5.21 The Hawking Excitation (Apr. 5)

[Tripper]

Last night's episode of The Big Bang Theory, featuring guest star Stephen Hawking, beat American Idol and was the night's top program in the key adults 18-49 demographic despite falling to season lows.

"The Hawking Excitation" was watched by 13.01m people, down by 950,000 people from last week's episode, and ranked second behind American Idol in households and total viewers. In the important 18-49 demo, The Big Bang Theory finished first with a 4.2/14, down form last week's 4.7/15 to a season low.

http://the-big-bang-theory.com/story/1688/Episode-521-Ratings/

[brandonk]

Hi All,

I'm a recent fan of TBBT. TBS has helped me catch up. I noticed a poster in Howard's Room (when he gives Sheldon the belt buckle task) that I'm trying to figure out what it's from. It is of a white gorilla/ape. There is a female in it. It looks like its on a hillside or something. Can anyone tell me what its from? I'm not a regular follower of comic books or gaming. I do know that many of the figures in the show come from Sideshow Collectibles, but I can't locate the origin of the poster. Any help is greatly appreciated! I can add screen shots if necessary.

(i apologize if this comes up multiple times...it won't post my post)

[Br33na]

"The replay value is strong with this one."

I just felt like it was too short. Maybe because I enjoyed it so much.

agreed! I already watched it again last night!

$250k for what, maybe 10 lines.

seemed more like 3 lines!

back when the cast of FRIENDS got $1 million an episode, I'll never forget the episode that aired, right after that negotiation, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) had literally ONE line. I was shocked.

[rickfromillinois]

I liked this episode. Steven Hawking invented time… God I love Penny! I thought the maids outfit was flaming ridiculous though. Except the hat, he should keep the hat. Still he looked better as wonder woman anyways.

Hawkings told Sheldon he has a brilliant mind, even though he'd made that error. That was a great moment.

I agree, what a great scene.

---

Actually I have to say, Johnny really doesn't get much to say in the episode either. When they come up for pay renewal (if they extend beyond 2014) you would have to say that Jim would have a very strong case for more money than the others, Simon is getting more airtime than both Johnny and Kaley at the moment.

It occurred to me while watching the episode that both Leonard and Penny had comparably small roles in the last two episodes. I wonder if the writers are trying to downplay their characters somewhat since IMO in the past the series has been primarily built around their relationship. Perhaps they would like to start easing that to the background in the stories.

I think with nimoy and hawking being on it has to be Sheldon based and amy wasn't on(I didn't even notice) and probably had to cut at least one of the others lines down, as for Leonard and penny I don't know if that's what they doing but it would be a good idea if the episode has nothing to do with them put them in the background instead of trying to make them front and center or unless they realize they're not the cream of the crop they're trying to make them.

---

I have to admit that sheldon in the maid outfit was histerical to me. And, they have put the guys in weird costumes before, so I don't think they were sinking or anything by doing this. And, maybe howard went over the line, and I did feel sorry for sheldon, but goodness, it was funny as ****. And comedy is the main point of the show, so I feel like they hit the mark here.

And as far as the boobs go, maybe Amy will wear something soon that will be sexy and show off her boobs and sheldon will have a hard time not looking. Sorry, I am a fan of the Shamy and I have been thinking about what might happen with them, especially now that the season is coming to an end!

I would throw up if Amy started doing that, plus sheldon's not that kind of guy if he was he'd be starting at penny's the whole time and yes he grabbed penny's(even if he didn't let go until she said something) while trying to help her get dressed after falling in the shower.

Geez, Amy is not that bad! Look at the photo thread when she is dressed up. She is an attractive lady!

She may not be that bad but she's also not that attractive either. If she tries this that's not how to get Sheldon to notice and she'd be trying to be someone or something else.

Perhaps Sheldon is one of those guys whose main interest in a woman is not her looks but how she thinks and acts.

[Jacks]

Perhaps Sheldon is one of those guys whose main interest in a woman is not her looks but how she thinks and acts.

I would like to see this happening, it would be more in line of his character imho. If they changed his known non interest in the "love part of women", it would totally ruin the Sheldon we have come to know in these 5 seasons

[Spaced_up]

This is why I like Sheldon so much. He's with a woman who doesn't make the most of her looks at all. It's refreshing because people so often just go for looks first.

[Sage]

Didn't like this one.

It's a good episode in theory, nice guest appearance, amusing situation with Sheldon and Howard.

but the end product, what the episode actually is: not funny.

The show should stick to the guys getting into socially awkward situations. That was my favourite part of the show.

The humor, I like unexpected humor, like when it surprises you. The humor in this episode is the complete opposite. It's very old fashioned really. ("LOL SHELDON FELL DOWN!")

Doesn't really make much sense either, the gags with Sheldon & Howard. I mean the amusing part of the chores/things Howard makes him do, is supposed to be derived from how Sheldon feels about it IMO.

Without that feeling there is no tension whatsoever and the humor is nonexistant unless you're dumb enough to not care about logically what the characters feelings would be.

For the belt buckles, they said Sheldon had an infinite patience in a recent episode. I'm sure he wouldn't mind polishing thousands of belt buckles in one session.

I think it'd make more sense for him to enjoy it, actually.

And the other part of the gag, that Howard brings out so many. Honestly, who didn't expect that?

"Hey Sheldon, I need you to shine my belt buckles, I have all five of them here."

You'd have to be a half wit to find that bit amusing.

and the other gag, the maid costume. Pretty stupid.

"LOL LOOK! SHELDON IS WEARING WOMENS CLOTHING! HE'S WEARING A SILLY COSTUME! HAHAHAA"

So stupid.

In many other episodes, Sheldon makes a complete fool of himself in public without even being aware of it.

He doesn't seem to understand or care when he's acting strange or unreasonable.

Why would be embarrassed to be seen in that outfit?

There's no tension.

(Edit: Don't you guys think it'd be much funnier if Sheldon actually went to the sex shop to return the outfit instead? Imagine him being perplexed by all the weird things there, then having to try explain why he has the maid costume. Maybe he interacts with another customer there and he acts all scientific while the other person is all weird.)

Thumbs down.

Although I rated this episode as excellent, because it was, I should have rated it just a notch below. I was hoping to see some interaction with Howard and Stephen Hawking. If Hawking doesn't appear in another episode, I'm sure there will be some sort of news reference to him concerning the gears that Howard didn't replace on his wheel chair.

Don't you think it makes more sense that Hawking just had extra, unneeded parts on his wheelchair than Howard didn't know what he was doing? I mean he's an expert.

[Selz]

Hysterical episode. SO much better than last week. I don't do spoilers, so I didn't know what was coming up, and the Sheldon French maid scene had my sides splitting! Also his comment to Howard's mum about turning into a diamond. *dead*

[cbolt]

Well Sheldon could be into a womans' looks and not ruin his character as long as he still cared about the person and who she is, Sheldon notices' if a woman isattractive or not just doesn't act like the guys.

[Br33na]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

[Kyzzx]

"Hey Sheldon, I need you to shine my belt buckles, I have all five of them here."

You'd have to be a half wit to find that bit amusing.

and the other gag, the maid costume. Pretty stupid.

"LOL LOOK! SHELDON IS WEARING WOMENS CLOTHING! HE'S WEARING A SILLY COSTUME! HAHAHAA"

So stupid.

In many other episodes, Sheldon makes a complete fool of himself in public without even being aware of it.

He doesn't seem to understand or care when he's acting strange or unreasonable.

Why would be embarrassed to be seen in that outfit?

I think it all depends on how you look at things.

In regards to the belt buckles, I thought it was funny that someone, especially Howard, was getting Sheldon to do "bitch work" because Sheldon is so above everyone else all the time. We all know he has 398274982347832 belt buckles, and the freaking bin was sitting next to the bed, but I found it amusing that Howard was just telling Sheldon what to do, and was expecting it to be a grueling task.

Then, Howard asked Sheldon if he knew about Hercules' 12 labors and when Sheldon said he did, Howard said, "You should be so lucky." I thought it was funny because his intention was to warn him about all these horrible things he was going to have him do, and then... just belt buckles.

And at least the maid outfit scene wasn't even 30 seconds. Any more than that would have been overkill.

I really felt for him there, because he said, "What are you all staring at? You haven't seen a man trying to get to meet Stephen Hawking before?"

He knows what he was doing, and he just didn't care. I found that really badass.

[Grasshopper]

Didn't like this one.

It's a good episode in theory, nice guest appearance, amusing situation with Sheldon and Howard.

but the end product, what the episode actually is: not funny.

The show should stick to the guys getting into socially awkward situations. That was my favourite part of the show.

The humor, I like unexpected humor, like when it surprises you. The humor in this episode is the complete opposite. It's very old fashioned really. ("LOL SHELDON FELL DOWN!")

Doesn't really make much sense either, the gags with Sheldon & Howard. I mean the amusing part of the chores/things Howard makes him do, is supposed to be derived from how Sheldon feels about it IMO.

Without that feeling there is no tension whatsoever and the humor is nonexistant unless you're dumb enough to not care about logically what the characters feelings would be.

For the belt buckles, they said Sheldon had an infinite patience in a recent episode. I'm sure he wouldn't mind polishing thousands of belt buckles in one session.

I think it'd make more sense for him to enjoy it, actually.

And the other part of the gag, that Howard brings out so many. Honestly, who didn't expect that?

"Hey Sheldon, I need you to shine my belt buckles, I have all five of them here."

You'd have to be a half wit to find that bit amusing.

and the other gag, the maid costume. Pretty stupid.

"LOL LOOK! SHELDON IS WEARING WOMENS CLOTHING! HE'S WEARING A SILLY COSTUME! HAHAHAA"

So stupid.

In many other episodes, Sheldon makes a complete fool of himself in public without even being aware of it.

He doesn't seem to understand or care when he's acting strange or unreasonable.

Why would be embarrassed to be seen in that outfit?

There's no tension.

(Edit: Don't you guys think it'd be much funnier if Sheldon actually went to the sex shop to return the outfit instead? Imagine him being perplexed by all the weird things there, then having to try explain why he has the maid costume. Maybe he interacts with another customer there and he acts all scientific while the other person is all weird.)

Thumbs down.

Although I rated this episode as excellent, because it was, I should have rated it just a notch below. I was hoping to see some interaction with Howard and Stephen Hawking. If Hawking doesn't appear in another episode, I'm sure there will be some sort of news reference to him concerning the gears that Howard didn't replace on his wheel chair.

Don't you think it makes more sense that Hawking just had extra, unneeded parts on his wheelchair than Howard didn't know what he was doing? I mean he's an expert.

Yes. I'm sure there are extra unneeded parts, but I'm basing it primarily on Howard's previous screw ups in the past, such as with the space toilet and the Mars Rover, although the latter turned out for the best.

[Pomita]

Just managed to watch it. I thought it was a fast-paced and hilarious episode. Nothing too deep about it, but Sheldon/Howard interacting was priceless. And oh, that dress. :D

And the royal delight of watching Hawking crack a brief smile at Sheldon's antics! That alone would have made it worth gold.

[Aevitas]

For the belt buckles, they said Sheldon had an infinite patience in a recent episode. I'm sure he wouldn't mind polishing thousands of belt buckles in one session.

I think it'd make more sense for him to enjoy it, actually.

Not necessarily. Sheldon also has a germ phobia, and Howard explicitly mentioning his urine splashback stains tells me he was making Sheldon painfully aware of that fact.

[netmouse]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him,

lmao :D

[BazingaFan]

Just managed to watch it. I thought it was a fast-paced and hilarious episode. Nothing too deep about it, but Sheldon/Howard interacting was priceless. And oh, that dress. :D

And the royal delight of watching Hawking crack a brief smile at Sheldon's antics! That alone would have made it worth gold.

I like your description of "fast paced". I have been thinking of a way to describe this since this episode aired.

To me, it seems like a lot of the episodes recently don't have as much going on in them as the episodes in earlier seasons, mainly because of the pace of them. Maybe it's just me, but it has seemed like the episodes are not as long because everything has been at a slower pace? Does that make sense? The leonard nimoy episode was a good example.

But ... this episode, the pace seemed to me more like the older episodes. Seemed to me like a lot more happened in our 20 something minutes. It was "fast paced" like the earlier seasons. Not sure if what I am saying makes much sense, though.

---

And, it could be that the episode mainly centered on the guys, so they didn't have as many characters to deal with, so they were able to really develop a good story, like the old days?

---

But, contradicting myself, the leonard nimoy episode mainly centered on the guys, but it seemed really slow paced to me. Am I confused now??

---

But, contradicting myself, the leonard nimoy episode mainly centered on the guys, but it seemed really slow paced to me. Am I confused now??

[BigBang]

Just watched it. Very funny!

I loved how Sheldon both got recognition from his idol for his brilliant mind, and also a knockdown for not being as perfect as he thinks he is.

Howard's tormenting Sheldon was rather mean, but well deserved.

Sheldon's "apology" to Howard at the end was hilarious. Truth be told, theoretical physics is light years harder than what Howard does, and Howard knows it quite well. But it's impolite of Sheldon to point it out so frequently.

[cbolt]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

I'm pretty sure it won't fit Bernadette or the actress, the costume people brought either bought one to fit Jim or made it for him.

---

Has anyone noticed that if you watch the episode either when it aired or in syndicated and then watch it on the DVD the DVD is longer and the orginal aired one has missing parts is this intentional or not?

[Br33na]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

I'm pretty sure it won't fit Bernadette or the actress, the costume people brought either bought one to fit Jim or made it for him.

that's my point. it fit Sheldon. whereas it should've been much smaller on him, since it was for Bernadette/a girl. (just a wardrobe mistake, that's all).

[cbolt]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

I'm pretty sure it won't fit Bernadette or the actress, the costume people brought either bought one to fit Jim or made it for him.

that's my point. it fit Sheldon. whereas it should've been much smaller on him, since it was for Bernadette/a girl. (just a wardrobe mistake, that's all).

Except it wasn't a wardrobe mistake they weren't going to make it him wear something that would fit Bernadette when he's a foot taller than her

[Moonbase]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

I'm pretty sure it won't fit Bernadette or the actress, the costume people brought either bought one to fit Jim or made it for him.

that's my point. it fit Sheldon. whereas it should've been much smaller on him, since it was for Bernadette/a girl. (just a wardrobe mistake, that's all).

Shesh, we really don't want to see it smaller ... or do we?

[Br33na]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

I'm pretty sure it won't fit Bernadette or the actress, the costume people brought either bought one to fit Jim or made it for him.

that's my point. it fit Sheldon. whereas it should've been much smaller on him, since it was for Bernadette/a girl. (just a wardrobe mistake, that's all).

Except it wasn't a wardrobe mistake they weren't going to make it him wear something that would fit Bernadette when he's a foot taller than her

you're not understanding my point.

a French maid costume is made for a female.

Howard bought it for tiny Bernadette.

then he asked Sheldon to wear it.

Sheldon fit in it.

whereas in reality, he WOULDN'T have fit in it.

(similar to how Mrs. Wolowitz wasn't fitting into the dresses she was trying on... she was too big for them).

so it was a mistake of the wardrobe team to make a dress that fit Sheldon, when really it should have been too small for him.

[cbolt]

the only thing I didn't like about Sheldon in the maid costume was that it kinda fit him, despite the fact that it was originally for Bernadette, who is clearly tinier than him.

I'm pretty sure it won't fit Bernadette or the actress, the costume people brought either bought one to fit Jim or made it for him.

that's my point. it fit Sheldon. whereas it should've been much smaller on him, since it was for Bernadette/a girl. (just a wardrobe mistake, that's all).

Except it wasn't a wardrobe mistake they weren't going to make it him wear something that would fit Bernadette when he's a foot taller than her

you're not understanding my point.

a French maid costume is made for a female.

Howard bought it for tiny Bernadette.

then he asked Sheldon to wear it.

Sheldon fit in it.

whereas in reality, he WOULDN'T have fit in it.

(similar to how Mrs. Wolowitz wasn't fitting into the dresses she was trying on... she was too big for them).

so it was a mistake of the wardrobe team to make a dress that fit Sheldon, when really it should have been too small for him.

I understood perfectly what I'm saying is it wasn't a mistake they weren't going to put a 6'2" man in a outfit for a 5'1? woman it looked short enough even if it was for penny they still would've done the same thing, maybe you just wanted to see it was it not short enough?

[Br33na]

in actuality, Sheldon wouldn't fit in a dress made for Bernadette.

yet, in the show, he wore it & it fit. that makes it a mistake.

I didn't even like that part, I don't care how short the dress was-

I'm just pointing out the obvious fact that Sheldon wouldn't have fit into it.

[stephanie]

I thought it was a good episode. For once in a long time, I had to laugh out loud a few times.

There were some things that were ridiculous tough (and not in a good way), like the maid's dress.