land? And who's left out in the cold with a Batman squirtgun? These questions answered as we apply the scientific process to ascertain a verifiable truth. See how I just worked in the episode title? Total accident!

The Big Bang Theory: The Hofstadter Insufficiency

"Your husband's weird and his clothes are ridiculous."

Did someone say Big Bang Theory Season 7? Double-episode of The Big Bang Theory? The Big Bang Theory extravaganza?!!! Yes, folks, it's no search engine optimized hyperbole to say the gang returns from summer vacation with a cute double-episode premiere. I'll be reviewing them separately because it's prettier on the episode list that way. Where's Leonard? What happens now that Raj can talk sober to women? How much do Amy and Bernadette really have in common? These and more questions answered through the process of scientific inquiry right now...someone get me a control group...

Psych: Santabarbaratown 2

"I'm pretty sure 90% of gunshot wounds are psychological."

Everyone loves a cliffhanger, even if we know that the actor hanging from the cliff hasn't been fired so he's not going to die. The Season 7 premiere lets us off the hook as we find out what happened to Henry after Wojo from Barney Miller shot him point blank.

Psych: No Trout About It

"You told me it was cake mix!"

Honestly, the end of season 7 of Psych -- give or take this random musical episode I keep hearing about -- reminds me of two things. The first is that Psych is a summer show and should be on in the summer and I am disturbed that it has ceased to be such. The second is, I really do not dig one single USANetwork "action drama" series and that's a shame... for USANetwork. A reviewing we will go (finally...)

Psych: Nip And Suck It

"You're not 55 anymore."

Shawn and his dad have a complicated relationship. But they both live to catch the bad guy. What happens when the two don't agree on who that bad guy is? In a case of a dead plastic surgery patient, this is the situation. In a case of "c'mon son" writ large, will they let their rivalry stop them from doing their jobs? No. Of course they won't, don't be ridiculous. Let's review...

The Big Bang Theory: The Bon Voyage Reaction

“And now I'm crying for a whole different reason.”

The Big Bang Theory ends season 6 in a way that has fans looking forward to season 7, but without virtue of a big cliffhanger. Which means there isn't much to spoil in this first paragraph where we try to avoid spoilers. Moving on...

Psych: Juliet Wears the Pantsuit

"Our house -- in the middle of the street."

That made me laugh out loud...Sometimes I wonder what the producers of Psych have time to do in their lives besides create episodes and watch old movies, because almost every episode has a movie tie-in. I think they've seen everything... This week's cinephile shout-out, if you will, was to Single White Female. Remember when everyone thought Bridget Fonda was on her way to a huge career? Let's review.

Psych: Cirque du Soul

"I'm still here, Shawn. And I'm not a leprechaun."

You know how you can separate a memorable episode of a show you love from a forgettable one? Think back on it and see if you remember it or you don't. That's free logic for you, friends. Let's try to recall this couple-overflowing episode I saw many moons ago, shall we?

Psych: Santa Barbarian Candidate

"And this is my partner: Bill Ofrights."

If you're still burned out from the 2012 election, this episode may not be for you. Shawn and Gus get involved in local politics, in a completely nutty way only they could. Is that title a stretch as a Manchurian Candidate pun or what? Hey, lets us review.

Psych: Office Space

“Here... scratch and sniff.”

You know how there's always that one guy in the office who is just a total dirtbag, and you know how it's really, really, bad when that guy is the boss? Psych examines that very situation in this episode... for about three minutes. Then it kills the guy off, and then the real trouble starts....

Psych: Dead Air

"A playa... named Gus."

I'll get to the review in a second. But first, does anyone else wonder how Jules has such a nice apartment or house or whatever it is? It's pretty snazzy. Nice yard. All right, so, this week, Gus got to come front and center and do a lot of his Gus-ish things while a shock jock we've-never-heard-of-before-but-who-supposedly-was-one-of-Shawn-and-Gus'-favorite on-air personalities was murdered. Don't touch that dial. Instead, let's review.

Psych: Right Turn or Left For Dead

"I think, no, I know I need space."

Now, Psych, this is what I'm talkin' about. You were funny. The mystery was mysterious. This was a good episode, the best since the winter season began. Now let me expand on that. C'mon, son!

Psych: Deez Nups

“I'm good at what I do. And what I do is good.”

This episode was a weird hybrid: part road caper, part Lassie-centric wedding game-changer, and then, there was the end, which, whoa Nellie. I don't know if this was a good episode or just a full episode. Let's do this.

Psych: 100 Clues

“Gus, don't be the second time ever I saw your face.”

So, fitting somewhere between the bleh Blair Witch take off and, say, the really fun Twin Peaks takeoff, Psych's “choose your own ending” 100th episode Clue takeoff –- was neither horrible nor memorable. In other words, I think it was a properly wacky homage to the wacky classic. But it wasn't classic in and of itself.

Psych: No Country for Two Old Men

"Vaya Tostitos, Mexican Lassie."

In this episode, set mainly in Mexico, Psych renews my faith in its worth, and, with that, my faith in all humanity. For if Psych ceases to be funny and entertaining, well, it's just like if someone took away all the ice cream or perhaps kept ice cream in existence, but made it so every flavor was brussel sprout. What would the point of living be? Let's get out of this paragraph while it still has some semblance of direction, shall we? Vamanos!

Psych: Lassie Jerky

"Lassie, Jules can shoot a crossbow."

Psych, what the heck?

I mean, what the heck?

I mean, seriously what the -- No, you know what? I can't do this with you right now.

Psych: Juliet Takes A Luvvah

"Home should be wherever you are, and the dogs we're going to get relatively soon."

After a bit of a dark season opener, Psych's second Season 7 episode –- thankfully -- took things a little wackier.