Episodes 823 The Maternal Combustion (April 30)

[Kasey]

I gave this an excellent because I thought it was great all the way around.  Can't beat having both Christine and Laurie in an episode.  Such genius acting on both their parts.

 

I actually didn't care that Leonard seemed to get beat down by Sheldon and his mother since it's par for the course.  The fact that Penny was supportive actually made it better.  Also I will take "sweet and simple" over "brilliant" any day of the week....

 

It's a hard knock life for us - yep perfect for most men to sing when having to do housework.

[djsurrey]

I liked this episode a lot but the writers once again threw consistency out the window. Did anyone notice when Beverly asked Mary when she FIRST realized that Sheldon had such a remarkable mind? Her answer?

Something he build in the tool shed.....when he was 13!!

What about the fact that he went to college AT THE AGE OF 11!!!!!!

Hell, my husband even caught that and he's only a "casual" viewer!!

 

Consistency? that horse left the barn a long time ago.

 

In this case I think Mary was simply giving the most colorful story and not the best answer to Beverly's question. Some people like to tell colorful stories. On the other hand some don't,

• Beverly deadpans, “Oh, yes, he broke the vacuum cleaner."

 

If you want to talk about inconstancy how about Raj who stayed with Howard and Bernadette before and was such a gracious guest he was making Howard look bad. Stewart was doing jobs a year ago that were repugnant to Bernadette.

Edited May 1, 2015 by djsurrey

[Sara Smile]

I liked Leonard and Sheldon's mothers. They are both great actresses. But I didn't like the Bernie,Howard,Stuart,Raj story at all. There is so much more those characters could be doing than the typical tv dumb male act of playing video games while sitting in a messy house,to be scolded at by a wife. And I'm sorry, but the 3 singing at the end was not funny at all to me. It was pathetic,poor writing.

Does anyone know how long an episode is? Because it seems like there are more commercials than show.

[meka3000]

Why would anyone lie to their fiance about the ring? and buy a box to cover it up???so cheap.... dump him penny.....he is a liar and cheater

 

Yeah nobody on the planet EVER tries to look big in front of their significant other, EVER. 

 

Also I interpreted Sheldon's line as him GUESSING that he got a box from Tiffany's, not that he knew that with ABSOLUTE certainty.

 

why would leonard buy it with Sheldon is in the first place??? so stupid....

 

Your assuming he did it with him when Sheldon didn't just happen to look over his head and notice Leonard buying it online.

 

 

even at the end of the episode leonard is not given his moment after all the putdowns...should have clearly told beverly to get the hell out....

 

Yeah I'm sure Mary Cooper AND his future wife Penny would've supported him doing that after that talk they had about forgiveness earlier. 

 

Again you mistake Leonard's kindness for weakness.

Edited May 1, 2015 by meka3000

[luke]

Can't believe it took 8 seasons for Leonard and Sheldon's mothers to finally meet, but it was well worth the wait and as funny as I was expecting it to be    , I also liked the subplot with Howard, Raj and Stuart cleaning the kitchen, the tag scene with them singing 'It's a Hard Knock Life' was priceless - and I do miss the days of sweet 'what's cool is being nice' Bernadette - she does act a little to much like Miss. Hannigan at times now - this was one of my favorite episodes of the season

[mjc45]

great episode

 

agree with luke why did it take 8 years for the mothers

to meet. would have loved for howard to walk in and

tell beverly bernie is his wife.

 

it did not look like penny was happy at first, but came around

good for her, after alll leonard is still paying off his loans for

all the school he had

[Martin Pollard]

agree with luke why did it take 8 years for the mothers

to meet. would have loved for howard to walk in and

tell beverly bernie is his wife.

 

She probably would have accused Bernadette of being Howard's "beard."

[Dannii]

The interactions between the mothers were pure comedic gold! I laughed so hard!

[Martin Pollard]

The interactions between the mothers were pure comedic gold! I laughed so hard!

 

I was most amused by the looks on Penny's face as they argued. Kaley has one of the most expressive comedy faces I've seen in a long time.

[vasu]

Yeah nobody on the planet EVER tries to look big in front of their significant other, EVER. 

 

Also I interpreted Sheldon's line as him GUESSING that he got a box from Tiffany's, not that he knew that with ABSOLUTE certainty.

 

why lie....

 

For me it was pretty clear that what Sheldon said was the truth...he had no other reason.......

otherwise Leonard would have been like WTF after sheldon tells whatever he told.....but he was embarrsed and tried to cover the lies he told.......it was glaringly obvious for me....

 

you can interpret it as you like ..... there is nothing I can do

 

Your assuming he did it with him when Sheldon didn't just happen to look over his head and notice Leonard buying it online.

 

Well I remember Sheldon saying "We" found something online.........

 

again  you can interpret it as you like ..... there is nothing I can do

 

Yeah I'm sure Mary Cooper AND his future wife Penny would've supported him doing that after that talk they had about forgiveness earlier. 

 

Again you mistake Leonard's kindness for weakness.

 

Mary and Penny simply did not endure what Leonard had endured during his childhood.....

 

so what they think of Leonard is immaterial...... Leonard should've clearly said...there is no need for his mother's love now.....especially since she did not show any love while he was growing up...which arguably is the most important time for a mother to show children love........

 

[Nogravitasatall]

Yeah... what to say to writers "constant" writing this season...and aside the fact that Sheldon was remarkable way earlier I also can't understand how Sheldon couldn't know buying uranium this way is illegal. He was already at the university. He won outstanding award at fourteen (sorry can't remember the name) in physics. But in thirteen he had no idea you can't illegally build nuclear reactor? Isn't this kind of knowledge like physics 101?

This may have been based on a 17 year old Boy Scout who tried to build his own reactor in 1994. He acquired a lot of radionuclides There is a Wikipedia article, easy to find (home made reactor) and I guess true. He would have known better too. But kids try stuff.

[vasu]

By the way , I should add that the actress playing Beverly was awesome as ever....superb acting....

but the actress playing Mary cooper seemed like she was jaded or something.......

 

Bev looks like the same like she did in season 2 while mary cooper seemed to have put on a lot of years........

[meka3000]

 

why lie....

 

Leonard's mother was there as well.

 

For me it was pretty clear that what Sheldon said was the truth...he had no other reason.......

 

Your assuming Sheldon knew EVERY DETAIL about where Leonard got the ring from.  You have NOTHING to back up your assumption.  For all you know Sheldon only knows bits and pieces, and then he ASSUMED he knows the whole story.

 

Mary and Penny simply did not endure what Leonard had endured during his childhood.....

 

so what they think of Leonard is immaterial......

 

Yeah I'm sure they BOTH would've thought highly of Leonard doing that. 

[jenafan]

Eight years for the mothers to meet seems reasonable, given the unlikelihood for events such as their sons getting an award together creating a scenario for them to be in the same room.

I am, however, baffled by the notion that Bev has a strained relationship with Leonard but has met Penny (3) times, and one of those times was spent hanging out with her.

Mary is much closer to Sheldon and has been in more episodes than Bev, but only been in a room with Amy once. You'd think Amy would at least be brought up in conversation between Sheldon and his Mom at least once since evolving from "a friend who is a girl" to his girlfriend.

I know the writer's are limited on what they can fit into 20 min, but given Amy's significance, you'd think she could at least be mentioned when mother and son are together.

[gwhh]

The mothers fighting remind me of this video:

[bigbangsheldon]

Honestly the episode gets an excellent from me just for Beverely and Mary's mere presence. They could be sitting in silence blowing wool across the table for 20 minutes and I'd probably love it. Haaa. 

 

Always love the bluntness of both Mothers though. So funny.  "And I'll pray for you." 

[phantagrae]

Eight years for the mothers to meet seems reasonable, given the unlikelihood for events such as their sons getting an award together creating a scenario for them to be in the same room.

I am, however, baffled by the notion that Bev has a strained relationship with Leonard but has met Penny (3) times, and one of those times was spent hanging out with her.

Mary is much closer to Sheldon and has been in more episodes than Bev, but only been in a room with Amy once. You'd think Amy would at least be brought up in conversation between Sheldon and his Mom at least once since evolving from "a friend who is a girl" to his girlfriend.

I know the writer's are limited on what they can fit into 20 min, but given Amy's significance, you'd think she could at least be mentioned when mother and son are together.

 

Beverly's strained relationship with Leonard has nothing to do with Penny, and in fact her relationship with Penny is kind of awkward, too.  They did bond a bit that night they got drunk, but it was something separate from Leonard, and even with Penny, Beverly resisits the hugging thing.

They made it clear (and they have in the past) that what Beverly values is achievment and that's what she uses to measure her reciprocated maternal response.

I think that she loves her children on a sort of basic level, but whether or not she feels any pride in them has to do with their accomplishments.

If Leonard is a genius, his siblings are also remarkable, with fancy, successful careers that Beverly finds impressive.  If Leonard had accomplished something that Beverly were to find impressive, he would have received more attention and even some kind of affecton from her.

But she's very hard to please.

 

But she has no expectations from Penny.  She knows Penny is no academic, so she doesn't expect great accomplishments from her, therefore, no disappointments, either.

 

As for Mary and Amy, I do think it's a shame we haven't seen them together since Sheldon and Amy became bf/gf, but apparently Sheldon keeps his mother informed about what's going on in Pasadena, so I'm assuming she knows they're a couple (and Amy did call Meemaw to get the Christmas cookie recipe.)

 

But there were practical reasons why there was only the one scene with Amy.  This was taped around the time she was going through the loss of her father (and Passover before that) so I think the writers gave her light duty.  She's contracted to be in every episode, but by giving her just the one scene, she doesn't have to be there all week or whatever.

[vasu]

Leonard's mother was there as well.

 

Your assuming Sheldon knew EVERY DETAIL about where Leonard got the ring from.  You have NOTHING to back up your assumption.  For all you know Sheldon only knows bits and pieces, and then he ASSUMED he knows the whole story.

 

Yeah I'm sure they BOTH would've thought highly of Leonard doing that. 

 

For me it was pretty clear and I also thought it was pretty simple to deduce that.....Sheldon was telling the truth, Leonard lied to Penny.....

if you want evidence....then I guess you should go ahead and watch the episode again ..... :dontknow: ......I have no idea.....

 

What's not like with Leonard telling his mother off.....he finally grows some balls and tells her what she did till now was horrible and how bad an effect it had on him as a child....... I think Penny would have been proud......no idea about Mary....but I don't think that matters at all....

[phantagrae]

For me it was pretty clear and I also thought it was pretty simple to deduce that.....Sheldon was telling the truth, Leonard lied to Penny.....

if you want evidence....then I guess you should go ahead and watch the episode again ..... :dontknow: ......I have no idea.....

 

What's not like with Leonard telling his mother off.....he finally grows some balls and tells her what she did till now was horrible and how bad an effect it had on him as a child....... I think Penny would have been proud......no idea about Mary....but I don't think that matters at all....

 

I agree that SHeldon was telling the truth.  What I don't get is when Leonard would have given Penny a box for the ring, since he pulled it out of his wallet to propose.  It wasn't like when Howard proposed, offering Bernie her ring in its box.

I think that was just a throw-away to underscore the joke about the industrial diamond.

 

And Leonard won't tell his mother off--whatever their relationship, he loves his mother.  There's no value in alienating her completely.  He doesn't want to sever his relationship with her or destroy it.  He just want her to love him and be proud of him.

Mother/son relationships are very primal.

[vasu]

I agree that SHeldon was telling the truth.  What I don't get is when Leonard would have given Penny a box for the ring, since he pulled it out of his wallet to propose.  It wasn't like when Howard proposed, offering Bernie her ring in its box.

I think that was just a throw-away to underscore the joke about the industrial diamond.

From what happened I think it is clear that Leonard gave her the box(which he bought from Tiffany's) some time later....to make sure that Penny thought the ring was from Tiffany's.

As simple as that......

Throw away....I have no idea what that is....and I don't even want to know.....it seems like a word which is thrown around here...but never by the people on the show....

And Leonard won't tell his mother off--whatever their relationship, he loves his mother. 

There's no value in alienating her completely.  He doesn't want to sever his relationship with her or destroy it.  He just want her to love him and be proud of him.

Mother/son relationships are very primal.

I hardly think Leonard loves his mother...

There is no value in keeping her. There is no relationship in the first place.....

Mother son relationships may be primal....but not this one....as that was the reason for Leoanrd being so insecure his whole life.....

It's time for Leonard to move on......which can be started by simply telling her off.....

[phantagrae]

From what happened I think it is clear that Leonard gave her the box(which he bought from Tiffany's) some time later....to make sure that Penny thought the ring was from Tiffany's.

As simple as that......

Throw away....I have no idea what that is....and I don't even want to know.....it seems like a word which is thrown around here...but never by the people on the show....

I hardly think Leonard loves his mother...

There is no value in keeping her. There is no relationship in the first place.....

Mother son relationships may be primal....but not this one....as that was the reason for Leoanrd being so insecure his whole life.....

It's time for Leonard to move on......which can be started by simply telling her off.....

 

Throw-away lines are those that are used primarily to generate a laugh but are not intended to be brought up in the future or dwelt upon as having any real significance, like Sheldon's line some time ago about having a Mexican peso up his nose since he was a child.  That's obviously impractical and silly and in the real world would have been remedied by his mother (and I don't think a peso would even fit in anyone's nose), but it makes a great punchline.  Similarly, Amy's line about Faisal who funded her lab and is technically her fiance.  Bill Prady has made it pretty clear that that one-time mention is never going to be brought up again.  It's a throw-away line added to underscore the punchline.

 

I know that the implication is that Leonard must have given Penny a Tiffany's box at some point.  I'm just saying that it doesn't make much sense and is probably a throw-away line that won't surface again. I would bet that the whole industrial diamond gag doesn't have any real significance in the big picture.  Penny obviously was able to kind of joke about it and didn't run off in a wounded snit about it.

 

As for Leonard and his mother, maybe you would be able to cut your mother off in that manner, but most people would not, even when they have fractious relationships with them.  Leonard has always wanted to please his mother and as Amy has said, the infant/mother pair bond is basic.

Though she may not be the kind of mother he wants to have had growing up and still isn't the kind of mother he idealized, still, she is his mother and they have a basic love for each other.  They simply have completely different emotional languages.

That doesn't mean he should cut her out of his life.  He doesn't hate her and obviously has no desire to destroy his relationship with her.

 

You may not like her, but Leonard loves her.  And since that's the way the character is written, that's the way he will respond to her.

[meka3000]

And Leonard won't tell his mother off--whatever their relationship, he loves his mother.  There's no value in alienating her completely.  He doesn't want to sever his relationship with her or destroy it.  He just want her to love him and be proud of him.

Mother/son relationships are very primal.

 

Not to mention that any negative actions Leonard possibly takes towards his mother COULD have NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES towards his relationships with his brother and sister.

[gsxdoug]

From what happened I think it is clear that Leonard gave her the box(which he bought from Tiffany's) some time later....to make sure that Penny thought the ring was from Tiffany's.

As simple as that.....

So you say. Can you actually prove it, or is it just your interpretation?

[vonmar]

Finally got to watch it again, one of my favorites of the season.  The two mom's together was brilliant, loved Kaley when she was alone in the middle of the argument.

 

I thought the conversation between Beverly and Sheldon in the coffee shop was very telling.  In my opinion, while Sheldon admires Beverly, he appreciates and loves his mother.  He knows that she loves him unconditionally and did everything in her power to make sure that he had every opportunity to expand his mind.   Leonard did not have that as a child and still doesn't, and even as self-centered Sheldon is he is aware of the difference in the mothering styles.  I thought that both Johnny and Jim did a great job this week playing the children to both these so very different mothers.  

 

The B Plot didn't do much for me.

 

Can't wait for, but at the same time am sorry to see the finale next week, hate for another season to end.  It makes me sad to think about how few seasons we have left.

[Chiany]

Best episode ever, so move over Scavenger!

 

I just hope Mayim (and therefor Amy) will have been able to work a bit more in the final episode, three episodes without Amy actively participating during the episode sucks (although it's completely understandable after Mayim's loss of her father).