Big Bang Theory, The: The Complete Second Season (DVD)

Another Great Season of The Big Bang Theory fun to have at home on DVD to satisfy each Big Bang Whim. (See my Season One review for a recap of the show premise and main characters.) The comedic goodness continues with The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Second Season. However, as was my frustration with The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season, the Second Season DVD still doesn't provide enough extras to make me want to buy more. Cast interviews, commentaries, reflections from the designers, are the meat and potatoes for me in regard to stellar DVD features. I want to hear more about the process of making this world come to life...but I want to be entertained while you tell me. Big order, I know. Yet none of these grumblings about the weak extras on the DVD can dampens my enthusiasm for this excellent 23-minute escapade of laughter. And so, this season's DVD retains a 5-star rating with the hope that in subsequent seasons, the DVD supplementals will continue to improve. Also as with the Season One DVD, you still can and should, pause for the Chuck Lorre's Vanity Card to enjoy his weekly offering of wit and life observations. It's the cherry on top. From my Season One Review: I avoided the Big Bang Theory until this year. I'm not sure why. I hadn't heard a lot of talk of it among my friends and family, nor did the seemingly endless promotions seem to ping at my radar. Yet suddenly, there it was, leading into my other "late to the party" favorite, How I Met Your Mother. I wish I could say I'm not a strong t.v watcher, yet as I think back to the number of sitcoms and ensemble dramas I've viewed through the years, it appears I've dedicated more of my time to the box with moving pictures than was perhaps necessary. All to say, even with regular press, a successfully completed five seasons, and a fantastic cast of mostly well seasoned actors, I remained painfully oblivious to this quality gem...and my life was emptier for it... The General Premise of The Big Bang Theory: Two bonafide geniuses with varying degrees of, but undeniable, social awkwardness, live across the hall from a young, beautiful any-woman, who is kind enough to gently show them a world outside of their scientific bubble and geek-topolis, yet also powerful enough to guard them from any less tolerant "cool kids". The dialogue is ripe with geek culture references and scientific humor. Both fully immersed self-identifying brainiacs, nerds, and geeks, as well as "haven't touched a book since high school and hated it even then" types, can relax and enjoy the awkward hiccups that our four scientists experience as they try to marry their love for things "out of this world" with the realities back "here on earth". The series regularly partners our bumbling scientists with the girl across the hall for typical neighborly conundrums (free loading wifi and ordering thai food) and less typical neighborly activities (driving to San Diego to demand back from a bully "unimportant things only useful in an imaginary world"). Kaley Cuoco (from Charmed and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter) gives a genuine performance as Penny, the patient yet worldly girl-next-door, who takes the guys under her wing (and at times, into her bed). Johnny Galecki (Darleen's boyfriend in Roseanne) is utterly charming and convincing as the lovable Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, who you quickly want to "get the girl". And Jim Parsons (Emmy Winner for this role) plays Dr. Sheldon Cooper, a former child prodigy and current theoretical physicist at CalTech whose strict adherence to his own routine provides fodder for endless conflict and comedy between his friends, family, and general public. The chemistry and polarity between these three main characters provides the springboard for most of the shows storylines and comedy.

Okay, I'm a bit of a nerd so suppose that slightly predisposes me to liking a comedy show starring the types of people I can relate to. But the bottom line is that this is THE funnest television series I have ever seen in my life. For the first time in my life, most of which has been spent behind a book or computer rather than a t.v. set, I find myself looking forward to watching another episode, and even THINKING about one that I have seen makes me laugh out loud. As much as I have enjoyed The Simpsons, Married With Children, and even South Park, no other series has held my attention or made me laugh as hard or as often as this show has done so far. I MUST own all seasons. This is pure medicine for the laugh muscles. The initial premise is simple enough - a couple of super-smart guys (Leonard & Sheldon) share an apartment. With near-zero social skills with the opposite sex, they meet their sexy but not as smart neighbor, Penny. Add a couple of friendly sex-starved nerds with similar skill sets and hilarity reliably ensues. I noticed someone criticized the show for adding many characters as the seasons went on, "losing" the initial premise. I disagree. Unlike a cartoon where the characters remain pretty much the same age as when the series began, these people are moving on with their lives, growing in all ways as the audience witnesses their growing pains with sympathy and laughter. It gets better every season. I am addicted and love it. And for the first time in my life, I have a desire to meet and talk with the writers of this show. THAT is how impressed I am with these guys. The writers are BRILLIANT, and a fantastic cast brings their words to life perfectly. I cannot think of one thing I do NOT like about this show! TRY it. You can see a few episodes from Season 6 for free on CBS. Then, like me, you'll probably want to see every season asap. Enjoy. Have tissues handy for the tears of laughter.

This is one of my absolute favorites! I could watch it again and again!

It's official. I am truly addicted to The Big Bang Theory. And after several years without a sitcom on my weekly TV schedule, I am thrilled. I recently caught up with the second season on DVD, and now that I've stopped laughing, I'll share my thoughts with you. The show revolves around four physicists. Leonard and Sheldon (Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons) are roommates. They are good friends with Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) since all four work at Cal Poly. Across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon's apartment lives Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a want to be actress who pays her bills as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. In any other world, she'd be the normal one of the group, but as Sheldon points out at one point, "In this room, you are the one who is peculiar." The season opens exactly where season 1 left off. Leonard has finally acted on his crush and asked Penny out. But she quickly dumps him and then confides the reason to Sheldon who almost moves out instead of keep the secret. Over the course of the season, Penny becomes addicted to an on-line roll playing game, Raj gets a big head after landing in "People" magazine, everyone tries to teach Sheldon how to drive, Penny and Sheldon wind up in a feud but they batch things up in time for Penny to give Sheldon the best Christmas present ever, Howard actually gets a girlfriend (temporarily), and Penny accidently hits Sheldon's couch cushion with paintballs. Most of the focus on this show is on Sheldon, whose neurotic behavior is perfectly played by Jim Parsons. And there's a very good reason for that. Sheldon often gets the funniest lines or funniest stories, and Jim's acting is absolutely perfect. I really do feel that this character in anyone else's hands would be a disaster. But that's not to knock the rest of the cast. All five of the leads are great comedians and brings their characters to full life with every episode. Kunal Nayyar has a hard job since his character is too shy to talk around women, but he still manages to get some great laughs out of us. When Howard isn't being a slimeball, he can be funny. And Leonard really is the most normal of the guys, and the one I identify with the most. Which leaves us with Penny. She is the emotional heart of the show. While often frustrated with the guys and their lack of social skills, she also usually is quick to forgive and do something that will make you smile. Take for example the episode where she loses it with Howard for his suggestive comments. Honestly, I get that since I often find his remarks over the line. But their scenes together later in that episode are heartwarming. Of course, there are the funny side bars in each episode, like the one where Sheldon expands the game of Rock-Paper-Scissors by adding Lizard and Spock. He does it to decrease the odds of ties, a plan that backfires in some of my favorite moments in the season. Season two consisted of 23 episodes, which are preserved here on 4 discs. The fourth disc also gives us an interview with the real life physicist who helps with the show's incredible amount of science as well as interviews with the actors and creators about how the show progressed in season two. Finally, there's a great gag reel. This show never fails to make me laugh. If you are looking for a great sitcom, look no further than season two of The Big Bang Theory.

This show is quite awesome. I am a computer geek, comic collector, fantasy gamer, with many similar hobbies and mannerisms to many of the characters on this show. The inside geek jokes are truly gems. My wife loves the show also because she is a non geek who has put up with my hobbies for so many years that she is reminded of us in several episodes. I have seen most of these episodes and have pre-ordered this season. The episodes I have seen from this season (about 75%) led me to order season 1 on DVD. Season 1 was FANTASTIC, and I am sure the episodes I have missed from this season will be just as good. The episodes I caught I loved, and definitely warrant repeat watching. This is truly a show that relies on it's ensemble cast. When the four main geek characters get together it is always magical. The actor playing Sheldon is my favorite and deserves multiple emmies. SOAP BOX TIME: I have a comment on the future of this show. A few times this season the writers have portrayed the geek side of the characters in a harsher negative light. They should celebrate these aspects instead. Show the hobbies and obsessions as they are in all their glory, and let the audience judge the level of acceptance. We fanboys already know what we do is not necessarily the "social norm", but our numbers are growing; Millions play WoW or online games, the San Diego Comicon has become a celebrated cultural phenomenon, D&D and other games like Magic the Gathering are quite popular, and SciFi and fantasy are becoming more and more accepted forms of mainstream entertainment. (Lord of the Rings anyone?) This show is too good to fall into the sterotypical trap of labeling the geeks as the outcasts to be shunned. It should be less about laughing at them (us), and more about laughing with them (us). So many shows miss this mark and insult what could be a huge audience share. This only happened once or twice this season that I remember, mainly in situations where Leonard was trying too hard to be "normal" to impress Penny.

Every situation comedy (sitcom) has to come up with a unique angle to view reality through, in the hopes of finding the humor in life. In the past, this was generally done in family situations with "zany" characters. That type of sitcom has also largely been done to death. Even the "group of funny friends" situation is starting to be overdone. Friends did it. How I Met Your Mother is currently doing it (very well I might add), Seinfeld did it, etc. In "The Big Bang Theory" we are thrust into the lives of 3 genius level scientists, and one super-genius level scientist. The story needed its "Spock" or "Mr. Data" to explain to the rest of us what on Earth they were talking about, so we got Kaley Cuoco playing the lay-person's character of "Penny." As the genius scientists have to explain to her what they are talking about, it clues the rest of us in too. The result of the situation this comedy is taking place in, is an inside look into a world most of us have never seen, nor do we understand. As someone who took both levels of introductory physics (and passed!) in college, I can tell you that their subject matter is accurate, and also way over the undergraduate level. The characters are pure genius, and pretty much every episode is hilarious and filled with heart. I highly recommend this show to anyone looking for a good sitcom to watch. It isn't a "science show" -- no more than "Sports Night" was a "sports show." It is a comedy show, and it is darn funny! The Big Bang Theory is now entering its third season, and I strongly recommend you all support it so we can keep this quality entertainment on the air!

It was in good condition. Great show!

In order to help alleviate the TV and DVR wars described in my Review for The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season , I also bought this set (he's going to have to wait for the other 2 seasons till next year, unless he buys them himself). Continuing with his saga of Geek waana be - I must ask him, why did you have a Guest Account on your Wireless Network? Needless to say - he made out on the DVD sets this Christmas (sis bought him another one, since we coordinated, but I don't remember the Title). He STILL leaves shows on the DVR though. Since it ins't list on the page, the DVD Package Contents (From the 2008 series): Disk 1: includes the following episodes: "The Bad Fish Paradigm," "The Codpiece Topology," "The Barbarian Sublimation," "The Griffin Equivalency," "The Euclid Alternative" and "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem." Disk 2: includes the following episodes: "The Panty Pinata Polarization," "The Lizard-Spock Expansion," "The White Asparagus Triangulation," "The Varatbedian Conundrum," "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" and "The Killer Robot Instability." Disk 3: includes the following episodes: "The Friendship Algorithm," "The Financial Permeability," "The Maternal Capacitance," "The Cushion Saturation," "The Terminator Decoupling" and "The Work Song Nanocluster."" Disk 4: includes the following episodes: "The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition," "The Hofstadter Isotope," "The Vegas Renormalization," "The Classified Materials Turbulence" and "The Monopolar Expedition." Bonus Features - Listed on Product Description. Review of show itself - As you can see, this is one of those Series that BIL considers his own. Watching faithfully, and becoming addicted via watching over and over (however, therea are worse addictions ;-). This series continues the story lines from the previous series, with more character development in each episode. "Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" takes on a whole new meaning with our four favorite nerds. And is especially appealing to sci-fi fans (yes, BIL is also addicted to Battlestar Gallactica). Of Course, this ever present principle will explain MOST of the basic physics concepts you will ever need: "Rock, Scissors, Paper, Lizard, Spock." Enjoy again, whether you equate yourself as a nerd or not. 5 Stars from the BIL. PS - I didn't only purchase DVD sets. With all that TV watching - I purchased these adidas Men's ForMotion Running Zone Cushion Low Cut Sock, 2-Pack , so he can keep in shape - and still escape into oblivion.