The Big Bang Theory: 10 Best Season 7 Episodes, According To IMDb
The Big Bang Theory blew everybody away when the simple premise of a bunch of geeky guys living across the hall from a beautiful blonde woman turned into television's hottest and most popular comedy.
By season 7, Jim Parsons was on his way to winning his 4th Emmy in 5 years for his role as Sheldon Cooper and the show itself would receive its third consecutive Emmy nomination for Best Comedy. Despite the IMDb ratings still being lower than seasons 2, 3, and 4, it's safe to say that The Big Bang Theory was truly at the top of its game.
10 The Raiders Minimization, Episode 4 (8.0)
Leave it to the show about geniuses to ruin a classic-movie on AFI's list of Top 100 Films. During this episode, Sheldon tries to share his love of Raiders of the Lost Ark with Amy and is left utterly devastated when Amy points out a gigantic flaw in the film's plot that renders Indiana Jones' presence in the film pointless. Sheldon then spends the rest of the episode doing everything he can to get revenge on Amy and tries to find plot-holes in all of the shows/movies that she loves.
9 The Deception Verification, Episode 2 (8.1)
Season 6 ended with the storyline that Leonard was going to be working with a research team all summer long, and when he got back he decided not to tell Sheldon so he could spend a few days alone with Penny. But, as is Sheldon's nosy nature, he discovers Leonard's ruse when he continues to pester Penny about clues of Leonard's presence all over her apartment. Incredibly hurt and betrayed, Sheldon begins to question everything he knows about Leonard, until an estrogen-filled Howard makes a tearful speech that brings the two roommates back together.
8 The Relationship Diremption, Episode 20 (8.1)
Science is a slow process when it comes to making any ground-breaking achievements so it was understandable that the guys hadn't racked up too many Nobel Prizes over the years. However, when a new paper comes out, it makes Sheldon question whether his entire area of focus (string theory) is a complete dead end. Facing this horrifying possibility, Sheldon spirals out of control and begins to look into different areas of science to explore and ends up waking up in bed with a geology book (his most hated area of science).
7 The Status Quo Combustion, Episode 24 (8.1)
Change is never easy for anybody and The Big Bang Theory made it clear that Sheldon hated change more than anyone. That's why things became so hard for him during the season 7 finale when a ton of new changes were dumped on his life (not allowed to change his field from string theory, Leonard and Penny getting engaged, the comic-book store burning down).
As a result, the weight is too much for Sheldon to bare and he decides to leave Pasadena for the summer in order to get away and clear his head.
6 The Cooper Extraction, Episode 11 (8.2)
Audiences always appreciate a good 'what if?' episode. During the season 7 Christmas special, Sheldon gets called home to Texas to be there when his sister gives birth to his nephew, so the rest of the gang reminisce about what their lives would be like if none of them had met Sheldon. They go through half a dozen various scenarios (including one where Penny and Sheldon get together, one where Leonard and Raj are fat, and one where Bernadette never marries Howard because she thinks he's dating Raj). Despite how annoying Sheldon can be, everybody agrees at the end of the episode that their lives are better with Sheldon in them.
5 The Indecision Amalgamation, Episode 19 (8.2)
This episode was quite clever as it split the group into three separate stories, all of whom were left with decisions they couldn't decide on. Penny was offered a role in a movie that she couldn't decide whether to take while Leonard helped her, Raj had to choose between two women and decide which one he wanted to date while Howard and Bernadette helped him, and Sheldon had to decide whether or not to buy a PS4 or an Xbox One while Amy helped him. It's quite clear which story was the most important (and the most hilarious).
4 The Locomotive Manipulation, Episode 15 (8.3)
Sheldon isn't known for being a fan of any holidays but Valentines Day is arguably his least favorite of them all. But when Amy surprises him and tells him they'll be attending a double-date with Howard and Bernadette on a genuine locomotive dining car (Sheldon loves trains) he drops his trepidation.
However, once on the train, Sheldon befriends another train-enthusiast and completely ignores Amy all night long - that is, until a fight between the two awkward lovers leads to Sheldon kissing Amy and not pulling away for a long, long while.
3 The Romance Resonance, Episode 6 (8.5)
As already stated, the gang hadn't made too many breakthroughs at this point in the series so it was quite a treat for fans when Sheldon discovered a new super-heavy element (something nobody had ever done) and seemed on course to be nominated for a Nobel prize. Unfortunately, the praise was short-lived as Sheldon realized that he misread something from a textbook during his research that effectively meant he made his discovery by mistake. Meanwhile, it's also the anniversary of Howard and Bernadette's first date and Howard decides to write her a song as a gift (which has to be celebrated in a hospital due to Bernadette being under quarantine).
2 The Scavenger Vortex, Episode 3 (8.8)
Raj was always known for setting up games and puzzles for the gang to do which ultimately led to him creating a city-wide scavenger hunt that included games and puzzles for everybody to solve in order to win the grand prize. The group splits up into three teams (Leonard/Bernadette, Howard/Amy, Penny/Sheldon) and they scour the city of Pasadena looking for clues and riddles to complete. Tragically, the game ends with no real winner as Raj was trying to teach everyone a lesson about friendship in the process.
1 The Thanksgiving Decoupling, Episode 9 (8.9)
It's pretty much sitcom law that somebody in the main cast has to be connected to a Vegas marriage at some point throughout the series. During the season 7 Thanksgiving episode, it's revealed that Amy spontaneously married her old boyfriend, Zack, in Vegas several years prior and she didn't realize that it was an actual, legitimately legal, marriage. This causes Zack to show up for Thanksgiving dinner so that they can get the wedding annulled. After a little push-back from Zack (not wanting to get divorced because of the kids that he Penny didn't have) he decides to sign the papers and the holiday happily ends with bellies full of turkey.