episodes 1118 'The Gates Excitation' (March 29)

[djsurrey]

On 3/31/2018 at 10:43 AM, joyceraye said:

Halley is by no means too young. They make plenty with bunny-rabbits on, or even in bunny shapes for age group. Her doting grandparents and all the uncles and aunts she has should have sent her shelvesful of eggs. It's beyond belief that there wouldn't be any for her.

I can't believe that Leonard was doing a candles, hearts-and-flowers apology for Penny with no chocolate, on eat-your-own- weight -in- chocolate day, which would be nearly as bad as no wine. That  self-focussed Sheldon would forget and not buy Amy a lovely egg with hearts on it is believable, but not Leonard. I can't believe they overlooked the opportunity for him to give her a big, fancy egg with all the trimmings.

With regards to Halley and her grandparents for me it was actually more surprising there was not a meal with extended family regardless of eggs and chocolate. But then in Canada we have a four day weekend and I guess they don't in the US.

It does not surprise me that Leonard has no Easter awareness given his family history.

[joyceraye]

2 hours ago, djsurrey said:

With regards to Halley and her grandparents for me it was actually more surprising there was not a meal with extended family regardless of eggs and chocolate. But then in Canada we have a four day weekend and I guess they don't in the US.

It does not surprise me that Leonard has no Easter awareness given his family history.

I daresay if it's an ordinary working week in California, Leonard wouldn't notice as he probably doesn't bother with a printed calendar any more. If the shops in the US aren't full of  chicks and bunnies and other Easter goodies to buy for loved ones,  he mightn't be aware. I'm surprised Sheldon,however, wasn't lecturing them about what was interesting about Sunday's date this year apart from being All Fools' Day and about the many customs around the world. Come to think of it, though, it's not something he does for holidays, although he did investigate the history of the  US Thanksgiving meal once.

This is the first weekend of the year many tourist attractions on this side of the pond open for business. It's been pretty cold so far and tomorrow it's forecast rain where there isn't snow, so they'll suffer quite a loss of income. Many families make for sunny Florida anyway and I suspect there's been an increase in their number this year. A coupe of weeks ago we were forecast a 'white Easter' which would deter a lot of people from staying in the country. Schools are closed from two to four weeks and parents aren't allowed to take children away in term time any more so they take the week or fortnight off while they have the long weekend in the middle.

[Die Zimtzicke]

5 hours ago, djsurrey said:

It does not surprise me that Leonard has no Easter awareness given his family history.

He talked about Easter egg hunting once in eleven years.

 

2 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Leonard wouldn't notice as he probably doesn't bother with a printed calendar any more. If the shops in the US aren't full of  chicks and bunnies and other Easter goodies to buy for loved ones, 

They have Easter candy in the shops but it's for families with small children who celebrate. I've never in 62 years seen an adult give another adult an Easter egg.

 

2 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Schools are closed from two to four weeks and parents aren't allowed to take children away in term time any more so they take the week or fortnight off while they have the long weekend in the middle

In the midwest they give them off the week before Easter but call it spring break. They can't call it Easter. 

[djsurrey]

1 hour ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

He talked about Easter egg hunting once in eleven years.

Oh, right in 7.04.

Quote

Leonard: Gee, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I was always the subject of her little experiments. Did you get to the chapter where she staged the Easter egg hunt with no eggs to see how long I’d keep looking? The answer, by the way, June.

I doubt Leonard would be the buyer of Easter eggs. That was actually my point.

[djsurrey]

2 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

I've never in 62 years seen an adult give another adult an Easter egg.

My wife gives them to adults often enough. So did her mother. So do many of our friends. We have a dish with chocolate Easter eggs in the other room. If someone drops in they would likely be offered an egg. Spread the joy.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/easter-eggs-history-origin-symbolism-tradition_n_1392054 

Edited April 2, 2018 by djsurrey

[djsurrey]

2 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

In the midwest they give them off the week before Easter but call it spring break. They can't call it Easter. 

I believe you but it sounds strange to my ear as these are national Holidays here. from https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/remuneration-compensation/services-paye-pay-services/paye-centre-pay/feries-holidays-eng.html

Quote

2018 Statutory holidays

Holiday	Date
New Year's Day	Monday, January 1, 2018
Good Friday	Friday, March 30, 2018
Easter Monday	Monday, April 2, 2018

[snip]

 

Edited April 2, 2018 by djsurrey

[vonmar]

22 minutes ago, djsurrey said:

I believe you but it sounds strange to my ear as these are national Holidays here. from https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/remuneration-compensation/services-paye-pay-services/paye-centre-pay/feries-holidays-eng.html

 

The US National and Federal Holidays can be very different things. National Holidays can be days of observance that aren't widely celebrated but are steeped in tradition. Federal Holidays require the closure of the stock market, banking institutions...commerce operates as you would expect it to but there are limitations.

Think of in terms of the times that TBBT has not worked on a Monday because of a US holiday and had to tape on a Wednesday.

Edited April 2, 2018 by vonmar

[joyceraye]

9 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

He talked about Easter egg hunting once in eleven years.

 

They have Easter candy in the shops but it's for families with small children who celebrate. I've never in 62 years seen an adult give another adult an Easter egg.

That's a pity. There are some beautiful ones our men could have given their WAGS to keep on the good side of them. Sheldon doesn't like all the angst that can go with present-giving, as we've known since Bath Item, so a ready-made decision of what to get Amy would be just right for him. (On second thoughts, if he lived here the choice on show might be too much for him.)

9 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

 

In the midwest they give them off the week before Easter but call it spring break. They can't call it Easter. 

What do they call Christmas ? Winterval ? Cold Break ? Or don't they have time off school ?

[chucky]

Has the discussion gotten off topic a bit? How did we get from a episode on The Gates Excitation to Easter and holidays in general. I have no problem with it, I'm just too lazy on this glorious morning to go back and read the entire topic to find the answer to my question.  To all inhabitants of the forum, have a happy day after Easter Day!  

Edited April 2, 2018 by chucky

[Die Zimtzicke]

3 hours ago, joyceraye said:

What do they call Christmas ? Winterval ? Cold Break ? Or don't they have time off school ?

Winter break where I am.

14 minutes ago, chucky said:

Has the discussion gotten off topic a bit? How did we get from a episode on The Gates Excitation to Easter and holidays in general.

That's another point, though. If they made a big deal about it being Easter weekend, would Gates have been working that day? Would everyone at the lab be preparing for his visit on Easter as Penny did? Would the hotel have been full of vacationers instead of business people? But I am perfectly willing to discuss something else about the ep if anyone else is.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Die Zimtzicke

[chucky]

8 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

Winter break where I am.

That's another point, though. If they made a big deal about it being Easter weekend, would Gates have been working that day? Would everyone at the lab be preparing for his visit on Easter as Penny did? Would the hotel have been full of vacationers instead of business people? But I am perfectly willing to discuss something else about the ep if anyone else is.

If it was for a cause he really cared about, then yes, Bill Gates would be working Easter Weekend, maybe not Easter Sunday though. Also everyone would be working for hopefully a successful visit by Bill Gates.

12 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

That's another point, though. If they made a big deal about it being Easter weekend, would Gates have been working that day? Would everyone at the lab be preparing for his visit on Easter as Penny did? Would the hotel have been full of vacationers instead of business people? But I am perfectly willing to discuss something else about the ep if anyone else is.

My post was in fun. I'm also willing to discuss anything at any time. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by chucky

[djsurrey]

3 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

That's another point, though. If they made a big deal about it being Easter weekend, would Gates have been working that day?

How often would Penny work on a Sunday?. Gates must be really driven so I could see him working 7 days a week.

[Die Zimtzicke]

1 hour ago, djsurrey said:

How often would Penny work on a Sunday?. Gates must be really driven so I could see him working 7 days a week.

But I doubt if everyone he works with would be eager to work on Easter. Not that they wouldn't, but I think he would let them spend time with their families if they wanted to.

[Stephen Hawking]

19 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

They can't call it Easter. 

Why not?

[chucky]

2 hours ago, djsurrey said:

How often would Penny work on a Sunday?. Gates must be really driven so I could see him working 7 days a week.

Especially for something that is very important to him!

17 hours ago, djsurrey said:

I doubt Leonard would be the buyer of Easter eggs.

I don't think buying an Easter egg is troublesome to Leonard. It's hunting them that will make him comatose. That's something he'll need to get over if and when he has kids and they want to hunt them there eggs. He and Penny will need to teach them the right way to hunt Easter eggs. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by chucky

[bfm]

56 minutes ago, chucky said:

Especially for something that is very important to him!

I don't think buying an Easter egg is troublesome to Leonard. It's hunting them that will make him comatose. That's something he'll need to get over if and when he has kids and they want to hunt them there eggs. He and Penny will need to teach them the right way to hunt Easter eggs. 

Or just actually hide eggs and not fool them...

[chucky]

2 minutes ago, bfm said:

Or just actually hide eggs and not fool them...

That's what I meant, you just stated it better than I did.

[Carm6773]

12 hours ago, joyceraye said:

What do they call Christmas ? Winterval ? Cold Break ? Or don't they have time off school ?

In my county in Florida, Thanksgiving (one week, but could be shortened if we have to take Hurricane Days) is Fall Break, Christmas (two weeks... one for Christmas, one for New Year) is Winter Break, Spring Break is nowhere near Easter (it used to be, but now it's too close to State Testing), so Good Friday is a Non Student Day.

All in the name of diversity...

Edited April 2, 2018 by Carm6773

[chucky]

28 minutes ago, Carm6773 said:

In my county in Florida, Thanksgiving (one week, but could be shortened if we have to take Hurricane Days) is Fall Break, Christmas (two weeks... one for Christmas, one for New Year) is Winter Break, Spring Break is nowhere near Easter (it used to be, but now it's too close to State Testing), so Good Friday is a Non Student Day.

All in the name of diversity...

Very interesting. Back in my school days, you know when the dinosaures walked the earth in Alabama, Thanksgiving was thanksgiving consisting of Thursday and Friday. Christmas was just plain Christmas break and Spring break wasn't Spring break, it was A.E.A. week. Which meant Alabama Educational something or other. Hey, it was a long time ago. About 44 years,

Edited April 2, 2018 by chucky

[joyceraye]

4 hours ago, Stephen Hawking said:

21 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

They can't call it Easter. 

Why not? (asked Stephen Hawking )

...................................

Is it because of the Anglo-Saxon name, taken from the  pagan goddess Eostre ? (Ostern in German)

I'm no great polyglot but I gather that in many other languages, including Arabic,  its name is based on Paschal, which is derived from Pesach, the Jewish holiday. In Welsh it's Pasg and in French it's Paques ,in Brazilian and European Portugese it's Pascoa ,for instance..

It's strange to me that of all the years in which they could have had Sheldon running about like a silly arss on April 1st, the writers chose this one when it fell on a date significant for so many in the world who mark it as a Spring  or Autumn festival even if they don't belong to one of the main world religions for whom it's sacred, but celebrate it in a secular way if it's only going to the zoo, starting a DIY project, or jetting off to warmer or cooler climes.  The PTB go out of their way to mention it's  Sunday but conspicuously avoid saying more. Did they really think the millions of viewers outside the US wouldn't notice ? I feel it is WEE - UD. Perhaps that's because I watched it on Thursday night/ Friday morning. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm offended but I do wonder why they did it.

If they'd ignored the date of Easter altogether in their usual way, that would have been normal, but to highlight it and choose it for the day of Bill Gates's arrival and then not mention it, is very noticeable. Whenever this episode is shown in future years, I predict nerds and fans like us will be googling to see when  April 1st  fell on a Sunday and ponder on the ostentatious avoidance of any reference to the fact that it was Easter in 2018. Time will tell.

If we have an April Fools episode another year I hope Sheldon will do something more interesting.

New taping day tomorrow. I hope I'll find it a less irritating episode. 

Edited April 3, 2018 by joyceraye
for clarity of posters

[Capt. Hilts]

5 hours ago, Stephen Hawking said:

Why not?

It's kind of a 'freedom from religion' thing.

[chucky]

8 hours ago, Capt. Hilts said:

It's kind of a 'freedom from religion' thing.

Okay-Dokay 

[Die Zimtzicke]

15 hours ago, Stephen Hawking said:

Why not?

Because, yes,  that would be promoting a religion and in the states we are not supposed to be promoting any religion over another, because we've got them all here. Not that there isn't some of that, but it's supposed to be kept at a minimum.

 

11 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Whenever this episode is shown in future years, I predict nerds and fans like us will be googling to see when  April 1st  fell on a Sunday and ponder on the ostentatious avoidance of any reference to the fact that it was Easter in 2018. Time will tell.

15 hours ago, chucky said:

He and Penny will need to teach them the right way to hunt Easter eggs.

I don't know how these stuck together. I didn't intend that, but I can't see why anyone years from now would care when Easter is. They'll ponder Sheldon's determination not to be fooled as he's being fooled would be my guess and that will be that, especially in the states where so many people are not Christian. 

And I didn't know there was a right or wrong way to hunt eggs. I always just thought you put them down and the kids picked them up and that was that.

[chucky]

2 hours ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

Because, yes,  that would be promoting a religion and in the states we are not supposed to be promoting any religion over another, because we've got them all here. Not that there isn't some of that, but it's supposed to be kept at a minimum.

 

I don't know how these stuck together. I didn't intend that, but I can't see why anyone years from now would care when Easter is. They'll ponder Sheldon's determination not to be fooled as he's being fooled would be my guess and that will be that, especially in the states where so many people are not Christian. 

And I didn't know there was a right or wrong way to hunt eggs. I always just thought you put them down and the kids picked them up and that was that.

The right way is to actually hide the eggs, so the eggs can be found! Remember, Beverly was a little lacking on the hiding the eggs part. But then again it was an experiment using Leonard as a test subject! I'm sure Leonard and Penny won't try that experiment! 

Edited April 3, 2018 by chucky

[3ku11]

It diddn't even occur to me that it was April 1st so it would of been easter. So Leonard should of had an easter egg in his apology. I mean I agree based on how Leonard was raised. IT prob did not even occur to him imo. Just watched the episode finally. I thought it was one of the best episode in years. Actually laughed out loud consistently for the first time since maybe Season 6. Thoughts. 

• Leonard and Penny plot I Thought was the strongest. Their is a remarkable difference in how they are writing Lenny this season. Opposed to the past 3 or so seasons. IT has been so snarky for such a long time. IT was actually refreshing to see a shift in dynamic. It was nice. They acted so much like a married couple. And not in the clichied way you've seen in many other sitcoms. In a way that is unique to this series. Their whole dynamic was great. I like their scenes at the kitchen island heh. Thought it was funny Leonard telling Penny about how he first met Bill Gates. And Penny assumed it was when he was a kid. I liked how supportive Leonard was of Penny. And Leonard "I am proud of you". And Penny's "I love you" was nice.
• Thought the cold open/opening sequence was vintage big bang. The guys discussing Superman. Reminded me a bit of The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis. Penny saying "Well I've known them 11 years" LOL. I also like Sheldons part of the episode which started with him thinking Penny was pulling a April 1st Joke with the Bill Clinton thing. Which hilarousley continued through out the episode. With Leonard effectively sending him on wild goose chases. And of course Leonard having to cover his tracks when Penny invited him to a function. I thought the last scene with Leonard and Sheldon was really funny. As was the sequence between Lenny when Leonard was faking being sick. 
• I wasent that much into the Amy/Bernadette plot. I don't know, it wasent that it was bad. Just compared to the Bill Gates plot. Felt it paled. 
• I thought Penny looked really great in this episode. I loved how she is dressing atm. Very sexy but classy. 
• I also really liked how they wrote Sheldon in this episode. It was in a way that he flowed with the episode. And added to the other characters stories and plot lines. Kinda like in the earlier years. He was not the focus, the episode did not drive through his character. A Reallly good episode where all the characters got balanced screentime.
• I also feel now the guys personal lifes are pretty much settled. They can focus on their careers again. And do Nerdy Dialogue like the cold open

All in all thought it was one of the best episodes shows done for a long time. 

Edited April 4, 2018 by 3ku11