[TV] The Big Bang Theory S04E18

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.

Tags: (TV) Comedy