photo: cbs
The Big Bang Theory
The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation
Original Air Date: Sept 21, 2009
Theresa – Staff Writer
theresa@thetwocentscorp.com
The boys are back!! Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj return from their 3-month Arctic research expedition, where some questionable conservation of body heat took place. But let’s not speak of that. Let’s instead speak of Penny’s ecstatic reaction to Leonard’s return.
Penny immediately grabs a shaggy, bearded Leonard into a kiss upon his arrival and drags him into her apartment as the other boys, equally shaggy, look on in shock. Their reunion is interrupted shortly after when Sheldon makes a discovery. Howard and Raj have finally confessed that an electric can opener they were using affected Sheldon’s data back at the North Pole. Where Sheldon thought he was confirming string theory, he was actually finding nothing; they just wanted to keep him happy so they wouldn’t have to plot his frozen death.
Sheldon is devastated, and rightly so, because he’s already told everyone back at the university about his amazing research. Leonard doesn’t care and keeps trying to reclaim his moment with Penny instead. Thankfully, Penny’s a bit more sensitive and tries to soothe Sheldon (even singing Soft Kitty), but he’s not having it. He missed Comic-Con AND Star Trek for nothing! After being humiliated by Kripke in the university cafeteria, he decides to run back home to Texas, but Mama Cooper calls the boys to come get him. Sheldon insists they are no longer his friends, his dream is dead, and he’s going to spend his life teaching evolution in Texas. But, once he gets a dose of creationist stubbornness from his mother, he’s ready to hop a plane home.
While I’m not really a Penny/Leonard shipper, I thought the surprise Penny kiss was a fantastic way of handling the return! But why was Leonard being such an extreme horndog!? Ok, we get it, you’ve waited a long time for this, but if Howard and Raj can care, certainly Leonard can. And speaking of, what did you all think of the way they just cut to Leonard and Penny in the aftermath of their first time – infuriating, no?
But pedophile-mustachioed Howard was enough to make me laugh in this episode, and that wasn’t even the best part. Sheldon’s “I missed Comic-Con” freakout – awesome! Let me know what you thought was the best moment, and enjoy some of my favorite quotes. I, for one, am going to start prefacing all my emotions with “In the world of emoticons”.
Some of the best quotes:
Sheldon: In the world of emoticons, I was colon-capital D.
Penny: Why did you have to make him [Sheldon] happy?
Leonard: Because when he wasn’t happy, we wanted to kill him. There was even a plan!
Sheldon: While I do not currently have a scathing retort, you check your email periodically for a doozy!
TheTwoCents 
My husband and I were just saying last night that this is quite possibly the best sitcom on TV. I mean, I love some Office and all, but really, I laugh all the way thorough this show.
My favorite line is: “Damn his Vulcan hearing!”
Great recap, Theresa!
For my money (or I guess, my time), it’s definitely the best thing going. It’s managing to stay smart and not hit the usual trap of turning the characters into caricatures of themselves.
And thank you!
i love this show too! been watching since day 1. Howard and his outfits…can’t wait to see each week!
I know, and I loved the red cowboy hat in this one too!
I LOVE Penny and Leonard and I’m wondering where they’re gonna take it now that they’ve decided what happened was “weird.”
And I agree, this is one of the best shows on TV!
I hope they haven’t painted themselves into a corner with the weirdness, but they have handled it really well so far, so I have faith!
I’m a recent convert and was devastated when my dvr didn’t record it! Found it on a website and could only hear the soundtrack. Thanks for catching me up!