episodes 1208 'The Consummation Deviation' (November 8)

[Tripper]

'The Consummation Deviation' - Season 12, Episode 8 
Airs Thursday, November 8 at 8/7c on CBS.

Sheldon tries to bond with Amy’s father, but when Wolowitz lures Mr. Fowler away with magic tricks, Sheldon has no choice but to bond with Mrs. Fowler. Also, Koothrappali and Anu try to get physical for the first time.

[Die Zimtzicke]

I think I will like this one. Simon and Teller have lots of potential. to be funny.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Die Zimtzicke
lousy typist

[veejay]

25 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

I think I will like this one. Simon and Teller have lots of potential. to be funny.

Source

Edited November 5, 2018 by veejay

[Jonny]

I wonder if they remembered that episode years ago with Sheldon and Bernie's dad and how they 'kind of' bonded which made Howard jealous.

Did an opportunity to have a story like that with roles reversed play a role in creating this storyline?

Would be interesting if that was indeed the case, or maybe they don't remember that episode and it's just a coincidence lol.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Jonny

[bfm]

3 minutes ago, Jonny said:

I wonder if they remembered that episode years ago with Sheldon and Bernie's dad and how they 'kind of' bonded which made Howard jealous.

Did an opportunity to have a story like that with roles reversed play a role in creating this storyline?

Would be interesting if that was indeed the case, or maybe they don't remember that episode and it's just a coincidence lol.

I thought that was part of it, at first. However, they may have thought about the magic angle (Teller) and that brought it up. Maybe it was a combination... thinking about the magic and then also remembered Sheldon and Mike bonding, or the other way around.

[veejay]

10 minutes ago, Jonny said:

I wonder if they remembered that episode years ago with Sheldon and Bernie's dad and how they 'kind of' bonded which made Howard jealous.

Did an opportunity to have a story like that with roles reversed play a role in creating this storyline?

Would be interesting if that was indeed the case, or maybe they don't remember that episode and it's just a coincidence lol.

So, trade beer for a wallet? 😉

[veejay]

Question for @Tripper. Do you know if there’s a deeper reason why SEAT42F no longer published promo images to the latest episodes of TBBT?

[Tripper]

Rate this episode in our poll

[Kev0821]

Mayim's recap of the episode:

https://groknation.com/culture/mayim-bialik-consummation-deviation-in-laws/

[veejay]

The enthusiasm for this episode seems to me to be very manageable.
Here are some impressions:

      

[KripkeRules]

This one is very good, LOVE both plots.

The "Sheldon VS Howard (father-in-law edition)" parallel is interesting, "revenge is a dish best served...five years later", right? LOL.

Sheldon and Mrs. Fowler, Amy and Larry...Love this parallel, too.

Anu is very good in this one, and it's very great that she and Raj spent the whole night talking and getting to know each other more, love it.

I like Anu, here is hoping TPTB will give her and Raj more interesting plots. 

 

 

 

 

[HeWolf]

Found it to be okay. Some good parts and one really annoying bit.

The RajAnu story was good. Nice to see Raj get through it without making a jerk of himself. Enjoyed seeing a bit of 'retro' Raj when he couldn't speak to Anu. Growing to like this pairing more and more.

The Lenny bits were good. Fun dichotomy between their recollections of the 'first time'.

The dynamic with Amy's family was fine. Fun watching Howard and Amy's dad with the magic bit. Have to wonder if Simon was a bit intimidated trying to do hand magic in front of Teller...

Sheldon was stupid. Unbelievable and childish. The vegetable name bit was lame. All in all: Sheldon was annoyingly juvenile. It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to see him most of the time. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by HeWolf

[Chrismo]

1 hour ago, HeWolf said:

 

Sheldon was stupid. Unbelievable and childish. The vegetable name bit was lame. All in all: Sheldon was annoyingly juvenile. It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to see him most of the time. 

Is this something new? I will take your word. Haven't watched episode yet.

[chucky]

2 hours ago, HeWolf said:

Found it to be okay. Some good parts and one really annoying bit.

The RajAnu story was good. Nice to see Raj get through it without making a jerk of himself. Enjoyed seeing a bit of 'retro' Raj when he couldn't speak to Anu. Growing to like this pairing more and more.

The Lenny bits were good. Fun dichotomy between their recollections of the 'first time'.

The dynamic with Amy's family was fine. Fun watching Howard and Amy's dad with the magic bit. Have to wonder if Simon was a bit intimidated trying to do hand magic in front of Teller...

Sheldon was stupid. Unbelievable and childish. The vegetable name bit was lame. All in all: Sheldon was annoyingly juvenile. It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to see him most of the time. 

Sheldon and Mama Fowler did warm up in the end, though!

[Sah]

Loved it! Great episode. I really am enjoying Rajanu. Seems like a really great pairing. I hope we get more of them and Stewnice. These two couples have been stand outs to me this season.

[SRAM]

What bothered me about this episode is again they ignored canon.  The did a whole episode on Lenny’s first time  in season 3 and the best either of them could come up was it was “OK”, but now Leonard remembers it as awesome and Penny still remembers it as only OK.

[Chrismo]

40 minutes ago, SRAM said:

What bothered me about this episode is again they ignored canon.  The did a whole episode on Lenny’s first time  in season 3 and the best either of them could come up was it was “OK”, but now Leonard remembers it as awesome and Penny still remembers it as only OK.

It seems that this episode parallels the Halloween episode. Penny wanted to forget the drunk kiss. Leonard wanted to forget the okay sex

[Stephen Hawking]

Why does Sheldon need to see the trailer, to know The Grinch is rubbish?

Sheldon has already seen The Grinch.

ETA: Shelldon, are you confused because you don't recall Sheldon seeing The Grinch?

Edited November 10, 2018 by Stephen Hawking

[smartandbeautiful]

Just now, Stephen Hawking said:

Why does Sheldon need to see the trailer, to know The Grinch is rubbish?

Sheldon has already seen The Grinch.

There’s a new animation movie coming out this November, also about Grinch   

[Mario D.]

7 hours ago, HeWolf said:

Found it to be okay. Some good parts and one really annoying bit.

The RajAnu story was good. Nice to see Raj get through it without making a jerk of himself. Enjoyed seeing a bit of 'retro' Raj when he couldn't speak to Anu. Growing to like this pairing more and more.

The Lenny bits were good. Fun dichotomy between their recollections of the 'first time'.

The dynamic with Amy's family was fine. Fun watching Howard and Amy's dad with the magic bit. Have to wonder if Simon was a bit intimidated trying to do hand magic in front of Teller...

Sheldon was stupid. Unbelievable and childish. The vegetable name bit was lame. All in all: Sheldon was annoyingly juvenile. It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to see him most of the time. 

Agree Sheldon was irritably annoying. Thought it was said his character was evolving as an adult.  To me he still seems like a child who cannot yet grasp the fact that some remarks are inappropriate and always looks for childish revenge.

[Zephon75]

Well for me is was another average episode which is disappointing but i'm getting used to this season being a disappointment now. What made this more disappointing is this episode was written after knowing it was the final season and yet this was the best they could come up with?. The Sheldon plot was poor but atleast he managed to eventually bond with Amy's mother . The Raj/Anu plot was not that intersting to me but was better than the Sheldon plot , it was nice to see a throwback to his mutism. I was more disappointed that for the second time this season they rewrote Leonard and Penny's history this time about the first time they slept together. Originally Leonard said it was fine and Peny said it was okay, now Leonard thinks it was awesome and for Penny it was now nothing to write home about. Also Penny when talking to Raj made it sound that sex with Leonard wasn't that great but was better than it started yet she said to  Leonard it was great now . At first when she said it was great now  i thought it was something positive but it contradicts what she implied to raj so now i'm wondering if she lied when she said that to Leonard. Also it looks like we won't be getting a valentine's episode but Raj's wedding instead, which i just know the writers will make it better than Leonard & Penny's was..

Edited November 9, 2018 by Zephon75

[Chrismo]

Finally saw the episode. It was generally a horrible episode. The only  funny part for me was Larry and Howard just because of the irony of Teller being a magician. That was played well. 

The main storyline was basically the guy being worried about first time sex. All the guys went through this. A couple things. I can buy a Raj in a relationship storyline. I just don’t buy this one. Just my opinion a lot of it is the actress who plays her. The Penny Raj sex talk. Really. Penny’s advice was more trying to make the first time not an all or nothing. But all I could think of was QuickDraw Raj. Sorry Lenny fans. Fine okay same for me in regards to Lenny. Did Leonard forget his first time with Penny. Did Raj and Howard forget too.

As for Mrs Fowler and Sheldon. I’m sorry it was a bit weird and creepy.

[chucky]

3 hours ago, Zephon75 said:

Well for me is was another average episode which is disappointing but i'm getting used to this season being a disappointment now. What made this more disappointing is this episode was written after knowing it was the final season and yet this was the best they could come up with?. The Sheldon plot was poor but atleast he managed to eventually bond with Amy's mother . The Raj/Anu plot was not that intersting to me but was better than the Sheldon plot , it was nice to see a throwback to his mutism. I was more disappointed that for the second time this season they rewrote Leonard and Penny's history this time about the first time they slept together. Originally Leonard said it was fine and Peny said it was okay, now Leonard thinks it was awesome and for Penny it was now nothing to write home about. Also Penny when talking to Raj made it sound that sex with Leonard wasn't that great but was better than it started yet she said to  Leonard it was great now . At first when she said it was great now  i thought it was something positive but it contradicts what she implied to raj so now i'm wondering if she lied when she said that to Leonard. Also it looks like we won't be getting a valentine's episode but Raj's wedding instead, which i just know the writers will make it better than Leonard & Penny's was..

Everything you wrote was 100% accurate IMHO!

[joyceraye]

7 hours ago, SRAM said:

What bothered me about this episode is again they ignored canon.  The did a whole episode on Lenny’s first time  in season 3 and the best either of them could come up was it was “OK”, but now Leonard remembers it as awesome and Penny still remembers it as only OK.

They're showing how time can change perspective. 

[bfm]

That was a fairly good episode, IMO. Second in my rank for this season, after the Halloween one. I did have some laughs, it was mostly entertaining and not too annoying (I'l over the part that annoyed me in the end of the post).

The sitting arrangement solution was funny, the visual gag of Penny's legs flailing there was good. That is also the kind of things that is perfect for the last season of a long running sitcom.

What was weird to me in that scene is that Penny expected Leonard to make plans for Valentine's day three months in advance! These are high expectations there, lady! Also a bit weird that Leonard just mentioned his mom, as far as I know his dad's still alive...  It was probably done this way because they didn't want to ruin the pace of the dialogue, but I think they should have found a way, like after the laughs about the Beverly joke have Leonard add a quick "and my dad thinks she's great".

So are we having a Valentine's day in India this year? hmmm this could be interesting, travelling could bring new plot opportunities.

It was very nice of Sheldon to want to bond with Amy's parents. Sure, Sheldon being Sheldon, he doesn't ask Amy what she would like his relationship with them to be like, and why she seems to prefer that things stay as they are, but his intentions were good. Him trying to get them into his own interests makes total sense for Sheldon. The bonding with Mrs. Fowler (how do we not have a name for her yet?!) was a nice idea, but the execution felt somewhat off to me, mostly on Jim's part. It also felt OOC for me when Sheldon put his hand on her arm (twice). Teller was nice. I liked Mayim's readind of "we're coming for Thanksgiving dinner" and "Other than Amy, was there anything else have you had removed from your body?" (not the exact words, I know) was one of my biggest LOLs.

Raj and Anu. If I only read the script, I think I'd like them and find them cute. I think they're getting closer, and Anu had a great reaction to his problems, wanting to hear, not making fun of him, willing to be vulnerable by sharing something unsual of her own. She also found their night of talking wonderful and the selctive mutism issue did not scare her off. Seems like a promising relationship which I would like to see, although I think it would be better for them to decide they rather take their time and not marry so quickly. Nevertheless, I wasn't sold by the performance, I think Kunal and Rati are yet to have a good enough chemistry and flowing dynamics. I found their dynamic better in the Halloween episode. Maybe it will get better later on. 

Howard's reaction to Raj having sex was funny, and it was nice that for once Howard was shown to be creepy with Raj rather than the other way around as it always is.

Now to the thing that annoyed me:

How ironic is it that in an episode where they have Penny say women can be bad at sex, they reinforce their constant, tired portrayal of the man always being lousy and the woman being good and settling for the man's lousy performance? They could have easily have Penny remind Leonard that he is glorifying their first time. Back then, in season 3, they BOTH felt it wasn't too great, it was awkward, he said it was fine, she said okay. I liked that specifically because they didn't fall into the old trope of lousy man-settling woman, and made it mutual instead. I can see Leonard glorifying it over the years and making it "amazing" in his head, but why not have Penny remind Leonard of that? 

This is a great example of how these unsatifying/lousy/lame man-settling/groaning woman trope has become more prominent on TBBT over the years. Season 3 - both Leonard and Penny feeling their first time wasn't great, Penny calling Leonard a /genuis in bed (yes, he googled that, not, I do not think he is supposed to be a genuis in bed generally, but not lousy). Late seasons - many jokes about how Leonard is not very good in bed for Penny, how he is kind of "just enough" for her, how she's settling in that are. The snoring is another example: Season 3 - Penny says Leonard doesn't snore, Sheldon says she does. Later Seasons (I think from 8 on) - Leonard suddenly does snore, Penny complains about it. I think it's a little sad that a show that once had times when it did not fall into that old and tired sitcom trope [and don't start with the times when it did, I said "had times when(...)"], has over the years come to stick to them almost all the time. 

I also think this sticking to old and tired tropes is not the attitude they should have in a season 12 of a sitcom. When you get so far, I think it's the time to try think of ways to make it different, to freshen up, while still staying true to the characters and story. Instead, they tend to not be true to the characters and story in favor of tired shticks.

19 hours ago, Chrismo said:

It seems that this episode parallels the Halloween episode. Penny wanted to forget the drunk kiss. Leonard wanted to forget the okay sex

 

13 hours ago, joyceraye said:

They're showing how time can change perspective. 

They could have Penny remind Leonard of how he described their first time at the time, but they didn't. If they did that they could have made the point of time changing perspective and of how the first time in retrospect may not be that important. That would have been a nice message to calm Raj.

Edited November 10, 2018 by bfm