S06.E04: Blonde Ambition and the Concept of Zero

[Bort]

Sheldon makes a terrifying mathematical discovery while tutoring Billy. Also, Mary is jealous of Missy’s relationship with Mandy and MeeMaw.

Airdate: 20 October 2022

[ams1001]

"Stop feeding the chickens Cap'n Crunch. We don't eat their food, they don't eat ours."
Somehow I feel that it's not a given that Billy doesn't eat the chickens' food.

"Men are dumb."
"Does that mean we're dumb for liking them?
"It's not a good look for us."

Missy would look cute as a blond if she did it right.

[Spartan Girl]

Another funny episode in a row! Maybe the show is finally starting to get the groove back!

Poor Billy. At least he finally moved up a grade.

Sheldon, Sturgis, and Linkletter are so great together when they focus on science. More of that, please!

[BitterApple]

Sheldon and Billy working together was really cute, but I'm heartbroken Billy ends up getting held back more than once. Poor kid doesn't seem to catch many breaks. 

It's also funny how Sheldon was astute enough to see George Sr.'s mind games, but his ego was too big to turn down the challenge!

Although I've been a vocal critic of the pregnancy plot, it's nice to have Mandy around for Missy. Aside from Veronica, I don't think we've seen Missy interact with young women. Mandy has a snarky personality, so she and Missy pair up well. 

[retired watcher]

Is it my imagination or was there more commercials than actual show?

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Sheldon and Billy working together was really cute, but I'm heartbroken Billy ends up getting held back more than once

Yes. Knowing Billy had potential given adequate tutoring is more heartbreaking than any other plot I can recall on this show.
And although it is still a tremendous problem, it was worse at the time of the show.

[Snow Apple]

25 minutes ago, retired watcher said:

Is it my imagination or was there more commercials than actual show?

I had enough time to use the bathroom and then make a ham sandwich on toast during the first commercial break. It's true.

I always like seeing Billy. I hope they keep doing these lighter episodes.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Snow Apple

[chocolatine]

The show has faked us out with hair changes before, so I'm sure in the next episode Missy's hair will be back to her natural color and the DIY dye job will never be mentioned again.

I thought Sheldon's scene with Sturgis and Linkletter was cute, but I'm sure the fact that zero is an artificial concept is not news to any of them.

I loved that Sheldon was a good math teacher to Billy (math is not difficult to understand when taught well), but hated the quip that Billy spent several years in seventh grade. It's sad when shows punch down like that.

[paulvdb]

2 hours ago, retired watcher said:

Is it my imagination or was there more commercials than actual show?

Total runtime including credits was around 18:30, so we are getting close to the point where the majority of airtime on broadcast networks is dedicated to commercials. Maybe not really because Young Sheldon episodes are by far the shortest of any shows that I watch.

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

Total runtime including credits was around 18:30, so we are getting close to the point where the majority of airtime on broadcast networks is dedicated to commercials. Maybe not really because Young Sheldon episodes are by far the shortest of any shows that I watch.

Did the 18:30 include the previously aired scenes at the beginning?

The zero concept scenes were ruined for me by the vomiting.

[HurricaneVal]

Yup.  I was able to brief my husband--including answering detailed questions--on an emergency business trip I have to fly out on tomorrow during the commercial breaks.  

Where is our breaking point, I wonder?  Broadcast TV has a lot of competition from streaming services, and their response of "more revenue from more ads!" is not going to do well in the long run.  I wonder if cable companies like Xfinity can bring some pressure?  I mean, they're balancing on a knife edge as well.  They sell ads too, but if people quit cable in droves in favor of subscription streaming because of too many ads, then.......

I liked the chain reaction of smarties confronting losing a fundamental concept losing their shit.  But I did not like the chain reaction of vomiting.

Poor Missy, but I think that sort of thing is a right of passage for a girly girl like her.  Georgie is so earnest in trying to step up it breaks your heart.

[paulvdb]

37 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Did the 18:30 include the previously aired scenes at the beginning?

Yes. Around 40 seconds of "previously on" at the beginning and 30 seconds of credits at the end. Add the 20 seconds opening credits and you're left with 17 minutes of actual episode.

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

Yes. Around 40 seconds of "previously on" at the beginning and 30 seconds of credits at the end. Add the 20 seconds opening credits and you're left with 17 minutes of actual episode.

The Big Bang Theory used to run 17 minutes of original dialogue too. 
So at least the episodes haven’t gotten shorter in the last 10-15 years.

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Sheldon and Billy working together was really cute, but I'm heartbroken Billy ends up getting held back more than once. Poor kid doesn't seem to catch many breaks. 

I caught the pilot episode a few nights ago and Billy was introduced as a mean/intimidating kid.  He scared Sheldon with the chicken and enjoyed every minute of it.  It's a shame they decided to make Billy so educationally challenged that he can barely tie his shoes, but at least he's a sweet kid.  

[Tom Holmberg]

7 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Poor Missy, but I think that sort of thing is a right of passage for a girly girl like her.  Georgie is so earnest in trying to step up it breaks your heart.

I liked that Missy finally has a "sister."  Up to now she was living in a male-dominated house and her mother was not someone she could really talk to about things in her life.

[appositival]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I'm sure the fact that zero is an artificial concept is not news to any of them.

Yes. In fact, all numbers are artificial symbols that represent quantities in the real world. It isn't the numbers that exist, its the things that are counted. Numbers were invented to make counting possible.

Also if you have three apples and no children, you can give each (nonexistent) child as many apples as they want with a remainder of three apples. Division by zero isn't actually impossible, it just isn't very useful because the answer can be any real or imaginary number, including infinity. Everything else is just convention.

I liked Missy's calico hair, and I'll wager her mother did something similar when she was young. The hard part is convincing the other girls that this is the latest trend.

I do hope that they eventually give Billy some skill that he can use to be successful, but I fear that he will be the real tragedy of this show.

[Bethany]

What is it with Chuck Lorre shows and vomiting?  It was a recurring thing on both Big Bang and on Two and a Half Men and it's gross not funny.  So far I hadn't been aware of it on YS,  Well we had a good run.   

[NoReally]

12 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

What is it with Chuck Lorre shows and vomiting?  It was a recurring thing on both Big Bang and on Two and a Half Men and it's gross not funny.  So far I hadn't been aware of it on YS,  Well we had a good run.   

Yep, one of Lorre's many recurring (disgusting) themes. 

[UncleChuck]

Quote

if people quit cable in droves in favor of subscription streaming because of too many ads, then.......

I don't understand this.  I still prefer my cable because I can DVR everything and even when I watch "live" I give a show a 20 minute head start so I can FF through the commercials.  When I watch streaming services, they FORCE me to watch the damn commercials and FF is not allowed.  I admit I am old AF but I do not like streaming!

As for the actual show, I do prefer watching the non-Sheldon characters trying to navigate through life and figure out how to deal with new problems.  They are all trying to figure out the best way to deal with loss of a job, loss of a church, teen mean girls and boys, a pregnant "girlfriend" and a horny old geezer (or two or three) sniffing around.  Sheldon does not ever attempt to learn how to adapt to new situations--he just demands that everybody and everything conforms to his demands. 

[snarkylady]

2 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

Up to now she was living in a male-dominated house  

Sheldon dominated house.

[Bethany]

11 minutes ago, UncleChuck said:

I don't understand this.  I still prefer my cable because I can DVR everything and even when I watch "live" I give a show a 20 minute head start so I can FF through the com

I started doing this years ago with Big Bang and now find I'm doing it with most shows.  The thing is though at least in cases like Young Sheldon they factor in the ridiculous commercials so you do get to see the whole 17 minutes of show that got filmed.  That's not the case with most older shows.  You still only see 17-20 minutes of show but they filmed a longer show than that!  If I ever leave cable it will be because I am tired of watching old favourites and knowing they've cut out bits and pieces so I get to sit through even more advertising.

[Sarah 103]

11 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Georgie is so earnest in trying to step up it breaks your heart.

It really is. He messed up, but he doing everything he can to try to make it right. He realizes his role in the situation and is trying to take responsbility. 

6 hours ago, ChitChat said:

It's a shame they decided to make Billy so educationally challenged that he can barely tie his shoes, but at least he's a sweet kid.  

I actually liked that part of it because it allowed Mary and Brenda to have a strange and unque bond. What do you if your child is so far off the charts that regular public school can't really do much them for him? Granted, they are at opposite ends of the acheivement spectrum, but it's sort of the same issue. 

Billy is a sweet kid who absolutely will back up the Coopers come hell or high water.

3 hours ago, appositival said:

I do hope that they eventually give Billy some skill that he can use to be successful, but I fear that he will be the real tragedy of this show.

I seem to remember the high school football expressing interest in having Billy on the team in a few years. Maybe he'll be a star football player. 

1 hour ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

If I ever leave cable it will be because I am tired of watching old favourites and knowing they've cut out bits and pieces so I get to sit through even more advertising.

I agree. I hate seeing lines I loved cut, or the episode only making sense because I know the scenes that they cut. 

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I loved that Sheldon was a good math teacher to Billy (math is not difficult to understand when taught well), but hated the quip that Billy spent several years in seventh grade.

I didn't see it as a quip so much as an acknowledgement that Billy had some potential but no one ever really bothered enough with him.  Which is a different kind of sad.

[kwnyc]

16 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Sheldon and Billy working together was really cute, but I'm heartbroken Billy ends up getting held back more than once. Poor kid doesn't seem to catch many breaks. 

Billy's big and strong enough that he could be a football player. Remember when the principal of the high school offered to fake him a birth certificate? If he turns into an outstanding lineman, he'll even get a free ride to college (though whether hr'll be able to read his textbooks is debatable.) Friday Night Lights and all that.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I wondered why Mary was making mashed potatoes to accompany tacos. (In addition to the ground meat she was frying, you could clearly see the taco shells, lettuce, tomato and a cheese grater.) She should have been shown making almost anything else!

Corrected by Magnumfangirl below.  They were 2 separate meals.

Edited October 24, 2022 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Driad]

1 hour ago, kwnyc said:

Billy's big and strong enough that he could be a football player.

A teacher told me about a student who was so big and strong that everyone said he should try out for the football team.  But he could not remember the plays, even though the coach tried to help him, so he did not make the team.

I was surprised that Sheldon did pretty well tutoring Billy.  Some people who learn easily can't empathize with people who don't, and end up insulting them.

[Magnumfangirl]

16 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I wondered why Mary was making mashed potatoes to accompany tacos. (In addition to the ground meat she was frying, you could clearly see the taco shells, lettuce, tomato and a cheese grater.) She should have been shown making almost anything else!

That was two different dinners.  Mary was wearing different clothes in each of those scenes.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Magnumfangirl

[tennisgurl]

I love that Sheldon is both smart enough to know when George is using reverse psychology on him, but also has such a big ego that he it works on him anyway. I'm really glad that Billy made it to the 7th grade, but its sad that he apparently has to repeat it a few more times. Poor Billy, he never seems to catch any breaks and it feels like if he had more people working closer with him he might be doing a lot better. 

I'm glad we're on a run of more light hearted episodes, its been a lot of fun. I have not been a fan of the pregnancy plot, at all, but pairing Mandy up with Missy was fun, its really nice that she gets an older sister figure, she really needs that. I bet she's look cute as a blond with slightly less disastrous hair dye. 

[Tattooeddancer]

6 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I wondered why Mary was making mashed potatoes to accompany tacos. (In addition to the ground meat she was frying, you could clearly see the taco shells, lettuce, tomato and a cheese grater.) She should have been shown making almost anything else!

As someone else mentioned, those were two different dinners. I was, however, offended at the peeling, as I am someone who doesn't peel my taters for anything (I love chunks of skin in my mashed!)

I see how people are saying they're running out of ideas for Sheldon. This was the first time I actually noticed being bored with his plot (the vomiting and the praying to zero both seemed out of place).

Maybe I'm alone here, but I think it was out of line for Mandy to encourage Missy to dye her hair blonde without parental consent. When did I become an old fart? I don't even have kids.

[OlderThanDirt]

Mandy should have been helping Missy do her hair at Connie's where there's less bathroom traffic. 

Billy would have been on the school's radar for the football team. I think they would have gotten tutors for him and passed up on up.  On the other hand it's not unheard of for boys to repeat 8th grade in some football states to get bigger before they play high school football. 

[MollyMelrose]

12 hours ago, Tattooeddancer said:

Maybe I'm alone here, but I think it was out of line for Mandy to encourage Missy to dye her hair blonde without parental consent. When did I become an old fart? I don't even have kids.

If sound decision making was part of Mandy's make-up, she would not have found herself pregnant by a 17 year-old knucklehead (earnest though he may be.)

As a non-Math brained person, the whole zero kerfuffle reinforced my belief that Math is something you do avoid situations with your bank or the IRS. It doesn't have to make sense; just follow whatever mandated steps get you the correct answer. Like the teacher said in 6th grade: "Ours is not to reason why. Just invert and multiply."

This attitude might give Sheldon a migraine. This pleases me. 

[Bethany]

13 minutes ago, MollyMelrose said:

If sound decision making was part of Mandy's make-up, she would not have found herself pregnant by a 17 year-old knucklehead (earnest though he may be.)

I thought this episode did somewhat reinforce the idea that Mandy doesn't really have the maturity you'd expect from a 29 yr old woman.  It was nice that she and Missy bonded but it was mainly over advice she was giving that sounded very high school to me.  They also briefly touched on her career as a weathergirl and seemed to imply that it wasn't all that great, made it sound like she was on the air when most people weren't watching (of course with a scant line or two who knows if that's where they were really going with that!)

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, MollyMelrose said:

As a non-Math brained person. . . 

@MollyMelrose, I hereby beknight you to the Order Of The Holy Zeros Of Math, in honor of your committing to memory the most important moment of the 6th grade:

3 hours ago, MollyMelrose said:

Like the teacher said in 6th grade: "Ours is not to reason why. Just invert and multiply."

In contrast, I still recall my high school algebra teacher's on-the-spot quip:

Quote

By hook, or by crook, or by cancellation laws, you will get these problems done for homework.

--only because I had a secret crush on him.

And I am going to pretend that Billy did not repeat 7th grade 2 or more times, because he had your math teacher with her useful rhymes.

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, OlderThanDirt said:

Mandy should have been helping Missy do her hair at Connie's where there's less bathroom traffic. 

Billy would have been on the school's radar for the football team. I think they would have gotten tutors for him and passed up on up.  On the other hand it's not unheard of for boys to repeat 8th grade in some football states to get bigger before they play high school football. 

I think the hair was Mandy's idea, but I thought Missy did it on her own without Mandy's help. 

What are you saying about the school getting tutors for Billy makes sense if he were already on the middle school football team, but I do not think he is on the football yet. 

4 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

They also briefly touched on her career as a weathergirl and seemed to imply that it wasn't all that great, made it sound like she was on the air when most people weren't watching (of course with a scant line or two who knows if that's where they were really going with that!)

I think you are correct. To an adult, Mandy's career as a weathergirl doesn't seem like much. It was a local station in a small market, and she was on when very few people were watching. To someone young like Missy, it sounds so cool and glamorous that Mandy was on television everyday.

[Driad]

Relevant to Sheldon tutoring Billy, here is "Less Than Zero" from Square One TV.

[Bobbin]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

What are you saying about the school getting tutors for Billy makes sense if he were already on the middle school football team, but I do not think he is on the football yet. 

In amateur football, in some positions only size matters. In others, skill matters more than experience. Jim Zorn, the Seahawks' first QB, was recruited out of junior college and had never played football before. 

I would like to see a spin-off eventually with Georgie and Missy, with Montana Jordan and Raegan Revord, of course.

[aqusdealer]

Aside from Billy failing math, I loved the comedic aspect of the episode. Also happy to see more of Dr. Sturgiss. For me, it’s almost magical the way they both interact with each other. I came crashing down with the vomiting though. Totally unnecessary… just like when Sheldon stood up for his Mom in church but then had to give that silly pronunciation narrative tutorial. IMHO, they ruin the timbre of the scene with that stuff. Is anyone else thinking Meemaw comes to Missys aid with the “hair faux pas” by enlisting her  old friend Reba for some after hours strip and re- dye? Hoping this was all because Missy actually does want to go blonde. She would look so cute like that.

Edited October 23, 2022 by aqusdealer

[shapeshifter]

Although the adult-Sheldon voiceover telling us of Billy's sad (but realistic) academic fate was what stuck with me, 
I really loved the tutoring scene between the kids at the different ends of some undefined spectrum, both gaining incites from each other.

29 minutes ago, aqusdealer said:

Is anyone else thinking Meemaw comes to Missys aid with the “hair faux pas” by enlisting her  old friend Reba for some after hours strip and re- dye?

I forgot about Reba having guest-starred, but given that her character's ex is still on the show, yes, I'd love to see Memaw and Missy and Reba's character have their day (5-minutes on the show) at the beauty shop. 

[Snow Fairy]

I assume Missy's hair wouldn't end up that way if Mandy helped her. Missy did that on her own, thinking it would be easy.

And if I were Mandy, I would ask Georgie to go back to school 

[shapeshifter]

38 minutes ago, Snow Fairy said:

And if I were Mandy, I would ask Georgie to go back to school 

Ooo! 
I just realized 2 bits of dialogue that had bothered me might have been to prepare us for plot development.

Last episode, Mandy points out that Georgie will still only be 17 when the baby is born.

This episode we hear older Sheldon say that Billy repeated a grade 3 times.

So maybe Georgie could just go back to high school rather than getting a GED. 

[freeser]

3 hours ago, Snow Fairy said:

And if I were Mandy, I would ask Georgie to go back to school.

Speaking of Georgie, does he have a job these days?  I know we saw George Sr. working in the sporting goods store.  Did he take over the job from Georgie?  I can't remember if Georgie got fired from Dale's store or quit or if he still has a job there.  

[ItCouldBeWorse]

1 hour ago, freeser said:

Speaking of Georgie, does he have a job these days?  I know we saw George Sr. working in the sporting goods store.  Did he take over the job from Georgie?  I can't remember if Georgie got fired from Dale's store or quit or if he still has a job there.  

He runs his grandmother's laundromat.

[freeser]

10 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

He runs his grandmother's laundromat.

OK, thanks for that.  I remember him being in the laundromat, but I didn't make the connection that was his full time job now.  

[Bethany]

6 minutes ago, freeser said:

OK, thanks for that.  I remember him being in the laundromat, but I didn't make the connection that was his full time job now.  

Come to think of it have they even mentioned the laundromat so far this season?  As far as I remember they haven't had any scenes set there and I can't recall Georgie or Connie talking about it.

[proserpina65]

On 10/22/2022 at 12:54 AM, OlderThanDirt said:

Mandy should have been helping Missy do her hair at Connie's where there's less bathroom traffic. 

I don't think that Mandy knew Missy was going to do it.  She seemed surprised even before she saw the results.

[Chit Chat]

On 10/21/2022 at 8:09 AM, appositival said:

I do hope that they eventually give Billy some skill that he can use to be successful, but I fear that he will be the real tragedy of this show.

I hope so too.  Teach him something that is fairly routine and not overly complicated.  He has potential!  I hope they don't give up on him.  

[Bethany]

36 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I hope so too.  Teach him something that is fairly routine and not overly complicated.  He has potential!  I hope they don't give up on him.  

Doesn't his father still own the garage?  I know he's been written off the show but they've mentioned at least once or twice that Billy has visited his dad.  I am guessing if Dad is still around and owns his own business that eventually Billy will work there.  I'm still sorry they wrote out that whole storyline with regard to Georgie and instead have him running a shady casino!

[Tom Holmberg]

On 10/21/2022 at 8:46 PM, Tattooeddancer said:

I see how people are saying they're running out of ideas for Sheldon. This was the first time I actually noticed being bored with his plot (the vomiting and the praying to zero both seemed out of place).

He already prayed to zero (and one) in the episode that he started his own religion- Mathology

On 10/23/2022 at 5:39 PM, shapeshifter said:

Ooo! 
I just realized 2 bits of dialogue that had bothered me might have been to prepare us for plot development.

Last episode, Mandy points out that Georgie will still only be 17 when the baby is born.

This episode we hear older Sheldon say that Billy repeated a grade 3 times.

So maybe Georgie could just go back to high school rather than getting a GED. 

It was mentioned before that Georgie married for the first time at age 19

[Tattooeddancer]

On 10/24/2022 at 11:30 AM, proserpina65 said:

I don't think that Mandy knew Missy was going to do it.  She seemed surprised even before she saw the results.

I think she knew. She strode into the bathroom and said in a perky voice "Well? Show me!" 

[shapeshifter]

15 hours ago, Tattooeddancer said:

I think she knew. She strode into the bathroom and said in a perky voice "Well? Show me!" 

I too recall Mandy seeming in on it at that point. But it’s also possible Missy had texted called Mandy to come quick because she bleached her hair and it was a disaster. Maybe that was a cut scene screen shot?

Edited October 28, 2022 by shapeshifter
No texting in the 90s