The Locomotion Interruption

"The Locomotion Interruption" serves as the season eight premiere of *The Big Bang Theory*, airing on CBS on September 22, 2014, as the 160th episode of the series. In it, Sheldon returns to Pasadena after 45 days away, only to find himself stranded at a train station in Kingman, Arizona, having lost his belongings and pants to theft. He calls Leonard for a ride, and Amy accompanies Leonard. Sheldon reveals he never left any train stations during his trip, which hurts Amy, as he left without telling her and called Leonard instead of her. He explains he was too embarrassed to admit he couldn't manage alone, and Amy accepts his imperfection. Sheldon claims the journey prepared him for change, but immediately walks out upon seeing Penny’s new haircut. Penny, nervous, interviews for a pharmaceutical sales job arranged by Bernadette; she performs poorly but bonds with the interviewer over their shared fear of Bernadette, securing the position. Howard and Raj discover that Stuart still lives with Howard’s mother after her recovery, unsettling Howard.

Production was originally scheduled to begin on July 31, 2014, but was delayed by contract negotiations. Deals with the main cast were finalized on August 4 and 5, with the first table read on August 6. This episode marked the show’s temporary move to Monday nights due to CBS acquiring rights to the first six Thursday Night Football games. It aired back-to-back with "The Junior Professor Solution" on September 22, 2014.

Critical reception was mixed. Schedeen of IGN rated it 6.7 out of 10, calling it "not a great start" and "pretty textbook *Big Bang Theory*," criticizing Sheldon’s plot but finding Raj and Howard’s storyline "pretty entertaining." Sava of *The A.V. Club* described the show as "a relic of a former age," labeled Sheldon "one of this show's most problematic elements," and gave a C−. Day of *TV Fanatic* gave a negative review, calling it "an utter disappointment," disliking Sheldon’s storyline, being "most interested" in Penny’s plot, and having "mixed feelings" about Howard’s. Runcie of *The Telegraph* gave two out of five stars, noting the episode was "heavy on intense discussion" and "not always comedy-rich."