Tom Beasley reviews the third episode of The Big Bang Theory’s latest season, which sees the show return to its more standard comedy formula after a dramatic opening two episodes…
It’s been rather gloomy in the world of The Big Bang Theory for the last two weeks. The seismic revelations of the eighth season finale left the opening episodes of this season with a lot of narrative heavy lifting to do. With that mostly out of the way, for now at least, ‘The Bachelor Party Corrosion’ was an opportunity for the programme to get back into its comfort zone and make its audience laugh once again.
There were two pretty well-worn premises in play this week. First, Howard and Raj decided to kidnap Leonard and Sheldon in order to give the former the bachelor party he hadn’t received before eloping with Penny at the end of last season. They bundled into a camper van owned by physicist Richard Feynman and took off for Mexico, before a flat tyre put a spanner in the works. Meanwhile, the girls holed up at Penny’s apartment for an evening of ear piercing and awkward family phone calls. By the end of the night, Penny had told her dad about her secret marriage and Amy had revealed to her over-protective mother that she was no longer with Sheldon.
As is common for The Big Bang Theory, there was a hit and miss quality to this week’s comedy. However, there was a real comfort to seeing the characters back in their natural dynamics and habitats, cracking jokes in the way that has kept the show going for the best part of a decade. Whether it was Amy recounting her mother’s opinions on pierced ears (“for whores, pirates or genies”) or Sheldon’s certainty that their van is being attacked by “banditos” once they cross the border, there’s plenty to enjoy on the comedy front here. There’s no doubt that The Big Bang Theory has found its groove again, even if the comedy doesn’t always work.
Despite its rigid addition to formula, there was a rather unorthodox flourish in this week’s episode. As the gang attempted to replace their broken tyre using a variety of scientific principles, title cards appeared displaying the various principles beforehand. This was a slightly awkward device, but it did provide some great sight gags as each technique fell apart, climaxing with the van burning out as a result of improvised thermite. Before that, though, was a genuinely excellent moment in which an impromptu rendition of ‘We Will Rock You’ broke out, complete with bizarre and uncomfortable lead vocals from Sheldon.
The storyline for the women was less eventful, but yielded plenty of humour. Bernadette felt slightly sidelined in the story, but Penny and Amy both got chances to shine during their respective phone calls home. This side of the episode was less original than the other half, but allowed the natural chemistry of the performers to seep through. It’s a testament to Kaley Cuoco, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch and the chemistry they have that they can make ten minutes of television work with very little material.
‘The Bachelor Party Corrosion’ was the very definition of a filler episode, but it was refreshing to see The Big Bang Theory return to its trademark relaxed tone. Not every episode can be like this one, but occasionally it’s nice to take a step back and take the foot off the storytelling gas for a week in order to just have fun.
Tom Beasley – Follow me on Twitter for movies, wrestling and jokes about David Cameron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_zu6XuI_g4
Originally published October 9, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
