The Big Bang Theory: The Middle Earth Paradigm

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 830PM ON CBS

Excellent Halloween episode! This was probably the best Halloween themed episode I've seen so far. I honestly didn't think it was going to be this funny but, as usual with this show, I was pleasantly surprised. As the title suggests, Middle Earth played a role in last night's show and for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a reference to the country in which the Lord of the Rings books/movies took place. Penny invited all the guys to her Halloween party and Leonard attended as Frodo Baggins, the ring bearer from The Lord of the Rings. And, if you saw tonight's episode, you know that Leonard was a very important part of the storyline.

There were some interesting moments as the guys prepared for their first cool person's Halloween party. Each of them originally showed up at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment dressed as the flash. Watching four nerds argue over who could go to the party as the Flash was hilarious. Even funnier were the events at the party later that night. The naivete of the group is probably the best part of the show and Sheldon's dry humor really rounds out the comedy.

At the party, Penny's ex-boyfriend showed up once again and Leonard got more than a little bit jealous. If you don't remember, Penny's ex-boyfriend stole Leonard and Sheldon's pants when the first time they met him. Well tonight wasn't all that much better. Leonard basically picked a fight with the monster and ended up being embarrassed at the party. Before you feel bad for him though, Leonard certainly ended up with the last laugh. Penny, as drunk as she was, felt terrible about what happened and went over to see Leonard during the party. She apologized and eventually gave a pretty long and intense kiss. Leonard though stopped it because he knew she was very drunk. I don't know if this was the best move but when she left she kissed him again in the hallway right in front of her ex-boyfriend. Hence the title to the episode.

Leonard made some big steps with Penny tonight but I don't think they're ready for each other just yet. Plus, I don't know how much she'll remember after this episode given how much she had to drink. Even so, it was great for Leonard and at least we know he has a shot. Sometime before the end of the season I foresee a confrontation about their feelings and maybe some good news for Leonard.
Here's a few great lines from the episode:

- Leonard is discussing how to socialize with the people at Penny's party and says that what you do is walk up to the group and say: "How wasted am I?" and then the group will say: "Duuude..."

- When Leonard was standing up to Penny's ex-boyfriend, Sheldon suggests the following: "Why don't you text him that & see if he backs down."

- Leonard says Penny's ex can't even spell the word confrontation and so Penny's ex tries to spell it out: "C - O - N....frontation"

- When Penny's ex sees her kiss Leonard in the hallway, Leonard responds with: "That's how we roll in the Shire."

- Penny said to Leonard: "Why can't all guys be like you?" and Leonard responds: "If everyone were like me the human race wouldn't be able to survive." Lastly, a quick word on everyone's costumes. Sheldon -- the doppler effect, really? Only he could go as the doppler effect and think everyone else is crazy. Walowitz -- Robinhood, wait Peter Pan. It was hilarious that everyone thought he was Peter Pan when he really intended to be Robinhood. Maybe if he lost the green tights and wore more rugid clothes it would have worked. Koothrapalli --Thor; this would have been a good costume if the long blonde hair didn't look so ridiculous.

Great episode tonight. Hopefully the guys will stay away from paintballing for a while, they don't see to really have the hang of it just yet. When you lose to "Kyle Berstein's Bar-Mitzvah Party" I think it's time to hang up your paintball guns. In the meantime, lets keep our fingers crossed for Leonard and hope that he eventually gets everything he wants. Until next week, enjoy the review.

By the way, congrats Koothrapalli. I never would have guessed he'd end up in bed with someone, especially since he still can't say a word to women.