episodes 1011 'The Birthday Synchronicity' (December 15)

[bigbangsheldon]

THIS EPISODE WAS SO GOOD I HAD COME AND MAKE A COMEBACK AND SAY THIS!!!! WHAT THE F*****!!!!!!

[sdffcx]

Is it the first time in whole sences leonerd doesn't talk to sheldon in a single episode?even in 7X11 leonerd say" hi buddy" to sheldon.Am I wrong?

[wowbagger]

dammit, this is NOT the weekend to be away on a team bonding retreat! Sigh. So this'll have to be quick:

A charming, sweet-tempered episode that showed the gang largely at their best. I have always, always loved the sweetness that Damn Treasure Simon Helberg can imbue Howard with, and it was on full display this episode: Cheerleading his wife, taking a moment to remember his mother (who didn't well up a little there)? I like the idea of the off-screen scream (off-scream?) of Baby Halley, but I agree with Jonny that the execution was a little...off? I think the gag will have to push through the barrier to become a beloved running gag, but in the meantime I do support it: It honours Carol Ann Susi and it keeps Baby Halley offscreen. Two very worthwhile causes.

Raj and Stuart had to walk a very fine line between repulsive self-pity and overinvested-but-well-meaning. I think they mostly succeeded but the hospital scene didn't quite work for me. I understood what the show was going for, and in theory it was fine, but -I don't know. Maybe it reminded me of how little care the writers take of raj and Stuart? And how much discomfort I have with the 'struggling actress' gags? Still, I didn't HATE it, and it was short.

I liked Leonard - and Lenny - very much this episode. I like them when they are bantery and sassy with each other. And I loved Leonard - even in the throes of asthma - accurately diagnosing that the shamy wanted to have sex. The show has given us some unconvincing shelnard moments, and some delightful ones where we are shown the understanding between them (see also: Shelnard in 10x07).

I will probably decant my Shamy thoughts in greater detail in the Shamy thread, but I really really really liked them this episode. I don't need them to be glutinously sentimental, or to have at each other with buttons pinging off shirts. So long as they're having fun together in their own specific way, I'm a happy camper. And they clearly were: From the cerebral (literally) birthday gift, to the role play in fictional worlds, they were enjoying each other. I thought they were goofy and tender and utterly delightful.

my only complaint is that the show squandered so many opportunities to have group episodes before the arrival of the baby, and this was another one with shamy in one corner, Lenny in another, and howardette+raj+Stuart doing their own thing. I understand why and all that, but it felt like a missed opportunity. And it will require effort to get the gang together now that the baby is there. It can be done, and I hope it will. But I wish we had had a few hurrahs for the group before the arrival of little Halley.

[HeWolf]

I found the episode to be fairly enjoyable. There were some good laugh worthy lines and all of the actors did a great job adding great expressions that really pulled it all together.

The Shamy scenes were good and Sheldon managed to be ‘new’ Sheldon while, at the same time, not being a gigantic ass, or overgrown child. Amy was superb! Seeing the two of them enjoying one another was a delight. Seeing Sheldon not act like a condescending, inconsiderate douchebag towards Amy was even more delightful. All in all, he was vastly preferable to the last time we saw him in the Property Division episode.

Lenny was fun to see, as well. Penny had some good lines. Some real LOL stuff, but Leonard was under-utilized. The writers do not do enough with them and it generally seems that they have no real idea of how to play out their relationship. Mostly, I think their confusion is with Leonard. He’s achieved his pinnacle and Penny married him. Now, where do they go? There’s only so much asthmatic insecurity they can write for him. The fallback has always been to create drama in the Lenny relationship. I’m hoping there is something better than that on the horizon. This couple desperately needs a new, combined, storyline.

I enjoyed the Howardette parts more than usual. The Bernie as Howard’s mom stuff has become tedious. For all of Howard’s worry about financial stability for his family, he should be more concerned with actually growing up and acting like an actual man. But, for this episode, he did manage to act like Bernadette’s husband as opposed to a giant 12 year old.

Stuart had his best episode in years. Much more like Stuart from the early days instead of the disgusting, depressed person he’s devolved into. It was nice to see him stand up for himself to Raj. Good for him!

Raj is, and pretty much always has been, superfluous to the show. He’s never had much of a story arc and it got old a long time ago. When he’s not in metrosexual mode he’s pretty much an ass. This was acknowledged a long time ago by Howard:

Raj: Penny, dear, why don't you shoot another silver bullet my way?
Penny: Get one yourself.
Raj: Ooh, somebody's been taking bitchy pills.
Penny: God, he's an ass when he drinks.
Howard: Oh, he's an ass when he doesn't. You just don't hear it.

This episode just followed his pattern. The character has been lost and essentially useless since Howard moved on to Bernadette and mostly ended their ersatz homosexual relationship. Much like Leonard, it seems that the writers cannot come up with a good story arc for Raj. Thus, we get the annoying character from this episode.

The baby story was amusing. Hopefully, it will be one that is now given all the prominence of Cinnamon. “Referred to yet seldom seen.”

[veejay]

1 hour ago, wowbagger said:

dammit.............

.......my only complaint is that the show squandered so many opportunities to have group episodes before the arrival of the baby, and this was another one with shamy in one corner, Lenny in another, and howardette+raj+Stuart doing their own thing. I understand why and all that, but it felt like a missed opportunity. And it will require effort to get the gang together now that the baby is there. It can be done, and I hope it will. But I wish we had had a few hurrahs for the group before the arrival of little Halley.

I agree with you in this description. At least for me this episode was a long-awaited proof of the writers coming out of their original strength. I did not feel the separation of the couple so seriously (possibly because of Sheldon's withdrawn representation ). I would really like to see this more often.

[mjc45]

what a nice trip down memory lane for howard and bernadette,

it was sweet, glad to see  althea was back.

wow, stuart slam raj good, lets hope it is a wake up call

for him.

 

[No Regrets]

1 hour ago, HeWolf said:

He’s achieved his pinnacle and Penny married him. Now, where do they go? There’s only so much asthmatic insecurity they can write for him.

This Leonard fan would love to see him become more confident. Instead of constantly highlighting his insecurities, I'd love to see him toughen up, especially now that he said he's finally over the crap of his parents. I don't want Leonard's character growth to be reduced to his relationship with Penny. Marrying Penny shouldn't be the final step for Leonard. He's an incredible individual and I for one would love to see him evolve as a character. 

[Denise07]

Well, I am the lone person in here thus far that did not enjoy this episode.  It felt off to me like a weird AU.  I think I almost laughed once and for life of me I can't recall where.  But I guess that speaks to how forgettable this was to me.

This post wasn't to kill the vibe but rather to get it out of my system...to vent I guess. 

JMO-

Glad so many enjoyed.

 

[HeWolf]

33 minutes ago, No Regrets said:

This Leonard fan would love to see him become more confident. Instead of constantly highlighting his insecurities, I'd love to see him toughen up, especially now that he said he's finally over the crap of his parents. I don't want Leonard's character growth to be reduced to his relationship with Penny. Marrying Penny shouldn't be the final step for Leonard. He's an incredible individual and I for one would love to see him evolve as a character. 

Exactly! Leonard deserves better than what he's getting from the writers and producers. 

[Chrismo]

28 minutes ago, Denise07 said:

Well, I am the lone person in here thus far that did not enjoy this episode.  It felt off to me like a weird AU.  I think I almost laughed once and for life of me I can't recall where.  But I guess that speaks to how forgettable this was to me.

This post wasn't to kill the vibe but rather to get it out of my system...to vent I guess. 

JMO-

Glad so many enjoyed.

 

No. See post 2 on this thread

Edited December 16, 2016 by Chrismo

[PatsyR]

To me, this episode highlighted the  outstanding acting skills of the entire group, which justifies their recent nomination for ensemble acting at the Screen Actors' Guild awards.

[jenafan]

As mentioned at the onset, this episode floored me from beginning to end with utter enjoyment, and not just because of Shamy.

To see Howard in such a supportive role for Bernie after his dismissal of her at the end of the prior episode kept me from wanting to put my foot in his backside.   He tells her he loves her and stays by her in the back seat and in the hospital.    I forgive him.

I loved Bernadette's sassy remarks.   The not having sex with Howard for another 75 years aside, my favorite line was her threatening to the crush the next hand that goes near her uterus with her legs.   Oh, I believe she can do it, too.

Stuart was at his best here.  Yes, he was rough on Raj, but it was good to see confident instead of creepy and depressed Stuart.   I think being a caretaker for Howardette gives him better fulfillment than the comic book store, and it shows; the same as it did when he cared for Debbie.   He feels he has purpose and a family.   Will anyone judge me if I say I actually am starting to like Stuart better than Raj?

Leonard's bit with the inhaler was comical, and I loved his, "I can breathe now.   Babe, they want to have sex."  I hope Amy thinks to thank Leonard for the rescue she was so desperately seeking to get back upstairs with Sheldon for her birthday festivities.

I never thought Sheldon would be capable of talking dirty, however it was hard to decipher he was angry rather than teasing when he called Amy a naughty girl.   Like her, I would have thought he was starting the role play, too.  

Okay, Raj is a douche.   However, when Howard told Bernie he loved her and Raj thought Howard was speaking to him and returned the endearment, I could honestly feel Raj's affection for him.   Raj really does love Howard, and while I don't think it is homosexual, it is brotherly. I got to thinking that with Raj being Indian, I understand him smothering Howardette.  The Indian families I know tend to stick together and be in each other's business and life affairs.   Raj seems to be acting somewhat according to his culture, as Howardette are his family.

The most laughable scene for me was Bernie being in the hospital room with the three guys and nurse Althea questioning them.  Her line about them being in a hospital and not an airport made me spit up my beer.   I am surprised she did not recognize Howard from the other times he has been there.

The baby crying in the end was painful to my ears, but Debbie's was no more pleasant.   I am so glad Halley bears her audio resemblance, and perhaps this can give Howard some comfort over the loss of his mother.   He misses her so much!

Shamy, oh Shamy.   Amy was on her "A" game with sassiness tonight.  I loved her slamming the door on Raj.   Her facial expression regarding the hours comment was priceless.   Yeah, Sheldon, you are doing everything right.   However, I loved loved loved Sheldon's comment about ruining 24 individual hours of her life over being left out of WW and then softening his blow with the nose bump.   He is still so Sheldon, but Sheldon in love.   I'm sure that is how they ended up at WW after Halley's birth, so Amy could pay off her debt before having to suffer for it.   Look at the prize she got in the end.   Wowwza!

I'm convinced more than ever that something about Amy's nose, right down to the hairs in it, appeals to Sheldon.    I would love it if the reason for it is revealed eventually.   For someone who hates clowns, I wouldn't think a nose would be such center of attention, but Amy's sure is.   Maybe it's because its cavities lead to her brain that he finds so attractive or because it's never been broken like his.   Who knows?   Everyone has their thing.

Edited December 17, 2016 by jenafan

[djsurrey]

I gave it a good. I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite funny all the way through.

[Strawberry PopTart Fan]

I love this episode and find it funnier every time I watch it.

"Do we know th father or is this some Mama Mia nonsense?" Perfect

" The Annual Birthday Spectacular" Perfect

"Babe. They want to have sex." Perfect

"Not talking about trains." Perfect

Just to mention a few lines I love.

 

[Stephen Hawking]

I don't know about Harry Potter making it hotter

If I were Sheldon, I'd rather Amy let Janice Rand make it grand.

[djsurrey]

44 minutes ago, Stephen Hawking said:

I don't know about Harry Potter making it hotter

If I were Sheldon, I'd rather Amy let Janice Rand make it grand.

 

Amy humor has a history of inappropriateness.

Edited December 17, 2016 by djsurrey

[Tonstar17]

Didn't enjoy or laugh at this episode one bit. Think the A plot should have been Howardette. Shamy were off putting. It felt like Sheldon couldn't wait to get the deed done and get it out the way till next year. Lenny were cute for the 10 seconds they got. Raj being pathetic is getting old. For me Howardette stole the show and should have had more alone screen time. It's seems the only couple that get more screen time is Shamy. If I was to vote as I refuse to vote for anything on the forum. I would have given it a poor. Just for the fact the this episode should have been about the birth and Shamy second time should have been in another episode, not take center stage to the first baby on bbt. It should have been an iconic moment and precious for the couple. We didn't even see them cuddling their newborn and the joy on their faces. Reasons to be cheerful. Not this episode.

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[sarah7]

Regarding the "Sheldon the virgin AND the sex god" controversy that arose from the "It took us hours!" line, l think that after watching the episode, and coupling Amy's cat-that-just-ate-the-canary-smile with her comment "it reminds me of the first time we had coitus" after Sheldon's  "Why?, why?, why? Oh!, that's why!" from the Geology Elevation episode, we can more or less safely conclude that, after her initial nervousness, Amy took charge and directed the action during Opening Night. That, along with Sheldon's full disposition to please her, probably led to those hours allegedly spent, not only on coitus itself (wich most likely took just some minutes), but on all the preliminars and peripherals that constitute a satisfactory amatory session for any couple.

So, probably we are not talking here about another one of Sheldon's "superhuman" abilities (the 180-minute man?), but more about Amy knowing how to instruct her willing man to please her (and to please him as well, let's remember he enjoyed it more than he thought).

Hey, she may had been a virgin back then too, but she probably knew her body quite well, after all,  the writers had repeatedly told us that she was not unfamiliar with self-pleasing techniques, hadn't they?

Edited December 17, 2016 by sarah7

[shamyarmy2016]

LOVED THIS EPISODE

BECAUSE WAS FUNNY YET SWEET YET SAD AT THE SAME TIME

when the episode started it showed Howard comforting Bernie while Raj drove them to the hospital 

 Then in the next it shows Sheldon waking up Amy at midnight and wishing her a happy birthday

then giving her a present then they kiss  and then they try to have coitus when Lenny(Leonard and penny)  Interrupt 

them to tell them Bernie is having the baby

the next scene shows Raj and Howard and Bernie and Stuart in the hospital room

 with the doctor and she tells them that she is not ready for labor and sends them 

home 

the next scene shows Shamy and Lenny coming down the steps when Bernie calls and tells them 

not to come to the hospital because she was not ready

In the same scene Penny asks the guys if they wanted to do something and Amy asked Sheldon

 Sheldon said he didn't care it her birthday and penny said They should go to a bar 

and Leonard told penny they wanted to have sex and penny said Oh its the annual birthday booty spectacular 

antd the rest was the gang at the hospital and the last scene was Shamy coitus

 

 

[jenafan]

4 hours ago, sarah7 said:

Regarding the "Sheldon the virgin AND the sex god" controversy that arose from the "It took us hours!" line, l think that after watching the episode, and coupling Amy's cat-that-just-ate-the-canary-smile with her comment "it reminds me of the first time we had coitus" after Sheldon's  "Why?, why?, why? Oh!, that's why!" from the Geology Elevation episode, we can more or less safely conclude that, after her initial nervousness, Amy took charge and directed the action during Opening Night. That, along with Sheldon's full disposition to please her, probably led to those hours allegedly spent, not only on coitus itself (wich most likely took just some minutes), but on all the preliminars and peripherals that constitute a satisfactory amatory session for any couple.

So, probably we are not talking here about another one of Sheldon's "superhuman" abilities (the 180-minute man?), but more about Amy knowing how to instruct her willing man to please her (and to please him as well, let's remember he enjoyed it more than he thought).

Hey, she may had been a virgin back then too, but she probably knew her body quite well, after all,  the writers had repeatedly told us that she was not unfamiliar with self-pleasing techniques, hadn't they?

What Howardette did in Sheldon's bedroom that resulted in conception was a "quickie."   Heck, even Sheldon considered it in Amy's lab when he wanted to knock her up.

I agree, I think Amy may have been the guiding force in the initial coitus.  For so many years, he mocked human sexuality and had preconceived notions about various aspects of it.  He even admitted to the fear of becoming overwhelmed and ruining it for both of them.   I'm sure he had to overcome his perceptions, and Amy had to help in the way she always does.   I get why their first time could very well have taken hours.   Sheldon stating he enjoyed it more than he thought he would indicates that he didn't expect to, but it didn't mean he was ready to jump back in immediately either.

Sheldon is so opposite of so men I know who stated that when they discovered sex the first time, they wore their woman out for the first few months/year.

[JE7]

The birth was overshadowed by "the birthday booty spectacular" 

Overall It wasn't bad but it wasn't particularly good either

21 hours ago, Stephen Hawking said:

I don't know about Harry Potter making it hotter

If I were Sheldon, I'd rather Amy let Janice Rand make it grand.

Leonard and is always the Capt. So random is Penny's, Sheldon is spick so Amy is as she was once before nurse chapel

[Shelldon]

-What do 1.3 billion people know about having babies? I don't know Raj, you aren't any of the Indians that had a baby so I'm guessing that culture joke was a swing and a miss in poor taste since you aren't your entire collective people.

-Sheldon's brain is ripped but what about that thing in his pants?

-Leonard's inhaler side plot was more filler in an episode full of it. Just write an actual script for a birth episode. Let the nerd stereotypes and constant sex talk wait for one of your terrible episodes in the Spring.

-Harry Potter does not make it hotter. Are they going to roleplay annually? Because if Lorre wanted a bunch of easy Shamy jokes he could have them roleplay sex every episode. 

-Raj revealing the gender seems to have only been done so that we wouldn't have to see a scene of Howardette learning immediately after the birth.

-Every time they focus on Raj being a sad sack and talking about not accomplishing anything, I think it's finally going to be the turning point. Absolutely not buying a shift for Raj will happen in 2017 yet. The scene of the gang listing off all their big moments just rang hollow as they proceeded to ignore a big new moment. 

-24 individual hours sprinkled throughout the year <3

-Ice chips are delicious. Snickers > Milky Way

-"Still a loser or did you turn things around while you were gone?".

-Melodramatic MnM toss.

-"Some will be successful. Some will be homeless. It's fun to think about".

-Horrible decision to never have the baby appear on screen and have it make sounds like Howard's mom. Who, how sweet of them to have Howard finally say a few things about. There's always some sort of catch that comes with a status quo change. Shamy live in the same setting Sheldon was before, Lenny's married life is exactly like their dating life, Shamy only have sex for fanservice, Raj repeats the stages of heartbreak after meeting someone new that looks like the one.

-Why can't the series finale be in May 2017? That's all I'm asking for Xmas.

[djsurrey]

20 hours ago, Shelldon said:

-Why can't the series finale be in May 2017? That's all I'm asking for Xmas.

You could act as though this was the finale and have it over with now if that is what you want. Bonus, it is not Christmas yet.

[Stephen Hawking]

Surely they can't keep the Shamy coitus at once a year now?

Amy deserves far more than once a year, and no man could seriously only want Amy once a year.

[Chrismo]

51 minutes ago, Stephen Hawking said:

Surely they can't keep the Shamy coitus at once a year now?

Amy deserves far more than once a year, and no man could seriously only want Amy once a year.

Why can't they? Didn't see the point of the storyline to begin with.

Amy deserves better ?  LOL As to no man could only want Amy once a year? Another LOL.  Her first time was with  Sheldon and she was how old? All other men appear to be able to control themselves