The WORST episodes of The Big Bang Theory

Every episode of The Big Bang Theory ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Big Bang Theory!

A woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.

Last Updated: 12/10/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
The Planetarium Collision
star
7.45
4379 votes

#1 - The Planetarium Collision

Season 12 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2018

When Amy doesn’t have time to work on super-asymmetry, Sheldon goes to great lengths to ensure she’s available to work with him even it if means accidentally sabotaging her career in the process. Also, Koothrappali doesn’t want Wolowitz to join him in hosting a show at the planetarium.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Inspiration Deprivation
star
7.46
3799 votes

#2 - The Inspiration Deprivation

Season 12 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/18/2019

The concept of what it would mean for women everywhere if Amy were to win a Nobel Prize causes Amy to have a meltdown. Also, Koothrappali and Wolowitz try to relive the good old days after Wolowitz buys a scooter that looks like the one he had years ago.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Tam Turbulence
star
7.47
4402 votes

#3 - The Tam Turbulence

Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/2018

When Sheldon won’t tell anyone why he’s never mentioned Tam, his childhood best friend, Leonard takes matters into his own hands. Also, Bernadette and Penny take out Raj’s fiancée, Anu, for dinner to get the skinny on her.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Cornhusker Vortex
star
7.47
11970 votes

#4 - The Cornhusker Vortex

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/2009

Sheldon becomes Leonard's teacher in order to understand football, while an incident with flying a kite threatens Howard and Raj's friendship.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Speckerman Recurrence
star
7.47
12163 votes

#5 - The Speckerman Recurrence

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/8/2011

When Leonard's former high school tormentor resurfaces, Leonard must confront him. Meanwhile, Penny realizes she did her fair share of tormenting in the past.

Directors: Anthony Rich
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Solo Oscillation
star
7.48
5593 votes

#6 - The Solo Oscillation

Season 11 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/11/2018

When Sheldon kicks Amy out to work solo, she and Leonard bond during a series of science experiments. Also, Bert the geologist replaces Wolowitz in the band Footprints on the Moon, and Sheldon finds Penny a surprising source of scientific inspiration.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Decision Reverberation
star
7.48
3804 votes

#7 - The Decision Reverberation

Season 12 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/25/2019

Koothrappali is worried people won't take him seriously in his own field after publishing a paper that suggests he may have discovered alien life. Also, Leonard wants to be the principal investigator on a plasma physics study.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Cognition Regeneration
star
7.48
8349 votes

#8 - The Cognition Regeneration

Season 10 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/27/2017

Leonard isn’t thrilled when Penny considers taking a new job offered by her ex-boyfriend, Zack.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Matrimonial Momentum
star
7.49
7640 votes

#9 - The Matrimonial Momentum

Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/2015

Sheldon is confronted by a mystery of the universe he cannot unravel: when Amy presses pause on their relationship. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Penny struggles with Leonard's confession that he kissed another girl.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Neonatal Nomenclature
star
7.50
5289 votes

#10 - The Neonatal Nomenclature

Season 11 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/1/2018

When Bernadette won't go into labor, all her friends try different tactics to get things started. Also, Wolowitz confronts Bernadette after Amy accidentally reveals she's already chosen their son's name.

Directors: Gay Linvill
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Meteorite Manifestation
star
7.50
3998 votes

#11 - The Meteorite Manifestation

Season 12 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/31/2019

Sheldon is thrilled to help Bernadette and Wolowitz navigate bureaucratic paperwork, until he discovers they are breaking the law. Also, Leonard is disappointed when his friends exclude him from a scientific project.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Gates Excitation
star
7.50
4961 votes

#12 - The Gates Excitation

Season 11 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/29/2018

Penny gets the opportunity to host Bill Gates at work when his company wants to partner with her pharmaceutical company. Also, Leonard, Koothrappali and Wolowitz do everything in their power to meet him, while Sheldon thinks he is the victim of an April Fools prank.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Athenaeum Allocation
star
7.50
5177 votes

#13 - The Athenaeum Allocation

Season 11 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/8/2018

Leonard jumps through hoops to help secure the perfect wedding venue for Sheldon and Amy. Also, Bernadette and Wolowitz have a hard time deciding who should stay at home with the kids and who should go back to work.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Explosion Implosion
star
7.51
6967 votes

#14 - The Explosion Implosion

Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2017

Wolowitz and Sheldon bond when they drive to the desert to shoot off a model rocket. Also, when Leonard's mom, Beverly, finds a new best friend in Penny, it rubs Leonard the wrong way.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Communication Deterioration
star
7.51
6403 votes

#15 - The Communication Deterioration

Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/16/2015

When Raj is asked to create a message in case a NASA mission discovers alien life, the guys fight over what he should do. Also, Penny is torn between auditioning for a movie or keeping her successful pharmaceutical sales job.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Laureate Accumulation
star
7.51
3881 votes

#16 - The Laureate Accumulation

Season 12 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/4/2019

When competitors Pemberton and Campbell charm America on a publicity tour, Sheldon and Amy try to bring Nobel laureates Kip Thorne, George Smoot and Frances Arnold to their side. Also, Halley’s fear of the dark leads to opportunity and conflict for Howard, Bernadette and Stuart.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Relaxation Integration
star
7.51
7126 votes

#17 - The Relaxation Integration

Season 11 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/2017

As Sheldon stresses about picking a wedding date, Amy tries to convince him he has a more laid-back side. Also, Koothrappali and Stuart compete to win the heart of Bernadette's new coworker, Ruchi.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Helium Insufficiency
star
7.52
6674 votes

#18 - The Helium Insufficiency

Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/2015

In the midst of a nation-wide helium shortage, Sheldon and Leonard take desperate measures to get the supplies they need. Also, Penny and Bernadette download a dating app on Amy's phone to try and find her a new man.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Separation Triangulation
star
7.52
5543 votes

#19 - The Separation Triangulation

Season 11 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/18/2018

Koothrappali finds himself in the middle of domestic drama when he learns the woman he's dating, Nell, has a very upset husband, Oliver. Also, when Sheldon rents his old room back for a quiet place to work, he drives Leonard crazy by being a model tenant.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Celebration Reverberation
star
7.52
5764 votes

#20 - The Celebration Reverberation

Season 11 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/14/2017

Sheldon and Wolowitz plan birthday celebrations for Amy and Halley, respectively. Also, Leonard receives a Christmas letter from his brother that causes him to spiral out about his own lack of accomplishments.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Fuzzy Boots Corollary
star
7.53
13503 votes

#21 - The Fuzzy Boots Corollary

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/2007

When Leonard learns Penny is seeing someone, he decided to asks a nerdy female co-worker out on a date.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Allowance Evaporation
star
7.53
8798 votes

#22 - The Allowance Evaporation

Season 10 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/16/2017

Sheldon and Amy have their first fight since moving in together, and Koothrappali is shocked at the realities of financial independence when he stops receiving support from his father.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Conference Valuation
star
7.53
3897 votes

#23 - The Conference Valuation

Season 12 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/7/2019

When Penny and Bernadette go to San Diego for a pharmaceutical sales convention, Wolowitz is in charge of the kids. Also, Sheldon finds a book on experimenting on kids, and the guys plus Amy make a day of it.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Retraction Reaction
star
7.53
7541 votes

#24 - The Retraction Reaction

Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/2017

Leonard angers the university - and the entire physics community - after he gives an embarrassing interview. Also, Amy and Bernadette bond over having to hide their success from Sheldon and Howard.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Reclusive Potential
star
7.53
4787 votes

#25 - The Reclusive Potential

Season 11 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/12/2018

A brilliant but reclusive scientist, Doctor Wolcott, invites Sheldon to his cabin in the middle of nowhere, and Leonard, Raj and Howard go along for the trip. Also, Penny and Bernadette improvise after Amy doesn’t like the tame bachelorette party they planned for her.

Directors: Mark Cendrowski
Watch Now:Apple TV