Maybe "The Big Bang Theory's" Raj Koothrappali should moonlight as a party planner? (Then we'd have even more opportunities for Bob Newhart to guest on the show.)
Now that his gender gag has been removed, Raj has become a veritable social butterfly. Unfortunately, his introverted friends weren't aboard his first attempt as party-train conductor — no one showed up at his murder-mystery dinner party. (Sadface. Who wouldn't want to see Sheldon in a "Clue"-themed episode?)
The gang was much more enthusiastic about Raj's next idea, a scavenger hunt inspired by a famous tradition at brainiac university MIT.
In the end, everyone was a winner, especially "Big Bang" fans. Here are just some of the surprising things the game revealed about our favorite characters:
Raj is a 'born showman'
Sheldon nailed it: The scavenger hunt's ringleader owned the spotlight, more than compensating for years of gender-based mutism! Like an emcee at a monster truck rally, he staged a spectacular opening ceremony for the competition, complete with a karaoke mic, improvised smoke bombs and disco lights (actually turning the light switch on and off).
Penny is not 'a liability'
Poor Penny. No one wanted the ditzy waitress to join in their reindeer games — starting with her own boyfriend! Even Amy punted, so Sheldon ended up with his recent roomie after a random draw. In the end, however, Penny proved her mettle — only to discover that Raj had already slipped the final prize, a golden coin, into everyone's pocket.
Bernadette is a cutthroat competitor, a sore loser … and a liar!
Leonard paid the price for dissing his girlfriend because he ended up with Bad Bernadette, the worst scavenger ever. We wouldn't have blamed him for summoning an exorcist to drive out the demon possessing the sweetheart scientist. How dare she tell Leonard that Penny secretly called him the "lady part" used to describe cats, willows and cowards?! (At least she admitted later that it was flat-out lie.)
Amy and Howard are sweet on Neil Diamond
Good times never felt so good (so good so good!) as this odd couple belting out "Sweet Caroline"! After a strained silence (Howard doesn't share Amy's fascination with harps), they discovered they were both huge fans of the iconic singer. Their medley of "Sweet Caroline," "Coming to America" and "Love on the Rocks" were the funniest moments of the show. The last scene, Amy and Howard singing "Cherry, Cherry," makes us hope Raj organizes a karaoke party next! (After another attempt at the murder-mystery dinner party.)
Bangin' bites
"Do you know how filthy those rental balls are? You might as well stand on the corner and give away free rectal exams." — Sheldon on toting around his own bowling ball.
"If you want to solve the mystery of who stabbed Koothrappali in the back with the weapon of indifference, it was all of you." — Raj when everyone snubbed his dinner party.
"Some of those puzzles were really hard and I didn't know who was going to get Penny." — Raj defending his choice to award everyone a winning coin.
"Have you ever gone into a steel cage with a wolverine?" — Howard on playing games with his wife.
"As my mom used to say, 'When you're doing a puzzle, it's like having a thousand friends!' She was full of fun lies like that." — Amy