and BAM! Howard Wolowitz

[Louise]

"I haven’t seen your Oreos! JUST TAKE YOUR BATH WITHOUT THEM!"

The near anguish in his voice...

Yes, I think you could tell that they loved each other, beneath the shouting, and those scenarios were funny because they weren't over-used. It was presented in a very exagerrated way, which takes the nastiness out of it.

That's the beauty of an unseen character, like Maris, they become sort of larger than life, pun intended, and all kinds of wacky things can be attributed to them.

Now...I just don't know. They've gone too far with the icky Oedipal themes and the whole thing is kind of sad. That type of humor is best in small doses.

This show takes things that used to be a running gag, and sort of makes them literal. And once they're presented in a more serious way, they become sad or unpleasant, not funny.

What angers me is this idea that Howard (or the other guys) would be laying on the floor in a pile of dirty underwear and Doritos, if the women weren't around to goad them into action...