Big Bang Theory is back on UK TV with Series 7, which kicked off on E4 last Thursday (31st October 2013), and from the first episode it looks like it’s going be just as funny as the last six series. While it’s never going to be quite as fresh as it was during its debut season back in 2007 on CBS, it’s always good to see more of the science boffins in full comedy action, a bit like hanging out with an old friend that reminds you how funny they are every time they tell you a story about their crazy life.
While it’s definitely as formulaic as previous series, it’s a formula that works well, in a safe and comforting sort of way. For fans it’ll be an instant crowd pleaser and for anybody else it’s a good way to happily spend half an hour to get a few laughs and a little of the comfort that’s sort of inherent in a show about four science geeks that have somehow managed to find some luck with the ladies.
If you missed out on Season 6, firstly get yourself in gear and catch up, but if you’re a bit too “that ship’s sailed” the story so far is that Penny and Leonard have managed to get back together again. However, it’s not all happiness and romance as Penny has been left at the apartment block with Leonard in charge of making sure she’s OK, while Leonard is stuck on Stephen Hawking’s North Sea expedition to test hydrodynamic simulations of black holes, which turns out to be a lot “more party” people that you’d expect.
Because of his presence deficiency, Leonard doesn’t play much of a role in the first episode, so it’s tough to say how good Johnny Galecki is in the new series. The good news though is that both Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, and Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons, are as good as they’ve ever been. They seem to have gotten to a stage where they could slip into character in their sleep.
It’s a similar situation for the rest of the cast as they have had a lot of experience getting into Big Bang Theory character. While Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) have always been a good on-screen duo, which they continue in series 7, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) have started to develop their own, which kicks off with them getting hit on while at a science conference, turning rapidly into a squabble about their respective other halves.
Comic book store owner, Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman), hasn’t put in an appearance yet, so it’s possible he won’t be reprising his role in series 7. However, he be back in a smaller way later on in the season, as the States is still only up to episode 9 at the time of writing.
Big Bang Series 7 has got everything that fans love and its detractors loath. If you like the show in general, Series 7 will give you a lot of laugh, but if you don’t there’s nothing different in the latest season. If you’re new to the series, you should probably check it out right from the beginning before making a decision about sticking with it for the full 7.
Big Bang Theory Series 7 review: 3.7/5
