S03.E10: Teenager Soup and a Little Ball of Fib

[Bort]

Sheldon fakes being sick to avoid a swim test at school. Dr. Sturgis spies on Meemaw’s new boyfriend.

Airdate: Thursday, December 12, 2019

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

[Bort]

The principal had to have been blowing smoke up Sheldon's ass. Swim tests are not/were not ever a state requirement. Most Texas schools don’t have their own pool. I had to go to swim team practice at a city pool shared by three high schools. 

Soft kitty!

[Driad]

They give a swimming test to a child who apparently has never been in a pool? If it's really required, seems simpler to ask "Can you swim?"  "Yes" gets the test. "No" or flunking the test gets a class.

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas.

[PennyPlain]

2 minutes ago, Driad said:

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas.

My high school got a pool.  After I graduated.  I'm not bitter.

[Bort]

8 minutes ago, Driad said:

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas.

None of the high schools in my area of Texas had any.

[ams1001]

4 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

The principal had to have been blowing smoke up Sheldon's ass. Swim tests are not/were not ever a state requirement. Most Texas schools don’t have their own pool. I had to go to swim team practice at a city pool shared by three high schools. 

Kids at my high school (in NJ) have been known to prank new teachers by giving directions that included "go past the pool"...we didn't have a pool (the swim team went to the local YMCA). That was early 90s...I wonder if they still do that.

I loved Missy's "welcome to the dark side."

[Spartan Girl]

Did anyone else catch Kayley Cuoco's voice in the voice of the Pool Monster?

Loved Georgie and Missy giving Sheldon pointers on playing sick. And of course Sheldon winds up spreading the germs he was so deathly afraid of.

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Did anyone else catch Kayley Cuoco's voice in the voice of the Pool Monster?

Loved Georgie and Missy giving Sheldon pointers on playing sick. And of course Sheldon winds up spreading the germs he was so deathly afraid of.

I was wondering if that was Kaley.  I couldn't find any mention online about her appearing on Young Sheldon.

Anyway, I thought this was a very solid episode, and I laughed quite a bit.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, kariyaki said:

The principal had to have been blowing smoke up Sheldon's ass. Swim tests are not/were not ever a state requirement. Most Texas schools don’t have their own pool. I had to go to swim team practice at a city pool shared by three high schools. 

Soft kitty!

2 hours ago, Driad said:

They give a swimming test to a child who apparently has never been in a pool? If it's really required, seems simpler to ask "Can you swim?"  "Yes" gets the test. "No" or flunking the test gets a class.

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas.

With episodes like this you can tell the writers live in California. All the high schools around me have pools and swimming is a state requirement. 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Guest

[Snow Apple]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas.

I *wish* my high school didn't have a pool (Illinois). I can't swim and hated undressing in front of all the other girls. They also made us wear school issued swimming suits which flattered no one.

[jewel21]

Mary singing soft kitty and Sheldon imaging her singing about his fibbing was awesome. Fib, fib, fib, heh. 

I loved Georgie and Missy closing the door and teaching Sheldon how to lie. Georgie was so excited to share his wisdom, heh. 

Dr. Sturgis and the cup was hilarious. 

And it's always nice to see Billy Sparks. 

[HurricaneVal]

I knew I knew the voice of the pool water!  I just couldn't place it....  Thanks!

Soooooo.....  Meemaw is a domanatrix?  Makes sense.

Missy had me dying laughing tonight.  I'm posting from the grave.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

With episodes like this you can tell the writers live in California. All the high schools around me have pools and swimming is a state requirement. 

I wish they would check stuff like this out before writing it into the plot.  If I had a dollar for every time a show assumed that the whole world was like California I'd be rich by now.  Like the phrase "All Rise" in a courtroom.  I've been on jury duty several times in 2 states in the Northeast and never have I ever heard anyone say "all rise" when the judge walks into the courtroom, but it seems to be standard practice on TV shows no matter where they're set.  And now we even have a TV series entitled "All Rise"....

Anyway, yet another great episode but now more than ever I'm feeling Dr. Sturgis' creepiness and feeling like Meemaw needs to not piss off her new boyfriend by acting like she's not over him.  At first I thought the coach was being snarky but hey, she's on a date with him, the least she could do is act more interested in HIM than Sturgis, otherwise she really isn't ready to date anyone yet.  I really hope they don't put her and Sturgis back together again.  

That said, my high school famously traded having a swimming pool for having a mural  depicting great scientists at the front entrance, which has always been sarcastically referred to by students as the "Bronx Science Pool".  Considering I went to the kind of high school where Sheldon would feel quite at home, this seemed to be the best choice they could have made, lol.

[SpiritSong]

Mary is so over the top worrying about her bay-bee it's annoying AF. And George was 100% right in his comment last week that for a "Christian" woman, she sure lies a lot.

I really liked Dr. Sturgis last season, but they way they're writing him and MeeMaw's relationship this time around doesn't work for me. He's all annoyance, no charm. I did like Connie's irritation with the Coach making fun of her friend, until he successfully distracted her with his talk of punishment. LOL

[femmefan1946]

My high school, opened in 1955 just before the Baby Boom hit, and closed by 1983 when the suburb ran out of kids, did not have a pool.

But DD's school, built in 1925 in a middle income neighbourhood (houses now sell in the million dollar plus range) does have one.

This is in Canada.

[Browncoat]

Not only did we not have a pool in my high school, or a swimming requirement, but the swimming requirement at my college had been discontinued a couple of years before I got there.  It did not hurt my feelings in the slightest not to have to attempt that.

John playing ping pong with his cup was hilarious.  And good for him for having the cup when he had his bike accident.

[Gummo]

Objectively, I can see how Dr. Sturgis is getting weirder and more annoying, but it's Wallace Shawn! I can't be objective.

And the big cookies. Loved how coach was weirded out and annoyed ... but ate it anyway.

Kaley was the pool monster!? Never occurred to me! Thank you!

Great episode. More Missy is always welcome.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Why was Sheldon wearing yellow dishwashing gloves during his swim test?

I loved John’s apology cookies.

Cough, even when Mom’s not in the room, is the best advice. I used to do that.

[Frost]

My school (in Minnesota) not only had a pool, we had to swim a pool length underwater to pass.  But it was not a state requirement as far as I know, just a school one.  

I didn't get Sheldon's logic.  If passing the swim test was a state requirement to graduate, being sick with a cold or flu type illness wasn't going to get him out of it for more than a few days.   He needed some condition that a doctor would forbid him from swimming.  I guess he just panicked.  I did like the continuation of Sheldon's trouble with lying.  The guilt as Mary sang Soft Kitty to him was a wonder to behold!

I loved that Sheldon basically was the Plague Carrier of East Texas although I had to shut my eyes when I saw he was going to slap Billy's slimy hand on his own face.  (shudder) 

[zoey1996]

The two high schools in Kansas that my DD attended in the 80's had pools.

Loved John's apology cookies, too!  His running in to garbage cans was funny.

[Bort]

The worry earlier in the season that Sturgis wasn’t going to be on the show much anymore was clearly for naught. I’m starting to be of the consensus that we’re getting too much of him now. He’s on the show more than Pastor Jeff, who was made a regular this season. 

[Bali]

I will never flip on John. I was cracking up at his joy of being able to protect his genitals. And Coach (What's the character's name?) was flat out mean. I didn't like that. It shows a mean side to him that could get leveled against Sheldon, and Connie won't like that. I get that it was a bit creepy of John to spy on Coach. But then again, he is new to dating. He's probably new to jealousy. But it is sweet and means well. And how do you turn on someone that sends a giant apology cookie?

Love the title of this episode. I also enjoyed the difference in the lyrics to soft kitty. I loved the thrill with which Missy and Georgie taught Sheldon about lying. I also love that George saw straight through the lie. 

We had a pool at my school. We had 2 semesters of swimming. And we had to wear wool school suits. None of which were actually small enough for me. It was a truly horrible experience. I would have been fine in my own suit. It was getting into one that someone else probably wore yesterday. Oh where is the cringe emoji?

[SnarkySheep]

2 hours ago, Frost said:

I didn't get Sheldon's logic.  If passing the swim test was a state requirement to graduate, being sick with a cold or flu type illness wasn't going to get him out of it for more than a few days.   He needed some condition that a doctor would forbid him from swimming.  

Exactly! And while I would expect the average 10-yr-old not to consider that, Sheldon is not exactly the average 10-yr-old...

[Carmel Cub]

The high school I went to in Indiana was built in the early 1960s and it has a pool. I think most of the suburban schools in the state now have pools.

[HazelEyes4325]

I am in the ""less Sheldon" camp for this show as I think this works far better as a family comedy than an origin story comedy.  That being said, this episode showed how they can make it Sheldon-centric without it falling into the trap of being annoying.  They focused on one aspect of his personality, but treated it lightly and didn't try to explain it, and let him just be a kid.  Still, though, more Missy would have been nice.

I have very conflicted feelings about Meemaw and her almost fight with Coach.  On the one hand, she was right--he was being mean to John and, on a general level, that was a turn off.  However, Connie tends to be like that with everyone so I can't really fault Coach for thinking that jokes like that would have been okay with her.  I mean, Connie isn't exactly a nice person.  On the other hand, I did like that she stood up for John, but it just didn't feel very true to character with her.  I can see her shutting down the conversation with Coach, but going out of her way to defend John, even if it was an accurate display of her feelings on the matter, didn't seem in character.  So I didn't like it, but also liked it, whatever.  I still laughed when she told Coach she was going to have to, what was it?, reprimand him?

[snarkylady]

14 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I can't swim and hated undressing in front of all the other girls. They also made us wear school issued swimming suits which flattered no one.

Yes!  The awful high school swim suits, looked horrible when dry, even worse when wet.  We were required to pass a number of swimming and endurance tests in order to graduate.  These included treading water, diving in head first and swimming underwater.  I was fortunate, I enjoyed swimming, but I had a friend who had to repeat swimming instruction over and over again because she was afraid to dive.

Meanwhile, to make this a Young Sheldon post -- does anyone know how many episodes Craig T Nelson will appear?  Has he been made a member of the cast now? 

Mary is getting very close to being an annoying character, both gullible and lying.  I thought George was the wiser parent this week. 

The cup was the best part of the episode with Welcome to the Dark Side a close second.

[Grundoon59]

Swimming was mandatory at my high school (Michigan mid 70s).  I think even my junior high had a pool.  Make up swim was the worst for me with the swim team getting most of the lanes and the make uppers crowded into two lanes - at some point we were barely walking.  I am rather pleased that I can say I caused a change there - my dad was a deputy superintendent at the time and I didn't realize it but my complaint about being kicked and nearly swamped led to the principal ordering the swim team to share.

However all that did allow me to pass my college swim test and take other things there for the PE requirement.

My favorite line was Georgie warning about the perils of adding the thermometer to the tea.

[jalady]

14 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I wish they would check stuff like this out before writing it into the plot.  If I had a dollar for every time a show assumed that the whole world was like California I'd be rich by now.  Like the phrase "All Rise" in a courtroom.  I've been on jury duty several times in 2 states in the Northeast and never have I ever heard anyone say "all rise" when the judge walks into the courtroom, but it seems to be standard practice on TV shows no matter where they're set.  And now we even have a TV series entitled "All Rise"....

That said, my high school famously traded having a swimming pool for having a mural  depicting great scientists at the front entrance, which has always been sarcastically referred to by students as the "Bronx Science Pool".  Considering I went to the kind of high school where Sheldon would feel quite at home, this seemed to be the best choice they could have made, lol.

I went to Bronx Science too!  And while WE didn't have a pool, Dewitt Clinton right next door did.  And so did Truman, which was the neighborhood high school near me in the Bronx.  Also, I was a federal prosecutor in DC for 12 years and the bailiff always said "All Rise" when each judge entered the courtroom (local DC court and federal court).

Back to the show, LOL.  I was surprised they didn't show Georgie and Missy getting punished for lying about being sick OR punishing Sheldon for diming them out!

[PennyPlain]

2 hours ago, snarkylady said:

Mary is getting very close to being an annoying character, both gullible and lying. 

I know she seemed gullible but considering Sheldon has no history of faking illnesses or lying and that "something's going around" I can see where she would err on the side of believing Sheldon.  And I wouldn't have told George either!  Smug bastard.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Frost said:

I didn't get Sheldon's logic.  If passing the swim test was a state requirement to graduate, being sick with a cold or flu type illness wasn't going to get him out of it for more than a few days.   He needed some condition that a doctor would forbid him from swimming.  I guess he just panicked.  I did like the continuation of Sheldon's trouble with lying.  The guilt as Mary sang Soft Kitty to him was a wonder to behold!

There actually wasn’t any mention of a swim test. The principal just said that water safety is a state requirement. That matches the California requirements and if you can find a way out of p.e. during swim unit you can skip it entirely. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

I love it when the writers add a touch that only a few people will notice or appreciate.  When Sheldon went over to Billy's house to get infected, they had a pristine condition 1980's Chevy Celebrity in the background.

If you are of a certain age, you will remember when that Chevy Celebrity was the official carpool car of American families.

I like little details like that.

Edited December 16, 2019 by TheLastKidPicked

[Katy M]

Sheldon has been very reluctant to lie his whole life.  They've already had one episode where he had to leave the house so he wouldn't have to lie, so convenient timing or no, I don't really have a problem with Mary believing him.  I also don't have a problem with George disbelieving him.  

I do have a problem with Mary telling Sheldon that lying was wrong, but continue lying to your father. If there's one thing I hate, it's hypocrisy.  If you think lying is just fine and dandy, fine.  But, if you don't then nope.  I also hate sending mixed signals to children.  You have to teach by example.  Not do as I say not as I do. 

[rmontro]

Liked all the Dr. Sturgis stuff in this one, like testing out the cup with the ping pong paddle.  And they're subtly writing Coach to make us dislike him - making fun of the mentally ill as he does.  

This episode gave me the heebie jeebies.  I have a big fear of water and I don't know how I got through swimming classes in high school because I can't swim worth a lick.  Brought back feelings of pure terror.  For once I can relate to Sheldon, who didn't seem so annoying in this episode.  Although I wonder how the heck he learned to dog paddle given his aversion to water.

[ams1001]

15 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Not only did we not have a pool in my high school, or a swimming requirement, but the swimming requirement at my college had been discontinued a couple of years before I got there.  It did not hurt my feelings in the slightest not to have to attempt that.

My college didn't have a swimming requirement (the core curriculum just required three PE classes) but during summer freshman orientation we got our schedules for the first semester and they had put me in a swimming class. The schedule packet also came with a drop/add form, which I promptly filled out. My official reason was my lifelong propensity toward ear infections, which is true, but really I just didn't want to take swimming. (I took tennis, badminton, and volleyball in later semesters.) My parents had the neighbor's teenage daughters teach us how to swim when I was four (partly for safety reasons since the neighbors on both sides had in-ground pools), and we later had a pool in our backyard and my aunt and uncle had numerous pool parties when we were growing up, so I really didn't need college to teach me to swim.

3 hours ago, rmontro said:

Liked all the Dr. Sturgis stuff in this one, like testing out the cup with the ping pong paddle.  And they're subtly writing Coach to make us dislike him - making fun of the mentally ill as he does.  

I really didn't like that he kept going after he could see he was upsetting her. I didn't mind the first joke so much. It wasn't particularly nice, but it wasn't really any worse than Connie herself can be. But seeing that it upset her and still continuing to make jokes suggests a mean streak.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

Liked all the Dr. Sturgis stuff in this one, like testing out the cup with the ping pong paddle.  And they're subtly writing Coach to make us dislike him - making fun of the mentally ill as he does.  

I really didn't like that he kept going after he could see he was upsetting her. I didn't mind the first joke so much. It wasn't particularly nice, but it wasn't really any worse than Connie herself can be. But seeing that it upset her and still continuing to make jokes suggests a mean streak.

I agree. The way he wouldn’t drop it edged toward bullying. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising after his refusal to let Missy tryout. 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Guest

[Gimmick Genius]

Speaking of voices (I wondered who played the pool water!) when 'Coach' had his scene with Dr. Sturgis I realized - it's Bob Parr and his smarmy little boss from THE INCREDIBLES!

[Chit Chat]

We had a huge pool at our high school in Florida, but swimming wasn't in our normal P.E. classes.  I think that was reserved for the swim and diving teams, or if you specifically took that as your P.E. class.   It was bad enough having to dress out for regular P.E.  I'm glad that I didn't have to get in a bathing suit!  I was surprised that it was a requirement for Sheldon & his classmates.  

I thought it was sweet that Billy wanted Sheldon to come in and play.  I think he's as alone as Sheldon is.  And that was a huge deal that Sheldon tried to catch a cold from him!  I've got to find this episode on Demand.  I missed the very first few minutes and the last few due to a storm.  I think I got the gist of it by seeing the middle part though!

[tessaray]

On 12/12/2019 at 10:00 PM, jewel21 said:

Mary singing soft kitty and Sheldon imaging her singing about his fibbing was awesome. Fib, fib, fib, heh. 

I loved Georgie and Missy closing the door and teaching Sheldon how to lie. Georgie was so excited to share his wisdom, heh. 

Dr. Sturgis and the cup was hilarious. 

And it's always nice to see Billy Sparks. 

I'm not a regular viewer but happened to catch this episode. I can't believe I actually laughed out loud, watching Wallace Shawn in the sporting good store.  And then later on the bicycle.  

Sheldon had all my sympathies with the swimming thing though.  I went from a small Catholic grade school to the 8th grade at a public junior high with a pool (Iowa in the 70s) and pretty much had a nervous breakdown.  

[John Potts]

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 4:00 AM, jewel21 said:

Dr. Sturgis and the cup was hilarious

I knew it would turn out to be Chekov's Cup, but was not expecting Dr Sturgis to have an accident while cycling. Connie sweetly informing him that he better be wearing it next time they meet was great too.

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:48 PM, Katy M said:

I do have a problem with Mary telling Sheldon that lying was wrong, but continue lying to your father. If there's one thing I hate, it's hypocrisy.

Agreed. I liked that George was right about Sheldon faking and disappointed in Mary that she would make Sheldon lie (I guess in the end she was right about him getting sick, but at the time George was right about Sheldon's faking it).

[aemom]

Soft Kitty!!!

We did not have a pool, but I remember being bussed once a week, one year in elementary school, to take Red Cross swimming lessons with my class. Never happened again - I guess we lost the budget.

Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that only the fancy pants private elementary and high schools might have a pool in my area. For the public system, some of the junior colleges have one. For university, none of them do, since PE is no longer required at that stage of the game.

[bybrandy]

Late to this party but my brother's school built literally right before he got there in 1982 had a pool in a suburb of Houston.  My school in North Carolina got a pool in like 8th or 9th (1991 or 1992) grade.  Swimming was a PE requirement at least some of the years.   

[NYCFree]

On 12/13/2019 at 1:40 AM, Yeah No said:

I wish they would check stuff like this out before writing it into the plot.  If I had a dollar for every time a show assumed that the whole world was like California I'd be rich by now.  Like the phrase "All Rise" in a courtroom.  I've been on jury duty several times in 2 states in the Northeast and never have I ever heard anyone say "all rise" when the judge walks into the courtroom, but it seems to be standard practice on TV shows no matter where they're set.  And now we even have a TV series entitled "All Rise"....

Anyway, yet another great episode but now more than ever I'm feeling Dr. Sturgis' creepiness and feeling like Meemaw needs to not piss off her new boyfriend by acting like she's not over him.  At first I thought the coach was being snarky but hey, she's on a date with him, the least she could do is act more interested in HIM than Sturgis, otherwise she really isn't ready to date anyone yet.  I really hope they don't put her and Sturgis back together again.  

That said, my high school famously traded having a swimming pool for having a mural  depicting great scientists at the front entrance, which has always been sarcastically referred to by students as the "Bronx Science Pool".  Considering I went to the kind of high school where Sheldon would feel quite at home, this seemed to be the best choice they could have made, lol.
 

Hi, fellow Bronx Science grad (1984). Back in my day, senior stenciled the word “pool” on the staircase by the top floor, with an arrow pointing to the roof. Then they sold “pool passes” to the Freshmen. It lasted about a week every year.

I’ve been in courtrooms in Bronx county, Manhattan and Rockland county where the court officers instructed everyone “all rise.”  I’ve also heard court clerks call “oyez, oyez” to call attention before a proceeding.

[marypat57]

Bronx Science would have been a great school for Young Sheldon.

My dad went to Bronx Science, which at the time was an all boys school.  He graduated in 1943.  The name of their yearbook was The Electron.   I think it was made coed after WWII.

[januaryman]

"You really think he's ever gonna go near a body of water?"

"Yeah. It's only a matter of time before someone throws him in one."

Ha. Still waiting for that scene.

 

[proserpina65]

On 12/12/2019 at 8:34 PM, Driad said:

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas

I'm in the northeastern corner of Maryland.  When I was in high school in the early 80s, one of the high schools in my county had a pool.  One had a planetarium, which I thought was much cooler.  Mine had neither, but we did get a once a year school trip to that planetarium.

On 12/13/2019 at 1:40 AM, Yeah No said:

I've been on jury duty several times in 2 states in the Northeast and never have I ever heard anyone say "all rise" when the judge walks into the courtroom

They do at the courthouse where I work in Maryland, in all 4 courtrooms and the hearing room where our family magistrate sits.

 

[Tom Holmberg]

On 12/12/2019 at 7:34 PM, Driad said:

Also, a high school has a pool? Guess I'm not from Texas.

I went to high school in the 60s in Illinois and the school had a boys pool and a girls pool (the boys swam naked, the girls got swimsuits).