The Big Bang Theory season 3

In March 2009, the series received a renewal for a third and fourth season through the 2010–11 television season. == Cast ==

Main cast • Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter • Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper • Kaley Cuoco as Penny • Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz • Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali Recurring cast • Laurie Metcalf as Mary Cooper • Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Wolowitz • John Ross Bowie as Dr. Barry Kripke • Wil Wheaton as himself • Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom • Melissa Rauch as Bernadette Rostenkowski • Brian George as Dr. V.M. Koothrappali • Alice Amter as Mrs. Koothrappali • Christine Baranski as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter • Sara Gilbert as Leslie Winkle • Brian Thomas Smith as Zack Johnson Guest cast • Lewis Black as Professor Crawley • Molly Morgan as Bethany • Sarah Buehler as Sarah • Andy Mackenzie as Skeeter • Elizabeth Bogush as Dr. Catherine Millstone • Oliver Muirhead as Professor Laughlin • Zachary Abel as Todd • Jason Mesches as Denny • Danica McKellar as Abby • Jen Drohan as Martha • Julio Oscar Mechoso as Officer Hackett • Yeardley Smith as Sandy • Kevin Brief as Glenn • Steve Paymer as Judge Kirby • Marcus Folmar as Guard • Frank Maharajh as Venkatesh Koothrappali • Judy Greer as Dr. Elizabeth Plimpton • Ally Maki as Joyce Kim • Steven Yeun as Sebastian • Ajgie Kirkland as Louie/Louise • Lauri Johnson as Mrs. Gunderson • Mayim Bialik as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler Special guest cast • Katee Sackhoff as herself • Ira Flatow as himself • Stan Lee as himself == Episodes ==

The third season received critical acclaim. Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune who wrote that "Big Bang Theory, which is in its third season, is doing many things very right", Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote "the Penny/Sheldon interaction was gold, as always", and Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, who wrote that "what lifts The Big Bang Theory into frequent excellence is its one constant from the start: the brilliantly nuanced performance of Jim Parsons". The American Film Institute ranked season three one of the ten best television seasons of 2009. == References ==