There are only a few television shows that are currently airing that I really enjoy on a consistent basis.  Over the last few years, I have picked up the DVD sets for some of the shows I really like.  I started watching The Big Bang Theory in the fall of 2007 just because there wasn't anything else on at that time I was interested in.  I loved the episode and have been watching the show ever since.  I picked up The Big Bang Theory - The Complete First Season about a month after it was released.

The Big Bang Theory, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, is a comedy about genius scientists and how they cope, or tried to cope, with life.  Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper are physicists who are also roommates.  They were both very intelligent, but Sheldon, who had graduated from college at a very young age, believed that he was smarter than everyone and frequently told people how smart he was.  He was highly insulted when he found out his sister told people he was a rocket scientist.  Sheldon also had some problems with relating to and dealing with other people.  Leonard had his own issues, but seemed more normal.  Their friends Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrappali (Raj) had their own issues.  Howard thought he was irresistible to women and Raj literally couldn't speak if a pretty woman was in the room.  They all reacted differently when Penny, an attractive single woman, moved in across the hall.

In addition to being highly intelligent, the four guys were also geeks.  They all had collections of action figures and other movie related collectibles, played video games regularly - they have a Halo night every week - and know all sorts of things about comic book characters.  They talked about playing World of Warcraft a few times, and were even shown all playing during one episode.  Sheldon frequent wore shirts that had the symbol for the Flash or the Green Lantern and all four of them wanted to be the Flash for Halloween.  They frequently talked about movies or television shows.  During on episode, Sheldon went on about the inaccuracies in Superman: The Movie and the character being able to fly wasn't one of them.  In another, when Leonard heard a strange noise in the middle of the night, he went to investigate carrying a light saber that was lit up.  Being a person who gets a bit obsessed about movies or television shows myself, I love this aspect of the show.  I also love how often they make references to superheroes.  Penny even gets pulled into some of those things, like when Leonard got her to play Halo 3 with them and she beat Sheldon with very little effort.

Every episode of The Big Bang Theory in the first season had a different plot.  There were some minor plot points that would carry through into other episodes at times.  The episodes do stand alone fairly well for the most part, but I think it is best to watch them in order.  Certain things about the characters will make more sense that way, especially concerning Sheldon.  The main thing that carried through the first season was that Leonard developed a huge crush on Penny when he first saw her and he kept hoping something would happen, even when he seemed to get involved with a woman he worked with.  Leonard's relationship with Leslie, the coworker, did pop up a few times.  As the first season continued, Penny's relationship with the guys did evolve until she was sort of accepted into the group.

Several scientific things came up throughout the first season of The Big Bang Theory.  All four of the guys talked about different experiements they had going on at work.  They were all very passionate about their work.  Sheldon was more obsessed than the others with some work things, and he couldn't stand it if someone figured out something before he did.  Several technical scientific terms were used, usually at least a few per episode.  I didn't think things were too confusing even though I didn't fully understand a lot of the things the guys were talking about.  Penny never understood them when they were talking about science things, so some less complex explanations were provided for her at times.  Some of the most entertaining episodes were connected to science things in some way, like The Luminous Fish Effect when Sheldon started doing some interesting experiments around the apartment after being fired.  The guys were shown at work a few times.  It was interesting to see them in that environment where they were more comfortable.

The Big Bang Theory is one of the funniest shows that I've seen, especially in the last few years.  Much of the humor came from how the guys, especially Sheldon, reacted to things.  Sheldon was very intelligent, but clueless about so many things and that created a lot of funny moments.  He had a way of saying things that I just found funny.  Sheldon didn't know how to deal well with most people and there were even times when the other guys were annoyed with him because of that.  Sheldon frequently talked about how much smarter he was than everyone else, which caused him to be fired after he insulted his new boss.  He didn't handle not working well and did all sort of things, like tagging along with Penny to the grocery store and doing some odd experiments like trying to make a goldfish glow in the dark.  Sheldon also had a way of deflating Leonard's hopes of a relationship with Penny that I found very funny.  Sheldon always said and did things that made me laugh and he is probably my favorite character.  Raj and his inability to talk around women provided many laughs, as did the fact that he discovered that if he was drunk he could talk to women.  He also took part in a drug trial that dealt with his anxiety with women but caused some unique side effects.  Some people might feel that the humor is too silly, but it worked very well for the show.

A little bit of romance was added to first season of The Big Bang Theory.  Penny had just broken up with her boyfriend when she moved in the apartment across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard.  Her ex turned up once or twice and she did end up dating some other guys as well.  Leonard was very attracted to her when they first met but he didn't act on it because he didn't think he was her type.  He still mooned after her throughout the season, even when he ended up sort of involved with Leslie.  Everyone knew how he felt about Penny and they did tease him about it at times.  Howard was always chasing after women and trying to hit on Penny.  He thought he was irresistible when he wasn't.  His idea of good pick up lines were just creepy or insulting.  Raj had less luck with women since he couldn't even speak to one unless he was drunk or medicated.  Sheldon just didn't seem to care about having any sort of relationship with a woman.  There was only a little bit of romance in the show, so it wasn't like it was the main focus of what was going on.

The Big Bang Theory really revolved around Sheldon and Leonard since they were shown the most.  The two of them had known each other for a long time and had been roommates for a while.  Leonard tolerated Sheldon's many quirks most of the time.  Sheldon did have a tendency of annoying people, even his friends, but saying things that weren't exactly tactful or nice at times.  He just didn't know how to related to people.  His food had to be just so or he wouldn't eat it and he had to always sit in the same place in the living room or he couldn't function, which was illustrated a few times when Penny took his spot.  He really is a mess and Jim Parsons plays the character perfectly, somehow making him likable despite his flaws and issues.  

Leonard had some issues too and was obsessed with video games, movies, and super heroes, but he was more able to deal with people.  He didn't have all the complex issues that Sheldon had.  Leonard was also very intelligent, but he didn't go around bragging about it like Sheldon did.  Leonard was very interested in Penny even though he wasn't doing much about it because he was afraid she would turn him down.  He was a bit delusional about her and their relationship.  Johnny Galecki was very good in the part.  Penny was the attractive young woman who moved in across the hall.  She usually had no idea what the guys were talking about but she still ended up spending time with them, even joining Halo night once.  She had her own way of dealing with the guys, especially Sheldon.  Kaley Cuoco fits the part well.

Howard Wolowitz acted like a ladies man when in reality most women didn't want to be anywhere near him because he came across as a being a bit creepy.  He lived with his mother, who was heard off camera during a few episodes.  He honestly had no clue how women really viewed him, which made for some funny moments.  Simon Helberg handled the part really well.  Raj was a kind guy who had a major social anxiety that kept him from talking to women.  He couldn't even talk if one was in the same room, though he could whisper to one of the other guys.  He was trying to rebel a bit from his parents who were pressuring him to settle down a marry a nice girl from India.  I really liked Kunal Nayyar in the part.

Those five characters make up the core of the show and they all work together really well.  Penny and Sheldon have had some really great comic moments together.  Leslie Winkle, the woman that Leonard sort of got involved with, turned up in a few episodes.  She was also a very intelligent scientist and not overly feminine.  She and Sheldon couldn't stand each other.  Sarah Gilbert did a really good job with the part.  All four of the guys had the same boss, Dr. Eric Gablehauser who turned up in a few episodes.  He was the one who fired Sheldon, so there was no love lost between the two of them.  Sheldon's mother and sister turned up in one episode each and Raj's parents were shown through a video chat once or twice.

Main Cast

Kaley Cuoco - Penny
Johnny Galecki - Leonard Hofstadter
Simon Helberg - Howard Wolowitz
Kunal Nayyar - Rajesh Koothrappali
Jim Parsons - Sheldon Cooper

DVD Information

The Big Bang Theory - The Complete First Season was released on DVD on September 2, 2008.  The seventeen episodes are on three discs that are in one case.  There is a little page like plastic thing that holds two of them, one on each side, and the last disc is held on the inside back panel of the case.  The case does hold the disc securely and it isn't difficult to get the discs out.  

There is only one special feature, Quantum Mechanics of The Big Bang Theory: A Behind the Scenes Look Into Geek Chic.  This featured the creators talking about how they came up with the idea for the show and how they have a scientist consultant to make sure all the scientific talk is correct.  Some of the cast talked a bit about the show as well.  The featurette was interesting, but it would have been nice if there had been more extras.  

Episode List

Pilot
The Big Bran Hypothesis
The Fuzzy Boots Corollary
The Luminous Fish Effect
The Hamburger Postulate
The Middle Earth Paradigm
The Dumpling Paradox
The Grasshopper Experiment
The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization
The Loobenfeld Decay
The Pancake Batter Anomaly
The Jerusalem Duality
The Bat Jar Conjecture
The Nerduana Annihilation
The Pork Chop Indeterminacy
The Peanut Reaction
The Tangerine Factor

The Big Bang Theory is a great comedy that is consistently funny and entertaining.  The show managed to blend in some geeky things, like being obsessed with comic book characters and movies, with science and relationships to make a very entertaining show.  The Big Bang Theory - The Complete First Season is a great DVD set for fans of the series.

I have decided to include some quotes from the first season that help to illustrate the humor of the show.  Most of these involve Sheldon in some way.

Sheldon: You have about as much chance of going out with Penny as the Hubble Telescope has of finding that at the center of each black hole there's a little man with a flashlight trying to find the circuit breaker.

Penny: Yes, I know men can't fly.
Sheldon: No, no let's assume that they can. Lois Lane is falling, accelerating at an initial rate of 32ft per second, per second. Superman swoops down to save her by reaching out two arms of steel. Ms. Lane, who is now traveling at approximately 120 miles per hour, hits them, and is immediately sliced into three equal pieces.

Leonard: At least I didn't have to invent 26 dimensions to get the math to work.
Sheldon: I didn't invent them. They're there.
Leonard: Yeah? In what universe?
Sheldon: In all of them, that's the point!

Sheldon: I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original projectory and adheres to you.

Sheldon: Engineering. Where the noble semiskilled laborers execute the vision of those who think and dream. Hello, Oompa-Loompas of science.

Leonard: You are not Isaac Newton.
Sheldon: No, no, that's true. Gravity would have been apparent to me without the apple.

Leonard: Are there any other honors that I've gotten that I don't know about? Did UPS drop off a Nobel Prize with my name on it?
Sheldon: Leonard, please don't take this the wrong way, but the day you win a Nobel Prize is the day I begin my research on the drag co-efficient of tassles on flying carpets.

Leonard: Do you really need the Honorary Justice League of America Membership card?
Sheldon: It's been in every wallet I owned since I was five.
Leonard: Why?
Sheldon: It says keep this on your person at all times. It's right here under Batman's signature.

The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Second Season ~ The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Third Season ~ The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Fourth Season ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD