The Big Bang Theory: The Positive Negative Reaction (9x16)

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but this was a very good episode. I know, hard to believe, right? Let's take a look.

Cons:

At the beginning of the episode, Bernadette tells Howard that she's pregnant, and while Howard is excited, he quickly starts worrying about the responsibility and the money, etc. etc. He freaks out to his friends, while Bernadette talks with Penny and Amy about her own fears. In short, this episode started off with the same cliche that every sitcom has used when a character gets pregnant. The husband is comically worried and feels unprepared? The wife feels anxious as well? Shocker!

Pros:

The reason this episode was great, however, was that they wasted very little time on the obnoxious cliche reactions and jumped straight on to other things. One of the coolest ideas in this episode was that it lacked any a subplot. The entire episode was really just the gang reacting to the news of Bernadette's pregnancy, and nothing more. With a sharp focus like that, they were able to really delve into each character's reaction.

The guys go out to drink and celebrate. Sheldon gets pretty drunk, which is always entertaining, and Howard starts trying to think of an invention to make a lot of money so he can provide for his kid. He and the guys actually end up thinking of a new way to create tracking devices that might be helpful for navigational purposes. It looks like they might actually be on to something good!

Meanwhile, Bernadette is mopey and the girls aren't sure how to help her. They manage to cheer her up a little bit, and end up joining the guys at the bar for some karaoke. They all sing baby themed songs to Bernadette. Just as Howard is singing a tender song to Bernadette, drunk Sheldon hears the news from Penny and Amy (who had learned it from Bernadette) that the baby was actually conceived one daring night on Sheldon's bed. He interrupts Howard's song with a loud exclamation: "what kind of people have coitus on someone else's bed?!"

Penny and Leonard discuss possible future children, and agree that they'd make great parents, although they may be lacking a certain amount of maturity, given that they've taken advantage of Sheldon's hangover to draw on his face with a sharpie.

There were just so many funny jokes in this episode, and they all stayed focused around Bernadette's pregnancy, with great results. One of my favorite moments was when Amy got to gleefully include herself in the group of "grown ups" who have "done it" and know what it's like when you're with your man and one thing leads to another. She's been waiting a long time to be able to be a part of this club.

I also loved all of the karaoke stuff, from Leonard's over the top performance to Penny and Amy's mismatched rendition of Justin Bieber's "Baby" to Howard's tender love song.

Drunk Sheldon is always a hit. Jim Parsons knows just how to toe the line between insufferably annoying and oddly entertaining.

Well, there you have it. It's crazy to say it, but this episode of The Big Bang Theory was actually a lot of fun! We'll have to see if they can keep up the good work.

9/10