S07.E09: A Fancy Article And A Scholarship For A Baby

[anna0852]

21 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Many science journal articles list as authors everyone who worked on the study, including students.
So, yes, Sheldon should have been aware of this, but, he probably wasn't reading her emails (hence the letter, although it wasn't explicitly stated in the episode).

It’s 1993. Email isn’t a thing.

[Driad]

25 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

It’s 1993. Email isn’t a thing.

I had email before 1990, from my connection to a university.  Email may not have been the standard method for academic communication in 1993, but it did exist.

[kay1864]

On 4/25/2024 at 8:37 PM, anna0852 said:

I really that they played to George’s strength in dealing with recruiters.

And yet after George’s remark to one recruiter about their offer, there was zero discussion on who was offering the most $. You'd think a couple of the schools would have been eliminated on that basis. 

Googling “Caltech satanist” yielded no results for me. 🤨

[SoMuchTV]

2 hours ago, kay1864 said:

Googling “Caltech satanist” yielded no results for me. 🤨

But please report back on what kind of popup ads you’re getting. 

[ProudMary]

22 hours ago, shura said:

He knew it had been written, he said “It’s the paper I wrote with Mei Tung.”  I’m guessing it was a class paper that ended up being submitted for publication.  Not sure why he did not know that it had been submitted.

I'd really like to know where that young woman, who tutored Sheldon Cooper, went to grad school! I wonder if their paths ever crossed again.

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 I hate the thought that I won't be seeing Wendie Malick anywhere anymore as she's been popping up in shows I watch for over 30 years now.

I don't know if you have access to AppleTV+ or not, but Wendie Malick is a recurring character on Shrinking, which I highly recommend. She plays a doctor who is Harrison Ford's love interest. 

[Dimity]

16 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

I'd really like to know where that young woman, who tutored Sheldon Cooper, went to grad school! I wonder if their paths ever crossed again.

I laughed out loud when they did the flashback with her rapping Sheldon on the knuckles when he was wrong and Mary was snickering into her bible!

[chitowngirl]

I liked that Profs. Sturgis and Linkletter worked together (for the first time?) on what’s best for Sheldon. And I knew that they would each pick a different school to be the best one for Sheldon!

[Skooma]

On 4/26/2024 at 3:21 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

I am actually warming up to the Morose Mandy spinoff.

I'm not.  The actor that played Georgie was the only decent actor of those 4 and now that they "civilized" him he has no personality at all.  Generic Georgie.

On 4/26/2024 at 8:41 AM, vibeology said:

Scared is unfair. Snow and winter require a whole set of skills Sheldon has never developed and a new wardrobe that he would have to acquire. Just being good at walking in snow is work. Balancing on an icy sidewalk is hard. I've lived in a snowy winter climate my whole life and if I had an easy way to go to Southern California instead, I would take it.

Eh, I was born in Pennsylvania but we moved to Florida when I was in the 2nd grade and I lived in Florida for 20 years.

I couldn't wait to get out of that hot, sweaty climate and I fell in love with northern New England and adapted quite quickly.  Wouldn't change all four seasons for a hot all year climate in a million years.

On 4/26/2024 at 3:43 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

The winter of 1993-94 in Boston is second place for snowiest winters for the city with 96.3 inches.

And this past winter Boston got less than 10" of snow for the entire winter.  And much of that melted on contact.  Northeast coastal cities get next to no snow these days what with climate change.

[SnapHappy]

On 4/25/2024 at 7:41 PM, jennifer6973 said:

I loved that he chose his school because of weather.   Of course Caltech would have weather like what he is used to.

It's a cute premise, but then as now, passengers would have been advised of the conditions on the ground long before the plane landed, much less before George & Sheldon got outside.  It's only 4 hours flight time from Dallas to Boston.  Sheldon would have checked out everything in advance.

And who would think Sheldon wouldn't be fully prepared for any type of weather in a place like Boston?  It's not Bozeman, Montana!!  *LOL*

[Browncoat]

Reading about the weather is vastly different from experiencing it.  If you've never been in a snow storm (or never seen snow at all), you have no frame of reference for just how cold and windy it is.  I can totally buy that they stepped out of the airport, said, "Nope." and turned right around.  

[freeser]

5 hours ago, Skooma said:

On 4/26/2024 at 2:21 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

I am actually warming up to the Morose Mandy spinoff.

I'm not.  The actor that played Georgie was the only decent actor of those 4 and now that they "civilized" him he has no personality at all.  Generic Georgie.

I agree with you - Generic Georgie - is the perfect way to describe what they have done to him.  Ever since he has known of Mandy's pregnancy, his personality has totally changed.  I guess it is good he wants to take care of  his family, but they have made him so boring in the process.

Missy calls Sheldon 'An Old Man' - I feel that title  now also can apply to Georgie.

[Tom Holmberg]

2 hours ago, freeser said:

I agree with you - Generic Georgie - is the perfect way to describe what they have done to him.

Doesn't bode well for the spin-off, but typical Lorre is ineffectual man dominated by ball-buster woman. So they already got that going for them.

[Dimity]

23 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

Doesn't bode well for the spin-off, but typical Lorre is ineffectual man dominated by ball-buster woman.

On BBT the only exception to this, oddly enough, is Sheldon.  He tries to dominate Amy with very limited success but there is no way Amy could ever be described as a ball-buster woman, unlike what they did to Bernie and Penny.

[januaryman]

This was a rare episode where President Hagemeyer had no scenes with Sheldon. They did have a funny dynamic and I hope they get a final scene together. I also hope Billy Sparks reappears for more than just a walk-on.

[chitowngirl]

1 hour ago, januaryman said:

I also hope Billy Sparks reappears for more than just a walk-on.

With his long lost sister! 😆

[Mellowyellow]

One of the best episodes ever!!! 

George taking the lead and putting his years as a coach to good use, the two professors and their love for Sheldon, President Hagemeyer being her fabulous wheeling, dealing self. The scenes of George and Mary wearing all the different college gear were adorable. 
 

As someone who is absolutely miserable in winter (and I live in Sydney where it doesn’t snow) Sheldon’s reason for abandoning MIT resonated with me and made perfect sense. Perfect way to resolve his dilemma! 
 

Such a well executed episode! It was hilarious and had so much heart. Everything I love about the Big Bang universe.

[proserpina65]

On 4/25/2024 at 8:13 PM, ams1001 said:

Is anyone going to ask Sheldon where he wants to go?

Both Mary and George said multiple times that it was up to him.

On 4/25/2024 at 8:51 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Just think, if it hadn’t been for that snowstorm, Sheldon might never have gone to CalTech, and TBBT just would’ve been Leonard, Raj, and Howard.

Oh what could have been! 

On 4/25/2024 at 11:38 PM, Skooma said:

Instead Sheldon would have met Howard at M.I.T. and they would have become roommates together in Boston.

No way would Howard have become roommates with Sheldon.

On 4/26/2024 at 1:01 AM, Sarah 103 said:

I can relate. I grew up in the northeast and I was sure I wanted to go to college in a place with a long cold hard winter. During winter of my freshman year of high school, we had a debate tournament in MA. After one weekend, I completely changed my mind about what I wanted. I can only imagine how much of a shock it must have been for Sheldon who never experienced anything like that before. 

I actually eliminated a couple of colleges because they were in Michigan and New York - both get too cold in the winter for me, and I don't live as far south as Texas.

 

[proserpina65]

On 4/27/2024 at 3:08 PM, kay1864 said:

And yet after George’s remark to one recruiter about their offer, there was zero discussion on who was offering the most $. You'd think a couple of the schools would have been eliminated on that basis. 

Googling “Caltech satanist” yielded no results for me. 🤨

I googled "was Caltech founded by a satanist" and it came up with Jack Parsons, who didn't actually found Caltech but was very involved in its early years and was a cofounder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

[Tom Holmberg]

13 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

As someone who is absolutely miserable in winter (and I live in Sydney where it doesn’t snow) Sheldon’s reason for abandoning MIT resonated with me and made perfect sense.

Living in Chicago I know snow gives everyone something to talk about (which Sheldon probably wouldn't like, though he'd be the first one complaining). If it was always nice out, what would we talk about?

3 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I googled "was Caltech founded by a satanist" and it came up with Jack Parsons, who didn't actually found Caltech but was very involved in its early years and was a cofounder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Yep.  Here: https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disappearing-pod/the-sex-cult-antichrist-who-rocketed-us-to-space-part-1/

[tennisgurl]

Awww if this is the last we see of Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter this is a nice note for them to go out on. I'm glad they did the right thing and gave Sheldon some good advice, he might annoy them but they do care. I was definitely like "wait just a minute" when he said he was going to MIT, but of course the weather scared him off. Imagine a timeline where Sheldon went to MIT instead of Cal Tech!

George was really in his element with the recruiters, he might not know much about academia but he does not recruiters and how they play the game. He and Mary were a really good team, I much prefer them like this than them constantly fighting. 

Some quality Missy snark in this one, few people can eyeroll like her. "Are we not done?" 

Really good episode. 

Edited April 29 by tennisgurl

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Both Mary and George said multiple times that it was up to him.

I know, but not at the point when I wrote that comment.

[possibilities]

10 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

If it was always nice out, what would we talk about?

Did you hear about the terrible storm they had in Boston?

 

[Driad]

Opinions of weather depend on experience etc.  I lived in Boston for a while, and considered it subtropical compared to where I had been before.  I couldn't stand the weather in Texas or southern California.  Some people like it, and that's fine with me.

[aqusdealer]

5 hours ago, Driad said:

Opinions of weather depend on experience etc.  I lived in Boston for a while, and considered it subtropical compared to where I had been before.  I couldn't stand the weather in Texas or southern California.  Some people like it, and that's fine with me.

I’ve lived in both New England and Florida and I think when you get used to 4 seasons, it’s hard to get it out of your blood. 

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I know, but not at the point when I wrote that comment.

That makes sense.

[LisaM]

Tremendous episode. Loved the scenes with Mary and George wearing the college clothing. George's football recruiting experience definitely paid off. Cracked up at Sheldon towering over Dr. Sturgis. 

[camom]

Quote

The MIT chapel hosts services of many religions

Caltech doesn't even have a chapel (although there are churches of all denominations within a few miles of campus).  It's a great school, though.

[ProudMary]

On 4/29/2024 at 1:37 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

Living in Chicago I know snow gives everyone something to talk about (which Sheldon probably wouldn't like, though he'd be the first one complaining). If it was always nice out, what would we talk about?

I live in the south now, where it's hot and sticky for about 7-8 months each year. We talk about humidity and insects. There's always a topic, no matter your weather!

16 hours ago, camom said:

Caltech doesn't even have a chapel (although there are churches of all denominations within a few miles of campus).  It's a great school, though.

Even if every one of his potential choices had a Baptist chapel on campus, Mary can't possibly believe that Sheldon would attend church services!

[Tom Holmberg]

23 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I live in the south now, where it's hot and sticky for about 7-8 months each year. We talk about humidity and insects. There's always a topic, no matter your weather!

I was basing my comment, somewhat, on the movie "LA Story" with the idea that the weather in SoCal is the same every day.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 4/25/2024 at 8:37 PM, anna0852 said:

I really that they played to George’s strength in dealing with recruiters. He’s right, he’s not a big academic guy, but he knows how to deal with someone comes sniffing around for blue chip talent. And I was really glad to see that Mary was fine about her baby boy going off somewhere. No hand wringing this time! She seems to be really OK with Sheldon moving states away. Although being distracted by having a grandbaby around, might have something to do with it.

 

On 4/26/2024 at 8:41 AM, vibeology said:

I do wish the show would explain what's changed in Mary for her to become so lackadaisical with Sheldon's safety after seasons of her being the Mil V-12 of helicopters. Was it going to Germany and living a life for a few months free of housework? Was it seeing Sheldon move around in the world more independently? Was it a matter of necessity when there was no room for him? But even then, the Mary of a few years ago would have slept on the floor to make sure Sheldon wasn't in a dorm with teens and 20 somethings an hour a way. Is it that she's more into kids when they're younger and the baby has replaced Sheldon? I always assumed the big change in Mary would happen when she was widowed but there has been a huge shift this year and I don't know why.

I never got the feeling that Mary spent much time thinking CeeCee, except for when Meemaw was arrested and she was fighting with Mandy's mother.  Mary didn't even seem concerned that Mandy and her future grandchild had no place to live before Meemaw stepped up.  She was the one who was more involved (obviously because they lived together).

On 4/26/2024 at 6:53 PM, Driad said:

The MIT chapel hosts services of many religions, plus weddings and occasional non-religious events.  Maybe Mary was imagining that there were only non-sectarian services.  If she can't tolerate a chapel that sometimes has services that are not her particular flavor of Baptist, she can go soak her head as far as I'm concerned.

On 4/30/2024 at 11:21 PM, camom said:

Caltech doesn't even have a chapel (although there are churches of all denominations within a few miles of campus).  It's a great school, though.

I doubt that any school on either coast would have "her particular flavor of Baptist."

On 4/27/2024 at 3:08 PM, kay1864 said:

And yet after George’s remark to one recruiter about their offer, there was zero discussion on who was offering the most $. You'd think a couple of the schools would have been eliminated on that basis. 

I don't think any of them could offer actual money.  Free tuition and housing, sure, and whatever the standard pay that any grad student in his department who will be teaching undergrads earns.  Even the travel funding is a little suspect, but I suppose some scholarships might include that.  They wouldn't include a cash payment.

 

Edited May 3 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Dimity]

27 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I don't think any of them could offer actual money. 

I think as well this is typical sitcom territory in that the amount of money under discussion is rarely mentioned.   We don't often hear what someone's actual salary is for instance.  I am guessing this is an attempt not to date a show too much?  Or perhaps there is a better reason and I am just not thinking what it might be.  But at any rate all too  often when money is discussed they resort to the classic 'I'm writing down a number..."

Edited May 3 by Dimity

[kay1864]

39 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

They wouldn't include a cash payment.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply an actual cash payment. I meant all the scholarship money and any other perks. There was no discussion of who was making the best offer.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

7 minutes ago, kay1864 said:

Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply an actual cash payment. I meant all the scholarship money and any other perks. There was no discussion of who was making the best offer.

Ph.D. students who will be teaching undergrads typically receive full scholarships plus a stipend, especially in the departments that bring in grant money (sciences and engineering.)  None of the recruiting schools would have charged him tuition. I obviously can't speak to the other perks.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 5/2/2024 at 7:09 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

They wouldn't include a cash payment.

I had a grant that included a stipend I could use for anything such as for books, clothes, transportation, etc.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

7 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I had a grant that included a stipend I could use for anything such as for books, clothes, transportation, etc.

I mentioned a stipend above. But aren't stipends fairly low and would a "star" prospect get one that was much bigger than everyone else in the same department?

[Tom Holmberg]

15 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I mentioned a stipend above. But aren't stipends fairly low and would a "star" prospect get one that was much bigger than everyone else in the same department?

I suppose the university, if its funding the stipend, could give what ever it wanted.

[OlderThanDirt]

I realize it's very late in the BBT&YS universe, but it's a question that just occurred to me.  

How did Howard ever go to MIT?  Did his mother move to Cambridge for his higher education years?  He couldn't even spend the night with Bernadette at the beginning of their relationship. 

[chitowngirl]

On 10/2/2024 at 2:09 PM, OlderThanDirt said:

I realize it's very late in the BBT&YS universe, but it's a question that just occurred to me.  

How did Howard ever go to MIT?  Did his mother move to Cambridge for his higher education years?  He couldn't even spend the night with Bernadette at the beginning of their relationship. 

An interesting question for The Big Bang Theory thread. I would enjoy discussing the possibilities!