Sheldon and the gang may have gotten down and dirty in “The Parking Spot Escalation”, but The Big Bang Theory continues to sit firmly in the number one (parking) spot.
The Big Bang Theory once again won the Thursday night ratings game with “The Parking Spot Escalation”. The episode was watched by approximately 17 million viewers last night, nearing the show’s all-time ratings high, and helping CBS to cleanly sweep the night.
“The Parking Spot Escalation” got right down to business, with Howard gleefully announcing the purchase of his new car, and sharing the crucial information that he would be parking it in the spot previously delegated to Sheldon. As anticipated, Sheldon took the news with his typical lack of grace, maintaining that the unused spot was still his, in spite of his neither owning or ever wanting to drive a car himself.
The conflict escalated rapidly between the dauntless astronaut and determined doctor. A stolen collectible Iron Man helmet (“unused”, as Sheldon delicately noted) led to a nude sit-in, which began a morning clash-and-roll in the parking lot. The tension boiled over in the titular parking spot, when Howard accused Sheldon of undermining him due to jealousy of Howard’s journey into the ether, and Sheldon scoffed at Howard’s relatively paltry academic accomplishments, culminating in still more nudity.
Ultimately, resolution came through the perpetually underutelized Raj, who spent the rest of the episode harping on a punch line. (We can’t be alone in wanting The Big Bang Theory to give our nerdy Indian scientist something of substance to do!) A little misplaced magnanimity on Sheldon’s part finally put a period to cycle of nudity and violence.
Meanwhile, Amy and Bernadette were swept up in their “testosterone-filled” partners’ spat as well, tossing themselves into the fray with hilarious ingenuity and enthusiasm. (Though not in the nude.) Unfortunately, Penny found herself lodged squarely in the middle of the conflict, and even as the two parties resolved their differences, it was Penny who bore the brunt of the boys’ brouhaha.
It doesn’t seem like Sheldon’s work life will remain unruffled for long, though. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Regina King (Southland) will guest-star on the show in an episode airing in January. King will play “Mrs. Davis”, the head of human resources (uh, oh) at Sheldon and the gang’s university; apparently, Mrs. Davis is brought in to debrief Sheldon after “an uncomfortable conversation” with Sheldon’s attractive assistant, Alex.
The Big Bang Theory will be back next week with “The Fish Guts Displacement”, guest-starring Meagen Fay and Casey Sander. The official description says:
Sheldon tries to nurse a sick Amy back to health, while Wolowitz prepares for an upcoming fishing trip with his father-in-law.