S08.E10: The Champagne Reflection

[HalcyonDays]

Episode synopsis: Leonard, Raj and Howard think about their own careers when finding the champagne of a deceased colleague.

 

[MaryHedwig]

I am disappointed that Bernadette did not have the breakthrough she seemed to be on the verge of.  I am certainly thankful she is not my colleague, she seems more high maintainance than Sheldon.

 

Didn't really like the three separate stories with almost no tie-in.  I was hoping the tie-in would be the death of Mrs. Wolowitz.

 

Loved the Fun with Flags excerpt from the Coney Island 1920's beach (that's what it looked like to me.)  We don't see enough of Jim Parsons in drag, do we?   Mayim nailed it in all her scenes.

[jjj]

The professor storyline was quite depressing, and when I saw that Champagne bottle sitting on the table, it was the equivalent of Chekhov's gun:  If a rifle is onstage in the first act, it absolutely must go off in the second or third act, otherwise it has no business being there.  So that was the end of Professor Abbott, despite Leonard's good intentions. 

 

What did Amy yell at Sheldon after he used the flag as a handkerchief? 

[shapeshifter]

...What did Amy yell at Sheldon after he used the flag as a handkerchief?

Do you mean after she said, "That was beautiful," followed by Sheldon asking her if she had pressed the record button? If so, she yelled that she had pressed it. Not an original joke set up. Maybe they thought the pun of Sheldon inadvertently pressing peoples' psychological buttons was clever?

The costumes for the flag finale should at least generate some wonderful stills.

Edited November 21, 2014 by shapeshifter

[jjj]

Yes, I guess that is what I meant!  I'm still not "getting" it -- was he concerned that he was, or was not, filmed being emotional? 

[shapeshifter]

Yes, I guess that is what I meant!  I'm still not "getting" it -- was he concerned that he was, or was not, filmed being emotional?

I'm pretty sure he wanted it filmed. Throughout their scenes they did the story-building-by-repetition thing (it probably has some literary term) with Sheldon repeatedly mentioning the time Amy forgot to press record--each time Amy getting more and more annoyed at his inability to drop it. I noticed the audience didn't do a big "Awwww" when he cried into the hanky/flag, which suggests that they had already seen several takes of the scene and its ending with Amy yelling that she had pressed record--which implies that he might have been faking it in hopes of getting comments from his "audience" asking him to continue doing Fun With Flags. It's like the poorly written and executed Fun With Flags is a metaphor for what the writers think of the show at this point.

[MaryHedwig]

The professor storyline was quite depressing.

Yes, but it didn't have to be.  I was waiting for some pay off where one of them committed to doing something of meaning with their lives (i.e. Howard commiting to having children which would have also been a great pay off for Bernadette's painful work storyline, I mean if Bernadette had come to the same consclusion on her own.) The professor storyline would have been a lot more meaningful and powerful if they had substituted the death of Mrs. Wolowitz for the death of this unknown professor.

Edited November 21, 2014 by MaryHedwig

[Latverian Diplomat]

The professor storyline was quite depressing, 

Yes, it was realistic though. Lots of research just ends up exploring blind alleys, and there's a substantial element of luck in all success, even academic success. Come to think of it, the boys are getting a little long in the tooth for a career-making discovery.

 

I actually thought Leonard's champagne idea was the most positive spin one could make of it, so I wasn't happy to see Sheldon spoil it for a not terribly funny joke.

 

Though after decades stored in someone's office, I would be suspicious of any wine, and especially a sparkling one. There's a good chance it was undrinkable anyway. So maybe Sheldon did them a favor, and they should keep the agreement with a fresh bottle. It's the thought that counts.

[chocolatine]

I am disappointed that Bernadette did not have the breakthrough she seemed to be on the verge of.  I am certainly thankful she is not my colleague, she seems more high maintainance than Sheldon.

 

 

It was implied on a few occasions that Bernadette is exceptionally good at her job and makes the company a lot of money. You'd be surprised how much companies let their top talent get away with to keep them happy, because if they're not happy they'll go work for a competitor and make big bucks for *them*. In a real-world scenario, if a high-level executive had witnessed the scene, it would be Penny and Dan who'd get in trouble for making Bernadette cry, and Bernadette would get an espresso machine, her own bathroom, and whatever else she wants. 

 

 

I actually thought Leonard's champagne idea was the most positive spin one could make of it, so I wasn't happy to see Sheldon spoil it for a not terribly funny joke.

 

 

Considering that Sheldon doesn't even drink!

Edited November 21, 2014 by chocolatine

[jjj]

I'm pretty sure he wanted it filmed. Throughout their scenes they did the story-building-by-repetition thing (it probably has some literary term) with Sheldon repeatedly mentioning the time Amy forgot to press record--each time Amy getting more and more annoyed at his inability to drop it. I noticed the audience didn't do a big "Awwww" when he cried into the hanky/flag, which suggests that they had already seen several takes of the scene and its ending with Amy yelling that she had pressed record--which implies that he might have been faking it in hopes of getting comments from his "audience" asking him to continue doing Fun With Flags. It's like the poorly written and executed Fun With Flags is a metaphor for what the writers think of the show at this point.

 

Thank you, shapeshifter!  This makes perfect sense, and because I was listening more than watching, this got past me! 

[buffynut]

I feel lately the episodes have been hit or miss and this one was mostly miss for me.  I had no interest in the dead professor's office cleanup.  Though I just had a thought.  Is there now another tenure opening?  But back to my lack of interest, we already had the professor die last year. And the one who died when Sheldon got his office.  So for me, they'd already done this theme before.

 

The Penny/Bernie office gathering went nowhere, right?   As Bernie almost realized how scary she was to others, then did a u-turn back to scary.

 

"Fun with Flags" was the best storyline, and I was actually saddened when we were led to believe it was the last time we'd see it, but then they went and spoiled my disappolntment by cancelling the cancellation 2 minutes later.  I would have liked it better if they had waited and brought it back at least later this season or even in a future season.  I still love the guest stars they get on this show, but was not impressed with the end tag with Sheldon yet again being oblivious to objectionable ideas.

[ae2]

I didn't see it as Bernadette going back to scary Bernie. But instead she switched to manipulative crying Bernie. 

[Kanner]

Wasn't crazy about the group being split up, though I did like seeing more one-on-one time with Sheldon and Amy.  She really does enjoy their time together and is no longer taking any sh** from him.

 

The only reason I was not overly upset about Sheldon opening the bottle was that the guys put bad karma on it. They attached part of their joy in drinking it would be shoving Sheldon's face in one of their accomplishments. 

[Crucial]

My favorite part of this episode was Sheldon and Amy.  I thought their scenes were the best especially going back through all the episodes of "Fun With Flags".  Betsy Ross as too funny.  This is probably just my feelings of not liking the character of Penny the last few seasons so I am sure I am in the minority.  Bernadette is now not liked at work and Penny, who just joined not long ago is a favorite (and top 3 in sales - is that what they said?).  Did I miss some episodes that Bernadette had problems at work?  Sure she is bossy but Howard was being lazy during all her bitchy times.  And we are to believe Penny is flirting her way to sales because just a few episodes ago she was trying her pitch out on Raj's girlfriend.

 

I guess my problem is, is that Bernadette brought Penny in and now Penny is a part of the group calling her out for her behavior.  A behavior (maybe I missed) that talked bad about Penny a lot and was mean to her.  I feel like I watched a different show with what Penny was saying about her.  And didn't they have earlier that it was Penny who was the bully in high school and now it's Bernadette at work.  And Penny was afraid to say anything?  Maybe I'll go watch again and have a different view.  Or just accept that I have a bias on Penny and have a problem seeing things differently.

[supposebly]

The parts with cleaning out the office didn't make much sense, IMO.

Of them all, Howard has objectively achieved the most, so the whole sentiment including him was odd.

 

And if you know academic research, paradigm shifts happen maybe once or twice in a century, so this whole idea of "success" seems to me very based on some Hollywood idea of overnight success.

Just because he didn't make any breakthroughs didn't mean he didn't achieve anything. They should have read his publications, not rummage through his office.

 

So now, they made Bernadette not only a scary shrew but a manipulative one. I'm so sick of how the women are portrayed on this show.

[Enjay]

 This is probably just my feelings of not liking the character of Penny the last few seasons so I am sure I am in the minority.  Bernadette is now not liked at work and Penny, who just joined not long ago is a favorite (and top 3 in sales - is that what they said?). 

 

 

 

I'm not a fan of Penny either - I liked old, sweet, fun Penny much more than serious, adult, joyless Penny.   My husband and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes at the "top 3" comment.  So she went from being a terrible waitress and terrible actress to being a stellar pharmaceutical sales rep.  Sure.  If she had been a good actress I could see parlaying that into good sales skills but we've never seen that.

 

Bernadette is just awful.

[kat165]

Most of the comments above support my premise that this group of writers could not/can not do justice to a storyline that would include the death of Mrs. Wolowitz. While I have mixed feelings about them replacing the actress and just carrying on neither do I want to see an episode that concerns her death. I shudder to think of what sort of storyline they'd come up with.

 

This was a fairly blah ep and I only laughed once and that was at seeing Sheldon dressed as Betsy Ross. I wish they would have gotten Will Wheaton rather than LeVar Burton for the Fun with Flags.

[Crucial]

I'm not a fan of Penny either - I liked old, sweet, fun Penny much more than serious, adult, joyless Penny.   My husband and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes at the "top 3" comment.  So she went from being a terrible waitress and terrible actress to being a stellar pharmaceutical sales rep.  Sure.  If she had been a good actress I could see parlaying that into good sales skills but we've never seen that.

 

Bernadette is just awful.

 

 

Oh good I'm glad there was the eye roll at the top 3 comment.  I thought I was alone.  I liked the reasons you gave ( bad waitress-->terrible actress-->stellar rep)

[Guest]

Sheldon opening a champagne bottle without asking first?  What a jerk.

 

 

I only logged on to say this. 

[Zoe]

I'm not a fan of Penny either - I liked old, sweet, fun Penny much more than serious, adult, joyless Penny.   My husband and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes at the "top 3" comment.  So she went from being a terrible waitress and terrible actress to being a stellar pharmaceutical sales rep.  Sure.  If she had been a good actress I could see parlaying that into good sales skills but we've never seen that.

They made a point of saying that she's actually a wonderful actress.  I even randomly read an interview with JG yesterday about it.

[Crucial]

They made a point of saying that she's actually a wonderful actress.  I even randomly read an interview with JG yesterday about it.

It was Penny not Kaley the actress the poster was talking about (I'm assuming).  Kaley is fine as an actress it's Penny the character that is the problem.  Penny is horrible as a waitress and actress.  I read it as if Penny was good at acting she'd be good at sales.  BUT Penny wasn't good at acting so how could she be good at that?

[Gulftastic]

I liked Penny's hair this week.

And when was it established that she was a terrible actress? She's starred in some terrible things, but I thought her 'Streetcar....' performance showed her to be far from 'terrible'.

Her ability to learn scripts and act as if products are worth having seems tailor made for a sales rep. I can easily see her being good at the job.

 

I suspect a future episode might feature a possible big acting break and she has to decide wether to abandon her new job as a result.

[Zoe]

It was Penny not Kaley the actress the poster was talking about (I'm assuming).  Kaley is fine as an actress it's Penny the character that is the problem.  Penny is horrible as a waitress and actress.  I read it as if Penny was good at acting she'd be good at sales.  BUT Penny wasn't good at acting so how could she be good at that?

The show established Penny as a terrific actress when she did A Streetcar Named Desire.

[sigmaforce86]

They have said that Penny was a good actress though - one episode made a point of it by having Leonard, Amy and Sheldon see her in Streetcar Named Desire and commenting in the audience that she really could act.  So maybe takeaway is she's pretty good, maybe an "acceptable local theater level" actress but not necessarily enough star quality to make a big breakthrough. But in Sales whatever acting she's doing she really only has one role and once she gets it down and keeps practicing that one role she's set.

 

Sheldon opening the champagne - good for a laugh but not cool.  Even if he acts like a child sometimes children do get he concept of don't touch what's not yours and at least ask first.  Leonard should call him on this but not if the outcome is just Sheldon doing an "I'm always right" speech.............a little growth, that's all we ask.

 

I thought Amy (or Mayim) having her hair pinned up in the flag beach flag scene was a very pretty look for her

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

So, Howard went to space, Leonard was hand-selected to be part of Stephen Hawking's research team, Raj was part of People's 30 under 30 to watch for discovering a star, and we're meant to believe they're considered unaccomplished scientists? Ok writers, guess since you work on a half hour network sitcom and not a gritty HBO drama you're also a pack of failures.

[mojoween]

Kripke's hair was stupid and I felt like he was just shoehorned in so they could emphasize the speech impediment they saddled the actor with.

And on another shallow note, Kaley's shoulders looked huge in that dress she was wearing. I was distracted by it every time they showed her.

Bernadette as a character suuuuuuucks. Please don't ever make her the focus again, show.

Also, Sheldon made two racist jokes to LeVar Burton. WTF, writers?

[Zoe]

Kripke's hair was stupid

Wait, what was stupid about his hair?

[Crucial]

They have said that Penny was a good actress though - one episode made a point of it by having Leonard, Amy and Sheldon see her in Streetcar Named Desire and commenting in the audience that she really could act.  So maybe takeaway is she's pretty good, maybe an "acceptable local theater level" actress but not necessarily enough star quality to make a big breakthrough. But in Sales whatever acting she's doing she really only has one role and once she gets it down and keeps practicing that one role she's set.

 

Thank you for mentioning that.  I forgot they said that about Penny

[mojoween]

Zoe it was over-styled, it looked like they put a brush through it and blow-dried it and aged him about ten years. Kripke has always looked rumpled to me. They did the same thing to Raj after the first season.

[shura]

I liked how serious and engaged Kripke was in the flag/not-a-flag game. It's totally something a nerd like him would do, even if he usually just snarks at Sheldon and his ideas.

 

So, Howard went to space, Leonard was hand-selected to be part of Stephen Hawking's research team, Raj was part of People's 30 under 30 to watch for discovering a star, and we're meant to believe they're considered unaccomplished scientists? Ok writers, guess since you work on a half hour network sitcom and not a gritty HBO drama you're also a pack of failures.

 

Jerry: "Since when are you a writer?"

George: "What writer? It's a sitcom!"

 

Seriously though, Raj's "30 under 30" thing in itself is no more an accomplishment than that Bernadette's proposed magazine photo shoot. 

[iMonrey]

 

Did I miss some episodes that Bernadette had problems at work?

 

When Penny interviewed for the job, her boss admitted he was afraid of Bernadette (which was the only reason he agreed to interview Penny), and they commiserated over it.

[Crucial]

I totally missed that part with Penny and Bernadette and then Penny getting the job. Thanks for reminding me.  How did I forget that part of the show. 

 

Still my Penny non love makes me believe Penny is not the 3rd best sales person when she's failed (lazily) in her jobs.

[BigBeagle]

What an unusual episode. The subplot with Leonard, Howard and Raj was more melancholy than anything else and the Penny/Bernadette story was just uncomfortable (I'm really tired of the Bernadette-as-bitch/shrew storyline ... TPTB always overdo it). The Sheldon/Amy subplot was the best part of the episode, but that's damning with faint praise considering everything else that went on.

[Ouisch]

Didn't really like the three separate stories with almost no tie-in.  I was hoping the tie-in would be the death of Mrs. Wolowitz.

 

 

 

I'm presuming that this episode was taped before Carol Ann Susi died, so there would be no reason to mention the passing of Mrs. Wolowitz.

 

Champagne turns to vinegar after a few years if not stored under the proper conditions (light, temperature, etc).Sheldon did them a favor by popping that cork.

 

Add me to the list of eye-rollers when Penny was referred to an MVP and Top Three sales person...   She's been with the company for less than six months, she knows nothing about chemistry or pharmaceuticals, so we're left to deduce that because she's pretty, wears form-fitting short skirts and has a perky bosom she's also an ace pill pusher. 

[CherryAmes]

Penny used to be a hardass and a bully, and now she gets bullied by the resident bitch. Bernadette?

 

Penny always stood up for herself and her friends.  Nothing wrong with that.  Penny being a bully is a plot device the writers trotted out only a couple of times and it was stupid and flew against everything we'd already seen about her character.  Come to think of it I can only remember two episodes where Penny "bullied" anyone - the one where she admits she bullied other kids in high school, and, stretching it a bit, the one where she gets the other girls to help her with her papers at college.

[Zoe]

Zoe it was over-styled, it looked like they put a brush through it and blow-dried it and aged him about ten years. Kripke has always looked rumpled to me. They did the same thing to Raj after the first season.

I think his rapidly graying hair is doing a good enough job of that on its own...

[Zahdii]

I know a lot of people expected this last show to explain how the producers expected to deal with the death of the actress (Carol Ann Susi) who played Howard's mom, but this show was filmed before her death.  I expect it to be a couple of months at least before they deal with Carol's death, unless they just have someone else step into the roll.  And if they do have Howard's mom die, I'd better not hear one 'joke' about having to pay extra for an extra wide coffin.

 

Now, onto the latest show:

I'm disappointed about how Bernadette's character is being pushed into being the new B---- on Wheels.  And despite what Penny said at the company gathering, I though Bernadette's dress was pretty.  I have to admit that I've come across in my own life a couple of women who did the cute, spunky, sweet thing; only to be shocked later on that they were not as advertised.  It happens, but I hope that TPTB back off on Bernadette's character, it's just too much for me.

 

Penny's hair still screams Miley Cyrus to me, and that's a bad thing.  And her dress accentuated her shoulders to the degree that new show watchers might look for an Adam's Apple.  I sympathise, but I also have manly shoulders and early on in my youth I learned to wear some sort of loose short sleeve to cover them while also pointing out my toned arms.  (Oh, those were the days...  I'm covering it all up now.  I also used to have a nice butt.  Just ask the guys who would accept a slower time so they could jog behind me during gym class!  ...the memories, I'll treasure them always.)

 

Sheldon definitely wanted the part where he 'cried' into the flag to be filmed.  When Amy turned off the camera and went to him to console him, he looked up totally dry eyed and wanted to know if she'd actually recorded the scene.  I don't know if she realized in that moment that he had been faking the crying, but she was definitely done hearing about the one time she mistakenly hadn't recorded a show. 

 

Sheldon is so frickin manipulative, it's a wonder he has any friends at all.  Even Amy should wisen up, since she's had a couple of other offers since getting with Sheldon (the creepy rock guy who works at the university and the guy from a couple of weeks ago who lives with his mom but is really doing well financially). 

 

Not to say that Amy should quit Sheldon for either of those guys, but I wouldn't mind if she used that knowledge to fortify herself against Sheldon's machinations.  A simple thing like "Sheldon, it's been two years since I forgot to press the record button and we recreated that show so although it was a reminder to me to pay more attention, it wasn't a tragedy.  We've done X number of shows since then and I haven't forgotten the record button since.  And if it was so important to you, you could simply buy a remote so you could hit the record button by yourself. 

 

"So I've had enough of this.  I'll sit quietly for five minutes while you tell me why this still bothers you, then we'll discuss it for another half hour.  After that, I don't want to hear about it again.  OK?  I'm going to Penny's to use the bathroom now because I know that if I use yours you'll worry I'm going to somehow destroy your pristine bathroom environment and you won't focus on the damned 'record button' incident. 

 

"No, don't speak.  I know full well you completely clean the bathroom after I've been in there because you don't trust me to follow your rules.  No, don't try to tell me I'm wrong about that or to tell me why your 'precautions' are perfectly reasonable.  I'm going across the hall to use the bathroom and I won't return for five minutes. If you don't want to discuss this now, then simply lock your door and we can discuss it later when I'm available. 

 

"No, don't you even suggest that I'm only reacting because I'm menstruating, or about to.  Do not postulate that that I'm being irrational just because I'm allowing more emotion to color our relationship, because that is a sign of advancement for us.  Dealing with each others emotions in a respectful and courteous way is not only logical, it's also a more adult way to handle things.

 

"We love each other, and I firmly believe that, but if you expect me to continue to allow you to subjugate my own needs to cater to yours, then I'm going to have to call your mother.  Don't think I won't do so, because we both love you and want what's best for you.  But you think that what's best for you is to get your own way at all times, you should know that's not healthy for anyone because doing that just creates more needs until you have so many needs that they cannot possibly be met.  You're the human equivalent of that monkey that I got hooked on cigarettes, only you're hooked on getting your own way at all costs.  It didn't work out very well for the monkey, you want to see his brain scans and slide tissues?  It's not a threat, it's cautionary tale.  Oh hell, I'm just going to go home - after I use Penny's bathroom.  I'll call you later."

 

End scene

[DrLar]

Another Flags episode? c'mon! have they run out of ideas? you can add stalking Star Trek actors to the list...

 

At least they said this was the final episode of Fun with Flags right? pleeeeease!

[jjj]

Oh, I like the recurring "Fun with Flags!"  I'd watch more episodes of that!  "Ich bin ein Pretzel!"

[lesleymoon]

Penny always stood up for herself and her friends.  Nothing wrong with that.  Penny being a bully is a plot device the writers trotted out only a couple of times and it was stupid and flew against everything we'd already seen about her character.  Come to think of it I can only remember two episodes where Penny "bullied" anyone - the one where she admits she bullied other kids in high school, and, stretching it a bit, the one where she gets the other girls to help her with her papers at college.

 

I agree. There was the episode where she admitted to being a bully in high school, and...that was really it. If anything I think Sheldon is a bigger bully than Penny is/was. Penny is tough, and doesn't really suffer fools gladly (ie, she doesn't put up with Sheldon's crap, she was always quick to call Howard on his crap) but she isn't really shown to be mean for means sake. She gives as good as she gets, and she sometimes gets it pretty good from the other characters.

 

Bernie is another kettle of fish, and is definitely kind of a witch. She didn't start out that way, they basically turned her into it after she and Howard got serious, as basically a mini Mrs. Wolowitz. And thats part of the reason that Howard is attracted to her, don'tcha know? Which is just horrible writing/characterization.

[Chit Chat]

I loved all of the Fun with Flags stuff.  I never imagined or gave it that much thought that Sheldon did that many episodes of it, so it was fun to take a peek into what he & Amy do when they're not hanging out with the gang.  Kudos to Jim & Mayim for their acting skills by appearing not to be able to act in those scenes.  That's got to be pretty hard to do.  One of my favorite lines was by Sheldon when he was talking about white flags. "From episode 62: "White Flags: Who's waving them, and why."  It doesn't seem as funny in writing as it did when Sheldon said it.

 

I do like Bernadette, but I think they've gone too far in making her character be so mean.  I like her when she's sweet and sassy - not mean and nasty.

[snarkylady]

I'm thinking the company only has three pharmaceutical sales reps.  

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Still my Penny non love makes me believe Penny is not the 3rd best sales person when she's failed (lazily) in her jobs.

Penny never cared about being a good waitress. She's been shown to want to do a good job at her sales position.

[zxy556575]

So now, they made Bernadette not only a scary shrew but a manipulative one. I'm so sick of how the women are portrayed on this show.

 

If it's any help, the guys have all had their characters assassinated at one point or another as well. They suck at their jobs and would have been fired many times over in real life. They've been shown to be mopey, needy, demanding, selfish, crude, conniving, manipulative, thoughtless, preening, and infantile. Not greedy for money, though.

 

I thought it was funny when we learned during the scavenger hunt that Bernadette had such a competitive streak (even though she never had been that way before while playing games -- "pew! pew!"). I also thought her post-marital tirades at Howard were someone justified and kind of amusing because he does indeed want a woman just like his screaming mother. But we haven't seen anyone except shrew Bernadette for a while now and it's too much. Hey writers? Her anger needs to be counterbalanced by her "trusting nature, coupled with her teeny-tiny body" once in a while in order for the joke to be funny.

 

I've been watching some of last season's shows again and they're much funnier to me the second time. Don't know why.

[Starscream]

I am disappointed that Bernadette did not have the breakthrough she seemed to be on the verge of.  I am certainly thankful she is not my colleague, she seems more high maintainance than Sheldon.

But sincere breakthroughs aren't funny.  I thought it was the funniest part of the episode to see Bernadette take stock for a moment and then regain her advantage when the opportunity presented itself.  I don't need to see Bernie fake crying all the time. but if she's 50% less shouty from now on in exchange for being 100% more manipulative, I can dig it.

[romantic idiot]

This episode depressed me. I was depressed. That poor Professor died and then Sheldon opened a champagne bottle. Sheldon didn't realise he was being a racist and was clueless and mean to Amy as usual. Bernadette is happy being a horrible, mean human being. 

 

I know this is TBBT's typical 'sense of humour' and it is absolutely necessary in a show that has Sheldon Cooper in it, but this episode just made me sad. 

[buffynut]

I've been watching some of last season's shows again and they're much funnier to me the second time. Don't know why.

 

I'm surprised they are in syndication already, but I've been running across last seaon's episodes too.  And though I don't think they are all funnier, they also don't seem as "bad" or depressing as I thought they were the first time I saw them.  Sometimes I think we have too high an expectation for the *new* episode that it's easy to be disappointed when it doesn't blow us away.

 

IMO, out of respect for Carol Ann Susi, they need to address her/Mrs. Wolowitz's death.  I'm sure the writers will come up with something very appropriate and respectful. 

 

I also think they have to address Carol Ann Susi/Mrs. Wolowitz's death.  It will be interesting to see how they go with it.   I don't want it to be overly sad, but not sure I want "Chuckles the Clown" either. 

[Camera One]

I don't really buy Bernadette as being mean to everyone at work, which made that whole subplot weird and unconvincing.

 

The office stuff was alright, I guess.  Hit and miss... there were some funny jokes here and there, but considering we don't know the character who died, it was hard to feel anything.

 

The only fun part was Fun with Flags, especially Betsy Ross.

[chocolatine]

Howard's actually had it pretty good in some respects.  He went to college and lived at home where his mom paid a lot of the bills while catering to him because she's a mom who just loved her little boy, but at the same time I think she was glad when he finally married and moved out for good.

 

 

I doubt that Howard lived at home in Pasadena while attending MIT. 

[CherryAmes]

I doubt that Howard lived at home in Pasadena while attending MIT.

 

That was something I always wondered about.  I think if the writers ever did decide to address this we'd learn that Howard and his mother shared an apartment in Cambridge while Howard went to school.  We are never given the impression that Howard spent any amount of time away from mom prior to his marriage, least of all the years it would take to complete his master's degree (and possibly even his undergraduate degree).