The Big Bang Theory 5.14 ‘The Beta Test Initiation’ review: Hey, Sexy

Finally! A hilarious episode of The Big Bang Theory – about damn time. The last couple of episodes have made me skeptical about one of my favorite shows on TV today, but last night’s episode reminded me why I fell in love with the show in the first place: Its geekiness.

Sheldon spends almost the entire episode filming a video podcast with Amy about flags, yes flags. And it’s hilarious. Sheldon’s naivety about the world around him makes everything perfect. I just LOLed at every scene with Sheldon this episode (like always), especially the last one with him as a Bavarian and Amy as a pretzel. It was all kinds of epic.

Penny, on the other hand, suggests to Leonard that they take their relationship slow prompting Leonard to compare their relationship to a software application: It starts with a test run where all the bugs are reported before its released to the public. So they agree to tell each other whenever they feel the other is doing something wrong. Leonard ends up writing a list to Penny telling her all the wrong stuff about her and Penny does the same thing. The problem? There is none! Which is stupid, seriously. Why make them write lists to each other if it’s not gonna end up breaking them up or at least making them fight? I don’t get what the writers are trying to do with those two. Give them a solid storyline so we can root for them again. (Even though I’m team Shenny all the way.)

The best part of the episode was RAJ! By far! Remember when I said this boy should get a storyline? Well in this episode, it was all about him. And it was perfect! When he buys a new phone, Raj starts bonding with the phone’s virtual assistant, Siri. He asks her if she’s single, asks her for dinner plans, and even asks her to call him Sexy which, of course, she does. The poor guy falls in love with her. At the end of the episode, we see Raj visiting Siri’s office and trying to talk to her (where Siri is an actual woman), but guess what? HE CAN’T! He’s not drunk, so he can’t talk to women! And then he wakes up terrified, and I started giggling like I giggled all through the episode.

It’s these technology jokes that make The Big Bang Theory what it is, a show about geeks. And I’m so glad to have these jokes back. It was definitely a strong episode and one of my favorites this season.

What about you guys? What did you think of the episode?

Favorite quotes from the episode:

Penny: (When they’re talking about an application’s trial run) You mean like a Beta test?

Leonard: Technically, that’s an Alpha test. A Beta test requires people that weren’t involved in the development.. –

Penny: Seriously, do I not get credit for knowing Beta test!

Howard: (About Siri) She’s gonna break his heart.

Raj: (About Siri) Uh, one name. Like Cher, Madonna, Adele.. all the women who rock me.

Siri: Would you like me to call you Raj?

Raj: I’d like you to call me sexy.

Siri: From now on, I’ll call you sexy, okay?

Bernadette: Who’s Siri? Is he dating somebody new?

Howard: Yes, his phone.

Bernadette: Is that cute or creepy?