The Boyfriend Complexity
🎞️ S4 E9 ✅ Mild

The Big Bang Theory

Is The Big Bang Theory S4 E9 OK for kids?

The Boyfriend Complexity

Penny asks Leonard to lie to her father, while Howard, Raj and Bernadette pull an all-nighter at a telescope.

📺 Where to watch

Netflix, HBO or Disney+ — catalogs differ by country.

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🛒 Where to buy

Digital seasons or a box set to keep.

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Content guide

👊 Violence
💋 Sex
🙊 Language
⭐ Overall

Mild — okay from about 10+

The Big Bang Theory S4 E9, “The Boyfriend Complexity”, scores 1/5 for violence, 1/5 for sex and 2/5 for language, for an overall kid-rating of 2/5 — Mild — okay from about 10+. Penny asks Leonard to lie to her father, while Howard, Raj and Bernadette pull an all-nighter at a telescope.

Across the episode we counted 5 flagged moments in 2 themes: Alcohol & drugs (3); Racism & slurs (2). Every moment below is either a direct quote from the episode transcript or a short description of what happens on screen, so you can decide before you press play.

Parents need to know

Age 10+

Racist language, drinking, mild language in live-action sitcom.

Parents need to know that The Big Bang Theory S4 E9, "The Boyfriend Complexity", is a live-action sitcom episode. The series is known for more innuendo than the science jokes suggest, but rarely explicit. Scores low: the strongest thing we found is racism & slurs (explicit, in dialogue). Some mild language appears in the dialogue. This episode includes racism & slurs — for example, Raj says, "Is that racist? It feels racist". Characters drink or talk about alcohol and drugs — Howard says, "I did it with you when we rented The Notebook. (Raj whispers) Yes, Gena Rowlands is a…". Every flagged moment below is a direct quote from the transcript or a short description of what happens on screen.

Watch for — every moment, theme by theme

Alcohol & drugs 3 moments

How Alcohol & drugs shows up in The Big Bang Theory S4 E9:

  • Mild
    Howard I did it with you when we rented The Notebook. (Raj whispers) Yes, Gena Rowlands is a treasure. You’d better open up that bottle of wine or I’m gonna end up with swimmer’s ear.
  • Mild
    Howard What? Galileo did his best work while drinking wine.
  • Mild
    Wyatt And Donnie was a rocket scientist compared to that boy who wanted to get beer pong into the Olympics. What was his name, sweetheart?

Racism & slurs 2 moments

How Racism & slurs shows up in The Big Bang Theory S4 E9:

  • Too much
    Raj Is that racist? It feels racist.
  • Too much
    Howard Actually, Indian Monopoly’s just like regular, except the money’s in Rupees, instead of hotels you build call centers, and when you pick a chance card, you might die of dysentery. Just FYI, that was racist.

What to watch in The Big Bang Theory · Season 4 guide

Watch With The Kids · Your kids — your rules! · Informal parent guidance, not an official rating.