Raj is notorious for bad parties. Here he comes up with a scavenger hunt which brings out the competitive juices in all the characters. Bernadette is a monster. Sheldon slows things down because he has to finish everything. And Amy and Howard go Neil Diamond. The interaction between each of the team members is awesome. Penny is considered a liability but proves to be the glue that holds Sheldon together. Great unpredictability and superb writing.
15 Reviews
One of the best episodes in the series
josearc14 July 2018
My favorite episode
SJulien126 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
In "The Scavenger Vortex", all the characters have great moments. It's one of the funniest episodes for Raj who has become an overly enthusiastic game host and the teams are perfect. Penny and Sheldon always form a hilarious duo, the competitiveness of Bernadette and Leonard's fear are funny and a surprising bond between Howard and Amy is created. The conclusion is disappointing for the participants of the scavenger hunt but certainly not for the viewers.
I loved "The Scavenger Vortex" ep of "The Big Bang Theory"!
tavm8 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
In this recent ep of "The Big Bang Theory": Raj was miffed no one went to his mystery party the previous week so he thinks up a scavenger hunt which everybody now wants to participate in. Teams are picked at random by name papers dropped in hat since it seems no one thinks Penny is smart enough to play. Penny ends up with Sheldon, Leonard with Bernadette, and Howard with Amy. Both Penny and Sheldon are great at helping each other while Bern is upset at how slow Leonard is by comparison but Howard and Amy seem to not have much in common...until they both discover a love for Neil Diamond! I'll stop there and just say what a great ep this was! And yay for the new teaming especially that of Howard and Bern, what a great inspiration that turned out to be! So on that note, "The Scavenger Vortex" was another excellent ep of "The Big Bang Theory".
Rejuvenating !! TBBT's One of the BEST EP So far !!
harshadsonavane5 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The Season was kind of low for now until this episode was aired.. Man It was awesome :D :D Never laughed so much on any TBBT's Episode..
Sheldon as usual was Comic and Fun to watch, Raj's Part was made Creative Plus The teaming for game was done Insane :D :D I mean Sheldon with Penny, Didn't Expect Penny to find any clue :P , Bernadette with Leonard, LOL !!
Those Blasting and Sound effects given To Raj were EPIC, Also Bonding of Amy And Howard Singing was Hilarious :D
Overall Excellent work !! Hoping all Future Episode are as fun as this Cheers.
Sheldon as usual was Comic and Fun to watch, Raj's Part was made Creative Plus The teaming for game was done Insane :D :D I mean Sheldon with Penny, Didn't Expect Penny to find any clue :P , Bernadette with Leonard, LOL !!
Those Blasting and Sound effects given To Raj were EPIC, Also Bonding of Amy And Howard Singing was Hilarious :D
Overall Excellent work !! Hoping all Future Episode are as fun as this Cheers.
Excellent episode after some dry patches
pbhaskal22 May 2021
So good! SO GOOD !
meggiego5 January 2020
U'll vote if u watch it.
bsekliar21 June 2020
I just finished this episode and immediately came here to check its ratings. I didn't disappoint. You'll not feel bored for a single atomic second also. This episode can be shown to anyone who even haven't seen TBBT. 'RUN' to watch it.
Best episode
sajithnamal-3414414 June 2020
One of my two or three favorite episodes
scoonman20 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The episode is hilarious. Specially, for the way they portrayed Bernadette coming out of her shell. Some of the lines that she said during the scavenger hunt or HILARIOUS. The other person that I thought was funny, even though we had a very limited role in this episode was Stuart when he was questioning if Anybody thinks of him when planning stuff. His dead pan delivery cracks me up every time like a young Bob Newhart. The only episode, I think it is funnier than this one is the egg salad equivalency And that is due to capitalizing on the two characters, Mrs. Davis and Sheldon's assistant Alex.
The Good Riddler
chandrasohom23 May 2022
This episode really focuses on Raj's genius. Being an astrophysicist and a metro-sexual guy he could provide hard brain teaser both to the intellectual Sheldon Cooper and the street smart Penny with a Riddler patented unexpected ending. I dont know if it was intentional or not but just like Riddler's games it revealed a lot of unknown sides of known character. If Raj weren't good hearted Pasadena would be terrorized with the Riddler.
Not a good episode in my opinion (Because of Bernadette)
erikthetrainman28 February 2022
This is just my opinion. I do like the concept of the scavenger hunt in idea. But my main problem is how Bernadette was treated. Bernadette is an absolute idiot to Leonard. All she does is bully him, it's not funny, it's annoying. I just don't understand, why did the writers mess up her persona from being a mature, kind woman to a fierce, unapologetic and mean-spirited person? I may never know. And why would she say lies about Penny insulting Leonard to his face?!!! That is so cruel! Obviously, I feel like Barry Kripke should have been in Bernadette's place since he's the better candidate and have Bernadette help Raj supervise the hunt. Also, I hate the part when Penny treats Raj at the end. I mean, I know Raj made the hunt fun and give the guys the "it's not always about winning, but having fun" thing, but where's the respect she had for him before, that's just so cruel. Are you serious? Also, why couldn't Raj just tell them it was friendly competition from the start, but again, that's just me. For a few good parts, I laughed with Raj on the microphone, Leonard standing up to Bernadette calling her out (she deserved it) and Amy and Howard singing together which those parts did make me chuckle. So overall, not a good episode in my opinion. I know a lot of fans love this episode and that's fine, but for me, this is what I can call the most overrated episode of the show. And again, Bernadette's role should have gone to Kripke as how she was in this episode makes me really frustrated (At least S3-6 got Bernadette right). Sorry writers, but you could have done better than this one and this episode is one I don't consider re-watching again. 4/10.
Lacked finesse
spacescreamer7 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Although i am giving it an 8 on 10.. it is because i cannot assign something like 7.5 or something similar. Don't get me wrong, it had many moments.. But was lacking the finesse which regular watchers of BBT have witnessed in Season 1/2/3.
The pairing was done pretty well and really, this is THE way to bring out the relationships forward on the BBT show. Of late it had been a drag really with less science/comic book quirkiness.
*** SPOILER ALERT *** Lacking: The scene where Raj brings out his 'showmanship', it looked a bit labored. Sure the scene where he coughed on the ninja bomb smoke was hilarious and i appreciate that the writers are getting back to what BBT was, but they are still far from it. But coming back, Howard's reaction was out of place. Penny/Kaley hasn't been very good at expressions, and he reaction needed fine tuning. The part where Bernadette makes up the story could have been more well written, preserving the old flavor of BBT from first 3 seasons.
These guys could have written in the script that the team entering the comic bookshop MUST purchase something from Stewart else entering is forbidden.. Giving Stewart a chance to fleece some good money (so he can have meat this week.. ) Maybe A fight could have been shown between intra/inter team members, with people fighting for articles. The writers did missed few tricks like these, and it's not a lone incident of late.
I can go on and on, but there could have been fine tuning attempt at various places. Good ep, but second viewing makes those glaring errors pop out in 3D.
The pairing was done pretty well and really, this is THE way to bring out the relationships forward on the BBT show. Of late it had been a drag really with less science/comic book quirkiness.
*** SPOILER ALERT *** Lacking: The scene where Raj brings out his 'showmanship', it looked a bit labored. Sure the scene where he coughed on the ninja bomb smoke was hilarious and i appreciate that the writers are getting back to what BBT was, but they are still far from it. But coming back, Howard's reaction was out of place. Penny/Kaley hasn't been very good at expressions, and he reaction needed fine tuning. The part where Bernadette makes up the story could have been more well written, preserving the old flavor of BBT from first 3 seasons.
These guys could have written in the script that the team entering the comic bookshop MUST purchase something from Stewart else entering is forbidden.. Giving Stewart a chance to fleece some good money (so he can have meat this week.. ) Maybe A fight could have been shown between intra/inter team members, with people fighting for articles. The writers did missed few tricks like these, and it's not a lone incident of late.
I can go on and on, but there could have been fine tuning attempt at various places. Good ep, but second viewing makes those glaring errors pop out in 3D.
This 5 star rating is bcuz of Stuart Bloom.
nlk8714 October 2022
Since in this episode Stuart didn't have many lines, except for being jealous that he wasn't invited to hang out w/ the group. & it should be obvious to him that the "group" gets annoyed to be around Stuart more so than Sheldon.
The character of Stuart Bloom is a fake & fictional character that TRULY gets under my skin. It's baffling how I can hate some 1 so much that doesn't exist.
I have decided to write a review each episode I just CAN'T STAND bcuz of of Kevin Sussman's character, "Stuart." I really really can't watch how he mooch's off of every single main character, the things he says truly annoys me. Some feel "sorry" for his character, but me no way. I just don't understand why the writers wrote his character this way. Throughout the series he claims to be so broke, but he still can afford to keep the comic book store open, & can afford hospital bills, pills, & therapy... Instead of abusing his customers hospitality, sell the store & get a job.. Stuart's character isn't funny at all. I just really can't stand him so much I fast forward the scenes he's mooching & just plain talking at all...
The character of Stuart Bloom is a fake & fictional character that TRULY gets under my skin. It's baffling how I can hate some 1 so much that doesn't exist.
I have decided to write a review each episode I just CAN'T STAND bcuz of of Kevin Sussman's character, "Stuart." I really really can't watch how he mooch's off of every single main character, the things he says truly annoys me. Some feel "sorry" for his character, but me no way. I just don't understand why the writers wrote his character this way. Throughout the series he claims to be so broke, but he still can afford to keep the comic book store open, & can afford hospital bills, pills, & therapy... Instead of abusing his customers hospitality, sell the store & get a job.. Stuart's character isn't funny at all. I just really can't stand him so much I fast forward the scenes he's mooching & just plain talking at all...
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