The Big Bang Theory: The Collaboration Contamination (11x05)

Ehhhhhh.

Cons:

The main plot of this one is that Amy and Howard start working on a project together at work, and this makes their respective partners jealous. Oh, Bernadette is fine - it's Raj that's jealous over Howard's time, and Sheldon is missing Amy. What do I dislike about this? Well, Sheldon is a complete jerk. He's controlling and demanding and based on this episode alone, I would think he'd make a terrible husband for Amy. Amy, meanwhile, is long-suffering and doesn't stand up for herself even a little bit. Is it just me, or has Sheldon been reverting into an even more immature version of himself so far this season? It's driving me nuts!

Penny and Leonard play the role of parents to Sheldon this week, as they have so many other times. There were some elements I enjoyed, but whenever they do plot threads like this it just emphasizes to me how little momentum these two characters have nowadays. What are they working towards? What is their purpose?

Pros:

I liked seeing Howard and Amy working together. That's a pairing we don't see too much of on this show, and it seems like they get along really well. In fact, I was having such a good time watching them as Howard did magic tricks for Amy and they made breakthroughs on their project, that it was all the more jarring to watch Sheldon and Raj get pissy about it for no good reason.

As I said, there were some funny moments with Penny and Leonard. Penny reads Bernadette's parenting book and uses the techniques to help manage Sheldon. There's a moment where Leonard is getting upset about this, and Penny turns around and uses the same "validating feelings" tip that she earlier used on Sheldon, and it actually works for a moment until Leonard realizes that he's being manipulated. That cracked me up!

I know it's a tired gag, the idea that Raj is Howard's "wife," but for whatever reason it made me laugh this week. The setup of the episode is that Amy and Howard are working long hours, so of course their respective partners would miss them. But Bernadette was totally fine. If anything, she was just annoyed that Howard wasn't around to help clean the house. She later tricks Sheldon into doing Howard's chores by pulling the old Tom Sawyer trick, which was pretty amusing. Raj being jealous, while predictable, still made me chuckle. Raj's jealousy didn't devolve into controlling and abhorrent behavior like Sheldon's did, so it was more innocently amusing.

That's all I've got. Gah I wish this show would die and leave me in peace some time soon. But I've got a feeling it's still got some miles left in it...

6/10