While The Big Bang Theory Had a lot of Halloween episodes in its 12-season run, not all of them were instant classics. Like any long-running show, The Big Bang Theory Going through his ups and downs in terms of critical performance and fan reception. As a traditional multi-camera hang-out show with an ensemble cast, The Big Bang Theory was reliant on its main characters for most of the show’s biggest laughs and could rarely fall back on experimental storytelling.
However, that didn’t stop the celebrated series from following in the footsteps of so many other hit shows by offering rare, seasonal episodes. Like other sitcoms of its kind, The Big Bang Theory would occasionally tell stories with Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving themes that would break away from his usual formula. And of course, it took this approach with Halloween too. In fact, the show found room for a total of four Halloween specials, spread over the show’s long run. Similar to his overall body of work, The Big Bang Theory Halloween episodes run the gamut from great to terrifying.
4
The good guy fluctuation
Season 5, Episode 7
Easily the worst Halloween episode of the show, The Big Bang Theory Season 5, episode 7, “The Good Guy Fluctuation,” is particularly unpopular because it’s the outing that saw Leonard cheat on Priya. While this Big Bang Theory Halloween episode was a betrayal of Leonard’s usually sweet character, which is not the only problem with his plot.
The show soon revealed that Priya had also cheated on Leonard, a twist that made their entire multi-episode romance seem pointless in retrospect. Like many of Leonard’s doomed romances, this storyline was played for laughs but ended up feeling surprisingly bleak despite that.
Since the viewers effectively knew that Leonard and Penny would eventually end up together at the end of the series, many of The Big Bang TheoryThe stories of Leonard’s love life were pretty half-hearted. Nevertheless, this led to an issue that also arose with both How I Met Your Mother And Friends.
Since viewers had no idea how long it would be until Leonard and Penny got together, as entire seasons of The Big Bang Theory were devoted to romances that clearly went nowhere. Priya was a charismatic, funny addition to the show’s cast when she was first introduced, only for her role to be proven futile in “The Good Guy Fluctuation.”
3
The imitation perturbation
Season 12, Episode 6
While The Big Bang Theory Season 12, Episode 6, “The Aftermath Perturbation” Besides not being an all-time great episode, the last season’s entry had some strong gags How Howard and Sheldon dressed as each other for Halloween.
The simmering tension between Sheldon and Howard is always good for a few laughs as Howard usually took Sheldon’s constant taunts with good humor, but sometimes lashed out with hilarious pranks that drove his friend to unhinged breakdowns. The strength of The Big Bang TheoryThe cast proved pivotal to the appeal of “The Imitation Perturbation,” as seeing four of the show’s stars imitate each other was enough to carry the episode on its own.
That said, “The Imitation Perturbation” is not without its problems. Leonard and Penny’s plot about remembering their first kiss very differently didn’t provide many laughs, but it wasn’t touching enough to feel poignant either. In a season that gave the couple a lot of plot focus, this nostalgic trip down memory lane felt unearned when “The Aftermath Perturbation” could have simply focused on Howard, Sheldon, Amy and Bernadette.
That said, it’s still one of the show’s better Halloween episodes thanks to the stellar work of The Big Bang Theorys Jim Parsons, whose impersonation of Howard is an all-time great gag.
2
The Middle Earth Paradigm
Season 1, Episode 6
Speaking of Leonard and Penny’s first kiss, The Big Bang Theory Season 1, episode 6, “The Middle Earth Paradigm” provided the classic moment in the show’s history. The episode is high thanks to Leonard and Penny’s big scene, but it’s an otherwise standard season 1 outing with lots of lazy jokes about Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj not fitting in with Penny’s friends at her Halloween party.
Fortunately, some great gags lift the episode, as Sheldon attends the party dressed as “The Doppler effect“And struggling to see what was so funny about his outfit. While it took a while for The Big Bang Theory“The Middle Earth Paradigm” proves how much potential the show has.
Leonard knocking Penny down because she was drunk is a rare moment that has aged well from the early season, while his standing up to Kurt proved that the character has unlikely depths beneath his nervous exterior. Although “The Middle Earth Paradigm” is imperfect, the episode still has sweet and funny moments that make it one of the better outings of The Big Bang Theory Season 1.
1
The holographic excitation
Season 6, Episode 5
While The Big Bang Theory Season 6, episode 5, “The Holographic Excitement,” isn’t the show’s best outing, it’s the strongest Halloween episode in the series. Not only does “The Holographic Excitation” have a rare Howard-centric storyline, the episode also explores what draws Penny to Leonard. The Big Bang TheoryHoward’s refusal to keep quiet about his latest space mission, along with him and Bernadette attending a Halloween party dressed as the Smurfs, is a classic bit.
Meanwhile, Penny admitting that she finds Leonard’s scientific prowess explains a lot about their unlikely pairing. For many The Big Bang TheoryIn the early seasons, Penny’s attraction to Leonard is based entirely around him acting nice and, as such, their relationship seems more platonic than romantic.
In “The Holographic Excitement,” viewers get another answer for how the duo ended up together, and it works almost as well as Sheldon and Amy’s comedic arguments over couple costumes. Thus, “The Holographic Excitement” ends up firing on all cylinders as each of the show’s central couples gets a chance to shine. This helps to make it The Big Bang TheoryBest Halloween episode.
What about the Halloween episode of Young Sheldon?
The Big Bang Theory Spinoff Young Sheldon Also focused a storyline or two on the spookiest holiday of the year, although it has much less prevalence. The Big Bang Theory already challenged conventional sitcom wisdom by not having an annual Halloween episode or including one in every season. Young Sheldon Take this a step further, and there was only one Halloween episode in the entire show.
The only one Young Sheldon Halloween episode came as the 6th of season 2 “Seven deadly sins and a little Carl Sagan.” It’s definitely not the best in the series, and many viewers pointed out that Sheldon took a back seat in the episode, missing an opportunity to lay down some of the foundations of the adult he’s become. The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon’s feelings about Halloween and costumes always make the TBBT Halloween episodes memorable, so it is strange that the prequel spinoff did not have much of the October holiday.
The plan of the US Young Sheldon The Halloween episode is also not among the show’s most noteworthy, whether judged by hilarity or heartwarming wholesomeness. “Seven Deadly Sins and a Little Carl Sagan” spends more time on George’s attempts to flirt with Veronica, as well as a story about Mary’s community work, than on the Halloween celebrations of Sheldon’s childhood. While they weren’t bad storylines, they were far from fan-favorites.
While it’s safe to say that The Big Bang Theory Handled Halloween better than young sheldon, It is always worth noting that the two are different shows, especially when it comes to acting. Young Sheldon Rarely aims for laugh-out-loud visuals like Howard and Bernadette dressed as Smurfs. The Big Bang Theory Halloween episodes may be better than the spinoff’s attempt, but that’s partly because TBBT Going for laugh-out-loud spectacle-based comedy in ways that Young Sheldon did not.