Big Bang Theory, "The Vengeance Formulation": The Pasadena way

Thoughts on last night's "Big Bang Theory" coming up just as soon as I try to be the 101st caller to my favorite radio station...

The biggest laughs in "The Vengeance Formulation" were contained in the Sheldon vs. Kripke storyline, with the one-two punch of Sheldon way overdoing the prank and the ill-timed, overly-explanatory video that followed it. But I want to mainly talk about Wolowitz.

Howard is by far the most problematic character, the one the show usually seems to be laughing at, rather than with. So I commend any episode which attempts to humanize him - even if part of that humanization involves his masturbatory fantasy of taking a bath with Katee Sackhoff. And I thought this one did a better job than the episode last year where Penny tore into Howard for being an utter loser. There, it felt like the writers were paying lip service to the idea that Howard's not just a clown, but their hearts weren't in it. Here, he made tangible progress with Bernadette(*), and the idea of him having a regular girlfriend has real promise, and at the very least, will take the character out of his rut.

(*) Did they name her Bernadette because they knew at some point Howard was going to do his own mangled version of The Four Tops song?

However, I do wish that they hadn't gone with the obvious, superficial dilemma that Howard feared Bernadette wasn't hot enough, especially since the actress is plenty cute and has just been dowdied up a bit to be a plausible Wolowitz girlfriend. I know that Howard is a relentless horndog with an overdeveloped sense of ego, but I think the more interesting way to go - and a story that they could still very easily do - would have been for Howard to get hung up on the fact that the two of them have nothing in common, other than a shared resentment towards their families. The first Bernadette episode dealt with this, but I think there's plenty of mileage left in the idea that everyone thinks Howard should be so grateful to have a nice, attractive girlfriend and he can't quite appreciate her because she doesn't know or care about robots or "Battlestar Galactica." That seems like a conflict that's richer, one that might give Howard a little more credit as a person, instead of just having fantasy Starbuck tell him he needs to settle for someone less overtly hot.

Of course, going that way would have deprived the show's target audience of a glimpse of Katee Sackhoff in the tub. Can't blame the show for giving its fans what they want, I suppose.

What did everybody else think?

House, "Ignorance Is Bliss": That's it for me?

Brief spoilers for last night's "House" - and an explanation for why I may not be writing about the show again for a while - coming up just as soon as I wonder what took them so long to acknowledge the resemblance between Omar Epps and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin...

Okay, we're now at a point in the show/reviewer relationship where I just need to walk away for a while, if not forever. It's clear that the "House" producers have a vision for the show that doesn't interest me: not only their belief that Thirteen is endlessly fascinating, but that the show only works if House acts like an abusive middle school jackass as often as possible.

I don't think they're completely ignoring the events of "Broken." House's ultimate reaction to the Cuddy/Lucas relationship, and to Chase punching him out, suggested he still retained some of the lessons he learned from Dr. Nolan. It's entirely possible that they're doing a one-step-forward, two-steps-back arc right now. House's progress would have peaks and valleys, after all.

But given things David Shore has said in the past about his belief that people can't change, and given how abruptly and permanently the show dropped previous changes like the ketamine leg cure, I fear that we're back to House as misanthropic bully for good. And even if we're not, I've grown to hate how far they've taken that version of the character - and grown so tired of the juvenile House/Cuddy non-relationship - that I need to take a break, from writing if not from watching.

Taking a step back from regular blogging helped me come to a new appreciation of "Grey's Anatomy." When I didn't have to write every week, it became easier to ignore the parts of the show I hated and focus on the parts I liked. Maybe that happens with House, but I'm not sure. Were it not for "Broken," I'm not sure I would have come back this season, and the part of the show that was keeping me interested was seeing House attempt to grow and change. I've long since lost interest in the patients, don't much care for most of Team 3.0, and wish Lisa Cuddy would take the baby and the pod person who has replaced Lucas and go somewhere very far away.

That leaves the occasional House/Wilson episode, plus a character arc they may have abandoned. And that's not enough, I don't think.

So I'll give them a handful of additional episodes where I'll watch but won't write, to see if they can turn this boat around. But if not, I'm out.

We'll always have Mayfield, I guess.

What did everybody else think?