episodes 1115 'The Novelization Correlation' (February 1)

[Tripper]

'The Novelization Correlation' - Season 11, Episode 15 
Airs Thursday, February 1 at 8/7c on CBS.

When Sheldon petitions Wil Wheaton to appear on the new Professor Proton show, Wil offers a role to Amy instead. Also, Penny gets angry when she thinks the female protagonist in Leonard's novel is based on her.

Christine Baranski and Wil Wheaton guest star.

[Tensor]

Rate This Episode

[Die Zimtzicke]

I liked the episode and I actually liked the parts with the guys bantering at lunch making fun of Sheldon and Sheldon with Will Wheaton and then with Amy better than any of the book scenes. Of course Beverly was a hoot, but she always is. But none of the book stuff interested me at all. I just wonder if it will ever go anywhere after this.

[Capt. Hilts]

I thought this episode used ALL the characters in a much more effective way than usual.  As a result, it didn't flow like a clip show for a longer show we never see as they do so often.

The scene with Bernadette and Penny was good.  And it was interesting to see Leonard interacting with Bernadette.  Also fun to see Sheldon with Howard. Sheldon and Amy were good and, yes, it was good to see the lunch room scenes. 

GREAT twist at the end.

Now, get them back to the Cheesecake Factory!!!

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Capt. Hilts

[joyceraye]

I hope after all this effort they've been to they're not dropping the book storyline. Leonard seemed a bit defeated at the end, I want him to pick it up again after a very short break if he needs one.

[Capt. Hilts]

Just now, joyceraye said:

I hope after all this effort they've been to they're not dropping the book storyline. Leonard seemed a bit defeated at the end, I want him to pick it up again after a very short break if he needs one.

I ABSOLUTELY agree with you  on this point.

[Chrismo]

I enjoyed the episode. Best in the last 3-4 years. All characters including Will and Beverly were very good. Enjoyed both storylines though I thought the Wheaton one  was a little more predictable. If I had to pick one star in the episode it was Bernadette. I liked the Bernadette scenes with Leonard and Penny. Leonard's fictional boss could of been Penny, Bernadette or beverly. I don't think Leonard thought it was Penny until Bernadette mentioned it. Thought it was interesting Penny thought it was Bernadette considering their appears to be sexual tension between the Leonard character and the blonde in black.

As for the book since Leonard decided the women in black was his mother I think that storyline is dead.

[joyceraye]

32 minutes ago, Chrismo said:

I enjoyed the episode. 

As for the book since Leonard decided the woman in black was his mother I think that storyline is dead.

I hope it's not concluded that simply. Leonard can now write about his mother, murder her in print, and then create a similar character consciously based on Bernadette, Leslie Winkle, Amy, Priya, or anybody else he half-respects and half-fears.

Edited February 2, 2018 by joyceraye

[veejay]

I had a slight feeling of regret for Sheldon during this episode and I was very happy that he finally found his place in the end, where he was able to shout out all his frustration and incomprehension about the misery of the world loudly.
But then I thought, maybe he just found that dirty sock that was missing the first time.

[bfm]

I really enjoyed this episode! One of my favorites of this season! I found it funny, it touched on core issues of "the big 2" and used the characters well and in a way I felt was quite balanced. @Tensor you brought us luck! You should go to every taping . 

The Leonard plot was great, IMO. I liked that Bernadette, and of course Penny, actually liked the book. For once they didn't have Leonard fail as they like to do and did many times (well maybe it's the change of writng team, so "they" are others now). Penny's reactions were great. She was very supportive of her husband and seemed to enjoy not only the book but also his enthusiasm. In her imagined book scene the character also appeared to truly care about "Logan" and of course there was the attraction . She also seemed hurt but perhaps even more worried than hurt (we know Penny conceals vulnerability with anger) that her husband might feel everything she does hurts him. I would worry very much if that happened to me!  I wonder if I myself would have think it could be Beverly if it weren't for the TR. Anyway it was very fitting, the texts were very Beverly.

If it weren't a comedy it would have actually been very sad, even tragic. Leonard keeps to this fantasy that his mother will be there to take care of him as she should have been, only to get hurt once and again. The reason he "comes back for more" is not that he likes it but that he is deeply traumatized. It is repetition compulsion, repeating something that was too much for him again and again. He also has the hope that sometime it will be different. However, that hope, while damaging in relation to Beverly and Sheldon (even destructive in Beverly's case), is perhaps what actually got him and Penny where they are. He did not give up on them and in this case it brought him great happiness, as this time his efforts were directed at a person who truly loves him and cares about him (as seen in this episode).

As for the Sheldon plot - I thought it was Sheldon making important strides. Sure it is wayyy too late. Sure he still had his bug jackass moments. But his friends telling him about all the accommodations they do for him and him actually caring and acting to change that (well, at least in relations to Amy) is definitely a change. I also found these parts amusing and I always love Amy on camera.

[Jonny]

8 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

I liked the episode and I actually liked the parts with the guys bantering at lunch making fun of Sheldon and Sheldon with Will Wheaton and then with Amy better than any of the book scenes. Of course Beverly was a hoot, but she always is. But none of the book stuff interested me at all. I just wonder if it will ever go anywhere after this.

I think it was all set up for Beverly, now she has appeared and that gag has been used I suspect the book storyline is over. Which is a shame IMO because they could have explored it perhaps as an actual potential career changer.

Not that I think the book as we saw in the flashbacks would have been that successful, but they decided from the outset it was never going to go anywhere so it wasn't going to look good.

Overall and where I am now with the show and what I look forward to and enjoy seeing it was just not my cup of tea really when it comes to episodes. I had issues with both storylines, but it was better than I expected it to be from the spoilers, synopsis, promo stuff etc.

Edited February 2, 2018 by Jonny

[bfm]

6 hours ago, Chrismo said:

I enjoyed the episode. Best in the last 3-4 years. All characters including Will and Beverly were very good. Enjoyed both storylines though I thought the Wheaton one  was a little more predictable. If I had to pick one star in the episode it was Bernadette. I liked the Bernadette scenes with Leonard and Penny. Leonard's fictional boss could of been Penny, Bernadette or beverly. I don't think Leonard thought it was Penny until Bernadette mentioned it. Thought it was interesting Penny thought it was Bernadette considering their appears to be sexual tension between the Leonard character and the blonde in black.

As for the book since Leonard decided the women in black was his mother I think that storyline is dead.

The sexual tension depends on how you read it. When it was Beverly it was gone, when it was Penny it was high. With Bernadette there have been this inferiority complex innuendo but it didn't go anywhere. Also remember that both the Bernadette part and the latter Penny part where the scientist was attractive/seducing were in Penny's mind. It could have been the effect of her perception of some brilliant scientist... The Beverly one was in Leonard's mind. The comment about an average inferiority complex there was more him trying to soften the blow. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by bfm

[Die Zimtzicke]

9 hours ago, joyceraye said:

I hope after all this effort they've been to they're not dropping the book storyline. Leonard seemed a bit defeated at the end, I want him to pick it up again after a very short break if he needs one.

I am leaning toward believing it's not going to be a big plot point. If it's  not over it's close to being over if not already over. But I could be wrong.

 

[Chrismo]

2 hours ago, bfm said:

The sexual tension depends on how you read it. When it was Beverly it was gone, when it was Penny it was high. With Bernadette there have been this inferiority complex innuendo but it didn't go anywhere. Also remember that both the Bernadette part and the latter Penny part where the scientist was attractive/seducing were in Penny's mind. It could have been the effect of her perception of some brilliant scientist... The Beverly one was in Leonard's mind. The comment about an average inferiority complex there was more him trying to soften the blow. 

I agree it is how you read it. There are many interpretations IMO. I just thought it was interesting that the scientist was attractive/seducing in Penny's mind  was Bernadette.

[Chrismo]

6 hours ago, Jonny said:

I think it was all set up for Beverly, now she has appeared and that gag has been used I suspect the book storyline is over. Which is a shame IMO because they could have explored it perhaps as an actual potential career changer.

Not that I think the book as we saw in the flashbacks would have been that successful, but they decided from the outset it was never going to go anywhere so it wasn't going to look good.

Overall and where I am now with the show and what I look forward to and enjoy seeing it was just not my cup of tea really when it comes to episodes. I had issues with both storylines, but it was better than I expected it to be from the spoilers, synopsis, promo stuff etc.

I agree with your first two paragraphs. The two storylines pointed out how Leonard and Sheldon are. Nothing groundbreaking. To me though the episode made me laugh. A first time in a few years. As the show winds down IMO that's the best you can hope for.

[MTBigBangTheoryFan]

Last night Episode was on the better Epsidoe this season. I couldn't stop laughing when Howard was imitating Leonard.  Am I the only one who thought the killer was Stuart or whatever Character he was in Leonard Book? 

[veejay]

Sometimes I sit pretty confused in front of my TV...

...and suddenly notice, oops, wrong show.
(Wake up, wake up...)

[Chrismo]

15 minutes ago, veejay said:

Sometimes I sit pretty confused in front of my TV...

...and suddenly notice, oops, wrong show.
(Wake up, wake up...)

Would of been funny if Bernadette was reading a magazine with Kaley on the cover.

[veejay]

15 minutes ago, Chrismo said:

Would of been funny if Bernadette was reading a magazine with Kaley on the cover.

Who’s Kaley?   But you’re right, I guess there's a lot of covers all around.

[Mario D.]

15 hours ago, joyceraye said:

I hope after all this effort they've been to they're not dropping the book storyline. Leonard seemed a bit defeated at the end, I want him to pick it up again after a very short break if he needs one.

Agree   Think this storyline needs to go a bit further with Penny supporting Leonard. Maybe he can even write Penny in as a love interest for Logan Dean?

[bfm]

BTW, another big continuity problem on the show: Raj goes back and forth between understanding and not understanding Hindi.

[joyceraye]

55 minutes ago, bfm said:

BTW, another big continuity problem on the show: Raj goes back and forth between understanding and not understanding Hindi.

I have reconciled myself to that problem by inventing an explanation. His native language is English but he would have been taught Hindi at school. It's standard practice in the sort of school he went to. If he wasn't good at it he still would know a few words and would have made sure as a teenager that he understood things like the titles of  pop songs and radio programmes,not to mention poems to woo girls with. Any languages teacher can tell you there are some pupils, no matter how intelligent, for whom language-learning is very difficult and they never really get it.  All over Wales you'll find people who struggle with Welsh although they've been taught it since they were five or even younger. I was like that with mathematics for a very long time - there was a big gulf between being taught and learning. ( Fortunately the maths clicked eventually. )

Then again, Raj might just have been messing Sheldon about.

[Kev0821]

1 hour ago, joyceraye said:

I have reconciled myself to that problem by inventing an explanation. His native language is English but he would have been taught Hindi at school. It's standard practice in the sort of school he went to. If he wasn't good at it he still would know a few words and would have made sure as a teenager that he understood things like the titles of  pop songs and radio programmes,not to mention poems to woo girls with. Any languages teacher can tell you there are some pupils, no matter how intelligent, for whom language-learning is very difficult and they never really get it.  All over Wales you'll find people who struggle with Welsh although they've been taught it since they were five or even younger. I was like that with mathematics for a very long time - there was a big gulf between being taught and learning. ( Fortunately the maths clicked eventually. )

Then again, Raj might just have been messing Sheldon about.

I'm a Spanish teacher and agree with the points you made. There is a difference between learning and acquiring a language. We strive for the latter. However, I think the understanding or lack thereof of Hindi on Raj's part just depends on the jokes written for the episode.

[djsurrey]

It was entertaining. Looking back on it it seems a little funny that penny did not know who the character was based on first. She generally figures that sort of thing out quickly. I'm remembering it was Penny that figured out Stephanie had moved in before Leonard did.

Quote

Leonard: We’re not living together.

Penny: Are you sure?

Leonard: How could I not be sure?

Penny: Well, let’s find out.

Leonard: Don’t you think if a woman was living with me I’d be the first one to know about it?

Penny: Oh, sweetie, you’d be the last one to know about it. (Looking through his wardrobe) Hmm, cute dresses. I bet this looks great on you!

Leonard: We’re not living together.

Penny: Okay, hmm, scented candles, fuzzy slippers, ooh, floral bed sheets?

Leonard: We’re not living together.

Penny: Okay, moving on. Now, who are these guys at Disney World?

Leonard: Uh, the big dog is Goofy, and the older couple with the mouse ears , I have no idea. We’re not living together!

Penny: You’re going to go down swinging, huh? All right, well, we got your body lotion, your InStyle Magazine, your jewellery box.

Leonard: We’re not… Where’s my Bat Signal?

Penny: You have a Bat Signal?

Leonard: I did. It was right here. She must’ve… Oh, my God, we’re living together.

Penny: Really? What was your first clue?

 

[Chrismo]

28 minutes ago, djsurrey said:

It was entertaining. Looking back on it it seems a little funny that penny did not know who the character was based on first. She generally figures that sort of thing out quickly. I'm remembering it was Penny that figured out Stephanie had moved in before Leonard did.

 

I think Penny he an easier time figuring things out about other people but not herself.