wowbagger

Hee! I think I'd be weary of a 'traditionally' Bridezilla Amy? But man I would LOVE to see Penny and Bernie go to some sort of RenFayre mediaeval reenactment thing that Amy's been banging on about, and expect to hate it but get suuuuuuuper caught up in, like, a bowls or falconry tournament.

I'll second the love for Sheldon with the girls, particularly that time he gatecrashed their boozing times. That occasion's a standout to me because it is one of the very few times that Sheldon is the straight man, reacting to other people's craziness. More of that, please! By which I mean 'Sheldon as the straight man', though I do also enjoy Sheldon Cooper and his Council of Ladies. Yeah, I think it's always a good and healthy sign if a show mixes up its character dynamics. It's a sign of confidence in the ensemble's chemistry.

Resurrecting the 'wish list for Season Eleven' conversation, in no particular order: a ) More gang all together moments! I loved them in the S10 finale. b ) More Tammy Joe! Tammy Joe is my spirit animal. c ) In general, more of Howardette's creepy/sweet/dark/charming interactions. I really think the writers found the sweet spot with that couple last season, and I'd love to see more. d ) A return to those charmingly pointless meandering conversations about random shit. 'Can werewolves swim?', I'm looking at you. e ) Give Leonard and Penny plots that have nothing to do with each other/Leonard's insecurities/Penny's poorly-defined life dissatisfactions/Leonard's mommy issues/how the nerd got the hot girl hur hur. f ) Resolve the Shamy proposal 'cliffhanger' sharpish so that we don't have to spend time worrying about poorly-written drama sparked by misunderstandings about Bunny Boiler Ramona (I'm sorry, Actor Who Plays Ramona. I like you very much, and look forward to seeing you in other stuff.) g ) Do something about Raj, please. I found him basically inoffensive, and even occasionally charming, last season, but it could not be more obvious that the show hasn't a clue what to do with the guy. h ) MORE. TAMMY. JOE. i ) Seriously, show? If you ever want to revisit Tammy's idea of a threesome with her, Bernie and Howard, I.......would not be averse. Just sayin'. j ) More PAmyDette! MOOOOOAAAAAAAAR. I'll think of others, probably, but there's your starter for ten.

*ssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh* And therein begins my love affair with this season. So much squee. So. Much. Squee. I didn't vote because I am The Worst, but I heartily support this endeavour. Thanks, April! As you were.....

I mean, viewers of the show often care about characters and relationships. It's a bit unfair for us to play gatekeepers for the actors playing the characters, isn't it?

Professional actor identifies with character she plays shock horror.

data nerd question: How does one define 'sheldon scene'? Or 'howard scene' etc.? Does a scene with the character in it count? Does the character have to have speaking lines? Or does the character not even need to be present, but be referred to? and also, that's quite a lot of footage. Do you do it manually or use some sort of scraping tool? (pushes glasses up nose) er - PM me, if I'm boring everyone else!

oh yes, I would not call Amy a commitment phobe either! I meant really that she is likelier to not really think about what a situation means, and then go 'ohssshhhiiiit' when she hits the water, so to speak.

yes, the 'commitment phobic' remark always puzzles me about Sheldon, the Man of Many Contracts. Sheldon takes commitments extremely seriously. More than most. That is precisely why he is so wary of taking on new ones. Amy is the opposite. She's impulsive. She hurtles onto new things without thinking them through and is happy to abandon them the instant she has doubts. Look at the moving in episode. One bad night and Amy wanted to call the whole cohabitation experiment off and had to be manipulated into continuing #forscience.

Right, just finished watching, and here are my Very Important Thoughts. Okay, I was, to put it mildly, unimpressed by the premise of this episode. I thought the Ramona, now with Bunny Boiler! action proposal trigger was dumb, low-key sexist and tooth-grindingly hackneyed. I didn't like that the show treated Sheldon as property to be guarded, or a child to be protected. I didn't like Amy's 'I GAVE YOU ONE JOB!' line. And I , like @mirs1, disliked that the Shamy proposal would carry the whiff of assault/exploitation/whatever. And.....I haven't changed my mind about any of those things. But goddammit if the writing and acting didn't sell the shit out of it. Incidentally, is it me or has the cast been given wheatgrass shots and cleansing retreats this season? Even when the writing flounders, their energy and chemistry has tended to bring the gags home. In a way that I don't think was happening with the limp back halves of seasons past. I mean, even when I'm wincing at Amy's ketchup bottle line, or the gag about Sheldon running out into traffic, I can't hold back the guilty giggle. Because Rauch, Bialik and Cuoco are killing it. I don't know how Bialik manages to have chemistry with the rest of the cast on Skype, but I am very, very grateful. So yes, even as I roll my eyes at the idea that the gang is supposed to keep Sheldon on some sort of leash, I melted at Penny's exhausted 'Don't look at me like that, I tried' to the PAmy portrait. I am a whore for PAmy. What can I say. And even when I think 'Jesus, guys, calm the fuck down' at the gang's overreaction at Sheldon and Ramona's lunch, their furious yelping kaffeeklatsches are delivered with such charm and conviction that I am 'awww'ing as I am laughing. By the way, I am with @koops when she wonders whether the writers were pulling shippers' legs with those sequences - affectionately, of course. 'OH MY GOD HE MADE HER LAUGH!' 'OH MY GOD SHE TOUCHED HIS HAND WHAT COULD IT MEEEEEEEAAAAAANNNNNN?' And then the gang has dinner. And look, I knew I would be charmed by the gang's attempts to keep Sheldon and Ramona separate, but I didn't know just how much. Rauch spreading her legs as she wriggles between Sheldon and Ramona so that she can drive a bigger wedge between them than her tiny body would otherwise allow? The gang's tense, watchful body language throughout? And then quite possibly the funniest scene the show has pulled off in a long, long while? Sheldon walking Ramona down, Penny's manic 'WE'LL ALL GO!'* and then the gang's oh-so-subtle wriggling between Sheldon and Ramona, one by one? Not since Sheldon played basketball with Bawwy have I laughed quite so much. This is the show's forte - fresh and glorious physical comedy - and oh my God did it deliver. I don't know, maybe the answer is simple. Yes, the gang was overreacting and behaving like paranoid - and possessive - mother hens. But it so obviously came from a place of love. And I melt when the gang is clearly affectionate and supportive. And - as someone who's given Leonard plenty of shit this season - can I just say I found his Toblerone obsession utterly charming? Even Raj's romantic sadsackery was imbued with freshness and life. I cackled at the self-awareness of his 'I haven't played the race card yet'. And I loved that the writers managed to put a little bit of a spin on Sheldon's 'amusing factoids' by having him incorporate internet-listicle terminology like 'the answer will shock you!' in his skype-chat with Amy. 'New Jersey's state bird or murder rate? Both are shocking.' And look, others have talked about the grammar flirting, so all I can say is this: Sheldon knoweth not how else to admonish but vigorously. Fifty Shades of Grey, eat your heart out. *I would follow Penny into battle, just FYI.

haven't watched the episode yet, so this is off topic, but i remembered a moment earlier this season that i absolutely loved and that I'd forgotten about. okay, so remember when penny and amy visit bert's sad little party and they discover that Amy's popular? And penny makes a remark about this being exactly like high school and amy says 'well, not exactly. Everyone here's really smart', and penny stares and says 'wow, popular girls are MEAN'. now, in a season with so much premier cru PAmy (I mean, episode seven. Bask. BASK IN THE GLORY), this moment still stands out for me. It is this wonderful intersection of character observation and subtle comic acting from both bialik and cuoco. look at amy's remark. You can see that it begins as a blunt statement of opinion. You can see amy realise as the words leave her mouth that they're kinda bitchy.....and you see her say them anyway, with this fabulous mixture of guilt and muffled glee. and you can see penny's eyes narrow as she takes the hit, all 'good one, grasshopper. You bitch.' Just..like she's annoyed, but also kind of...proud? and it just so reminds me of when I'm with my friends and we're giving each other shit. We can appreciate the good burns but we're also totally plotting revenge. man, those two were so great this season. okay, as you were.

yes, I think good ideas are more of a renewable resource than time. Yes, there may be an issue with the quantity of Lenny time. But surely quality is the bigger issue. What if you had a string of episodes that were exclusively Lenny, but also exclusively 'nerd got the hot girl hur hur' jokes? I'm betting lennies would be less than ecstatic.

bold thought: How about we shift focus to the girls? They're a hell of a lot more fun together of late than the guys are. I would watch a pamydette show, with occasional appearances from the chaps. Sheldon has great chemistry with the group, as we have seen before. And I think Howard and raj work pretty well too. Have we seen Leonard interacting with the girls together?

(every bloody time.....) we could. Enjoy. Them both. I don't mean to single you out, but there seems to be this idea (not that you were necessarily implying that) that you only get a ration of one female actor to watch. Any more and there's competition. Even though there have been four male leads on this show for a while and I don't really see as many 'howard vs sheldon' comparisons or whatever. in any case, both bialik and cuoco are fine comic actors with terrific chemistry. PAmy has been a joy this season. Now give them some career plots that aren't overshadowed by their menfolk's fee-fees.

That form of stimulation is highly effective. ...And after all, Amy does find being the bad girl oddly titillating.

he should tell her. For the most important reason that I want to.avoid any stupid misunderstanding where he does not tell her and then it comes out somehow and sturm und drang. also, this is a woman they will plausibly see at work, so in that sense it is relevant information for Amy to have. and finally, why NOT tell her? He didn't participate, and the overture upset him. Tell your partner. as to whether he will tell her? I think he will. The couple communicates well, by and large, with a few dishonourable exceptions. I don't put it past the show.to have Sheldon randomly chicken out for the sake of drama, but I am.sanguine. The show didn't even have the appetite to mislead audiences that he might cheat, for heavens' sake. I doubt they will drag out the reveal.

oh goodness yes, let the poor girl stay in Princeton! If I was irritated about amy's career being hijacked by Sheldon, imagine how annoyed I would be if she had to abandon her work to fumigate the flat and de-louse it. Like she is pest control or something. Sheldon can stay in Princeton and the gang can deal with Ramona. Maybe she'll chase them to nj for a road trip!

favourite moments in no particular order: shamy argument in 10.04, with Lenny in the peanut gallery Leonard dance moves in 10.04 shamy/lenny duelling secret languages 10.07 buridan's donkey pamydette lying/gossipping scenes in 10.02 howard/raj mission impossible scenes when trying to reach the crib Howard reminiscing about his mother with bernie shamy science disses when collaborating 'like a rat pack peewee herman'. Tami Jo! TAMI JO! TAMI JO! least favourite moments in no particular order: Sheldon being drugged by his partner, tee hee! Sheldon being ordered out of the room by Mean Mommy Amy, tee hee! the tragic origins of the triple knock. Oy to the vey. Leonard bragging about landing the hot girl at apeist-con Leonard being a friday-faced sourpuss over his wife's career unhappiness, and then being validated by the show bert and his love life and I have a feeling I am not going to love what they do to Ramona's character either.

i am a little uncomfortable with the term 'fair game'. Sheldon and Amy have ultimate responsibility for their own relationship. But Ramona's behaviour at the end of the episode is basically assault, so i guess the argument is sort of moot. Whether or not Sheldon is in a relationship, his behaviour did not indicate that he would find any sexual overture welcome. In fact the opposite. For that reason, if for no other, Ramona is culpable.

Okay, I thought this one was delightful. I've put my Shamy thoughts in the Shamy thread, so for the rest, in no particular order: - I am a little sad that this was another episode in which a story about a woman's career (Amy's in this case) was essentially taken over by her male partner's feelings. I liked the execution much better this time around, but come on show - you don't have a quota of girls' stories that has been basically exhausted by Bernie, do you? - Speaking of Bernie: man, Melissa Rauch is on fire this season. They have just hit the sweet spot with Howardette, haven't they? After dickering about in the Oedipal wilderness for so long, they've finally discovered the formula: Howard is pervy on the outside but a sappy romantic on the inside, Bernie looks like a little cookie-baking elf on the outside, but inside is a maelstrom of, okay, rage, but also some really rather....twisted.......thoughts, directed squarely at her sexy greyhound. The movie just got rated 'R', indeed. - The visual gag of the empty 3A slew me! - But yikes, what an unceremonious end to the gyroscope plot. I mean, it's no secret that I thought it was dull and executed poorly, but poor guys. And what a waste of Dean Norris. - both Shamy and Howardette had plots about how they were dealing with loss or disappointment. How about Lenny? Shamy had Sheldon stepping up when dealing with two losses, Howardette had the couple reminding each other of their dysfunctional coping mechanisms, and I would have liked Lenny to triangulate by following up on Penny's career from last episode. Maybe have Leonard throw himself into helping Penny look for other jobs? - so......what was the point of having Raj drift from place to place, again?

I heard 'form of stimulation' as well. I'm happy with either version!

Just watched the episode, and okay, I am FULLY on the Howardette train. Bernadette has been terrific this season, but the last two episodes have really taken her up a level. I jumped out of my skin at Howard lurking like a creeper outside the bathroom, and I was just settling in to a loving-but-firm ticking-off of his neediness from his wife. When, all of a sudden, it took a turn. Apparently, Bernie is just as bad, if not worse! Awwww, yeah. And we have an explanation for Surprise Baby! Career disappointment! Ahahahahahahahahah oh that is awful and wonderful all at once. In retrospect I am a little sad that it took quite this long for the show to figure out the real magic formula for Howardette: Crouching Lech, Hidden Romantic weds Sweet Little Lady with Heart of Darkness. But oh, I'm glad they finally did.

Just watched as many clips as I could get my grubby mitts on, but I think I can say: That. Was. DELIGHTFUL. ALL CAPS DELIGHTFUL. This episode was like a multi-faceted diamond whose flaws (and they did exist) only make it more beautiful. Let's get those flaws out of the way first before the squee: This was another episode where a story theoretically about a woman's career was actually more about her male partner's feelings. It was very, very well executed, don't get me wrong, but I can't help but notice it. I wish Amy's concerns had been couched early and clearly as 'I will miss you, Sheldon' rather than 'I worry about Sheldon missing me'. But it was so clear that she would miss Sheldon when he said 'This is important' and she said softly 'so are you', that I couldn't hold it against the episode. Because that was so lovely. I found myself surprisingly tolerant of Sheldon's describing how much he depends on Amy. Still not quite my favourite, though. Some other stuff which I'll take to the episode thread since it's not Shamy-related. Now that's out of the way... Awwwwwwwwwwww, YISS. Loved that Sheldon's first response was that Amy should take the job, and that he was trying to front that he was okay with it. 'I got the blues. My baby done left me.' That little snap of irritation at his friends' slowness is what makes it. Loved also that Sheldon was shown to actually do a concrete thing to help his girlfriend move. 'Apparently, it'll survive a plane crash...So maybe you should ride in it.' Awwwwwwwww. Loved, loved, LOVED that Sheldon made it clear that he wanted to have sex with Amy because he wanted to have sex with her, not to get her to stay. That, in fact, he was worried that 'a hit of this' would dissuade her from her career move. You keep that blushful modesty, Doctor Cooper. The greatest dirty talk in the history of ever. Bureaucratic, wordy, clinical - it was all I had ever wanted from Shamy dirty talk. 'What if I get strange and eccentric?' '...............I'll love you no matter what.' Yes, it's mildly snarky, but so loving. 'I am proud of you'. D'awwwwwwwwww.

Man, just find an excuse to send the gang to NJ! Road trip! ROAD TRIP! All these group episode flashbacks are giving me a serious case of nostalgia.....

I don't think the show is really implying that the gang take responsibility for the shamy's relationship. But I can imagine a close-knit (usually), nosy (usually) group of people kinda taking it upon themselves to get all Mother Hen in the situation. I don't particularly like Amy's 'you had one job!' line, and I will roll my eyes when I hear it, but i don't think she is implying that it is literally anyone else's job to protect Sheldon or keep him on the straight and narrow. but I can see the gang TAKING 'responsibility'. In the way friends take 'responsibility' for making sure that you don't buy, I don't know, that sweater that makes you look like you smell of mothballs. Obviously your clothing choices are your business, but it's nice to have people who care about you keeping an eye out.