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 THE BIG BANG THEORY: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON |
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| Featuring: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik |
| Creators: Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady |
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Distributor: Warner Home Video |
| DVD release: 13 September 2011 |
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Runtime: 529 min.
(3 discs) |
| Format: AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Blu-ray |
| DVD features: 1080p High Definition, Aspect ratio 1.78:1, Audio tracks (English - DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Subtitles (English SDH, French, Spanish), Actor on Actor: The Big Bang's Theory of Relativity, Barenaked Ladies theme song music video, Gag reel
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It's season four of The Big Bang Theory, and all the quirkiness of the characters is still making everyone laugh, and the show can also now lay claim to an Emmy winner: Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper).
 The two brilliant physicists - Sheldon and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) - their friends Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) and their hijinks are as laugh-out-loud funny as in previous seasons. Next-door-neighbor and struggling actress Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is still coming over to the guys apartment to eat their food (Thursday is pizza night) and still using their Wi-Fi; though they consistently change the password that contains her name in it.
The once socially awkward group of friends who had trouble meeting women are still socially awkward, but a little less so. Everyone has a girlfriend except Raj. Howard and Raj jokingly put Sheldon's info onto a dating site, and that's how he hooks up with recurring character Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik). After a little help from Penny, Howard reunites with Bernadette (Melissa Rauch). Leonard moves on from Penny by hooking up with Raj's sister Priya (Aarti Mann), who on paper has all the attributes befitting a man of Leonard's intelligence.
The show is mostly consistent in its fun factor throughout the whole season, minus a few hiccups - like when Leonard (pre-Priya) is set up on a date with a woman named Joy who Leonard doesn't like at all. The humor falls flat, and Joy's character just doesn't work. Another thing that differentiates this season from seasons past is the sudden burst of female characters; a better way to put it is that the female characters are being featured more prominently. It kind of diminishes Penny's role, but it was a necessary move in the growth of the show. There can only be so much reliance on Sheldon's quirks in each episode before it becomes stale. But all seasons have their strengths and weaknesses.
That said, there are some beginning-to-end, highlight-reel, stand-out episodes, and the first episode - The Robotic Manipulation - is one of them, in which Howard gets into some trouble with his mechanical hand invention. On the subject of Howard, I should point out that some of the best lines are delivered from the voice that plays his mother. All season long, you get some terrifically odd banter and situations.
Another strong episode is The Love Car Displacement. Everyone goes on vacation, and the drive there is just as hilarious as what happens at the conference. The eleventh episode, The Justice League Recombination, has one of Penny's not-so-bright ex-boyfriends, Zach, coming back. In this episode the gang gets dressed up for a New Year's Eve party at the comic book store they frequent.
Season four of The Big Bang Theory is a three-disc set containing all twenty-four episodes. Also included are a bonus featurette with the cast talking about their experiences on the show; a gag reel; and another featurette on the theme song, written by the Barenaked Ladies.
I could go on and on picking through the episodes, but suffice to say there is plenty of comedic prowess on display from everyone in the cast. This season seems to be a building block to something more. The way it seems to end in the cliffhanger should give the writers a lot to work with in season five, and a lot for fans to look forward to.
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