Season 5 - Episode 6
CBS (US)
Following a sloppy fourth season - the undoubted highlight being the introduction of the delightful Amy Farrah-Fowler (portryed by the real life PhD Mayim Bialik), The Big Bang Theory has really picked up in season 5, with episodes harking back to the first two seasons in terms of episode quality. "The Rhinitis Revelation" sees the return of Sheldon's fundamentalist Christian mother, Mary Cooper played by the excellent Laurie Metcalf, and sees Sheldon revert to a child. In a way only Sheldon can.
Metcalf absolutely shines as Mary, a devout believer, who hasn't formed a grasp of political correctness one little bit. Every scene that she's in is completely stolen, a combination of acid sharp writing for the character and sublime delivery from the actress. The scene where she has the gang praying in a local church is absolute gold, and her delivery of a line after Leonard offers to make her a list of inappropriate things to say is utterly superb.
But the episode isn't all about Metcalf, there's some good story development for Leonard and his relationship with Priya, his girlfriend and Raj's sister, currently living in India. The seeds of doubt are planted in Leonard's head that this may no longer be able to be called a relationship. This is a development which will hopefully play out well, and not be rushed, as it could be a real turning point for the character, and will hopefully be managed in a way that doesn't see him straight back with Penny - clearly the endgame that Chuck Lorre has in mind.
"The Rhinitis Revelation" is a great follow up to last weeks's "The Russian Rocket Reaction", the two being the best episodes the show has produced in over two years. The Big Bang Theory seems to be right back on form, and hopefully will keep the quality up.
****
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