The second season of the American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...

'' was originally aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from September 22, 2008, to May 11, 2009, consisting of 23 episodes. The Complete Season DVD was released September 15, 2009, and a

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

version was reissued on July 10, 2012, with remastered surround sound audio, whereas the DVD version only had stereo.

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...

submitted the episode "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" for consideration due to his nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emm ...

at the

61st Primetime Emmy Awards The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! broadcast the Creative Arts event; both took place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations were announced on ...

. In 2009,

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

ranked the episode the #60 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes. Christine Baranski submitted the episode "The Maternal Capacitance" for consideration due to her nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

at the

Overview

Sheldon becomes increasingly obsessive. Leonard and Penny's relationship takes a turn for the worse when they break up, but this is quickly resolved and their relationship progresses to a stronger friendship than before, while Sheldon and Penny's friendship slowly begins. In the season finale Penny hints at her true feelings for Leonard when the guys leave for a 3-month expedition to North Pole and she admits to herself that she does not want him to go. Howard has a short-lived sexual relationship with Leslie Winkle in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Rajesh manages, without having consumed alcohol, to briefly apologize to Penny for what he did in "The Griffin Equivalency". Barry Kripke (

John Ross Bowie John Ross Bowie (born May 30, 1971) is an American actor and comedian best known for playing Barry Kripke on ''The Big Bang Theory'' and Jimmy DiMeo on '' Speechless,'' in addition to over 100 film and TV credits. He is of no known relation to s ...

) makes his first appearance in "The Killer Robot Instability".

Cast

Main cast

Johnny Galecki John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms ''Ro ...

as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter *

as Dr. Sheldon Cooper *

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (200 ...

as Penny *

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Sup ...

Howard Wolowitz Howard Joel Wolowitz, M.Eng. is a fictional character on the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by actor Simon Helberg. Among the four main male characters in the show, Howard is distinctive for being an engineer—rather ...

Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). Nayyar als ...

as Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali *

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and ...

Leslie Winkle The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', cre ...

Recurring cast

Carol Ann Susi Carol Ann Susi (February 2, 1952 – November 11, 2014) was an American actress whose career spanned 40 years. Her best known roles were probably her first and last; she debuted as the recurring character of semi-competent but likable intern Mo ...

Mrs. Wolowitz The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', creat ...

Mark Harelik Marcus Frank Harelik (born June 5, 1951) is an American television, film, and stage actor, and playwright. Early life Harelik was born in Hamilton, Texas. In 1909, Harelik's Russian Jewish grandfather, Haskell Harelik—upon whom Harelik's ...

as Dr.

Eric Gablehauser The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', cre ...

Brian George Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019 ...

as Dr. V.M. Koothrappali *

Alice Amter Alice Amter (born 11 May 1966) Mrs. Koothrappali *

as Dr. Barry Kripke *

Sara Rue Sara Rue (born January 26, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for her performances as Carmen Ferrara on ''Popular'', as Claude Casey on ''Less than Perfect'', and as the Attorney General in ''Idiocracy''. In 2011, she hosted The CW realit ...

as Dr. Stephanie Barnett * Christine Baranski as

Dr. Beverly Hofstadter The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', cre ...

* Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom *

Brian Patrick Wade Brian Patrick Wade (born June 9, 1978) is an American actor and physical trainer, best known for his television roles as Capt. Craig Schwetje in the mini-series '' Generation Kill'', as Kurt (Penny's former love interest) in ''The Big Bang Theo ...

as Kurt

Guest cast

Travis Schuldt Travis Schuldt (born September 18, 1974)"Catching up with....Travis Schuldt." ''Soap Opera Digest''. August 12, 2013. p. 63. is an American actor. He originated the role of Ethan Winthrop on ''Passions'', and played the recurring roles of Keith ...

as Eric *

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

as himself *

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors ...

as DMV employee *

Riki Lindhome Erika "Riki" Lindhome (born March 5, 1979) is an American actress, comedian, and musician. She is best known as a singer and songwriter for the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates. After making her television debut in 2002 with minor roles in t ...

Ramona Nowitzki The American television sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'', created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007, while the American comedy spin-off prequel television series ''Young Sheldon'', creat ...

Lio Tipton Lio Tipton (born Analeigh Tipton; November 9, 1988) is an American actor and fashion model. Tipton is known for being the last eliminated on Cycle 11 of ''America's Next Top Model'' and for their roles in the films ''Crazy, Stupid, Love'' (2011 ...

as themself * Emily Happe as Kathy O'Brien *

Samantha Potter The eleventh cycle of ''America's Next Top Model'' premiered on September 3, 2008, and was the fifth season to be aired on The CW network. The promotional catchphrase of the cycle was "Feel The Love." The prizes for this cycle were: * A modeli ...

as herself *

Michael Trucco Edward Michael Trucco (born June 22, 1970) is an American actor known for his role as Samuel Anders on the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' and his recurring role as Nick Petteruti in ''How I Met Your Mother''. He also appeared on the 2017– ...

as Dr. David Underhill * Summer Glau as herself *

George Smoot George Fitzgerald Smoot III (born February 20, 1945) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and the 2nd contestant to win the $1 million prize on '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?''. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics i ...

as himself *

Valerie Azlynn Valerie Azlynn (born November 25, 1980) is an American actress. She has appeared in several television shows and movies, notably starring in the TV comedy '' Sullivan & Son''. Early life Azlynn was born Valerie Asselin and raised in New London ...

as Alicia *

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born October 10, 1978) is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She came to prominence as Cassidy Bridges on the television series '' Nash Bridges'' (1996–2001) and played Gretchen Morgan on '' Prison Break'' (20 ...

as Mikayla

Episodes

Reception

Compared to season one, the second season received critical acclaim. Jessica Paff of Screener wrote that "if they can keep the funny coming, I will keep watching", Ken Tucker of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' praised the improvements to the character of Sheldon Cooper, writing that "Prickly Sheldon has become a character to love, and

ctor Jim In class-based, object-oriented programming, a constructor (abbreviation: ctor) is a special type of subroutine called to create an object. It prepares the new object for use, often accepting arguments that the constructor uses to set required ...

Parsons is doing something rare on network TV: making intellectualism admirable, even heroic", and James Chamberlin of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' wrote that "Jim Parsons is a riot and is reason enough to tune in each week."

Notes

References

;General references * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Bang Theory, The 2008 American television seasons 2009 American television seasons The Big Bang Theory seasons