Resistance was futile.  It took me a few years, but I finally succumbed to the laugh riot that is The Big Bang Theory.  Season 3 is more of the same for the sitcom, which is a great thing.

The show picks up three months after it left off in season two.  Scientists Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Howard (Simon Helberg), and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) are returning from their scientific expedition to the North Pole.  Leonard goes over to his neighbor Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) to tell her they are back, and Penny greets him with a huge kiss.

Yes, you read that right.  The will they/won't they tension they've played with for two years is resolved for much of this season sd Leonard and Penny finally get together.  Oh, they have their bumps along the way, from the fact that their sex life isn't quite as good as they had hoped to the fact that Penny believes in psychics while Leonard, man of science, does not.  And Leonard tries to fit in with Penny's friend by learning football.  Plus there's the fact that Sheldon, Leonard's roommate, hates change.  And this is a big change.

But Leonard and Penny aren't the only ones in a relationship this season.  Howard meets Bernadette (Melissa Rauch).  She's only around for a handful of episodes this season, but it was fun seeing her be introduced here.  I really love her character and how bad Howard, who thinks he is a lady's man, really is with women.

Elsewhere, Raj faces deportation when his research project hits a dead end.  Sheldon has to drive Penny to the ER after her shoulder gets dislocated.  The guys fight over a prop ring from the Lord of the Rings movies.  Penny tries to learn physics from Sheldon.  When Leonard and Sheldon are robbed, Sheldon makes a drastic decision.  We take a trip back in time to see how the guys all met and what exactly happened to the elevator.  Plus we get a cameo from comics legend Stan Lee, Howard's fantasy version of Katee Sackhoff (who still manages to insult him), and two appearances of Wil Wheaton as he and Sheldon go at it.

I honestly can't tell you how funny this show is.  The writers are brilliant and the actors rise to the level of bringing the laughs to life.  I have fallen away from sitcoms because I don't find them that funny, but this is a noticeable exception, and I love watching it.

Okay, so I do my fair share of cringing at the show.  Much of the humor seems to be sexually related, and I find a little bit of that goes a long ways.  It's a shame because when the show leaves the sex out of it, it is just as funny if not funnier.  And that's why I keep watching it - it's just too funny.

Okay, I also watch it for the characters.  Sheldon can be a bit much at times with his rigid way of doing things, but most of the time he's funny.  All of them are flawed, but all of them have endearing moments, too.  My favorite continues to be Penny who seems to bring out the best in any character she is around - she's just so sweet.

I already praised the actors, but I'm going to do it again.  How they get through this material each week without breaking up on every single take astonishes me.  They not only maintain composure but also bring these characters to perfect life each week.  Praise usually goes to Jim Parsons who deservedly won an Emmy for his portrayal of Sheldon in this season.  It's a shame he outsides his co-stars because they are equally good.

But I do have another serious complaint about the show.  They really establish this season that Sheldon hates Babylon 5.  That's my favorite TV show of all time!  How can they disrespect it like that?

There were 23 episodes in season 3, and all of them are here on 3 discs.  The picture is widescreen and the sound is surround.  This is how it airs on CBS each week.  The surround sound is overkill since this is a traditional sitcom filmed on a stage before an audience - rarely do they use the back speakers for much.  The special features include the cast sitting around talking about their favorite moments from the season (with one from last season thrown in for good measure), a semi-interesting set tour with stars Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, and a hilarious gag reel.

Despite the fact that I don't care for the almost constant sexual content of The Big Bang Theory, I still find the show hilarious.  Season three was great, but I recommend starting from the beginning to fully appreciate the characters and jokes.

This review is part of the 2011 Funny Pages Write-Off.  Why?  At least half the episodes make direct references to comic books and comic book characters.  Not to mention the appearance of comics legend Stan Lee.

Season Three Episodes:
1. The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation
2. The Jiminy Conjecture
3. The Gothowitz Deviation
4. The Pirate Solution
5. The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary
6. The Cornhusker Vortex
7. The Guitarist Amplification
8. The Adhesive Duck Deficiency
9. The Vengeance Formulation
10. The Gorilla Experiment
11. The Maternal Congruence
12. The Psychic Vortex
13. The Bozeman Reaction
14. The Einstein Approximation
15. The Large Hadron Collision
16. The Excelsior Acquisition
17. The Precious Fragmentation
18. The Pants Alternative
19. The Wheaton Recurrence
20. The Spaghetti Catalyst
21. The Plimpton Stimulation
22. The Staircase Implementation
23. The Lunar Excitation

Other Big Bang Theory Reviews:
Season 1   
Season 2   

Recommended: Yes