by Melissa Haggar
Landing in this week is ‘The First Pitch Insufficiency’, which rather obviously references some inability with sports. So, just who could have some terrible athleticism? Well, with plenty of people to pick from, it was Howard who stepped up to the plate to showcase his absolutely diabolical sportsman skills.
Landing in this week is ‘The First Pitch Insufficiency’, which rather obviously references some inability with sports. So, just who could have some terrible athleticism? Well, with plenty of people to pick from, it was Howard who stepped up to the plate to showcase his absolutely diabolical sportsman skills.
This week’s episode focused mainly on Howard’s poor athletic ability and Sheldon’s idea that his relationship with Amy was superior to that of Penny and Leonard. The episode kicked off in usual fashion, with Leonard and Penny’s newly developed relationship sewing its way into the plot lines, as the subject of when the marriage is going to happen comes up. Penny and Leonard seem to have more genuine moments in the season so far, as their relationship has been a particularly rocky one over the course of the series, and the episode dealt with the instability of the two in an actual believable manner, not deviating from their usual personas but still adding in little lines and quirks that make the storyline humorous and satisfying. Galecki and Cuoco-Sweeting really managed to focus the attention on their characters, something that is difficult to do when you have to compete with the scene-stealer that is Bialik’s Amy and the ever-captivating Sheldon (portrayed by Parsons).
There were plenty of clever in-jokes in the episode that helped to balance off the tension between Sheldon/Amy and Leonard/Penny, which made this an all-round hit for the current season. The pacing was overall suitable, except for a point near the end of the episode which felt a bit abrupt, and could have possibly done with a smoother ending to what was, so far, a confident instalment in the eighth season.
There were plenty of clever in-jokes in the episode that helped to balance off the tension between Sheldon/Amy and Leonard/Penny, which made this an all-round hit for the current season. The pacing was overall suitable, except for a point near the end of the episode which felt a bit abrupt, and could have possibly done with a smoother ending to what was, so far, a confident instalment in the eighth season.
But it wasn’t just Cuoco-Sweeting and Galecki’s characters who got a chance to shine, Helberg’s Howard breezed his way to the forefront of the episode, with his goofy mannerisms and silly plans making sure the attention was all on him (whether he liked it or not). It’s been shown in previous episodes that Howard doesn’t always think things through before doing them, and this was never more evident in this episode, where he agreed to pitch the first ball for the LA Angels of Anaheim in honour of space day, as an astronaut. Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette was quick to pick up on this, and demonstrated one of the many reasons that there is to love Rauch’s character. Quick-witted, ruthless to an extent and straight-talking, Bernadette made sure Howard knew what he was getting himself into and Rauch did an excellent job portraying the feisty side to her character that only comes out when someone is doing something stupid, when she’s angry, or when she’s in a competition.
Aside from the uneven pacing towards the latter half of the episode and the abrupt ending, the episode gave a lot to love in terms of classic humour from Sheldon, with his relationship agreement, the complications in Leonard and Penny’s relationship and, of course, Howard’s hilarious gym sequences with Bernadette and Raj.
Aside from the uneven pacing towards the latter half of the episode and the abrupt ending, the episode gave a lot to love in terms of classic humour from Sheldon, with his relationship agreement, the complications in Leonard and Penny’s relationship and, of course, Howard’s hilarious gym sequences with Bernadette and Raj.
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