Tonight’s ‘The Big Bang Theory’ episode opens with the line, ‘Sheldon Cooper’s Descent in Madness: Day 2,” as we see the neurotic scientist shooting a video diary in bed in the middle of the night, complaining about his need to urinate even though his regular pattern does not allow urination till after 7am. Before he further descends in senility and forgets what a toilet is, he decides to go relieve himself. Cut to two days earlier, where Sheldon and Leonard are at the whiteboard in their living room, trying to solve equations, while Sheldon hums a piece of a song to himself. Leonard asks  when did Sheldon start humming, and Sheldon does not believe he was humming, owing the noise to the his brain when it really gets going. Eventually he hears it himself, and realizes Leonard was right, and he has been humming. Problem is, Sheldon has no idea what the song it is, and Leonard realizes this will now be all Sheldon can think about for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Sheldon calls the Rock and Roll hall of fame for help in identifying the song, hanging up as they curse him for wasting their time, with Leonard and Penny watching from the kitchen. Sheldon continues to try to figure out the song, worried that he is losing his eidetic memory, and that something might just be wrong with him. The problem persists for days, keeping Penny and Leonard up as Sheldon incessantly plays the 7 beat tune on his keyboard, and then once Penny rips that away from him, on his new tuba. During the course of these days, in order to help future crazy Sheldon to cope with the world, Sheldon begins a video journal for his future self, teaching him about important things like the correct setting for the thermostat (72 degrees, if its too cold, than he truly is crazy), the importance of his spot on the couch (and how he manages to make his berating of spot stealers adorable), and most important, that food offered by Penny is safe, as Sheldon most likely paid for it anyway.

Meanwhile Raj and Howard discover that their new Facebook page (which almost broke up the band, as Raj did not consult Howard before creating it) has a fan, adding some legitimacy to their band, Footprints on the Moon. They are stoked to discover their fan is a hip millennial named Trent, with tatoos and a hot girlfriend, and they proceed to track down his information and digitally stalk the man’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. Bernadette finds out about the craziness and accuses the guys of being stalkers, but they clearly do not see it that way, and instead opt to go to the coffee shop (where Trent just checked in) to meet the man. Unfortunately, upon arrival they learn that Trent, while cool, has no qualms about digging into his nose in public, and much to the guys’ horror, checking out and eating what he finds inside. Raj and Howard flee just as Trent spots them, clearly having seconds thoughts about the kind of fan Trent is.

Amy meanwhile is on the rebound after being rejected by Sheldon in the last episode, and has decided to give Dave another chance, despite Bernadette worrying that Dave might not be the right guy for her. Still, it is clear Amy is lonely, and she invites Dave over for a home cooked meal, which Bernie points out is really intimate, especially as her home is where her underpants live. When the date begins, Amy and Dave make a deal not to talk about Sheldon, and the date goes just fine, even though Amy does accidentally bring up Sheldon a couple of times.

Sheldon meanwhile, is speaking about how many brilliant minds throughout history have gone mad, giving examples to Penny and Leonard, who are clearly tired of Sheldon and his annoying tune. When Sheldon’s list goes beyond scientists and into artists, he names Brian Wilson of the ‘Beach Boys,’ and suddenly he connects the dots, and realizes the song is a ‘Beach Boys’ classic named ‘Darla.’ He soon realizes the song is in his head because of Amy, as the lyrics “I love the way you soften my life with your love” speaks all too clearly about the way Amy has improved his life, and made him a better man. He declares that she is the dryer sheet of his heart, and he must get her back, leaving Penny and Howard behind in the apartment.

Back at Amy’s, she and Dave have progressed to the couch, and after he makes his move (spurred on by Amy liking his nerdy tie, which apparently no one has ever done before), Amy pushes him away, not knowing exactly why. She says she does not know what she is waiting for, and just at that moment we hear Sheldon’s trademark knock on her door. Both she and Dave are thrilled he has come over, and when Amy opens the door, Sheldon launches into his profession of love and wanting to be her boyfriend again. Amy agrees and says she wants to be back together again too, and then Dave introduces himself to Sheldon, and urges him to “kiss her you brilliant fool.’ (Dave was an amazing addition to this season, and I hope he makes more appearances). Sheldon and Amy (the SHAMY) are finally back, and in the final tag of the episode, they continue to kiss as Dave lets himself out, Amy kicking the door closed behind him as he leaves.

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:

SHELDON: (catching himself) Hey! I was humming! (looking at Leonard who originally noticed) One point for Hufflepuff.

SHELDON: I have an eidetic memory, I should be able to figure this out! (beat) Something’s wrong with me.
PENNY: (nudging Leonard) I told you if we were patient he’d figure it out.

SHELDON: Dear crazy future Sheldon. You were driven mad by an earworm. Your mind, once your most cherished asset, is now a sack of parrots and monkeys.

LEONARD: I deal with him all day long. You go talk to him for once.
PENNY: For once? Who got the gum out of his hair?!
LEONARD: What do you want, a medal? It was your gum!

HOWARD: (defending stalking their fan, Trent) If you think that’s creepy than maybe you married the wrong guy.
BERNADETTE: Maybe I should marry Trent.
RAJ (as he and Howard laugh) Yeah, like she could get Trent.

Excellent episode, which for me was surprising as the cast was never all together, and I usually find times when they cast is split to be weaker episodes. But this was an exceptionally funny episode, and reminds me that Sheldon being annoying and truly crazy does provide for the best laughs on the show, and always has (Sheldon’s robot presence so he does not have to leave the safety of his room back in the early seasons is an ideal example). And now that the Shamy is back on, we can look forward to what promises to be an awkward and hilarious episode next week when they finally consummate their relationship. See you back here in a week!