The contemporary sitcom about a group of misfit techies has captured America and the UK with its tongue-in-cheek but jargonistic humour, buckets of charm and a surprising amount of heart.

The sixth season kicks off with a continuation of Howard Wolowitz’s (an unusually mellowed Simon Helberg) journey into space where he’s still goaded by his fellow astronauts. From the outset the show’s budget is displayed with some well-constructed zero gravity shots and a few nice exterior angles. Clearly the traditionally studio-bound show has been granted with an astronomical (pun intended) fee to play around with and they’ve used it well.

As well as Howard’s trip to the International Space Station there have been more than a few changes to the gang, with cynical comic book store owner Stuart (a very funny Kevin Sussman) becoming a recurring character in lieu of Howard whilst he’s away. For a while we actually found Stuart to be much more likable than Howard, so naturally we were thrilled when he stayed on as ‘Howard.2’. Also continuing on from the previous season is Margo Harshman as Alex Jensen, Sheldon’s assistant, who sadly never really gets any substantial material to play with.

Unfortunately, as The Big Bang Theory enters its seventh season this autumn, the relationships are arguably growing stale and the storylines are increasingly more contrived. Leonard and Penny’s on/off partnership has nothing new added to it here and every second episode or so Penny finds some blemish in their romance and picks at it until it becomes a problem.

Their relationship is perfect and the writers appear to be shoehorning in more and more mindless drama when there’s not much flesh to be added. Something that is commendable though is the development of Sheldon as a person. He’s stopped being so cautious about everything and it’s nice to see that his friends have helped soften him into a less irksome human being. But he’s still got his same fastidious charm that we don’t want to go away.

Having kept the same situation relatively fresh for six years, Season 6 may not be The Big Bang Theory’s best run but we’re not ready for the show to go out with a bang (sorry) just yet.

Extras: As with the last Big Bang Theory boxset, Season 6 has some great bonus material. Alongside a featurette showcasing interviews with real life astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Massimino, there’s also a gag reel and a great look at the show’s best relationship moments.

Released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 2 September 2013.

> Buy the Season 6 boxset on Amazon.

What did you think of Season 6? Let us know below…