They had to do the episode in which they get robbed

With last night's episode titled "The Bozeman Reaction," the shark gets ever closer to The Big Bang Theory. Thieves break into the apartment where Sheldon and Leonard live and steal computers, external hard drives, some video game consoles and several video games. Predictably, Sheldon and Leonard get a ridiculously elaborate security system installed in their apartment. When I read the episode description on TV Guide, I immediately thought, "Oh, they're doing one of those."

In theory, there is a small, finite amount of basic plots writers can draw upon for their stories. This means that the best that writers can hope for is that they've put enough ornaments on the basic plot so that the story's familiarity does not bother readers too much. But when a sitcom starts falling back on overused plots like the overreaction to a home robbery, it is a clear sign of trouble for the show's quality.

To be fair, Sheldon's idea to move to Bozeman, Montana, is a fresh idea, at least compared to his getting trapped and electrocuted by the security system he had Wolowitz install. After the interview with the policeman, Leonard seems somewhat nonchalant about the fact that his apartment was just broken into. Though I suppose that getting regular sex with an attractive blonde is for a guy like Leonard a much greater priority than worrying that the thieves might return for a second helping. And of course, as a character, Leonard has to act as a balance to Sheldon and his hysteria.