Episodes 6.13 The Bakersfield Expedition (Jan. 10)

[C-Trayne]

Idk about that Vasu... I feel like this is precisely the arguments comic book goers get into... especially the newer adventurers. And it certainly inspired the girls to delve deeper into its world and finding about about other characters like the red hulk that they didn't read about in the first three they read

[eirwinrommel]

Watching this episode I see the scene in the diner where Sheldon decides to go home instead of to the con as his 'come to Jesus' moment. Like Leonard and the time machine (season 1 ep. 14) Sheldon realizes it may be time to let it go. 

[BazingaFan]

Mayim just posted on facebook that the last episode was audio-corrected.  Anyone know what this means?

[tmp]

Mayim just posted on facebook that the last episode was audio-corrected.  Anyone know what this means?

 

Someone said she was sick the week it taped.  Maybe they overdubbed her voice?  Just guessing.

 

And BazingaFan, just guessing, but methinks you liked this episode.  (Based on your avatar, lol.)

[eirwinrommel]

It probably means they altered the pitch of her voice to erase the change caused by her illness (like if she had a cold).

[phantagrae]

Watching this episode I see the scene in the diner where Sheldon decides to go home instead of to the con as his 'come to Jesus' moment. Like Leonard and the time machine (season 1 ep. 14) Sheldon realizes it may be time to let it go. 

But in the end Leonard realized that he didn't really need to let it go because Penny reassured him that his "nerdy interests" are part of what make him who he is, and that she likes him anyway.

In the same way, though Sheldon does have this bottoming-out moment at the diner, he is able to fall right back into the fantasy when he hears the girls getting into the comic book discussion.

It's all about having a safe place of security to be who you really are, and in the end, they found that they still had that safe place.

[BangerMain]

But in the end Leonard realized that he didn't really need to let it go because Penny reassured him that his "nerdy interests" are part of what make him who he is, and that she likes him anyway.

In the same way, though Sheldon does have this bottoming-out moment at the diner, he is able to fall right back into the fantasy when he hears the girls getting into the comic book discussion.

It's all about having a safe place of security to be who you really are, and in the end, they found that they still had that safe place.

 

I think that safe place of security was meant to reassure the fans of TBBT  too. All the fears about the relationships maturing the guys out of their geekiness were brilliantly addressed in this episode. It was the relationships with the girls that got them out of their embarrassment about their hobbies and entertainment.

Edited January 14, 2013 by BangerMain

[koops]

I think that safe place of security was meant to reassure the fans of TBBT  too. All the fears about the relationships maturing the guys out of their geekiness were brilliantly addressed in this episode. It was the relationships with the girls that got them out of their embarrassment about their hobbies and entertainment.

 

Also, besides providing them with a safe place, the fact that the girls got into it instead of taking it out of them. I am hopeful that with Molaro in charge, seeing that he wants to play with arcs during the season, this comic book thing will come up again in future episodes.

[BangerMain]

Also, besides providing them with a safe place, the fact that the girls got into it instead of taking it out of them. I am hopeful that with Molaro in charge, seeing that he wants to play with arcs during the season, this comic book thing will come up again in future episodes.

 

Exactly. When they came home from the disastrous road trip dejected about feeling childish about their hobby, it was listening to their women arguing about the comic books that made them energized again. They were no longer ashamed because the most powerful force in their lives, their significant others, had tacitly gotten caught by their hobby's passion. It was safe to be themselves once more after being ridiculed by the outside world.

[Pomita]

Exactly. When they came home from the disastrous road trip dejected about feeling childish about their hobby, it was listening to their women arguing about the comic books that made them energized again. They were no longer ashamed because the most powerful force in their lives, their significant others, had tacitly gotten caught by their hobby's passion. It was safe to be themselves once more after being ridiculed by the outside world.

 

This is exactly what I took from the episode too, and what made it so beautiful and satisfying. I'm not sure why some people seem to be overlooking the positivity of the ending, and just focusing on the guys' dispirited mood in the diner. The girls' storyline was what it was for a reason, and they merged together amazingly at the end.

[Jimbo]

Still think Penny is pretty?

Damn right! Just not so much in that shot.

[Jimbo]

Loved the episode too. My only complaint is when they were ready to go in L/S apartment Leonard made the comment about just stunning the girls because he will never get another girlfriend as pretty as Penny. Isn't there relationship past that point?

I noticed that too. Some people carry on about how shallow Penny is and how much Leonard loves her but he still makes these comments where he seems to be mainly interested in her for her looks. She doesn't seem to be much more than a trophy girl friend to him sometimes.

 

Other than that it was a funny line though.

[Pomita]

I noticed that too. Some people carry on about how shallow Penny is and how much Leonard loves her but he still makes these comments where he seems to be mainly interested in her for her looks. She doesn't seem to be much more than a trophy girl friend to him sometimes.

 

I think the line was said purely in fun, in the spirit of the moment. They weren't really planning to vaporize Penny or any of them. It's not supposed to indicate that he thinks of her as a trophy girlfriend, and indeed their relationship is way past that.

[C-Trayne]

Yea just an example of the foolishness of the writers I think... I really cant stand when they do shit like this...

So often they throw in lines for characters that they would never say, wouldn't mean, or know they are wrong just for laughs and I feel it kind of ruins part of the magic when we continuously see these lines...

Its the same thing when they don't follow up with important scenes and moments from past episodes or when they do things that are contradictory to past episodes...

I think they need to work on that a little bit personally

[Lissie]

Yea just an example of the foolishness of the writers I think... I really cant stand when they do shit like this...

So often they throw in lines for characters that they would never say, wouldn't mean, or know they are wrong just for laughs and I feel it kind of ruins part of the magic when we continuously see these lines...

Its the same thing when they don't follow up with important scenes and moments from past episodes or when they do things that are contradictory to past episodes...

I think they need to work on that a little bit personally

 

Agree.

[phantagrae]

Yea just an example of the foolishness of the writers I think... I really cant stand when they do shit like this...

So often they throw in lines for characters that they would never say, wouldn't mean, or know they are wrong just for laughs and I feel it kind of ruins part of the magic when we continuously see these lines...

Its the same thing when they don't follow up with important scenes and moments from past episodes or when they do things that are contradictory to past episodes...

I think they need to work on that a little bit personally

 

I think that most people will recognize that Leonard is just joking around about the whole "vaporizing Penny" and therefore the "I'll never find another girlfriend as pretty as she is" line is also a joke.

From their interactions at the beginning, the very easy-going banter and his easily spoken (and easily received) ILY, there's no doubt that their relationship is in a good place and on more solid footing than him just thinking she's a pretty girl.  He has a lot of sacrifice and soul-baring involved in the relationship and she has finally been able to open up to him more about her own insecurities and all that.  I think they've both proved in their conversations that they love each other for deeper reasons.

 

So, because of that security, he's able to make jokes such as this.  It is funny because it's him saying it about himself, implying that he's lucky to have such a girlfriend, which really is true, if you think about it.

I don't htink it ruins anything or is out of character or wrong.  It's just a funny comment he made--because he obviously knew there weren't going to be any real consequences of them "using" their phasers.  Setting them on stun was just as silly as drawing them in the first place, since it's all just pretend.

 

I also don't think that every "important" scene demands an immediate follow-up.  Like Penny's unconscious ILY, it wasn't followed up upon immediately, but it has been followed up upon more and more with each episode as they have become more and more secure with each other.  I don't think that any show--and especially as sitcom like this with a larger cast--needs to be constantly pounding on an issue.  There are all kinds of ways to follow up on such things and subtlety is often better than "holding up a sign" about something.

 

I do think that the lack of continuity or contradictory for-the-sake-of-laughs thing can be a little bit of a pain, but I think it's also as aspect of the type of sitcom the show has been.  It seems like they're getting over that to some degree, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that the show isn't some codified, "Lost"-like, serious show.  I think they have felt comfortable using outrageous throw-away jokes because the show is somewhat a "theater of the absurd" kind of thing.

 

But I feel like they're getting the important stuff right.

[C-Trayne]

Forgive me i think i came off a little harsher than planned with my earlier post, I was still half asleep while i was writing it lol.  What I meant is that they continuously use lines like this one or Penny's line about "leonard really trying in bed," when we have heard nothing but praise about his skills in the sack.  I just don't like when they use lines like this that are contradictory to things the characters have either done, shown us, or said in past episodes.

 

Your also right about the important scenes needing or not needing following up, its just I feel that each episode is pretty much a separate story from every other episode either before or after it.  So few make me actually feel like I'm watching one continuous show... of course it is a sit com which is not usually known for such things so i can't really complain, it just would be nice once and while to bring past details into account or bring them up with the characters.

[eirwinrommel]

Yeah I agree, bringing up changes like that are annoying... So if anyone from the writing staff is reading this please STOP!!! I can see where if something you bring up will be a major change for the character ie Sheldon loosing up after the werewolf transformation. If he did that he'd just be a nutbag, not a Anal nutbag and that would be a major change for him. On the other hand the girls getting into comic books wouldn't be. Also imagine the reaction when one of them makes a better point than one of the guys during an argument.

[Europa]

Forgive me i think i came off a little harsher than planned with my earlier post, I was still half asleep while i was writing it lol.  What I meant is that they continuously use lines like this one or Penny's line about "leonard really trying in bed," when we have heard nothing but praise about his skills in the sack.  I just don't like when they use lines like this that are contradictory to things the characters have either done, shown us, or said in past episodes.

 

I think the writers will go for the laugh every time. We aren't meant to always read anything into a comment, like Leonard's "I'll never get a girlfriend as pretty again" for instance, as anything other than a throwaway joke. It doesn't mean he only likes her for her looks. It was just supposed to make us chuckle. 

Edited January 15, 2013 by Europa

[tmp]

So often they throw in lines for characters that they would never say, wouldn't mean, or know they are wrong just for laughs and I feel it kind of ruins part of the magic when we continuously see these lines...

 

 

 The one that really stands out to me from this season was in The Extract Obliteration.  Sheldon told Leonard that it had been Amy's idea to play the word "extract" which had made Hawking stop playing their game, and then Sheldon said "I really need to cut her loose."  That was harsh and not consistent with his character.

[BangerMain]

Yea just an example of the foolishness of the writers I think... I really cant stand when they do shit like this...

So often they throw in lines for characters that they would never say, wouldn't mean, or know they are wrong just for laughs and I feel it kind of ruins part of the magic when we continuously see these lines...

Its the same thing when they don't follow up with important scenes and moments from past episodes or when they do things that are contradictory to past episodes...

I think they need to work on that a little bit personally

 

I just read an online article that criticized TBBT and this episode in particular about the show's awful continuity break downs. A big deal was made in the promos about the girls going into the comic book store ("Where no woman has gone before!") when we know that all the ladies have been there multiple times. This season's Halloween episodes had them all there for a party, for goodness sake. Penny has even gone there on her own to buy Sheldon and Leonard the Star Trek transporter toy. But this was setup for the gag about the comic book denizens staring at the girls as if they had just arrived via spaceship from Venus.

 

The article used "How I Met Your Mother" as an example of good continuity management. This is a show that I stopped watching about three years ago but I do remember they were pretty good at that.

Edited January 15, 2013 by BangerMain

[tmp]

I think the gag about the girls at the comic book store could be construed as not that they had never been there before but that girls had so rarely been there before.  Regardless of whatever continuity errors there may have been, this is still one of my favorite episodes of the entire series.

[koops]

I think the thing with the comic book store is that they were more implying that they'd never go there alone of their own volition (i.e. they would have never been interested in comic books before), it's jut the way they decided to write that scene that made it feel a bit awkward in terms of continuity. But yes, sometimes they could be paying more attention to their own continuity. I really didn't like how they wrote Amy in TSS. 

[Aster7]

Hey guys, I agree that sometimes they could be more careful, like when they had the game night and made Amy not understand Sheldon's clues, but I think these episodes are few and far  between. I actually think both How I Met Your Mother and TBBT are great when it comes to continuity and consistence, and sometimes people just overreact or over analyze. For examples, lines like "I will have to cut her loose" or "I will never find another girlfriend so pretty" are just jokes, that they can make because they are very comfortable with the other person and with their relationship. You never tease your close friends and your significant other? It's just teasing, kidding, nothing serious!!  Life needs laughs!!

 

Wanna talk about continuity? You should try and watch Glee. Oh gosh, it seems like 90% of its characters suffer of multiply personality disorder and/or schizophrenia. Despite its good moments, I had to stop watch it!! So, let's be happy with the perfect characterization TBBT has given us!! )

[Tensor]

 

The article used "How I Met Your Mother" as an example of good continuity management . This is a show that I stopped watching about three years ago but I do remember they were pretty good at that.

I don't think HIMYM is a fair comparison, for any sitcom. After all, the whole premise is looking back from the future at the already completed story. It's basically one long flash back, with smaller flashbacks. All other sitcom generally are creating the story as they go along. And, in the case of TBBT, some of the early to mid first season isn't really a good continuity comparison as the characters were developing. That said, the ducky tie, in HIMYM, was a brilliant execution of continuity.