S03.E07: Pongo Pygmaeus and a Culture that Encourages Spitting

[Bort]

Sheldon starts an internet flame war, and Missy stands up to the boys on her baseball team. Also, Meemaw is unhappy when George Sr. spends time with her new boyfriend.

Airdate: Thursday, November 14, 2019

As always, please do not discuss events of The Big Bang Theory that have not “happened” yet. 

[anna0852]

I'm in love with Missy 

[Spartan Girl]

I loved how everyone was cheering Missy on as she beat the crap out of that little ashole. "Punch him in the nuts!" Never change, Connie.

Sheldon's victory dance was adorable.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Chit Chat]

I was hoping that Mary would give Missy a speech along the lines of being a trailblazer by staying on the baseball team, or something like that!  Doesn't matter though, looks like it's working out pretty well for Missy!  I found myself cheering for her.  "Eat dirt" indeed! 

[Chit Chat]

4 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Sheldon's victory dance was adorable.

That was cute.   Then he was sore afterwards!  It was good to see them both get a victory.

[jewel21]

Missy beating the snot out of that boy was awesome!

Poor Veronica, she really likes Georgie. I felt bad for her. 

And I'm so happy we're still getting cameos with Dr. Sturgis. 

[Chit Chat]

How could I forget to mention the sound of the dial-up modem?  That brought back some memories!  All that time sitting there, waiting for a page to load.  Fun times!

[hoodooznoodooz]

I was married for 18 years. Happiest two years of my life. 

That girl trying to flirt with Georgie was very cute. 

The neighbor’s son found a worm!

[DoYouLikeMutton]

Great episode!  Nice to see all the Cooper children triumphant.  And very happy to see Dr. Sturgess is still around and included in the scripts, albeit, very small parts.  I can't get enough of him.  Looking forward to next week's show!  :)

[HurricaneVal]

Did anybody else think that when COACH asked George out for a beer, that he was really interested-interested in George, and is just using MeeMaw as his beard?  Or was that just me?

I think I need to cut back on my fanfic addiction....

[SnarkAttack]

As I've said before, Sheldon is getting really annoying.  I much prefer the scenes without him.  Iain is a great little actor, but I'm having trouble feeling any affection for his character.  

[nora1992]

Billy Sparks!

I found myself wondering who was on the other end of Sheldon’s flame war.....

Another question: what will the modem use do to the phone bill?  Will Sheldon have to get another paper route?

[anna0852]

24 minutes ago, SnarkAttack said:

As I've said before, Sheldon is getting really annoying.  I much prefer the scenes without him.  Iain is a great little actor, but I'm having trouble feeling any affection for his character.  

I think that's the ultimate point. I don't think we're supposed to like Sheldon that much.

[Bort]

30 minutes ago, nora1992 said:

Another question: what will the modem use do to the phone bill?  Will Sheldon have to get another paper route?

If memory serves, the access numbers were local. The service provider would give you a list. 

[Beetlepoet]

Missy is the queen!

Also, maybe I missed something but was there any reference to the "culture that encourages spitting" in the episode? 

[rmontro]

16 hours ago, jewel21 said:

Poor Veronica, she really likes Georgie. I felt bad for her. 

I would feel bad for her, but she's the one who's holding him at arm's length.  It's been pretty obvious that he has feelings for her, but she's turned it off at every juncture.  

What position is Missy playing?  I was under the impression that she was going to be a pitcher, and maybe she is, but we haven't seen her pitch yet.  She could have gotten ejected before she could take the mound, but still I'd like to see some clarification.

[HurricaneVal]

48 minutes ago, nora1992 said:

I found myself wondering who was on the other end of Sheldon’s flame war...

Me too!  It would be hilarious to find out it was Stephen Hawking.  Or Dr. Sturgess...

[Driad]

I guessed that the other end of the flame war was Prof. Sturgess, especially when Sheldon consulted him.  Maybe we'll find out.

Modem:  At that time, many households had a limited phone plan that included X hours a month; additional hours would be billed at a higher rate.  If the Coopers had this, they would probably have to change to an unlimited plan for a higher monthly fee.  Time for Sheldon to get a job?

[Bali]

32 minutes ago, Beetlepoet said:

Missy is the queen!

Also, maybe I missed something but was there any reference to the "culture that encourages spitting" in the episode? 

I think the reference is to the fact that a lot of baseball players spit their tobacco, but I wouldn't place any money on it.

[Bort]

2 minutes ago, Bali said:

I think the reference is to the fact that a lot of baseball players spit their tobacco, but I wouldn't place any money on it.

The episodes usually have a verbal reference to the things listed in the title but I don’t recall hearing them talking about spitting. 

[marypat57]

I remember many years ago, when my youngest brother (I have 6) got his very first computer. It was a Commodore Vic20 with a magnetic tape drive.  He hooked up the very primitive modem and proceeded to download something that took nearly all night. When the phone bill came, it was nearly $400.  My father was NOT pleased to say the least.  Fortunately for my brother, the phone compamy was willing to excuse the charges.

So I can see where the Coopers might have to be concerned about Sheldon's internet usage.

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, Bali said:

I think the reference is to the fact that a lot of baseball players spit their tobacco, but I wouldn't place any money on it.

I thought the same thing.  It's pretty much a given that you're going to see professional baseball players using chewing tobacco and then spitting it everywhere.  It's really disgusting.  And as a hygienist, it's really gross pulling that crap out of people's teeth.  

Funniest line to me was at the end with them driving to DQ after the game.  Mary was saying that they weren't rewarding violence, then you hear George say "Hooray for violence!" The song was so appropriate that they played when Missy went after the pitcher!  

Edited November 15, 2019 by ChitChat

[Beetlepoet]

Another thing that I found interesting: Mary was wearing jeans at the baseball game. I think we’ve seen her wearing jeans only when she was doing garden work in the second season. Well, it’s not that important but I found it odd for a second, after I’m used to see her wearing dress all the time. 😛

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beetlepoet

[HouseofBeck]

Poor Veronica! She's obviously conflicted between what she thinks she should do and not fail herself, and what she wants to do as she grows and changes. Maybe she can find a happy medium sooner rather than later. I thought it was so cool of Georgie to ask her what she felt. That showed surprising maturity. It's a difficult age to be in all around.

Missy is the best, and so is MeeMaw. Coach is damned funny and I like his involvement so far in the family.

Edited November 16, 2019 by HouseofBeck

[Browncoat]

While I enjoyed Missy beating that pitcher up for being a jerk, I really wished he'd thrown a decent pitch, and she'd nailed him with a line drive. 

[Sarah 103]

On 11/14/2019 at 10:55 PM, jewel21 said:

Poor Veronica, she really likes Georgie. I felt bad for her. 

And I'm so happy we're still getting cameos with Dr. Sturgis. 

9 hours ago, HouseofBeck said:

Poor Veronica! She's obviously conflicted between what she thinks she should do and not fail herself, and what she wants to do as she grows and changes. Maybe she can find a happy medium sooner rather than later. I thought it was so cool of Georgie to ask her what she felt. That showed surprising maturity. It's a difficult age to be in all around.

After she talked about needing to work on her relationship with god, I got a very "I carried a watermelon" vibe from her. She said it, but can't believe she said it. I'm not sure if she knows how she really feels about Georgie. She likes Georgie as a friend, but she also might be interested in dating him. She doesn't know what she wants.

Missy is awesome. The relationship between Sheldon and Missy is facinating. They love each other, but they don't like each other, they don't have much in common, but they are family. They will tease each other, but also try to be there for help when the other needs them.   

[Yeah No]

Lots of nostalgia in this episode.  I really love this show.  Why aren't there more shows like this that are that good?  They cancelled "The Kids are Alright" which was a great show so I am very grateful for this one.

Back around that time I was working at a university where every morning I typed in a series of commands at c prompts that culminated in that modem connecting sound.  Little did I know at the time that in less than 10 years I would have a computer at home that would also make that sound.  All I was doing was obtaining name and address information from the mainframe database, which I used to generate mail merge letters on an early word processing program.  I also remember being on Usenet back in the day, when the internet was comprised mostly of scholarly types sharing ideas.  I studied Philosophy as an undergrad. and one of my first internet "arguments" was with a well known scientific Pantheist.  One of the best discussions I have ever had.  Oh yeah, those were the days!  😉

[AnnaRose]

11 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Lots of nostalgia in this episode.  I really love this show.  Why aren't there more shows like this that are that good?  They cancelled "The Kids are Alright" which was a great show so I am very grateful for this one. 

I still miss that show so much!  And even though it was on ABC, I think CBS was foolish for not picking it up when it was cancelled.  The Kids are Alright was critically acclaimed and had ratings that were better than some of CBS's current shows (including Carol's Second Act that's on Thursday nights).

I think it would have been terrific following Young Sheldon.  They both are/were sweet and funny/hilarious, nostalgic shows, set in another era, with voice-over narration by one of the grown-up children, and they were both perfectly cast with young actors that are wonderful in their roles.  (The adult casting was fantastic also.)  Such a missed opportunity!

[aemom]

On 11/15/2019 at 5:14 PM, marypat57 said:

I remember many years ago, when my youngest brother (I have 6) got his very first computer. It was a Commodore Vic20 with a magnetic tape drive.

I had a Commodore 64 with the disk drive.  So fancy!  Ha ha, good times!

I remember in University there were 2 lines available to connect to the Sun system where I could compile and run my code for my computer architecture course.  One was 300 baud and the other 1200. When I got one of them on my day off, I hung on to that line for the entire day, which saved me a 3 hour round trip commute to school. It was so slow, you could see the text scrolling across the screen. My mom finally gave up and ordered a 2nd phone line. How far we've come!

I loved this episode.  Such good interaction with all the characters.  I hope we find out who is behind Sheldon's flame war.

[rmontro]

On 11/16/2019 at 10:54 AM, Browncoat said:

While I enjoyed Missy beating that pitcher up for being a jerk, I really wished he'd thrown a decent pitch, and she'd nailed him with a line drive. 

I wanted to see that too.  But maybe if they continue this Missy playing baseball storyline, we'll have an opportunity to see her hit some line drives.  Still don't know what position she plays, but if she was a pitcher, she could have beaned him back.

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I also remember being on Usenet back in the day, when the internet was comprised mostly of scholarly types sharing ideas.

Hmm, what I mostly remember from Usenet is a lot of flaming lol.  Which apparently Sheldon started, if this episode is to be believed.

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, rmontro said:

Hmm, what I mostly remember from Usenet is a lot of flaming lol.  Which apparently Sheldon started, if this episode is to be believed.

Riiiiiiight....He started it......LOL!  Everything I needed to know about social media I learned in the 1990s.  Only back then we had to suck it up if people attacked us, i.e., there were no safe spaces unless your board was moderated and got rid of flamers.  There were many "Sheldons" around back in those days as I recall.  I ran into a lot of them on MBTI personality type mailing lists.  Those were the days!

[rmontro]

1 minute ago, Yeah No said:

Riiiiiiight....He started it......LOL!  Everything I needed to know about social media I learned in the 1990s.  Only back then we had to suck it up if people attacked us, i.e., there were no safe spaces unless your board was moderated and got rid of flamers. 

Yep, that's where I learned to ignore trolls.  In fact, I've probably never really gotten use to moderated boards.  I've never understood why people can't just not read something if it irritates them, or if they're not interested in it.

My nephew was the one who got me into computers originally.  He had a Commodore 64 and later taught me DOS commands lol.  

[SnarkySheep]

On 11/15/2019 at 7:50 AM, ChitChat said:

How could I forget to mention the sound of the dial-up modem?  That brought back some memories!  All that time sitting there, waiting for a page to load.  Fun times!

Telling today's kids about this is basically the equivalent of "we had to walk barefoot uphill both ways"... 😀

On 11/15/2019 at 3:19 PM, kariyaki said:

If memory serves, the access numbers were local. The service provider would give you a list. 

Yes. It didn't add to your monthly phone bill because you were just "borrowing" your existing line.

I remember how thrilled I was in the late '90s, when my parents decided to get a second line for the computer!

It wasn't til we saw Sheldon's screen that I remembered just how text-heavy the early internet was...there were few, if any, graphics, just solid walls of writing that really hurt your eyes if you read too much or for too long. But hey, we didn't know any differently, so I don't recall anyone really complaining.

[Driad]

46 minutes ago, SnarkySheep said:

It didn't add to your monthly phone bill because you were just "borrowing" your existing line.

It did if you had a limited account, as I wrote above.  It happened to us about that time.

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Telling today's kids about this is basically the equivalent of "we had to walk barefoot uphill both ways"

We'd tell our son that we had to get up and walk across the room to change the channel on the TV with a dial, with only 3 channels.   They can't even imagine that!  Click...ABC;  Click...CBS;  Click....NBC.   

It's fun to see the interviews with Iain & Reagan when they talk about all the stuff on their set and how they don't know what a lot of it is.  I guess that makes me a dinosaur.  😉

[Sarah 103]

3 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

I remember how thrilled I was in the late '90s, when my parents decided to get a second line for the computer!

Yes! It was wonderful. I no longer had to ask my parents if they were expecting phone calls or had to make a phone call. I could go just online and read or post on the SitcomsOnline message boards. 

[jewel21]

I had dial-up internet until about 4 years ago. That sound is still vivid in my mind. I wasn't aware that internet was around in the '80s though. We first got internet in 1996. 

[Bort]

48 minutes ago, jewel21 said:

I had dial-up internet until about 4 years ago. That sound is still vivid in my mind. I wasn't aware that internet was around in the '80s though. We first got internet in 1996. 

Yes, there was internet in the 80s, mostly used by hardcore tech geeks like Sheldon. Though this show is actually about flip over to 1991.

[Yeah No]

53 minutes ago, jewel21 said:

I had dial-up internet until about 4 years ago. That sound is still vivid in my mind. I wasn't aware that internet was around in the '80s though. We first got internet in 1996. 

Not to blow your mind, but when I worked at that university in the '80s we had instant messaging through our computer terminals.  I used to have conversations with my friends across campus all the time.  You could see them typing in real time.  This was on an ancient mainframe computer.  I NEVER imagined that soon we would have that everywhere, even at home.  I didn't get my first home computer until 1996!

4 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

I remember how thrilled I was in the late '90s, when my parents decided to get a second line for the computer!

I was 40 years old then....Don't I feel old, lol?  When hubbie and I bought a house we had a separate phone line put in just for the computer.  I remember feeling so extravagant, lol.

[Gummo]

I'm in my early sixties and about a year or two ago, was trying to get across to bunch of 20-something coworkers that when I was young, you had to watch a show when it was broadcast and if you missed it, you could only catch it in summer reruns ... if you were lucky. And if you missed it, that was it, you never saw it again.

They were aghast. The idea that couldn't watch what you wanted when you wanted was literally impossible for them to get their minds around.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Gummo said:

I'm in my early sixties and about a year or two ago, was trying to get across to bunch of 20-something coworkers that when I was young, you had to watch a show when it was broadcast and if you missed it, you could only catch it in summer reruns ... if you were lucky. And if you missed it, that was it, you never saw it again.

They were aghast. The idea that couldn't watch what you wanted when you wanted was literally impossible for them to get their minds around.

For me that time was a very long time ago.  My parents bought a VCR in 1979 and used to record "General Hospital" for me during the "Luke and Laura" days.  I got both of them hooked on the show so it became a tradition for all of us to watch all 5 shows back to back once a week.  Even though I didn't have much money back then hubbie and I scrimped and saved and bought our own VCR in 1982 so we could record our own shows and we recorded everything so we never missed a show.  This was easy to do in the days before we had to have cable TV.  When we left NYC and got cable, setting the VCR to record anything in the future became an issue so we weren't able to do it for a few years in the '90s until DVRs came on the scene and we were all over that when that came out.

[Homily]

18 hours ago, Gummo said:

I'm in my early sixties and about a year or two ago, was trying to get across to bunch of 20-something coworkers that when I was young, you had to watch a show when it was broadcast and if you missed it, you could only catch it in summer reruns ... if you were lucky. And if you missed it, that was it, you never saw it again.

I can still remember looking forward to the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz.  And of course the Christmas shows were watched only once and at Christmas!  Whole different world. 

And making this post relevant to YS I think they've done a very good job of capturing the time this show is set in.  The sound of that dial up modem took me back!

Edited November 20, 2019 by Homily

[msrachelj]

On 11/17/2019 at 9:35 AM, AnnaRose said:

I still miss that show so much!  And even though it was on ABC, I think CBS was foolish for not picking it up when it was cancelled.  The Kids are Alright was critically acclaimed and had ratings that were better than some of CBS's current shows (including Carol's Second Act that's on Thursday nights).

I think it would have been terrific following Young Sheldon.  They both are/were sweet and funny/hilarious, nostalgic shows, set in another era, with voice-over narration by one of the grown-up children, and they were both perfectly cast with young actors that are wonderful in their roles.  (The adult casting was fantastic also.)  Such a missed opportunity!

The kids are all right was fantastic I loved it !

It should’ve been picked up by another channel. Carol’s  second act sucks as does the actress who plays her. She was great as the mom on her previous two shows but boy she’s bad here. It’s funny how such crap can stay on TV and something really well done and interesting and funny gets cut. 

[LisaM]

This is one of my favorite episodes. Missy was so terrific; I was sure that she was going to hit a home run but rushing the pitcher and beating the crap out of him was even better! Loved Meemaw encouraging her to kick him in the nuts. 

Craig Nelson is another great guest star. This show has really picked some classic former tv stars as recurring guests: Billy Gardell, Melissa Peterman, Richard Kind, Vernee Watson, and now Coach.