The Big Bang Theory was a smash hit of a sitcom for twelve seasons and nearly 280 episodes, but delivering the laughs for viewers doesn’t mean that all of the science in the show was accurate. Of course, most viewers aren’t going to be physicists who can fact check Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), and Raj (Kunal Nayyar), but one real-life doctor applied his qualifications to the characters’ ailments and injuries over the years. And honestly, the whole thing is way more fascinating than I expected.
Dr. Mike Varshavski – popularly just known as Dr. Mike – is a Board Certified Family Medicine doctor who is actively practicing in his field as well as maintaining a strong presence on YouTube and social media. He has more than 11 million subscribers on YouTube alone, and he took a medical look at five episodes of The Big Bang Theory in a video that has accumulated 1.5 million views at the time of writing. Take a look, and then keep on scrolling for more info about the episodes!
According to the doctor, The Big Bang Theory was fairly accurate with its medical stories, and the parts that the show got wrong were wrong for the sake of a joke. Read on for a blast to the past of these particular episodes (all of which are streaming via Max subscription).
“The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” – Season 3, Episode 8
“The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” aired back in late 2009, and I’d still rank it as one of the most memorable episodes that teamed up Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Sheldon. While Leonard, Raj, and Howard were off camping (and Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch weren’t established parts of the cast yet), Penny slipped in the shower and dislocated her shoulder, with Sheldon as the only one who could help her. This was also the first episode that included somebody other than Sheldon himself being soothed by “Soft Kitty.”
Dr. Mike confirmed that Sheldon’s commentary (with some tricky dialogue for Jim Parsons) was actually pretty accurate about Penny’s injury and explained why she had to answer so many non-shoulder-related questions in the emergency room. He didn’t deem Penny’s sling unrealistic, but apparently she wouldn’t realistically be in it for very long!
“The Pancake Batter Anomaly” – Season 1, Episode 11
“The Pancake Batter Anomaly” dealt with sickness rather than injury in 2008, and is another standout Sheldon/Penny episode. After Penny came back from a trip home to Nebraska with the news that her entire family had been sick, Sheldon became paranoid that he’d be next. He ultimately did get sick, and she was guilted into taking care of him after he came to the Cheesecake Factory seeking soup. This was also the debut of “Soft Kitty,” when Sheldon taught it to Penny so that she could sing and make him feel better.
Dr. Mike makes the point that Sheldon and Leonard aren’t 100% right in their comments about infectious diseases, but that doesn’t mean the show itself was wrong!
“The Vartabedian Conundrum” – Season 2, Episode 10
Sheldon was showing off his hypochondriac side in 2008’s “The Vartabedian Conundrum,” convinced that he’s come down with a disease with no clear symptoms. He came to Leonard’s then-girlfriend Dr. Stephanie Barnett (repeatedly) for help, including a long list of very comprehensive tests that he wanted done. Ultimately, Sheldon was fine with no need for “Soft Kitty,” and Stephanie even got a win over him when she convinced him that he medically needed to stop talking to her.
Dr. Mike initially debunked Stephanie’s claim that she could see his larynx by looking down his throat, only for the reveal that she was messing with Sheldon and was deliberately wrong about saying “larynx” instead of “pharynx.”
“The Engagement Reaction” – Season 4, Episode 23
“The Engagement Reaction” in 2011 initially seemed like a case of Howard’s mother having a heart attack because of how much she disapproved of her son marrying Bernadette, due to a history of heart disease in the family. The twist came with the reveal that Mrs. Wolowitz had food poisoning, and was actually happy that Bernadette would become her daughter-in-law. For his part, Sheldon’s efforts to avoid germs led him to quarantine, to his dismay.
Dr. Mike made the point that he’d never heard of a “heart attack-like” event… and dropped some details about bathrooms that some viewers might wish they’d never learned!
“The Fish Guts Displacement” – Season 6, Episode 10
In 2012, “The Fish Guts Displacement” saw Sheldon as the one providing care, complete with Vicks VapoRub, when Amy Farrah Fowler had the flu. And she was genuinely sick for part of the episode… until she enjoyed Sheldon’s attention so much that she faked that she was still sick until he finally took a swab from her and discovered the truth. Dr. Mike was on the money when he thought that Amy looked less sick, only for the reveal that she was indeed faking. Quite a diagnosis for a real-life doctor watching a scripted TV comedy!
If you want to watch the full episodes (or any of the others from the show’s twelve seasons), you can find The Big Bang Theory streaming on Max, where it ranks as one of our picks for best shows available. Young Sheldon is also available on Max with the first six seasons. The spinoff will end in the 2024 TV schedule, so now is the time to catch up. Another spinoff is in the works, however, so the world of Big Bang could continue for the foreseeable future.