Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 24
Duration: 18 minutes (per episode)
The Big Bang Theory: Season 10 (DVD) – Series Review
The Big Bang Theory has reached season 10. Like ‘Friends’ it’s a wildly popular humorous series, which unlike aforementioned series doesn’t end at this milestone. There was a rumor that Penny (Kaley Cuocuo) was planning on making this the last season she’d be in, but at 1 million dollars earned an episode, it wouldn’t be a wise choice to jump ship. So whatever milestone the series hits, she’s probably going to be staying in it. Also she’s married into it. Looking back on the very first episodes it could have all turned out a lot different if things didn’t get resolved the way they did. It would have all ended with Penny being pissed off at her neighbors breaking and entering to clean in the middle of the night and she would probably have moved away. Then none of the hilarity would exist in this season.
It’s funny how two characters can have so little things in common and go from being completely uninterested in each other to being a well-established couple. Season 9 was all about the troubles Penny (Kaley Cuocuo) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) were having in their premarital state yet those problems were eventually worked out and they didn’t hamper the marriage at all. Having run off and gotten married, they are now ready to let the rest of their family and friends know that they are no longer in the twilight zone about their feelings for one another.
The family members the characters have been talking about all the time in the previous seasons are finally given a face, like Leonards parents. His mom (Christine Baranski) is a well-known psychiatrist who had already been part of a couple of episodes, while his father (Judd Hirsch) hasn’t been unveiled up to this point. On Penny’s side, we finally get to see her mother (Katey Sagal) and her brother (Jack McBrayer). Her mother is the polar opposite of Penny’s father (Keith Karradine), and her brother is a drug dealer who just got out of jail. To the writers’ credit, they didn’t go for the ‘big hulking bald badass’ inked up to the gums, but more of a preppy person.
When it comes to the evolution the series has come to, there’s a lot to take in. Where season 9 ended up missing the mark a little with juggling continuity and humor, season 10 finds the perfect balance between it. The writers also managed to find the grey zone between character development and funny banter.
Sheldon (Jim Parsons) finally finds a way to be more in touch with his human side and less neurotic, although that might be because of his girlfriend Amy (Mayim Bialik). This makes the show turn away from the more ‘let’s laugh with emotional and mentally unstable personal traits’ and turns our attention to actual thought out comedy. The roommate agreement is in full effect as Sheldon and Amy start living together in a social experiment.
Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) aren’t standing still either, with their little ‘Wolowitz’ ready to enter the world at a moment’s notice. This leaves Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and Stuart (Kevin Sussman) to be the tail end of the group. They are the outlying characters that have gone from potentially likable characters having the trait of being unlikable down to a T, Rajesh being mopey all the time about having no love life and having nothing to show for himself and Stuart becoming a downright leech with nothing left to want in his life. It all boils down to him living with Howard and Bernadette for the rest of his life, which he outright states to Rajesh. He comes over as an asshole. That would be all fine and dandy but with his known character traits, that makes him come across as a shady rat. Both of them clash with the way the show is progressing. If they continue this trend things are bound to break as his true nature pours out more.
Apart from the humor, the series hasn’t evolved much acting wise, but that is neither here nor there as the acting was already as good as it’s going to be from season one. Season 10 doesn’t shy away from social commentary either. The implications of having a child in a family where both parents are successful in their field is something that isn’t glossed over as a complete episode is centered around Bernadette going back to work but being uncertain about going back and ‘abandoning’ her child for her career, which is always a good way to open a conversation about such ‘delicate’ topics.
Conclusion
The Big Bang Theory has regained whatever pep it had seemingly lost in the previous season and is back with more quips, puns and jokes and with less jabs at emotionally or mentally scarred personality traits and that is for the better. Fans will rejoice and newcomers will certainly have a laugh too. Should newcomers to the series view the previous 9 seasons beforehand, which is quite a feat to catch up, they’ll surely notice the evolution the series has undergone. A sure fine way to spend a lazy afternoon slouched in your couch and have a few giggles.
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