The Big Bang Theory is known for its character changes right near or exactly at the end of the seasons (like Raj being able to talk to women without being drunk at the end of Season 6), this time it's Sheldon's turn again, by giving up his pursue of verifying string theory and looking for a new field study, which leads to some hilarious moments during the episode.

Raj is no longer dating two women at once (not that he ever really did), so Howard proposes a double date with Bernadette and Emily, so they can get to know her before Raj eventually scared her off.. which turns out not to be a great idea, since Emily and Howard had met before, in very unfortunate circumstances.

WHAT TO LOVE
Seeing Sheldon drunk will never cease to be funny apparently, and this episode contains one of the best black-out moments he's had so far, specially when the audience is lead to believe something may have happened between him and Amy, only to find out the hilarious truth. Also, knowing what Howard did on Emily's bathroom years ago, which earned him the nickname of "Clogzilla", was definitely one of his funniest moments during this entire season.


WHAT TO HATE
Barry Kripke will always, apparently, be that one character that's put in an episode just to be annoying and a jackass to almost everyone around him, and this episode was not the exception. I believe he could definitely have more depth, as shown in previous episodes, but the fact that they're trying to pin him to the jerk stereotype is getting a little tiring.

WHAT TO IGNORE
Penny and Leonard didn't much add much to the plot other than just being there because they're part of the cast, and Penny's involvement in helping Sheldon decide to abandon string theory, could have perfectly been done by Amy. Not saying they shouldn't include characters if they're not gonna contribute to the episode, but the writers definitely could have done a better job on this.


THE VERDICT
It was a funny episode, no argument there, but not a highlight of the season. Plus, seeing Leonard and Penny losing relevance in the series bit by bit, is a bit disquieting. Maybe Penny getting pregnant could shake things up a bit? Who knows, but needless to say, I'll be for sure sticking around to find out  ;)

Walden has some love troubles yet once again as the end of Season 11 of Two and Half Men looms near, while Alan´s fake "Jeff Strongman" is finally exposed, without that many consequences actually, which made this episode fairly bland in comparison to previous efforts in this series.

We also get some surprises this time around, as Mila kunis (who was Kutcher's girlfriend in the series "That '70s show") makes a guest appearance being the one responsible for Walden to wreck his relationship with Gretchen, for the second time around, so he's back to a completely single status, which apparently will be the tone for the rest of the season.

WHAT TO LOVE
Seeing Kunis and Kutcher together again on screen was definitely a treat for any fans of "That '70s show", they definitely have some chemistry together (NOTE: just found out they're a couple in real life now as well), and the jabs and references they did about their previous TV shows, movies and even romantic partners, was definitely funny.


WHAT TO HATE
Do they really have to keep bashing Charlie Sheen for being kicked out of the show, and do they have to keep spilling his ashes for like the Nth time? It was funny the first two times, but if they're gonna reference Charlie Harper as a character, I'd like to see them do it in some type of positive light for once.

WHAT TO IGNORE
It was good to have Alan forcefully getting rid of his alter-ego, Jeff Strongman, but to have Gretchen still wanting to be with him after all that cocktail of lies, felt a little out of place. And speaking of weird, trying to add some shock value to the show by attempting some same-sex kissing between Kate and Vivian, on one hand, and Alan and Barry on the other, felt totally needless. They really couldn't find any other way to be amusing? It really felt like just thrown there for the sake of controversy and nothing else.


THE VERDICT
Not the best episode of the series, but also not the worst. Guess that bringing Mila Kunis to the show was the only cherry on the cake the series writers were willing to deliver, and deliver they did, but still seemed like a very poor attempt to inject some life in a series that little by little is getting stagnated, in my humble opinion. There are still another three episodes before the season ends, so we'll see if they can get their stuff together and go out with a bang, I'll for one be looking forward to it.

It's that time again where most American sitcoms do one of those themed episodes and The Big Bang Theory is no exception, of course, as the whole gang heads to Mrs. Wolowitz's house to spend the holiday, to the resignation of most, and the total devastation of one (Sheldon, who compares being taken there with how slaves were forced to be taken from Africa to America).

We also find out that Penny was actually married to her ex-boyfriend, Zack, when both of them spent a Thanksgiving in Las Vegas and, unknowingly, tied the knot in what they believed was a "fake wedding". Leonard is of course not happy about it, and most of the episode is spent trying to annul the marriage, which involves inviting Zack over to dinner, which also ensues some funny moments in the episode.




Other enjoyable times involved Bernadette's father bonding with Sheldon, out of all people, with football stories and beer, which also lead to maybe some interesting developments in the show. Of course, this is not the first time Sheldon has gotten drunk (I think the first time was for Howard's bachelor party), but having him accept alcohol so willingly was definitely something new… plus, him buttslapping Amy at the end of the episode and asking her for more beer, made him look human in a way we may have never seen him before… I think i read somewhere that the writers were trying to make Sheldon less of a robot and more of a human being little by little, and this may be one of the beginnings of that process. I for one, really enjoy the change, as there's really just so much you can pull out of a one-dimensional character, so a more rounded-up Sheldon Cooper will definitely be a nice addition to the series.



I still felt it was a bit forced to have everyone go to the house of Howard's mom, to then have her get sick and unable to participate with everyone else, as the episode could have perfectly have taken place at Leonard and Sheldon's place, or anywhere else, but I guess that's just a minor detail.

All in all, it was definitely a very funny episode, and seeing Sheldon transform into a character with more depth is definitely something good, so I'll be looking forward to see this transformation continue in the future.

In what's shaping up to be one of the less entertaining seasons of Two and Half Men ever, this episode delivers more of the same: issues with Alan and Lindsey´s illicit affair, Walden having awkward situations, and Jenny being a lesbian version of Charlie Harper, all elements that are starting to get very old, very soon.

Maybe the only redeeming point of the episode is seeing Rose back in the show, but of course, she still does what she always does: being a stalker and an all-around creeper. Plus, her appearance in the show is very shaky and shady: she was the private investigator that Linday's boyfriend, Larry, hired to spy on her, but how could have he contacted Rose in the first place? I mean, we can assume that Rose is very crafty and resourceful, but plot elements like this just make no sense and, to me at least, take a lot away from the comedy elements of the show.


Plus, the whole Larry-Lindsay-Alan love triangle is really starting to wear me out, even if this episode could, hopefully, signal that the whole situation is coming to an end soon, now that even Jenny was thrown in the middle there… but like I said before, her futile attempts to fill the sleazy drunk man-whore's position left vacant by Charlie Sheen's departure of the show, seem way too forced and uninteresting. They tried it with Walden before, and it didn't work, so now they're going for the next best thing… but it's still not working, in my humble opinion.


Maybe the only funny part of the episode was the motel's manager trying to seduce Walden, and eventually chasing him into the bushes. I highly doubt he could become a regular character in the series (I don't see how), but if he did, maybe the should would stink a little less of what is doing right now.

A very poor episode over all, wonder if they'll be able to pick it up towards the end of the season, I still have some hopes for a miracle like that.

In spite of the many people who stopped watching this show after Charlie Sheen left, Two and a Half Men has continued thriving through its tenth season and it doesn't seem to be letting down anytime soon, and as a fan of the series, i am very happy for that.

This time around we see the plot progressing into what may be Alan's third wedding, with his girlfriend Lindsey pressuring him to tie the knot. We also see a turn of events for Walden when this time it's a rich lady who's taking him out and buying him stuff as opposed to what his normal routine would be. It was specially funny when the producers of the show made fun of themselves, by ridiculing both the old and new premises and story lines of the series during an after-sex exchange of words between Walden and his sugar momma. Being able to laugh at oneself is always important, so i give props to these people for being brave enough to do so.

The main novelty of this episode is the introduction of the new character, Sid Olsen, a grumpy and witty old man portrayed by none other than Jon Cryer himself, making this his second role after years playing Alan Harper exclusively. I'm not entirely sure how much of a good move this is or not, as at first i thought the series was gonna take a HUGE turn by adding science fiction to its plot (by making Sid Olsen really be Alan from the future), but when i realized he's just a new character and nothing else, i was a bit disappointed. I have to admit though, the way they showed both characters on screen at the same time was really, really well done, and i'm glad that technology has advanced so much as to being able to do this the right away.


I still remember series from the past when an actor would play twins in a show (think Phoebe and Ursula in "Friends"), and the execution was very poorly done, where you could tell the camera cuts, image quality of both versions of the characters was significantly different, etc.   Compared to that, Alan and Sid played next to each other flawlessly, so great congratulations to the visual effects team are in order. If Mr.Olsen will play an important role in the rest of the series or if he's just gonna be forgotten like Magilla (Walden´s gorilla brother), only time will tell.

What did you think of this episode? Did you also think at first that Sid Olsen was a time traveller Alan Harper? Please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks.

In what is probably the funniest episode so far this year, "The 43 Peculiarity" brought some surprises as well as some little disappointments along and set the tone for a really good rest of the season for this constantly funny and well produced series.

Talks of a parallel universe and Sheldon holding a secret were the two main elements at the beginning of the episode that i'm sure had most of us really intrigued, specially when the secondary story of Leonard being jealous of Penny's new classmate was not that surprising at all, as Leonard being doubtful about his ability to keep Penny's interest in him has been a constant throughout the whole run of the series.. but the climax that this situation lead to was definitely the cherry on the cake.

We also see that Alex (Sheldon's assistant) is converting her crush on Leonard into something a lot bigger, probably even infatuation, and it was truly funny to see him so clueless about her innuendos towards him (which were all sweet and super cute, by the way)… but of course Penny's accidental slip about her true feelings for Leonard was something that probably most fans have been awaiting for years, and it's gonna be really interesting how this revelation plays out in the upcoming episodes.

But the biggest surprise that, to me at least, turned into the biggest disappointment, was Sheldon opening a portal to a parallel dimension… my breath stopped for a second as i thought this series was gonna take a HUGE leap into new territory (by bringing science fiction into the show), but then was quickly corrected when realizing the whole thing was a prank on Sheldon's part. It would have been SO interesting to have such a new element to be developed in the series, but alas, it was not meant to be. In spite of that, i still loved this episode and i'm really looking forward to the next, to be aired on November 29th.

So, what did you think of this episode? Do you think that eventually adding science fiction to the plot would harm or improve the series? Please leave me a comment in the section below.

The main thing i liked about this episode is that it was, to me at least, the first one in feeling different and maybe indicating the direction this series is going to take when compared to what Two and Half Men has been for the last 8 seasons. We see Walden trying to develop a serious relationship with his current crush, Zoey, and also get to meet both her parents (very colorful characters), Walden's mother and, probably the main surprise of the show, Walden's "brother", Magilla, a 400-pound gorilla that lives in an animal sanctuary, and this last bit is the one i think deserves more time talking about it.
While the pictures of Walden as a kid next to the baby gorilla were somewhat ridiculous and totally unrealistic, the gorilla outfit (and probably robotic face) they used for the grown-up Magilla, was actually pretty good, in my opinion, not to the point of saying "oh, that's a real gorilla!", but at least it doesn't scream "fake" in your face as probably most TV apes in the past did.

I felt the reunion moment was quite touching and it makes me wonder how big of a role this event in going to play in upcoming episodes. The gorilla looks realistic enough to keep playing a supporting role in the future, though i don't really know how they would write him in in the stories, but that's a challenge i would like very much to see undertaken by the show's writers.


It's finally feeling like a whole new show and i think this was the main intention when they decided to kill off Charlie Sheen's character and bring Ashton Kutcher to the plate. I for one congratulate the producers of the show and will be looking forward to see how the plot continues developing as the episodes come along.

Saturday Night Live has been one of my favorite sketch-comedy shows for ages, and i was really looking forward to the beginning of this new season, and all i can say is that i was mildly content with it.

We notice from the presentation of the show that the cast is exactly the same as it was last season, which i feel is good, since i didn't feel the new guys got much air time last year.. in spite of that, Jay Pharoah didn't appear in ANY of the sketches of this season premiere, so we're kind of starting in the wrong foot in that area.
Radiohead's performance was amazing, and i guess i wasn't the only one being surprised that they used an additional drummer, something i don't know if it's permanent or just done for this one show alone. They played "Lotus Flower", off their album "The King of Limbs" for their first number, while their second song was "Staircase", which i understand is not present in any album. Like i said, they did an amazing show and seem to be doing better than ever.

As for the comedy sketches themselves, some of them got me laughing for a bit, but in general, i wasn't that entertained by them. I found it to be a very bland first show, but i trust things will pick up in the upcoming episodes.

Though i feel i may be alone in this, i actually happened to like the season opener for the ninth year of one of my favorite comedy series: Two and a Half Men, as it proved to be more than i expected from it.
True, i miss Charlie Harper as a character, but after 8 seasons of booze and womanizing, i felt his role in the series was more than overplayed. I even remember at the end of season 7 there were serious doubts about the continuation of the series because of the lack of plot development: Charlie was always drinking, always partying, and always sleeping with different women… and the moment we thought he may settle down and get married, the wedding would fall apart for one reason or another, and we were back to square one, once again. So now, with the death of the main character, we have a perfect opportunity for a fresh start.


The funeral ceremony seemed really short and lacking of any kind of real mourning, but we're talking about light comedy here, so i don't think they could have gone really dark and somber anyway. Plus, if we think what kind of character Charlie Harper was, it's not totally out of question to imagine a lack of seriousness in his departure from the series. Still, the little but intimate moment that Alan had talking to his brother's ashes in the urn felt like a proper goodbye, and him spilling all of Charlie's remains on the carpet when he gets startled by Ashton Kutcher's character, was just perfect, considering all the tension and conflict that ensued during the entire Charlie Sheen debacle and departure from the show.

And speaking of Kutcher, it was cool to see they wrote him in as a guy with authentic feelings for one woman only, who doesn't drink alcohol, or doesn't like it at least, and who's like a little kid and innocent in his overall personality… in other words, a total opposite to who Charlie Harper was, which i feel will lead to an entire different kind of show to what Two and a Half Men was for the past 8 years, and i for one, totally welcome that. Looking forward to the next episode and to how the story develops now!

Well, it's kind of sad the first Saturday Night Live review for my new blog has to be one of the worst SNL episodes i have seen this year, and which followed an actually very funny one just one week ago when Miley Cyrus was the host, and also because the previous time Zach Galifianakis hosted this show, even his intro monologue was just amazing… but i didn't see any traces of that in this edition of one of my favorite TV shows.
I could tell that things were going to be heading downhill after the first sketch, a parody of a sports show in which they were picking up who the craziest person of the planet was, which was totally uninteresting and unfunny. I mean, by now, we all know Charlie Sheen is insane, i didn't feel we needed another SNL sketch to remind us of that (the one in the previous week, "Duh! Winning!" was the one i did enjoy a lot).

They then followed with a parody of "The Talk", pretty much stating what everyone already knows by now: that the show is a "The View" wanna-be. That was the whole premise of the sketch, which i felt was bland and unoriginal. And speaking of bland, the next sketch, "The Kings of Catchphrase" was another huge missed arrow in a show that was full of lost darts already: we get it, you're parodying a bunch of comedy tours where the comedians are NOT funny, but being unfunny the whole sketch to convey that idea… i felt it was just too much.

We then got another installment of "Scared Straight", sadly, a very uninspired one… i don't even know why SNL still continues doing this sketch; the last one they did with Betty White was very funny and it could have been a nice farewell for the skit, but after this one, i hope they do pick it up with something better in the future.

I sort of thought things would maybe improve after watching the "Zach Galifianakis looks for an assistant" sketch, in which the kids were surprisingly entertaining and their interaction with Zach was really natural and even amusing. Even Jessie J, who performed right after that, was a welcome surprise, and even though i felt her music belonged in the 60's, she won me over with her personality and energy. Props to her.

Sadly though, just when i thought things were going to indeed pick up, we are exposed to what is probably is one of the worst Weekend Updates of the season. What happened to Seth Meyers ideas? Did he run out of them because he had to perform in the catchphrase comedy sketch before? I really don't know, but it was at this point that i almost stopped watching the show entirely for the night.
I kept going, regardless, and was bored again to death with the "Dog dying from Erotic asphyxiation" bit… i mean, what was the point? Have the show writers truly lost their touch? Specially after watching the next sketch, "Celebrity Scoop", in which the whole point of it was to establish what nice people Canadians are, as if that was an obscure topic that needs some light shone upon.

We get then Jessi J's second song, and again, she was excellent, but still didn't feel she saved the night at all, particularly since she was followed by the night's two most boring sketches: "Worse than Corn Syrup" and "Escaping from the Titanic disguised as a woman".

They end the night saying they apparently ran out of time to air a final sketch, and we see Mr. Galifianakis' head shaved in the famous shape that Mr. T used to sport in the "A-Team" TV series. I don't even know if this was true or not, but i don't think even that would have rescued this show from the disaster it turned out to be.

Again, i'm sad i had to start my SNL reviews in such a bad note, but as a fan of Saturday Night Live, i just always expect more from its writers, and this was one time where they absolutely did not deliver. Better luck next time, guys!

While certainly this one is unlikely to figure as one of the best in its season, nevertheless The Big Bang Theory rarely has had an episode that is not quite funny, and "The Prestidigitation Approximation" does not stray from that statement at all. From the opening skit of Howard baffling Sheldon with his "magician skills" all the way to the never-ending post-breakup tension between Leonard and Penny, we are witnesses to the awesome talent of producer Chuck Lorre and his team of writers yet once again.
In spite of the above statement, a couple of things did call my attention… i don't think it's a case of continuity at all, and probably it's just a character development situation, but I'm still taken aback a bit with the huge change experienced from Raj's sister, Priya, towards her now boyfriend Leonard. While in the past she never showed much consideration for him, to the point of even be spending time in Los Angeles without telling Leonard at all, now she's a sweet and concerned girlfriend, who even goes on a jealousy fit and ask him to stop hanging out with his former love, Penny, and even goes out of her way to help him pick up "grown up" clothes and all that. I mean, i'm not complaining about this change in her character, I'm just saying that it feels a tad bit strange… that's all.

And speaking of Penny, we continue seeing that she still hasn't gotten over Leonard at all, as much she seems to try to convince herself of that… and on his end, Leonard also seems to have some trouble moving on, in spite of how happy he may seem to be with Priya. It's definitely an interesting and amusing love triangle and i'm looking forward to see what develops from it, particularly now that we're told that Priya may be relocating permanently to America and has a big chance of becoming a recurrent character in the plot.

On his part, the indisputable star of the show, Sheldon Cooper, continues doing his job of providing the main laughs of the episode, and we see a lot of his characteristic childish behavior when being unable to figure Howard's card tricks, which we find out in the end was all a prank perpetrated by him, assisted by Raj and Penny. And speaking of our friend from India, it was particularly funny to learn more of his affinity towards cross-dressing: we had already seen in previous episodes that he had no issues with the possibility of wearing a Wonder Woman costume, now we are told by his sister that he also owns a Lt. Uhura's outfit in his wardrobe, a mental picture i don't even dare project in my mind (haha). I'm curious to see if this will ever play a significant role in upcoming seasons.

Finally, i wanna start doing something with this show: picking up the "Word of the week", which this time around happens to be "axiomatic", and also the "Reference of the Week", which now falls on Darwin's theory about the transmutation of species (just click on the links to learn more about them).

All in all, a very good episode from a series who stays strong and doesn't disappoint, and i really hope it stays that way for a long time to come.