‘The Big Bang Theory’ season 7, episode 19 review: Sheldon, Raj, and decisions

Thursday night’s new episode of “The Big Bang Theory” was an eventful one … and luckily, one that also was for the most part entertaining. It also contained everything from geek references to dating and so much more. Also, Mayim Bialik was pretty awesome in it courtesy of her pandering to Sheldon as he made one of his biggest decisions any video gamer can make: PlayStation 4 or Xbox One?

At the end of the day, Sheldon actually didn’t even make a decision! He sat there in the story for so long thinking about it that the place closed, and he’ll have to come back later to figure it out. The show did a pair of very smart things here when it comes to this story: Not only did they not anger gamers by having Sheldon pick a favorite, but they also used a great Wii joke to reflect its current place in the hierarchy.

But as great as Bialik and Parsons were in this episode, though, the real scene-stealer was Wil Wheaton in a small role as he tried to give Penny advice on handling the entertainment business. The best part about his forlorn speech to her about the struggles of being a good actor is that a good bit of it, especially that about auditions and having to take less-than-exciting jobs after a great one, was actually very true. (It’s a really great week for Wil, in case you haven’t heard.) His actually revealing himself to be in the same terrible ape movie as Penny at the end? A great little moment, even if you saw it coming.

Also, the Raj story tonight was firing mostly on all cylinders, though it was somewhat interesting to see this Emily character go on a complete 180 from being somewhat abrasive to extremely nice and understanding this week. There could be something there, and for the time being we actually prefer this character to Lucy in that it’s someone who seems to have a real perspective, and also hasn’t ditched him in the middle of a date.

Even the tiny story about Bernadette leaving an incredibly-awkward message on a greeting card produced great laughs. It’s easy to hate on “The Big Bang Theory” sometimes since it’s so successful and commercial and this point, and it’s always so much “cooler” to be counterculture. But the truth of the matter is that when it has a good script, the performers are so great that they can take it to the next level. This was a really funny script, and it turned into one of the best episodes of the season. At times, it was even unpredictable, and we cannot say that about this show often. Grade: A-.

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Photo: CBS