The Big Bang Theory: The Grasshopper Experiment

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @8:30PM ON CBS

Tonight on "The Big Bang Theory" Raj speaks! Okay, so it doesn't sound all that interesting upon first glance but if you've been watching the show all season you know that this is actually a VERY big deal. See the thing is that Raj (as one of the nerds) has always been able to talk to his friends and family but never to women, especially beautiful women. Needless to say this makes scenes with Penny quite interesting as she tends to talk while he sits there looking frightened. Anyway, last night Penny told everyone she started bar tending and wanted to practice mixing drinks for the group. Raj, however, had never had a drink before in his life and low and behold the grasshopper Penny made him was some sort of magic talking elixir. Raj immediately began talking to Penny and couldn't shut up! It was amazing and actually funny since he started talking to her like they'd been friends for 20 years.

What was funny about Raj's transformation was that his usual nice, calm demeanor turned into a truth telling ass. His parents, who were broadcasting themselves from India to his laptop, set him up on a date with a girl he knew when he was younger back home. Given his issues with speaking to women, Raj decided Penny's cocktails were a necessary addition to his date so he wouldn't look like a complete moron. Sadly, the fact that he also tells the truth got him into a lot of trouble; although funny for us to watch. You could tell the date wasn't going to end well when he constantly reinforced the fact that his date used to be very, very fat. Even Leonard and Sheldon knew this was horrible as they watched from the bar.

Interestingly though, Sheldon actually has some skills of his own. Granted he was utterly clueless about his flirting but nonetheless he actually said the right thing for once. I knew it would happen someday. I was actually pretty impressed with his smooth taking ways as he explained to Raj's date that she reminded him of a beautiful and elegant fictional Hindu goddess. This apparently swept her off her feet and she ditched Raj to go have dinner with Sheldon. Now, you're probably saying to yourself, "no way, Sheldon always screws things up. This can't possibly be the end of the story." Oh how right you are. The guy has a great date with great conversation but somehow it completely eluded him that he was even on a date to begin with! Sheldon explained it to him and yet he still had no idea he had just been on a date. Oh well, it's pretty obvious at this point that although Sheldon is brilliant he's extremely immature. Somewhere along the way he became so immersed in his own intellect that he forgot to grow up. Personally I love his humor and innocent sarcasm but at times you have to wonder how much longer he can go on this way.

I also think the animosity between Penny and Sheldon is one of the stronger points of the show. Their back and forth jabs are extremely comical. For instance, this exchange took place last night between them:

Sheldon (arriving late to Penny's restaurant for her first night bar tending): "Sorry I'm late"

Penny: "What happened?"
Sheldon: " Nothing...I just really didn't want to come."

A quick mention about Howard before I wrap up. His quick interjections of inappropriate sexual humor has become a stable of the show and very funny, especially when Penny shuts him down completely. For instance, she asked him what he wanted to drink and he asked for a slippery nipple Penny replied with a quick, "okay you're cut off." They've become very funny together as she does whatever she can to ignore basically everything that comes out of his mouth. He was especially funny tonight when he impersonated Raj on the phone with his date. His Indian accent mixed with American slang was brilliant.
Tonight's episode was amazing and if you stuck around for the end you saw something we'll probably never see again, a drunk Sheldon singing Fiddler on the Roof in the restaurant! Penny secretly spiked his Virgin Cuba Libre (rum & diet coke). He's a really awful singer and even worse if it's Fiddler on the Roof but fantastically hilarious. Until next week, matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match...