The sophomore season of CBS’ hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory ends tonight (May 11) at 8pm ET with the finale “The Monopolar Expedition.” And there’s no need for fans of the show to get anxious — if you haven’t already heard, Big Bang was a rare recipient of a two-season renewal back in March.

During tonight’s finale, Penny has some issues when she learns that Leonard and his buddies plan to spend the summer working at the North Pole, which doesn’t sound like it well help them with their feelings for each other at all. Guest stars include Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Wolowitz, Alice Amter as Mrs. Koothrappali, and Brian George as Dr. Koothrappali.

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It’s about time!

CBS has finally made good on the assumptions that have been floating around the Internets all month long and picked up Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, its Warner Bros.-produced Monday-night comedy hits, for multiple seasons.

As a result of the renewals, Two and a Half Men, currently in is sixth season, will stick around for at least three more, while sophomore geek-com The Big Bang Theory now has two additional guaranteed seasons ahead.

If you ask me, this is an excellent development. I enjoy both shows for different reasons, although they each share the trait of consistently making me laugh. What more can you ask for in a comedy?

The next brand-new episode of CBS’ hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, March 9th’s “The Terminator Decoupling,” should be lots of fun for regular viewers and near nirvana for hard-core science and sci-fi geeks.

Not only will the comedy welcome Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Firefly star Summer Glau for a cameo appearance on the installment, but also legendary astrophysicist Dr. George Smoot, a Nobel Laureate in Physics and the primary contributor to the Big Bang Theory of Creation that gives the series its reason for being.

The plot revolves around Leonard, Sheldon, Wolowitz, and Raj’s unexpected discovery during a trip to San Francisco that Glau is onboard the train, as well. But, in an appropriately quirky twist, CBS asks if the actress is actually a “sophisticated robot sent back through time to destroy the future of four pathetic nerds.” Sure, that idea sounds silly; yet, if you leave it up to Sheldon’s perverse and overly active imagination, it could very well be true.

Check out the funny promo clip for the episode after the jump. Fresh episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and Rules of Engagement will follow at their usual times.

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The famed Paley Center for Media has released the complete lineup for this year’s PaleyFest09 — scheduled to take place from April 10–24 in Hollywood — and fans of comedy television who plan to attend should be ecstatic to learn there’s a whole lot of funny shows included.

Making the cut for a panel presentation during the popular annual event are:

FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which will open the festivities on the very first day. [April 10]

Joss Whedon’s musical Internet series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, starring How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris, of course, as well as The Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg. [April 14]

CBS’ aforementioned The Big Bang Theory. [April 16]

ABC’s Desperate Housewives, which was a bit of a (pleasant) surprise to me. [April 18]

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Fans of CBS’ Monday-night comedy lineup can rejoice right now because the two-hour block resumes tonight with all new episodes from all four sitcoms.

The gimmick casting of note is the appearance of The Hills cast members Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt on How I Met Your Mother, along with additional guest stars Kendra Wilkinson, the Playboy Playmate from The Girls Next Door, and Kim Kardashian of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

CBS is billing all of the guests as reality stars, but considering the female cameos, I thought the casting was going to have something to do with a wet-dream sequence for Barney. Turns out, Marshall comes down with a case of reality-star haunts, which is much less predictable and likely funnier.

The rest of tonight’s new comedy programming follows.

The Big Bang Theory
The Killer Robot Instability

Penny’s observations about Wolowitz’s romantic life (or lack thereof probably) depress him enough to cause him to lose interest in a future fighting robot competition. Fighting robots actually sound fun. [8pm, CBS]

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Original Air Date: September 29, 2008

This is yet another good episode for the boys and now two girls on The Big Bang Theory, largely because the second female regular, Sara Gilbert, reprises her role as Leslie Winkle in fine form.

The action begins with the guys returning from a Renaissance Fair, looking nerdier than ever in their medieval costumes and with Sheldon bitching continuously about how historically inaccurate everything was. While the group is on the landing outside Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment, Penny walks up with her new buff-looking “friend,” which immediately makes Leonard jealous.

No matter how much his friends try to convince him he doesn’t really have anyone to go on the rebound with, let alone to make Penny jealous over, Leonard stubbornly insists he does. So, it’s no wonder he jumps at the chance to make Leslie his new conquest when he bumps into her at lunch.

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Original Air Date: September 22, 2008

The Good: There’s definitely rough seas ahead in Leonard and Penny’s budding romantic relationship (and everybody knows nobody likes boring couples who never experience any tension).

The Bad: It’s not really a negative to me, but once again Sheldon is the center of attention, and Jim Parsons does a fine job making his (verbose and often highly technical and/or nerdy) one-liners zing.

The Bad Fish Paradigm: After spying on Penny and Leonard as they part after their first date on the landing outside their apartments, Howard and Rajesh conclude the couple’s new relationship is doomed. Leonard counters that Penny’s claim she wants to take it slow is akin to someone wanting to eat a good meal slowly to savor it, but Howard insists taking it slow is like eating bad fish and wanting to spit it out. The fact that Leonard and Penny also decided to wing it instead of making a second date right away is further proof to Howard, Rajesh, and even Sheldon that the future is not looking bright for Leonard and Penny.

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If some fans of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory are anything like me, a certain amount of fuzziness has probably decreased their memory of everything that happened on the show during the first season.

No worries, though. CBS has put together a handy little video recap that condenses all of the most important details and events from the first season into three information-packed minutes.

Take a look after the jump to refresh your memory.

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Cheers - Season Ten

• Discs: 4
• Episodes: 25
• Format: Color, Dolby Digital, Full Screen
• Languages: English
• List Price: $39.98
• Run Time: 602 minutes
• Season: Ten
• Special Features: None
• Studio: Paramount
• Subtitles: No

Desperate Housewives - Season Four

• Discs: 5
• Episodes: 17
• Format: Color, Dolby Digital 5.1, Widescreen
• Languages: English
• List Price: $59.99
• Run Time: 721 minutes
• Season: Four
• Special Features: Yes
• Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• Subtitles: No

Eli Stone - Season One

• Discs: 4
• Episodes: 13
• Format: Color, Dolby Digital 5.1, Widescreen
• Languages: English
• List Price: $39.99
• Run Time: 559 minutes
• Season: One
• Special Features: Yes
• Studio: American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
• Subtitles: French, Spanish

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Exactly one month from today, on Monday, September 22, CBS’ hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory will return for its sophomore season.

The premiere, “The Bad Fish Paradigm,” sounds fun, with an embarrassing secret thrown in for good measure to stand in the way of Penny and Leonard’s ill-fated romance. Honestly — how many people really think they’re ever going to end up together? I don’t.

But the pair do go out on their first date during the episode, which turns out not so good (Shocker!). Fortunately for Penny, she soon learns that Sheldon is a perfect confidant, even if he doesn’t want to be confided in (Shocker #2!).

Make sure to catch the second-season premiere at the familiar time of 8pm EST.