The Big Bang Theory Holiday Episodes Ranked
Over the course of the show’s twelve season run The Big Bang Theory gave us seventeen holiday themed episodes. So today I thought I would rank all seventeen holiday episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Let’s get started!
17. The Holographic Excitation (Season 6, Episode 5): An ok episode that is just fine and the weakest of these episodes. I think what really drags down this episode is Howard just being annoying and constantly bringing up the fact he’s an astronaut. And when Bernadette and his friends tell him no they get mad at him for it, it’s not relatable and it’s too annoying for Howard to be acting. Plus they tried to make it really funny that Sheldon and Amy can’t agree on a couples costume for Halloween, but it’s some of the weakest stuff between them. So the episode as a whole just didn’t work for me.
16. The Maternal Congruence (Season 3, Episode 11): For me this is the weakest of the Christmas themed episodes of the show. But it is still an episode that I do enjoy and have a fun time with. Where you get Leonard’s mother coming to town and learning that his mother has been sharing information with Sheldon but not with him. Which just all leads to some fun hijinks and typical chaos for this show. But what holds it back is I think all of this is a bit to mean spirited for a Christmas episode of the show.
15. The Valentino Submergence (Season 9, Episode 15): Once again, an episode that is just kind of ok. It’s not one that I’m bored with but it’s also not one that I’m rushing to go and rewatch. But I think what ultimately holds this episode down from being higher is that once again Raj is complaining about being single. They do it several times through-out the show and I get that it’s part of who his character is, but at a certain point it just gets tiring and old after a while. Once again, as somebody who enjoys the show and these characters it’s still watchable to me but not a great episode.
14. The Locomotive Manipulation (Season 7, Episode 15): An episode that I’ve seen several times and I think this episode works best on the first time watch. As this was the first time that Sheldon and Amy kissed it works best on that first time watch. But on multiple watches I just don’t think Sheldon hanging out with another guy on Valentine’s Day is as funny as the show thinks it is. And so it’s an episode that is still fun and watchable, but the first time I watched it was when the episode shined.
NOTE: The top 13 here would be all episodes that I think are really good to great. So it does start to get harder because I really enjoy all of these episodes.
13. The Imitation Perturbation (Season 12, Episode 6): The last holiday episode of the entire show and it is a fun one. It starts off with a great bit of Howard’s Halloween costume being Sheldon, and Sheldon not realizing it. And it causes Sheldon’s feelings to get hurt and therefore it leads to Sheldon and Amy dressing up as Howard and Bernadette. And all of it fits the show, it’s the right amount of drama to fit the show. So in general, this is an episode that does have a lot to offer. I do enjoy it when I watch it. But like I said, this is still a very good episode so the fact that it’s number 13 is kind of crazy to me.
12. The Tangible Affection Proof (Season 6, Episode 16): An episode that brings out some of the best stuff between Sheldon and Amy’s relationship. Where Sheldon isn’t a big fan of the “lovey dovey” stuff with Valentine’s Day and that just causes some great dynamics between the two of them where instead of going on a date like typical dates, they stay home and watch a movie the Sheldon likes to do it, and Amy knows that and arranges all of it. And the moment where Sheldon puts Amy as his emergency contact it’s a moment that for any other couple wouldn’t work, but for the two of them it’s a big deal and it’s sweet. The stuff with Leonard and Penny fighting, it makes sense as to why they are but I don’t think it works all that much. So in general this is an episode that is fun, I enjoy the episode when I watch it but it’s not a top tier episode of the show.
11. The Platonic Permutation (Season 9, Episode 9): One of the few Thanksgiving episodes of the show that has three main plot lines running through it. The big one being Sheldon and Amy having a Thanksgiving meal together as friends. And you have this emotional moment as Amy is ready to get back together with Sheldon but he still needs space. And it just helps ground Sheldon and make him more human. Bernadette drags Howard to a soup kitchen to help the less fortunate. In the process, Howard gets to meet Elon Musk and seeing him nerd out is kind of fun to see. And then Leonard read Penny’s diary which uh…pro tip for the guys out there, don’t do it.
10. The Santa Simulation (Season 6, Episode 11): An episode that kind of has two running plot lines through-out it. One is you have Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Stuart playing Dungeons and Dragons. While Raj goes with Penny, Bernadette, and Amy on girls night in hopes to find him a girl. I think the Dungeons and Dragons side of things does work a lot better then stuff with Raj and the girls. So you have half of the episode that is really good and another half that isn’t really that good.
9. The Large Hadron Collider (Season 3, Episode 15): When Leonard gets invited to Switzerland to see the Large Hadron Collider over Valentine’s Day, he takes Penny instead, therefore making Sheldon jealous. So Sheldon tries to guilt both Leonard and Penny into going with him instead of her. This is a perfect example of an episode where Sheldon is acting like Sheldon. And since I like Sheldon, that’s a good thing. I don’t have any big issues with the episode, it’s just a good enough and fun enough episode of the show.
8. The Good Guy Fluctuation (Season 5, Episode 7): An episode that is kind of there for me. It’s an episode that didn’t really make any mistakes but it also didn’t do a lot to make me love it either. The stand-out of this episode is when Sheldon tries to get back on his friends for scaring him. He fails with Raj and Howard but gets back at Leonard, it’s very fun to watch. Then the stuff with Leonard the hot comic book girl was ok. It’s nice that Leonard realized what he was doing was wrong, I never did like Prya as a character so her and Leonard breaking up I guess is a positive.
7. The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis (Season 2, Episode 11): I find this episode to end with the best part of the episode. So all of the stuff leading up to that moment is still good but not as good as the final moments. The episode’s main plot was that Sheldon learns that Penny is getting him a Christmas gift. So Sheldon buys a bunch of gifts and will give the gift to Penny that matches the equal value of what he received from her. So when Penny gets Sheldon an autographed napkin by Leonard Nimoy with his DNA, Sheldon gives Penny everything. Once again I think that moment is better than the rest of the episode, the rest of the episode is good enough.
6. The Holiday Summation (Season 10, Episode 12): I always do like it when the show does these flashback type episodes. And I think this episode does that well where we have three main flashbacks. Sheldon and Amy’s trip to Texas, Leonard and Penny’s fight, and Howard and Bernadette being parents. All of them are fun to watch and all of them have something that is fun and funny. Sheldon and Amy’s would be the stand out for me where Sheldon is acting like typical Sheldon and Sheldon acting like typical Sheldon is pretty great. So all in all, a very good episode.
5. The Middle Earth Paradigm (Season 1, Episode 6): The first Halloween episode of the show where you have Penny inviting the guys over to her apartment for a party. Which all leads to conflicts as to which costumes the guys can be. And the episode is actually pretty important for the show as a whole. It’s the episode where Leonard and Penny have their first kiss which kind of sets in motion their relationship for the rest of the show. And I think this episode does a great job of representing the early stages of Leonard and Penny’s relationship. After watching a bunch of episodes with them together, it’s fun to watch an episode where they weren’t together.
4. The Thanksgiving Decoupling (Season 7, Episode 9): A fun episode with a lot going on and all of it is a lot of fun. Where we learn that surprisingly Sheldon knows a lot about football and starts bonding with Bernadette’s father over it leaving Howard to feel left out. And eventually Sheldon gets drunk, and drunk Sheldon is really really funny. We also learn that Penny and her ex-boyfriend Zack got married in Vegas where they thought they weren’t actually married, but they are. All of it is fun and portrayed in this episode very well. So all of the different pieces of the episode I do enjoy a good bit.
3. The Clean Room Infiltration (Season 8, Episode 12): Probably one of the most heartfelt and sweetest episodes on this list. Where you have Sheldon wanting to ruin Christmas for Amy by giving her a Christmas gift because he thinks she’s not giving him anything therefore making her feel bad. But Amy being the sweet loving person she is, did get Sheldon something, and the way it plays out in the episode is really sweet and heartfelt. And also the plot line with Leonard, Howard, and Raj trying to get a bird out of a room is really funny. This is an episode that I think works on all of the fronts that it was going for.
2. The Cooper Extraction (Season 7, Episode 11): An episode that probably has the least amount of Sheldon inside of it. Where the gang ponders the question what would their lives be like if Sheldon wasn’t there. Because Sheldon brought so many of these characters together. And that’s such a clever way to do an episode of this show. And all of the different situations are just funny and memorable. While Stuart is desperately trying to be included in their stories so keeps on adding himself into their stories. All of it puts a smile on my face every time I watch it.
1. The Justice League Recombination (Season 4, Episode 11): This is the episode of the show that I’ve probably rewatched the most times because the characters are dressing up as the Justice League. And there’s debates as to who gets to be who, Penny and Zack join in on the fun. And just Zack as a character is so stupid and dumb that he’s really funny. Plus on a deeper level you get some more of Leonard and Penny kind of realizing that they are meant for one another. So it’s an episode that I have nostalgia for, it’s entertaining, funny, and does explore the characters a bit. So this is my favorite holiday episode of the show.
There you have it, my ranking of all seventeen holiday themed episodes of The Big Bang Theory. What is your favorite holiday themed episode of the show? Also, I’ve ranked the Christmas episodes of the show in their own ranking so you can go read that. Thanks for reading!
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