The Big Bang Theory is a popular series, but not all developments in the story were successful. A strange episode with Penny was even a thorn in the side of the writers, but the creator of the series insisted on having it.
The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons, and accordingly, the team behind the scenes was keen on providing variety. One rather curious idea concerned Penny and her love life.
At the end of season 4, she is single and not, as initially thought, together with Leonard Hofstadter. He, however, is in a relationship with Priya, Ray’s sister – who was a controversial character. This situation causes jealousy for Penny. Instead of enjoying her single life, a strange situation arises in the last episode of season 4.
Penny wakes up next to Raj in bed after a wild night. She suspects that they have slept together and immediately regrets it. You can watch the scene on YouTube.
In the team of The Big Bang Theory, the scene caused excitement. It was created at the request of the show’s creator Chuck Lorre but was not well received.
How do you resolve such a situation?
What were the reactions? In the book “The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series” by Jessica Radloff, a section is devoted to the controversial night (via slashfilm.com).
Peter Chakos, one of the responsible editors and producers, says:
As an editor, I am very protective of the actors and the characters and did not like that Penny had even remotely slept with Koothrappali. That was a really creepy moment.
Peter Chakos
Bill Prady, the second creator of the series, did not comment directly on it but knows that producer and writer Steven Molaro was also not a fan of the idea and even “hated” it.
The problem: Molaro had to find a solution as a writer to clarify the situation. Because in reality, nothing of the implied intimate moment is shown – whether Penny and Raj actually slept together is not clear at the end of season 4.
So it was up to Molaro to answer this open question. He set to work on season 5, where clarity should be provided right in the first episode. After some contemplation, he came up with an idea that would do justice to the characters. Molaro thought it was important to provide a reasonable solution because he believed that otherwise, the characters would suffer.
He presented his idea to Chuck Lorre. Lorre was not enthusiastic but eventually relented.
What did the solution look like? In the first episode of season 5, there is an awkward conversation between Penny and Raj. Penny has little memory of the night as she was too drunk. She is all the more relieved when Raj tells her that they did not have sex after all. Just when Penny tried to put the condom on him, there was an early… mishap.
So they did not have sex. Everything is clarified between the two, and over the course of the subsequent seasons, a deeper friendship develops between them. Ray, however, remains single, which is supposed to be important for his character development.
Chuck Lorre, by the way, also learned something from the story. His intention was to bring some fresh air into the series, but he first had to realize that he also needed to listen to other voices in the team:
Over time, I have learned to let go and allow other people to bring in their visions and talents. The more I did that, the better the show became.
Chuck Lorre
The anecdote shows that teamwork is important in such large projects and that not every story development in The Big Bang Theory was successful. Or how do you think about the supposed night of love? Feel free to write us in the comments. Did you already know the following about The Big Bang Theory: Before the series started, an important character was supposed to be a robot
