Why So Blu?

The Big Bang Theory: Season 3 (Blu-ray Review)

For months, people in the office tell me they can’t believe I’ve never seen CBS’s super hit comedy, The Big Bang Theory.  “You’re totally cut out for that show,” one co-worker would exclaim.  “What?!  Watch it already!” as another would command.  The fact is, I rarely watch network television.  I find a lot of sitcoms poorly written and extremely contrived.  Still, the geek-laden aspects of The Big Bang Theory were tempting to my otherwise TV-dormant soul.  I mean, the show must have some layer of quality to it, right? After all, it is about to begin its fourth season on the air and fans of the show continue to clamor for more as discs of seasons 1 and 2 continue to fly off of store shelves.  Well, I can finally put my critics’ words to rest at work.  As I slid disc 1 into my Playstation 3, I wondered what fun or disappointment was about to ensue.

Film  

The Big Bang Theory has a simple premise that focuses around five sometimes closely knit, sometimes not so much, group of friends.  There is the Indian-born Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar), Howard the color-coordinating Jew (Simon Helberg), cute neighbor Penny across the hall (Kaley Cuoco), geeky but grounded Leonard (Johnny Galecki), and nerd-genius supreme Sheldon (Jim Parsons).  The four guys are all scientists in one form or another, working at the same university.  Leonard and Sheldon share an apartment with aforementioned Penny residing just outside their door, who knows next to nothing about the realms of matter and geekdom that the four guys are oh-so-familiar with.  There is a fantastically humorous chemistry that grows and evolves amongst the quintet.  They all wildly contrast with one another, yet they blend beautifully on screen, providing more than enough laugh ammunition in their half hour productions.  The writing is nothing short of brilliant and the actors’ timing quicker than an outlaw’s trigger finger.  In addition, any fanboy (yours truly) can greatly appreciate the show’s bits of inserted content ranging from landmark comic books to the infinitely famous Star Wars.

While previous seasons flittered with a possible love interest between Penny and one of the four lads, season three makes no bones about it and jumps right in the mix with episode 1.  The inaugural show of the hat trick season picks up with four guys returning from their three-month expedition at the North Pole.  Without giving away any specifics, I can honestly say the show’s humor remains at a consistent high throughout the 23-episode 2-disc set.  The show does have its lulls where somewhat serious plot points are inserted here and there that do fill the criteria of the contrived ailment.  Make no mistake, The Big Bang Theory is a comedy through and through and the fragments of story-building along the way, though not always entertainingly assisting, are not a deal-buster when they’re not at their best.

Big Bang has been labeled as “…this decade’s answer to Friends” by Entertainment Weekly.  I don’t know if I’d go that far, but the author behind that quote makes a point.  This series delivers smart, unpredictable humor that is carefully woven around science and pop culture with a cast of characters that unloads each mannerism and line with hilarious execution.  Now I know why the office folk said what they said to me.  I just have to figure out which guy they’re implying I am.

Video  

The third season of The Big Bang Theory comes to us in a VC-1 encode with a 1.77:1 aspect ratio.  Colors are lush and crisp but details aren’t as necessarily crisp.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still far better than a dvd on its best day, but you’re not going to have the pore-whore micro details like you would in feature films.  Part of this, and you can’t really fault the video quality for it, is due to the camera angles.  You don’t have the close-up shots in a sitcom like you do in a movie.  Nevertheless, the detail is still satisfying to the eye, flesh tones stay consistent, and those aforementioned colors are poured forth with rainbow-like vibrancy.  Rest assured that Howard’s 1970-ish apparel will never look more turquoise or scarlet than it does on these two discs.

Audio  

A little more pizzazz in this department would have been appreciated.  This show is definitely front-speaker-driven and it’s evident with surround sound capabilities.  Those rear speakers just don’t get much of a workout, save for bustling scenes like a club environment when multiple people are out and about.  In those instances, you can hear the audible fragments of conversations going on in the background.  With most of the show taking place in a relatively quite apartments though, there’s not a whole lot going on to breathe life into those rear channels.  Disappointing as it may be for audiophiles, it is also something that has to be expected considering the fact that you are watching a situation-comedy and not Band of Brothers.  Again, you may be expecting a little more here but don’t dwell on it too much.  It’s not a deal-breaker.

Special Features  

When I discovered that there was only 3 extras for Season 3, I was disappointed.  However, there are a few upsides despite that lack in quantity.  Two of the three are displayed in high def and all three are definitely worth a watch.  I was hoping for more than BD Live and just under the 27 minutes worth of extras provided here.  What is offered is great, so quality was achieved.  Fans will probably looking for a little more.

• Take-out with the Cast – The cast of The Big Bang Theory sits around for a candid discussion (in high def!) on memorable moments with their characters from Season 3 (10:25).
• Set Tour with Simon and Kunal – A high definition tour of the set consisting of Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment to the university cafeteria and all points in between.  Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar do the honors (7:40).
• Gag Reel – Albeit some rough-looking film, there are some hilarious moments to be found here as script amnesia and mispronunciations dot the video landscape (7:51).

Final Thoughts  

The Big Bang Theory is a magnificently assembled production that caters to not only the general public, but especially to self-declared nerds who appreciate a good Klingon, Force choke, or issue of Green Lantern.  Throw in a few highly technical scientific terms and one very cute, counterpointing Kaley Cuoco and you’ve got yourself a roster of solid chemistry and a production that keeps winning fans over week after week.  Look for Season 4 of The Big Bang Theory to debut Thursday September 23^rd, 8pm Eastern/7pm Central!

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Bring home The Big Bang Theory Season 3 today!