The Big Bang Theory season 7

The Big Bang Theory (season 7)
Season 7
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26) – present
Season chronology

The seventh season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory premiered on CBS on September 26, 2013 with two episodes back-to-back. On January 12, 2011, The Big Bang Theory was renewed for an additional three years, extending it through the 2013–14 season for a total of seven seasons. Production for the season began on August 14, 2013.

Cast

Main article: List of The Big Bang Theory characters

• Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, portrayed by Johnny Galecki, is an experimental physicist with an IQ of 173 who received his Ph.D when he was 24 years old. He shares an apartment with colleague and friend, Sheldon Cooper. He and Penny dated at one point during the series, but they broke up during season 3. They start dating again in season 5 though their relationship has been rocky since Leonard proposed to Penny in bed. Throughout season 6, Penny and Leonard became more comfortable as a couple with Leonard asking Penny to propose to him when she was ready.
• Dr. Sheldon Cooper, portrayed by Jim Parsons, is a theoretical physicist. Originally from East Texas, he was a child prodigy, starting college at the age of 11, right after completing the fifth grade. He received the Stevenson award when 14 and received his Ph.D when he was 16. He has an IQ of 187 and exhibits a strict adherence to routine; a lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor; and a complete lack of humility or basic empathy. He is dating Amy Farrah Fowler. During season 6, he has shown remarkable improvement dealing with his issue of touch phobia, and has admitted to Penny and Leonard and later Amy that he is open to the idea of him and Amy having sex someday.
• Penny, portrayed by Kaley Cuoco, is the attractive blonde neighbor who lives across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. She has aspirations to an acting career, but has not been particularly successful thus far, only boasting a few small roles as well as a part in a hemorrhoid commercial. To pay the bills, she works as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. She and Leonard dated during season 3 and broke up. In the finale episode of Season 4, she was thought to have slept with Raj after drinking, but Raj revealed to her they didn't. During season 5, Penny begins to date Leonard again but their relationship is not steady though she loves him and is committed to him. By the end of season 6, their relationship is going very well. Her last name has never been revealed.
• Howard Wolowitz, portrayed by Simon Helberg, is an aerospace engineer. He is Jewish, and lived with his mother until season 6. Unlike Sheldon, Leonard, and Raj, Howard lacks a Ph.D, which is a point of mocking between the four friends. He defends this by pointing out that he has a master's degree in Engineering from MIT and the equipment he designs is actually built and launched into space (and so is he), unlike the purely abstract work of his friends. He provides outrageous pick-up lines and fancies himself a ladies man with suitably unimpressed reactions from Penny. Though he finds that he has limited success with other women at first, he begins dating Bernadette in season 3, but they break up. They get back together in the Season 4 episode "The Hot Troll Deviation", become engaged in the episode "The Herb Garden Germination" and are married in the last episode of season 5.
• Dr. Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali, portrayed by Kunal Nayyar, is an astrophysicist from New Delhi, India. Known commonly as "Raj", he works alongside Sheldon exploring the string theory implications of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation. He is very shy around women and suffers from selective mutism which means he is physically unable to talk to them unless he drinks alcohol. He is known to be part metrosexual with a strong feminine side, and he is a very emotional person. His sister Priya dates Leonard in season 4 and part of season 5, but they break up when Leonard finds out she slept with her old boyfriend in the episode, "The Good Guy Fluctuation". He finds a friend in Stuart Bloom after Howard goes into space and is married. In season 6 he began to date Lucy, a shy girl with similar social problems of her own. She breaks up with him at the end of season 6, though he finds that he can talk to women.
• Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski Wolowitz, portrayed by Melissa Rauch, is a microbiologist. Bernadette was introduced to Howard by Penny while the two were working together at the Cheesecake Factory. At first she and Howard do not get along, as they appear to have nothing in common. When they find out that they both have overbearing mothers, however, they feel a connection. She was upgraded to main cast status in the episode "The Hot Troll Deviation", in which she and Howard revisit their previously unsuccessful relationship. She and Howard get engaged in the episode, "The Herb Garden Germination", and much comic fodder is created through similarities between Bernadette and Mrs. Wolowitz. She marries Howard just before he goes into space at the end of season 5.
• Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, portrayed by Mayim Bialik, is a neurobiologist. Raj and Howard meet her on an online dating site using a fake account for Sheldon. She is very similar to Sheldon, except that she is more open to social interactions and thus more susceptible to conventional behavior. She becomes close friends with Sheldon, prompting regular assertions from him that she is a girl and is his friend, but she is not his girlfriend. She finally became his girlfriend when Sheldon decides to change the course of their relationship after he becomes jealous when Amy goes out on a date with comic book store owner Stuart Bloom. By the end of season 5 they have progressed to holding hands though Amy is inching Sheldon toward a deeper relationship which gradually starts to become intimate in season 6 ending in some "intercourse" gameplay between their Dungeons and Dragons characters. Amy also forms a quirky friendship with Penny, whom Amy frequently refers to as her "bestie" and becomes Bernadette's Maid of Honor at her and Howard's wedding.
• Stuart Bloom, portrayed by Kevin Sussman, is the owner of a comic book store to which the gang frequently goes. He is also a nerd, but he has a talent for drawing, is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, and possesses a few more social skills than they do. Stuart starts hanging out with the gang as a replacement for Howard, as long as he acts like Howard as stipulated by Sheldon. He and Raj have become good friends, with a broke Stuart staying at Raj's place and having most of his expenses covered by him, in a relationship that strongly mirrors the Raj-Howard pairing before Howard met Bernadette — including the fact that Raj and Stuart appear to others as acting like a same-sex couple while both men are straight and Raj is unaware of how they're coming across. Stuart notices it from time to time. Stuart has also dated both Penny and Amy which prompted jealousy in Leonard and Sheldon.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Big Bang Theory episodes

The Big Bang Theory season 7 episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
136	1	"The Hofstadter Insufficiency"	Mark Cendrowski	Story: Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro & Tara Hernandez Teleplay: Eric Kaplan, Jim Reynolds & Steve Holland	September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)	4X5301	18.99
137	2	"The Deception Verification"	Mark Cendrowski	Story: Chuck Lorre, Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Steve Holland & Maria Ferrari	September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)	4X5302	20.44
138	3	"The Scavenger Vortex"	Mark Cendrowski	Story: Dave Goetsch, Eric Kaplan & Steve Holland Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari	October 3, 2013 (2013-10-03)	4X5303	N/A
139	4	"The Raiders Minimization"	Mark Cendrowski	Story: Chuck Lorre, Jim Reynolds & Tara Hernandez Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari	October 10, 2013 (2013-10-10)	4X5304	N/A

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Episode No.	Title	Air date	Households (Rating/Share)	18–49	Viewers	DVR 18–49	DVR viewers	Total 18–49	Total viewers
1	"The Hofstadter Insufficiency"	September 26, 2013	11.3/19	5.5/18	18.99	1.8	3.93	7.3	22.92
2	"The Deception Verification"	September 26, 2013	11.3/19	6.1/18	20.44	1.8	4.23	7.9	24.67
3	"The Scavenger Vortex"	October 3, 2013	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	"The Raiders Minimization"	October 10, 2013	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Canadian ratings

Episode No.	Title	Air date	Viewers	Weekly Rank
1	"The Hofstadter Insufficiency"	September 26, 2013	—	—
2	"The Deception Verification"	September 26, 2013	—	—
3	"The Scavenger Vortex"	October 3, 2013	—	—
4	"The Raiders Minimization"	October 10, 2013	—	—

References

General references

• "The Big Bang Theory Season 7 episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
• "Shows A-Z – big bang theory, the on CBS". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
• "The Big Bang Theory: Episode Guide". MSN TV. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
• "The Big Bang Theory Episode Guide". Zap2It. Retrieved August 17, 2013.