10 Funniest Lines In The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory carved out its own niche among the best sitcoms of all time, bringing nerd culture to mainstream audiences. While the show originally poked fun at its geeky characters, it evolved in many ways, laughing with them instead. The Big Bang Theory featured several sci-fi icons from major franchises, as well as respected scientists, giving it a unique position among sitcoms.

A harsh truth about rewatching The Big Bang Theory is that the show did not always age well, with many of its characters starting out as unlikable at best and dangerous at worst. However, people who continued watching the show for all 12 seasons saw most of the characters mature and develop in unexpected ways, and many of the jokes are still hilarious.

“Was The Starfish Wearing Boxer Shorts?”

Sheldon, Season 4, Episode 11, “The Justice League Recombination”

Penny’s on-off boyfriend Zack became such a fan favorite that he is one of the Big Bang Theory characters we hope will appear in Stuart’s spinoff. What the lovable himbo lacks in brains he makes up for with his good nature and willingness to sit at the nerd table, but this was not always the case. In a role reversal, the nerds struggled to accept him.

Zack’s friendship with Leonard and Sheldon was once strained, and when Zack tries to talk to the pair on their level, the entire exchange is hilarious. Zack tells them, “I saw this great thing on the Discovery Channel. Turns out that if you kill a starfish, it’ll just come back to life.” Sheldon responds “Was the starfish wearing boxer shorts? Because you might have been watching Nickelodeon.”

“The Guy’s One Lab Accident Away From Being A Supervillain”

Leonard, Season 2, Episode 7, “The Panty Piñata Polarization”

Before Penny and Sheldon’s relationship took on the sibling-like closeness that they had by the end of the show, the two regularly fought. Penny might have been outmatched intellectually, but she was more than a match for Sheldon with her problem-solving skills, and when Sheldon tried to ban Penny from the apartment, he discovered that he underestimated her.

Leonard’s insight into Sheldon is not always flattering, but it is generally spot-on, and before he became Penny’s secret weapon in the episode “The Panty Piñata Polarization,” he tried to warn her against fighting with him. While the short-lived war went ahead, it also gave us one of Leonard’s best lines, telling Penny that Sheldon is a lab accident away from being a supervillain.

“To This Day, I Can’t Look At Pickled Herring Without Being Aroused And Ashamed”

Howard, Season 3, Episode 8, “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency”

One of the characters who benefited most from The Big Bang Theory’s game-changing format shift in season 4 was Howard Wolowitz. Introduced as a creepy failed pick-up artist, Howard was sexist, racist and generally unpleasant. However, his character arc was one of the best in the show, and while the episode “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” is before his big change, his moment is the funniest.

While camping with Leonard and Raj, Howard admits that he lost his virginity to his cousin at a funeral, saying: “our eyes locked over the pickled herring. We never meant for it to happen… to this day, I can’t look at pickled herring without being aroused and ashamed.” Unsurprisingly, the others never let him forget it, including at his bachelor party.

“I Was Dressed Like Half An Ape, And Still Not Even Close To The Most Disgusting Person In There”

Penny, Season 7, Episode 21, “The Anything Can Happen Recurrance”

The fates of the main Big Bang Theory characters were shown to be optimistic in the series finale, and while the first ever episode presented Penny as an aspiring actress, it soon became clear that her future would be in a different field. Her terrible minor roles were one of the show’s best running jokes, but the Serial Ape-ist storyline gave Penny one of her funniest lines.

Stuck playing “the girl who goes bananas” in a B-movie about a killer gorilla, Penny is covered in fake hair and an ape mask. Without a bathroom on set, Penny and the rest of the cast have to use the gas station across the street, prompting her irritated comment. The movie becomes a cult success, leaving Leonard proud and Penny mortified.

“Oh Ravish Me, Howard.”

Katee Sackhoff, Season 4, Episode 4, “The Hot Troll Deviation”

The Big Bang Theory regularly features sci-fi icons, but Katee Sackhoff’s cameo scenes are some of the most hilarious, as she appears in Howard’s fantasies wearing her Battlestar Galactica flight suit in bed, the logic of which she immediately questions. Even as part of Howard’s imagination, she is spectacularly unenthusiastic about the entire situation, and makes her feelings known.

In an episode of The Sackhoff Show, Katee Sackhoff admitted she was nervous about filming the scene as it would reveal that she had stolen her flight suit from Battlestar Galactica.

When Howard tells her that if she starts questioning things, then the whole fantasy falls apart, she responds, “I’m sorry. Oh, ravish me, Howard, my loins ache for you.” Her deadpan delivery is funny enough on its own, but Howard never catches a break in any of these scenes, being interrupted by his mother, George Takei, and finally Bernadette.

“Little Eccentricities? One Is A Deep-Seated Psychological Disturbance, The Other Can Be Solved By Half A Glass Of Chardonnay”

Raj, Season 12, Episode 8, “The Consummation Deviation”

One of The Big Bang Theory‘s best running gags was Raj’s attempts to overcome his selective mutism and the unpredictable results. By the time Raj discovers that he can override it with alcohol, recovers on his own, and meets Anu, we are rooting for him, so when he has a relapse, the story could have gone in any direction. However, Anu has a secret of her own.

When Anu confesses that she doesn’t like music, Raj’s response is funny, but also shows how far he has come. He goes from someone willing to put up with anything to keep a woman interested in him, including watching gory movies he hates, to someone willing to laugh at both his date and himself. It is one of the character’s finest moments.

“I Play Bongos Walking Down The Stairs” [Crash] “Never Play Bongos Walking Down The Stairs”

Sheldon, Season 5, Episode 18, “The Werewolf Transformation”

When Sheldon misses a haircut, it sparks a chain reaction that sees him taking on a new personality modeled on Richard Feynman, in which anything goes, which everyone in his life finds disconcerting. While he starts small, wearing his Tuesday night pajamas on the wrong night, the episode grows more chaotic, with Sheldon taking up playing the bongos at 3am.

“The Werewolf Transformation” is one of the best Sheldon-focused episodes of The Big Bang Theory, as it grows funnier with every new thing that Sheldon tries. We don’t even see the majority of the bongos scene, as it takes place off camera, but Sheldon leaves the apartment commenting on his life with the bongos, presumably falls down the stairs, and narrates the cautionary tale.

“THIS IS NOT STAR TREK!”

Leonard, Season 2, Episode 9, “The White Asparagus Triangulation”

When Sheldon gets overly invested in Leonard and Stephanie’s relationship, his attempts to get her to stay reflect badly on Leonard. As the main four often live their lives according to the rules in great sci-fi franchises, it is easy to take it for granted that one of them will bring up Star Trek. However, Leonard’s response to Sheldon doing so is even funnier as it is unexpected.

Sheldon tells Leonard that “Pursuant to Starfleet General Order 104, Section A, you are deemed unfit, and I am relieving you of command.” Leonard calmly responds that General Order 104 does not apply in their situation. Expecting an argument centered in the franchise lore, Sheldon asks why not, and Leonard yells “BECAUSE THIS IS NOT STAR TREK!”

“I Just Think Splitting Up Can Be Rough On Kids”

Zack, Season 7, Episode 9, “The Thanksgiving Decoupling”

By season 7, Zack had become a nonthreatening supporting character whose interesting life philosophies provided some of the funniest moments in his episodes. Still, “The Thanksgiving Decoupling” proved that the show could still surprise its viewers. In one of The Big Bang Theory‘s most shocking plot twists, Penny discovered that she had been legally married to Zack in Las Vegas, by an Elvis impersonator.

The Big Bang Theory has an 85% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Zack’s easygoing attitude was a hilarious contrast to Leonard’s panicking. In his signature style, he asks the questions nobody expects. Concerned that divorce might be tough on the kids, Penny tells him they don’t have any. Zack asks, “are you sure? ’cause you didn’t know we were married until this morning,” and observes that they could never have afforded “a real Elvis” to marry them.

“Your Ken Can Kiss My Barbie”

Penny, Season 2, Episode 7, “The Panty Piñata Polarization”

Penny might have been presented as the least intellectual of the group when she first appeared on the show, but she had everyday skills that Leonard, Raj, Howard and Sheldon did not have, and a witty sense of humor that often surpassed theirs. Instead of being intimidated by Sheldon when the two butted heads, Penny regularly outwitted him, leaving him speechless.

Over time, Penny and Sheldon brought out the best in each other, but their earlier episodes gave viewers some of the most iconic Penny lines. When Sheldon tries to warn her against starting a fight with him, he tells her, “Woman, You are playing with forces beyond your ken.” Without missing a beat, Penny retorts, “Yeah, well your Ken can kiss my Barbie.”