The eighth season of The Big Bang Theory was confirmed on March 12, 2014, after a 3-season deal with the network CBS which renewed the series through its tenth season, meaning that it will now run until at least 2017. The Big Bang Theory will start airing on Mondays, in front of The Millers only on October 20, the last episode on Mondays, all due to the NFL game schedule. It will move back to Thursdays on October 30, 2014 before Mom. The season premiere aired on September 22, 2014. The main focus of the season is on Penny's new career and the death of Howard's mother, Debbie Wolowitz.
On August 4, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting each signed a three year contract for one million dollars for each episode. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar have also signed contracts for three seasons for more than $750,000 per episode. There were some contract issues between Galecki, Cuoco-Sweeting, and Parsons; however, these issues have been resolved.
On November 11, 2014, Carol Ann Susi, the actress who played the role of Mrs. Wolowitz, Howard’s mother, died after a brief battle with an aggressive form of cancer. In January 2015, it was announced that the character of Debbie Wolowitz would pass away in "The Comic Book Store Regeneration".
Cast
In order of credit
- Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter (24/24)
- Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper (24/24)
- Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting as Penny (24/24)
- Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz (24/24)
- Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh Koothrappali (24/24)
- Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler (24/24)
- Melissa Rauch as Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (24/24)
- Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom (7/24)
Episodes
Episode (Series) |
Episode (Season/Ep#) |
Title | Original Air Date | Directed By | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
160 | 801 | The Locomotion Interruption | September 22, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | Sheldon is robbed while on his train journey and Amy is miffed when he calls Leonard to come and get him instead of her. |
161 | 802 | September 22, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | Sheldon gets the promotion and must teach a class. Bernadette is pushing Penny to study as her job approaches. | |
162 | 803 | September 29, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski |
Howard has been asked by NASA to throw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Angels baseball game. Sheldon, Amy, Penny and Leonard get into an argument over which couple has the better relationship. | |
163 | 804 | October 6, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | Emily meets everyone and takes a dislike to Penny since she had hooked-up with Raj. The guys think about investing in Stuart's comic book store. | |
164 | 805 | October 13, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | The girls go to Vegas for the weekend, while the guys go on a 'physics retreat'. | |
165 | 806 | October 20, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | Raj and Sheldon try testing themselves for a mining expedition and Leonard and Penny worry about money in their marriage. | |
166 | 807 | October 30, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | One of Penny's clients who is a middle-aged doctor takes a shine to her and every woman he meets. | |
167 | 808 | The Prom Equivalency | November 6, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | The girls decide to reenact their high school proms especially since none of them except for Penny had memorable ones. |
168 | 809 | The Septum Deviation | November 13, 2014 | Anthony Rich | Sheldon worries about Leonard when he goes into the hospital for an operation, while Raj worries about his parents who are getting a divorce. |
169 | 810 | The Champagne Reflection | November 20, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | Howard, Raj and Leonard cleanup the life's work of a professor who passed away, Bernadette faces up to her bullying personality and Sheldon records the last episode of "Fun with Flags". |
170 | 811 | The Clean Room Infiltration | December 11, 2014 | Mark Cendrowski | Amy hosts a traditional Victorian Christmas Eve dinner while the guys are trying to shoo out a bird they let into the university clean room. |
171 | 812 | The Space Probe Disintegration | January 8, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Penny and Amy take their guys shopping whileLeonard andSheldon discuss their living arrangements. Raj is worried about how his experiment on a space probe is working. |
172 | 813 | The Anxiety Optimization | January 29, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Sheldon wants to increase his anxiety level to improve his work performance. Howard starts guessing whether Raj's random comments are about Emily or his dog. |
173 | 814 | The Troll Manifestation | February 5, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Sheldon and Leonard publish a paper based upon an idea by Leonard critized by an internet troll. The girls start perusing embarrassing things from their pasts. |
174 | 815 | The Comic Book Store Regeneration | February 19, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Amy is helping Barry Kripke and doing experiments on her friends. Stuart reopens his comic book store, while Howard gets the news of the death of his mother. |
175 | 816 | The Intimacy Acceleration | February 26, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Penny and Sheldon conduct an intimacy experiment, while the airline loses the ashes of Howard's mother after they return from her funeral. |
176 | 817 | The Colonization Application | March 5, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Amy and Sheldon take the next step in their relationship and get a pet while Sheldon announces that he is volunteering to go to Mars. Raj is snooping around Emily's bedroom. Leonard and Penny are trying sex painting. |
177 | 818 | The Leftover Thermalization | March 12, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | A final dinner of Debbie Wolowitz's cooking is held when the lost of electricity defrosts her freezer. A magazine publishes an article on Sheldon and Leonard's theory without mentioning Leonard. |
178 | 819 | The Skywalker Incursion | April 2, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Sheldon and Leonard go to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch; while the others are cleaning out Howard's old house which results in a ping-pong battle for Howard's TARDIS. |
179 | 820 | The Fortification Implementation | April 9, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Howard finds out that he has a half-brother, Sheldon and Amy have a sleepover and Penny gets an offer to audition for a movie. |
180 | 821 | The Communication Deterioration | April 16, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | The guys split up into teams to work on a NASA project to communicate with aliens, while Penny considers taking a movie audition. |
181 | 822 | The Graduation Transmission | April 23, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Leonard gets an offer to make the commencement speech at graduation at his old high school in New Jersey. Raj goes out and buys a helicopter drone. |
182 | 823 | The Maternal Combustion | April 30, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Dr. Beverly Hofstadter and Mary Cooper visit Pasadena to see their sons get an award and get into a fight. Bernadette wants Howard and Stuart to do more around their new home. |
183 | 824 | The Commitment Determination | May 7, 2015 | Mark Cendrowski | Sheldon wants Penny to name a date for her wedding and has a major commitment change in his relationship with Amy. Raj is thinking of breaking up with the twisted Emily. |
Trivia
- This season will have the same number of 24 episodes, adding the total amount of episodes for the entire series up to 183. Next season will be the 200th episode. (Season trend). (S9E17) (200th episode)
- Penny will have a new haircut based upon Kaley's new hairdo. Sheldon has problems with it. (Season trend)
- Penny's mother doesn't show up, though the wedding is in the air. Lisa Kudrow is still Kaley's choice to play her mother, though no official casting has been announced.
- Emily will be a recurring cast this season. (Season trend)
- According to the production staff, Penny will, at least during her break from acting, be a pharmaceutical representative or salesperson at Bernadette's company. This causes relationship problems between Leonard and Penny and between Bernie and Penny. She will develop confidence and finally make a respectable income. (Season trend)
- Stuart will still be living with Mrs. Wolowitz. (Partial season trend)
- Tensions will heat up between Sheldon and Amy, though they resolve their problems, according to Mayim Bialik. (S8E01)
- Sheldon gets appointed to a Junior Professor post. (S8E02)
- The comic book store will be rebuilt. (S8E04) Opens in (S8E15)
- Emily does not like Penny since she crawled into bed with Raj three years before. (S8E04)
- Sheldon finally tells Amy that he loves her. (S8E08)
- The girls dress up their men and re-do their proms on the roof of the building, which is the same place where they had Howard and Bernadette's wedding. (S8E08)
- The gang meets a middle aged Howard Wolowitz type who falls for Penny and all of the girls. (S8E07)
- Leonard has a minor Septum surgery. (S8E09)
- Raj's father visits the gang at Christmastime. Last season it was rumored that his parents might visit him. (S8E11)
- Sheldon agrees to let Leonard move out and move in with Penny gradually. (S8E12)
- Mrs. Wolowitz passes away while visiting her sister in Florida. (S8E15)
- Amy writes a Little House on the Prairie fanfic about a fictional version of herself and Sheldon. (S8E14)
- Leonard gets Penny a Valentine's Day gift, but no major VD themed episode in 2015. (S8E17)
- Howard's younger brother Josh is introduced. (S8E20)
- Amy and Sheldon have a sleepover that is G-rated. (S8E20)
- Penny gets a chance to audition for a movie. (S8E21)
- Lisa Kudrow is Jim Parsons' choice for the actor he wants to work with on TBBT. Kaley's want her to play Penny's mother, though no official casting has been announced.
- Bernadette was talking about redecorating the Wolowitz family house so they can move in.(S8E20)
- Both Dr. Beverly Hofstadter (Christine Baranski) and Mary Cooper (Laurie Metcalf) will be appearing together and clashing in an episode.(S8E23)
- Stuart is living with Howard and Bernadette.(S8E23)
- Sheldon owns an engagement ring.(S8E24)
- Penny wants to elope.(S8E24)