Johnny Galecki's 5 Favorite Big Bang Theory Episodes

Considering the fact that Johnny Galecki played experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory for 12 seasons and as many years, it's probably no surprise that the guy prefers some episodes over others. (In fact, for a while, Galecki and his co-star Kaley Cuoco, who was also his real-life girlfriend for a short time thought showrunner and creator Chuck Lorre was playing a prank on them; he wasn't.) Which episodes did Galecki particularly like? In an interview with TBSwhich airs “The Big Bang Theory” in syndication – helping the lead actor earn a steady income, even though the show ended in 2019 — he specifically mentioned five episodes that hold a special place in his heart, in no particular order.

Galecki opens with the Season 3 episode “The Wheaton Recurrence,” featuring “Star Trek” veteran Wil Wheaton (who almost turned down the chance to appear as himself) as the antagonist to Leonard's on-screen best friend and roommate, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). While the whole gang, including Wheaton, is bowling, Leonard tells his girlfriend Penny (Cuoco) that he loves her… and since Penny is too shy to say it, Wheaton talks her into it, eventually causing Leonard and Penny to break up. . “It's the very personal moments, like the character having his heart broken, that allowed us to mature him,” Galecki said of Leonard's experience in the episode. “It was always exciting because I knew it was going to be a changed Leonard moving forward. Still Leonard, but I had to take into account that he would see things differently.”

So what other episodes brought back fond memories for Johnny Galecki? He also gave a shout-out to “The Benefactor Factor,” a Season 4 episode in which Leonard, Sheldon, and other employees of the Cal Institute must solicit potential benefactors to donate to the financially unstable institution. In the process, Leonard meets Mrs. Latham (the late, great Jessica Walter of “Arrested Development” and “Archer”), a rich, elderly woman who takes a liking to Leonard and becomes him. quite it is clear that she will make a large donation if he … so to speak, accedes to her wishes. (Whether Leonard actually acts remains unclear, but he returns to the apartment in a stereotypical “walk of shame” and is relentlessly teased by Penny and Sheldon.) “I loved working with Jessica Walter,” Galecki recalled. “And that's what Penny saw in a side of Leonard she didn't know before. Or consider.”

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, Galecki also mentioned “Gorilla Dissolution,” an episode in the show's seventh season in which Penny is fired from her failed role in the grisly horror film “Serial Ape-ist 2” alongside Will Wheaton. after she talks to the director (Wheaton does the same and ends up being fired as well). Why does Galecki like this episode? After a lot of affairs, Pop-Tarts, and pastries, Leonard and Penny realize they want to get married… and then Leonard discovers that Penny's ring has been hidden in his wallet for years. “I felt like Leonard was quietly carrying the ring for God knows how long,” Galecki said. “For all his math and science, Leonard was a staunch romantic sentimentalist. That's never more evident than in this episode.”

Johnny Galecki also likes episodes that feature significant moments in Leonard's personal development, such as the Season 8 episode “The Graduation Transmission.” In this installment, Leonard is asked to give the commencement address at his old high school in New Jersey, but in the process he faces an insurmountable obstacle: namely, the cancellation of his flight due to bad weather. Penny, realizing how upset Leonard is that he can't be there, tries to cheer him up by suggesting she give the speech, but it doesn't help — and when she arranges for Leonard to deliver the address virtually, it turns out that the prom cap and gown Penny secretly buys for Leonard is actually a revealing prom-themed Halloween costume (for women). He gives a nice speech at the end, and Galecki said that Chuck Lorre was indispensable to the episode. “I remember talking to (Chuck) a lot while we were filming this,” Galecki said. “He had a great note to deliver the speech in the tone I give myself in the future.”

Finally, there's “The 43 Peculiarity,” which isn't surprising given that this is the episode where Penny finally tells Leonard she loves him. The fact that Penny says that she loves Leonard so madly—while she tells him that he doesn't have to worry about other men staring at her on the street—shows that she really means it, and the process of filming it was so emotional that it actually made Kaley Cuoco cry in real life. You can now watch all episodes of Galecki's favorite The Big Bang Theory streaming on Max.