Country of origin United States Original network CBS | No. of episodes 23 | |
Starring Johnny Galecki
Jim Parsons
Kaley Cuoco
Simon Helberg
Kunal Nayyar
Sara Gilbert Original release September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22) – May 11, 2009 (2009-05-11) | ||
The second season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory was originally aired on CBS from September 22, 2008, to May 11, 2009, over 23 episodes. The Complete Season DVD was released September 15, 2009, and a Blu-ray version was reissued on July 10, 2012, with remastered surround sound audio, whereas the DVD version only had stereo. Season two starts immediately after the end of season one with Leonard and Penny's date.
Contents
Jim Parsons 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 at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2009, TV Guide 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 at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.
Overview
Season two begins to deal with character development, including Sheldon becoming more and more obsessive. Leonard and Penny's relationship takes a turn for the worse when they break up, but quickly is resolved. Soon their relationship progresses into 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. Howard's character remains similar to that of season one in his attempts to seduce women, managing to start a short-lived sexual relationship with Leslie Winkle in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Rajesh manages to briefly apologize to Penny for what he did in "The Griffin Equivalency" without having consumed alcohol.
Reception
Compared to season one, the second season received more favorable reception. Jessica Paff of Screener wrote that "if they can keep the funny coming, I will keep watching", Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly praised the improvements to the character of Sheldon Cooper, writing that "Prickly Sheldon has become a character to love, and [actor Jim] Parsons is doing something rare on network TV: making intellectualism admirable, even heroic", and James Chamberlin of IGN wrote that "Jim Parsons is a riot and is reason enough to tune in each week."