The Big Bang Theory Episodes That Fans Always Skip On A Rewatch
"The Big Bang Theory" was one of the most popular series in the history of television, running for 12 full-length, network seasons that added up to a total of 279 episodes. The Chuck Lorre creation follows the lives of four awkward scientists, Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), and Howard (Simon Helberg), and their interactions with their beautiful neighbor, Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Though Rotten Tomatoes makes it apparent that not all critics loved it, the audience score sits at a comfortable 83% positivity rating. According to Variety, the 2019 series finale of "The Big Bang Theory" drew in nearly 18 million viewers, sending the beloved sitcom out as one of the top shows on television.
Of course, as with any successful, long-running sitcom, there are also moments in the series that are just too uncomfortable, horrifying, ridiculous, or cringe-worthy to suffer through watching more than once. Some people may love the show enough to rewatch certain episodes, or even most of the series, but many also choose to skip over certain scenes or full episodes. On Reddit, u/Maleficent_Evening58 was curious to know which episodes their fellow fans most commonly avoided on rewatches. Answers offered by fellow Redditors may be surprising to some viewers.
Many fans don't like when people are mean
In August 2021, "The Big Bang Theory" fan u/Maleficent_Evening58 asked Reddit, "Is there an episode that you always skip in a re-watch because you feel it is too cringey?" The resulting thread received more than 50 comments, naming lots of different episodes or scenes, some by exact title, others using the "Friends" naming convention (e.g., "the one where..."). But some patterns emerged in the variety of answers.
Generally, fans don't appear to like when people are either exceptionally mean or totally creepy. Poor Amy Farrah Fowler hit both of those marks, as fans pointed out how obnoxious Amy behaved toward Penny early on. "Amy was pretty cringe before she was fleshed out," said u/Happy-Spring-8860. U/King_Kong_The_eleven also voiced dislike for Leonard's mother. U/The_timps agreed, saying "She could have been a bad mother ... and just awkward. But instead they made her literally evil." Fans also hated Leonard's bully, Jimmy Speckerman — though it's interesting to notice that the actor, Lance Barber, now plays Sheldon's father in "Young Sheldon."
Other examples of meanness were found in Season 4, Episode 21 ("The Agreement Dissection"), where Sheldon blackmails Leonard for a better roommate contract; Season 3, Episode 12 ("The Psychic Vortex"), where Leonard teases Penny for trusting a psychic; and Season 6, Episode 13 ("The Bakersfield Expedition"), where Leonard's car is stolen at Bakersfield Comic-Con. U/HCPage said, "It is relentlessly, needlessly cruel to the characters." This user also later added, "It does nothing to push any character development forward and only exists to bring the guys low and push the narrative that the only way girls would ever read comics is if they were drunk. Hate that episode."
Fans also hated super creepy behavior
Of course, it only makes sense that many users would also point out situations where main characters or guests were being uber creepy. One example is Season 2, Episode 7 ("The Panty Piñata Polarization"), where Raj and Howard use advanced technology to sneak into the "America's Next Top Model" house. Many Reddit users believe this episode puts the show's "adorkable misogyny" on full display. u/Whenthefunstop said, "Raj and Howard came off like sick stalker creeps."
Elsewhere, another Reddit user zeroed in on Season 8, Episode 7 ("The Misinterpretation Agitation"), an episode that features a guest appearance by actor Billy Bob Thornton. U/ChocolateNapqueen said, "The one where the doctor came to Penny's house because she was flirting with him as a pharmaceutical sales rep. Hella creepy and stalkerish."
Interestingly, many complaints about creepiness focused on interactions with Raj's character, particularly in Season 4, Episode 14 ("The Thespian Catalyst"). "I find that episode pretty cringey," said u/NamanSharma752, referring to Raj's daydreams of Howard asking him to fulfill Bernadette's "sexual" needs while Howard is away, or worse, dying. U/Field_Marshal_Jefe agreed with this take, but u/eugeneyc added, "I kinda liked the Bollywood dance part."
Several fans also mentioned scenes with Raj's sister, Priya (Aarti Mann). U/jdeeth took aim at Priya's character with considerable gusto, declaring the entire Priya-heavy Season 4 unwatchable. Notably, with the sole exception of u/Meownda1492, who said "I couldn't stand her," no one mentioned any specifics about Priya, though perhaps it was her controlling, untrusting behavior while she dated Leonard, per Entertainment Weekly.
Despite much of the thread so heavily focusing on the negatives, one user actually admitted that they don't skip any episodes. u/MyriVerse2 said, "Never. Even Priya must be endured."