Every Halloween Episode of The Big Bang Theory, Ranked From Worst to Best

The Big Bang Theory‘s Sheldon Cooper is the last character anyone would expect to celebrate Halloween. Sheldon stuck rigidly to his schedule and disliked interruptions to his routine or a lot of noise, so he wouldn’t be the kind of person who enjoys giving out candy to trick-or-treaters, and one might expect that he would dislike wearing a costume or not see any point in doing so.

Surprisingly, Sheldon and his friends did celebrate Halloween on four separate occasions during The Big Bang Theory‘s 12-season run. Not all of these episodes were equally funny, though it is difficult to decide which one of the four is the best.

4) “The Good Guy Fluctuation”

This fifth-season Halloween episode had two plots, one of which involved Sheldon trying to get revenge on his friends for pranking him. Although the pranking plot was all right, it wasn’t as funny as”The Imitation Perturbation,” which also involves Sheldon trying to get revenge for his hurt feelings.

Additionally, the subplot about Leonard kissing someone other than his current girlfriend makes “The Good Guy Fluctuation” one of the most controversial episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Leonard’s behavior seems out of character for him, which tarnishes the episode and makes the subplot harder to watch.

3) “The Holographic Excitation”

Season 6’s Halloween episode centered around Howard rather than Sheldon, for the most part. Howard is one of the funniest characters on The Big Bang Theory, so it was a strong choice to make Howard the center of a special holiday story.

However, in this particular case, Howard could have been switched with Sheldon without the episode being much different. The plot revolves around Howard being unaware that his obsessive monologues about space are boring everyone else, which is a typical Sheldon plot as well. Thus, the episode falls slightly flat despite being amusing because the story has been told many times with Sheldon.

2) “The Middle Earth Paradigm”

“The Middle Earth Paradigm” is The Big Bang Theory‘s first attempt at a Halloween episode. It is a must-watch for Leonard and Penny fans because the couple shares their first kiss at Penny’s Halloween party. This happens after Leonard has a run-in with Penny’s obnoxious ex, making the moment even sweeter.

Additionally, “The Middle Earth Paradigm” features Sheldon at his best and funniest, sporting a Halloween costume that makes no sense to anyone else. Both of these plots showcase the nerd-centric humor The Big Bang Theory is known for, making this episode one of the funniest in the series.

1) “The Imitation Perturbation”

The final Halloween episode of the series is also the funniest. In this episode, Howard dresses up as Sheldon for Halloween. His imitation of Sheldon is uncanny, but also hurts Sheldon’s feelings, so Sheldon and Amy dress as Howard and Bernadette. Amy’s imitation of Bernadette is particularly funny because it is so spot-on.

This episode of The Big Bang Theory has a lot of heart in addition to being hilarious. Sheldon’s hurt feelings kick things off, and the Halloween imitations lead to an emotional scene between Sheldon and Bernadette, where he points out that he can relate to her experience of feeling small because he went to high school so young. This scene makes the episode as memorable as it is funny.

Which episode of The Big Bang Theory do you think is the best? Leave a comment and join the conversation at the Comic Book Forum.

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