episodes 1102 - The Retraction Reaction (October 2)

[Tripper]

'The Retraction Reaction' - Season 11, Episode 2 
Airs Monday, October 2 at 8/7c on CBS.

Leonard angers the university - and the entire physics community - after he gives an embarrassing interview. Also, Amy and Bernadette bond over having to hide their success from Sheldon and Howard.

[veejay]

That seems to be the new spirit.

[Tripper]

Poll - What did you think of this episode?

[Die Zimtzicke]

The ep was okay but not great. I liked them drinking the Romulan ale. I liked seeing the female head of the dept. again and we got some science back in the show. But everything else was just eh.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Die Zimtzicke

[Capt. Hilts]

I liked it.

There's too much make-up on Amy.  She looks like a candle.

[Chrismo]

It was better than last week but that didn't take much. Liked the original 5 together in a storyline. Unfortunately the idea was better than the result. Bernadette/Amy ditto. The idea was better than the end result. Mrs. Davis and Leonardi liked in the first scene together. The tag however reminded me a little of drunk Sheldon and Hawking. Thought it would of been funnier if Leonard sent a wonderfully written retraction about Physics. Instead  the email made things worse and my guess the whole storyline will be dropped and not heard of again.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Chrismo

[DrWackaDoodle]

This episode was boring. The only time my husband and I laughed was during the tag when Mrs. Davis was reading Leonard's drunk e-mail. For the second episode of the season, this seriously had a "mid-season filler episode" feeling. I'm wondering if it's a recycled script from last year with just a few tweaks. 

[Shelldon]

-Drinking water instead of wine, that is a red flag.

-This scene implies Sheldon would have to go 3 months without a single call from somebody telling him Bernadette/Howard were having another kid. Not well thought out.

-Sheldon's already right about where this is headed for Leonard before we even reach credits.

-This sitcom really is an endless circle of put-downs. How do any of them have a self-esteem?

-Someone wanna tell me where the joke was with Teresa? Didn't fit any of what he was saying in an amusing way but a laugh track played after it so yuk yuk. 

-Doesn't Leonard have Penny to vent to instead of a public radio? You think he'd remember to at least not sound cynical for his bosses. PFF!

-Why do they do subplots like this? Are we supposed to think every guy in this episode is in a dead-end career? The only time they highlight the women's success is when it's used to make jabs at the fragile nerd masculinity.

-Even Leonard's employers get in on the make Leonard feel worthless party. They also squeeze another high school reference in, since apparently 15 years after it's still traumatic for these adults.

-The one time Sheldon tells him he's right, it's the worst thing he can hear.

-Mouthwash ale. Tongue-kissed Avatar.

-Oh, now the subplot reminds us the women can feel down on themselves too. Except Bernadette since she's a smug little scamming *****. 

-"Sometimes the Physics is hard, but isn't that what makes it boring?".

-This may be a big ball of depression, but I have to give the writers credit for excluding Koothrappali from the usual "my life sucks" rhetoric and...nevermind there he is.

-They need to do a Halloween episode again. Being in a cemetery is the closest they've been to that.

-Will they get glory and awards by the series finale? I don't know if the characters have even earned it, but from a standpoint of us suffering through their sorrow, it needs to happen for a feel-good payoff. Them sticking to their passion doesn't matter if the show constantly undermines that passion like it's inferior.

-I'll save the date like she saves that email.

[legacy99]

To be honest I wasn't really impressed

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[SRAM]

Another Leonard bashing episode and Penny didn't seem sympathetic to me at all, I didn't really care for it.

[3ku11]

TBH I really enjoyed the episode. One of their strongest in a few seasons. I have a different interpretation. I don't think it was bashing Leonard at all. I actually enjoyed seeing a Leonard centric episode for once. I mean you got your typical Sheldon bashing Leonard joke. But it is not like anyone bashed Leonard reguarly through out the episode. Penny has always been the anti geek. She would of been more sympathetic I think. If she was more understanding. It was nice to see some of the Science in terms of the dialogue return. Also nice to see a shift back to their work and careers, and away from the relationships. My thoughts on the episode overall;

The premise did seem a bit of a rehash of even go back as far as Season One. When Leonard told Penny on their first date their has not been any original findings in Science since the 30's. When they discovered string theory. Leonard is right to say Physics is a dead end. Obviousley saying it on public radio was a mistake lol. IT is funny when Leonard was saying Physics essentially is pointless. It reminded me of this scene .

 

 I did like when Penny defended Leonard when Sheldon critisised his voice. That was nice. I also enjoyed the Penny and the guys plot. IT is rare we get those these days. I thought it was a solid conclusion. When they were all reminded Physics is not about the accolades or the recognition. But the fun. If this is the tone for the rest of the season, more focus on their work. Good improovment. 

I also enjoyed the Bernadette/Amy plot. I liked the focus onto woman and their careers. They are an anomoloy in sitcoms. Amy and Bernadette. Their are alot of party girl female characters, or housewifes. IT is great too see two strong female characters, who are so career driven. 

I thought the funniest line of the episode was the Phantom Menace joke. Nice old school dialogue their. It is funny I think some of us are guilty some times of looking at this show with rose tinted glasses. Therefore be nostalgic. And compare this show to the past. I do too. But some times you have to appreciate the now. I thought it was a solid episode personally. I guess problem with this series atm is they seem to be recycling alot of stories from previous seasons. And just tweaking them slightly. So I liked it, because it was familiar. But I Think in the future they are going to have to take more risks. And be more bold. But I am easy lol. I  Really enjoyed it. Probably vote good. 

Edited October 3, 2017 by 3ku11

[djsurrey]

I found it very funny.

Also thought it was funny that Amy's million dollar machine was a fMRI which of course is dependent on discoveries made by physicists. Physics is not dead.

Quote

In the 1970s, Paul Lauterbur, a chemistry professor at the State University of New York, and physics professor Peter Mansfield from the University of Nottingham in England, individually used magnetic resonance as the basis for developing a new diagnostic technique, called magnetic resonance imaging. The first commercial MRI scanner was produced in 1980.

Then in the early 1990s, a physicist named Seiji Ogawa who was working at what was then Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, discovered something while conducting animal studies. He found that oxygen-poor hemoglobin (the molecule in blood that carries oxygen) was affected differently by a magnetic field than oxygen-rich hemoglobin. Ogawa realized that he could use these contrasts in the blood oxygen response to map images of brain activity on a normal MRI scan.

from http://science.howstuffworks.com/fmri.htm

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by djsurrey

[Chrismo]

3 minutes ago, 3ku11 said:

TBH I really enjoyed the episode. One of their strongest in a few seasons. I have a different interpretation. I don't think it was bashing Leonard at all. I actually enjoyed seeing a Leonard centric episode for once. I mean you got your typical Sheldon bashing Leonard joke. But it is not like anyone bashed Leonard reguarly through out the episode. Penny has always been the anti geek. She would of been more sympathetic I think. If she was more understanding. It was nice to see some of the Science in terms of the dialogue return. Also nice to see a shift back to their work and careers, and away from the relationships. My thoughts on the episode overall;

The premise did seem a bit of a rehash of even go back as far as Season One. When Leonard told Penny on their first date their has not been any original findings in Science since the 30's. When they discovered string theory. Leonard is right to say Physics is a dead end. Obviousley saying it on public radio was a mistake lol. I liked Penny defended Leonard when Sheldon critisised his voice. That was nice. I also enjoyed the Penny and the guys plot. IT is rare we get those these days. I thought it was a solid conclusion. When they were all reminded Physics is not about the accolades or the recognition. But the fun. If this is the tone for the rest of the season, more focus on their work. Good improovment. 

I also enjoyed the Bernadette/Amy plot. I liked the focus onto woman and their careers. They are an anomoloy in sitcoms. Amy and Bernadette. Their are alot of party girl female characters, or housewifes. IT is great too see two strong female characters, who are so career driven. 

I will agree with you that it was nice to see a non relationship episode.  Strongest in the last few seasons. JMO that's a bit of a stretch. Penny did defend Leonard to Sheldon but then ended up agreeing with him. I don't think it was Leonard bashing either since he talked himself into trouble. I think Penny, as others said, could of been more supportive of Leonard. The NCIS episode when Penny quit TCF  comes to be Mind. I get the point about the accolades but that doesn't make how their careers appear to be at a dead end. I'm all for career driven woman but the bashing of Howard and Sheldon was too much to me. Also Bernadette hiding money from  Howard seems not ideal when you complain of his spending and kid number 2 is on the way.

[joyceraye]

I liked it. It was about work, even though for the boys it was in a negative way. So the gang don't see one another as often as they used to,judged by Sheldon's discounting of Bernadette's pregnancy until he hears it from the horse's mouth. Last week's test must have been one of those that shows a pregnancy after a few days (or is there a new on the market that predicts a pregnancy a few weeks ahead  ? LOL )  if she's really only 'about three months' along. Are we still at the end of August in BBT land ? 

Wasn't the making of the infinite persistent gyroscope an advance in physics ? I seem to remember Sheldon had to keep working on equations to get it to the demanded size. Interesting that they 'consulted' Feynman instead of Stephen Hawking. 

[djsurrey]

7 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

Wasn't the making of the infinite persistent gyroscope an advance in physics ? I seem to remember Sheldon had to keep working on equations to get it to the demanded size. Interesting that they 'consulted' Feynman instead of Stephen Hawking. 

Well it was an application of physics. Applications are were the science actually impacts society. The next theoretical breakthrough might depend on observations yet to be made or even math not yet developed. Negative results are always important too. 

[bfm]

I realy liked it! TBBT is a light hearted show but it touched on "big", relevant, grown-up issues, like dissapointments in the field of physics, carreer crisis that is also a bit of an identity crisis, gender expectations and integrity vs getting money (both of the storylines had that, though there was not much of a resolution to that but I'm fine with that, it being a light sitcom), and still made me laugh, sometimes LOL.

Sheldon's comment about Bernadette being only 3 months along and looking like that was on spot! And was Raj's elephant comment a meta on the elephant-length pregnancies? Well at least they recognise how stupid they're being. 

I also liked that Leonard and Sheldon worked together, and Sheldon even admitted Leonard's words held truth instead of finding every possible way to prove him wrong and humiliate him. I liked that, that is growth! Maybe it's one of those times Holland refered to where the writers thought Sheldon could be a real ass but decided to take it to a different direction. Kudos to them! It could have gone a very repetitve way. I did laugh at Sheldon this episode and didn't get sick and angry with him as in the last episode and many season 10 episodes.

I LOLed at the "two whiny babies" and Howard's reaction, I think it worked well both thanks to the writing and Simon's acting. Another LOL at Amy's fMRI bunk bed!

Penny...I expected more from her, I wish she had at least one more sensitive comment and also think that with little things like rubbing Leonard's shoulder or a little carresing they could have get strong effects. She did try to help and she was there all along, she didn't go away when the guys were talking science and she went to the graveyard with them staying close to her husband, but she didn't help at all. Maybe because she is not very good at that (when Leonard was mad at Sheldon for not mentioning him in an interview on their super fluid paper she wanted to help but didn't really know how and went for buying him a toy helicopter) but it wasn't clear from the episode that that's was the problem.

Amy and Bernie had a nice B story and I think it had more than what it seemed to have on surface. It is more accepted when men brag and there are issues with successful women. This is something that IMO stemms from social expectations aimed at both genders. Men are still expected to be the bread-winners, the leaders. It creates problems for both men and women. TBBT has touched that in the past. and I'm glad it keeps going there in its light-hearted way.

The tag way amusing but like @Chrismo I thought maybe Leonard sent something good, that would have been a nice addition to the amusing mail and a better closure IMO. 

[bfm]

BTW, can anyone explain how the positions there work? I remember Mrs. Davis working in HR, now she is the dean..? Here faculty deans are professors from the faculty... and what about department head Gablehouser? Leonard said something about the way it works but I didn't really get it. 

[April]

2 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Last week's test must have been one of those that shows a pregnancy after a few days (or is there a new on the market that predicts a pregnancy a few weeks ahead  ? LOL )  if she's really only 'about three months' along. Are we still at the end of August in BBT land ? 

They clearly don't know how pregnancy tests work. /facepalm

[HeWolf]

I liked this one. It wasn't great and there were few 'laugh out loud' moments, but we got almost a whole episode return to the core 5, with Amy and Bernadette shunted off to their own story. There were some good moments and I don't really mind the anguish the others inflicted on Leonard. This would hardly be unusual in the interactions of four, close, male friends. I liked some of the moments; Romulan Ale, the Physics focus, Feinman references, and most of all, the non-adolescent Sheldon. Best moment for me was Sheldon talking about his possible career guessing people's weight at the Fair. 180!

The Bernadette and Amy bits were fluff and a waste of time. Also, neither came off well as people and/or life partners. JMO

Not sure how the university leadership is organized but it was strange to hear the HR Director referred to as the Dean. Seibert was the University President and it would seem more appropriate for Leonard to be called into his office. Sloppy writing again? 

Edited October 3, 2017 by HeWolf

[Die Zimtzicke]

10 hours ago, Capt. Hilts said:

There's too much make-up on Amy.  She looks like a candle.

She got new glasses, too. I think they are trying to make her slightly less dowdy as time goes on.

8 hours ago, SRAM said:

Another Leonard bashing episode and Penny didn't seem sympathetic to me at all, I didn't really care for it.

I didn't think she was either. All of my friends told me this was going to be an ep where she was supportive and focused on them, but I didn't see it at all.

7 hours ago, Chrismo said:

Also Bernadette hiding money from  Howard seems not ideal when you complain of his spending and kid number 2 is on the way.

Especially after the fuss the fans have made about how she got mad at Howard for buying that machine that one time, and problems over hiding money in the past with different characters. You think they'd learn.

[bfm]

40 minutes ago, HeWolf said:

I liked this one. It wasn't great and there were few 'laugh out loud' moments, but we got almost a whole episode return to the core 5, with Amy and Bernadette shunted off to their own story. There were some good moments and I don't really mind the anguish the others inflicted on Leonard. This would hardly be unusual in the interactions of four, close, male friends. I liked some of the moments; Romulan Ale, the Physics focus, Feinman references, and most of all, the non-adolescent Sheldon. Best moment for me was Sheldon talking about his possible career guessing people's weight at the Fair. 180!

The Bernadette and Amy bits were fluff and a waste of time. Also, neither came off well as people and/or life partners. JMO

Not sure how the university leadership is organized but it was strange to hear the HR Director referred to as the Dean. Seibert was the University President and it would seem more appropriate for Leonard to be called into his office. Sloppy writing again? 

So I wasn't the only one confused by that! Yay! 

[SRAM]

52 minutes ago, bfm said:

So I wasn't the only one confused by that! Yay! 

No, the writers entirely screwed that up, they wanted the actor in the scene so they forced it.  I wish they would bring Siebert back, I always thought he was funny.

[joyceraye]

8 minutes ago, SRAM said:

No, the writers entirely screwed that up, they wanted the actor in the scene so they forced it.  I wish they would bring Siebert back, I always thought he was funny.

Actually I thought it was a joke of Leonard's about being called into the Dean's office. I thought he was in HR because of the danger to his job. When I was a student, deans were in charge of the welfare of students. Funding matters were the bursar's domain.

[joyceraye]

Did anybody else spot the glimpses of classic, funny, Amy ?  What about : 'If you had Fowler's Palsy you wouldn't be able to cross your fingers' and 'I came up with it. That felt good. He he'  and 'Sometimes I lie down in there and take a nap' ?

Together with the one-liner last week about the rat I'm hoping they bode well. And then there's not quite getting make-up right.

[Carm6773]

2 hours ago, SRAM said:

No, the writers entirely screwed that up, they wanted the actor in the scene so they forced it.  I wish they would bring Siebert back, I always thought he was funny.

Not only that, Leonard said he had never been there before.  That's not true either.