‘The Big Bang Theory’ season 7 spoilers: Guest stars, and an ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ tribute

It’s not often that we really applaud a show for doing a take of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” mostly because most of them come across as cheesy, and don’t really capture the magic of the original. While we’re sure that the cast of “The Big Bang Theory” isn’t necessarily going to succeed when it comes to making us tear up in the same way as Jimmy Stewart and company has, this may still be the right sort of show to pull this off. After all, it only makes sense that these people would think about what their lives were like if Sheldon was not around.

This episode airing next week is entitled “The Cooper Extraction,” and based on the full synopsis below, this could be one of the more entertaining holiday-themed specials over the years:

“While Sheldon is away in Texas, everyone gathers to decorate the apartment Christmas tree, and they each realize how much he has changed their lives.”

There are going to be a few important guest stars also coming back for this episode. Laurie Metcalf will return as Sheldon’s mother, and some other favorites including Stuart the comic store owner, Howard’s mother, and Penny’s ex Zack (making his second appearance of the season) are all listed on the guest cast. With this sort of lineup, this could be a ton of fun, but with that being said we imagine that this will have a hard time comparing to Sheldon receiving the DNA of Leonard Nimoy as a Christmas gift. To this day, this remains our single favorite moment in the history of the show.

There is a little bit of an interesting connection already between Jim Parsons and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” mostly in that both he and Stewart both starred in versions of “Harvey” over the course of their lives. Outside of that, it’s pretty fair to say that their careers have certainly been pretty different.

Want to read some more “Big Bang Theory” season 7 coverage? Then just click here to read our full review of tonight’s episode.

Photo: CBS