Former 'The Big Bang Theory' Showrunner Reveals His Least Liked Episode

In an interview on the official The Big Bang Theory podcast, former showrunner Steve Holland revealed which episode he likes least out of the series’ 279. During the show, Holland told the host that he never liked Season 4, Episode 10, "The Alien Parasite Hypothesis".

"I hate that episode. It’s my least favorite episode of the entire series," Holland said. In the episode, Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), who up to that point had shown no sexual interest, suddenly finds herself attracted to Zack, Penny’s ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, Sheldon – perfectly happy to keep the relationship platonic – encourages his "not-girlfriend" to follow her instincts.

"At the time, there was a lot of debate in the writers’ room about what Amy meant to Sheldon. It was a slow burn, but Sheldon liked her in a different way... so I didn’t like Sheldon kind of 'pushing' her toward Zack. I just didn’t like it. It didn’t sit right with me," Holland explained. "I’m sure it’s a good episode, very funny, but..."

The writer also mentioned one specific scene that bothered him: "At the end, there’s a moment where she reaches out to hold his hand... and she drops it, and I just didn’t like that. I felt like that was the wrong approach for that relationship."

At the time, Holland still didn’t have the authority he would later gain as showrunner in Seasons 11 and 12. "I was just a mid-level writer, so it wasn’t an argument I won... and that probably allowed the relationship to grow in a slow and satisfying way, which I think was really important for it. But I never liked that episode."