Weekend Wrap Up – November 13
Community features another hilarious episode and Jeff's hospital lie to get out of helping is brilliant in execution. Why didn't Annie remember that Troy and Abed only live in single bedroom apartment? Unfortunately, I was out of town so I didn't get to experience #AnniesMove on Twitter in realtime, which they seem to have really blown up on. Curiously, though, it seems like they built out a lot of the actual apartment to justify a lot of steady cam work. And for the young ones, the Dreamatorium is completely decorated exactly like the Star Trek holodecks, while candy cigarettes were an old and hilariously bad product that was banned a long long time ago.
Weekend Wrap-up – October 1
With two weeks in the can for television (minus Sunday of course), we can finally take a look at the post premiere numbers and see how our TV cancelation betting pool is going.
Thursday Turnaround – September 29
Another Thursday night, and we're are starting to fall back into the usual routine. We did have one new premiere though, in How To Be a Gentleman
How to Be a Gentleman
Overall, this present tense narrative show is one of CBS's weaker attempts this season. While it does have a bit of humor, none of that cast is very compelling and the writing in general is subpar. Despite the fact it follows The Big Bang Theory, I don't think it's long for this world.
The Big Bang Theory The Skank Reflex Analysis – The Infestation Hypothesis
In the season 5 premiere of The Big Bang Theory we find the fallout from last seasons insane reveal of Raj and Penny spending the night together, though once we drill down to it (heh), we find that not is all as it seems.
The Big Bang Theory The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification
The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification is the famed "Steve Wozniak" episode we've heard about, but I'm sad to say he only has a single scene with a couple lines of dialoge.
For the most part, the episode is consistently funny throughout thanks to it's silly premise of Sheldon trying to live forever. His solution is to hide away in his room and create a robot version of himself, which I think is a very Sheldon type response and solution.
On the B-story, we have the guys noticing that Leonard has been covering Penny's share of various expenses for some time now, and they start to poke fun at the fact. Like most of the story lines in this show, it doesn't really go much beyond some light hearted ribbing and seems to drop off completely without any resolution.
Overall, the episode has plenty of good one liners, but it just feels like it's lacking a bit of depth sometimes.
Other Thoughts
- Dogapus - hybrid dog + octopus.
- Raj (via Howard) and Penny have a bit of an insult fight with the victor being Raj suggesting Sheldon join Penny on her daily running.
- Robot Sheldon always wears the same shirt as the real Sheldon.
- "I never got that turtle neck thing." - The Woz on the Jobs.
- Of course the Woz identifies the robot as a "virtual presence device."
The Big Bang Theory The Robotic Manipulation
The season 4 premiere of Big Bang Theory has a lot of elements that are enjoyable, but unfortunately, they also have an overabundance of cringe scenes. Oftentimes, this show has a peculiar mix of geek and sex, and this episode had more emphasis on the latter than I'd like to see.
Mayim Bialik (Blossom) returns as guest star Amy Farrah Fowler, Sheldon's mathematically calculated soulmate. Mayim has another great performance as Amy, and the chemistry between her, Kaley Cuoco, and Jim Parsons is great. The power of the show to me is the chemistry between Penny and Sheldon, and having another "Sheldon" type character to bounce off of makes for a great exchange of dialog and comedy.
On the other hand, I feel the B story for this episode of Howard and the robotic hand takes the whole episode down a notch. The whole situation with the arm seems very contrived and forced while overall leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling. It's as if the writers were afraid of not writing in a strong opening using the entire cast, and had to use the typical formula of "nerd + robotics + sex" to create a situation that doesn't even make sense. While the ratings are strong against the similarly well written Community, I worry that the quality of the show might be waning if this is a sign of the season as a whole. This show has always been about the extreme geek-ness of it's characters and their interactions with each other.
Other Thoughts
- Sheldon and Amy...or Sh-amy
- 'You have broad hips and a certain corn-fed vigor. Is your womb available for rental?' - Sheldon
- I don't understand how they wouldn't consider just turning the whole thing off.
- 'Penny, to your mind..are you a slut?' - Amy
- Numbers are very strong against Community, but with the dismal failure of My Dad Says, I feel that this show will end up being alone on Thursday very quickly.
The Big Bang Theory The Einstein Approximation
As an software developer by trade, I can totally understand the crazy that gets involved when you have to solve a problem and can't sleep till you do. I've spent my fair share of sleepless nights haunted by a coding problem that I just can't solve, only to make things worse as lack of sleep destroys my cognitive reasoning. As such, I can totally relate to Sheldon as he spends day after day trying to solve his electrons though graphite problem.
As he wears on, Sheldon gets further and further into crazy, falling into the throws of being more and more adolescent. This of course, starts to take it's toll on the gang as his crazy has no bounds. Eventually, he finds a solution to his mental roadblock, and it wasn't sleeping. His solution, is to be as Einstein was at the patent office, find a menial job to allow his brain to relax and let upper reasoning bring him an epiphany. Eventually he ends up as a busboy/waiter for the Cheesecake Factory, which provides Leonard ample revenge time for Sheldon's OCD nature of ordering food.
Meanwhile, Raj is starting to get a bit annoyed at the fact that Howard and Leonard both have girlfriends and are spending a lot of time with them, excluding Raj. They are even stealing his ideas for hanging out!
Overall, this was a great Sheldon episode where we get to see a glimpse of how completely crazy he can be. It was very entertaining with plenty of throwaway lines and one hilarious ball pit scene.
Interesting observations
- Leonard sleeps in his socks...I'm sorry but that is so weird to me.
- "How long has he been stuck?" - Howard "Intellectually about 30 hours. Emotionally, abut 29 years." - Leonard
- "I havn't seen him this stuck since he tried to figgure out the third Matrix movie." - Leonard
- Bernadette makes another appearance. She has the experience to control Sheldon with logic and a stern motherly voice.
- Who would want a Joker ringtone like that?
- Sheldon, like many kids, is an expert ball pit swimmer. I think as we grow older, we must lose that basic skill.
- The three most meinal jobs on earth: toll booth attendant, Apple store genius, and what Penny does. (waitress)
- "One bacon cheesburger, breaking two Jewish dietary restrictions at once...Kudos" - Sheldon
- There were two ending bits this episode. The first was the roller skating scene with Raj and Howard. The second was an out of sequence alternative cut of the ball pit scene. It seemed like the episode would have normally have just used the roller skating scene, but I think the producers must have liked the ball pit full cut so much they stuck it on at the end.
The Big Bang Theory The Bozeman Reaction
Tonight the seedy underbelly of Pasadena rears it's head and we find Sheldon and Leonard the victims of a robbery. This doesn't settle well for Sheldon as he falls into full blown neurosis and fear.
As a heavily Sheldon centric episode, the writers do well to showcase the personality and skills of Jim Parsons as an actor. You really start to feel for Sheldon and relate to his over exaggerated fear of another robbery. From his late night wandering to Penny's apartment, to his actual desire to get a glass of milk for Penny and Leonard just to not be alone, we see that under fear, Sheldon very much wants to be around the people he cares about. Deep down, they are the only ones who can provide him the security and companionship he needs.
This fear though, is not exactly over exaggerated. I would surmise that anyone who finds themselves victim to a robbery would have the same type of irrational fears of a repeat invasion while they were home. For the most part though, I got too caught up in the overbearing laugh track and Parsons' portrayal of Sheldon to notice.
It was a funny episode overall, but you have to wonder if it make too light of humor of a serious situation.
Interesting Observations
- Things Stolen: TV, 2 laptops, 4 external hard drives, PS2, PS3, XBox XBox360, Classic Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Wii
- Video Games Stolen: Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, Call of Duty 1, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Final Fantasy 1-9, The Legend of Zelda,The Legend of Zelda The Ocarina Of Time,, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Galaxies, Mario and Conic at the Winter Olympics.... and Ms. Pac Man
- "I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested." - Sheldon
- "I'm not scared, I would have gone all Nebraska on their asses." - Penny with a bat
- Sheldon now knocks on Penny's door as "Penny and Sheldon" if he knows he's there.
- "I'm fine, but I'm no longer the master of my own bladder." - Sheldon
- "My new computer came with Windows 7. Windows 7 is much more user friendly than Windows Vista. I don't like that" - Sheldon
- The Security Pad outside the door is actually a simple X10 wireless remote for controlling lamps and such. Oh the days of working in an research lab building automated homes.
- "Come on Sheldon. You can't move. Don't you need to stay in one place so the mother ship can find you when it returns?" - Penny
- "He's going telecommute, everyone's really excited about it." - Leonard about Sheldon's job
- What kind of jerk steals a guys bags at bus station?
- Of the 3 Good Friends and 1 very close acquaintance, Howard is the acquaintance, and the self satisfied smirk on Raj's face is priceless.
The Big Bang Theory The Psychic Vortex
Tonights episode is a welcome change of pace from the normal. Instead of the usual Howard/Raj and Leonard/Sheldon parings, we find Howard and Leonard going out on dates with their girlfriends Penny and Bernadette while Sheldon and Raj end up at a cross department faculty mixer.
The bribe to get him to go is of course a Green Lantern lantern and ring combination, which Sheldon naturally brings with him to the mixer. It's a good thing too, because it becomes a conversation starter with two girls they meet, Abby and Martha, who actually recognizes the lantern. This of course leads to them going back to the apartment to play Rock Band, national pastime of all geeks. Don't all geek parties end up playing Rock Band?
The next night, we have Sheldon and Martha having a stimulating discussion on Flatland. Martha is definitely into him, but of course Sheldon is completely oblivious to her interest. Not that it would matter I guess. Sheldon is the type of guy who has transcended the need for romantic relationships. As Raj and Abby make out on the chair, Sheldon innocently suggests it's time for bed, which of course excites Martha. Too bad he of course meant that in the literal sense. Even after inviting Martha into his room, he misunderstands it and goes to sleep in Sheldon's room.
I guess is apparently there is someone for everyone, even Sheldon. Sheldon is also starting to grow as a person. I would have thought the normal reaction would be to let her into Sheldon's room to stay instead of having a strange girl he doesn't know all that well to stay in his room unsupervised.
On the other less interesting storyline, Leonard and Penny continue their relationship rough spots which I have to wonder is just the tip of the iceberg for the eventual breakup again. So far, the writers have not spent a whole lot of time with Leonard and Penny actually happy together since they got back together.
As I noted at the beginning, it's refreshing to see a change in pace for our characters. Raj and Sheldon are easily the strongest of the 4 characters in terms of humor and being interesting. Pairing them up together is a welcome sight.
Funny Observations
- Penny believes in psychics, ghosts, astrology, pyramid power, and voodoo...but not healing crystals
- Bernadette is taking things very slow with Howard, but I thought she was about ready to sleep with him after the third date?
- "The salute to zoot, sounds like a hoot." - Raj
- "If outside is so good, why has mankind spend 1000 of hears trying to perfect inside." - Sheldon
- Flatland is a real book by Edward Abbott. It's a satirical novella "offering pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture".
- That Green Lantern lantern and ring set is awesome. It's probably a real thing, but I've never seen it for sale. If I ever find it, I'm so taking that to every party I go to.
- Raj gives up Stan Lee autographed Hulk hands? Wow, that's along the lines of the Leonard Nimoy napkin.
- I love Venn diagrams, and drawing a dot on Leonard's hand, calling it the perfect girlfriend, is a stroke of brilliant double entendre.
- Danica McKellar (Wendy Cooper) guest stars as Abby. Of interesting note, Danica has a degree in mathematics, and is the co author of the Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem