S8 Discussion Thread

[3ku11]

Are we really going to believe the idea alone ever crossed Penny's mind, to kiss Sheldon ewww lol. I mean I wasen't their clearly. So I don't know how it looked. 4 minutes starting that seems quite excessive, no blinking lol. I know its a sitcom. But Penny and Sheldon have always had this kinda maternal relationship. Penny has never had any intimacy with the guy in any form or capacity. So to do is so left out of field, are they running out of ideas. They have no romantic feelings for each other, yeah tell us something we don't know, neither does she for Raj or Howard. Just Leonard.

[3ku11]

My main issue is not this Sheldon and Penny thing. As much as I hate it. I understand its necessary. Shenny is like a myth. Anyone watched mythbusters? LOL. Its kinda like this in a way. But romantic or not. They shared an intimacy, Lenny has not shared all season. To have Sheldon and Penny walk out, oh its Leonard. Like he is just some disposable character. That's my issue.

[fitzsimmons]

My main issues is that this whole experiment could have been used to reveal Sheldon and Penny's deep feelings about their respective relationships. Penny could have opened up about fears about getting married. Sheldon could have opened up about fears about intimacy or taking the relationship further. They could have helped each other to epiphanies about their respective relationships. But instead it was just a giant nail in the coffin of Shenny. Which I'm fine with, I guess, since the writers doused the coffin in gasoline and set it on fire and jettisoned it to the sun. But I feel like we could have done that while still serving the greater stories of Lenny and Shamy along the way. 

 

Then again, what do I know, I'm just a fool with an atom tattooed on my face.

[3ku11]

TO be fair though ficitional is a big aspect. If the writers wanted Sheldon and Penny to bond romantically. They would of.

[boys3allc]

The only thing I liked was Sheldon saying he proclaimed his love for Amy in the beginning.... Maybe I will like the zombie stuff when it airs if ai am still not too disgusted by the Shenny.

[Mislav]

Howard and Bernadette part was incredibly sweet and funny but sad.

Sheldon/Penny thing was a bit off but it's basically another version of The Anything Can Happen Recurrence.

Raj/Emily/Amy/Leonard part sounds great too, good to see more nerdy things again...

But in all it doesn't sound like really memorable episode.

[stardustmelody]

Honestly, I am not convinced in what you reported that they drove a giant nail in the coffin.  I think there is still plenty of wiggle room for Shenny fans to be frank.  It sounds to me like the producers refuse to completely make it black and white.  They left plenty of innuendo in there that could be construed or even turned around way down they road if they get desperate to bring them back into a possibility.   I am more creeped out after reading the report than I was before to be honest.   

 

I guess I would have preferred to see far more inclusion of their SOs in their conversation.  I agree with Michy that they missed out on a great opportunity to really show that these couples are the right couples and that both Sheldon and Penny's fears transform into epiphanies instead..where both realize how perfectly matched they already are with their SOs.   But instead there was a lot of innuendo that could be left for open interpretation on whether or not Shenny's will be totally discouraged.   Not sure about that.

[nickelette424]

I enjoyed it.  It will be interesting to see it all play out.

[Mislav]

Honestly, I am not convinced in what you reported that they drove a giant nail in the coffin. I think there is still plenty of wiggle room for Shenny fans to be frank. It sounds to me like the producers refuse to completely make it black and white. They left plenty of innuendo in there that could be construed or even turned around way down they road if they get desperate to bring them back into a possibility. I am more creeped out after reading the report than I was before to be honest.

I guess I would have preferred to see far more inclusion of their SOs in their conversation. I agree with Michy that they missed out on a great opportunity to really show that these couples are the right couples and that both Sheldon and Penny's fears transform into epiphanies instead..where both realize how perfectly matched they already are with their SOs. But instead there was a lot of innuendo that could be left for open interpretation on whether or not Shenny's will be totally discouraged. Not sure about that.

I think that Shenny will never become the canon. They just gave a little something to people who enjoy Shenny, friendship or otherwise. Like in Anything Can Happen Recurrence. Edited January 28, 2015 by Mislav

[fitzsimmons]

I don't know, the brother/sister/mother thing pretty much sealed it for me. Plus how very many times they said how ridiculous the whole idea was.

To me, it was the writers acknowledging, and then shooting down, that particular faction of fandom.

[nickelette424]

I think they already know how perfectly matched they are with their SO.  That's the reason why Lenny are already engaged and Shamy have already shared "I Love Yous".  They didn't need this to show them that.

[3ku11]

But is their any evidence to suggest it has ever crossed either of their minds. Are we talking about the same show. With Penny the hot girl next door with the low key crush on Leonard. Which blossomed to love later on. The same Penny who in S5 said "He's so not the guy". This is Sheldon were talking about, they are polar opposites. The show has always gone to great lengths to showing Sheldon was just some crazy guy Penny had to put up with, and vicarousley through Leonard they became Friends. Sure Penny has affection for the guy like she said. But it seems OOC, to even remotely suggest anything more. Considering the lack of real romantic undertone, that she has always had for Leonard. I don't know color me confused.

[hazelra7]

My main issues is that this whole experiment could have been used to reveal Sheldon and Penny's deep feelings about their respective relationships. Penny could have opened up about fears about getting married. Sheldon could have opened up about fears about intimacy or taking the relationship further. They could have helped each other to epiphanies about their respective relationships. But instead it was just a giant nail in the coffin of Shenny. Which I'm fine with, I guess, since the writers doused the coffin in gasoline and set it on fire and jettisoned it to the sun. But I feel like we could have done that while still serving the greater stories of Lenny and Shamy along the way. 

 

Then again, what do I know, I'm just a fool with an atom tattooed on my face.

First off thank you Michy for the report, which is probably the hardest you had to write.

 

Next, I was okay about the report when I left chat. I figured, okay.  They put Shenny to bed.  Then I read this:As Sheldon and Penny cross the hallway to her apartment, Sheldon has one question to ask her first. "If we do fall in love, will you drive me to GaryCon?" It's the only chance he'll have to celebrate Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons and Dragons. Penny is so unbelievably sure that that they won't fall in love that she agrees to not only drive him there but also buy him all the dragon shirts he wants. She heads into the apartment, and Sheldon combs an awkward hand over his hair and says, "Let's do this, babe."

 

I am "SIck" Over this scene alone.  I mean that literally.  My heart is achy and I dont understand it.  I mean, to write the flirt like this, when they know the results,, the writers are pandering to Shenny types or people who tune in just to see the good looking cast members make googly eyes.  "LEt's do this babe? Are you fricken serious?  

 

How could he possible ask, if this works?  Does he think his love for Amy is so disposable that he could fall for Penny, of all people, in 4 minutes.  

 

This negates all the growth of Shamy this season.  This negates the ILY, the Christmas ep.  This throws it all under the bus for a few non existent laughs. 

 

I need someone to talk me off the cliff here, because I am one episode away from being done.  I mean really done.  

[stardustmelody]

Michy, were there any BTS moments you can give us?

[MJistheBOMB]

If it was the writers intentions to sort of, once and for all, let people (Shenny's) know that Shenny will never be, then that was definitely proven in this episode. At the same time though, there's a contradiction that occurred from the start. You have Sheldon calling Penny, "Babe" as they walk into her apartment to begin the experiment. I don't think it was to be taken seriously but still...You have Sheldon who requests from Penny in the beginning that if they DO fall in love, can she take him to that convention thing that I can't think of the name of at the moment. After they both decide they're not in love, he asks her to take him to the convention. Say, what?? LOL. Then, after it's over, there's this end-of-date-night mockery happening where Penny walks Sheldon over to his apartment and he points to his door and says, "Well, this is me." 

 

So, yes, they established what we already knew, that they're like brother and sister but again, with the other little details I mentioned that try to make them behave like a couple, it's like, huh?? LOL.

 

I've always loved Sheldon and Penny together (not romantically) because they just make me laugh but I do hope that some day, he'll be brave enough to go to Amy about things that maybe he normally wouldn't. She, as his girlfriend, deserves the opportunity to listen and respond to his feelings about different things too.

 

I was definitely hoping that this scenario would end with both Sheldon and Penny going back to the S.O.'s and telling them just how much they appreciate them or whatever it is they may need to say to them afterwards. That would have made their experiment more worth while IMO. 

 

I liked that Leonard and Amy were also going to do the experiment but it was a total buzz kill when after only a few seconds into it, they get up and don't take it seriously. 

 

The zombie escape attraction thing that Leonard, Amy, Emily & Raj did...that plot was okay I guess. More time could have been spent on something more important than watching the four of them solve the puzzle in no time flat and walk out, LOL.

 

The Howardette scenes were great Glad Howard got some closure after his mom's ashes were found and Bernie was there to support him. 

 

Over all, the episode was....interesting....that's the word I have for now. LOL. I definitely laughed a lot but was also definitely left with questions.

 

 

Behind the scenes:

 

*Kunal dancing as usual and at one point helps the MC, Mark, get the audience pumped up by saying, "Come on!" so that everyone could make some noise.

*Kaley and Jim break character while staring into each others eyes by laughing.

 

If I can think of anything else, I'll add it later because I'm falling asleep. LOL.

Edited January 28, 2015 by MJistheBOMB

[tbhf]

Honestly, I am not convinced in what you reported that they drove a giant nail in the coffin. I think there is still plenty of wiggle room for Shenny fans to be frank. It sounds to me like the producers refuse to completely make it black and white. They left plenty of innuendo in there that could be construed or even turned around way down they road if they get desperate to bring them back into a possibility. I am more creeped out after reading the report than I was before to be honest.

I guess I would have preferred to see far more inclusion of their SOs in their conversation. I agree with Michy that they missed out on a great opportunity to really show that these couples are the right couples and that both Sheldon and Penny's fears transform into epiphanies instead..where both realize how perfectly matched they already are with their SOs. But instead there was a lot of innuendo that could be left for open interpretation on whether or not Shenny's will be totally discouraged. Not sure about that.

When you have a ship, no matter how, you can always manage to twist their interaction into some sort of love thing

Luckly I have found very few shenny shippers to do that - I thought of so many situations where "aw crap the shennys are gonna use this against us" but nup nada, either they don't think of the twist or they never talk about it

But either way, I have never seen a non canon ship been taken down from sailing so hard than TBBT takes down the idea of shenny

[stardustmelody]

First off thank you Michy for the report, which is probably the hardest you had to write.

 

Next, I was okay about the report when I left chat. I figured, okay.  They put Shenny to bed.  Then I read this:As Sheldon and Penny cross the hallway to her apartment, Sheldon has one question to ask her first. "If we do fall in love, will you drive me to GaryCon?" It's the only chance he'll have to celebrate Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons and Dragons. Penny is so unbelievably sure that that they won't fall in love that she agrees to not only drive him there but also buy him all the dragon shirts he wants. She heads into the apartment, and Sheldon combs an awkward hand over his hair and says, "Let's do this, babe."

 

I am "SIck" Over this scene alone.  I mean that literally.  My heart is achy and I dont understand it.  I mean, to write the flirt like this, when they know the results,, the writers are pandering to Shenny types or people who tune in just to see the good looking cast members make googly eyes.  "LEt's do this babe? Are you fricken serious?  

 

How could he possible ask, if this works?  Does he think his love for Amy is so disposable that he could fall for Penny, of all people, in 4 minutes.  

 

This negates all the growth of Shamy this season.  This negates the ILY, the Christmas ep.  This throws it all under the bus for a few non existent laughs. 

 

I need someone to talk me off the cliff here, because I am one episode away from being done.  I mean really done.  

 

 

Yes. I didn't like the dialog at all...it is far too flirtatious and willing to be open to falling in love with her...even leaving some question as to where it all came from.   He came across far too willing..like he was very open to it and as if Amy was completely disposable.   I really hated that as well.

 

But there are other parts that were disturbing throughout it as well.   

 

To be honest, if they were not going to use the Q&A to learn more about how they can handle their current relationships and have epiphanies about them...I would have preferred they come to a conclusion really fast that it was a fruitless effort and that there was no attraction and no way they could feel that kind of love for each other and perhaps the lead into a good discussion about fears, frustrations, etc.    I think it was handled, as stated above, to feed the Shennies fantasy...but it left just enough possibility out there...there is still a bit of "are they sure they feel that way" that was left there.   That is what I was saying above.   I am not as sure it was a big nail in the coffin as perhaps it was purposed to be.   Sure the words were there to say they felt like siblings, etc. but there was enough innuendo in there to leave question as well.   Creepy.

 

I don't know if I say it completely invalidates everything, but I am very disappointed in the way it was written and how it could have shown far more support to those they claim to love than they showed.

[Jiab]

Thank you Michy for the report!

The line "It's the future, she's long dead." is pretty hurtful, I hope they won't use it. 

[stardustmelody]

Thank you Michy and Monique for your comments.   Monique...you expressed it really well on what I was thinking...very contradictory there.   I also didn't like the "she's long dead" line either.   Harsh and mean sounding and totally shows little attachment to her.   I hate that.

[hazelra7]

We are all just sitting around saying it's good for our Ships, Lenny and SHamy, because they killed the Shenny.  It's not!  That they killed Shenny is one thing, but they way did it, kills the other ships as well.  We can sugar coat this as much as we want, but bottom line, this took away from Shamy.  

 

SHeldon open to love a person?  Just like that?  Flirting?  He never flirts with the woman is supposedly in love with.  NEVER.  WE milk every long look for a an ounce of affection but at the end of the day, he flirted more in one scene with penny than he did with Amy in 4 seasons.  This is a nail in the coffin of Shamy as well.  Dont even get me started on Lenny.  Where is Alex for Leonard when you need her.

 

I am beyond upset, and overreacting, but if I was AMy, and heard this?  There wouldn't be enough harp music to help me recover.  

 

Excuse me while I watch Puppies playing for a while.  

[3ku11]

But you know. I don't like the fact that Penny is being intimate with any guy that's not Leonard. I know that sounds silly lol. But its almost like oh Leonards my perfect match. Its all wrong. She should be having these special moments with Leonard. Its acting like oh yeah they are like bro and sis. But they still have this special bond. When they don't. I just think it is really narrow minded and short sighted. Not once in the show have these two characters even remotely looked at each other in this way. OR had any form of intimacy. But this ep is dedicated to it. And I get it shows how secure the couples are. But its the lack of parity here. They have to realize together, they love their SO's. I mean its just really creepy and contrived IMO.  

[Mislav]

I didn't really like Sheldon/Penny part either, but everyone stay calm. Why would the writers have Lenny proposal late in season seven and Shamy ILY in the mid season eight only to suddenly switch at Shenny?

And if you are still unsure, take a deep breath and imagine, as terrifying as it sounds, how would Shenny relationship look like. It would never work on the show, and If they would make it work, it would go completely against the characters.

Shenny will never happen.

This is just another version of "Anything Can Happen Recurrence".

[hazelra7]

I didn't really like Sheldon/Penny part either, but everyone stay calm. Why would the writers have Lenny proposal late in season seven and Shamy ILY in the mid season eight only to suddenly switch at Shenny?

And if you are still unsure, take a deep breath and imagine, as terrifying as it sounds, how would Shenny relationship look like. It would never work on the show, and If they would make it work, it would go completely against the characters.

Shenny will never happen.

This is just another version of "Anything Can Happen Recurrence".

I think they killed SHenny.  YES.  But Shamy was collateral damage.  And they stepped on Lenny to do it.  It shows Sheldon doesnt really love Amy. If he could entertain the idea of being inlove with Penny, even for a moment.  Shamy is a lie and the writers are laughing at us.   Im just heart sick. 

[3ku11]

I mean did Sheldon and Penny just meet. Did they just meet in a bar? Lol I mean really. This is not a normal social setting. They have been neighbours for 8 years. It just seems very contrived and odd. I mean its almost like a blind date with her brother. I mean yes it is like Anything Can Happen Reocurrence. But I don't know the whole thing feels OOC, and messy. And then them walking out, like they are heads and shoulders above everyone else. Amy feels small, Leonard feels small. Feels like The Shenny Show. They should of just gone to their partners and told them how they felt. OR do it but have LEonard and Amy watch lol. Anyway. I am not bothered by this expereiment thing, we all know they are bro and sis almost, this is just reiteration. Just the writers for what ever reason, proving that scientifically Shenny is IMPOSSIBLE. Biologically, Chromologically e.t.c. He is NOT her type, LEONARD is. I mean she dates gym guys, rich guys, and people think Sheldon other then Leonard is an option? I think Shenny would of never have become such a massive, polarizing issue for fans. IF those early scenes like Bath Item, Ahesive Duck. Never gave the impression to casual fans theirs a possibly, despite having nothing in common. PRoblem is the show has gone to greath lengths proving how different they are. Prooving Penny went to great lengths to avoid Sheldon lol. And went to great lengths to be with Leonard. Right now it feels like the opposite. And right now it just feels like the writers have taken the fans for a ride and crashed right into a tree, dramatic yes, and I don't think the Shenny plot is  big deal at all, but its what it represents. Does it discourage Shennies? Heck no.

Edited January 28, 2015 by 3ku11

[nickelette424]

I think they killed SHenny.  YES.  But Shamy was collateral damage.  And they stepped on Lenny to do it.  It shows Sheldon doesnt really love Amy. If he could entertain the idea of being inlove with Penny, even for a moment.  Shamy is a lie and the writers are laughing at us.   Im just heart sick. 

 Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and all, but I don't think we are watching the same show.  All I have seen from this season is how head over heels Sheldon is for Amy and vice versa.  This episode doesn't change that and as a matter of fact proves to me how confident they actually are in their relationship.  Hell, in the cold open he talks about proclaiming his love for her.  I think all the stuff with Sheldon and Penny was just them playing up to the part for the experiment and really nothing to do with how they feel or don't feel about Amy and Leonard.