episodes 919 'The Solder Excursion Diversion' (March 31)

[Tripper]

'The Solder Excursion Diversion' - Season 9, Episode 19 
Airs Thursday, March 31 at 8/7c on CBS.

Amy is shocked at a revelation from Sheldon after she buys him a new laptop. Also, Koothrappali sells out Leonard and Wolowitz after they lie to their wives in order to attend an early screening of a movie.

[stardustmelody]

Sneak peeks are up for this episode.

[brilliantfool]

"Oh man, when I come out of the closet, I'm gonna nail those guys"

aside from the Shamy part stole the episode for me

Edited April 1, 2016 by brilliantfool

[SRAM]

I thought Howard and Leonard were goners, but then they showed up with flowers saving themselves.  I'm glad Raj was the one who really suffered after that remark that their wives should be making out with him when they came back to teach them.  Raj has been a douche all season.

[RoRo]

I found the episode to be very sweet, I think it showed the trust between Shamy, the only thing missing for me was maybe a hug or hand hold...also loved the Raj line

"Oh man, when I come out of the closet, I'm gonna nail those guys"

[xjax]

15 minutes ago, RoRo said:

the only thing missing for me was maybe a hug or hand hold

Boy... have the same feeling..... why writers make so harsh to us.. a hug or hand holding would be perfect when Sheldon trow away the golf ball.....

Overall I liked... but was expecting more.. .. was a fun light episode.. 

[Shelldon]

-An in-episode advertisement for Suicide Squad on top of all the other ads.

-Yeah all I can say about that plot is that I'm glad Raj's plan was derailed, only because lately he's been a bigger dumbass than Howard.

-Don't worry Sheldon, I like keeping sentimental items too. I'm 25 percent of your extremism here.

-RIP old Sheldon laptop. The moment that old red one died was the moment this show jumped the shark obviously.

-Chuck Lorre's 524th Vanity Card had some long winded letter from God. It ended with this: "On a lighter note, that was a really funny episode of Big Bang tonight! That Sheldon is a hoot!". Thanks for summarizing the long con of every episode in this series, oh benevolent one.

 

[4everlenny]

 How much more of a jerk can they make Raj. Used to at least be a lovable loser, now he asks to make out with the wives of 2 of his friends. On top of dating 2 women. Time to lock his character in the closet.

The Shamy story seemed to end in a re- hash of the closure episode when Sheldon seems to make progress, only to show that he doesn't ie saving the golf ball. 

I remember the days when Lenny got their own plot line. Show has lost it's magic for me.

[Tonstar17]

 How much more of a jerk can they make Raj. Used to at least be a lovable loser, now he asks to make out with the wives of 2 of his friends. On top of dating 2 women. Time to lock his character in the closet.

The Shamy story seemed to end in a re- hash of the closure episode when Sheldon seems to make progress, only to show that he doesn't ie saving the golf ball. 

I remember the days when Lenny got their own plot line. Show has lost it's magic for me.

^^^^

Usually I would be downloading the episode but I have no desire to nor have I the last two or even watched the promos. How times have changed. Reason I will be just disappointed as I have for a while now. Everyone is happy but as usual it looks like lenny drama.

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

[Chrismo]

Actually there was no Lenny drama in this episode. Howard and Leonard apologized bout going to the movie. Nobody was mad. raj looked pathetic and actually realized it. Feel sorry for the Shamy fans in this one. Sheldon rather see her on skype than be with her.

[Tonstar17]

Actually there was no Lenny drama in this episode. Howard and Leonard apologized bout going to the movie. Nobody was mad. raj looked pathetic and actually realized it. Feel sorry for the Shamy fans in this one. Sheldon rather see her on skype than be with her.

My bad. I am used to Lenny drama so expected it.

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[Judith]

I loved the episode...Watched the whole thing...Shamy was awesome as always! Very touching moment with them at the storage room. Raj coming out of the closet was hilarious! I also really liked Kaley's acting. The best part though was Shamy

[vasu]

dull episode.... the lab part with the rest of the gang was a complete bore.... 

and the part with sheldon amy showed.....how much amy changed....she is completely normal here.....rolls her eyes on every single Sheldon's action.....laughs at his weirdness.... and of course is perpetually horny(most crigeworthy jokes)......and whines when sheldon does not given in.... what a waste of a character....

and what kind of gamers use a laptop with so many defects....let alone a single key not working..... come on .....

Edited April 1, 2016 by vasu

[djsurrey]

I just did not find the episode very funny. To me it felt like the storage locker is a setup for a future episode or bigger story. It feels wrong that such  big thing could stay hidden for 9 years.

Also I find it unbelievable that Sheldon could have everything from his childhood stored in California when he grew up in Texas.

Edited April 1, 2016 by djsurrey

[becauseimsunny]

Ah, a so-so episode more or less.

But what I appreciated here is the rare kind of growth that everybody (except maybe Raj) showed. Penny's appreciation on being married to a wonderful scientist despite it not being her plan in moving to California and even participating - and reminded me of that cute ignorance on the science stuff she had before she turned to the 'mother of the group'; Bernie's sweet pregnancy glow and that lovey-dovey look at Howard rather than the cringing @ his I'm a Casanova jokes, or the sneering if not nagging wife; Amy being sincerely supportive of Sheldon - from the 'funeral' to the storage even if she did want to take a moment to take his hoarding issues all in, but eventually said she didn't think less of him; Sheldon's walls breaking down and tptb sort of admitting he has psychological issues (first three seasons they would just say 'he's not autistic or OCD or whatever', and say something like 'he's just Sheldon, he's like that'). It reminds me of last episode, Amy did say 'And his obssessive-compulsive disorder' not behavior but disorder and he said 'Yeah, that too.'

And my favorite part, even if it seems insignificant in this episode was honestly the moment when Leonard and Howard walked in with the flowers and apologized. I was half-expecting they would continue on the ruse and they'd be busted just for the sake of humor. Instead the joke was on Raj, who kind of rightly deserved it since he was kind of being a jerk for wanting to make out with his friends' wives. And kudos to Penny for calling out that that joke isn't funny.

[Itwasdestined]

Man, its hard being in this forum these days. So many people just seem determined to find a negative to focus on. I get we have different opinions about what is funny but it just seems we only find bad things to comment on, including when we don't even watch the episode and assume the worst happens when it didn't, look for unbelievable occurrences in a Sitcom (cos that never happens!), complain about Raj's douchy behaviour that has been apparent for years and the tiresome complaining about Amy's desire for sex and the loss of Lenny plots. ( Feel free to edit this out Tensor if I am being too critical of others re: stricter rules I haven't read cos I'm usually so positive but the negativity has killed my enthusiasm and levity). Anyway to the episode instead of gripes.....

Really enjoyed this one. Laughed out loud a lot.

Yes Raj is a douche but I found him funny tonight. Don't care about his inappropriate comments about making out  with the girls as payback, I laughed and I laughed at Penny's response. Crass or not, I laughed at the 'closet' jokes. I laugh at cheap humour sometimes. Sitcoms often provide that.

I enjoyed the Lenny banter and was not at all offended by his mother comparison. It's not the first time and won't be the last and it meant nothing other than being a joke which I found funny. 

I like Howard and Leonard together. They enjoy each other's company and have fun. I think Leonard enjoys the stress free environment. I think Penny enjoys hanging out with Howardette too. Less to worry about and the writers don't have the urge to get her on Sheldon support. It was normal married couples hanging out behaviour and definitely identified with the girls finding out about the hubbies lying and plotting to get them back. Been there. Nice that the boys saw their error and saved themselves and the girls accepted apology without any nastiness. Nice to see Penny and Bernie not upset with their men.

Loved the Shamy scenes. Nice to see Amy get the big reveal of one of Sheldon's big secrets. Weird that its just before one of those odd "Penny is closer to Sheldon than Amy" episodes coming up but enjoyed it without needlessly stressing about inconsistency. I liked how Amy dealt with him and I liked how he opened up with both sincerity and unwitting humour. Also loved how she knew exactly who what and where to get the new laptop. Penny wouldn't have known that!

Absolutely lost it over the memorial for the old laptop. The black cover, the Last Post music, the standing in silence was up there with my favourite moment ever - "I ate a butterfly!". It was worth watching just for this even if the rest of the episode sucked, which for me it didn't.

I enjoyed the storage unit scenes. Geeked out over the Fibonacci pine cone reference ( I predicted it before he said it!), loved the snap lock bag full of old snap lock bags and the single sport momento of the golf ball in the box- just the visual of the tiny box amongst the massive collections was enough for me. And for me, it was totally in character for Sheldon to want to keep everything forever. If he still had his mortal enemy list on its original 5.25" floppy then this makes sense to me, whether its in Texas or Pasadena. I actually didn't get why he was so ashamed of it!

Odd timing for Suicide Squad reference - its still a while away. Makes me wonder if my less negative reaction than others to Zack returning being a reuniting of the winning Justice League costume team wanting their Superman back for Superman vs Batman Dawn of Justice party is a possibility even though the moment is passed by then. ( But no, we all know the writers are destroying Lenny instead!)

And yes, even though it is an old joke seen by many as not funny, I laughed at Sheldon's bedroom scene admiring how good Amy looked ON HIS NEW LAPTOP SCREEN. Saw it coming a mile away but I still laughed. It was that kind of episode for me. I laughed a lot even though there was nothing new. But it was without angst, without drama, without unpopular ship connections and importantly for me, Funny.

(I'll return to my cave now and avoid the next week of stressing over the following weeks' episodes and the apparent destruction of the Lenny marriage.)

 

[becauseimsunny]

12 minutes ago, Itwasdestined said:

Really enjoyed this one. Laughed out loud a lot.

Weird that its just before one of those odd "Penny is closer to Sheldon than Amy" episodes coming up but enjoyed it without needlessly stressing about inconsistency.

And yes, even though it is an old joke seen by many as not funny, I laughed at Sheldon's bedroom scene admiring how good Amy looked ON HIS NEW LAPTOP SCREEN. Saw it coming a mile away but I still laughed. It was that kind of episode for me. I laughed a lot even though there was nothing new. But it was without angst, without drama, without unpopular ship connections and importantly for me, Funny.

(I'll return to my cave now and avoid the next week of stressing over the following weeks' episodes and the apparent destruction of the Lenny marriage.)

 

I seriously want you to be my friend and watch the show with you in your cave. You're the kind of fan that takes away all my troubles and make them seem so far away~~~.

I LOL-ed at the bedroom scene, too. I knew it was coming - I don't expected Sheldon to do 'that' any sooner - but man, his face, his position and his glow when he was in bed was swoon-worthy and really hilarious.

On the next ep though and Lenny marriage, spoiler much and also...

 

[Chiany]

4 hours ago, vasu said:

dull episode.... the lab part with the rest of the gang was a complete bore.... 

and the part with sheldon amy showed.....how much amy changed....she is completely normal here.....rolls her eyes on every single Sheldon's action.....laughs at his weirdness.... and of course is perpetually horny(most crigeworthy jokes)......and whines when sheldon does not given in.... what a waste of a character....

and what kind of gamers use a laptop with so many defects....let alone a single key not working..... come on .....

Completely agree, was glad when the episode was over.

[Lionne]

That one didn't play out like I expected at all. I loved it. I can tell when an episode is written mostly by Bill by the cadence of the dialogue and the way the characters play out. Nothing about this one was what I thought it was going to be.

God, I hate it when I'm wrong. But I was wrong on this one. So I ended up very pleasantly surprised. I'm going to go watch it again.

[A.D.A.]

I found the episode okay. The science subplot was fun and I'm all there for Raj getting the short end of the stick because I really haven't liked that character much this season. Amy and Sheldon were... well, I just don't find serious debilitating psychological disorders very funny, so that was all really more sad than anything. It's a little hard to laugh at Sheldon being his whacky weirdo self when the show also tells me he's someone who needs serious therapy. If this was a darker show that wouldn't mind reaching for the real gallows humour and make fun of that, too, I think it'd be fine, but as it is, it just wasn't for me. Also, it does put Amy more into that caretaker/teacher role she seems to be inhabiting since they reunited.

And not to be sheldonier than Sheldon, but I'd never ever let someone else choose my new laptop. A lot of thought goes into that process. (Although I suspect Amy was just trying to spare herself the weeks of hearing about the topic.)

Edited April 1, 2016 by A.D.A.

[SRAM]

7 minutes ago, A.D.A. said:

 

And not to be sheldonier than Sheldon, but I'd never ever let someone else choose my new laptop. A lot of thought goes into that process. (Although I suspect Amy was just trying to spare herself the weeks of hearing about the topic.)

That is a really good point, Sheldon's laptop is a huge part of his life, he carries it with him a lot and it is important to his work and first love, Science.  No one who used and depended on such a device would let another person buy its replacement.  I know the point is to show that Amy knows him well, but actually it shows the lack of understanding the writers have of the characters they are writing.  I'm an engineer and I would not want someone to buy my next laptop for me, I consider getting a laptop too personal.

[A.D.A.]

48 minutes ago, SRAM said:

That is a really good point, Sheldon's laptop is a huge part of his life, he carries it with him a lot and it is important to his work and first love, Science.  No one who used and depended on such a device would let another person buy its replacement.  I know the point is to show that Amy knows him well, but actually it shows the lack of understanding the writers have of the characters they are writing.  I'm an engineer and I would not want someone to buy my next laptop for me, I consider getting a laptop too personal.

Yeah, that's true, it was one of the moment where I thought "neither me nor any of my more technically geeky friends would appreciate this gift". Especially since we know Sheldon is also a gamer. Amy, who herself probably doesn't care what games he plays, wouldn't know what exact specs he wants for that and even a good computer store person needs some form of guideline. I mean, I guess you could probably just buy the most expensive thing and hope it has every feature. And since Sheldon's computer was completely broken, apparently his laptop doesn't need to be able to do anything at all. Althought that seems like a weird plot point anyway. Wouldn't he be running programs for his work on that thing, too, since he is (used to be) so big into physics? Crunching numbers, simulations and such.

Well, it's just a minor thing, anyway, but it kind of stuck out to me because I obviously spend a lot of time in front of my own computer.

[Itwasdestined]

Which Sheldon expressed quite strongly to Amy, those exact sentiments. So the writers were very clear on Sheldons character trait here. It's only when she ticked off EVERY requirement he personally would have looked for in a replacement, including going to his personal choice for tech guy he'd go to, did he accept the gift from the woman who does truly know him get. Every one entitled to their opinion and can react accordingly but for me this just another minor nitpick that can be overlooked without ruining the show's ability to entertain. I don't think the writers did much wrong with this one. 

[Chrismo]

7 hours ago, Judith said:

I loved the episode...Watched the whole thing...Shamy was awesome as always! Very touching moment with them at the storage room. Raj coming out of the closet was hilarious! I also really liked Kaley's acting. The best part though was Shamy

Although to me the Shamy storyline was just filler by the time the episode ended. Sheldon throwing the golf ball back into the storage shed and preferring to see Amy on skype ruined it for me. I get the idea it was suppose to be funny. It was and it wasn't.

[Chocoholic]

I was not expecting to love the episode but I did. It was quite funny. Don't have much to analyse this week, to be honest. No character seemed to be doing anything ooc. Guess I can just say I was thoroughly entertained. 

Is it just me or did Bernadette look prettier than usual? Although I must admit I hate those little sweaters she wears so the absence of it might have something to do with this thought. 

I know Sheldon kept the golf ball after all, but can getting rid of the box be considered progress? #puzzled 

I liked Chuck's vanity card. 

I hope the next episode is funny as well and hopefully the drama isn't very intense.