Skip the Rest: The Top 10 Must-Watch Big Bang Theory Episodes for Busy Fans

The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons and a total of 279 episodes and has spawned two spinoff shows so far, which makes for a lot of television to watch. The original series follows Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galicki), two physicists, and their friends through sitcom antics seen through their more academic lens. That includes them meeting and befriending the woman across the hall in their apartment building, Penny (Kaley Cuoco).

Watching all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory can be a daunting task for those used to binge-watching short seasons of TV. Over the course of those 12 seasons, the series spotlighted the group of friends who worked in academia, their significant others, and all of their journeys. With seven eventual main characters and a lot of recurring supporting cast members, those are a lot of stories to get through. These 10 Big Bang Theory episodes help to parse the entire series down for those who might not have the time to get through the entire show.

It might seem cliche to some, but the beginning is always the best place to start. Pilot episodes are created with the intention of giving a brief introduction to the main characters, establishing the relationships and dynamics among them, and showing the audience what to look forward to. While dramas will give the tease for the first major arc of the show, sitcoms have an advantage in that the episodes are mostly standalone, so the idea is to bring in the characters and get as many laughs from the audience as possible.

The pilot episode does that by introducing Sheldon and Leonard to their brand-new neighbor Penny. While Leonard immediately has a crush on the aspiring actress and attempts to befriend her, despite he, Sheldon, and their friends being socially awkward, Sheldon is sure that Leonard will never date Penny. That becomes one of the most important relationships in the show. The pilot episode sets the foundation for everything that comes next.

It’s quintessential Sheldon alongside some important character development.

The season 1 finale marks the culmination of the will-they-won’t-they dynamic for Penny and Leonard – or at least, it marks the first time they decide to attempt to date. Their date is spurned on by Penny experiencing a bad breakup and deciding to give Leonard a shot, but Leonard is terrified. While The Big Bang Theory is not solely about Leonard and Penny’s love life, in the early seasons of the show, they provided the most compelling romantic dynamic. They, along with Sheldon, were the characters driving the plot.

That’s why this episode is so important.

Not only do Leonard and Penny decide to give things a shot, but they do so because of Sheldon. Sheldon, at this point in the show, has no real interest in romance or interpersonal relationships. He is the friend the dup shares in common though, so they continually go to him for help while he is more preoccupied with finding out why his favorite Chinese restaurant is making the dish he wants differently. It’s quintessential Sheldon alongside some important character development.

“The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis” is the first Christmas episode of The Big Bang Theory. While the show does not do a ton of holiday episodes in its long run, this one stands out because of its combination of humor and character development.

This episode features Leonard being concerned with Penny’s attempt at dating a fellow scientist, and while that part of the episode feeds into the long-running relationship arc for the two, the more essential aspect of it is actually the progress made for Sheldon and Penny’s friendship. When Sheldon finds out that Penny wants to give him a Christmas gift, he becomes determined to find one of equal value for her and enlists Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) to help him.

This is the start of Howard and Raj becoming more prominent members of the cast and Sheldon becoming more humanized over the course of the show. Sheldon, despite believing the task should be simple, ends up buying an array of bath-related items so that he can simply return the ones he decides not to give to Penny based on the value of her gift. Penny, however, proves that she knows Sheldon better than he thinks and gives him something that would be priceless.

The season 3 finale has a great balance among the ensemble in the early seasons of the show. A lot of the episode is devoted to Penny and Leonard finding it awkward to be around one another for normal friendship activities after sleeping together. The two of them learning to coexist in their friend group, even when they are not dating, is an important part of their journeys in the series.

Even more interesting in the episode is a plan implemented by Raj and Howard. The duo, who were practically joined at the hip in the first three seasons of the show, decide to see if Sheldon could date. Sheldon has never shown an interest in it, but they create a dating profile for him online, and to their surprise, they find his perfect match.

The final moments of the episode see Mayim Bialik make her debut in The Big Bang Theory as Amy Farah Fowler. The brief interaction she has with Jim Parsons as Sheldon sets them up to be hilarious together, and for the audience to see the potential in their pairing. Amy and Sheldon’s relationship becomes much more compelling than Leonard and Penny’s as the show continues.

Though Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) is introduced much earlier in the series, this episode is one of the first truly pivotal ones for her and for Howard. It also helps to distill all of Howard’s character development into a single episode for fans who want to essentially speed-watch the show.

Bernadette and Howard are getting ready to get married, but Bernadette realizes here just what kind of man Howard used to be, and that causes her to rethink their relationship. The episode showcases just how much Howard has grown through his bachelor party and all the stories told about him – which Bernadette sees when they are posted online.

It’s able to provide the audience with some backstory for Howard (and Raj) they did not know about before, bring in some fun guest stars, like the always-great Wil Wheaton, and allow Bernadette to understand how much her presence has changed Howard. It’s a great episode for both of their characters.

A time-honored tradition in nerdy circles is role-playing tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons. The series features Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard playing the game numerous times, but this version might give the audience the best glimpses into their characters.

“The Love Spell Potential” kicks off with the guys planning a night of D&D while Penny, Amy, and Bernadette are supposed to be going to Las Vegas for a girls’ trip. Their trip is derailed when Amy ends up on the no-fly list, leading to them playing D&D with Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard after Raj bails on them to spend time with his own girlfriend.

While Raj’s story is largely separate from the rest of the group, it makes for a great look at the dynamics of the rest of the ensemble, as so much of the episode’s humor comes from the two very different sets of friends interacting over the game. It also helps to show just how much Raj has developed since he and his current girlfriend both have issues with painful shyness, but still find ways to connect.

The episode also provides a big step forward in Sheldon and Amy’s relationship when she becomes upset that they have yet to be physically intimate with one another. It leads to a heart-to-heart between them and provides a fantastic scene for the two of them discussing what kind of intimacy they are comfortable with.

While sitcoms are known for their characters ending up in some slapstick situations or delivering quippy dialogue, they also have to take chances once in a while to craft more dramatic storylines. “The Comic Book Store Regeneration” is when the show does this, and it is widely recognized as the best episode of The Big Bang Theory as a result.

After the comic book store the gang frequented burned down in season 7, frequent guest star Stuart (Kevin Sussman) opens his new location here. The opening, as well as Leonard and Raj meeting Nathan Fillion, who cameos in the episode, provide a lot of the humor and help to balance the ensemble in several different storylines.

The dramatic aspect of the episode comes when Howard receives a devastating phone call about a major death in his life. It breaks up the humor of the show and allows the characters to deal with some real emotions, and it makes for a great balance of humor and heart.

Not many of the episodes of The Big Bang Theory spotlight Amy, but it is certainly difficult to imagine the show without her. Though she did not join the series until the season 3 finale, she becomes a huge part of it as Penny’s friend and the first woman Sheldon even considers having a relationship with.

By this point in the show, Sheldon and Amy have been together off and on for five years. For Amy’s birthday, Sheldon decides to give her something she really wants, but he has never really been interested in – sex. It’s a bold step forward for Sheldon’s character development and provides for some great comedic performances when he makes the decision clear to Amy, Penny, and Bernadette. Bialik’s Amy is a particular highlight in this episode.

While seasons 10 and 11 focus largely on relationship storylines for most of the characters, the characters who experience the most growth and change in that time are Sheldon and Amy. A casual viewer does not need to see every single episode between “The Opening Night Excitation” and “The Bow Tie Asymmetry,” though they reach a lot of relationship milestones in those episodes. Here, Sheldon and Amy marry, but that is not the only highlight of the episode.

While Amy and Sheldon might be the couple tying the knot, the entire ensemble is tasked with making sure the wedding runs smoothly. Complete with references to Avengers, Lord of the Rings, and string theory, the episode is full of the nerdy aspects the series is known for, as well as some huge guest stars, like Mark Hamill and Wil Wheaton.

It also allows Sheldon and Amy’s families to interact with one another and all of their friends, which is the perfect comedic hurricane. While all of the comedy is going on around them, Sheldon and Amy also work out some physics formulas with her lipstick tube and a mirror, proving that even during a huge relationship moment for them, academia is still a big part of the show.

…keeping Sheldon in focus, but honoring the work of the entire ensemble…

Making it to the end of Big Bang Theory essential episodes, “The Stockholm Syndrome” is the series finale. It’s a fitting place to end the journey with the characters, even with just nine episodes before it. The series finale celebrates the friendships among the main characters as well as Sheldon achieving his dream. The group heads to Stockholm to see Amy and Sheldon awarded a Nobel Prize.

This is not the funniest episode of the series, but it does, for the most part, offer great closure for all the characters. For anyone who has followed along since the pilot episode, there is a sense of the characters really reaching the end of their fictional journeys. Most of them have spouses or children and their dream jobs.

In the later seasons of the show, Sheldon become the focal point, despite the ensemble nature of the series, so allowing him to thank each of his friends in his Nobel speech makes for the perfect way to close the show – keeping Sheldon in focus, but honoring the work of the entire ensemble in The Big Bang Theory.