The Night Television Took Me By Surprise

On Thursday evening new episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Two and Half Men were on.  Usually the networks tend to show repeats until further into January, figuring the viewership just isn't there around the holidays.  Since I didn't hear anyone talking about two great scenes I witnessed, I think perhaps that is true.

The Big Bang Theory pulled off an allusion to a great scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally.  I am sure there are thousands of people who watched, not understanding what Bernadette was doing. Here is the scene from BBT:

The scene stands fine on its own, but is much better if you understand where it came from.  Here is one of the most famous cinematic moments in the history of romantic comedy:

Later in the evening, there was this delightful scene in Two and a Half Men.  Upon reviewing this scene again, I realized that there are many layers to this segment-- in particular, the "blurred lines" between when you are young and when realize you are actually getting old--and all the ways it shows up and takes you by surprise.  The best line is: "Who?  Are those friends of yours?"  (In full disclosure, I thought Walden was going to reference Sam and Diane.  Talk about blurred lines!)

Here's the scene:

I hope this kind of writing and humor continues.  It was one of the best nights in television in a long, long time.