Chaos Theory

Chaos theory: the edition of a dining room table could cause a cataclysmic end to life as we know it. Learning science every day on the Big Bang Theory. In other news, IKEA is a thing.

I wonder how slow the writer’s room was that they thought, say, let’s finally get Leonard and Sheldon a dining room table! Somehow the notion strikes Leonard’s fancy (or was Penny manipulating him?) and he refuses to budge on the matter, despite Sheldon’s protests. Nothing short of taking up the extra space makes Leonard cease and desist and—when he does purchase the table and coordinating table settings, Sheldon’s forced to face the music and realize change doesn’t always spell chaos. It didn’t with his Spot, and it didn’t with Amy…no matter what Amy tells him. Get it, girl.

While Raj and Howard share a magic wand TV remote, Howard gets a call from NASA inviting him back into space to fix the equipment he installed on his previous venture. He accepted the offer immediately…unfortunately. He failed to remember how he lamented the previous months of work, unlike Raj and Bernadette who remembered only too clearly. (And he really SHOULD know better than that—he did tie the knot before he left!) Their own persuasion unsuccessful, they host a brief intervention to knock him off the idea. As it turns out, the most convincing element to keep his roots planted right here happened to be Survival Training. Still, the thought doesn’t make his blood-pressure skyrocket quite like a phone call home to Mom.

Next week, Sheldon and Howard strive for faster friendships. Now that I finally remembered to wait for the previews, I really wish I knew where they were going.

“This is so much better than watching TV like a muggle!”

--Every Big Bang Theory TV commercial

--Not really, it’s Raj

Aye Aye Aye

I wondered how long it’d take for The Big Bang Theory to address con culture directly. They’ve yet to attend an all-in-out con, but that might be more a finale piece.

For now, we just get…oh, I don’t know…how about James Earl Jones?

When the boys try and fail to score the notoriously popular Comic Con tickets, Sheldon immediately decides upon the next simple and feasible course of action: building his own con from the ground up. Therein lies the irony: Leonard, Howard, and Raj mock Sheldon’s own efforts while they play into a con of their own, finding and purchasing tickets from a scalper. A risk indeed, but the best heroes always take risks.

Perplexed by their excitement and subsequent disappointment—although, at least, she understood why they were upset when the tickets ran dry—Penny, Bernadette, and Amy decided to counter the Comic Con enthusiasm of their respective partners by doing something “adult” and “sophisticated.” When the afternoon tea they expected actually catered to a younger target audience, Penny asks the hard-hitting questions every twentysomething asks: am I an adult yet? What makes a person an adult? Myself a twentysomething, I vouch in Penny’s stead that we all have our moments of feeling particularly adult…or not. I got my own groceries, yeah! I spent five hours playing Flappy Bird, no!

The women of the show question their own ascent from childhood and the remaining Con-less gentlemen hide from a sketchy Scalper. This is just about where the plot of the whole episode stops.

Why? Because Sheldon found James Earl Jones for his would-be convention.

While it was cool of the network to list Mr. Jones for the episode—and cooler still he played, well, a cool guy (at first)—it certainly detracted the spotlight from the rest of any kind of plot. But Blogger! It’s James Earl Jones. He can be a plot in and of himself, right?

Some may enthusiastically agree. Some may be chanting “filler” in the back of their heads as I type. What do you think? Trot it out while we wait for next week’s Valentine’s Day-themed installment. All aboard!

And now...

And now we enter in the episode of quickly wrapped plot twists.
No, not really. I chalk this episode up to be the funnier of the seasons’ and NOW see why this ended up something like a mid-season twist. Leaves me guessing what’s to come for the days ahead, however.

Sheldon makes use of his vacation days by latching onto everyone’s shoulder for the duration of the storyline. Really, with all the video games in his collection, I’m a little surprised.
Nevertheless, we see more signs that Sheldon, as a character, both deviates from the formula and adheres to the formula even more, one scene after another. Would anyone have seen him play ‘dog’ in season one, or even two or three? On the other hand, would he have as gracefully seen eye-to-eye with Penny during their car ride talk? Hardly.
I don’t know what to make of New Sheldon, but I hope we get some sort of indicator before Bert takes more advantage of Amy.

Speaking of, I hope Amy gets out from Bert’s shadow soon. He’s a walking social manipulator: someone who uses ones’ sympathy at the expense of their comfort, for their own pleasure. It’s too early to tell if they played off the scenes between them for laughs, or because laughter communicates the undercurrent issue a bit better for audiences. Hopefully, the audience took away that there’s a real issue when women have to consider a man’s emotions over her own; that it isn’t okay to not be interested in someone else; or that it isn’t okay that “no,” and no alone, isn’t reason enough not to pursue a person.

Although, if they do bring Bert back again, it could spark more…let’s call it ‘kinesthetic’ action from Sheldon Cooper. To be continued.

Lastly, a nod to Josh Peck for showing up on primetime TV once again! I picture Jesse as having an avid Vine in this universe, too.

I literally do not know what to expect from next week. This means the end of holiday hiatuses…on with the show!

“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.

"That's true. You'd rust."

Professor Proton is back, Bill Nye tries to steal the show (let’s be real—he does), and Sheldon Cooper learns a little something about himself. This show addressed old problems from Season 1 and introduced brand-new dilemmas. Like Sheldon’s fresh restraining order.

Why doesn’t Arthur just get a restraining order?

Sheldon spies Arthur (AKA, Professor Proton) in the pharmacy, oblivious to how their last meeting ended, and forces himself upon him unceremoniously. After the encounter, Amy tries to ease Sheldon into the idea that he might be a little…annoying. She can’t say as much—Sheldon annoyingly tries to make her—but he doesn’t need to be told twice.

Arthur expounds the reality when he sidesteps Sheldon and asks Leonard to review his paper and conduct his experiment. Leonard, much to Sheldon’s dismay, happily agrees. Sheldon, pride bruised, seeks the only person that could remedy the situation: another model. Enter, Bill Nye the Science Guy, the only science show-host any of us really remember.

Sheldon misses his chance with "bowtie"—and earns a brand new legal document—but renews his ‘friendship’ with Professor Proton and, indirectly, might be the link between Arthur and a hot date with one of Penny’s grandmothers.

Howard and Raj, in the other court, butt heads when Howard invades on one of Raj’s Ladies Nights, only to learn that Raj took the opportunity to get away from him and air his feelings in private. Ouch. Although, the show made the issue present for some time now; they were bound to address it sooner or later.

Raj might maintain stereotypically feminine interests, but they don’t erase, nor negate, his other fine qualities. Or so Howard learns.

Howard also learns Raj lacks quite a bit of forethought, in the form of Star Wars apparel.

And so, on both fronts, I can summarize the episode as such:
“I’m not going to bother him…I’m going to talk to him!”