S04.E01: Graduation

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

This is a big shift for the show. Sheldon's going to have a new universe, and I feel like Mary: I hope he makes friends and people like him. He's just a little boy.

I'm pretty sure he'll meet other Star Trek fans; it's just my own personal fan theory but it seems possible. 

[FinnishViewer]

On 11/6/2020 at 5:19 AM, ams1001 said:

Leonard (Hofstatder) is his roommate/best friend on BBT. (Though his next line suggests he might have actually named his son after Leonard Nimoy.)

It's definitely Leonard Hofstader. From the show's EP in TVLINE's interview

 

From TVLINE:

TVLINE | Any chance Sheldon wanted to name his son not only after Leonard Nimoy, but also after his good friend, Leonard Hofstadter?
He is named after Hofstadter. The middle name of Nimoy seemed like an added bonus, but to me, he is named after Leonard Hofstadter, for sure, without a doubt.

Edited November 9, 2020 by FinnishViewer

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:

It's definitely Leonard Hofstader. From the show's EP in TVLINE's interview

 

From TVLINE:

TVLINE | Any chance Sheldon wanted to name his son not only after Leonard Nimoy, but also after his good friend, Leonard Hofstadter?
He is named after Hofstadter. The middle name of Nimoy seemed like an added bonus, but to me, he is named after Leonard Hofstadter, for sure, without a doubt.

Of course it could be both. (There are certainly worse celebs to be named after than Leonard Nimoy.)

[Yeah No]

At the end of last season I predicted that Dale would forgive Georgie and worm his way back into Mee Maw's life.  I just didn't anticipate that it was going to come about as a result of an actual "come to Jesus" moment.  It looks like his sudden 180 degree turn might actually annoy her more than win her over, though.  I'm OK with him being back, but as long as it's sincere and permanent.  I'm tired of the show jerking us around with Mee Maw's relationship.

It certainly WAS jarring to see the visual difference between Sheldon and his twin sister - Only I think she now looks significantly older than him.  I'd believe she was at least a year older if not more.

On 11/7/2020 at 9:36 PM, shapeshifter said:

The show lucked out (in?) with the casting of the Sheldon-Missy twins; their faces and coloring and bone structure are believable. I was wondering if the casting agent required photos of the young actors' parents.

Haha, I thought the same thing, only right now I can't get past how they don't look the same age to me at all.

[WinnieWinkle]

17 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Haha, I thought the same thing, only right now I can't get past how they don't look the same age to me at all.

It will be interesting if the show stays on long enough to see if the two child leads end up as tall as their counterparts on BBT.  Generally girls get their full growth earlier than boys so it's not surprising that "Missie" is looking older right now but, at least in the fictional Cooper world, eventually Sheldon will catch up.  

[tennisgurl]

On 11/5/2020 at 8:44 PM, ChitChat said:

And then Sheldon interrupting the young girl telling the principal that she's pregnant with the line "protection is a must!"  Or something to that effect!  

 

While the principle was telling the girl that his mom had him when she was his age! 

The bond between Missy and Sheldon was really sweet, especially her mini pep talk about graduating, and him dedicating his graduation speech to her. Sheldon can be super arrogant and (sometimes unintentionally, sometimes intentionally) rude, but he can be really sweet when he really wants to be and when it moves him. It was also pretty hilarious how all the adults were all looking smug that it was them that he was talking about, then went back to sweet when Missy realized that he was talking about her. She was just glowing.

Awww Leonard Cooper! And an Amy voice over cameo! What a sweet episode all around. 

Edited November 10, 2020 by tennisgurl

[SmithW6079]

I assumed Dale's "coversion" was just a scam, a ploy to get Connie back, not any real change of heart.

[hoodooznoodooz]

No love for Billy discovering a potato chip shaped like Texas?

[HyeChaps]

Good luck to Billy in middle school. 

[Quark]

This was such a gorgeous episode. I've missed this show so much.

[kwnyc]

On 11/7/2020 at 7:39 PM, Gummo said:

Seeing his relationship with Missy when he's young helps explain his relationship with Penny when he's older - they offer him an emotional intelligence he often lacks or doesn't know how to access. 

I was thinking exactly this...and why Sheldon was so comfortable with Penny. 

And I don't know about an illness for Dale, but maybe he really wants to prove he's reformed so Meemaw will marry him...without realizing that she likes the "bad boy" qualities he has. She doesn't NEED another church-goer to remind her of her sins! 

I don't think they will have Meemaw marry again...she's made it clear she likes being single.

And hell yeah, LEONARD Cooper. (I wonder which graduation they were talking about? Just how far in the future is Sheldon speaking from?)

[Gimmick Genius]

On 11/5/2020 at 10:11 PM, zoey1996 said:

 

Is Leonard Cooper a BBT reference? Because I didn’t get it.

Gee, I thought it was a call-forward... Leonard Cooper was the 2012 JEOPARDY! Teen Tournament winner. Of course, he doesn't look anything like Amy or Sheldon - being a black kid with a big 'fro!

[ProudMary]

On 11/7/2020 at 1:51 PM, Sarah 103 said:

Maybe it was just for family. One of my Missy's friends may have held a party, so Missy didn't feel the need to hold one as well, because she was already given the opportunity to celebrate with friends. 

Tam was there for Sheldon, which is why I thought it was odd that Missy had none of her friends there.

[chediavolo]

On 11/5/2020 at 8:30 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Yay, so happy this show is back!

Sheldon getting scared about everything changing when he goes to college was great. I did love his talk with Missy, it's something we can relate to right now.

His valedictorian speech was great. I love that he directed it to Missy, especially since she'd been getting overshadowed by the attention on him yet again. Sheldon can be insufferable almost all of the time, but when he tries -- really tries -- he's great. 

"Dale already forgave me and God has to. You can't get mad." Ha, oh Georgie.

Dammit, I wish they hadn't brought Dale back, because I thought Meemaw and Georgie egging his house was a perfect end to that storyline.

Awwww, Sheldon named his son Leonard!! And Amy in the narration! That made my night!

Can’t stand Dale.  

[WinnieWinkle]

9 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Tam was there for Sheldon, which is why I thought it was odd that Missy had none of her friends there.

This reminded me of something I wondered about - when did elementary schools start holding graduations?  We didn't have them back when the dinosaurs roamed when I graduated but fast forwarding to when my kids finished grade school there was no formal grad ceremony.  That waited for high school.  I guess the answer is "it depends on the school" but on TV there is always a big deal made.

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

This reminded me of something I wondered about - when did elementary schools start holding graduations?  We didn't have them back when the dinosaurs roamed when I graduated but fast forwarding to when my kids finished grade school there was no formal grad ceremony.  That waited for high school.  I guess the answer is "it depends on the school" but on TV there is always a big deal made.

I was valedictorian* at our 8th grade graduation in 1967, and my middle daughter was valedictorian at her 8th grade graduation in 1997.*

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*This is probably my only chance to brag about such things.

[Yeah No]

18 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

This reminded me of something I wondered about - when did elementary schools start holding graduations?  We didn't have them back when the dinosaurs roamed when I graduated but fast forwarding to when my kids finished grade school there was no formal grad ceremony.  That waited for high school.  I guess the answer is "it depends on the school" but on TV there is always a big deal made.

I graduated from 6th grade in 1970.  We wore paper caps and gowns that reminded me of Halloween costumes, and had an auditorium ceremony.  Then my class had a big party at a local ice cream parlor, but that was the extent of it.  There were no valedictorians or anything, but I still have the cap and coincidentally unearthed it yesterday when looking through old mementos.  

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I was valedictorian* at our 8th grade graduation in 1967, and my middle daughter was valedictorian at her 8th grade graduation in 1997.*

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*This is probably my only chance to brag about such things.

We didn't have valedictorians, but I did win the school-wide spelling bee that year, though, LOL.  😉 

[Imme]

Does anyone know what make and model Dale’s camper is in this episode? I just love it! Thanks in advance.😁

[LisaM]

Sheldon's speech was great - the callout to Missy was wonderful. 

I hope that we continue to see the teachers in Sheldon's school. They crack me up - especially the two exasperated women. 

[John Potts]

On 11/6/2020 at 1:31 AM, ams1001 said:

Most kids who leave high school early aren't going to college; "it's for prison or pregnancy."

"Between Georgie and Missy we might hit the trifecta!" ... "Well, I'm not rootin' for it..." 🤣

George (Sr) is great: he loves his kids, but he’s not blind to their faults. He was right to stand up to Sheldon (something he and Mary should have done more of) and he was right to push him into taking the opportunity (OK, we always knew Sheldon would go to college, but still). And Missy pushed Sheldon as well! She sometimes does show wisdom beyond her years. And loved that even though each family member thought it was them that swayed Sheldon, they were still happy when he said it was Missy.

Spoiler

The Valedictorian Speech was rather reminiscent of TBBT Finale when Sheldon used his Nobel acceptance to thank the rest of TBBT gang.

Wow! They got Mayim Bialik in for one line!