Why—what else is she going to like it for? Her IQ is probably around 90 to 100. She doesn't care about history and has no intellectual pursuits.

Part of the reason why it was so much better in the early years. There were no relationships therefore no buzzkills, and no need for anyone to chide the guys for being halflings.

"Mean"? "Frustration"? It's abuse. It's vicious, and it's routine by now.

How is that not mean-spirited?

I'm predicting a horrifying mix of Rauch and Helberg's limited talents with a Lorre show's prediliction for leaning hard on toilet humor resulting in a soul-soiling sequence of episodes where we have to endure Howard attempting to inseminate Bernadette to the tune of her mockery over premature ejaculation, penis size,…

Good point. A lot of her scenes with Parsons in the show's first seasons also showed very good timing. Still, Cuoco's the quintessential hair actor. Replay with Cuoco's current look all those scenes where Leonard was smitten with Penny's appearance and where his being enraptured was a major plot driver, and it all…

"…but storylines like this make me wonder if Bernie has any respect for Howard at all."

Penny and Leonard have some background story where Penny feels like she's settling.

"Light hearted"? I wouldn't characterize an episode almost singular for the nastiness a wife shows towards her husband that way.

What really bugs me though is the lack of characterization - especially with regards to Bernadette.

The Nathan Fillion cameo was pointless (using Fillion as a grouch is woeful miscasting in any case) and Billy Bob Thornton's role could have been sleptwalked through by pretty much anyone, so if the writers are going to keep blowing roles by writing them badly it won't make much difference.

I'm surprised you as a latecomer like the show. The early seasons are much, much better. The life has drained out of the stale Sheldon-Amy relationship, Bernadette's scenes with Howard are now nearly always painfully vicious whereas in earlier seasons there was some actual affection between them, and the Leonard-Penny…

"Bernadette might be bossy,…"

I'm bugged that she always seems to belittle him.

Because raping men is funny, amirite?

Why the hell wouldn't Leonard support Penny's decision?

Ridiculously bad episode. The failure to do anything remotely interesting with the Howard and half-brother thread was its greatest failure, but the season overall has been almost a complete disaster, clearly the worst of the eight year run. I also have to ask, is it possible the writers' handbook's section on…

Not to mention the difference in the AVclub comments to Modern Family, which are mostly along the lines of "God, this show sucks, these characters suck, I can't believe I still watch this shite!"

"Famously"?

Or is…