Should you watch it, wiki it, or wait for the recap? Wiki it.
When the guys decide to take a weekend to brainstorm for new earth shattering ideas, the girls decide to go to Vegas. But each group finds its own problems – the guys can’t quite focus on revolutionary inventions, and Penny has to do some last minute studying while in Vegas. Will the guys get anything done, and will the girls manage to enjoy themselves?
“The Focus Attenuation” is the fifth episode of the eighth season of The Big Bang Theory. It feels very ordinary. The problem is that it’s a problem that any random group of men and women could face. It’s not tailored specifically to their context and situation.
True, the funnies might come from the characters, but when it feels like we’ve explored all that we possibly could with this bunch, the whole situation feels stale. I like The Big Bang Theory, I really do, and I LOL at most of the jokes. I just wish the plots would have the zest and heart that it used to have.
Highlights
Pop culture references
There’s Ghostbusters, Back to the Future 2, and The Social Network (aka the Facebook movie). While I hardly think that The Social Network qualifies as one of the modern greats, there’s no doubting that the other two movies (and the follow up discussions with the guys about time travel and the use of the phrase “negative reinforcement”) are firmly entrenched as pop culture classics. I haven’t actually watched Back to the Future 2 (nor the first movie) though. And they talk about hoverboards! How timely. Someone on the writing team is a geek, which is what this show has been missing for awhile.
Amy-Bernadette
Apart from some short scenes earlier in the season, we haven’t seen much interaction between these two. It’s also because they don’t quite have the chemistry or the interesting interactions that you’d get out of other pairings (you don’t really see Sheldon-Raj pairings either, do you?). But it’s much appreciated, to see other permutations of the main cast.
Old fashioned nerd out with the guys
Because of the introduction of many characters of the opposite gender, we haven’t seen the guys get back to their roots for awhile – which is the fact that they are nerds. This secretly appeals to all of us because we’re all geeks inside (and for some, like myself, it’s all hangs on the outside), and despite the predictability and flaws of the episode, this does at least fulfill part of the premise.
Letdowns
Predictable plot
For the guys, it is really predictable. There’s only one beat – they get distracted – and it gets repeated ad infinitum. Fortunately it’s in funny variations, but otherwise, it’s the same old, same old, same old.
Nothing happens or gets accomplished
Again, it’s not filler, but it’s a nothing episode. It doesn’t prepare us for anything. Your life is not lessened by not watching this episode. It has no importance at all, not in terms of information, character, or series arc.
“The Focus Attenuation” had the pop culture aspect down pat – and nothing else. It’s one of the sadder episodes of the season, and I’d recommend you move on to the next one as quickly as possible.
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