[Spoilers] Discussion Topic: Season 9

[djsurrey]

13 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

Raj is a Cambridge man. That place has been a hotbed of espionage in the past and may well still be so. I bet MI5,MI6 and the CIA like to keep an eye on certain scientists. For all we know he's under surveillance anyway.

He says he doesn't like India where it's crowded and smelly, with food he doesn't like, but why is he really living in a poky little apartment with only a thrice-weekly cleaning lady when he could have a huge place with servants ? After all, the sky is still the sky. If they're suspicious one could see why.  Hmmmmm.

Perhaps that explains Emily and Claire.   CIA and NSA keeping an eye on him. 

[meka3000]

2 hours ago, wowbagger said:

This is the same crew that thinks that a baby- a baby- is less disruptive to the show's dynamics than having Lenny move into 4B.

Given that the baby is coming from the couple that is third in the pecking order, I can see their side.  The baby could start off being as active a presence as Howard's mom and doesn't get much beyond that, who knows.  The Leonard/Sheldon odd couple dynamic has been a prime foundation of this show from day one. Howard/bernies lives, for better or worse have not.  Not that I necessarily disagree with you on the show being able to survive that transition.  But I can understand tptb keeping a form of that dynamic in universe/out of universe.

[Lady in Red]

3 minutes ago, meka3000 said:

Given that the baby is coming from the couple that is third in the pecking order, I can see their side.  The baby could start off being as active a presence as Howard's mom and doesn't get much beyond that, who knows.  The Leonard/Sheldon odd couple dynamic has been a prime foundation of this show from day one. Howard/bernies lives, for better or worse have not.  Not that I necessarily disagree with you on the show being able to survive that transition.  But I can understand tptb keeping a form of that dynamic in universe/out of universe.

I'm wondering if the baby will be nothing more than a blanket in their arms with the occasional cry.  Jim Parsons has said that he doesn't want to work with an actual baby.  It really isn't necessary to have a child there, at least for Season 10.

[Carlos]

18 hours ago, Shelldon said:

A healthy relationship does not require them to be around each other all the time. If Amy is so disastrously bored by Sheldon's hobbies, she can go off and do her own thing like an independent female.

The more freedom they give each other, the less miserable they'll turn out.

I understand and share your point of view. I don't think you understood what I was trying to say. Of course they can each do their own thing. What I meant is if they decide to go out together ,then they should both decide were to go. However while is perfectly OK to give your SO all the freedom in the world wouldn't you want her/him to spend some of that freedom being with you?

[wowbagger]

11 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

You can't even buy a home for yourself in India if you're not Indian. So, the rental market produces a good return in certain cities. Any of Raj's investments that were in  that sort of real estate would have to go if he gave up his Indian nationality. I'm told by Indian friends it's also more complicated to travel to India when you become a foreigner. People with family there hold on to their Indian nationality even if they've lived in UK for 50 years so they can go and see to problems with parents very quickly in an emergency without having to faff about with visas and stuff.

Not strictly true. Raj would qualify as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), and can own residential and commercial property, excluding, as I say, agricultural land.

Now, it's entirely possible that the situation is in practice less straightforward, but Raj is a wealthy chap with wealthy Indian national parents- living in Delhi, where there's plenty of 'jugaad' and wheeling-dealing to work around bureaucracy. 

http://www.vfsglobal.com/India/UK/OCI.html

As to foreign nationals owning property in India- again, it's complex, but foreign nationals resident in India can own property. It's a pfaff and massively bureaucratic and you would do well to hire independent local counsel, but the facility does exist:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-buy-property-in-india

 

Edited April 27, 2016 by wowbagger

[Carlos]

14 hours ago, Kennykoala said:

really? My friends and I believe that this series has been the best in years! 

Did you start watching a short time ago?

[Kev0821]

14 hours ago, nickelette424 said:

This is what I was thinking.  It seemed to me that they picked Mary and Alfred up from the airport, everyone came together at the apartment and then they headed to dinner.  I don't think the ceremony took place yet.

Yes, this was my conclusion, as well, after reading the taping report. It would almost make sense that the "re-do" would occur exactly one year after the wedding. Plus, it would only make sense for the situations in the season 9 finale to play out during the actual ceremony. I'm hoping that with Penny mentioning her brother, the producers are buying time to cast some members of her family. As Kaley has said on numerous occasions, Lisa Kudrow would be a perfect choice. I always kind of saw her playing a "cougar"-type. Remember when Sheldon implied Penny's mother was fat, when Penny ate the last dumpling at dinner? Maybe Penny's mother could show up, having lost a bunch of weight, exerting a newfound confidence and hitting on Raj! Even if Penny's parents don't appear, I think they could always write a "home-for-the-holidays" Christmas episode to introduce her clan. But, I digress... I'm happy to see that I wasn't the only one thinking the ceremony is yet to come.

[MTBigBangTheoryFan]

9.23 sounds like it going to be a God episode. Look forward to that. 

9.24 the Season finale does not bother me that much to be honest. I like that it was more of a  normal episode.  there no drama involve with any of the characters. It a nice break from  the last 2 seasons.  Maybe there will be a secret scene with Lenny Wedding. 

 

The way things really slowed down towards the end of this seasons It does seem to suggest there will be a 11th season. 

 

[Chrismo]

Kind of funny this whole conversation about Raj. If there was no Raj there would be no Shamy.

[joyceraye]

10 hours ago, FileXxX said:

And that would affect Leonard and Sheldon how exactly? Wow, they're stepbrothers on paper, how exciting.

Penny and Amy would be (step ) sisters-in-law  if/when Shamy married and Amy  would love that.

There would be family events both couples would be involved in. Beverly and Mary already don't get on so I can't see it making much change on the Shamy - Beverly friendship front. Sheldon has been in correspondence with Beverly for years quite outside his roomie relationship with Howard. Occasions when meeting Beverly clashed with a Malfred event could make for good old-fashioned sitcom ( but with a Sheldonic twist ) with Sheldon or Shamy somehow trying to fit in both.

There could be many laughs in meetings between Leonard's siblings and Sheldon.

[delsino]

4 hours ago, mirs1 said:

In chat I got the impression that was just a welcome dinner for the parents (Leonard's dad and Sheldon's mom arrived that same day) and the redo was scheduled sometime in the following days. Whether it happens on-screen in 10.01 or there is a time jump and it happens  off-screen it's a whole other story, but in 9.24 it didn't take place yet.

The dinner was not a welcome for the parents it was definitely for Penny and Leonard. 

5 hours ago, Lady in Red said:

Good Grief!  As a government employee Howard should know that is not how the Air Force works.  They would never call you up to give you money, and they would never follow you in a car.  If you would like to read up on all of the steps involved, I have added a link.  As you can see, you would never get money directly.  Others would have a chance to bid as well.  These are our tax dollars, after all.  Our government has rules to protect them.

http://www.acqnotes.com/acqnote/tasks/request-for-proposalproposal-development

But, since this is a sit-com, we will give them some artistic license.

 

Update - I spoke to an engineer who works on government projects, and he gave a possible reason for government agents to be following Howard.  And, this is something that the science advisers may not know.  Precision Guidance technology is considered to be export controlled by our government.  The technology itself is controlled, and it doesn't depend on who develops it or who is paying for it.  If the government thinks there might be a violation of export controls, they would do an investigation, and therefore might be following the car.

In this case, we definitely have a violation of export controls.  The definition of "export" includes showing the device to a foreign national.  Therefore, the presence of Raj in the lab is enough to constitute export of protected technology, and our boys are in trouble.  Just sayin'....

Howard was basing his paranoia off of movies he watched like ET and Jurrasic World. Bernie said you know they are not documentaries but Howard said that's all he knows. Raj starts laughing and Howard says do you think it's funny, raj replies no but Jurrassic World was so terrible it was funny. 

Raj later looks up the department that sent the email which was the Dept of Acquisitions and said they probably just want to give you money and then Howard thinks maybe it's another country pretending to be the USA

12 hours ago, Jonny83 said:

A question for those that went to the taping, what was the relationship like between Leonard and his dad? Frosty? Good? Something in between?

We didn't know much at all just that he was away a lot when Leonard was growing up prior to this episode.

Very good! When they were walking up the stairs Alfred asked Leonard he is happy he found someone so nice and loving and then stopped and said "how did you do that"

When Penny saw Alfred she ran over and gave a hug and said it was nice to see him again

 

[Chrismo]

13 minutes ago, delsino said:

The dinner was not a welcome for the parents it was definitely for Penny and Leonard. 

 

Which would indicate a ceremony already took place.  I'm guessing the time frame is hard to figure out while you are at the taping.

[stardustmelody]

21 minutes ago, delsino said:

The dinner was not a welcome for the parents it was definitely for Penny and Leonard. 

Howard was basing his paranoia off of movies he watched like ET and Jurrasic World. Bernie said you know they are not documentaries but Howard said that's all he knows. Raj starts laughing and Howard says do you think it's funny, raj replies no but Jurrassic World was so terrible it was funny. 

Raj later looks up the department that sent the email which was the Dept of Acquisitions and said they probably just want to give you money and then Howard thinks maybe it's another country pretending to be the USA

Thanks for the clarifications!  So it definitely sounds like the dinner was not a welcome dinner for the parents, but a celebration for Leonard and Penny, yes?   

Love Howard and Raj gaining their paranoia from the movies.  

[delsino]

1 minute ago, stardustmelody said:

Thanks for the clarifications!  So it definitely sounds like the dinner was not a welcome dinner for the parents, but a celebration for Leonard and Penny, yes?   

Love Howard and Raj gaining their paranoia from the movies.  

Yes they did toasts and all. I don't remember much, just Penny saying she was glad she finally said yes after all of Leonard's proposals and then Bevs toast was what made Alfred get mad and leave early

[Jonny]

40 minutes ago, Chrismo said:

Kind of funny this whole conversation about Raj. If there was no Raj there would be no Shamy.

True.

Raj can be hilarious and does have some good qualities, but his womanizing and failure to realize the damage he is going to eventually cause to other people isn't one of them.

Howard has always had a bit of a paranoia streak in him. Perhaps he has always feared some kind of government retribution lol, for crashing the Mars Rover or the times when he has 'borrowed' some government property like the camera he used to see what Sheldon was doing in that room at the university.

[stardustmelody]

11 minutes ago, delsino said:

Yes they did toasts and all. I don't remember much, just Penny saying she was glad she finally said yes after all of Leonard's proposals and then Bevs toast was what made Alfred get mad and leave early

The snark between Alfred and Bev sounds hilarious.   Can't wait to see it.  I really hope they bring them back in town sometime next seasons at the same time again.   Mary too....it would be hilarious to see them all interact again.  

[SRAM]

14 minutes ago, stardustmelody said:

The snark between Alfred and Bev sounds hilarious.   Can't wait to see it.  I really hope they bring them back in town sometime next seasons at the same time again.   Mary too....it would be hilarious to see them all interact again.  

I think I'm becoming a Mary/Alfred shipper, I hope their interaction is as good as it sounds.  I still think it would be funny if they really hit it off and got married, then Sheldon and Leonard can get post cards from Mary as she travels around the world with Alfred.

[djsurrey]

49 minutes ago, delsino said:

13 hours ago, Jonny83 said:

A question for those that went to the taping, what was the relationship like between Leonard and his dad? Frosty? Good? Something in between?

We didn't know much at all just that he was away a lot when Leonard was growing up prior to this episode.

Very good! When they were walking up the stairs Alfred asked Leonard he is happy he found someone so nice and loving and then stopped and said "how did you do that"

When Penny saw Alfred she ran over and gave a hug and said it was nice to see him again

Alfred's relationship with Leonard was something I was wondering about too.

Also, this comment should make the episode for some Lenny's! A little snarkiness now and then does not preclude being in love.

 

30 minutes ago, stardustmelody said:

I really hope they bring them back in town sometime next seasons at the same time again.   Mary too....it would be hilarious to see them all interact again.  

A yearly clash of parents episode. Something to look forward to.

[djsurrey]

21 minutes ago, SRAM said:

I think I'm becoming a Mary/Alfred shipper, I hope their interaction is as good as it sounds.  I still think it would be funny if they really hit it off and got married, then Sheldon and Leonard can get post cards from Mary as she travels around the world with Alfred.

How is Mary going to react to his profession?

Then the song pops into my head...

 

[Lady in Red]

1 hour ago, delsino said:

Howard was basing his paranoia off of movies he watched like ET and Jurrasic World. Bernie said you know they are not documentaries but Howard said that's all he knows. Raj starts laughing and Howard says do you think it's funny, raj replies no but Jurrassic World was so terrible it was funny. 

Raj later looks up the department that sent the email which was the Dept of Acquisitions and said they probably just want to give you money and then Howard thinks maybe it's another country pretending to be the USA

 

Thank you for the clarification.  Raj checking the department that sent the e-mail brings to mind all of the Email Phishing training that I'm having to take at my day job.  They teach you how to identify fake e-mails, and the Department of Acquisitions certainly sounds bogus to me.

[vonmar]

The Sneak Peeks for The Fermentation Bifurcation are up on TBBT You Tube Channel

 

 

 

[Lady in Red]

Zack, "You sure you guys are smart?"  LOL.  Sounds to me like Zack has a point.

[delsino]

29 minutes ago, djsurrey said:

How is Mary going to react to his profession?

Then the song pops into my head...

 

There is some discussion about his profession in the drive to the restaurant. Mary makes comments about the bible and the great flood and Alfred laughs, Sheldon says she is not joking and Alfred talks about some studies of ancient cultures that believe in a flood. The are kind of starting to flirt here

[djsurrey]

58 minutes ago, delsino said:

There is some discussion about his profession in the drive to the restaurant. Mary makes comments about the bible and the great flood and Alfred laughs, Sheldon says she is not joking and Alfred talks about some studies of ancient cultures that believe in a flood. The are kind of starting to flirt here

Sounds like a lot of fun. How did Sheldon react?

Well, sea levels have risen in a series of pulses since the last glacial maximum and 12,000 years ago the persian gulf was a river valley. see https://stmichaeltraveler.com/2013/07/03/persian-gulf-the-garden-of-eden-and-the-noahs-flood/

 

 

Also see link about sealevel rise: http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/gornitz_10/

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by djsurrey

[Jedichic98]

LOL Sheldon's line about Amy being "groped in public by another man" I just got this image in my head of Sheldon looking from the train with his patented "She is not for you!" face. Jelly Shelly is the best! 

Also side note: some have complained that Amy can't do anything without Sheldon...well she got a massage knowing full well she was going to get hell about it. She didn't worry about Sheldon's approval. You go girl!