S08.E18: The Leftover Thermalization

[photo fox]

Friction ensues when a magazine fails to mention Leonard in an article about the paper he co-wrote with Sheldon. Also, a blackout at Mrs. Wolowitz’s home leads to a final family dinner in her honor.

[shapeshifter]

I knew it would make me cry again, but was still surprised at the way they did it (Bernie/Melissa Rauch doing Mrs. Wolowitz).

Thank goodness for Physics Today.

Edited March 13, 2015 by shapeshifter

[ae2]

Was that Melissa Rauch doing the yelling at the end? It sounded much closer to Howard's mother than she ever did before. Maybe it was just the added accent?

[BooksRule]

I liked this episode.  After my mom died, my dad and I went through their freezer so that we could sort out some of the items she had frozen.  I remember being sad when I saw the labels on the bags and plastic containers with the item name and date written in black marker in her handwriting.  I enjoyed fixing the veggies she had frozen straight from their garden and the other stuff though.  It brought back memories for a long time.  On the other hand, it's obvious that none of those people have ever lived in hurricane country (although earthquake aftermaths would count, I guess).  If the power goes out, food in a freezer that's packed full will keep frozen for around 48 hours as long as you don't open the door.  Once you open it and let the cold air out, forget it.  You'll have to cook it or toss it.  But that was a good way to 'get it over with', I guess.  Otherwise, he might have parceled out that food for years (along with the ketchup packets). 

Edited March 13, 2015 by BooksRule

[mojoween]

I didn't feel the emotional impact as much as I thought I would because I hated Leonard and Sheldon throughout. Is it possible, for any duration, to have Leonard be happy about something? I'm really getting tired of his constant misery.

[SmallTownMom]

I totally understood about the food Mrs. W. had prepared.  My dad loved to cook.  When he died, I had vegetable soup in my freezer that he brought me just a few weeks earlier.  And he always made lots of jelly.  I still have a label that says "Plum", in his handwriting stuck to the lid of my jewelry box, and he died in 1984.  It still hurts to look at it after all these years.  Sometimes you don't appreciate the small things until it's too late.

 

I really want Leonard to be happy about his life, too.

[Actionmage]

I didn't feel the emotional impact as much as I thought I would because I hated Leonard and Sheldon throughout.

 

For it being the hyped part of the episode, I was expecting more than what we got. Not lots, but something. Don't get me wrong, I loved those scenes. Maybe a dollop more of Stewart, but the Last Meal scenes were pretty good.

 

It was the surrounding anti-drama that sucked the life out of the show and blunted, imo, the sweet goodbye to Mrs. Debbie Wolowitz. The salon talk was okay, until it veered- as it always does- to Sheldon and his feelings over anyone else's in the room. That kind of writing is out-of-hand and tiresome and predictable.

 

I did enjoy the "only the worthy can suckle" and Penny bringing up her actual salon. I even sorta grinned at Stewart's toilet seat remark. 

 

I liked that Raj was still missing Mrs. Wolowitz; she may have been one of the first folks to be kind, so that's a nice thing to indirectly highlight ( Raj's connection to Howard's mom.)

[Calamity Jane]

I totally understood about the food Mrs. W. had prepared.  My dad loved to cook.  When he died, I had vegetable soup in my freezer that he brought me just a few weeks earlier.  And he always made lots of jelly.  I still have a label that says "Plum", in his handwriting stuck to the lid of my jewelry box, and he died in 1984.  It still hurts to look at it after all these years.  Sometimes you don't appreciate the small things until it's too late.

 

I really want Leonard to be happy about his life, too.

When my mom passed away, she hadn't been able to cook in a number of years, but I made sure I got all her cookbooks,  with the handwritten recipes from relatives and friends jotted in the covers.  And the spattered pages are where the best recipes are. 

[TV Anonymous]

If it was such an important dinner (for Howard at least) and there was so much food to eat, why did Raj not have Emily to come over?

[CleoCaesar]

I was very much on Leonard's side. He had the idea that no one else had, and he brought it to Sheldon. Sheldon expounded the idea and beefed it up from a mathematical perspective. (I guess. It's hard to take any of this seriously, considering Leonard brought this genius idea to Sheldon and within a matter of hours they published a blog post-paper online.) Cutting Leonard out and taking all the credit is some serious bullshit, even for Sheldon.

[shapeshifter]

If it was such an important dinner (for Howard at least) and there was so much food to eat, why did Raj not have Emily to come over?

Oh, dear TV Anonymous, I am so glad she was not there! Her psycho shenanigans would have been wildly inappropriate, IMO. Can you imagine her suggesting to Raj in a closet that she was somehow responsible for Mrs. Wolowitz' death? Or that she had poisoned the dinner? I can! Emily would have overshadowed even Sheldon's ego--which might be a nice scenario for another episode--but not this one. At least not for me.

And speaking of the battle of the egos in this episode: I was okay with it because it served the purpose of setting up the off camera vocalizations of Bernie/Mrs. Wolowitz.

[sinkwriter]

Team Leonard. Sheldon was out of line. Even Amy realized it when Sheldon told her (in the car) that he had been asked a series of questions and one of those questions clearly would have highlighted Leonard as a big part of the project (I can't remember the exact wording anymore, but it was when Amy changed the subject because she couldn't agree with him on the last question being not his fault).

[Beach Party]

Howard noticed Bernadette's resemblance to his mom's voice.  The others' reactions showed they caught on too, but then they all denied it to Howard.  Were they just trying to be respectful? 

[Lovecat]

When my mom passed away, she hadn't been able to cook in a number of years, but I made sure I got all her cookbooks,  with the handwritten recipes from relatives and friends jotted in the covers.  And the spattered pages are where the best recipes are.

I'm still using some of my dad's cooking gear (and his tools!), and the man's been gone almost 21 years. I cried when I dropped his measuring cup and it broke.

[kat165]

Beach Party, I think they were all trying to be polite/nice to Howard because they all realized years ago how much Bernie sounds like Mrs. W & is probably one of the reasons he's with her. They didn't want to indicate how obvious it was.

[chocolatine]

I do think Sheldon was wrong not to clarify Leonard's role to the Scientific American reporter (and I wish Amy had called him out on that in the car instead of changing the subject), but I also thought Leonard's reaction was very childish and he took it way too far. He's always presented as more emotionally mature and socially adept than Sheldon, so he shouldn't have let the fight escalate at the dinner that was dedicated to Mrs. W's memory.

 

As for Bernie being able to channel Mrs. W, we've seen it before, so that should not have been a surprise to Howard.

 

Finally, what was up with Sheldon explaining everything at the dinner to Penny? It was very condescending and not in line with their friendship. 

 

ETA: From now on I'm calling kugel "Jewish lasagna".

Edited March 13, 2015 by chocolatine

[Irlandesa]

Even Amy realized it when Sheldon told her (in the car) that he had been asked a series of questions and one of those questions clearly would have highlighted Leonard as a big part of the project (I can't remember the exact wording anymore.

The writer of the article made the assumption that Sheldon was the lead researcher and Sheldon didn't correct him which wasn't great but it's a far cry from deliberately trying to push Leonard out of the picture.

 

Considering how over-the-top they usually write Sheldon, I actually appreciated how they developed the story in this episode.  Sheldon's goal was not to exclude Leonard.  He even seemed to feel empathy--actual empathy--once he realized how Leonard might feel about not being mentioned. 

 

This is an instance where Sheldon legitimately may not have realized the consequences of not correcting the record even if he were more aware than he usually is.  If I recall, the "team" is Cooper and Hofstadter.  I know of no citation style that doesn't recommend naming both authors if there are only two.  Even with the uncleared up misunderstanding of who was "lead," I would think Sheldon would assume the SA author would mention Leonard.

 

Finally, what was up with Sheldon explaining everything at the dinner to Penny? It was very condescending and not in line with their friendship.

Oh I think it is.  He was explaining things he didn't think she'd get.

[chocolatine]

Oh I think it is.  He was explaining things he didn't think she'd get.

 

But usually he only explains when she asks or it's otherwise obvious she doesn't understand. Here he just assumed that she doesn't know what those things are and explained them preemptively. That's rude, even for Sheldon.

[shapeshifter]

...Considering how over-the-top they usually write Sheldon, I actually appreciated how they developed the story in this episode.  Sheldon's goal was not to exclude Leonard.  He even seemed to feel empathy--actual empathy--once he realized how Leonard might feel about not being mentioned....

Yeah, but they kind of turned his moment of empathy into a plot hole when he began endlessly accusing Leonard of having to have his name recognized.

[hnygrl]

I said something today I've never said while watching this show: "I HATE THIS SHOW!!!"

God.  BBT has become of victim of its success. It would've been better if they hadn't ruined the show with yet another Sheldon Is Better Than Everybody Else Especially LEONARD, the dumb baby, segment.

 

Ruined the whole show for me.

 

Kinda sad that the only episode saved on my DVR is the "Mrs. Walowitz dies" episode, and I only liked THAT part of it.

 

I may be in the minority, but I didn't love (or even like) this one. Sheldon/Leonard ruined it for me.

[fivestone]

I was really hopeful about the direction of this show a few episodes when Penny and Sheldon connected so well, and even at the beginning of this episode when Sheldon felt so much empathy for Leonard. But I should have known better... just when you think Sheldon is truly making strides toward being a respectful adult, you end up with BS like we saw in this episode - both in his treatment of Leonard and Penny. Now I remember why I stopped watching the show. Now I can't wait for Sheldon get his comeuppance, and hopefully that involves Amy leaving him for someone more mature.

[Latverian Diplomat]

The knowing pi to a thousand places thing is such a good example of something smart people don't waste their time on, but pop culture thinks is a smart person thing to do.

 

Scientific American's "editorial decision" makes no sense, especially since "longtime roommates finally collaborate and the result is amazing" is actually a pretty great story. Also, if Sheldon wrote a letter to the editor explaining that Leonard was a collaborator and not a subordinate they would surely publish it in a future issue letter column.

 

I liked the idea of the dinner better than the execution, alas. Melissa Rauch definitely changed her accent to sound more like Howard's mom, which OK, fine. On the other hand, she was yelling at two people (who really needed it, I guess) but it's already established that Bernadette yells at people. The thing about Howard's mom was that she yelled from another room things that were just ordinary comments or questions. Because she was fat/old/lazy whatever, I guess (ha ha? but not really). So, the similarity, such as they've made it, is superficial. I actually like that Bernadette has a tough side and scares people as her official sitcom quirk. I never cared for the Howard's mom schtick. (Though Carol Ann Susi was a pro who just did what was asked of her and I am sorry she's no longer with us).

[Sentient Meat]

One can be forgiven if they are anal and scrupulous about everything...  however, if one is selectively anal... they turn from a possibly semi-endearing oddball into a full blown asshole.  I can understand Sheldon's inability to understand sarcasm and certain forms of comedy... but only a moron couldn't understand this ethical breach.

 

Show went too far this time with Sheldon... hope they try to reel it back in a little.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Sentient Meat

[Meushell]

Sheldon has been such an ass, that I've hated him for years. Lately though, the writers seemed to be toning it back down from "deliberate asshole" to "rude without realizing it." This episode started out with promise. Sheldon realized (with Amy's help) that Leonard would feel bad, tried to make him feel better, and even tried calling the magazine to correct it. Then for whatever reason the writers decided to go back to the complete asshole route. Why?! Why have Sheldon give himself lead credit? Why have Sheldon keep picking at Leonard, acting like Leonard had no right to be upset? Why can't Sheldon be a decent human being?

As for Leonard, no matter how upset he was, he should have left it out of the dinner. Getting ready to throw the last food Howard's mom made? Seriously?! Normally bully Bernadette is not funny, but this time it was a well earned. It was also great watching Howard's expression as he realized how much she sounded like his mother. They did not need to lower down Sheldon and Leonard so much to make it happen though.

[KAOS Agent]

How stupid is this show that it tried to make me believe that Sheldon didn't really understand how upsetting it would be not to get credit for one's work in a scientific publication? Social conventions and sarcasm I can understand, but they want me to believe that Sheldon wouldn't have an absolute meltdown if his name was left off a project? Please. I thought Leonard was taking it very well until Sheldon not only chose not to fix it, but continued needling him about it. What a jackass.

[Chit Chat]

As for Bernie being able to channel Mrs. W, we've seen it before, so that should not have been a surprise to Howard.

 

IIRC, the other times we've heard Bernie sound like Mrs. W. was when she was in a room with Howard and she was yelling out to Mrs. W.  It shouldn't make much of a difference, but this time she was on the other side of the door and it sounded slightly different to me.  Maybe, for whatever reason, it sounded different to Howard too.  

Edited March 13, 2015 by ChitChat

[shapeshifter]

IIRC, the other times we've heard Bernie sound like Mrs. W. was when she was in a room with Howard and she was yelling out to Mrs. W. It shouldn't make much of a difference, but this time she was on the other side of the door and it sounded slightly different to me. Maybe, for whatever reason, it sounded different to Howard too.

I had just assumed Melissa Rauch was doing the accent as a tribute to Carol Ann Susi, but after reading the posts, I'm fanwanking that Bernie is doing it for Howie so he can still hear his mom.

And oh crap, now I've got something in my eyes again.

....Why?! Why have Sheldon give himself lead credit? Why have Sheldon keep picking at Leonard, acting like Leonard had no right to be upset? Why can't Sheldon be a decent human being?

As for Leonard, no matter how upset he was, he should have left it out of the dinner....

The answer to "why?" is to get to the scene where Bernie marches them out of the dining room and does the Carol Ann Susi/Mrs. Wolowitz voice.

But I agree, the writers sacrificed a lot to get there--including the plot hole of how Sheldon gets from the realization of "poor Leonard" to fighting with him about it. They could have done better. These are frickin' BBT writers, after all.

...Also, if Sheldon wrote a letter to the editor explaining that Leonard was a collaborator and not a subordinate they would surely publish it in a future issue letter column...

I was waiting for this to happen, but instead they went with the Physics Today mentioning Leonard, which works better for the time frame of the episode.

...And yes, if the roles were reversed, Sheldon would have thrown a complete tantrum if Leonard had gotten all of the credit.

--in an alternate universe, a letter to the editor of SciAm giving Leonard credit was printed, followed by only Leonard being named in the Physics Today article.

Choose your own adventure for what happens next.

Edited March 13, 2015 by shapeshifter

[peeayebee]

I had just assumed Melissa Rauch was doing the accent as a tribute to Carol Ann Susi, but after reading the posts, I'm fanwanking that Bernie is doing it for Howie so he can still hear his mom.

And oh crap, now I've got something in my eyes again.

I don't think Bernie was consciously doing the mom's voice. We've all heard the similarity before. It was definitely more pronounced this ep, but Howard probably recognized it for the first time because she was out of the room yelling, they were in his mom's house, and they were eating his mom's food.

 

The answer to "why?" is to get to the scene where Bernie marches them out of the dining room and does the Carol Ann Susi/Mrs. Wolowitz voice.

But I agree, the writers sacrificed a lot to get there--including the plot hole of how Sheldon gets from the realization of "poor Leonard" to fighting with him about it. They could have done better. These are frickin' BBT writers, after all.

 

Yup. It's a shame that this couldn't have been a sweeter ep. As it was, I didn't particularly enjoy it and thought it was a bungled opportunity for a memorable ep.

[shapeshifter]

I don't think Bernie was consciously doing the mom's voice. We've all heard the similarity before. It was definitely more pronounced this ep, but Howard probably recognized it for the first time because she was out of the room yelling, they were in his mom's house, and they were eating his mom's food....

Yeah, but you realize you still have to hand me a Kleenex now, right?

[buffynut]

Having lost my Mom 3 years ago, I'm very sensitve to the whole storyline of Mrs. Wolowitz's death, and I have nothing bad to say about last night's episode.  It wasn't over the top sad, yet covered the things a child is left to deal with after a parent dies.

 

As for the Sheldon / Leonard storyline, I thought it was in character for both of them and didn't seem worse than anything that has happened before.

[CherryAmes]

He's always presented as more emotionally mature and socially adept than Sheldon, so he shouldn't have let the fight escalate at the dinner that was dedicated to Mrs. W's memory.

 

I don't know about that.  I recently saw the episode where they are all on a panel being held at some swanky hotel and everyone of them, except Sheldon, pretty much makes a fool of themselves talking about personal stuff while they are all on the podium.  In another episode Leonard is supposed to be introducing Sheldon who has just been given some award at the university and he spends most of his time on stage whining about his rotten childhood.  None of them really seem to know how to behave in any given set of circumstances.  Which actually doesn't bother me TBH.  If they didn't act inappropriately a lot of the time the show wouldn't be very funny.

It seems like the writer's are trying to remake Howard into a decent human being.  Before his mother died, he was an asshole directly to her as well as behind her back.  Now that she is dead, he all of a sudden acts like a respectful human being.  Too bad his mother wasn't alive to see that.

 

I always saw there relationship as being a mutual thing as far as the yelling and disrespect went.  Howard's mother treated him like he was 10 years old most of the time and she was pretty manipulative and damn annoying.  I think she gave as good as she got.  And whatever Howard may have said about her behind her back he was still the "good son" - he did a lot more for his mother than most sons would do.  Mind you sometimes that crossed the border into creepyville!  Still I don't think he has anything to reproach himself for in the way he treated his mother before her death.  There was a lot of love there too.

[Taylorh2]

How did they cook all that food without power ?

[CousinOliver]

How did they cook all that food without power ?

Gas stove/oven

[abby1000]

You can cook on a gas stove without electricity, I remember my parents doing the same when the power when out once.

[Aliconehead]

I was hoping when Sheldon mentioned the second article from Physics Whatever and everyone asked if Leonard was mentioned, the next line would have been. "Yes, but I'm not" Then we could have scene how he dealt with it

[FineWashables]

 

Also, if Sheldon wrote a letter to the editor explaining that Leonard was a collaborator and not a subordinate they would surely publish it in a future issue letter column.

Yes!!!  You know this and I know this.  It's a magazine convention to run letters commenting on an article they've run if the writer is a key person in that article.  These guys read all kinds of scientific magazines -- it's been a running gag throughout the show that they ask Penny if she's read something from obscure magazines on scientific research.  I thought it was a huge plot hole to ignore something this obvious.  The plot would have worked just as well if it had focused on Sheldon attempting to write a letter that would give Leonard some credit -- what would he have agreed to give him credit for, and how would he have admitted it?  These people are supposed to be smart.  So why a dumb plot?

 

Speaking of how smart they're supposed to be:  Not one of them considered that frozen soup and brisket and meatloaves could now be put in someone's fridge to be defrosted and eaten that week.  And as BooksRule mentioned upthread, how can they not know that the contents of the freezer would stay frozen for a couple of days if they didn't open the freezer door?

Edited March 13, 2015 by FineWashables

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Finally, what was up with Sheldon explaining everything at the dinner to Penny? It was very condescending and not in line with their friendship.

It's right in line with his usual behavior. I recall Penny loudly cutting him off once, as well as him doing the same to (non-PhD) Howard.

 

 

Not one of them considered that frozen soup and brisket and meatloaves could now be put in someone's fridge to be defrosted and eaten that week.

They were just considering that when the idea of doing a big meal for the whole group was proposed. If they were that negative about re-refrigerating, they could also have taken it to the soup kitchen Bernie works at. Not sure why everyone felt a need to stuff themselves. Everybody could have taken what was left home to be reheated the next day.

[Enjay]

Clunky episode all around, all designed for the set up of Bernadette yelling like Mrs. Wolowitz.  You pull people out of a room to talk to them so that you are unheard, not so you can scream and have everyone hear you anyway.  I hope that's the last we hear that voice.

 

I like Sheldon.  I think he's made great strides, but I agree with everyone else that although he lacks social skills and can't read a room, he'd instantly understand how hurtful it would be for Leonard to be left out of the article.  Professional achievement and acknowledgment is everything to him and he truly loves Leonard.  He'd understand and he'd make it right.  I don't know where the writers were going with that storyline.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Enjay

[SmithW6079]

On the other hand, Leonard should have known better.  He has every right to be upset at the situation, but it wasn't something that Sheldon created.

 

I disagree. Did Sheldon say he told the reporter that the idea was Leonard's? I deleted the episode already, so I can't check, but if I recall from Sheldon and Amy's conversation in the car, it seems Sheldon implied that everything was his idea, which is why Amy stopped agreeing with him. A simple, "Dr. Leonard Hofstadter originated the idea, and I blah blah blah." For the writer of the article to determine the originator of the idea was not important seems idiotic, especially if it's supposed to be such a breakthrough that even Steven Hawking complimented them on it.

 

But, of course, Leonard ends up being at fault. Why? Because as Sheldon smugly commented when he got his way about the table: "The baby always wins."

 

I feel like they're retconning Mrs. Wolowitz's character because of their affection for the actress. The only thing that rang true in the episode was Howard's reaction to the ketchup packets in the drawer, because sometimes it's the little things that set you off. For me, one of the things was seeing an entry in my mom's checkbook dated just a week before she died.

Edited March 13, 2015 by SmithW6079

[sinkwriter]

 

I feel like they're retconning Mrs. Wolowitz's character because of their affection for the actress.

 

I don't see a retcon in this case. Howard and his mom definitely had a loud relationship, and there were times when he was extremely frustrated with her, but the underlying message seemed to be that Howard loved his mother (sometimes to the point of "mama's boy" status), was too attached to her, and had even said more than once in previous episodes that when his father left, all Howard had was his mother. She was the most important person to him.

 

So I think they've demonstrated pretty well that though the day-to-day was more of the yelling back and forth and his mother driving him crazy, underneath it all he would do anything for his mother and loved her very much, and vice versa. She cooked for him, she took care of him (too much, as we saw he wasn't very self-sufficient before Bernie came along and made him start doing more stuff), she was overly concerned about him, and even let his friends (like Raj) stay over when Howard wasn't there and to show her love she cooked for them.

[CherryAmes]

I recall Penny loudly cutting him off once, as well as him doing the same to (non-PhD) Howard.

 

Irritating though it must be for Penny when he does it to her at least she probably didn't understand.  If I'd been Howard there are so many times when I'd have wanted to take a poke at Sheldon when he does that.  The episode where he condescendingly tells Howard who Richard Feynman was - something Howard clearly already knew - comes to mind as Sheldon at his most obnoxious!

[okerry]

>>And speaking of the battle of the egos in this episode: I was okay with it because it served the purpose of setting up the off camera vocalizations of Bernie/Mrs. Wolowitz.

 

Exactly. That whole irritating bit between Sheldon and Leonard was a set-up to allow Bernadette to take them aside, put them on blast, and demonstrate exactly how much she really does sound like her late mother-in-law.

>>As for Bernie being able to channel Mrs. W, we've seen it before, so that should not have been a surprise to Howard.

 

But it's been a long-running, low-key joke that everybody knows this *but* Howard. Last night was when he finally got it.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Irritating though it must be for Penny when he does it to her at least she probably didn't understand.

The time when Penny got irritated enough to yell, Sheldon was being unusually condescending and she did understand, although point taken that she doesn't most of the time.

 

 

For the writer of the article to determine the originator of the idea was not important seems idiotic, especially if it's supposed to be such a breakthrough that even Steven Hawking complimented them on it.

From what Sheldon said about his call about it, the writer may a "fan" of Sheldon, like Ramona Nowitzki, so Leonard is not likely to have gotten more than just a mention in passing.

[ShelleySue]

How did they cook all that food without power ?

 

Gas stove/oven

 

You can cook on a gas stove without electricity, I remember my parents doing the same when the power when out once.

 

But only to a point.  If you have a gas stove you can use the cooktop by lighting it with a match once you turn on the gas.  But a gas oven is different.  Our old stove could be lit by hand, but the thermostat wouldn't work because it requires electricity.  So it just continues to heats until you turn off the gas.  You cannot regulate the temperature at all.  Our new stove is more "modern" and can't even be lit by hand.

 

Add me to the list of people who are glad that Emily wasn't there.  I want Raj to be happy, but I just don't see the two of them staying together (fingers crossed).

 

One of the greatest disappointments in my life is that my grandmothers both had recipes written on cards and scraps of paper but they just listed ingredients.  Neither of them had measurements or directions.  My husband's family, on the other hand, has cookbooks with detailed notes written in the margins.  Guess whose recipes are getting passed down to my children.

[sinkwriter]

 

That whole irritating bit between Sheldon and Leonard was a set-up to allow Bernadette to take them aside, put them on blast, and demonstrate exactly how much she really does sound like her late mother-in-law.

 

I just wish they had come up with a different reason for Sheldon and Leonard to be fighting. Sheldon already said he understood why Leonard would be upset and angry; if Sheldon were in his position he would have had a fit, because his contribution was just as important as Leonard's, so for him to be treating Leonard like he was being a baby about it was insulting. Both their names should have been mentioned, even if the writer of the article chose to focus more on Sheldon. The whole premise of a scientific magazine choosing to exclude a prominent member of the paper when Leonard's name is clearly on it goes beyond the realm of believability. There was no "team." There was Sheldon and there was Leonard. For them to ignore that was ludicrous.

 

If they really wanted Sheldon and Leonard to be fighting, in order to set up the joke that Bernadette sounds like Howard's mother, they could have had them argue over any number of topics. Especially given that they were currently in the midst of having "salon" conversations over dinner, they could have been having a disagreement over any science or video game or film or comic book related topic, enough to disturb the main point of the dinner (to honor Howard's mom and enjoy the last food she ever prepared).

 

In fact, the showrunners could have chosen a really ridiculous topic for them to be fighting over, something highly funny.

Edited March 13, 2015 by sinkwriter

[jumper sage]

Howard noticed Bernadette's resemblance to his mom's voice.  The others' reactions showed they caught on too, but then they all denied it to Howard.  Were they just trying to be respectful? 

They noticed that years ago when they were dating.  Howard could never see it.  He married his mother.

[Driad]

 

A good gas stove can last for decades.  There are plenty still around that have no electrical connection.  Mrs. W had a yellow refrigerator (probably 1970s) so she probably didn't replace the stove if it still worked. 

[jumper sage]

But only to a point.  If you have a gas stove you can use the cooktop by lighting it with a match once you turn on the gas.  But a gas oven is different.  Our old stove could be lit by hand, but the thermostat wouldn't work because it requires electricity.  So it just continues to heats until you turn off the gas.  You cannot regulate the temperature at all.  Our new stove is more "modern" and can't even be lit by hand.

I have never heard of this theory.  I have cooked food in a gas oven millions of times when the electricity is out.  My burners just come on too, I don't have to light a match.  I do not have a new stove.  Mrs. W had an older stove too.

 

Thanks for the info though.  Thinking to myself [must take stove to any new house].

Edited March 13, 2015 by jumper sage

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I have cooked food in a gas oven millions of times when the electricity is out.  My burners just come on too, I don't have to light a match.  I do not have a new stove.  Mrs. W had an older stove too.

Even if the stove was new enough to have an electric thermostat, for what they were doing, regulating the temperature manually with the help of an oven thermometer would have been sufficient.

[Chit Chat]

I was disappointed that the story ended up being that Sheldon led the interviewer to believe that the theory was his.  I thought we were going to see some progress with Sheldon once he realized how bad Leonard would feel about having his name left out.  It looked to be a bonding moment for them, but then Sheldon ended up being a jerk.  I understand that they had to create some conflict in order for Bernadette to do her thing, but I wish they would've found another way to make that happen.