912 'The Sales Call Sublimation' (January 7)

[brilliantfool]

I loved the episode!

First of all, Shamy cuteness is just i can't. I think it's my favorite happy Amy moment, because to me she's never looked so happy and in love, not even in 9x11. And Sheldon was adorable too. But Amy has just melted my heart. I think Mayim is SO brilliant for showcasing so many subtle changes in their relationship just through her eyes, her smile and her tone...

Also i am so happy for FINALLY some Raj plot! even though it could be longer. But I missed Raj having many scenes so much, but esp. i love him with Sheldon, so it was so good to see them together. Only i wish it was longer. I wouldn't mind less Howardette and more Koothrasheldon : )

I and i was so , so , so happy to FINALLY see a normal psychiatrist on this show!! I know it's a comedy, and a cynical one at times, but the way psychiatrists have been portrayed on the show, through Leonard's mom, just drove me mad! Leonard's not my favorite character at all (basically mainly because he's letting people treat him like crap, which is again a result of his stupid upbringing!) so i normally don't care for him, but i was soo happy for him in this episode to finally receive some normal support! i think aside from Shamy stuff that's my favorite moment of season 9.
I mean, i just always hated how the show portraits it often as if it's Leonard's fault. That no one, not even Penny, ever stepped up for him and mentioned how much of a bitch his mom is. It was just always baffling to me. I mean, i think at least Howard, who's mom adored him, or Raj, who's parents spoil him, could have addressed it at least once! Just show some sympathy or something.

And i think it was cool to see Penny's perspective about her job , considering she's had it for 1,5 year now. They've been so focused on how she's making more money now that they've never shown that side - that she's actually doing the job she doesn't really love. I mean obviously waitressing wasn't her dream job either, but i think it was simpler, and she also had her dream of becoming an actress then. Now she has a job that's great money, but not something she really cares about, and i also can imagine sales being pretty stressful.. That actually made me kinda sad : ( Idk maybe that's just me, i think pharmaceuticals is pretty boring... Then again when Bernadette talks about her job, it never makes me sad, she obviously loves it... Anyway that just kinda made me wish that Penny found a different job, something that she'd really love

And to me Leonard jumping the rope wasn't creepy at all! But maybe that's because i'm 26 and spend a disturbing amount of time on swing sets in summer months.. But still : ) I thought it was cute, and good for him for making up for some lost moments from his childhood!

[joyceraye]

8 hours ago, brilliantfool said:

And to me Leonard jumping the rope wasn't creepy at all! But maybe that's because i'm 26 and spend a disturbing amount of time on swing sets in summer months.. But still : ) I thought it was cute, and good for him for making up for some lost moments from his childhood!

I'm supposing it was after school on his annual day for lecturing the girls - I didn't see any boys hanging around - about not letting themselves  be pigeon-holed and that they could be successful scientists if they wanted, and what he was telling them as he skipped was spot on. No wonder they were chanting his name. And he felt so light-hearted he didn't trip over the rope. Nothing creepy.

Edited January 12, 2016 by joyceraye

[djsurrey]

14 hours ago, joyceraye said:

I'm supposing it was after school on his annual day for lecturing the girls - I didn't see any boys hanging around - about not letting themselves  be pigeon-holed and that they could be successful scientists if they wanted, and what he was telling them as he skipped was spot on. No wonder they were chanting his name. And he felt so light-hearted he didn't trip over the rope. Nothing creepy.

He has an annual day for lecturing girls? Are you just making this up?

[joyceraye]

7 minutes ago, djsurrey said:

He has an annual day for lecturing girls? Are you just making this up?

When they were asked to be on the committee to do it, it struck me as a long term commitment. These sorts of talks are usually regular, at least once a year.  A one off wouldn't be a lot of use. I can't think who else the girls would be. Not sure how Sheldon's otherwise inspired idea on the first occasion of patching the two eminent women scientists through really went down, considering they were both at Disneyland dressed as fairytale princesses.

[brilliantfool]

15 hours ago, joyceraye said:

I'm supposing it was after school on his annual day for lecturing the girls - I didn't see any boys hanging around - about not letting themselves  be pigeon-holed and that they could be successful scientists if they wanted, and what he was telling them as he skipped was spot on. No wonder they were chanting his name. And he felt so light-hearted he didn't trip over the rope. Nothing creepy.

tbh even if it's some random girls it wouldn't look creepy to me! I mean, if it was someone like Howard, it totally would. He might have changed since he's met Bernie, but i still remember him being creepy so yep i just wouldn't find it sweet or cute to see him around teenage girls. But Leonard, he's just always looked so innocent and shy (to me), that i just don't see anything weird in him spending time with children/teenagers, just letting his inner child out.

But in any case, i find it implausible for Leonard to just find some random girls on the street and join them cause
1) he's not really good at making new friends
2) he 's very aware /respectful of social conventions and he himself would probably find it creepy to just join some random girls

So i'm sure these were some undergrads, or maybe like you suggested the girls he's lectured! i can totally see that being not a 1 time thing but an annual commitment like you suggested!

[djsurrey]

2 hours ago, brilliantfool said:

tbh even if it's some random girls it wouldn't look creepy to me! I mean, if it was someone like Howard, it totally would. He might have changed since he's met Bernie, but i still remember him being creepy so yep i just wouldn't find it sweet or cute to see him around teenage girls. But Leonard, he's just always looked so innocent and shy (to me), that i just don't see anything weird in him spending time with children/teenagers, just letting his inner child out.

But in any case, i find it implausible for Leonard to just find some random girls on the street and join them cause
1) he's not really good at making new friends
2) he 's very aware /respectful of social conventions and he himself would probably find it creepy to just join some random girls

So i'm sure these were some undergrads, or maybe like you suggested the girls he's lectured! i can totally see that being not a 1 time thing but an annual commitment like you suggested!

Undergrads would not have skipping ropes. More likely a middle school and he wants to get them considering a science path.Like in 6.18.

[brilliantfool]

11 minutes ago, djsurrey said:

Undergrads would not have skipping ropes. More likely a middle school and he wants to get them considering a science path.Like in 6.18.

that's true, i haven't thought about it!

[JohnPhD]

On 08/01/2016 at 4:06 AM, Itwasdestined said:

On the other hand, Penny really opened up on the couch. It was quite confronting if you are in the "can't Lenny just be happy now that they are married" camp. It was quite telling how she went from being quite defensively reluctant to talk to really throwing her worries out in the open. 

 In a way I'm hoping the writers do give these Penny concerns the same depth. There might be some pain for Lenny ( the couple and the shippers, not that I see a breakup a la Shamy) but maybe Penny does need to face her issues to find true happiness in the arms of Leonard.

I'll actually be upset if this is swept under the carpet rather than explored. We had Penny still dwelling on Leonard loving her for her appearance rather than who she is ( the tank tops  and her reference to herself as S 1-3 Penny - the hot, girl next door, even though that was her reference to her acting ). We had Penny pining for her younger days when she had fun. It was an idealised version of events of course. A lot of her acting experiences were far from enjoyable but I like that the writers throw that in again for those of us still wishing for her to return to acting. I think she feels she has lost her identity. Dreams are part of your identity and acting was her dream, not selling drugs. It may even be a reference to 'does money buy happiness?" She has money now but is it worth it doing a job she doesn't love. She wants to be carefree, fly by the seat of my pants, sports loving Penny again, not boring, save, sales rep,sit had home with the hubby and their kid (Sheldon). What is Penny's identity now? What does she get out of life now? 

This is where the Lenny story has to come in now. Leonard has to be part of this discussion. Maybe they finally have some real open and honest discussion about their marriage. Season 8 gave us very little. Season 9 gave us an accidental wedding mixed in with a contrived quasi betrayal that was swept under the rug by a 90 second discussion on Penny's couch. We need Lenny to have the same time Sheldon and Shamy got to work this through. When's the last time Leonard did something Penny was interested in? To be honest, has Leonard really done anything Penny is interested in WITHOUT whining about it? Other than going out for dinner and movies, what do they do that excites her? Does this need to be addressed?

Leonard's life hasn't changed. He still follows his science dream, his nerd lifestyle with his friends AND gets Penny as well. What does Penny have? Her dream is gone. Her friends she does stuff she likes doing with seem to be gone. Yes she has Amy and Bernie but other than sipping wine, talking about their men and going out to sip more wine what do they actually do together that is fun for Penny ( other than Vegas and both of those trips didn't really go as planned). 

 We can't end with Penny pining for the simple life of the past and Leonard playing skippy with girls and then sweep it under the carpet and return to the Adventures of Sheldon Cooper and His Friends. This better continue in the upcoming episodes. And I hope they can find comedy in it. While I want the dram I still want to laugh.

 

I've tried to express some of this myself once or twice, like I want to see Leonard make a bit of damn effort with Penny for once, but this puts it more clearly and explicitly. Excellent point that Penny has no satisfactory women friends. Actually the only female character I ever thought could have been a good grown-up friend for Penny from the point of view of character and personality was Priya, and that was obviously impossible.

I wonder how deeply the writers think about the characters. When Beverly H. first appeared, Penny thought she'd had a happy childhood, but Beverly had her in tears about it in the time it took them to walk up the stairs. But she never mentioned it again. Does this illustrate that Penny is more stoical and self-controlled than Leonard, or is it just something for that episode only, of no further plot use?

When I saw Leonard skipping with the schoolgirls I assumed it couldn't really be happening; surely it was just symbolic?

Loved the way Penny breathed "I don't want to": another aspect of KC's perfect acting.

[Jonny]

Thought it was a solid episode with some good moments:

- Sheldon and Amy both looking pretty happy during their Skype interactions. Looked like Amy was blushing at times she was that happy, couple of good lines there. I think some expected this to be an episode where the impact of Sheldon and Amy's night of passion would have been the focus but actually I think it made sense not to focus on it. Sheldon for one I don't think would have partaken in a discussion with the rest of his social group about what went on and how he enjoyed it. Amy might have been probed by Penny and Bernadette for info but I think it was such a big night for them that she would have expected some kind of privacy. Besides I think more details could potentially come out in future conversations. Say the girls have a Girl's night out or something.

- Sheldon and Raj doing something together, don't see that much these days.

- Sheldon's synesthesia. Don't recall that ever coming up before, a rare talent that would give him a big advantage in his field.

- A strong episode for the Leonard and Penny characters. Some unfairly seem to think it's just the Sheldon Cooper show these days but this episode can't be called that.

- Stuart has that creepy vibe but it really stepped it up a notch. Speaking of creepy it was kind of good to see the old Howard a bit, that harkens back the old days has shown how much he has changed since getting involved with Bernadette.

If the finale is heading for a big Lenny storyline then this episode has contributed to setting that up. Penny in particular sounded like she was pining for her old life a bit. Saw signs of the living arrangement issue bubbling under the surface again, I'm convinced that this will be the season finale plot though I could be wrong.

Solid episode overall that had its moments.

[Stephen Hawking]

1 hour ago, Jonny83 said:

Amy might have been probed by Penny and Bernadette

So that's three people, who have "probed" her recently.  

I'll get my coat.  

[JohnPhD]

So now the season's over with no explicit resolution the issues Penny mentioned to Dr Gallow. Apparently she and Leonard never discussed their respective consultations. I can't tell if the writers have a plan or just throw things in as they occur to them.

[Tensor]

2 hours ago, JohnPhD said:

...f the writers have a plan or just throw things in as they occur to them.

Yes.

[djsurrey]

2 hours ago, JohnPhD said:

So now the season's over with no explicit resolution the issues Penny mentioned to Dr Gallow. Apparently she and Leonard never discussed their respective consultations. I can't tell if the writers have a plan or just throw things in as they occur to them.

What makes you think they might have a plan? I think they chit chat about nerdy stuff and toss it in if they can make it funny. Seems to me they like to wing it just like Penny does. After watching for 9 years I really think the relationship part of the show is like life (just a mostly happy accident).

[Tensor]

They got Jane Kaczmarek, for one episode, there isn't too much of a chance that the will resolve it. 

[JohnPhD]

I thought Penny was a  bit underpowered on Dr G's couch, so that's my excuse for not noticing a nice little in-joke: when Penny describes her actress persona as "girl next door, but hot", that's literally what the "Penny" role was at the beginning of S1.

[3ku11]

On 7/30/2016 at 9:44 PM, JohnPhD said:

I thought Penny was a  bit underpowered on Dr G's couch, so that's my excuse for not noticing a nice little in-joke: when Penny describes her actress persona as "girl next door, but hot", that's literally what the "Penny" role was at the beginning of S1.

She also said but doable. And that the tank tops were a big selling point haha. I did enjoy the thearpy sess. Healthy too see Penny vent. She does have alot on her plate. Thought the whole she is turning into Bev was stupid and absurd, but this show is sometimes 

[Stephen Hawking]

Has anyone else stayed at a Best Western?

What did you think of it?

[joyceraye]

1 hour ago, Stephen Hawking said:

Has anyone else stayed at a Best Western?

What did you think of it?

I haven't, but some friends of mine from the USA, tbbt fans, stayed at one a few miles away last weekend. They were hot at night and could hardly sleep. I think some newer places such as Premier Inn motels may have air-conditioning nowadays since when/if we get hot weather it's more humid than it used to be.

[Stephen Hawking]

What's a Chipotle?

[hokie3457]

chi·pot·le

CHiˈpōtlā/

noun

noun: chipotle; plural noun: chipotles

1. a smoked hot chili pepper used especially in Mexican cooking.

[TLW]

On 3/26/2016 at 1:39 PM, Jonny said:

If the finale is heading for a big Lenny storyline then this episode has contributed to setting that up. Penny in particular sounded like she was pining for her old life a bit. Saw signs of the living arrangement issue bubbling under the surface again, I'm convinced that this will be the season finale plot though I could be wrong.

Penny has herself to blame  about the living arrangements. Leonard was ready to move across the hall. She's the one who decided that they would take it slow for Sheldon's sake.

[Mario D.]

16 minutes ago, TLW said:

Penny has herself to blame  about the living arrangements. Leonard was ready to move across the hall. She's the one who decided that they would take it slow for Sheldon's sake.

This is so true  I  never understood why the writers had to wait almost a year and a half for Penny and Leonard to live by themselves as a married couple. And for Sheldon to behave like a petulant child when they told him they wanted to live together without him was such a selfish act by a best friend, colleague and roommate. He just did not grasp the concept that his friendship with Leonard was secondary to Leonard and Penny marriage.

[chucky]

21 minutes ago, Mario D. said:

This is so true  I  never understood why the writers had to wait almost a year and a half for Penny and Leonard to live by themselves as a married couple. And for Sheldon to behave like a petulant child when they told him they wanted to live together without him was such a selfish act by a best friend, colleague and roommate. He just did not grasp the concept that his friendship with Leonard was secondary to Leonard and Penny marriage.

When you're right,  you're right. Sheldon's problem was he thought he was above everyone else and he was allowed to get by with it. It was funny at the beginning, but once the relationships started it ceased being funny to me. That's why some of my favorite episodes are the ones where he hurts himself or looked like a fool. I'm talking about the Bill Gates episode and the episode where he's jealous of Burt for winning the Mcarthur Gtant award. Those are two of my favorite non-Lenny episodes. 😂

Edited August 16, 2022 by chucky

[NeckShotLime]

Remember in season 10 when she blamed Leonard for making her live with Sheldon lol and i was like " hang on , that's not what happened at all, you're the one who caved when the big baby gave you his sad sack routine". 

The whole situation felt so forced anyway. We've seen Leonard eat crunchy spaghetti , ramen noodles at Penny's , he even cooked for her , he had dinner at Raj's place , he wasn't stuggling with the food schedule then and suddenly he can't pick what to have for dinner?? 

I remember thinking when watching the episode that maybe we'll get some comedy with the three of them living together, well i didn't laugh much. Who laughed at the scene when Penny was in the shower with Sheldon standing there  and she had to yell Leonard's name to get the weirdo out of here ?? 

even more infuriating for me is that it took only one season for the Shamy to live together and to get engaged when they dragged everything for Lenny ugh 

[chucky]

2 minutes ago, NeckShotLime said:

Remember in season 10 when she blamed Leonard for making her live with Sheldon lol and i was like " hang on , that's not what happened at all, you're the one who caved when the big baby gave you his sad sack routine". 

The whole situation felt so forced anyway. We've seen Leonard eat crunchy spaghetti , ramen noodles at Penny's , he even cooked for her , he had dinner at Raj's place , he wasn't stuggling with the food schedule then and suddenly he can't pick what to have for dinner?? 

I remember thinking when watching the episode that maybe we'll get some comedy with the three of them living together, well i didn't laugh much. Who laughed at the scene when Penny was in the shower with Sheldon standing there  and she had to yell Leonard's name to get the weirdo out of here ?? 

even more infuriating for me is that it took only one season for the Shamy to live together and to get engaged when they dragged everything for Lenny ugh 

You do ask some interesting questions.  I don't want to start my "I hate the writers " rant  again. The writers wrote nicely for Shamy.  For Lenny,  not so much. Even after they were married,  they had more arguments than the other two couples combined. Penny's snarky comments towards Leonard and her always taking Sheldon's side in the arguments between "Her Husband" and his supposedly best friend. I don't get it either. It sure wasn't comedy to me.