The Big Bang Theory: The Hofstadter Insufficiency (7x01)

Announcement: Due to my extremely busy schedule and the absurd amount of television I will be blogging about, most of my posts will dramatically decrease in length. If an episode warrants special attention, I'll be sure to write more.

Wow. This was actually a fantastic opening episode. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Leonard is still at sea, and after Sheldon has a nightmare about him getting eaten by a kraken, he spends the night at Penny's house. The two of them spend time together and after calling Leonard and discovering that he's at a party, Penny is upset that Leonard doesn't seem to be missing her. Sheldon and Penny start telling secrets to each other that nobody else knows. Penny talks about a cheap horror film she once did, and Sheldon says that he saw that. Howard found it right after meeting her. Sheldon then reveals his big secret: he is still upset over YouTube changing their rating system from stars to thumbs up/thumbs down. Initially, Penny scoffs and say that's ridiculous, and then...

Sheldon tells her that she hurt his feelings. It was a beautiful moment where we got to see Sheldon's mental disorder addressed in a really powerful way. Penny apologizes and gives him a hug.

Meanwhile, Raj is still upset over Lucy, so he and Howard decide to go out to a work social. Raj ends up spending a long time with Janine Davis, the woman from Human Resources. She had just been left by her husband. The two of them spend time talking, and he tells her that he's happy to have made a real human connection with her. Even though it seems like they really had a moment, Howard knows that Raj will never act on it.

Amy and Bernadette are away at a science convention. They are drinking at a bar when some guys send them drinks. They are both extremely flattered, but then Bernadette messes up by suggesting that Amy could go talk to one of them and nobody would blame her. Amy (rightly) takes this as a slight against her relationship with Sheldon, and remains angry at Bernadette until they go to bed.

Then, the two of them make up by speculating about the boys at the bar. To their profound unease, they realize that Bernadette liked a guy a lot like Sheldon, and Amy liked a guy a lot like Howard.

I loved all three of these plots. They were all funny and they all dealt with a more real issue as well. Sheldon and Penny strengthened their friendship, Raj went beyond just flirting and made a real connection with someone, and Bernadette and Amy got to spend time learning about science and addressing some possible problems with Amy and Sheldon's relationship.

In all, this opening episode was really promising! I hope they can keep up the momentum.

9/10