5 Best Stuart Bloom Moments On The Big Bang Theory

TVLine has already highlighted the five essential “Big Bang Theory” episodes to watch before HBO Max’s “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” — episodes that spotlight not only Kevin Sussman’s Stuart Bloom, but also his multiverse sidekicks Denise, Bert, and Kripke.

Consider this the companion piece, narrowing the focus to the five Stuart moments that chart his spectacular run of bad luck over the course of 11 seasons on the hit CBS sitcom, before Lauren Lapkus’ arrival helped turn things around for the proprietor of the Comic Center of Pasadena.

Stuart stole scenes in ways both big and small, whether he was unwittingly changing the course of Sheldon and Amy’s relationship, suffering yet another spectacular humiliation, or simply getting drunk on mimosas. Those highlights transformed him from a recurring oddball into one of the sitcom’s most beloved supporting players.

The five selections below best capture Stuart at his funniest, unluckiest, and most endearing.

Sheldon can’t bear the thought of Leonard becoming the center of the group’s social circle, so he does the only logical thing: assembles a replacement friend group consisting of Stuart, Kripke, and Zack. Stuart is initially just there because he’s living in the back of his comic book store and desperately needs a hot shower, but after cleaning up, he joins Kripke and Zack for an unexpectedly enthusiastic karaoke performance of Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.” (LeVar Burton, whom Sheldon invited via Twitter, arrives just in time to catch the chorus — then immediately turns around and leaves.)

Beyond being one of Stuart’s funniest moments, it’s also one of the few times he and Kripke meaningfully share the screen on “The Big Bang Theory” — a fun bit of foreshadowing now that they’re two of the four leads in “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.”

Poor Stuart. Three years after losing Penny to Leonard, he finally works up the courage to ask Amy on a date, only to discover that Sheldon isn’t nearly as indifferent to their relationship as he’d claimed. Overcome with jealousy, Sheldon crashes their movie date and declares that he’s ready to make things official, asking Amy to be his girlfriend.

Stuart’s night ends in disappointment, but without his ill-fated date, one of the defining romances in “The Big Bang Theory” might never have become official.

By Season 7, Stuart had essentially become the universe’s punching bag. Case in point: An accident involving a hot plate sparks a fire that destroys the Comic Center of Pasadena, temporarily puts him out of business, and leaves him without a place to live.

As Kevin Sussman told TVLine on the set of “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe,” there came a point on “The Big Bang Theory” when everyone else’s lives were improving, while Stuart’s “situation was getting worse — to the point where, at one point, the comic book store burns down, and a big chunk of the ceiling falls right next to him. He looks at it and he’s like, ‘That could have killed me. [Pauses] I can’t catch a break.'” It’s one of the character’s bleakest moments, but the gallows humor makes it unforgettable.

It takes a “trial run” brunch at Sheldon and Amy’s to bring Stuart and Bert together for the first time — years before they’d become two of the unlikely heroes at the center of “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.” 

But the scene that makes this episode so memorable has nothing to do with Bert. Instead, Stuart and Sheldon wind up drunk on mimosas, hurling increasingly specific compliments at each other. Sheldon praises Stuart’s impeccable penmanship (“It’s like you have the soul of a label maker”), while Stuart marvels that Sheldon never leaves the house without a paper clip and never resorts to swear words — because, as Sheldon explains, “You can hurt people just as well without them.”

After Howard and Raj convince him to ask Denise on a proper date, Stuart goes overboard trying to make himself more desirable. But he doesn’t stop at grooming — or buying cologne at a swap meet. Convinced he looks too pale after dyeing his hair, Stuart gets a spray tan that leaves him looking like — as Howard puts it — one of Willy Wonka’s Oompa Loompas.

But the best scene follows, when Stuart shows up at Denise’s front door and admits he made a string of increasingly poor decisions — including one hidden by his pants. And if there were ever a sign that Stuart and Denise are soulmates, it’s that Denise still wants to go to dinner with him… after making a string of jokes at his expense.

“Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” premieres Thursday, July 23 at 9 p.m. on HBO Max.