This Is Kaley Cuoco's Favorite Episode On 'The Big Bang Theory'

Kaley once shared her favorite episode from Big Bang theory. The actress starred in all 12 seasons of the show, portraying Penny, an aspiring but mostly unsuccessful actress who ends up marrying her nerdy neighbor Dr. Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki). During a February 2019 interview with TV Insider, Kaley confirmed that her character was more relatable to the audience than her husband and his scientist friends as she was “the eyes and ears for the actual audience. It helped people understand and it helped people laugh whenever she'd give a funny look [to the guys],” she said. 

Kaley also revealed her favorite episodes of the show. The Flight Attendant star revealed that her most loved episodes are Big Bang Theory Season 2, Episode 11, The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis, and Season 7, Episode 3, The Scavenger Vortex. The actress explained that she loved The Scavenger Vortex, which focused on Penny and her friends competing in a complicated scavenger hunt, “because it involved the whole cast.” She noted that The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis marked the first time that Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) hugged Penny. “It was a defining moment between them,” she added.

In the episode, Sheldon, who is not big on physical affection, hugs Penny after he unwraps her thoughtful Christmas present, an autographed cloth napkin from Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy. Kaley used the scene as an example of her character's kindness to her husband's friends. “She was always kind to [the guys]. That's why she was able to later make fun of them and joke with them because she had earned it because everyone knows how much she loves them,” the Harley Quinn voice actress said. 

The significance of Penny, the free-spirited neighbor of Sheldon and Leonard, is one aspect of the Big Bang Theory that has remained quite unexplored. The series follows a group of nerdy physicists and engineers who are quite successful but lack basic social skills. All of this changes when Penny moves in across the hall from their apartment.

She gives the men a brand-new perspective, opening them to new potentials and opportunities. Since their friendship is the focus of the show, Penny serves as the series' unifying force. The sitcom ran for a total of 12 seasons, winning many Emmys and nominations for the cast and crew.

As Penny's genius husband and his genius friends can be quite unrelatable for most audience members, she serves as a more relatable character to regular viewers. However, Penny was not initially meant to be in the series. In the original unaired pilot, Penny's role is filled by Katie, a “street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior,” played by Amanda Walsh.

However, networks preferred the Penny version of the show. Per Looper, Kaley revealed in a DVD special feature that when she first auditioned for Big Bang Theory, she did not get the role. Though when Katie was replaced by Penny, she got the role. The former 8 Simple Rules star later revealed that at the end of the series, she found it hard to let go of her character.