The Big Bang Theory (season 9)

The Big Bang Theory (season 9)
Digital cover art
Country of origin	United States
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 21, 2015 – present

The ninth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory started airing on CBS on Monday, September 21, 2015.^[1] It returned to its regular Thursday time slot on November 5, 2015 for the season's seventh episode.^[2]

On March 12, 2014, The Big Bang Theory was renewed for an additional three years, extending it through the 2016–17 season for a total of ten seasons.^[3]

Production

Like the previous season, the first half aired on a different night due to CBS acquiring the rights to Thursday Night Football games. In May 2015, CBS announced at its annual upfront presentation, that the series would begin its ninth season on Mondays, before returning to the Thursday slot once the football games ended.^[4]

Filming for the ninth season began on August 5, 2015, according to posts on Twitter by several of the cast members including Melissa Rauch and Kunal Nayyar.^[5][6]

Laurie Metcalf reprised her role as Sheldon's mother Mary in episode 1, and Keith Carradine returned as Penny's father Wyatt in episode 3.^[7]

This was the first season to feature every main cast member of the show, including former main cast member Sara Gilbert, who made a guest appearance in the 200th episode.^[8]

Cast

• Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, portrayed by Johnny Galecki, is an experimental physicist with an IQ of 173 who earned his Ph.D when he was 24 years old. He shares an apartment with his colleague and friend, Sheldon Cooper, and has an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with neighbor Penny. They first dated for eight months in Season 3, but broke up due to their conflicting expectations of their relationship. They resumed their relationship in season 5, but their differing ideas about the relationship continue to provide most of the conflict between them. Throughout Season 6, Penny and Leonard became more comfortable as a couple with Leonard asking Penny to propose to him when she felt ready. In Season 7, Penny proposed to Leonard, but Leonard refused the proposal as Penny was drunk and upset at the time. Near the end of Season 7, Leonard and Penny become engaged; they head to Vegas in the Season 8 finale and get married in the Season 9 premiere.

• Dr. Sheldon Cooper, portrayed by Jim Parsons, is a theoretical physicist. Originally from East Texas, he was a child prodigy, starting college at the age of 11, right after completing the fifth grade. He received the Stevenson award when 14 and received his Ph.D when he was 16. He has an IQ of 187 and exhibits a strict adherence to routine; a lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor; and a partial lack of humility or basic empathy. At first he rejected Penny's presence, seeing her as a disruption to his routine, though he has since come to accept and even show brief, awkward bursts of affection for her. He is dating Amy Farrah Fowler. During Season 6, he has shown remarkable improvement dealing with his issue of touch phobia, and has admitted to Penny and Leonard and later Amy that he is open to the idea of him and Amy having sex someday. In season 7, he has also taken to initiate his kisses with Amy more frequently and more passionately than before. During Season 7, Sheldon undergoes a mid-life crisis when he realizes he has not made any progress in string theory, and he quits his job to search for a new field of study. At the end of the season, he leaves Pasadena for time to figure out who he is and what he wants after all the changes happening in his life, making his way to Arizona at the start of Season 8. At the end of Season 8, Amy asks for some time to think about their relationship just when Sheldon was considering proposing. After exploring dating, Sheldon asks her to be his girlfriend again and they lose their virginity on her birthday.

• Penny, portrayed by Kaley Cuoco, is a former waitress who lives across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. She previously entertained aspirations to an acting career, but was not particularly successful during the first seven seasons, obtaining only minor TV and stage roles. She worked as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory up until Season 7, when she quits in order to rededicate herself to acting. She and Leonard share a rocky romantic relationship characterized by breakups and reconciliations, complicated by Penny's fear that they have nothing in common. She is also friends with Sheldon, in spite of her frequent irritation with his personality quirks, to the point that she and Leonard occasionally act as parent figures for him. She and Leonard date for eight months in Season 3, before Penny breaks up with him due to her fears that they are not right for each other. In Season 5, they begin to date again, though conflict frequently arises over their differing expectations of their relationship. After being fired from an acting role near the end of season 7, Penny realizes that what she wants most in her life is Leonard, and the two become engaged. At the beginning of season 8, she gives up trying to become an actress and interviews for and gets a sales job at Bernadette's pharmaceutical company. At the end of season 8, she and Leonard were heading to Vegas to get married only for her to find out, on the way there, that Leonard was unfaithful on a work-related boat trip. He explains it was just a drunken kiss. They still get married in Las Vegas and set up housekeeping in her apartment though still often sleep in Sheldon's apartment. Her maiden name has never been revealed, but she becomes a Hofstadter in the Season 9 premiere.

• Howard Wolowitz, portrayed by Simon Helberg, is an aerospace engineer. He is Jewish, and lived with his mother until season 6. Howard is the only one of his friends (besides Penny) who does not have a Ph.D (he has a master's degree from MIT), a fact about which Sheldon is quite often dismissive to Wolowitz and others. Though Howard fancied himself a ladies man, his clumsy advances and sexual harassment of Penny drew her ire. Howard began dating Bernadette Rostenkowski in season 3, and married her in the season 5 finale. In season 6 Howard visits the International Space Station as an astronaut/payload specialist. During season 7, they talk about having children. In season 8, Howard goes through an upset state when he learns that his mother has died while visiting his aunt in Florida and dealing with living in the house with Stuart Bloom, who was taking care of Ms. Wolowitz when she broke her leg after his comic book store burned down. After the death of his mother, Howard had to deal with it and he and Bernadette moved into his old house. During season 9, Howard learns from Bernadette that she is pregnant. He is excited at first, but quickly begins to panic since he doesn't believe he will be a good dad; he finally receives encouragement from the men.

• Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali, portrayed by Kunal Nayyar, is an astrophysicist from New Delhi, India. He comes from a very wealthy family, including a successful gynecologist father, and a large house with servants. His parents still live in New Delhi and are sometimes seen communicating with him via Skype, often pressuring him to get married. Raj works alongside Sheldon exploring the string theory implications of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation. He is very shy around women. Throughout most of the series, he suffered from selective mutism, and could not speak to women unless he had consumed alcohol, but this condition disappeared in the season 6 finale. He finds a friend in Stuart after Howard marries Bernadette. In season 6, he begins to date Lucy, a shy woman with similar social problems of her own. She breaks up with him at the end of the season, though he finds that he can talk to Penny. Near the end of season 7, Raj becomes romantically involved with a dermatologist named Emily (Laura Spencer), and their relationship becomes exclusive by the last two episodes of the season continuing throughout seasons 8 & 9. However, just before Valentine's Day, Raj breaks up with Emily so he could be with a woman named Claire, but when he learns that she and her boyfriend are together again, he tries to reconcile with Emily, but he is rejected. One month later, they get back together when Emily makes it clear she misses him.

• Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, portrayed by Mayim Bialik, is a neurobiologist. She first meets Sheldon in the season 3 finale through Raj and Howard, and is very similar to Sheldon, except that she is more open to social interactions and thus more susceptible to conventional behavior. She becomes close friends with Sheldon in season 4, and becomes his girlfriend in season 5, though Sheldon is extremely slow to progress the physical aspect of their relationship. By the season 5 finale, they have progressed to holding hands though Amy is inching Sheldon toward a deeper relationship which gradually starts to become intimate in season 6 ending in some "intercourse" gameplay between their Dungeons and Dragons characters. In season 7, Sheldon begins kissing her on the lips for the first time. In the season 7 finale, she is extremely upset at Sheldon leaving Pasadena. Amy also forms a quirky friendship with Penny, whom Amy frequently refers to as her "bestie", and becomes Bernadette's maid of honor at her and Howard's wedding. At the end of season 8, feeling that her relationship with Sheldon isn't going anywhere, Amy tells him that she needs time away so she can figure out what to do about their relationship. In season 9 Sheldon pushes her and she formally breaks up with him. After exploring dating, she realizes that she still wants Sheldon who asks her to again be his girlfriend. On her next birthday, they lose their virginity to each other.

• Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, portrayed by Melissa Rauch, is a microbiologist. Formerly, Bernadette was working her way through grad school as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory, where she befriended Penny, and they eventually become a trio with Amy. Penny introduced Bernadette to Howard. She was upgraded to main cast status in the episode "The Hot Troll Deviation". They get engaged in the "The Herb Garden Germination". In season 4, she, too, earns a Ph.D and joined the other doctors in mocking Howard for having only a master's. She marries Howard just before he goes into space at the end of season 5. Outwardly sweet, Bernadette refuses to tolerate Howard's often childish and embarrassing behavior and has become a stabilizing force in his life. She goes to work for a pharmaceutical company that makes her a lot of money, much more than Howard does, and in season 6, when she finds out that he and Raj spent $5,000 on a 3D printer to make figurines of themselves, she cuts him off from their money and puts him on an allowance. In season 7, she and Amy start to go out without Penny occasionally and bond over science-related topics. In season 8, she and Howard move into the house of her late mother-in-law. In "The Valentino Submergence", Bernadette reveals that she is pregnant, although Howard is unaware of this until "The Positive Negative Reaction".

• Stuart David Bloom, portrayed by Kevin Sussman,^{[n 1]} is a mild-mannered, under-confident individual who runs the comic book store that the men frequently visit. He is also a geek, but he has a talent for drawing, and is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. During Stuart's first appearance, the men brought Penny along to the store and he managed to ask her on a date. They go on two dates until Penny mistakenly calls him "Leonard", leaving him devastated. As Stuart runs a comic book store, he has vast knowledge of comic books and superheroes. In the Season 4 episode "The Toast Derivation", he implied he was in financial trouble and that the comic book store is now also his home. At Howard's bachelor party during "The Stag Convergence", Stuart uses his toasting turn to tell Howard how lucky he is and compares it to his own situation of living in the back of his comic book store. In Season 6, he is invited to be part of the men's group while Howard is in space. Sheldon is not very accepting of this due to Stuart's art degree (which he considers inferior), but relents after Stuart offers him a 30% off discount in the comic book store. Stuart becomes close friends with Raj while Howard is in space, moving in with him and looking for women together. At the end of season 7, his comic book store has a bad fire. Stuart moves in with Howard's mother to take care of her when she breaks her leg, and after the two bond, she invites Stuart to live in the home. In Season 8 he reopens the comic book store with money from Howard's mother. After her death he continues living in the house now owned and occupied by Howard and Bernadette who secretly want him to move out. He does move out in "The Sales Call Sublimation".

• Dr. Emily Sweeney, portrayed by Laura Spencer,^{[n 2][9]} a dermatologist at Huntington Hospital whom Raj finds on an online dating site. Emily went to Harvard, and is shown to have a slightly alarming personality; she is shown to delight in the macabre when she states that she likes her job because she can cut things with knives, and likes Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas (whom she has a tattoo of on her shoulder) because she has lots of scars and her limbs had to be sewn back on. Despite spooking them a bit she gets along with most of Raj's friends, except Penny whom she has not forgiven for "sleeping" with Raj years ago in "The Roommate Transmogrification". Not wanting to be alone, Raj has declared his love to her even though she does scare him. She eventually begins participating in activities with the group. Just before Valentine's Day, Raj breaks up with her so he can date another woman, but they later get back together after Emily realises she misses him.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
184	1	"The Matrimonial Momentum"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari Teleplay by: Steven Molaro, Steve Holland & Eric Kaplan	September 21, 2015	4X7201	18.20[10]
Leonard and Penny go through with their plan to elope in Las Vegas and have the ceremony broadcast via livestreaming so their friends can watch it at home. Leonard created a touching science-based wedding vow while Penny recites "You've Got a Friend in Me". After Leonard carries Penny over the threshold and they start kissing, Penny is still bothered by Leonard's kissing another woman two years ago and is outraged when she learns the other woman, Mandy, works with Leonard, and when they return home, she goes to her apartment alone. Sheldon is confused and hurt about Amy's indecision about their relationship, and insults her while the friends have gathered to watch the wedding at Howard and Bernadette's house. Amy officially breaks up with him, causing everyone except Howard and Stuart to leave and due to being the only ones remaining, the two men catch the end of the wedding. Amy later rebuffs Stuart. Sheldon calls his mother to send back his great-grandmother's ring he had meant for Amy, but Mary tells him to wait things out. Sheldon briefly considers dating Mandy to get back at Amy, but cannot be with someone attracted to Leonard even though Penny is. Sheldon is angered that Penny knew that Amy was unhappy and did not defend him, and storms out. A dejected Leonard cannot believe he is spending his wedding night with Sheldon, though Sheldon says he always expected it. Recurring characters: Laurie Metcalf as Mary Cooper, Kevin Sussman as Stuart Guest stars: Jim Meskimen as a minister) Title reference: The events that are set in motion by Leonard and Penny eloping.
185	2	"The Separation Oscillation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Chuck Lorre & Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari	September 28, 2015	4X7202	15.23[11]
After having a nightmare of Sheldon and Penny passionately kissing, Leonard considers marriage counseling but finds it too expensive. Howard and Bernadette knew what Leonard did with Mandy Chow two years ago, leaving Raj annoyed Howard did not tell him. Bernadette also conceals this from Penny, but points out that Leonard has changed over the years, as he is confident now and with Penny because he loves her and not out of desperation. Leonard has a chat with Mandy, who feels no attraction to Leonard and neither remembers nor cares about kissing him in the first place. But while talking with her, Leonard realizes part of him may be trying to sabotage his marriage because he thinks he is not good enough for Penny. Penny confesses part of her is scared he will leave her for someone smarter. She and Leonard agree move past their fear and embrace their happiness. Sheldon surprises them with a trip to San Francisco, only to immediately announce he will also be going, as he bought the tickets for himself and Amy. Sheldon returns Amy's belongings, failing to make her jealous by "accidentally" including one of Penny's bras in the box. He records an episode of "Fun With Flags" alone, angrily talking about countries that have separated as a metaphor for Amy dumping him. Amy is furious and demands he remove the video, but Sheldon takes it as a sign she still wants him. Guest star: Melissa Tang as Mandy Chao Title reference: Penny and Leonard get back together while Sheldon and Amy drift further apart.
186	3	"The Bachelor Party Corrosion"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Dave Goetsch & Jim Reynolds & Jeremy Howe Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Eric Kaplan	October 5, 2015	4X7203	15.40[12]
Raj and Howard plan to kidnap Leonard to a secret location for the weekend as a belated bachelor party and forcefully take Sheldon with them. Meanwhile, the women have a small bachelorette party at Penny's apartment. Though Sheldon irritates Raj and Howard, he is impressed that the van in which they are driving belonged to physicist Richard Feynman, and that their plans are to stay at his vacation house in Mexico. When the van experiences a flat tire, a stuck lug nut prevents the men from fixing it. They try several scientific methods to remove it, each of which is unsuccessful, ultimately inadvertently setting the van on fire. Amy reveals that she has not told her family about her and Sheldon's breakup, explaining her intimidation by relating how her mother would make her sit in a "sin closet". Penny decides to pierce Amy's ears for her, and mentions that she has not told her family she married Leonard. She reluctantly calls her father Wyatt, who is simply happy for her, though he upsets Penny telling her that he accidentally killed her pet pig a year ago. The women cajole Amy into calling her mother, but when Amy finds it difficult to tell her mother about the breakup, Penny takes it upon herself to blurt out to Amy's mother about the breakup, the penis cookies and Amy's pierced ears. As a result, Amy's mother makes her sit in Penny's closet. Guest star: Keith Carradine as Wyatt Title reference: The men's bachelor party plans being ruined by the corroded bolt holding the flat tire. Notes: Following the announcement of her pending divorce from Ryan Sweeting, Kaley Cuoco's name was converted back to its original billing, during the opening credits. According to the vanity card at the end of the episode, Richard Feynman's actual van was used in the filming.
187	4	"The 2003 Approximation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Steve Holland & Eric Kaplan Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Maria Ferrari & Tara Hernandez	October 12, 2015	4X7204	14.96[13]
Leonard and Penny finally tell Sheldon they have moved in together now that they are married. Sheldon is upset, but Bernadette says he should try and find another roommate, though Stuart firmly rejects her idea that he move in with Sheldon. Sheldon rejects everyone he meets and Amy refuses to live with him, as they have just broken up. Sheldon tries to pretend that it is 2003, before he met Leonard, Penny and Amy, and before he developed emotional connections to other people, fearing that Leonard and Penny will eventually abandon him as well. For his sake, Leonard and Penny agree to split their time between apartments to be with Sheldon who begins to modify The Roommate Agreement for this purpose. Meanwhile, Stuart wants a band to play music in his comic book store for free. Raj and Howard write a filk song about Thor fighting Indiana Jones, though Emily suggests it would be better if people could dance to the music. Raj and Howard momentarily break up the band but quickly make up, playing the song at the store only to have Stuart say they should play music people could dance to. Recurring character: Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney Title reference: Sheldon resets his life and his apartment back to 2003 when he was happier and unemotional before he met Leonard. Note: This was the first time that Laura Spencer was featured during the opening credits.
188	5	"The Perspiration Implementation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari Teleplay by: Steve Holland & Jim Reynolds & Saladin Patterson	October 19, 2015	4X7205	14.68[14]
Howard builds a machine to add mileage to the Fitbit Bernadette buys to track his exercise. Leonard, however, decides that the group should become more active and they take up the sport of fencing, attending a class taught by Barry Kripke. After learning that Amy is single, Kripke wants to ask her out, which upsets Sheldon. The men go to a sports bar and encourage Sheldon to move on. Sheldon randomly asks two women out and is rejected. Stuart asks Penny, Bernadette, and Amy for advice on how to attract more female customers to his comic book store and they conclude that his creepy behavior is the problem. Amy sympathizes with him for being lonely, but turns him down when he hits on her. She also rejects Kripke after he sends her a photograph of him nude. When Leonard and Sheldon return home from the bar, they run into Amy and Bernadette, leading to a chat between Sheldon and Amy, who awkwardly exchange anecdotes on their attempts to move on. Recurring characters: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke Guest stars: Megan Heyn as Natalie, Patrika Darbo as Grace Title reference: The men getting all sweaty from exercising. Note: The illustration hanging on the wall of Stuart's shop that Amy criticizes, "Girl on a Leash", was created by comics artists Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts.[15]
189	6	"The Helium Insufficiency"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steve Holland & Maria Ferrari & Anthony Del Broccolo Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds	October 26, 2015	4X7207	16.32[16]
Swedish physicists are about to prove Sheldon and Leonard's super-fluid hypothesis about the universe and the men need liquid helium to conduct their experiment first. Kripke refuses to let them use any of the university's helium. Howard connects them to Kenny, a black market dealer, though Sheldon's mistrust of him almost ends the deal. At the lab, Leonard and Sheldon panic about using stolen property and pay Kenny to take it back. Kripke offers to give them some of his helium if they share scientific credit with him. Instead, they pay Kenny for helium a third time and watch Ernest Goes to Jail with him because he gets along with Sheldon. Meanwhile, Stuart tells the rest of the group he has been on two dates thanks to an app on his phone. They download it on Amy's phone much to her discomfort and make fun of the suggested men. To their surprise, a man named Dave texts Amy his thanks for the date they had last night. Amy reveals she has been on three coffee dates with men and is starting to like Dave. Recurring characters: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke Guest stars: Michael Rapaport as Kenny Title reference: Sheldon and Leonard do not have enough helium on hand to perform their experiment.
190	7	"The Spock Resonance"	Nikki Lorre	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Jim Reynolds & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Jeremy Howe	November 5, 2015	4X7206	14.81[17]
Wil Wheaton arranges for Sheldon to be interviewed for a documentary about Spock and Leonard Nimoy by his son Adam. Sheldon explains he admired the character of Spock from childhood for being unemotional and tried to imitate him. He brings up the autographed napkin from Nimoy from "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" that he keeps with his valuables, including the engagement ring he meant for Amy. His aborted proposal to Amy shocks Leonard and Penny who push Sheldon to admit he is feeling hurt. Sheldon lashes out, but decides to propose to Amy anyway for closure. From a distance he sees her kiss another man, Dave, goodbye outside her apartment building, Sheldon leaves dejected. At home he is upset Spock's way of life is a lie and Leonard tells him to start focusing on the real people in his life. Meanwhile, Bernadette wants to start renovating the house though Howard protests changing his childhood home. Calling in her father Mike, he asks why Howard does not want children. Howard reveals Bernadette to be the one resisting parenthood. Raj theorizes she fears it because Howard acts so childish. Howard says he always dreamed of being a responsible father to make up for his own abandonment in childhood. Bernadette promises to think about it. Recurring characters: Wil Wheaton as himself, Casey Sander as Mr. Rostenkowski Guest stars: Adam Nimoy as himself, Stephen Merchant as Dave Title reference: Sheldon oscillating between his love for the unemotional Spock and his love for Amy. Note: At the time of the episode's airing, Adam Nimoy was producing an actual documentary about his father, titled For the Love of Spock. It will be released on April 16, 2016.[18][19]
191	8	"The Mystery Date Observation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds Teleplay by: Chuck Lorre & Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez	November 12, 2015	4X7208	14.92[20]
Amy has another date with Dave, so Bernadette and Penny decide to spy on her, dragging Leonard along. During the date, Dave reveals he is a huge fan of Sheldon's scientific work. He asks her about Sheldon the entire time, greatly annoying her. As they leave, Bernadette hits Dave's car. Initially outraged about the accident, Dave meets Leonard and is instantly starstruck. Amy ends it with Dave, who is happy to have kissed and been rejected by the same woman as Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Meanwhile, Sheldon struggles to move on without Amy, so he asks Howard and Raj to set him up with another woman since they introduced him to Amy. They post an ad on Craigslist that is filled with scientific and sci-fi brain teasers to solve for Sheldon's contact information that night. Fifteen seconds after the deadline, a woman named Vanessa shows up, sharing many of Sheldon's interests including physics, flags, and obscure languages. He does like her, but shuts the door on her for missing the time limit. Guest stars: Stephen Merchant as Dave, Analeigh Tipton as Vanessa Bennett Title reference: Bernadette and Penny spying with Leonard on Amy and her date.
192	9	"The Platonic Permutation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Jim Reynolds & Jeremy Howe & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Steve Holland & Maria Ferrari & Adam Faberman	November 19, 2015	4X7209	15.19[21]
Sheldon and Amy decide to try and be friends and spend Thanksgiving day at the aquarium together. Despite initial awkwardness and annoyances, Amy answers Sheldon's questions about her dating life honestly and they agree they want the other one to be happy. They fall back into their old bond as friends. Later, Amy calls Sheldon and asks to be his girlfriend again. Sheldon declines, explaining that getting over her was too difficult, and wishes to remain friends. Amy hides her hurt feelings over this. Bernadette, Raj and Emily drag Howard to a soup kitchen to volunteer for the day. Howard is irritated at washing dishes, but is shocked when he meets Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX. They bond over space travel. Meanwhile, Leonard and Penny prepare Thanksgiving dinner when Leonard realizes Penny does not know his birthday. He then proceeds to list personal things he knows about her, but accidentally reveals he knows she hates an orange lingerie he once bought her, something she never told anybody but only wrote in her journal. As an apology for reading her journal without permission, Leonard wears the lingerie and dances around for Penny, asking her to post an image of him in the lingerie on her social media as punishment. Penny refuses, but Howard, Raj, Bernadette, and Emily catch Leonard wearing the lingerie when they barge into his apartment. Recurring character: Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney Guest stars: Elon Musk as himself, Wayne Wilderson as Travis Title reference: Sheldon and Amy spend the day at the aquarium as friends and, afterwards, they switch roles in which of them wants to start dating again and the other just wants to remain friends.
193	10	"The Earworm Reverberation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds & Saladin Patterson Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Jeremy Howe	December 10, 2015	4X7210	15.27[22]
Sheldon is humming the melody to a song of which he does not know the name, especially unusual because of his eidetic memory. He spends two days obsessing over the tune and recording a log while he is still mentally sound, fearing he might be turning into a mad genius, thus annoying Leonard and Penny. Sheldon finally realizes the song is "Darlin'" by the Beach Boys and that the lyrics relate to how Amy made him a better man. He rushes to her apartment. Amy calls Dave for another date at her place, though Bernadette cautions that could lead to intimacy. Although Dave brings up Sheldon again, the date goes well and they kiss once as Sheldon arrives to profess his feelings. With Dave's help, Amy realizes Sheldon loves her and wants to get back together. She agrees and they kiss passionately. Dave then asks Sheldon if he wants to discuss physics, only to be kicked out of her apartment. Meanwhile, Howard and Raj's fan page for their filk band is liked by a person named Trent. They stalk Trent online and think he is very cool, deciding to go meet him only to run out when they see Trent pick his nose and eat a booger. Recurring character: Stephen Merchant as Dave Gibbs Title reference: The effects of the song stuck in Sheldon's head which is called an ear-worm.
194	11	"The Opening Night Excitation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Steve Holland & Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari	December 17, 2015	4X7211	17.23[23]
After an iconic Star Wars-like opening credit crawl, the men are overjoyed to get opening night tickets to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, which premieres on Amy's birthday. Sheldon still wants to see it, despite Penny saying he should be with Amy. Sheldon has a dream/visitation where Arthur Jeffries' ghost talks with him while dressed as a Jedi master, and convinces him Amy is more important. Talking over birthday gift ideas with Penny and Bernadette, he shocks them by saying he is going to have coitus with Amy to show her how much she means to him. On Amy's birthday, Sheldon and Amy are nervous about having sex, but enjoy the experience more than they expected. Sheldon wants to do it again on her next birthday which is fine with Amy. Arthur later appears to Sheldon again asking for details, but Sheldon only wants to discuss the movie. Meanwhile, the rest of the men go to the movie with Wil Wheaton, who arrives dressed as Spock in a Star Trek uniform. After the movie, the men lie back in the afterglow, much like Sheldon and Amy did. Recurring character: Wil Wheaton as himself Guest star: Bob Newhart as Arthur Jeffries Title reference: The excitement generated by opening night for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Amy/Sheldon losing their virginity.
195	12	"The Sales Call Sublimation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steve Holland & Jim Reynolds & Saladin K. Patterson Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Maria Ferrari & Anthony Del Broccolo	January 7, 2016	4X7212	15.85[24]
Penny cannot find a way to make a sales call on psychiatrist Dr. Gallo. She has Leonard pose as a patient to get her in the door. Dr. Gallo disagrees with the way Leonard's mother approaches psychology. Leonard feels great talking with her. When Penny meets her, Dr. Gallo has her question why she often acts like a mother to Leonard, along with her other anxieties such as Sheldon. She also makes Penny feels better after their talk. Dr. Gallo gives her a prescription, but not the one Penny was supposed to sell. While Amy is at a conference, Sheldon spends the day at the astronomy lab with Raj and they discover a medium-sized asteroid. They argue about what to name it; Leonard suggests they name it after their girlfriends. Sheldon gets Raj to name it after Amy in exchange for any children Sheldon and Amy have being named Rajesh, even their daughters. Howard and Bernadette want to start remodeling the house and are excited when Stuart moves out, but are surprised when they also miss him. Stuart sneaks back at night to watch them sleep. Recurring character: Kevin Sussman as Stuart[25][n 1] Guest star: Jane Kaczmarek as Dr. Gallo Title reference: Leonard posing as a patient to help Penny's pharmaceutical sales
196	13	"The Empathy Optimization"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Eric Kaplan & Dave Geotsch Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Saladin K. Patterson	January 14, 2016	4X7213	15.75[26]
While Amy is still away, Sheldon has recovered from the flu, but, though his friends attempt to help him, his rude behavior during his illness offends them. They decide to rent a party bus to Las Vegas to get away from him. Amy admits she extended her trip to avoid him as well, and teaches Sheldon about empathy. After Sheldon realizes what he did was wrong, he apologies to his friends, but his apology to Emily goes wrong when he says dermatologists are not real doctors. When Raj tries to defend Sheldon, it leads to a fight between him and Emily. Sheldon decides not to go to Las Vegas with the group in order as a gesture of his regret, but sneaks on the bus with Stuart to make amends with Emily and soothe things between her and Raj. Sheldon and Stuart then leave, but the others decide to let Sheldon and Stuart on after all. Recurring characters: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney Title reference: Sheldon trying to feel and understand empathy.
197	14	"The Meemaw Materialization"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez	February 4, 2016	4X7214	15.29[27]
Sheldon's grandmother "Meemaw" visits Pasadena to check out Amy. Meemaw distrusts Amy due to their breakup and lets slip that Sheldon had planned to propose. Both Sheldon and Amy tell Meemaw how they make each other a better person, so Meemaw tells them that she won't stand in their way. Meanwhile, Raj has a debate about Frozen with Howard, attracting the attention of Claire, a bartender working on a sci-fi screenplay for a children's film. She asks Raj to meet her for a scientific perspective on her story's plot. Raj wants to do this, but Howard and Bernadette warn it could upset Emily. Raj is unsure where things are going with her, but eventually tells Claire he has a girlfriend. Claire says they can still meet as two platonic adults. However, at the meeting, Raj fantasizes about having a family with Claire. Guest stars: June Squibb as Meemaw, Alessandra Torresani as Claire Title reference: Sheldon's grandmother or 'Meemaw' finally appearing after being mentioned in a number of episodes.
198	15	"The Valentino Submergence"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steve Molaro & Jim Reynolds & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Steve Holland & Eric Kaplan & Jeremy Howe	February 11, 2016	4X7215	16.25[28]
Leonard and Penny go out to eat for Valentine's Day and realize that they are getting older after Penny is addressed as "Ma'am". Howard and Bernadette plan on using their new hot tub and find a rabbit floating in it. After nursing it back to health and naming it Valentino, the rabbit bites Howard, who heads off to the ER for a rabies shot. Bernadette decides for the moment not to tell him that she is pregnant. Raj finally decides to break up with Emily and then calls Claire, who has just gotten back together with her old boyfriend. Emily won't take him back, sending Raj into a depression. Sheldon and Amy host their first live episode of "Fun with Flags". Taking live phone calls, wherein Amy ends up speaking with Raj and Barry Kripke about their love lives, thoroughly depresses Sheldon. Amy does get Sheldon to admit their own breakup has made them a stronger couple. They are interrupted by Penny and Leonard who barge in dressed as cupids, throwing confetti in an effort to feel young again. Recurring characters: Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney, John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke Guest stars: Alessandra Torresani as Claire, Creagen Dow as Maitre D' Title reference: The name given to the rabbit that almost drowns in the Wolowitz hot tub.
199	16	"The Positive Negative Reaction"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds & Saladin Patterson Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Maria Ferrari	February 18, 2016	4X7216	15.24[29]
Bernadette tells Howard she is pregnant. While he is excited at first, Howard begins panicking that he will be a bad parent. Talking things over with the men, Sheldon is upset that a baby will change their social group. The others try to calm him down at a karaoke bar and come up with a possible way for him to make more money by expanding on Sheldon and Leonard's research and patenting the idea. A drunk Sheldon says that, because he and Howard both grew up without fathers, Howard will know how important he is for his own child. Meanwhile, Bernadette meets with the women to tell them, though Leonard texts Penny beforehand. She is worried by Howard's reaction, but Amy and Penny tell her life will be better with a child. Bernadette shocks them by admitting the baby was conceived on Sheldon's bed. After their ideas for fun are all impossible to do because Bernadette is pregnant, the men invite them to sing karaoke with them. Howard and Bernadette soothe each other's fears. Everyone takes turns singing about babies to Bernadette, while Sheldon is shocked to learn what happened in his bedroom. Title reference: Howard's initially negative reaction to Bernadette's positive pregnancy test.
200	17	"The Celebration Experimentation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Eric Kaplan & Jeremy Howe Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez	February 25, 2016	4X7217	15.94[30]
When Amy plans a birthday party for Sheldon because he made her birthday so special, he is reluctant on account of a traumatic childhood experience in which his sister's friends lied to him that Batman was coming to his sixth birthday, thereby ruining his birthday thereafter. Nonetheless, he relents and the friends hire TV's Batman, Adam West, to attend as their present. When Sheldon arrives, he is initially happy, but quickly panics and runs into the bathroom. Penny tries to talk to him and they open up to one another. He emerges to apologize to everyone, after which Amy and all assembled share a toast in Sheldon's honor. Sheldon is delighted to hear all the nice things said about him. They then receive a video call from Professor Stephen Hawking, who joins them in singing Sheldon "Happy Birthday to You". Recurring characters: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Christine Baranski as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, John Ross Bowie as Kripke, Wil Wheaton as himself Guest stars: Adam West as himself, Sara Gilbert as Leslie Winkle, and Stephen Hawking as himself Title reference: Sheldon allows the group to experiment by giving him a birthday party.
201	18	"The Application Deterioration"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan & Adam Faberman Teleplay by: Steve Holland & Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari	March 10, 2016	4X7218	14.68[31]
Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard move forward with patenting their superfluid helium idea, but are shocked to learn that the University automatically claims 75% of any profits and that Howard is not legally entitled to any profits. They reluctantly agree to sign, allowing Sheldon to write their own contract to share the money from the remaining 25% with Howard. Bernadette is against this, as Sheldon belittles Howard every time they try to work together. When confronted with this, Sheldon agrees to make it part of the contract that he be respectful of Howard for the purposes of the patent. Sheldon also shows his generosity by stipulating that 1/4 of his profits will go to a scholarship fund for the Wolowitz baby. Meanwhile, Emily sends Raj a belated Valentine's gift and wants to see him again. Raj turns to the women for advice, but decides to go through with seeing her after they say he shouldn't. On his way there, Claire calls him to say she is now single and he should see her instead, since Emily is just manipulating him. Raj drives back and forth while talking to both women, unsure of whom he should see, before choosing Emily and ultimately sleeping with her. Recurring characters: Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney, Alessandra Torresani as Claire Guest star: Jim Holmes as Tim Title reference: The men being shocked that, to apply for a patent, they must give up most of their profits.
202	19	"The Solder Excursion Diversion"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Bill Prady & Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Saladin K. Patterson	March 31, 2016	4X7219	14.24[32]
While Leonard and Howard work in Howard's lab, their wives join them and help them with their project. After leaving to pick up more solder, the two men are invited to see a preview of Suicide Squad and decide to lie to their wives and attend. Howard spitefully texts Raj, unaware that he is in the lab with the women. Raj is ready to help the women out their husbands' lie, but the men show up with flowers and an apology. Sheldon's old laptop finally dies so Amy buys him a new one. He does not want to dispose of the broken one and takes Amy to a storage facility where he discloses that he has never thrown anything away, including clothes, broken electronics and toothbrushes. Amy now feels closer to him. Sheldon sends her home so he can Skype with her in bed on his new, high resolution laptop. Title reference: Leonard and Wolowitz attending the movie screening, instead of acquiring the soldering equipment for their experiment.
203	20	"The Big Bear Precipitation"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Chuck Lorre & Dave Goetsch & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Jim Reynolds	April 7, 2016	4X7220	13.50[33]
Amy convinces Sheldon to go with Leonard and Penny to spend the weekend in a cabin in the woods. Sheldon is phobic of everything in the outdoors. After their hike is rained out, they play Never Have I Ever where Sheldon exposes Leonard's bank account that he kept a secret from Penny. Penny gets mad, but reluctantly understands. She admits she is unhappy in pharmaceutical sales, but also doesn't want to go back to acting or waitressing. She resolves to stay with the job in order to be an adult and pay off her credit card debt. Sheldon admits he was arrested once in a jaywalking incident and Amy once pushed all the buttons in an elevator. Raj is getting too involved with Bernadette's pregnancy by giving advice and buying a huge teddy bear. Howard tells him to back off until Bernadette gets upset and wants him and the bear back. He does so and the three listen to the baby's heartbeat, though Raj gets a little too close again. Title reference: Rain disrupting the group's weekend plans at a cabin in Big Bear, as well as Raj buying Howard and Bernadette a large teddy bear to celebrate their pregnancy.
204	21	"The Viewing Party Combustion"	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari & Jeremy Howe Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez	April 21, 2016	4X7221	14.16[34]
As the group prepares to watch Game of Thrones at the apartment, Leonard refuses to go to Sheldon's quarterly roommate agreement meeting and is further annoyed when Penny takes Sheldon's side. Amy arrives and agrees with Leonard, stating her dislike of meetings for their relationship agreement. On the way there, Raj constantly brags about dating both Emily and Claire, annoying Howard. Stuart shows up in costume because Howard tricked him into wearing it. The group splits with Sheldon, Penny, Raj and Stuart in one apartment and Leonard, Amy and Howard across the hall. Leonard is further upset to learn Penny goes behind his back to Sheldon to get what she wants in the roommate agreement. Amy only took Leonard's side because she is jealous of how close Sheldon and Penny are. Howard accidentally eats pistachios and has to go to the hospital after an allergic reaction. He is all right and the group compare all their scheming to the characters on the Game of Thrones series. The men later make fun of Stuart riding home on a bike while still in costume. Recurring character: Kevin Sussman as Stuart Title reference: The group having a big argument during a party to watch a television show.
205	22	"The Fermentation Bifurcation"	Nikki Lorre	Story by: Steven Molaro & Jim Reynolds & Anthony Del Broccolo Teleplay by: Chuck Lorre & Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez	April 28, 2016	4X7222	14.13[35]
Penny wins a wine-tasting trip from work so everyone but Sheldon and a pregnant Bernadette join her. Raj is still dating both Emily and Claire but is not exclusive with either and decides to bring Claire, asking his friends not to bring up their relationship status. They meet Penny's old boyfriend Zach who questions the military potential for Leonard and Howard's navigation system. This worries them, but Howard decides he still needs the money for his baby so they move forward. Zach also flirts with Claire and questions why Raj isn't more committed to her. Claire tricks Raj into admitting he is seeing someone else in addition to her. At home, Sheldon bores Bernadette with his love of trains and different types of toast, but she does enjoy a version of Dungeons & Dragons where her character is not pregnant and can enjoy alcohol, sushi and hot tubs. She thanks him for a fun break from her pregnancy. Recurring characters: Brian Thomas Smith as Zach, Alessandra Torresani as Claire Title reference: The group separates into two branches because of the wine tasting trip.
206	23	"The Line Substitution Solution"	Anthony Rich	Story by: Steve Holland & Saladin K. Patterson & Tara Hernandez Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari	May 5, 2016	4X7223	13.22[36]
Leonard has Penny pick his mother Beverly up from the airport to avoid her and attend a movie opening. Penny tries to bond with her, but is subjected to her analytical and condescending remarks and lost when Amy and Bernadette talk science in front of her. Beverly offers to interview Amy, Bernadette and their significant others for a new book on high-achieving couples but sees no point in interviewing Leonard and Penny. Penny expresses her feelings of being insulted, and Beverly reveals that she herself was insulted when nobody invited her to or even told her about Leonard and Penny's wedding. Penny agrees to have another small ceremony for Beverly and they bond. Sheldon hires Stuart to go shopping with Amy to keep his own place in line for the movie with the guys. Amy pays Stuart to yell at Sheldon and rejects Sheldon sending Stuart with flowers. Stuart holds Sheldon's place in line while Sheldon goes to quickly give Amy an apology himself. However, Sheldon's experience is ruined when another man joins his friends in the line and nobody else gets upset about him "cutting". Recurring characters: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Christine Baranski as Beverly Guest stars: Blake Anderson as Trevor Title reference: Sheldon hires Stuart to hold his place in a movie line while he apologizes to Amy.
207	24	"The Convergence Convergence"[37]	Mark Cendrowski	Story by: Steven Molaro & Tara Hernandez & Adam Faberman Teleplay by: Chuck Lorre & Steve Holland & Jeremy Howe	May 12, 2016	4X7224	TBD
Recurring characters: Christine Baranski as Beverly, Laurie Metcalf as Mary Guest stars: Judd Hirsch as Alfred, Marcus Folmar as Police Officer

Ratings

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"The Matrimonial Momentum"	September 21, 2015	4.7/16	18.20[10]	2.1	5.52	6.8	23.73[38]
2	"The Separation Oscillation"	September 28, 2015	3.8/16	15.23[11]	2.1	5.55	5.9	20.78[39]
3	"The Bachelor Party Corrosion"	October 5, 2015	3.9/13	15.40[12]	2.1	5.47	6.0	20.87[40]
4	"The 2003 Approximation"	October 12, 2015	3.9/13	14.96[13]	2.0	5.07	5.9	20.03[41]
5	"The Perspiration Implementation"	October 19, 2015	3.9/13	14.68[14]	2.0	5.51	5.9	20.20[42]
6	"The Helium Insufficiency"	October 26, 2015	4.4/14	16.32[16]	1.9	4.85	6.3	21.18[43]
7	"The Spock Resonance"	November 5, 2015	3.7/13	14.81[17]	2.1	5.19	5.8	20.00[44]
8	"The Mystery Date Observation"	November 12, 2015	3.7/13	14.92[20]	2.2	4.98	5.9	19.90[45]
9	"The Platonic Permutation"	November 19, 2015	3.8/13	15.19[21]	2.4	5.93	6.2	21.23[46]
10	"The Earworm Reverberation"	December 10, 2015	3.8/14	15.27[22]	2.5	6.20	6.3	21.47[47]
11	"The Opening Night Excitation"	December 17, 2015	4.1/16	17.23[23]	2.9	7.17	7.0	24.42[48]
12	"The Sales Call Sublimation"	January 7, 2016	3.8/14	15.85[24]	2.1	5.10	5.9	20.95[49]
13	"The Empathy Optimization"	January 14, 2016	3.8/13	15.75[26]	2.1	5.17	5.9	20.93[50]
14	"The Meemaw Materialization"	February 4, 2016	3.8/13	15.29[27]	2.1	5.33	5.9	20.62[51]
15	"The Valentino Submergence"	February 11, 2016	3.8/14	16.25[28]	2.3	5.78	6.1	22.03[52]
16	"The Positive Negative Reaction"	February 18, 2016	3.8/13	15.24[29]	1.9	5.17	5.7	20.41[53]
17	"The Celebration Experimentation"	February 25, 2016	3.8/13	15.94[30]	2.1	5.21	5.9	21.15[54]
18	"The Application Deterioration"	March 10, 2016	3.5/13	14.68[31]	2.0	4.80	5.5	19.49[55]
19	"The Solder Excursion Diversion"	March 31, 2016	3.5/14	14.20[32]	2.0	4.98	5.5	19.19[56]
20	"The Big Bear Precipitation"	April 7, 2016	3.1/11	13.50[33]	1.9	5.28	5.0	18.78[57]
21	"The Viewing Party Combustion"	April 21, 2016	3.2/12	14.16[34]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
22	"The Fermentation Bifurcation"	April 28, 2016	3.4/12	14.13[35]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
23	"The Line Substitution Solution"	May 5, 2016	3.0/12	13.22[36]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
24	"The Convergence Convergence"	May 12, 2016	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Notes

1. Kevin Sussman is shown in this article as both a recurring and starring actor because he is credited as a starring actor in the opening credits, but is not listed as a starring actor in press releases for the series, and unlike the other starring actors, he is not shown in the opening sequence nor in the DVD cover.
2. Laura Spencer is first credited as a main cast member starting with the fourth episode of season 9. She will be a fractional series regular and appear on an as-needed basis.

References

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2. "Shows A-Z – big bang theory, the on cbs". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
3. "The Big Bang Theory: Renewed for THREE More Years!". March 12, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
4. Barnes, Nick (May 14, 2015). "CBS 2015/16 Fall Schedule: The Big Bang Theory move, new premieres & midseason shows!". UnrealityTV. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
5. Rauch, Melissa (August 5, 2015). "So great to be back! Here we go Season 9! @BigBang_CBS". Twitter. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
6. Nayyar, Kunal (August 5, 2015). "Back to work this morning:) @BigBang_CBS season 9! Let's. Do. This. Who's in?". Twitter. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
7. Abrams, Natalie (August 21, 2015). "Spoiler Room: Scoop on Big Bang, Murder, Supernatural and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
8. Shepherd, Jack (February 6, 2016). "The Big Bang Theory 200th episode: Every star set to cameo, including Adam West and Sara Gilbert". The independent. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
9. "The Big Bang Theory: Laura Spencer Promoted to Series Regular". yahoo.com. October 13, 2015.
10. "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' Adjusted Up; 'Significant Mother', 'Life in Pieces' & 'Penn & Teller' Adjusted Down - Ratings - TVbytheNumbers.Zap2it.com". TVbytheNumbers.
11. Dixon, Dani (September 29, 2015). "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' + 'The Voice' Adjusted Up; 'Castle', 'Life in Pieces' & 'Dancing with the Stars' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
12. Porter, Rick (October 6, 2015). "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'The Voice' Adjusted Up; 'Blindspot' and 'Castle' Adjusted Down". TVbytheNumbers. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
13. Porter, Rick (October 13, 2015). "Monday final ratings: 'The Voice' and 'Big Bang Theory' adjusted up, 'Castle,' 'Life in Pieces' and 'Scorpion' adjusted down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
14. Porter, Rick (October 20, 2015). "Monday final ratings: 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' and 'Jane the Virgin' adjusted down, 'Big Bang' adjusted up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
15. "Amanda Conner Art Featured on 'The Big Bang Theory' – Spinoff Online – TV, Film, and Entertainment News Daily". Spinoff Online – TV, Film, and Entertainment News Daily.
16. Porter, Rick (November 3, 2015). "Monday final ratings: 'Supergirl' and 'Blindspot' adjust down, 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
17. Porter, Rick (November 6, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Elementary' and 'Mom' adjust down considerably thanks to NFL". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
18. Howell, Elizabeth (August 11, 2015). "For the Love of Spock! Leonard Nimoy Documentary Surpasses Kickstarter Goal". Space.com. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
19. "Adam Nimoy's 'For The Love Of Spock' To Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved March 27, 2016.
20. Porter, Rick (November 13, 2015). "Thursday final ratings: '2 Broke Girls' and CBS take NFL hit, 'Elementary' below 1.0, 'Blacklist' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
21. Porter, Rick (November 20, 2015). "Thursday final ratings: 'Mom' and '2 Broke Girls' up even after adjusting down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
22. Porter, Rick (December 11, 2015). "Thursday final ratings: '2 Broke Girls' and other CBS shows adjust down with NFL pre-emptions". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
23. Porter, Rick (December 18, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' holds, season high for 'Mom' despite adjusting down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
24. Porter, Rick (January 8, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Life in Pieces' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
25. "(#4X7212) "The Sales Call Sublimation"". Listings – Big Bang Theory, The on CBS. The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
26. Porter, Rick (January 15, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'The Blacklist' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
27. Porter, Rick (February 5, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up, 'Life in Pieces' and 'Mom' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
28. Porter, Rick (February 12, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Mom' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
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30. Porter, Rick (February 26, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up, 'Life in Pieces' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
31. Porter, Rick (March 11, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Scandal' adjusts up, 4 CBS shows adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
32. Porter, Rick (April 1, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up, 'Scandal,' 'Life in Pieces' and 'The 100' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
33. Porter, Rick (April 8, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up, 'Odd Couple' and 'The 100' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
34. Porter, Rick (April 22, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Bones' adjust up, '2 Broke Girls' and 'Legends of Tomorrow' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
35. Porter, Rick (April 29, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Big Bang Theory' adjust up, 'Odd Couple,' 'Mom' and 'The 100' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
36. Porter, Rick (May 6, 2016). "Thursday final ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up, 'Mom' and 'Rush Hour' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
37. "(#4X7224) "The Convergence Convergence"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
38. Porter, Rick (October 12, 2015). "Premiere week Live +7 ratings: 'Blindspot,' 'Empire' and 'Big Bang Theory' score biggest gains". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
39. Porter, Rick (October 19, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings, week 2: 'The Blacklist' premiere joins 'Empire' and 'Blindspot' atop the charts". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
40. Porter, Rick (October 31, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings, week 3: 'Quantico' more than doubles, 'Empire' and 'Blindspot' score biggest gains". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
41. Porter, Rick (November 4, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings, week 4: 'Jane the Virgin' premiere doubles, 'Empire' and 'Blindspot' top charts for Oct. 12–18". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
42. Porter, Rick (November 9, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings, week 5: 'Empire' and 'Blindspot' have biggest toal gains, 5 shows double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
43. Porter, Rick (November 16, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Blindspot' top week 6, 'Quantico' doubles in 18–49 and viewers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
44. Porter, Rick (November 23, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings, week 7: 'Elementary' is still a strong DVR show". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
45. Porter, Rick (December 1, 2015). "Broadcast live +7 ratings, week 8: 'Empire,' 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Quantico' top charts for Nov. 9–15". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
46. Porter, Rick (December 7, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings, week 9: 'Big Bang Theory' makes the biggest gains". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
47. Porter, Rick (December 29, 2015). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' gets biggest bump of the season in week 12, 5 shows double in 18–49". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
48. Porter, Rick (January 5, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Jane the Virgin' lead a light week 13". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
49. Porter, Rick (January 25, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Shades of Blue' premiere gets a good lift in week 16". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
50. Porter, Rick (February 1, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Modern Family' lead week 17, 'Shades of Blue' doubles". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
51. Porter, Rick (February 22, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' gains the most, 'Vampire Diaries' and 'Shades of Blue' double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
52. Porter, Rick (February 29, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'How to Get Away with Murder,' 5 other shows double in a DVR-heavy week 21". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
53. Porter, Rick (March 7, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'The Blacklist' and 'The Big Bang Theory' lead week 22". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
54. Porter, Rick (March 14, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' has biggest week 23 gain, 'Jane the Virgin' and 3 others double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
55. Porter, Rick (March 28, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Quantico' lead week 25". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
56. Porter, Rick (April 18, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Empire' lead the week of March 28-April 3". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
57. Porter, Rick (April 25, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Empire' and 'Big Bang Theory' stay on top for April 4–10". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 25, 2016.

General references

• "Shows A-Z – big bang theory, the on CBS". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
• "The Big Bang Theory: Episode Guide". MSN TV. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
• "The Big Bang Theory – Episode Guide for Season 8". Zap2It. Retrieved August 14, 2014.

External links

• List of The Big Bang Theory episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• The Big Bang Theory: Season 8 at Rotten Tomatoes