S06.E18: Little Green Men and a Fella's Marriage Proposal

[Bort]

Sheldon wants to search for life on other planets and Mandy answers Georgie’s marriage proposal. Also, Missy is caught between two friends.

Airdate: April 27, 2023

[Katy M]

Couldn't care less if Sheldon wants to look for life on other planets.  

I'll give Missy credit for at least telling Billy the truth.  i'm surprised that she didn't consider the possiblity that Brittany was inviting her as a joke.  I mean she knew about the party well before the invite which didn't happen until after she agreed to go to the movies with Billy ruining her joke against him.  use your head, Missy.

 

[freeser]

9 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Couldn't care less if Sheldon wants to look for life on other planets. 

The whole Sheldon/life on other planets story line felt very 'forced'.  It seemed like they were really stretching the episode to try to have some sort of story that would enable Sheldon to  have some air time.  

Something else that occurred to me - are we to assume that MeeMaw is paying for the baby's expenses?   I remember Mandy told MeeMaw that she did not have any health (or even auto) insurance so MeeMaw told her not to worry about it.  I guess that means that she paid for the hospital bills for Mandy and the baby.  Is she still paying for the baby's clothes, formula, doctor visits,  etc?  Does Georgie have a job anymore?  Does he still work in the laundry/casino or anywhere?  

[Spartan Girl]

Poor Billy.

I like that Narrator Sheldon is more emotionally intelligent about other people’s feelings. 

[greekmom]

27 minutes ago, freeser said:

The whole Sheldon/life on other planets story line felt very 'forced'.  It seemed like they were really stretching the episode to try to have some sort of story that would enable Sheldon to  have some air time.  

Something else that occurred to me - are we to assume that MeeMaw is paying for the baby's expenses?   I remember Mandy told MeeMaw that she did not have any health (or even auto) insurance so MeeMaw told her not to worry about it.  I guess that means that she paid for the hospital bills for Mandy and the baby.  Is she still paying for the baby's clothes, formula, doctor visits,  etc?  Does Georgie have a job anymore?  Does he still work in the laundry/casino or anywhere?  

I thought Mandy was working the video shop and Georgie was still doing the laundromat/illegal gambling shop.

This episode was super boring IMHO - I was expecting more from the whole proposal thing and it was a bit of a letdown.

Sheldon's storyline - meh.

[MollyMelrose]

Writer 1: They want us to write a script that has lines for all the Coopers, Meemaw, Mandy, Dr. Sturgis, Dr. Linkletter, President Hagemeyer, Brenda, and Billy. Include a cute baby scene. Oh, and throw in a Star Trek reference or two ... and maybe a bit of foreshadowing to some BBT episodes regarding Raj, data filled computer screens, and space alien shaming.

Writer 2: Wow. That's a lot to fit into 18 minutes of show time. 

Writer 3: Does it matter if it's funny?

Apparently not.

 

 

[SoMuchTV]

27 minutes ago, MollyMelrose said:

Writer 1: They want us to write a script that has lines for all the Coopers, Meemaw, Mandy, Dr. Sturgis, Dr. Linkletter, President Hagemeyer, Brenda, and Billy. Include a cute baby scene. Oh, and throw in a Star Trek reference or two ... and maybe a bit of foreshadowing to some BBT episodes regarding Raj, data filled computer screens, and space alien shaming.

Writer 2: Wow. That's a lot to fit into 18 minutes of show time. 

Writer 3: Does it matter if it's funny?

Apparently not.

Lol, well played, but can we agree there were multiple cute baby scenes?

[shapeshifter]

6 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Lol, well played, but can we agree there were multiple cute baby scenes?

[Casting person in a goo-goo voice, looking at all of the babies] And who's the sweetest little baby in town?

[aqusdealer]

30 minutes ago, MollyMelrose said:

Writer 1: They want us to write a script that has lines for all the Coopers, Meemaw, Mandy, Dr. Sturgis, Dr. Linkletter, President Hagemeyer, Brenda, and Billy. Include a cute baby scene. Oh, and throw in a Star Trek reference or two ... and maybe a bit of foreshadowing to some BBT episodes regarding Raj, data filled computer screens, and space alien shaming.

Writer 2: Wow. That's a lot to fit into 18 minutes of show time. 

Writer 3: Does it matter if it's funny?

Apparently not.

 

 

For the last couple of seasons I've felt the same way. I imagine every one of these actors has an aggressive agent constantly networking to the producers and directors on behalf of their client. Can you hear it now? "My client wasn't even IN the last episode and  in the episode before that they  only had a total of 42 seconds of screen time !!!" 

What's the old saying..."too many cooks spoil the broth"

That said, I have always liked the scenes between Sheldon and Dr. Sturgiss.

[Skooma]

8 minutes ago, aqusdealer said:

That said, I have always liked the scenes between Sheldon and Dr. Sturgiss.

Me too.  More of them and hunting for life on other planets and less boring soap opera stuff about babies, affairs, marriage, teenage angst and junk like that.  I want a sitcom centered on Sheldon.  Not a soap opera about all these other people.

[Bethany]

It started off well.  Meemaw "so when's the wedding?"  and then the next scene Sheldon to Mary: "You have your stories, I have mine." 😄

Went downhill from there but I did like the scene with Dr Linklater explaining who Carmen Miranda was!

Too many characters, too many storylines.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Sheldon to Mary: "You have your stories, I have mine." 

I liked that line. Mileage varies.

[Bethany]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

I liked that line. Mileage varies.

Me too! I've reworded my post as I realize it didn't come across the way I meant it too!

[Sarah 103]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I'll give Missy credit for at least telling Billy the truth.  i'm surprised that she didn't consider the possiblity that Brittany was inviting her as a joke.  I mean she knew about the party well before the invite which didn't happen until after she agreed to go to the movies with Billy ruining her joke against him.  use your head, Missy.

I agree with you about Missy being honest with Billy, but I don't see how Brittany inviting Missy as a joke would have gone. What makes it a joke/prank? Missy shows up and Brittany pretends she wasn't invited and Missy looks someone desperate to get into the cool party? 

2 hours ago, freeser said:

Does Georgie have a job anymore?  Does he still work in the laundry/casino or anywhere?  

Georgie handles the video-store with Mandy and Mee Maw handles the laundromat, but those are both fronts and they are really making money from the backroom casino. 

I liked Sheldon's plotline (it was better than the database storyline). It explains why he wasn't as mean to Raj as the other scientists would imply he should have been. Sheldon believes in what Raj is studying and shares his view. 

 

[Bumblebee84047]

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Lol, well played, but can we agree there were multiple cute baby scenes?

Cute baby, Wallace Shawn, and Ed Begley Jr. made it worthwhile for me.

[pennben]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I like that Narrator Sheldon is more emotionally intelligent about other people’s feelings. 

I hate that Sheldon & family have put Missy in a hole. She deserved so much more as a kid but attention always focused elsewhere. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

I agree with you about Missy being honest with Billy, but I don't see how Brittany inviting Missy as a joke would have gone. What makes it a joke/prank? Missy shows up and Brittany pretends she wasn't invited and Missy looks someone desperate to get into the cool party? 

Wrong place, wrong day, or wrong time. 
 

[freeser]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

Georgie handles the video-store with Mandy and Mee Maw handles the laundromat, but those are both fronts and they are really making money from the backroom casino. 

Thanks for the info - I remembered the laundromat and casino, but I forgot about the video store.  Speaking of jobs, did George get officially rehired as football coach?  

[hoodooznoodooz]

26 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Wrong place, wrong day, or wrong time. 
 

Also, a power move. Brittany probably found out about the plan to go to the movies. She knows that she can manipulate Missy into dropping Billy, but will treat her poorly when she attends her party.

[hoodooznoodooz]

But still, I only watch for Missy, Georgie, Dr. Sturgis and George.

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I agree with you about Missy being honest with Billy, but I don't see how Brittany inviting Missy as a joke would have gone. What makes it a joke/prank? Missy shows up and Brittany pretends she wasn't invited and Missy looks someone desperate to get into the cool party? 

that or they pull some prank on her at the party, like pouring something on her (I went to my one and only party in 8th grade and a boy went to the bathroom and came out and poured his urine on a girl's hair), sent her in to play 7 minutes of Heaven with a dork she invited for the purpose, or a boy she liked who then humiliates her.  Spends the whole time criticizing her clothes.  there are a million ways.

[appositival]

It bothered me that Sheldon had no plan beyond get a telescope and search for exoplanets. Dr Prakash was looking for planets occluding their stars, but Sheldon had apparently never heard of the process. TBBT was very careful to get the science right, but this show is just playing it for laughs. Certainly someone would think of using a computer to do the searching rather than just staring at a list of numbers.

Wikipedia said, "The first suspected scientific detection of an exoplanet occurred in 1988". Dr Prakash didn't find it.

[Tom Holmberg]

14 hours ago, freeser said:

The whole Sheldon/life on other planets story line felt very 'forced'.  It seemed like they were really stretching the episode to try to have some sort of story that would enable Sheldon to  have some air time. 

You get the feeling that as Sheldon gets older the writers have no idea what to do with him.  The database plot went no where, as will the exoplanet plot.  Both are just excuses to have all the adults at Sheldon's school  try to weasel out of interacting with him, which has basically been his entire college career.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Tom Holmberg

[mojoween]

The rear window of the car didn’t look like it was open so how did Georgie get the hanger in there?  I always thought you put the hook of the hanger between the outer window and the frame and pulled up something in there.

[Bethany]

8 hours ago, freeser said:

Speaking of jobs, did George get officially rehired as football coach?  

Yes he did.  I forget offhand which episode now but it was earlier in the season.  To give them credit they must have decided they'd already piled on the misery for the Coopers so pulled back on the financial strain by giving Mary a job almost immediately and then a few episodes later George was back at the high school.  Typical sitcom they haven't brought up how the parents who forced him out in the first place reacted!

[Bethany]

Rewatched this episode this morning and to be fair it was better on second viewing.  I picked up on a few things I missed last night. 

I actually liked the way they handled Missy and Billy.  She's only 13 so to me expecting her to be mature enough to give up a "cool kid" party for Billy was unlikely.  Poor Billy but at least she did warn him about Brittany!

I also like the ending of Sheldon's storyline with Sturgiss and Linklater knowing that Sheldon could very well make that big groundbreaking discovery and they wanted to be in on it.

[shapeshifter]

23 minutes ago, mojoween said:

The rear window of the car didn’t look like it was open so how did Georgie get the hanger in there?  I always thought you put the hook of the hanger between the outer window and the frame and pulled up something in there.

Having used the hanger method in the 90s on my older cars: There was a soft, rubbery gasket at the top of the window, presumably to keep rain out. A coat hanger slips in there easily, even when the window is rolled all the way up.
Somewhere around that time new cars' window locks became smooth cylinder shapes with no lip for the coat hanger loop to snag. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by shapeshifter
apostrophe

[Bethany]

@shapeshifter ah memories!  I had to do the same thing a time or two back in the day!  Talk about times changing, my DIL locked the baby in the car (by mistake of course) and was able to call her husband on a borrowed cell phone who could open the door remotely using his phone.  It's a whole new world 🙂!

Edited April 28, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[kwnyc]

14 hours ago, freeser said:

The whole Sheldon/life on other planets story line felt very 'forced'.  It seemed like they were really stretching the episode to try to have some sort of story that would enable Sheldon to  have some air time.  

Well, he found the prototype for Raj (astrophysicist), and it's a distant precursor to the future, when Sheldon (on a forced vacation) actually discovers an object in space when he's watching Raj.

Also, I don't know why Billy is still the social outcast unless his mother doesn't let him play football. He's HUGE, and at that age in Texas, he'd probably be starting on his middle school team, and George certainly has his eye on Billy for the high school team. Football is EVERYTHING iN TX (Futbol is Life!).

Georgie has the best intentions, but he's still a kid. And in thinking about who is paying the bills for Mandy/CeeCee, remember MeeMaw has a business that does a high volume of cash that she has to launder!

Edited April 28, 2023 by kwnyc

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, Katy M said:

Couldn't care less if Sheldon wants to look for life on other planets.  

I actually found that interesting.  Maybe because shows on NOVA about other galaxies talk about exoplanets and the possibility of them supporting life a lot.

13 hours ago, greekmom said:

I thought Mandy was working the video shop and Georgie was still doing the laundromat/illegal gambling shop.

Yeah, I think they're paying for at least some of baby CC's expenses.

13 hours ago, MollyMelrose said:

Writer 1: They want us to write a script that has lines for all the Coopers, Meemaw, Mandy, Dr. Sturgis, Dr. Linkletter, President Hagemeyer, Brenda, and Billy. Include a cute baby scene. Oh, and throw in a Star Trek reference or two ... and maybe a bit of foreshadowing to some BBT episodes regarding Raj, data filled computer screens, and space alien shaming.

Writer 2: Wow. That's a lot to fit into 18 minutes of show time. 

Writer 3: Does it matter if it's funny?

Apparently not.

 

 

I thought it was funny.

13 hours ago, Skooma said:

I want a sitcom centered on Sheldon.

I'd actually dump Sheldon if I had a choice.

[Katy M]

7 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I actually found that interesting.  Maybe because shows on NOVA about other galaxies talk about exoplanets and the possibility of them supporting life a lot.

I might have found it interesting if they had done more with it, but Sheldon wanted to look, got fooled by the president, or whatever she is, after having already been fooled by the Grand Chancellor thing, got to look and seemed to get pretty immediately bored by the whole thing.  I did like the Linkletter and Sturgis interactions, but basically it was just a bunch of nothing, IMO.

[kay1864]

4 hours ago, appositival said:

Certainly someone would think of using a computer to do the searching rather than just staring at a list of numbers.

I kept waiting for a line about that when Sheldon was first staring at the screen! Disappointing.

[Tom Holmberg]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Having used the hanger method in the 90s on my older cars: There was a soft, rubbery gasket at the top of the window, presumably to keep rain out. A coat hanger slips in there easily, even when the window is rolled all the way up.
Somewhere around that time new cars' window locks became smooth cylinder shapes with no lip for the coat hanger loop to snag. 

Or they could have called the police or a towing company who'd open it with a "slim jim".

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Having used the hanger method in the 90s on my older cars: There was a soft, rubbery gasket at the top of the window, presumably to keep rain out. A coat hanger slips in there easily, even when the window is rolled all the way up.
Somewhere around that time new cars' window locks became smooth cylinder shapes with no lip for the coat hanger loop to snag. 

I also would have thought Georgie would know all that and done it right away.

[kay1864]

32 minutes ago, kwnyc said:

remember MeeMaw has a business that does a high volume of cash that she has to launder!

Hospital: Here’s your final bill.

Meemaw: And here’s my suitcase full of cash.

[Frost]

52 minutes ago, kay1864 said:

5 hours ago, appositival said:

Certainly someone would think of using a computer to do the searching rather than just staring at a list of numbers.

I kept waiting for a line about that when Sheldon was first staring at the screen! Disappointing.

No mention of how the numbers smell, taste, or look to Sheldon?  I loved that revelation during TBBT episode where he found the object.  Meanings within numbers jump out at Sheldon.   I wonder if Dr Sturgis has anything like the same sensory reaction to numbers?

[Sarah 103]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Wrong place, wrong day, or wrong time. 

That seems awfully elaborate for someone who is second teir popular like Missy. 

11 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Also, a power move. Brittany probably found out about the plan to go to the movies. She knows that she can manipulate Missy into dropping Billy, but will treat her poorly when she attends her party.

 

6 hours ago, Katy M said:

that or they pull some prank on her at the party, like pouring something on her (I went to my one and only party in 8th grade and a boy went to the bathroom and came out and poured his urine on a girl's hair), sent her in to play 7 minutes of Heaven with a dork she invited for the purpose, or a boy she liked who then humiliates her.  Spends the whole time criticizing her clothes.  there are a million ways.

These horrible scenarios seem far mor likely and believable than a fake party.  

1 hour ago, kwnyc said:

Also, I don't know why Billy is still the social outcast unless his mother doesn't let him play football. He's HUGE, and at that age in Texas, he'd probably be starting on his middle school team, and George certainly has his eye on Billy for the high school team. Football is EVERYTHING iN TX (Futbol is Life!).

I'm guessing his grades are too low. Also, it's possible he isn't interested. He could have tried out and not made the team. 

[bad things are bad]

39 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

I'm guessing his grades are too low

I remember a King of the Hill episode where Peggy failed a middle school football star, and got massive pressure to pass him. I imagine that Billy would get acceptable grades if he was good enough at football.  Definitely could be a plot point to explore 

[HurricaneVal]

Oh Billy....  I'm so glad Brenda knows her son's apparent place in school society that she immediately recognized the red flags, and went straight to Missy for intel, and advice.  I see a lot of similarities between Missy and Brenda, they're both have high EQs, and a certain sass about life.

I was really hoping they wouldn't go there with Missy, and have her go to the party and get pranked.  Missy is a little emotionally fragile right now, and something like that would send her right over the edge.

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by HurricaneVal

[Kaycee]

Mandy turning down Georgies proposal was no surprize. At 18, Georgie appears more mature at times then Mandy. It shows he deeply cares for her and the baby, but Mandy just does not see it that way. There has to be another reason other than Georgies age to why Mandy will not marry him.
 

[possibilities]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

The rear window of the car didn’t look like it was open so how did Georgie get the hanger in there?  I always thought you put the hook of the hanger between the outer window and the frame and pulled up something in there.

I have never tried it, but at least on older cars (which would be what they have during the time the show takes place), there was often a soft rubber gasket around the window frame, so you could squish that down to squeeze the hanger in between the glass and the gasket/frame. 

It's upsetting how many ways kids can find to torment other kids. I don't usually want to see Missy tormented, but she does kind of deserve to suffer for wanting to badly to be friends with someone she knows is mean and rotten. So I come down on the side of wishing they'd shown her being miserable at the party, though I also realize it's more realistic that Billy would be outcast and she'd be popular. The whole situation makes me sad.

Billy might not have enough of a competitive spirit for football. He could run, but I don't know if he would be into the whole tackle and crush.

In the 1980s I worked for  little while for two physicist professors who would sometimes go on overnight "observation runs" at some observatory or other. I don't know what exactly they were doing, but I did know it wasn't all that exciting. They would be excited to go, but the actual grind of that kind of research isn't all that glamorous until you finally make a discovery or come to a conclusion. So I kind of enjoyed Sheldon's story this week, and seeing him sitting in the lab staring at the boring screen. I am also interested in knowing more about the professor who was interested in working with him instead of being reflexively annoyed by his existence. I would more enjoy seeing him work with adults who are not bullies who hate him, and instead finding someone who actually respects his mind and might be a true mentor.

I am under the impression that Mandy is on informal post-partum maternity leave, which is why we haven't seen her at work lately. 

I am getting the feeling that there are a lot of adults who still want to be bullies and find bullying fun, and that's why there are so many bullying stories that are played for laughs on this show (against Sheldon in particular). Looking at the state of the world, I'm guessing it's not just the people in this particular writing room. But it depresses me nonetheless. 

[Bethany]

5 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I am under the impression that Mandy is on informal post-partum maternity leave, which is why we haven't seen her at work lately. 

She mentions at one point that she had the baby "two weeks ago" so they are moving in somewhat real time on the show.  Although that said Sheldon seems to have gotten over his disappointment with the failed launch of the grant database awfully quickly!  

[UncleChuck]

Quote

...I did like the scene with Dr Linklater explaining who Carmen Miranda was

I enjoy the scenes with Dr. L, as played by Ed Begley Jr.  I remember when a much younger Ed Begley Jr. played a young intern on "St. Elsewhere" and he was trying desperately to impress the curmudgeonly chief heart surgeon, Dr. Craig.  Now Begley is the curmudgeon.  What goes around comes around...

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

Or they could have called the police or a towing company who'd open it with a "slim jim".

Mandy and Georgie seemed afraid if the authorities found out, they’d be seen as unfit parents (and CeeCee could be taken away from them). 
I don’t think that’s a realistic fear in their time and place, but it’s understandable.

 

3 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I also would have thought Georgie would know all that and done it right away.

There wasn’t too long of a panic delay, but, yeah, it was a little out of character for Capable Georgie to panic at all.

[januaryman]

MIssy and Billy were the only points of interest for me, certainly more than watching Sheldon sit on the couch watching Star Trek for the umpteenth time. There are more amusing stories they could be doing with Sheldon. 

[Driad]

6 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Billy might not have enough of a competitive spirit for football. He could run, but I don't know if he would be into the whole tackle and crush.

Yes, there are various ways that a big strong person could be unsuitable for football. A high school teacher told me about a student who was encouraged by many people to try out for football, but he didn't make the team because he couldn't remember a play long enough to do what he was supposed to do.  The coach tried to help him but it just didn't work.

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

Yes, there are various ways that a big strong person could be unsuitable for football. A high school teacher told me about a student who was encouraged by many people to try out for football, but he didn't make the team because he couldn't remember a play long enough to do what he was supposed to do.  The coach tried to help him but it just didn't work.

I can definitely see Billy having that problem. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

Yes, there are various ways that a big strong person could be unsuitable for football. A high school teacher told me about a student who was encouraged by many people to try out for football, but he didn't make the team because he couldn't remember a play long enough to do what he was supposed to do.  The coach tried to help him but it just didn't work.

10 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I can definitely see Billy having that problem. 

Yes, but I'd rather have a story in which Billy isn't suited for football because of his pacifist/"Gentle Giant" nature.

 

[HurricaneVal]

The unrealistic storyline I'd like to see is Billy getting involved in football and finding out he's a total savant.  Not only that, but learning the plays and formations sparks (heh) an epiphany and suddenly he sees mathematics in football terms, and language arts in football terms and he pulls up to a C average in the strength of that different angle on things 

He becomes wildly popular due to his football prowess, but doesn't care.  He hangs with Missy, Sheldon, others who he hung out with before he got popular, and his chickens.  He spends most of his time at his mom's bowling alley, which turns that into the hot local hangout for the football team and all fans, which is good business for his mom.

Billy grows in confidence because of this and as he finds his center, he stays the same sweet person, but much less clueless.  Billy goes on to success at college, then pro ball, but never forgets his hometown.  He retires at 35 after a stellar pro career--including a lumbering "Refrigerator Perry" style touchdown at the Superbowl--and returns home where he buys the bowling alley, video store, drive-in burger joint, and comic book shop and lives his dream, filthy rich and adored by all with a huge fancy chicken coop as big as his mansion in his back yard.

 

A girl can dream!

[OlderThanDirt]

I see Billy as an offensive lineman protecting his quarterback,  kind of like The Blind Side.

I also don't understand why Missy wouldn't be popular. She's cute with real people-smarts (remember when they were tested), her father is the football coach,  her grandmother is notorious, she has brothers who are the talk of the town.

Edited April 29, 2023 by OlderThanDirt

[Chit Chat]

12 hours ago, OlderThanDirt said:

I also don't understand why Missy wouldn't be popular.

I wonder if she got snubbed when word got out about Georgie getting Mandy pregnant.  All it would take is for one of the popular girls to make it an issue, which in turn means that all of that girl's circle would snub her too. Plus, Sheldon was a bit of a nuisance when he was in school with her, with his tattling on people, sticking to the rules, etc.  That didn't help her or Georgie.

 

12 hours ago, OlderThanDirt said:

I see Billy as an offensive lineman protecting his quarterback,  kind of like The Blind Side.

I didn't think about that!  Yes, he would be perfect in that position.