S04.E07: A Philosophy Class and Worms That Can Chase You

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

  Reveal spoiler

If they stick to the BBT timeline Missy takes (I think) 6 years to finish high school, does not go to college but also does not end up with a teen pregnancy (so yay for that).  It will be interesting to see, should the show stay on the air long enough) just how they decide to handle Missy as she gets older.  

I wasn't surpised that Mary wants Missy to be popular at school, we all want our kids to have friends and be happy of course, but I wonder if part of this is because she acknowledges that Missy is probably only going to go as far as high school.  College is likely not in Missy's future.

Yeah, probably not 4-year college. But Missy is easily Community College-worthy, which would increase her future earnings somewhat.
Although, IRL Mary would just want Missy married to a nice Christian boy.
IDK. I just thought it all seemed like a multi-episode story arc for Missy that likely ends with Mary and Brenda back to being frenemies rather than co-conspirators for the goal of Missy being Prom Queen in however many years.

[Yeah No]

22 hours ago, Driad said:

Why was a philosophy class open to freshlings? We as science majors had to take a humanities class, usually literature. Philosophy was for more advanced students. Most likely the writers chose philosophy because they could make jokes about it.

I took Philosophy courses in my first semester of Freshman year and all through my college education.  I graduated from a major university in 1980 and I know they've never changed their policy on that.  In fact, I've never heard of it being any other way at other schools but I suppose things may have changed since then.  I don't understand why philosophy has to be for more advanced students.  We were plenty advanced at age 18 to handle philosophy.  Sheldon is a special case and doesn't really have the maturity in some ways to handle it.  But he by far doesn't represent the average student.

[Yeah No]

20 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I like to think today's college advisors are actually helpful.
But since this show is set in the 1980s,
and since in the 1970s an advisor signed off without question when I wanted to drop out 3 weeks before the end of the semester when I was about to earn all As, and a dorm RA told me I needed to "learn to share" when I discovered my roommate's boyfriend's boyfriend in my bed,
Dr. Linkletter's failures to advise and support seem realistic.

Oh I TOTALLY agree.  When some guys in my dorm snuck hashish in the brownies they brought to my suite's keg party (alcohol was legal over 18 then) and my roommate and I got so wacked out that we heard voices and slept for almost 24 hours straight (they woke us by throwing us bodily into cold showers) the Dean of the college told us something like "boys will be boys" and told us to move on.  Seriously.

[SRTouch]

12 hours ago, HouseofBeck said:

I love that Missy got her way about watching Fresh Prince. And I was so far from being anywhere close to that savvy about middle school...

 

Really, all three of the Cooper kids are very talented in their own way. Thing is, we come to Young Sheldon with preconceived opinions of the characters based on what we know from the future - and that future is based on Sheldon's world view. Missy's super power is her ability to understand and manipulate others and see through their BS - which are talents Sheldon knows/cares little about.

Edited February 13, 2021 by SRTouch

[Driad]

49 minutes ago, SRTouch said:

Missy's super power is her ability to understand and manipulate others and see through their BS

Missy might become a very scary lawyer if she were more academically inclined.

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Yeah, probably not 4-year college. But Missy is easily Community College-worthy,

I work at a community college, and our standards are as rigorous as a four-year university.  They have to be, as there are a LOT of students who take the basics at community college and transfer to university to save money.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I work at a community college, and our standards are as rigorous as a four-year university.  They have to be, as there are a LOT of students who take the basics at community college and transfer to university to save money.

I wonder if that varies by location and/or era? In the 1990s in a very rural setting, where the community college was the only college for a hundred miles, students ranged from those who required remedial high school-level algebra classes to those who were going on to prestigious four-year universities.

So I was imagining something like that for Missy. But Mary may not have. 

[MarthaEllisanne]

I am curious about Mary's 1950's house-dresses.  The dresses are pretty, but seem way out of sync with the rest of the cast's costumes.  Perhaps they are meant to show Mary's conversion from wild-child teen to religious mom?  Zoe Perry wears the dresses well, but i liked seeing her in casual campus attire when she took Sheldon to campus and was mistaken for a student.

[catlover79]

2 hours ago, MarthaEllisanne said:

I am curious about Mary's 1950's house-dresses.  The dresses are pretty, but seem way out of sync with the rest of the cast's costumes.  Perhaps they are meant to show Mary's conversion from wild-child teen to religious mom?  

I think that's what they're going for.

[WinnieWinkle]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if that varies by location and/or era? In the 1990s in a very rural setting, where the community college was the only college for a hundred miles, students ranged from those who required remedial high school-level algebra classes to those who were going on to prestigious four-year universities.

Back when I was going to university in the 80s community college was where you went to learn a skill not get a degree and parents and guidance counsellors really pushed for the degree even if the kid had no interest in university at all.  I know far too many people who went to university for the degree then ended up going to community college to get a marketable skill!

[Chit Chat]

I've been thinking about just how talented Iain Armitage is (as well as all of the cast), but especially him.  He's got a heck of a lot of complicated dialogue to memorize (or maybe he has some cue cards), but either way, having to play a character so advanced academically has got to be a challenge.   I hope that he doesn't get typecast into being Sheldon.  I still have a hard time seeing Jim Parsons in anything else.  All I see is Sheldon!  Iain has a long time though to do other things, so hopefully people like me can see past this one character.  😉  

[possibilities]

I think what works in his favor with regard to being typecast is that he will probably have a totally different look once he gets through puberty. That will make it easier for people to see him as different characters later on.

[Chit Chat]

Kudos to the writers for all of the funny stuff they throw into each episode.  One of my favorite exchanges was between MeeMaw and Sheldon:  "So, she's going to rue the day?"   Sheldon: "If it's rue-able, then she's going to rue it!"   🙂 

[eel21788]

On 2/12/2021 at 9:51 PM, ProudMary said:

Small nitpick from a Psych major: Philosophy falls under Humanities not Social Sciences. 
I too, took a Philosophy course as a freshman, although it was second semester.

We were required to take a year of Humanities and fulfill additional requirements in The Arts, Science, Social Science and Literature. Philosophy counted as a Social Science. 

[SnarkySheep]

On 2/12/2021 at 8:29 AM, ChitChat said:

Although I found it funny, I was a bit confused with Brenda's sudden fascination with Missy.  I don't recall her ever giving a damn before, so to me, it kind of came out of nowhere, but I'm glad that they're giving her more screen time.  

Not to mention, Brenda has a daughter (the little girl who was terrorizing Sheldon a couple seasons back?) The way she was acting, you'd think that Billy was her only child.

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Not to mention, Brenda has a daughter (the little girl who was terrorizing Sheldon a couple seasons back?) The way she was acting, you'd think that Billy was her only child.

She had a little girl in season 1.  I'm pretty sure that now Billy is her only child.

[Driad]

Maybe Brenda's daughter went off with Chuck Cunningham from Happy Days.

[HurricaneVal]

To go live in Greg's Brady Bunch attic!

[statslady]

On 2/13/2021 at 6:28 PM, ChitChat said:

I've been thinking about just how talented Iain Armitage is (as well as all of the cast), but especially him.  He's got a heck of a lot of complicated dialogue to memorize (or maybe he has some cue cards), but either way, having to play a character so advanced academically has got to be a challenge.   I hope that he doesn't get typecast into being Sheldon.  I still have a hard time seeing Jim Parsons in anything else.  All I see is Sheldon!  Iain has a long time though to do other things, so hopefully people like me can see past this one character.  😉  

He had a major role in Big Little Lies, playing a very different character and knocking it out of the park.   I recall being surprised when I figured out they were the same person!  I think he'll do fine.  He is indeed very talentedl

[eel21788]

8 hours ago, Driad said:

Maybe Brenda's daughter went off with Chuck Cunningham from Happy Days.

Maybe she was nothing more than a hallucination of Sheldon's.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/12/2021 at 5:13 PM, SoMuchTV said:

On 2/12/2021 at 4:46 PM, Sarah 103 said:

Maybe they will find the magical bedroom over the garage that exists in so many sitcoms in a later season: Happy Days, Growing Pains, Sister Sister, and others. 

Ooh ooh!  Brady Bunch?  Modern Family? (basement for that one, I think).

Blackish when Devante was born. 

[Johannah]

On 2/12/2021 at 1:07 PM, DoYouLikeMutton said:

Linkletter is a weak, lackluster and dull character.  I am sorry he has been inserted in place of Dr. Sturgis.   Interactions between Sheldon and Dr. Stugis are much more interesting, imo.  There is mutual respect between them.

I like him, but then I like this show a lot, so I'm willing to accept most of what they throw at me.

Knowing absolutely nothing about the actor, when I see a character written out of a show, even temporarily, in a scene by themselves, I immediately think they don't want to risk Covid, especially for a smaller part.  He can always come back later.

Mary and Brenda's newfound friendship is more than fine by me.  I'd rather Mary have a friend than an enemy.

And remember, butterflies are just worms that can catch you!

[rmontro]

The thing I liked most about this episode was hearing narrator Jim Parsons do his classic Sheldon "heh-hah!" laugh.  Maybe I'm forgetting, but I think that was the first time he's done it on this show.  Not quite Fred Flinstone's yabba-dabba-do, but it took me back.

[Sara2009]

On 2/12/2021 at 10:00 AM, Driad said:

Why was a philosophy class open to freshlings? We as science majors had to take a humanities class, usually literature. Philosophy was for more advanced students. Most likely the writers chose philosophy because they could make jokes about it.

Old joke: Descartes was in a bar. Bartender asked if he wanted another drink. Descartes said, "I think not" and vanished.

My college’s Intro to Philosophy class was open to freshman. That’s when I took it.

[MistyMeg]

Billys  sister  Bobbi was in series1, epiode17..jui-jitsu, Bubble Wrap and Yoo Hoo.  

 

[chediavolo]

On 2/12/2021 at 9:11 PM, ams1001 said:

I'm glad she did. They can miss half an hour of a football game.

Loved her explanation of who he was.

You would think they would have another tv.  Are we still in the era of free antenna TV? 

[Kiddvideo]

6 hours ago, chediavolo said:

You would think they would have another tv.  Are we still in the era of free antenna TV? 

Georgie had installed cable when he started working; he’d put a parental code on it so no one could watch “his” cable which pissed off George. I don’t remember how that got resolved, but I remember thinking my son and his cable box would be on the curb outside my house.

[John Potts]

So is this the beginning of the end for George & Mary? And initiated by a comment from Georgie of all things.*

On 2/12/2021 at 1:20 AM, Kleav said:

Rose on Two and a Half Men, in case it was driving you crazy.

It was, but I'd worked it out by the end.

As a Philosophy graduate (well, half my degree was Philosophy) I thought she was a good teacher. OK, her arguments were a little simplistic at times, but I can accept that in a half hour sitcom (she essentially summarised Descartes Meditations).

On 2/12/2021 at 1:29 AM, Spartan Girl said:

LOL at Georgie’s rendition of “Cherry Pie.”

I can't help thinking of it as Sweet Number Pi (which I'm sure Sheldon would approve of)!

On 2/13/2021 at 2:11 AM, ams1001 said:

I'm glad she did [get to watch The Fresh Prince]. They can miss half an hour of a football game.

Particularly since it would probably be 30 minutes of pre game chat and not actual play.

* I may be conflating this episode with the next as I saw them back to back and they're essentially a 2 parter

[proserpina65]

On 2/11/2021 at 8:35 PM, tennisgurl said:

Oh Sheldon, we’ve all been there. Having an existential crisis after your first philosophy class is a time honored collegiate tradition. 

Not me.  I just thought it was pointless and dropped the class.  Twice.  (I thought it might be different with a different professor.  It wasn't.)

 

On 2/12/2021 at 3:23 PM, SRTouch said:

. anyway, if there was a daughter the character disappeared sort of like Richie's older basketballer brother on Happy Days

The daughter definitely existed and definitely did a Chuck Cunningham early on.

 

On 2/12/2021 at 11:00 AM, Driad said:

Why was a philosophy class open to freshlings? We as science majors had to take a humanities class, usually literature. Philosophy was for more advanced students. Most likely the writers chose philosophy because they could make jokes about it.

Old joke: Descartes was in a bar. Bartender asked if he wanted another drink. Descartes said, "I think not" and vanished.

Intro to Philosophy was open to freshmen when I was at Towson State.  I was a sophomore, but there were plenty of freshmen in both of my  intro classes.