The Big Bang Theory 'The Focus Attenuation' Review: Penny Takes Big Step Forward

One of the biggest problems with The Big Bang Theory in its seven-plus seasons is the painfully slow character development. Sitcoms notoriously prevent their characters from changing all that much, and The Big Bang Theory is a guilty of this. But the latest Season 8 episode, "The Focus Attenuation," went a long way in changing that for one of the original main characters.

Penny has more or less sucked for seven seasons. This is no fault of Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, who brings a bubbly energy to the character when necessary and a sarcastic wit befitting the leading lady on this show who needs to go toe to toe with a bunch of super-intelligent physicists (and one engineer). But the writers have portrayed this character, by and large, in the worst light possible.

Penny was desperately struggling for money several seasons ago but refused to make any budget cuts, such as cable TV. She mooches off the guys' Wi-Fi and used to eat their food for free. She's outright admitted that she has used her body to get what she wants.

But the Penny we saw in "The Focus Attenuation" was leaps and bounds ahead of the one we have come to know for seven seasons. She was mature, responsible and put her career over a good time.

Penny, Bernadette and Amy headed to Las Vegas while the guys stayed behind to try to come up with a scientific breakthrough that would change the world (more on this later). Penny was all ready to have a girls' night of margaritas, gambling and the like, but then her boss at her new pharmaceutical sales rep job contacted her to tell her an important work event had been moved up to two days from now rather than a week.

The old Penny would have just said "I'll deal with this later," gone out, had a good time, messed up the job and probably gotten fired. But this time, Penny told the girls to go ahead without her so she could study the material. Bernadette and Amy promptly drank two of the biggest margaritas you'll ever see and plowed back into the room demanding Penny drop the books and have a good time. But again, Penny showed maturity and said "not yet."

Eventually, the show reached a funny compromise when Penny took her laptop to the male strip club and continued to work while half-heartedly cheering on the dancers to take it off. She even got revenge on her hung over friends the next morning when she threw the curtains open and let the harsh sunlight hit them. This was a stellar episode for Penny all around and one that did a lot to show just how much she has changed for the better.

The guys, meanwhile, had no female distractions and decided to use the time to try to make a huge scientific advancement. They decide to try to manufacture Marty McFly's hover board from Back to the Future II, which only leads to them watching Back to the Future II and then having a discussion about time travel in the movie. From there, the plot just became a series of distractions, as Leonard became increasingly frustrated with his three friends' inability to stay focused on the task at hand. Eventually, they just went back home, watched Ghostbusters and accomplished nothing.

This was a totally relatable plot for anyone who has ever procrastinated at school or work. Even these geniuses can get distracted, so we'll have to wait a little longer for that hover board.

"The Focus Attenuation" was a very solid episode that featured some excellent character development for Penny and a humorous subplot for the boys that had a couple of funny gags, such as the tape on their arms. Here's hoping the show keeps this development up next week.

What did you think of "The Focus Attenuation"? Let us know in the comments section.