[Spoilers] Discussion: Season 10

[Jonny]

So we had the ex girlfriends talking to Raj and about why their relationships failed and now we have his friends talking to him about how spoiled he is? Is a wake up call on the cards?

No, I mustn't let the writers get my expectations up. It's a one off Raj storyline again, it has got to be.

[bfm]

6 minutes ago, 3ku11 said:

Not exactly a one liner. More an insight into how complacent he's gotten. I agree with Serena currently Penny puts more effort into their marrage. They are not honey youngins anymore. Doesent mean they are not in love anymore. Just means they need to work on their relationship more. Which clearly they have not done. Or as it is Leonard hasent done ahem 

What exactly has Penny done? What kind of effort is she putting? Leonard puts less effort lately but that doesn't mean she puts more. 

[veejay]

1 hour ago, bfm said:

What exactly has Penny done? What kind of effort is she putting? ........

[Chrismo]

Not much of an episode for February sweeps. Raj spoiled and Shamy once a year sex.  I can see why Molaro was wearing the clown nose.

[veejay]

43 minutes ago, Chrismo said:

Not much of an episode for February sweeps. Raj spoiled and Shamy once a year sex.  I can see why Molaro was wearing the clown nose.

Where did you read a complete TR to provide your opinion? 

[Chrismo]

8 minutes ago, veejay said:

Where did you read a complete TR to provide your opinion? 

I didn't. Just the highlights from the previous page.

[Trinabeana78]

The Allowance Evaporation

We open on the guys sitting around the Lenny’s apt. Raj is holding his breath and they’re spinning an Euler’s disk and seeing if he can hold his breath until it stops spinning. Penny comes in and she wants in on this action, she’ll bet $10 they can’t make her care about this. Amy comes in and tells Sheldon she’s found a new place for date night. She also knows exactly what the spinning disk is. She thinks it’s fun, but after Sheldon tells her they’re seeing if Raj can hold his breath the whole time, she also thinks it’s immature. Raj manages to hold his breath until the disk stops. He also lets Howard know that his favorite movie is the Princess Bride (after Howard had mistakenly said it was Waiting to Exhale).

Next up was Raj and his Dad. Raj tells his Dad that he’ll have a high credit card bill this month because he was depressed about breaking up with his girlfriend. Mr. Koothrapali is not shocked at all. Raj warns his Dad not to even think about trying to arrange him a marriage to a nice Indian girl. His Dad says not to worry; he gave up on that years ago. Woman don’t necessarily go for guys whose Dad still pays for his rent and car. Raj is mad his Dad has given up on him and thinks that’s a problem. Mr. Koothrapali says he has 6 kids, 5 of whom are married and self-supporting. He doesn’t believe he’s the problem.

Sheldon and Amy are at date night at a new Mexican restaurant that Amy found. Sheldon is eating chips and Amy tells him not to fill up on them. He tells her he won’t cause he only eats equilateral chips. Some are isosceles, some are other random mathematical shapes. Then he breaks the end off of one to make it equilateral and tells Amy that she didn’t see that. Amy sees Bert at the bar and wants to say hi. Sheldon wonders why? Because when you see someone you know, it’s the polite thing to do to go and say hello to them. Sheldon has several restraining orders that say differently. They go say hello to Bert. He’s waiting on a date he met online on G-harmony, which is a dating site for geologists. Yes, they really have that and apparently the slogan is something like “We’re here to date…and not the Carbon-14 kind.” They leave and Sheldon tells Amy that if she thinks that was better than trying to talk to Zachary Quinto through a bathroom stall, she’s crazy.

Penny, Leonard, Bernie, and Howard sitting around. They brought the baby, who fell asleep in the car. Leonard remembers when Sheldon used to do that. But then Penny points out, not since he left him in the CVS parking lot. But who forgot to crack the window asks Leonard? Raj comes in, he’s gotten Halley a crushed velvet baby cape. Howard is (fake) excited because yay, now they have 2.  Raj says he’s mad at his Dad so he made him pay for it. Penny points out that if he really wants to hurt his Dad, she looks great in Chanel. They talk about Raj’s Dad and how he’s given up on him. Penny tells everyone to let Raj feel how he feels, and she points out to Raj that in shoes she wears a 7.5 and an 8 in boots.

Back to date night at the Mexican restaurant. Sheldon is listing his all-time favorite defunct search engines. Amy doesn’t have any. Bert comes over to their table to let them know he’s heading out. His date has stood him up. Amy asks if he’s sure, and Bert says G-harmony tells them if they’re not there in the 2-hour window it’s time to give it up. Sheldon insists that Bert join them for dinner. He looks to Amy and she is totally fine with it. While Bert goes to get a chair, Amy reaches over to Sheldon and lets him know how nice that was. He could tell from Bert’s body language and facial expressions that he was sad. Amy wonders why the fact that he’d just gotten stood up wasn’t a clue. Sheldon thinks wanting him to look at Bert and listen to him is asking a bit much.

At Lenny’s they’re trying to figure out if Raj is spoiled. Penny asks what his Dad pays for. Raj says not to judge, but rent, car, credit cards, basically everything. Leonard is judging.  Penny says (like Raj’s Dad did) that women likes a man who can take care of himself. Bernie agrees. Raj points out that Bernadette makes way more than Howard so she basically supports him. She agrees, and says, yeah his Dad was definitely right. Raj decides that maybe he should stop taking money from his Dad. How can he be a man if he doesn’t pay for his own facials and manicures?

Bert is listing his favorite defunct search engines. Amy wishes they could talk about literally any other topic. Bert wonders how she and Sheldon met. Sheldon says they actually met online. Amy chimes in that they met at a coffee shop. Sheldon points out to Bert that unlike his own date, Amy actually showed up. Bert envies Shamy’s relationship. Other than that whole sex once a year thing, they seem to really have it all together. Amy chokes on her margarita. She wonders how Bert knew about that. Bert says that everyone at the University knows. She asks Sheldon does he know how this got out? He says no, he only told Leonard, Howard, Raj, Kripke, and the lunch lady in the cafeteria. How everyone else found out is a mystery.

Next scene, Shamy are going up the stairs to their apt. Amy is humiliated. All her colleagues are gossiping about her sex life. Sheldon wonders what there is to gossip about, they barely have a sex life. Amy yells that that’s what they’re gossiping about. She runs up the stairs and slams the door. Sheldon is wondering if she’s not talking to him because she’s mad. He’s going to take her silence (and the door slamming) as confirmation.

At the apt, Leonard points out that Raj makes about the same as him and Howard and they’re able to support themselves. Raj points out that they both look about 10 years older than him too, due to all the stress of paying for everything. So how much is his rent? Raj doesn’t want to say. They push, he says he doesn’t know because his Dad always pays for it. And his car. And the housekeeper gets all his food. He asks Penny if she knows how much her rent is. She says she does. Well, take whatever you guys’ rent is and double it because his place is way nicer than this dump. Raj (maybe Bernie?) wonders how Penny was able to pay for everything when she first came to town. She says that sometimes your neighbors will let you eat their food and use their wifi. Just beware, one day you might have to marry one of them (Leonard smiles really big at this). Bernie makes a comment about being spoiled, Raj points out that her baby has a cape that costs $300.

Over at Sheldon & Amy’s place, Amy is upset. Sheldon comes in and she lets him know she’s going to bed. Sheldon wants to talk about protocol. This is their first fight as a couple who lives together. Tradition says that the man will sleep on the couch in this situation, but it’s obvious that Amy is more sofa sized. Amy lets Sheldon know she’s not sleeping on the couch just because he doesn’t know how to keep things private. Sheldon says that Amy tells Penny intimate details of their relationship. Amy points out that Penny is a close friend, not some random lady from the cafeteria who cuts the crust off his bread. She has a name. Sheldon doesn’t remember what it is, but he did accidentally call her Mom one day.

More talk about Raj being spoiled. If he stops taking his Dad’s money, he’ll probably be homeless pretty quick. Leonard suggests Howard & Bernadette take him in, he is Howards best friend after all. Howard wonders why Leonard hates him? Bernie wishes Leonard would stop helping. Howardette don’t have the room. Howard suggests that Raj could move into Sheldon’s old room. Bernie thinks it’s a great idea. Penny says that of course Raj can stay with them if he needs to. Raj says no, if he’s going to take advantage of his friends, he’d rather just take the money from his Dad. Penny & Leonard let out sighs of relief.

Amy is in bed. Sheldon comes in with a big chart. It shows Sheldon and Amy in the middle circle with their friends, acquaintances, and strangers in concentric circles out from the middle. Sheldon says he’s using it to try to understand their Zone of Privacy. He warns her not to look that up on the internet because you’ll just see pictures of people’s privates. But he realizes now that there are some things that must stay just between the two of them. Details of their intimacy, bathroom schedules, etc. Sheldon apologizes that Amy was embarrassed and he’s trying. (this was a very sweet scene). Amy thanks him for trying and seems to have forgiven his mistake.  She wonders about the dot that’s in between their names on the chart. Sheldon says that’s his private thoughts that he doesn’t share with even her. Amy asks if he has secrets he keeps from her and he says he does. She wonders if she can hear one. Nope. Is it something naughty? Maybe. Pleeeaase, Amy says. Sheldon says okay. He sits on the bed and tells her he actually got his license 2 years ago. Why didn’t he say anything? He likes to be chauffeured around, it makes him feel important.

Raj and his Dad on Skype. Raj is telling his Dad he won’t take any more money from him. His Dad is too delighted and happy for Raj’s taste. He wants him to yell so Raj can throw his leaving in his Dad’s face. But his Dad isn’t playing his part at first. Mr. Koothrapali starts to play along and is fake mad. Raj is appeased.

For the tag, we're at the cafeteria and we see the guys, minus Sheldon. Raj is making changes, bringing his own bag lunch. Plus, he let his dog walker go. But not to worry, he gave Cinnamon an Imodium so that should clear everything out sooner or later. Sheldon comes into the cafeteria and has an announcement. He’s recently found out that everyone at the University has been standing around the water cooler gossiping about him and Amy Farrah Fowler’s relationship. Shame on all of them. He wants everyone to mind their own business and stick to discussing science. Bert stands up and apologizes for his role in it coming out. Sheldon says he’s a good man, and let’s everyone know that the lady who stood Bert up and humiliated him last night really missed out on something. Bert is embarrassed. Sheldon didn’t really help, so he tries to change the story. He says actually not only did the lady and Bert have vigorous coitus but she paid him $1 afterwards for a job well done. Better? Not really says Bert. So, Sheldon says, in conclusion, mind your own business, and for a good time call Bert.

Not sure if they’ll show this last part, because it was only taped once and they changed the whole tag scene around a bunch. But Sheldon sits down and they ask what’s going on. Sheldon says Amy is mad because private details about their relationship came out. He thought at first she was mad because her terrible menstrual cramps were bothering her but nope, she was just livid. Leonard says it’s understandable, then Sheldon notes that Leonard seems to be sitting completely & comfortably on his bottom and asks if this means his hemorrhoids have cleared up.

------------------------------------

BTS stuff. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. The gang at Lenny’s were joking and laughing a lot. Kunal messed up the most and at one point after a flubbed line he said f**k lol.  Mayim, Jim & Brian (Bert) were also chatting up a storm at the restaurant, though I couldn’t really see them well since they were on the far swing set. At one point, a few people in the audience oo-oohed at a point when an oo-ooh just wasn’t needed. Jim stopped in the middle of his next line and was like “really?” Lol it was pretty funny.

When Kaley and Johnny came up the audience to give their usual spiel, Kaley said that they all love doing the show and would love to do it for a little while longer. Then she looked at Johnny and said, and we’re going to get that worked out for you all hopefully really soon.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Trinabeana78

[spidergirl]

Thanks so much for such detailed report, @Trinabeana78. Overall seems a funny and nice episode, whit a few nice revelations. Hope you had much fun there  

[Chrismo]

17 minutes ago, Trinabeana78 said:

 

When Kaley and Johnny came up the audience to give their usual spiel, Kaley said that they all love doing the show and would love to do it for a little while longer. Then she looked at Johnny and said, and we’re going to get that worked out for you all hopefully really soon.

Great taping report. But the above was the most interesting part.

[hokie3457]

Thank you @Trinabeana78 !  Sounds like a fun episode.  Hope you had a great time!!!  One question from me....On Instagram there were a few pics of folks wearing red clown-type noses.  Any context there????  Anyway, thank you again for a thorough report!!!!

Edited February 1, 2017 by hokie3457
poor choice of word tense was/were....

[Judith]

Thanks @Trinabeana78 for all the info!

[HeWolf]

Thanks for the terrific report! 

I'll wait until it actually airs to comment on the one item that bugged me. Perhaps it won't make the final cut.

[legacy99]

Jmo but it sounds like johnny won't get offered the same money as jim and kaley. If johnny is out then i can honestly say I'm out too

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[Trinabeana78]

We didn't see the red clown noses on set. That must have been behind the scenes. I know that red nose day is a thing here, so maybe that's what it has to do with?

[hokie3457]

2 minutes ago, Trinabeana78 said:

We didn't see the red clown noses on set. That must have been behind the scenes. I know that red nose day is a thing here, so maybe that's what it has to do with?

Thanks!!  (and thank you again for sharing the report with us!!).....

[Jonny]

Thanks for the detailed report @Trinabeana78, sounds like you had a great time!

[serena_1995]

Thanks @Trinabeana78 ! Big Lol at the Raj subplot ! Good for him . He is changing(looks like it ?) ! I also like that Lenny are no longer fighting, thankfully.

Shamy plot sounds stale. I've been wanting Shamy to address their sex life, but it does not seem to resolve anything.and why involve workplace into it ?

This show can sometimes be so generic, dumb and anti intellectual . You could change Sheldon and Amy’s professions from scientists to busboy /waitress and still get the same plot when everything revolves around sex, (instead of focusing on what Sheldon/ Amy actually do as scientists). 

Also why don't the writers lets Amy be weird and fun more often ? For instance, Mayim is a great comedic actress , yet , here it seems she is reduced once again to roll her eyes at Sheldon and Bert.  I actually think listing your favorite defunct search engines is funny lol.  the quirky jokes and comedy seem to come from Sheldon and Bert, not Amy. 

Other than that, it's totally unoriginal. Yet another Amy acting like Sheldon's teacher and training him on manners and social niceties.  Another poor Amy episode.  Another Sheldon screws up and apologizes plot. Another Amy rolls her eyes plot.   Another joke about menstrual cramps. Another joke about stale sex life , rather than something about actual science at Caltech,  another Sheldon learns his lesson .. Yada Yada. 

Edited February 1, 2017 by serena_1995

[legacy99]

Trinabeana78 thank you for taking your time to inform us on what happened i appreciate what you have done

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[HeWolf]

18 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

Jmo but it sounds like johnny won't get offered the same money as jim and kaley. If johnny is out then i can honestly say I'm out too

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 

From one perspective that makes sense. With Sheldon's departure from 4A, Leonard doesn't occupy the prominent place in the show that he once did. Now, his major presence is in the role of Mr. Penny. This is reflected in his ever diminishing screen time. So, it is understandable that JG might no longer have the bargaining power that he once did.

Frankly, I feel the same could be said of Kaley. Fact is, I think it could have always been said of Kaley. She could have been replaced at any time and the show could have sailed on without any significant issues. Particularly in the early years, and especially after the Wheaton engineered break-up. 

Like it or not, (and I generally don't), TBBT is increasingly Shamy centered. All of the others have been rendered much less important than they once were and it would not necessarily kill the show if any of them left. And, for TBBT purists, the departure of Shamy might even offer the chance to return the show to something closer to its original premise. Unfortunately, the Shamy fans that also depart might toll the death knell from a ratings perspective.

I am not advocating any of this, so everyone can put away the pitchforks and torches.... 

Edited February 1, 2017 by HeWolf

[wowbagger]

thanks, @trinabeana! Hope you had a lovely time!

I have to agree that the shamy stuff sounds like the very definition of stale. Nothing that sounds like it'll enrage me, but on the annoying side. Simply because o would quite like poor mayim bialik to show off her comedic chops and play a weirdo like she has been allowed to do at point this season. Like Serena says, I think I am all set for 'sheldon has to learn how to adult and amy is long-suffering' plot.

and also, show? I like that you have decided that Sheldon wants Amy. Awesome. But I do believe we get it about the frequency of their intercourse. I don't personally care how often they do it so long as they're having fun and they're not implying that either is doing it out of obligation. But this is three times that you've had someone point out the annual coitus thing. And - especially given that they are consenting cohabiting adults and Sheldon tried to grotesquely seduce Amy earlier -it feels like you're pointing out something that YOU seem to think is a problem (again, I don't think it is), the solution to which seems pretty obvious, and you're not taking your own medicine. If you are that exercised about how often shamy do it, show, by all means lift your self-imposed once a year rule. Now that shamy are being weirdoes who enjoy and want each other, does anybody really care that much except you?

[Jonny]

Sheldon and Leonard's relationship has diminished a lot imo, the writers need to find a way to get some of that fun back with them. The only episode I have actually really enjoyed this season in terms of their relationship is Veracity Elasticity, which kind of reminded of the Troll Manifestation days when they had each others back in a situation.

Maybe the writers need to dip into the old geeky playbook with them? Get some old school style nerd stuff going on that highlights/focuses on their friendship? These two used to have fun together, most of the time their relationship now is used for cheap gags or bitching and moaning.

Get some old style Shelnard fun stuff going again, that and group based episodes/activities.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Jonny

[Carlos]

6 hours ago, 3ku11 said:

Not exactly a one liner. More an insight into how complacent he's gotten. I agree with Serena currently Penny puts more effort into their marrage. They are not honey youngins anymore. Doesent mean they are not in love anymore. Just means they need to work on their relationship more. Which clearly they have not done. Or as it is Leonard hasent done ahem 

What other evidence do you have? From what I remember that I saw in the show, it was that one liner and when they showed him in his underwear. I don't remember any other instance. IMO Leonard has been putting more effort into the relationship since day one, and he might be tired of carrying the weight of the relationship after all these years.

[joyceraye]

What's the secret about Sheldon driving ? He told Leonard years ago that he could drive but preferred not to.  Amy had taught him. I don't quite get that.

[mirs1]

2 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

What's the secret about Sheldon driving ? He told Leonard years ago that he could drive but preferred not to.  Amy had taught him. I don't quite get that.

He got his driver's license, I guess he had just a learner's permit when he spoke to Leonard about it in S. 8.

Edited February 1, 2017 by mirs1

[veejay]

9 minutes ago, Jonny said:

Sheldon and Leonard's relationship has diminished a lot imo, the writers need to find a way to get some of that fun back with them. The only episode I have actually really enjoyed this season in terms of their relationship is Veracity Elasticity, which kind of reminded of the Troll Manifestation days when they had each others back in a situation.

Maybe the writers need to dip into the old geeky playbook with them? Get some old school style nerd stuff going on that highlights/focuses on their friendship? These two used to have fun together, most of the time their relationship now is used for cheap gags.

Get some old style Shelnard fun stuff going again, that and group based episodes/activities.

Agreed!