- Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Santa Simulation
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As Christmas grows near Leonard (Johnny Galecki) plans a X-Mas-themed Dungeons & Dragons night for Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Howard (Simon Helberg), and Stuart (Kevin Sussman), which includes Sheldon singing all five verses of “Good King Wenceslas” and the quest party playing “Jingle Bells” on hand bells. Meanwhile, the girls plan their own night out as Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) attempt to find Raj (Kunal Nayyar) a woman.
Both evenings have their share of awkward moments as Raj continually strikes out and admits to his former crushes on both Penny and Bernadette, but not Amy, which hurts the later’s feelings. And Sheldon’s anti-Christmas spirit leads to an unplanned end to the group’s quest as the scientist leaves Santa Claus (Dakin Matthews) dead in a dungeon to be eaten by ogres.
The Dungeons & Dragons story works better than girls night out as the episode doesn’t do a good job explaining why, with the help of three women, Raj can’t find someone at least mildly interested in dating a rich foreigner (even a geeky, and sorta creepy, one). Leonard’s X-Mas quest may be overly elaborate, but it produces some fun moments including Sheldon’s dark turn as the quest near its conclusion and his realization that choosing D&D over a Saturday night of sex with Penny is far from the smartest move he’s made lately.