The Big Bang Theory: The Meteorite Manifestation (12x14)

Another inoffensive yet still mostly unremarkable episode.

Cons:

I watched this YouTube video about the misogyny in The Big Bang Theory, and while it's not like I'm surprised, I feel like I'm noticing it more than I usually do. Little comments like a woman going through menopause just rub me the wrong way. It's inappropriate and annoying.

Penny was honestly just a background character, and I wish she had more to do. She was basically useless this week.

Pros:

I liked the goofiness of Leonard's plot thread, with his crazy dream, and Stuart's dire warnings that messing with a meteorite will lead to some science fiction apocalypse. It was just the right amount of silliness, and actually showed a spec of real creativity, which I'm not used to with this show. I think my favorite part was the cliche double-wake-up from the dream, with Leonard dreaming that he was biting Penny. And then Penny not knowing what color Leonard's eyes are: "I don't know. Brown. Green? Brown." That was great.

As is often true with this show, I think they could have done more with their setups, but I did like the idea of Howard and Bernadette getting into a conflict with their neighbor because of a privacy issue. It's predictable yet still mildly amusing that Sheldon thinks zoning paperwork is really fun. He's delighted by a typo, and excited by everything in the "zone zone." I also liked that he decided ultimately not to turn Howard and Bernadette in, but that he remained suspicious of the un-licensed deck and bathroom renovations. The upside of always following every tiny little rule is that when you break them, you get quite the thrill out of it.

Stuart and Denise are pretty cute. I really liked their end-of-the-world role playing, and the way that they're both convinced that the meteorite is the catalyst for disaster. The guys comment that they're happy they found each other, and I am too. Stuart is a pretty good version of the sad sack character trope.

Every time I try to write a review for this show, it ends up being so dang short. There's just not that much to talk about! Oh well!

7/10