8.23 The Maternal Combustion And this episode gives us something even better – both mothers in the same room at the same time. They might appear like the mirror images their children (one brilliant; one sweet and simple), which is very much how they’ve been portrayed when flying solo, but it’s a (reluctant) testament to the writing that their interactions here were very much steeped in their own characters, rather than anything taken from Sheldon and Leonard. In all honesty, the stuff in this episode that involved the two guys was the weakest part, and just left you wanting to get back to the living room for more passive-aggressive mudslinging from the ladies. To start with, it’s a set-up that’s been used again and again – Bernadette is shrill and demanding, Howard is an ungrateful man-child – and it’s not until half way through that my ire of ‘oh, not this again’ turned into actual laughter. Howard’s a character I like very much from time to time, and I’m a die-hard Raj and Stuart apologist, so storylines involving all of them together should – and can – delight me in the right circumstances. They undercut Bernadette’s ‘nagging wife’ routine with the fact that she had a very good point, and Howard’s general portrayal as an overgrown teenage boy (something I’ve not been on board with for a couple of seasons now) was turned on its head with his genuine mini-epiphany. The final laugh didn’t come from him being unwilling, but rather his ineptitude which is, coupled with some spot-on physical comedy, ever-so-slightly preferable. Similarly, while we know that Leonard’s mother’s new bid to shower her son with affection won’t stick, it’s a gag steeped in a lot of history with all four of the characters. The Big Bang Theory always did very well in the past, for a sitcom at least, with evolution for its characters and their relationships so, whenever an episode gets its laughs from its own past, rather than relying on the actors or the archetypes the characters can be squashed into, it’s a big relief. It’s all too rare of an occurrence these days, which is why these guest spots are so much fun. It reminds us of a time when the show was consistently good, sweet and funny, even if we now have to make do with the odd episode to bring back the memories. Also, more Stuart please! Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, The Graduation Transmission, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
