S08.E07: The Misinterpretation Agitation

[Lisin]

At her new job, Penny has a client who develops a crush on her. It turns out that he is a middle-aged version of Howard Wolowitz.

[mojoween]

I liked this one a lot. When CBS made a Facebook post about Penny and Leonard arguing about her job it was quite the misdirection and I appreciate it.

Also, I have always had a fondness for Billy Bob Thornton and appreciated his wry humor in this role.

And what TV show isn't improved with a shirtless Neil Degrasse Tyson? That was what I was hoping for as soon as Bernadette said it, even though she said wet t-shirt but what we got was better, heh.

[Enjay]

This one had so much promise and I think it will still prove to move the relationships along, but I was so disappointed that Leonard was willing to let Penny not wearing her engagement ring go.  Get some pride, Leonard!

[CleoCaesar]

Some weird editing in this episode - seemed like it was leading up to something but then fell flat. I guess there's only so much you can do in 19 minutes. The "sexy scientist" plot was rushed and a little heavy-handed. For the record, I definitely sided with Amy. It's 2014 and women scientists are still little more than Maxim pin-up girls. Sigh.

 

The Amy-Bernadette fight was also dropped abruptly but had some potential. I'd much rather see the show develop relationships between all these characters, and not waste time on the "geek" stuff like action figures, comic books and video games. It's gotten a little old.

 

Glad to hear that I wasn't hallucinating and that it was Billy Bob Thornton, though.

 

I was so disappointed that Leonard was willing to let Penny not wearing her engagement ring go.  Get some pride, Leonard!

 

Is she obligated to wear it, otherwise it damages Leonard's sense of ownership or something?

Edited October 31, 2014 by CleoCaesar

[KAOS Agent]

Is she obligated to wear it, otherwise it damages Leonard's sense of ownership or something?

 

If she had an issue with it being a symbol of ownership, then she wouldn't wear it at other times, which she clearly does since she was wearing in when she walked into Leonard's apartment. The fact that she is removing it specifically to send a signal that she is single and available and flirting with clients makes it a different issue. I wouldn't be happy if my significant other was deliberately denying a relationship with me while flirting with other people.

 

On a separate note, I sincerely hope my doctor isn't choosing the drugs to prescribe to me because a cute sales rep was flirting with him/her. 

Edited October 31, 2014 by KAOS Agent

[some1105]

I have a really low threshold for enjoying this show; even its weaker episodes are usually fine by me.  This one, though--I thought it was an unfunny botch from start to finish.  The fact that Penny needs to flirt to boost her sales is directly related to why Amy was right in her argument with Bernadette.  There were multiple disturbing gender-related topics raised tonight, and none of them was handled with either intelligence or wit.  I contrast that with black-ish's trenchant and hilarious episode about corporal punishment last week, which may be one of my favorite 30 minutes of tv comedy ever, and Big Bang really blew it for me tonight.

[fireice13]

I work in health care and unfortunately for the most of the episode, I just kept cringing and thinking "HIPAA! HIPAA!" We get that drilled into us whenever you start and at least on a yearly basis, if not more often, afterwards.

[peeayebee]

I didn't know that Billy Bob Thornton was going to be on the show. I thought he was great. He made everything 100 times funnier. 

 

I love when Leonard and the doctor were standing in the hallway talking, then we suddenly see that Raj, Howard, and Sheldon are watching them. "Reeeallly?" And then Sheldon wanting to invite the doctor in for a hot beverage, prompting Leonard to say incredulously, "He tried to score with Penny," and Sheldon replies, "So have these two, and they're having dinner with us."

 

That basement of geeky toys (Basement of Solitude was it?) was pretty awesome. There was so much there I couldn't see it all. Was the helmet Leonard was wearing from Battlefield Earth? And Sheldon's was Magneto's, right?

 

Loved when the doctor said about Shatner's gift, "He said it was a tribble. It could be a toupee, but either way is pretty cool."

 

I certainly expected the Bernadette/Amy disagreement to be more important in the ep. But this ep was a win in my book solely because of Billy Bob. Hey, he has the same initials as the show. BBT.

[Beach Party]

Was Sheldon accurate in telling the Urologist that Leonard won Penny by being persistent? 

[photo fox]

I figured they were going to go down the "Leonard is jealous and insecure" path. So I was happy to be wrong, even if I was less than thrilled with the message behind Penny flirting her way into sales.

Billy Bob was great. I missed his intro, but what I saw seemed like guest starring versus stunt casting, although there were a couple of fun meta jokes.

[WickedTuna]

Billy Bob Thornton sure isn't looking well. I read somewhere that he's anorexic..bless his heart. But thankfully he's still a great actor. I've loved him in almost everything since Sling Blade. I thought he had great chemistry with the guys. Maybe they could write him a reoccurring role without the stalkerish qualities.

[backformore]

I work in health care and unfortunately for the most of the episode, I just kept cringing and thinking "HIPAA! HIPAA!" We get that drilled into us whenever you start and at least on a yearly basis, if not more often, afterwards.

Yeah, it bothered me that a doctor would be spilling secrets about patients, especially celebrity patients.

Billy Bob Thornton looks great for a guy who's nearly 60.

[Starscream]

Was the helmet Leonard was wearing from Battlefield Earth?

I'm pretty sure it was Arnold's Mr. Freeze helmet from Batman and Robin.

[MadyGirl1987]

Was the helmet Leonard was wearing from Battlefield Earth? And Sheldon's was Magneto's, right?

It was Professor X's Cerebro helmet. I didn't make the connection until after seeing Sheldon wearing the Magneto one. Sheldon WOULD be Magneto, wouldn't he. Loved the room as a whole. Especially loved the Mars Attacks alien. Had nightmares about that movie as a kid. Why my parents let a 9 yr old see that movie is beyond me.

Really liked where they were going with the Amy and Bernadette plot, but it was totally underdeveloped.

Loved the guys with the Dr. Especially how they didn't care about getting out of the basement at the end.

[PinkRibbons]

Is it too much to hope that the Amy/Bernadette plotline will be picked up again in later episodes? Because this was a pretty serious situation to just leave hanging, even for TBBT writers. For one thing what Bernadette said was incredibly hurtful -- like, friendship-destroying hurtful. And for another thing, I thought that the story was actually touching on some really interesting subject matter. Although I admit that I agreed with Amy the whole way through. Bernadette's "I was winning this conversation until I said that!" line didn't actually seem right to me. Amy talked about how she wrote the magazine complaining about very real issues of sexism, and she said so in what sounds like a totally logical and valid way. I also liked the discussion about whether one female scientist's actions can be damaging to other female scientists. Bernadette getting pissed off really did seem just like her wanting to show off her "assets" and be featured in a magazine, since she resorted to the "you're just jealous!" argument pretty fast.

[UsernameFatigue]

I loved this epi, due to the brilliance of Billy Bob Thornton. But I will admit that I had to check the credits at the end to make sure it was him - he looks fantastic for 59. He looks younger now than when he was with Jolie over a decade ago. In any case an amazing actor no matter what character he is playing.

[Enjay]

 Bernadette getting pissed off really did seem just like her wanting to show off her "assets" and be featured in a magazine, since she resorted to the "you're just jealous!" argument pretty fast.

 

Amy was jealous, though.  The entire scene from the moment Bernadette announced the magazine shoot had me thinking that we were listening to Mayim and not Amy.  Amy, though always clinical, very much wants to be seen as beautiful and sexual as well.  The point Mayim/Amy was making was valid but the scene was preachy and heavy-handed and not how I think Amy would have handled it.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Enjay

[Hecate7]

If she had an issue with it being a symbol of ownership, then she wouldn't wear it at other times, which she clearly does since she was wearing in when she walked into Leonard's apartment. The fact that she is removing it specifically to send a signal that she is single and available and flirting with clients makes it a different issue. I wouldn't be happy if my significant other was deliberately denying a relationship with me while flirting with other people.

 

On a separate note, I sincerely hope my doctor isn't choosing the drugs to prescribe to me because a cute sales rep was flirting with him/her. 

 

He is. Look at pharm sales reps for the past 20 years. It's what the airline industry used to be, except that pharm reps make money.

[Helena Dax]

 

Amy, though always clinical, very much wants to be seen as beautiful and sexual as well.

In her  private life, sure. But I doubt she wants to be seen as beautiful in her professional life; there, she'd rather be seen as competent, smart, hard-working...

 

I'm  on Amy side. If scientist of both sexes were doing a calendar to get funds or to create awareness about some disease, okay, go with it. But an article about beautiful female scientists? No, thanks.  Physical appearance has nothing  to do with science.

 

Loved that guy's basement. And I had no  idea he was BBT until I came here!

 

I agree that it was a good episode. It's nice when they aren't being horrid to each other. Well, Bernie had a  harsh line. Bad, Bernie, bad.

[buffynut]

Loved that guy's basement. And I had no  idea he was BBT until I came here!

 

Me either.  But I'm not really that familiar with him or his work.

 

As for the episode, I thought it was pretty good.   BBT played the stalker well and was really creepy. So much so, I was glad he was never alone with Penny. 

 

Loved the references to hot beverage.  It's those little things like Soft Kitty and Sheldon's "knock, knock, knocks" that I enjoy. I still wish they'd remembered the space shutte arm for the baseball episode.

 

The Bernadette scientist magazine thing was thrown in there from nowhere and dropped again, so not sure what the pupose was.

 

Really thought they did an excellent job creating the doctor's basement of solitude.   And the reference to Howard would have made more sense before he married Bernadette, but I guess that's who he could have turned into if he hadn't gotten married.

 

All in all, I liked it a lot better than some episodes.  

 

Hmmm...   just realized we didn't get a Halloween episode this year.

[ari333]

Maybe if the doctor had brought flowers in romantic pursuit of a woman in her 50's instead of Penny and the pet store "girl" he'd have a few more dates.  Sorry. Couldn't resist. (I'm a huge hypocrite, btw considering my bf's age....pot/kettle hee.) Enjoyed Billy Bob in a comedy role. I wish he'd do more of those. I first saw him in a funny sitcom with Burt Reynolds and the lady who plays Berta on TaaHM. Can't recall the name, but I did do enjoy BBT in general. Hope he has a recurring role, as mentioned. Urologist to the stars has a big yapper. heh. Kidney stone on a keychain was very meta as in blood in a vile as a pendant. At least this show can snag some really big name stars as guests, but it's the number one or something show, somewhere up there in the ratings, right? So that makes sense. Overall this wasn't hilarious for me, but I too have a low threshold.

[MaryMitch]

I don't have a problem with the "sexy women in science" article if it is in a magazine aimed at the general population. Done correctly, it can show that women in science aren't a stereotype and encourage more young women towards a career in science. I don't really remember the episode's specifics about the article, though.

[CleoCaesar]

Amy was jealous, though.  The entire scene from the moment Bernadette announced the magazine shoot had me thinking that we were listening to Mayim and not Amy.  Amy, though always clinical, very much wants to be seen as beautiful and sexual as well.

 

It's entirely possible to think "sexy scientist" photoshoots are trashy and sexist and retrograde without being jealous of whoever is in the shoot. If anything that just seems like a silencing move - oh her point isn't valid because she's just a jealous ugly girl, etc.

 

Amy's main point was spot-on: would they ever ask male scientists to do a photoshoot like that? Probably not. And it's not because people don't want to see a shirtless Neil deGrasse Tyson (although that too, probably) - it's because male scientists are admired for their achievements, not their body parts.

[NutmegsDad]

I don't have a problem with the "sexy women in science" article if it is in a magazine aimed at the general population. Done correctly, it can show that women in science aren't a stereotype and encourage more young women towards a career in science. I don't really remember the episode's specifics about the article, though.

It may have been inspired by an advertising campaign by Dear Kate where women CEOs in tech firms and coders were photographed in their underwear. To their credit, it wasn't "Sexy CEO", but women of all types and sizes. Still, it generated a bit of controversy on the image of women professionals in STEM.

 

I hope/suspect the Bernadette/Amy schism will be an arc, and we've seen the first act. I understand that it could be meta with how fans look at Melissa and Mayim, but not anything preachy from the actresses. I can still see Amy objecting to objectivication (!), We'll see how this plays out.

 

The Howardfied doctor creeped me out too much to enjoy, but I was blown away that it was BBT on the BBT. Great acting, scaryass character.

 

Finally, for the sake of fairness and equality, if we can have a Bernadette pictoraI (and Penny in a braless T-Shirt), I highly advocate a Shirtless NdGT cameo.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

The fact that Penny needs to flirt to boost her sales is directly related to why Amy was right in her argument with Bernadette.

I didn't hear anything to suggest she needed to flirt. She's choosing to do it because she's new at her job and wants to turn in the best results she can (at least at first).

 

 

This one had so much promise and I think it will still prove to move the relationships along, but I was so disappointed that Leonard was willing to let Penny not wearing her engagement ring go.

Penny once commented that it was just as okay for engaged people to look around as single people so it's in character for her, and Leonard is accepting who she is.

[Traveller519]

Like many, I found the magazine article plot to be more engaging than the A plot. It was going to deal with real issues and flush out a bit more of Bernadette and Amy's characters separate to their partners. Those two have had some engaging dealings, and it's obvious that while they both value the friendship they also have very different views on a number of things. This was a chance for them to flush out their relationships on beliefs greater than, "whose boyfriend is better."

 

I can see both sides of the argument. Bernadette has worked hard in her field but finds the notion of being noticed for her appearance flattering. As well as the ability to spread some of her work. Amy makes a very validating point that it could undermine her actual work.

 

I wish they had more time to flush that out.

[azathoth]

Seeing that guy's basement made me wonder what ever happened to the Time Machine the guys bought together back in season 1.

[One Tough Cookie]

I thought this episode sucked and only watched to see the resolution of the fight which never happened.  And why am I NOT surprised that Penny used sex to get sales?

[Oldernowiser]

So...worth the $2 to download or no? ;)

I've downloaded every episode so far, except for the pitching episode, based solely upon the opinions found here. So far you've all been 100% correct.

No pressure or anything...

ETA: Okay, so that one was worth maybe 78 cents. BBT did nothing for me and needs to eat a sandwich, STAT, because he's looking much too thin.

It all started out pretty promisingly and then ran out of....everything. Sigh.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Oldernowiser

[sinkwriter]

 

The Amy-Bernadette fight was also dropped abruptly but had some potential. I'd much rather see the show develop relationships between all these characters, and not waste time on the "geek" stuff like action figures, comic books and video games. It's gotten a little old.

 

I like seeing the geek stuff, like the guys still bonding every once in a while with a gaming marathon or having the time of their lives in that guy's basement, though I think they should lay off making it seem like it's such a loner-loser thing. There are lots of very smart, happy, fulfilled people out there who happen to enjoy gaming and science stuff.

 

But I agree with you about the Amy-Bernadette plot. After the episode was over, I thought to myself, "Was it my imagination or did that not get resolved at all?" If they had hinted at it like it would be resolved at a later date/episode, and this was the start of an arc, I would have been fine with it. But it felt like they just did it to have something as the B story and ended it abruptly so they could finish off the episode. I was disappointed because I thought it was a very interesting argument with very good points to be made on both sides. Why shouldn't Bernadette be allowed to feel sexy? She has every right to feel good about herself AND still be a smart, capable scientist. Meanwhile, Amy has a point that we don't see magazines displaying male scientists in the same way, and women should be celebrated for their accomplishments, not how "hot" they are. I'm disappointed that the writers seemed to drop it instead of taking it further.

[UsernameFatigue]

I first saw him in a funny sitcom with Burt Reynolds and the lady who plays Berta on TaaHM. Can't recall the name, but I did do enjoy BBT in general

 

I first saw BBT in a sitcom in the early 90s with the equally brilliant John Ritter called Hearts Afire. Conchata Ferrell was in it as well so this may be the show you are thinking of. There are very few actors who catch my attention right away, but Billy Bob did, and has held it ever since.

 

Kidney stone on a keychain was very meta as in blood in a vile as a pendant.

 

That would have been priceless had the doctor pulled out a chain from around his neck with the kidney stone on a pendant - lol. But the key chain was pretty funny too.

Edited October 31, 2014 by UsernameFatigue

[roctavia]

I don't have a problem with the "sexy women in science" article if it is in a magazine aimed at the general population. Done correctly, it can show that women in science aren't a stereotype and encourage more young women towards a career in science. I don't really remember the episode's specifics about the article, though.

 

I don't know if they really got into the specifics... or I wasn't paying attention. I know Bernadette used underwear as the segway into telling them about the article, but did she know for certain that she'd be posing in lingerie or a wet t-shirt leaning over a porche?

 

I think an article like that done correctly- with some sex appeal, but not over the top trashy- would be a good thing. There is this idea that you can grow up to be a beautiful woman/housewife/trophy wife... or you can be good at math/science... but you can't do both as a woman. Which we all know is an incorrect assumption, but something that is out there and very prominent in how many people think.

 

So an article demonstrating that you can be whatever you want, that successful women in the science fields are just as beautiful as women who do other things... it would send a good message. And surely Bernadette isn't the only scientist they asked, and likely they would be of various shapes/sizes since they are everyday people and not models... so there could be that aspect of it too.

 

I know they laughed at the joke when Penny said it, but there is some truth to the idea that if she had seen articles featuring women in science, she might have become a theoretical physicist.

 

I guess I don't know enough details about what the article was really going to say or what the photo shoot was going to be like to say that it was a terrible idea. Especially if it was for a women's magazine. If it were for something like Maxim, then sure, I'd be questioning the motivation behind it a bit more.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Jjrmt

[Snow Apple]

I thought the show would end with them finding out the magazine is doing a sexy male scientists article and Amy getting mad because they got the idea from her (either that or she's calling them up to tell them about Sheldon). But that storyline just suddenly dropped which was weird and had no closure.

[maplebrew]

That sexy scientist subplot fizzled out without resolution. There was no point even going there since they weren't going to see it through. Amy was right though.

 

The BB Thorton character reminded me of a year 1 Sheldon but much older, and with an interest in women. I found the character to be a cautionary tale as what the guys could have become if they didn't have each other as friends to practice their social skills on. 

[CleoCaesar]

Why shouldn't Bernadette be allowed to feel sexy? She has every right to feel good about herself AND still be a smart, capable scientist.

 

No one is preventing Bernadette from feeling sexy or from feeling good about herself. The question is why either of those things depend on being a sexy object for men to drool over in a magazine.

 

There is this idea that you can grow up to be a beautiful woman/housewife/trophy wife... or you can be good at math/science... but you can't do both as a woman.

 

I'm a couple of years away from turning 30 but not once have I seen this message anywhere or had it pounded into my head. This isn't the 1950s anymore. I think it's well, well past internalized that girls can potentially be anything they want to be. And again, what does posing provocatively in Maxim-like magazines have to do with this idea either?

[sinkwriter]

In general the message is not there anymore - yes, women can be anything they want, doctors, lawyers, scientists, whatever. But there are still lots of subtle (and not so subtle) advertising messages provided all over the place.

 

For example, just look at Legos. The Legos marketed to girls are all in pink packaging, with subjects like "hair salon" or "cafe" or "dog grooming shop" while guys have the more science and action-themed Legos of all kinds, packaged in bold or dark colors (red, blue, black). And the Legos that are science or action-themed usually have "boy Legos" as the characters; though people have been speaking up more about it, there aren't as many "female Lego" characters in those sets. Kids are taught very early on to compartmentalize who does and can do what.

 

Ads and kids' toys aside, it's just a very tough and fine line. We as women can be sexy but we can't be too sexy, we can be smart but don't be too smart... whether too sexy or too smart, suddenly we're too intimidating or too something for people out there. And advertising and news media just keeps perpetuating the cycles in the way they present information.

[CleoCaesar]

To me that is still blaming some intangible force for someone making bad decisions. Maybe my personal experience has just colored the way I see things, but when I was little in the 90s, we all played with the same Legos, and I, a girl, played with trucks and Matchbox cars, board games, stuffed animals, Easy Bake Oven, etc. as did every female friend I had. And now we make up laywers, doctors, writers, actors, nurses, teachers, and pretty much every other kind of career. These days it seems like people are taking basic marketing strategies and generalizing them into sociological theory. Women are not denied any rights in the U.S. in 2014.

 

Getting back to the show. It's funny how feminism, of which I am generally a fan, has repackaged things so that an accomplished, successful, professional female scientist is still approached to pose in her underwear/pose sexily and if she agrees it's called "empowerment". To me it is cheap, degrading, and trashy. But different strokes for different folks.

[roctavia]

No one is preventing Bernadette from feeling sexy or from feeling good about herself. The question is why either of those things depend on being a sexy object for men to drool over in a magazine.

 

 

I'm a couple of years away from turning 30 but not once have I seen this message anywhere or had it pounded into my head. This isn't the 1950s anymore. I think it's well, well past internalized that girls can potentially be anything they want to be. And again, what does posing provocatively in Maxim-like magazines have to do with this idea either?

 

 

Did she say it was for Maxim or something similar? That was sort of my point.. yes, if it's just a man magazine that isn't going to be read for the articles, it's pointless and I could see the degrading side of it, but if this is an article for something like Cosmo or more geared towards women- which does still have plenty of articles with women dressed more provacatively, it could be a good thing. Something to inspire the 16 year old girls who are reading those magazines... The girls who are laughed at for liking video games or legos or super heros... the girls who need to see that you can like 'boy' things and be invovled in math/science while still being female and liking 'female' things.

 

Math and science are still considered 'for boys', which is very pathetic... women in those fields still face prejudices and preconcieved notions that they either are bad at their job because they are mothers and not reliable, or that men would never like them/want them because they are too strong. It's that whole idea that an assertive man in the work place is a go getter and an assertive woman is a bitch.

 

Plus I do find it strange that Amy is taking some moral stand on Berandette being in this article when Amy spends a lot of time leering at both Bernadette and Penny... it's played for laughts, but if Amy were a man and doing/saying similar things it would be straight up harrassment.

 

As to the magazine thing in the episode, I don't think they gave us enough info to really say this was just some horrible degrading piece.... like other companies have done- the Dove real woman campaign etc. Women in underwear or dressed less conservatively can make a good point and good impression. But the context most definitely does matter.

 

 

Anyway... obviously this isn't something we're all going to agree on and has a lot of different sides... It's also has probably gone way off topic, so I'll end my thoughts on this with the above.

Edited November 3, 2014 by photo fox

[editorgrrl]

Anyone know why CBS didn't really play up BBT's appearance on BBT?  He's still a fairly big film actor, and he's coming off some of the best reviews of his career for Fargo.  Seems they would have advertised the heck out of this.  Of course, if any show doesn't need help with ratings, it is this one.  

 

According to Entertainment Weekly, TPTB at TBBT kept BBT's appearance under wraps:

The Big Bang Theory moved back to Thursday night with nothing short of a miracle: The show was able to keep a surprise cameo under wraps ahead of airing, an act that’s nearly unheard of in an age where spoilers freely leak long before episodes debut.…

 

Surprisingly, the producers didn’t even have to bribe their live studio audience not to reveal the news on social media in the short turnaround between filming and airtime. “We knew that the network wasn’t going to promote it, but there’s only so much you can do, audience-wise. But somehow it stayed a secret,” Molaro says. “That was what we were hoping for, and it worked out well. People really responded to him and the episode.”

[CleoCaesar]

I seriously must live in an alternate reality, because no one to my memory laughed at girls for being good at math or science or video games or comic books (21st century American pop culture is practically based on the latter two things). The idea that girls don't know that they can be doctors, lawyers, etc. in 2014 is crazy and insulting. And that kind of thinking does such a disservice to the tens of millions of successful, professional woman.

 

Something to inspire the 16 year old girls who are reading those magazines

 

 

If a girl needs Cosmo to inspire her to be a physicist...

 

 

TBBT raised a really interesting debate in a disappointingly short subplot.

Edited November 3, 2014 by photo fox

[peeayebee]

I'm glad CBS didn't promote Billy Bob's guest spot. I liked being surprised, shocked almost. When he first walked into the building, I didn't recognize him. It took hearing his voice for me to realize who it was. Oh, and I wouldn't call his appearance a cameo.

[jjj]

Yes, that was a full-fledged guest appeance!

oldernowiser, I thought episodes were on the CBS site - no? I wouldn't pay $1.99 for this.

Plot hole was that this is not Science magazine running an article on sexy women scientists, but a popular magazine that would count on the controversy, so Amy's letter would just result in high fives.

[shapeshifter]

Anyone know why CBS didn't really play up BBT's appearance on BBT?  He's still a fairly big film actor, and he's coming off some of the best reviews of his career for Fargo.  Seems they would have advertised the heck out of this.  Of course, if any show doesn't need help with ratings, it is this one.

I'm glad they didn't capitalize on it with spoilers. I was captivated by his work on Fargo, yet it took me a while to be sure it really was him and not someone like him--especially since he seemed to be channelling one of Lorne Malvo's alias identities, and this show is far too light for him to kill off most of the main characters in a locked basement--and yet--they were being held against their will in a locked basement. Heh. I wonder if it was his choice to at least try to keep it under wraps since he likely figured it would make it a much better experience for the viewers.

...On a separate note, I sincerely hope my doctor isn't choosing the drugs to prescribe to me because a cute sales rep was flirting with him/her.

Based on my experience with free samples having terrible side effects, I wonder if this really does happen. And many of my doctors are women.

[jbrecken]

If he wasn't dead, BBT would have made a good actor for Sheldon's father.

[Camera One]

That doctor guy was too awkward for me to find this episode that funny.

[needschocolate]

For one thing what Bernadette said was incredibly hurtful -- like, friendship-destroying hurtful. And for another thing, I thought that the story was actually touching on some really interesting subject matter. 

 

What, exactly, did Bernadette say to Amy?  I didn't hear it.  I get that it had something to do with Amy being jealous or having no sex appeal, but I don't know what Bernadette said. 

 

Note to self - don't eat crunchy foods while watching this show - especially if I am watching with other people and can't just rewind whenever I miss something.  

[Oldernowiser]

Something about Amy just being uncomfortable with other women expressing their sexuality because no one wanted Amy to express hers...a not-so-thinly veiled reference to Amy's lack of coitus.

Not sure of the exact wording..someone else probably remembers it better?

Edited November 1, 2014 by Oldernowiser

[Snow Apple]

I read the ratings for this episode was lower than usual, but I bet some of it is because it got moved back to Thursday. I only saw it because I luckily stumbled on it while channel surfing. I turned to CBS on Monday and thought there wasn't a show for this week.

[editorgrrl]

I read the ratings for this episode was lower than usual, but I bet some of it is because it got moved back to Thursday. I only saw it because I luckily stumbled on it while channel surfing. I turned to CBS on Monday and thought there wasn't a show for this week.

I posted this in the media thread, but it probably should've gone here instead. It supports everything Snow Apple said:

Entertainment Weekly said of the ratings for S08.E07: The Misinterpretation Agitation:

The Big Bang Theory (16.2 million, 4.1) kicked off CBS’ night, hitting a season low in its re-claimed time slot (the rating will go up in the coming weeks, I suspect, once more fans realize it’s moved).

Edited November 1, 2014 by editorgrrl

[Tyrone Biggums]

The episode was pre-empted in the Charlotte area because of football being shown in the market.  That may have happened elsewhere, too.  

 

Having watched it on DVR, I can't say I missed all that much.  Yet another "meh" episode in a season full of them thus far.