The Inevitable

May the Fourth be with you.

Just keep your wits about for the Revenge of the Fifth.

Professor Proton, Sheldon and Leonard’s boyhood icon, passed away shortly before May Fourth. To Star Wars fans, the date creates a play-on-words they can only manipulate one day a year. See? Funny.

Instead of marathoning all six Star Wars films, however (in a few years, they’ll need to add a seventh to their programming), Leonard and Penny opt to go to Professor Proton’s funeral. They attend the wake and reflect during the service with respect, care, and sympathy. Then they make the event about themselves. Penny play-proposes to Leonard to “even their score” and Leonard “pretends” to wheedle over the decision. Methinks Penny doth protested too much. It’s also May—I smell a season finale on the horizon. Penny But we don’t know what reservations she still holds, and won’t until the end of the month draws to a close.

Sheldon, ever not the funeral kind, still took Professor Proton’s death hard. So hard, in fact, his brain buckled under the emotional turmoil and brought the man back to Sheldon in the form of his “Obi Wan,” the dream-sayer. Professor Proton didn’t seem jazzed about the wardrobe change…but he got a cool light saber!

He eventually imparted rather useful advice about appreciating those you have left on this Earth, while you can. Because everybody knows that everybody dies. And nobody knows it like the Doctor.

To be clear, the last two sentences were Doctor Who references, and the title character is called the Doctor, not the “Doctor Who.” Writers. Get it together friends.

Howard, Raj, Amy, and Bernadette’s roles paled in comparison, but they both tackle important current events of their own. Howard and Raj attempt the made-viral Star Wars order theory, a theory that advocates watching the franchise in the following order: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

Bernadette and Amy represent those poor unfortunate souls looped into movie marathons by their uncaring friends. But hey—we’ve all been there.

"What Is It?" "A quarter."

Let’s see what I missed.

Sheldon couldn’t decide between an Xbox One and PS4, Penny’s grappling with the “gorilla job,” and Raj got in touch with both the online redhead and Lucy.

It’s like the episodes stopped.

March Madness finally made its off-court exit, and Sheldon might have waited a little too long to buy either the Xbox One or the PS4.  Released at the same time and leaving lots of competition in their wake, anyone who followed E3 2013 would understand his dilemma. Anyone else might have been a little lost for wear in this plot line.

Penny discovers, after yet another failed audition, the horror-movie-gorilla roll came back around with swinging fists. Now that Leonard’s more supportive, the choice really does rest with her. On the one hand, she needed the rent money. On the other…well, Monkey See Monkey Kill.

Anyone with the opportunity to share a cast list with Wil Wheaton, however, shouldn’t pass up the chance lightly. Bring on the bikinis.

The biggest surprise this episode rested with Raj’s sanity. Between the lot, he ended up demonstrating most that yes, I did miss a month’s worth of character development.

When he apologizes with his happenstantial online dating match, he reignites a second chance and dinner date. And so naturally fate has to make his life harder by default. That very evening, Lucy e-mails him to meet and catch up. Penny choosing jobs and Raj choosing suitors? Is it still April Fools?

I’m a little confused by the ever-present Lucy; if you’re going to cite the character so much, at least pay her actress to come on set once in awhile! Then again, I do like this new character. We’ll see if Raj’s astronomy evening works its star-crossed magic.

Next week, we’ll not be watching How I Met Your Mother and perhaps finally get to see what game console takes up the last slot on Sheldon’s entertainment system.

“An animal can be sacred and delicious.”

Sitting and anticipating my own Thanksgiving holiday, I must say I love the time of year all the TV specials begin airing. There’s Thanksgiving Charlie Brown. Home Alone.

Tonight, 8PM EST on CBS, we get Sheldon throwing up on a lot of clowns.

Happy turkey day.

No, no, I’m kidding. As one #CoolTVProps fan put it, this episode was the funniest aired in some time. Lots of poking fun, but what’s a holiday where a distant relative (or neighbor) doesn’t bruise someone’s feelings? Even if that relative happens to be a three-years distance husband you didn’t know you had.

Penny, en route to Mrs. Wolowitz’s house for Thanksgiving dinner with the group, discovered happenstantially that, yes, Las Vegas wedding chapels were real and licensed. And thus, for three years (or however many years now, on this show), she’s been married to her ex-boyfriend Zack. During the episode argument to follow, we see yet again Leonards’ failure to recognize what anyone else might be feeling past himself, and again Penny’s failure to communicate what she’s feeling. But I liked the sneak peek at the end over coffee—sounds like there might be more bridal bells in the future. For love this time. Or money.

While the girls and Raj prepare the meal, Bernadette sends Howard to try and warm up to her cold-as-ice father. He however, creature of habit, bonds instead with the only other person who didn’t want to be there: Sheldon. Sheldon so much so he broke PC the whole car ride across town. Get a couple beers in the Texan genius, and he’s no better, but he at least demonstrates a different…almost kinder?...side to his nature. Sheldon, bonding with anyone. Imagine!

And so, as many Thanksgiving specials should relate, they agree that family is family, no matter how broken or small. But always blame the husband if he’s never around. It’s faster.

"What is wrong with you?!"

It’s a little late for Halloween talk, but Sheldon’s plans aren’t any less evil or diabolical. See how he cons Leonard into a “teachable moment,” how Penny needs to pick up a social skill or ten, and how Raj fares without his season premiere girlfriend, Lucy.

Night of the Living Lucy.

In Sheldon and Leonard’s “box of junk,” Leonard finds a DVD he knew he was supposed to return…seven years ago. (The Super Mario Brothers movie. I’ve seen it.) To communicate how he feels when an issue sits on his brain like, oh, say, an itchy sweater, Sheldon forces Leonard to wear the sweater until he can return the DVD in question. Leonard agrees, as always, to prove a point.

By the time his point transforms into a constellation of hives across his chest, Sheldon reveals he actually paid off the DVD way back when; then kept the movie around to teach lessons by.

I was waiting for Leonard to chuck the cover at Sheldon’s face. I would have. Dead center of the forehead.

But I’m not Leonard and his saint-like patience. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Sympathize with Sheldon theme arise from an episode this season. I wonder what the network aims to prove.

On the side, Penny spies Raj’s ex-girlfriend, Lucy, at The Cheesecake Factory. She clearly didn’t know about Lucy’s social anxiety (or know anything about how to define racism), because she made Lucy fly the coop and—repeatedly—manipulated Raj’s chances with any girl ever. Lucy or otherwise.

Lucy, as it turns out, is seeing someone else. Seems out of character to me, but I won’t question the writer’s decision to not bring her back for a closing curtain.

When the network announced next week’s Thanksgiving special, I admit, I had a brief moment: we never had a Thanksgiving special? Grab your cocoa and come back to the couch next Thursday at 8, where we figure out if Penny will earn her divorce.
That’s right. Her divorce.

"Is That Shakespeare?"

I’d hedge a bet that this was the most endearing episode of Big Bang Theory this season—and can you believe we’re only on Episode 6?

Everyone got a touch of romance. Well. Raj got his vicariously through Howard’s enjoyment, but. Anyway.

There were many plots, twists, and a whole lot of quotes I feel like sharing (seriously, the writers were on their game tonight!). And so, excuse me while I relegate the rest to bullet point format:

• ·      “When did we get to the Cheesecake Factory?” – Sheldon
• ·      Howard’s writing a song to celebrate his first date with Bernadette, Sheldon’s headlong into discovering a super-heavy element, and Penny still works at the Cheesecake factory.
• ·      “Can’t talk, in the zone.” – Sheldon…and Amy
• ·      Penny feels like she needs to latch onto that one romantic bone in her body, to prove to Leonard it exists, and discovers she can actually be romantic just by being her; without really trying at all.
• ·      “I feel like my mind just made a baby.” – Sheldon
• ·      Bernadette isn’t shy about her pharmaceutical endeavors. Nor is she especially careful. When she quarantines herself the night of their first-date anniversary, Howard brings the date to her—along with the carefully crafted and totally sweet song he wrote. Everyone played a part and I grinned at the TV like a small child.
• ·      “Congratulations, Dr. Fowler. You just made the fort.” – Sheldon
• ·      Sheldon’s snagging all of tonight’s quotes.
• ·      I’ll never be unhappy for Dr. Who references in The Big Bang Theory.
• ·      I remembered partway through the episode that we haven’t heard one peep from CBS about the gang’s Halloween costumes this year. The gang…I just made them sound like they piled out of the Mystery Machine.
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Don’t forget! For this year’s Halloween, use the codes on the Cool TV Props Facebook page to secure $5 off one $40 purchase, or $10 off one $60 purchase!

Happy Halloween…see you next week!