‘The Big Bang Theory’ review: The ‘rocket man’s’ saddest night ever

There have not been many times in watching “The Big Bang Theory” over the years that we have felt bad for one Howard Wolowitz. The character is often selfish, perverse, and a complete and total mama’s boy. However, there was something about Thursday night’s new episode that made our heart go out to the guy … at least to a certain extent.

So what happened that made us actually develop some sympathy for the guy? He celebrated his grand return from space during this episode, but was very quick to realize that things had changed quite a bit while he was gone. His mother had found herself a new boyfriend in the family dentist Dr. Schneider, Raj and Stuart had grown close to the point where the comic book store owner was living with him, and Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, and Amy were too busy goofing off to really pay him much attention at all. What this all (plus Bernadette getting sick) really shows us was that this is going to be a process for Howard, and being an instant “hero” is not really what he thought it was going to be.

As sad as this was for him, we do have to say this was the funniest episode of the season, as well. Howard’s situation led to some awkward humor, and the battle between the boys and the girls at Sheldon and Leonard’s place contained more classic one-liners than we can count, with the “Where’s Waldo?” line being the best. We also had a surprise cameo from Howie Mandel, who managed to create some great panic for Howard when he first returned home. It was a great return back to the show that is popular, and we’re looking forward now to seeing the next step in Howard’s journey: how he manages to handle the situation of who he is going to live with. (Maybe his mom’s new boyfriend makes it easier.)

Did you enjoy this episode as much as we did?