Here are some cold hard facts: “The Big Bang Theory,” the CBS sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, ran for 12 years, the same number of seasons, and an incredible 279 episodes. After it kicked off in 2007, the show almost floundered during its first season but was improbably saved, in a way, by the writers’ strike that took place until 2008; after that, the series was an unquestionable and undeniable success. Stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, and Mayim Bialik — who play Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Penny, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, and Amy Farrah Fowler, respectively — were all skyrocketed to fame and acclaim, and Parsons even took home a handful of Emmys for his leading role. With all of this context in mind, it can be hard to winnow down the “best” episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” partly because of the sheer number and partly because, well, what makes an episode “the best?”
For this list, I’ve compiled some of the outright funniest episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” as well as those with some of the show’s more emotional beats; even people looking for an easy-to-digest sitcom have to admit that, in order for it to stay interesting for 12 entire seasons, the characters have to evolve and grow. Now that the parameters are set, here are the 10 best episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” ranked.
The Staircase Implementation (Season 3, Episode 22)
Ever wonder why Leonard, Howard, and Raj even deign to hang out with Sheldon, a notoriously stubborn, finicky guy who panics if someone so much as takes his “regular spot” on the couch? In season 3, we finally get an explanation in the episode “The Staircase Implementation,” an episode where, during a fight with Sheldon, Leonard sits down and tells Penny their friendship origin story. In the process, we also learn why the elevator in Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny’s building is seemingly permanently broken — and, unsurprisingly, it’s Leonard’s fault.
Throughout flashbacks — which feature Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj in some pretty wild getups that seem to come from the 1990s despite said flashbacks being set in 2003 — we see that Sheldon couldn’t keep a roommate on account of being incredibly annoying. (On his way out, the last guy, played by Steven Yeun, scrawls “DIE SHELDON DIE” on a wall in red paint, just to give you an idea of his mindset.) Out of desperation, Leonard, who’s new to the California Institute of Technology, agrees to live in Sheldon’s spare room and even agrees to Sheldon’s genuinely absurd “roommate agreement,” and eventually, he warms to Sheldon. Why? Well, Sheldon chases Leonard’s girlfriend Joyce Kim (Ally Maki) out of the apartment, and later, she turns out to be a North Korean spy. Between that and the fact that, while Howard and Leonard are playing with a combustible rocket, Sheldon saves their lives by tossing the rocket into the elevator shaft and shuts the door, their friendships are settled. “The Staircase Implementation” does a great job of providing backstory without overloading the audience, and the elevator explanation is … actually pretty funny.
The Bakersfield Expedition (Season 6, Episode 13)
“The Bakersfield Expedition,” which takes place partway through season 6 of “The Big Bang Theory,” is probably most famous for the boys’ storyline, where Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj end up stranded in the desert dressed in incredibly realistic “Star Trek” costumes. This happens while they’re heading to Bakersfield, California, for the city’s Comic-Con, which Sheldon says is all about comic book lore (as opposed to the bigger and more famous San Diego Comic-Con, which Sheldon claims “went all Hollywood,” and he’s not entirely wrong in that assessment). On the way to the convention, the guys get out of their car to take a photo in their elaborate costumes, at which point someone steals the car because Leonard left the key in the ignition. This, in turn, forces them to hitchhike since their clothing and cell phones were also in the car.
Still, I’d argue the real magic of “The Bakersfield Expedition” is the girls’ plotline. With the boys out of town, Penny, Amy, and Bernadette go and get brunch together — but partway through said brunch, they realize that maybe they’re all at least a little curious about why the guys love comic books so much and decide to give it a try themselves. After they cause a stir at Stuart Bloom’s (Kevin Sussman) Pasadena comic book store, which Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj typically frequent, the girls take their new treasures home and have a massive “debate” over who’s strong enough to carry Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. While this sudden interest in comic books doesn’t come back into play, it’s fun to watch Amy, Penny, and Bernadette have an adventure of their own and try to learn more about the weird guys they love in the process.
