Chit Chat

The one thing I really like about Bernadette is how she stands up for Howard (maybe not always in the kindest way,) but you don't mess with her hubby! Even though yelling at the lady probably wasn't the best solution, Bernadette just wanted to light a fire under someone's ass to find the luggage.

I think that's a stretch! She asked why he told her, and he said because they were being honest. She said that she wouldn't tell anybody, and he said thanks. He took her at her word, and she flat out lied to him. Instead of scaring him by surprising him, she could've gone and gotten him a cake or something the next day and invited him over to her apartment and had a brief and quiet celebration. Nobody jumping out yelling 'surprise,' and no gifts. I think that would've been nice.

Sheldon and Leonard are named after Sheldon Leonard (American Film and TV producer, writer, director & actor.) What I have found is that in real life, even if you tell somebody that you don't want a big celebration for your birthday, they sometimes think that you secretly do. Penny knows Sheldon well enough to know that he absolutely didn't want a party, and especially a surprise party. After spending all day strengthening their relationship, she crapped all over it in one fell swoop.

Maybe this was an episode that they had to rework in order to get Mrs. Wolowitz's death worked in. It could be that there was supposed to be more to the puzzle story, but it needed to be cut short. Just an idea. As far as the vanity card, here's a link to it: http://chucklorre.com/index-mom.php?p=492 I thought it was funny. IMO, Amy realized that the whole experiment would probably end up being that anything she asked Leonard, his answer would involve Penny. He's head over heels in love with her, so there was no point in pretending that he could fall in love with anybody else.

That was a great episode, sinkwriter. Sheldon: "You mean I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy? Do you know what that means? With a healthy ovum I could grow my own Leonard Nimoy!" Loved it! RIP Leonard Nimoy.

Maybe that was done in Florida. I thought it was all handled well. As with any 30 minute show, they're limited on the amount of time in which to tell the story. I thought it was the right amount of time spent on Howard, and allowing him to show his emotions about his Mom. I did notice that they had a lingering shot of the photo of Carol Ann Susi on Sheldon & Leonard's refrigerator. I like that it's facing towards the living room, so she'll always be watching over the gang! I loved the episode, but I am a little disappointed that Penny lied to Sheldon about keeping his birthday a secret. I really wish they hadn't done that. I've been in a somewhat similar situation and I hated it! I'm glad that Sheldon explained how stressful social situations are for him. I've always felt bad for him whenever Leonard makes a snide remark to him. You can tell by his expression that he's usually confused by the comment, and doesn't know if it's sarcasm or the person is actually mad at him. Of course sometimes Sheldon's comments can be hurtful too, but sometimes I wish Leonard was a little less snarky with him. Going by Lorre's vanity card, looks like they do read discussion forums about their show. If you're reading this Mr. Lorre, I appreciated your message. Thanks for all that you and the writers do to make this a great show! Thanks for the gentle reminder to be mindful of our words. ;)

That was really nice! My favorite line was from Sheldon: "Psychology, the doofus of the sciences!" I also liked how they both said how creepy it was to be staring in each other's eyes. The entire dialogue between them was excellent! I felt bad for Howard though because he has regrets about not taking his Mom to the airport. I thought they handled all of that really well too. Bravo show!

This issue is a very delicate one, and only each family can decide for themselves what is right. Sadly, what I've seen in my own life is sometimes you're dealing with an elderly person who is insistent on being "independent," which means no help from anybody but family, but they don't realize that by not considering a home health worker or assisted living that they're actually putting quite the burden on loved ones. I think that Barba was simply trying to help his Mom because she seemed to be the main caregiver, and he knew what a strain that was on her. Not that family minds helping, but if something can be done to help everybody, then I think it's a good thing. In a lot of cases, the child ends up becoming the parent because the actual parent is incapacitated in some way. Tough choices have to be made, and sometimes the parent fights it, but it might be the best solution for that person - especially if it makes them safer. Again, I've been on the side of trying to help an elderly relative and neighbor, so I can sympathize with all those involved with these difficult decisions. Sometimes what the elderly person wants isn't necessarily the best thing for them. They can become very stubborn (I say that lovingly!) Anyway, I thought that Barba's grandma died of natural causes. I didn't get the sense of a suicide.

I thought about this too, but then I remembered that Howard had a similar reaction when he got the call that there was an accident at Bernie's lab and she was in isolation. Granted, she didn't die, but he didn't know how serious the situation was at that moment. Everybody handles these types of situations differently, so I can see it being in Howard's character not to get over emotional at that moment. It will probably catch up with him at some point though.

I agree. I don't look forward to the "very special episode" in which Johnny D finds out he has a kid (1 out of how many?), and how he'll demand his rights to see Noah. Ugh! Why does Amari seem to dislike Carisi so much? Did I miss something from an earlier episode?

Respectfully, I disagree. Even if Carol Ann Susi hadn't passed away, I think her role would've gradually diminished. I don't think they could've continued on long term with Stuart living in her house. I think her character would've naturally faded to the background, much like Laurie Metcalf's did. There are still many, many stories left to told with this group! Having said that, RIP Carol Ann Susi. You will be missed. No other voice could compare to yours, and like Sheldon said after Leonard offered to yell at him, "it wouldn't be the same." To sinkwriter, that scene from Steel Magnolias is one of my favorites too! Thanks for quoting it.

The difference is though, they were talking on the phone. There's no need to yell! Whenever they were in the house, she was usually downstairs and Howard was upstairs, hence the need to yell. I think that beneath all of the bluster between both of them was a very deep bond. Also, I can understand Howard's jealousy of Stuart's relationship with his Mom. He didn't want anybody to take his place. Although Howard was being an ass about it to Stuart, I could see why it bothered him. Hopefully he can get back on good terms with Stuart and realize that he did him a huge favor by helping his Mom. She appreciated the company. One thing that has always bugged me and seems inconsistent with Sheldon - considering how he's such a germaphobe, is how he doesn't seem to mind doing his laundry in the community laundry room. I would think that when he was first looking for an apartment, having one with a washer/dryer in the unit would've been a must.

IIRC, they did put up a "in memory of Carol Ann Susi" earlier in this season, but I was surprised they didn't do it again. Even so, I thought they handled it well within in the show. Nice toast at the end.

As painful as that was, I'm glad they decided to write in the death of Mrs. Wolowitz/Carol Ann Susi. I didn't want them to get somebody else to voice her part, or simply have her move away. I think it was handled in a respectful way, and I appreciate it. YMMV. As for the character's death, she passed in her sleep, so hopefully Howard will get some comfort in knowing she didn't suffer. On a lighter note, it's so funny to get glimpses into Amy & Sheldon's weird little world: giving people puzzles to solve; their flag show. I like it when they have these "behind the scenes" kind of stories.

IMO, that shows just how much Sheldon values & likes Leonard. He is very particular about people touching him! Remember in a past episode where the guys were making a pact about something and they all put their hand on top of each other's hand, and Sheldon got a napkin to put his hand on so he wouldn't get any germs? He probably wouldn't have let Raj or Howard click the mouse with him. It's little moments like that where their friendship shines! I'm glad to see Penny doing well with her new job. We've seen her studying in order to know the products she's selling. As I've said before, she can look at it like a tv/movie script and pretty much memorize it until she fully understands everything. I'm just happy to see character more pulled together. She's dressed nicer and has more confidence. That's a nice change, IMO.

I loved this episode! It's so great to see Sheldon & Leonard being best friends. Often times we only see Leonard's frustration with Sheldon, and Sheldon being annoying, so it was such a nice change of pace seeing them this happy and excited about the paper. I figured it was Kripke harassing them just for fun, so having it be Steven Hawking was icing on the cake! I'd love to see the outtakes of Melissa Rauch filming her beauty pageant scenes. That was hilarious.

Sorry, I was mostly referring to the number of sketches and short videos that include Rap that seem to be a weekly occurrence on SNL. It's just not my thing. YMMV.

I wasn't too impressed with the show. The cold opening fell flat, IMO. I think it went off the rails when Jay, as Richard Sherman said that the Seahawks were going to murder the Patriots, then he said next we're going to murder Brady's family. He either said "murder" or "go after," pretty sure it was "murder." I even heard a few groans from the audience on that line. That's not something Sherman would say (at least I don't think he would!) It wasn't funny, IMO. Most of the show wasn't funny. I hate Rap music, no matter who is singing it. Seems like SNL is turning into one big Rap number with most shows. Ugh! At least I got a break from it with Blake Shelton hosting, and I don't like country music either, but I'd rather listen to that than Rap. YMMV.

Great idea with "Wife or Mother!" The possibilities are endless. I really liked the episode, except for Sheldon being mean to Amy, but I'm glad that she threw his butt out of her apartment! Maybe one day very soon he'll learn not to do that. He was going on very little sleep, so I can cut him a little slack in that regard. I loved the scene with Sheldon trying out his noise-cancelling headphones. Leonard going from an insult to "that's why you're the best roommate ever" was hilarious. I rewound that several times to catch everything he said. They all impress me with their rapid fire dialogue.

I thought it was a cute way to pay homage to the show while poking fun of it a little bit. Back when we only had 3 channels to watch, Hee Haw was something we tuned in to every once in a while. People on TV didn't call each other bitches or SOBs, so although the Hee Haw jokes were always corny, they were harmless and the whole family could watch it. I thought Blake did a really good job as host. He seemed prepared and didn't mess up his lines. He did better than some of the regulars! Although I'm not a country music fan, I thought he and his band sounded good.

I think you're right. It made me mad that Brandi was spouting off about how Kyle hasn't been there for Kim the past 6 months. Brandi has no idea what Kyle and her family have been through the past 25+ years in dealing with Kim and her issues, so for her to step in and announce that only she cares about Kim is just bullshit, IMO. I'm sure many of us have been through similar situations with family members, whether it be some kind of addiction, mental illness, or some other ongoing problem, and for somebody like Brandi to make assumptions about what family members did or did not do does a great disservice to said family members. Brandi is only seeing a small segment of Kim's life and has no idea about the ups and downs that Kyle and her family have lived through for years and years. What nerve!

I felt bad for both of them. Kyle said there was a misunderstanding about there being a wine tasting, so if it was something the production staff set up, then it was a shitty thing to do. YMMV. It's one thing when Kim goes to a party knowing there will be alcohol served there, but it's another thing to get blindsided by a wine tasting and you feel like the third wheel. I'm sure it was awkward and embarrassing for Kim. She has shown that she can handle being at parties and lunches in which there is drinking, and she blends in with her non-alcoholic beverage, but with a wine tasting, I can understand her feeling so awkward and left out. As a friend or sister, I would've politely excused myself and asked her to go do something else while everybody else participated. She went to the Spa day with the anticipation of relaxing with her friends, not being asked to sit there and smell the wine. Again, if she had been told ahead of time about the wine tasting, she could've arranged to have some other treatment done in the spa during that time.

Was George let go from the show or did he opt to leave? I watched this episode just to see how they handled things without Joan. I'm not a fan of Kathy Griffin, so I don't plan to watch anymore episodes. She lost me years ago with her "suck it Jesus" comment at an awards show. There are some things you just don't say, and that crossed a line for me. YMMV.

Thanks! I will try to pay closer attention in future episodes! It is nice to see Penny dressing a little nicer. Seemed like they were making her quite the slob for a while. As I've said many times, I just wanted to see her succeed at something, so I'm happy that she's taking this job seriously and appears to be more confident and upbeat.

I don't necessarily need to see her in the actual workplace. Maybe just a mention here and there by Bernadette such as "Wow! She caught on quickly and is a great salesperson!" Something along those lines just so I can see that Penny is happy with her job and is having more success than with her acting pursuits.