S10.E06: The Fetal Kick Catalyst

[Zahdii]

The Fetal Kick Catalyst

Feeling his fetal offspring kick sends Howard on a baby-items buying binge with Raj; Sheldon and Amy host a brunch in their new digs; and Penny, by virtue of her virtuoso performance in "Serial Apist," is invited to a sci-fi convention.

[ari333]

I'm already sick of the baby plot

[Spartan Girl]

Even the worst movies have a following, so I was amused by the Comic Con plot.

Wow, an episode where Stuart didn't repulse me. He and Sheldon should get drunk together more often.

[CherryAmes]

Not a bad episode at all.  I liked all three storylines and I have to say I wonder if the writers have been browsing here because they managed to dial down the creepiness for Raj and to acknowledge and try to make amends for the way the gang tends to treat Stuart - something a lot of us have commented on.  

[DrSpaceman73]

I did like the Comic Con plot.  I wish they did more with Penny acting in B movies, has more potential than anything we've seen them do with her current job.

I too am tiring of the baby stories week after week. 

Seems like they have kept Raj, Howard and Bernadette separate from the others for many episodes this season, except when Howard was with Sheldon and Leonard working on the army project. 

[kat165]

I was hoping with the Serial Apeist (sp??) mention we'd be seeing Wil Wheaton.

Had to laugh when the neighbor lady broke in with "if you have 15 min you can save on car insurance."

[Snarklepuss]

The baby plot isn't bothering me, after all she is pregnant so it's bound to be a major focus of the show.  The shameless product placement (minivan anyone?) bugs me a little though.

I too thought that the writers must be reading the boards - If not this one then others.  I'm sure we weren't the only people disappointed in last season.  I think they were trying to "evolve" too much last season and it fell flat.  They seem to be going back to the tried and true formulas.  I found myself really laughing several times this episode.  Yay!

[indeed]

I was hoping Penny might find out she has a little bit of a following and maybe get interested in the possibility of acting again.  Instead it was all about Leonard with a side of guys making not so flattering comments about Penny.  Could we please move on from the ooh, Leonard married a hot chick! crap already?!

I liked the brunch for the most part.  Did Sheldon bake or just warm things up in the oven?  If the former, he's a keeper, Amy.  ;)

[Calamity Jane]

Why didn't they invite Mrs. Vartabedian???

[anna0852]

I'm probably giving the writers too much credit here but I see the separate storylines as a way to illustrate that as life goes on, the group will grow apart. 

Love Sheldon making the effort for Amy. Not just having a gathering but doing the work, dressing appropriately and genuinely making an effort without anyone prompting him.

[kat165]

I'm with Indeed. I would love to see them do something with Penny and acting and/or at least give her more of a plot rather than 1/2 of the Greek chorus (w/Leonard). I never really thought Penny was all that hot to begin with. She's a  nice looking woman w/ a great bod (that's down to Kaley) but I don't think she was ever all that and certainly isn't now as she's getting older, with the cubby face and the weird expressions she often wears/makes. So enough already.

[Accidental Martyr]

I think they passed up a really good opportunity by not having Penny get a part in some sort of sci-fi show or something similar. It seems like there would be tons of material to mine from a situation like that.

[shapeshifter]

While I too would've liked Penny to have more parts in B movies or small/recurring roles in scifi shows, I would loathe the inevitable plot in which Penny has a flirtation or affair with a hot bodied actor.

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

Love Sheldon making the effort for Amy. Not just having a gathering but doing the work, dressing appropriately and genuinely making an effort without anyone prompting him.

He was doing so well, I was really upset when he slipped up about it being their "trial run" brunch so that they have the routine down when they invite their real friends over. The Romanian lady probably didn't understand enough to be offended, but I felt bad for Stuart and the rocks guy, especially for the latter since he had recently invited Amy to his party and told her she was the coolest girl at their department.

I don't care about the baby plot, but Bernadette's "which MIT did you go to?" cracked me up.

[Gulftastic]

Leonard's change maker, and his desperation to use it made me chuckle. And although it was quite funny, the 'how did you get such a hot chick?' is old now. Couldn't they just say 'We were friends, then we fell in love..'? It's the most honest answer.

My favourite Bernie moment was when she kicked Howard. 'I warned you. Then I did it!'. They didn't resort once to Shrill Bernie, and in an episode where Howard was being a complete ass, that's pretty good going for the writers.

[wknt3]

8 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

Not a bad episode at all.  I liked all three storylines and I have to say I wonder if the writers have been browsing here because they managed to dial down the creepiness for Raj and to acknowledge and try to make amends for the way the gang tends to treat Stuart - something a lot of us have commented on.  

6 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

I too thought that the writers must be reading the boards - If not this one then others.  I'm sure we weren't the only people disappointed in last season.  I think they were trying to "evolve" too much last season and it fell flat.  They seem to be going back to the tried and true formulas.  I found myself really laughing several times this episode.  Yay!

Perhaps they are responding to feedback or perhaps it was just obvious that they had gone too far and that some of what they were doing wasn't working? I'm sure that this episode was produced before they would have seen any comments on Raj's behavior in the past couple episodes. And they do seem to be going back to what works. I wonder if they have now have a pretty clear sense of the end date behind the scenes and are giving up on trying to keep things fresh and do new things just to do new things and make sure you have new story lines without changing the premise too much?

[tenativelyyours]

As annoying as I found the usual Leonard is unworthy of Penny aspect, the comic con plotline was decent.  Sadly it held potential that was never realized though.  Same with the dinner.  Why they insist on three plotlines is beyond me.  Other than to pretend they were not stupid in contract negotiations by giving their overpaid cast equal airtime and attention.  They could have eliminated the boring baby storyline and mixed Raj, Howard, Bernadette and Stuart in various ways with the other two stories.   Certainly Stuart showing up at comic con would have been a bit more natural and integral and you could have still had him show up at the end of the dinner party mad because he wasn't invited. 

Or even, gasp, have the dinner party be the plot.  Or comic con be the plot.  I mean the reactions of Sheldon, Raj and Howard going only to find out Penny is a featured guest could have been rich with opportunity.  This really has become one of the laziest shows writing wise that exists let alone rakes in the dough it does.

[anna0852]

2 hours ago, Gulftastic said:

My favourite Bernie moment was when she kicked Howard. 'I warned you. Then I did it!'. They didn't resort once to Shrill Bernie, and in an episode where Howard was being a complete ass, that's pretty good going for the writers.

I don't think Howard is being an ass. A bit thoughtless yes, but all he's trying to do is get ready for the baby. A baby he's excited and enthusiastic for. Yes, a mini van is a huge purchase but he didn't buy it, he was doing a test drive. And they may need it. Car seats are pretty bulky and babies tend mean lots of stuff to transport.

As far as crib shopping without Bernadette goes, she hasn't been shown as really into  it and they do need a crib. I think the only mistake was taking Raj with him. If I'm Bernie I'd be happy Howard was excited and involved. Especially since the pregnancy was unexpected.

[CherryAmes]

11 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

The baby plot isn't bothering me, after all she is pregnant so it's bound to be a major focus of the show.  The shameless product placement (minivan anyone?) bugs me a little though.

If that was product placement they lost me.  I have no idea what kind of minivan they featured and if I was the manufacturer I wouldn't have been happy that they used the "see you can open it with your foot" thing as a joke and couldn't actually do it!

Edited October 28, 2016 by CherryAmes

[CherryAmes]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

Yes, a mini van is a huge purchase but he didn't buy it, he was doing a test drive. And they may need it. Car seats are pretty bulky and babies tend mean lots of stuff to transport.

People always act like driving a minivan or an SUV is this big crossover into boring adult territory and they insist they'll never get one.  Until they realize exactly why minivans and SUVs are cars boring adults can actually need.  For many it comes the day they're trying to put everything and then some into the snappy little sports car that was never built to hold everything and then some!

[AnnaRose]

I hate the implication that, any couple that has a baby has to get a huge, frickin minivan or SUV.  

Other than that, though, I mostly enjoyed this episode.  I liked that Sheldon made an effort to make Amy happy, and even apologized to Stuart.  I also enjoyed the 'surprise' conversation he had with Amy and his flirtatious comment about it making him randy.

The Penny and Leonard stuff was okay, even though the Penny's too hot for Leonard stuff has gotten old.

And Bernadette and Howard had a few amusing moments.  It was nice to see Howard so excited about the baby.  And I chuckled at the physical comedy of trying to get the trunk to open.

[CherryAmes]

3 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

 

I hate the implication that, any couple that has a baby has to get a huge, frickin minivan or SUV.  

 

Yeah that wasn't a minivan they showed it was a bloody tank!  There was no reason to go to that extreme - well except that it wouldn't have been funny to have a more reasonable looking car on screen.  There are lots of option out there between "too small for us now" and "we're transporting the whole school"!

[Driad]

They could have left out the woman who was learning English from TV.  Other shows have had similar characters.  She wasn't nearly as funny (IMO) as someone probably thought, and she used time in an episode that was already too short for three story lines.  

[Gulftastic]

I did like 'Cheers.....is filmed before a studio audience'.

[Artsda]

The neighbor lady breaking out into commercials was hilarious, especially the car insurance one. 

[Traveller519]

The Comic Con plot was the only one I really had a negative with, and even it had its laughs. But it really marginalized Penny, which was a shame, since we've seen her and Leonard really working well as a couple for the past year. More manufactured drama between them hurts, I feel.

[ari333]

Since when does Sheldon drink alcohol? And over-indulge? Except for that time with the Long Island Tea which he thought was actual tea. 

Nice of him to plan and prepare the brunch.

"I wanna shake my money changer."

[bad things are bad]

Quote

My favourite Bernie moment was when she kicked Howard. 'I warned you. Then I did it!'. They didn't resort once to Shrill Bernie

Agreed, that was funny! 

And Howard doing the baby stuff shopping with Raj was utterly inappropriate. Bernie could have gone full-shrill and been justified. 

Quote

Yeah that wasn't a minivan they showed it was a bloody tank! 

Au contraire, that was a Chrysler, or possibly Dodge, minivan. I know, I own one and actually make my living doing auto industry market analysis so I know from cars. 

Also for the record, minivans absolutely rule, even for one kid. We are empty nesters and they are the best road trip vehicle around. The Swiss Army Knife of vehicles and infinitely superior to SUVs for ride, gas mileage, versatility. 

[Gulftastic]

Sheldon did get drunk at the karaoke night, even after Leonard warned him to slow down.

[CherryAmes]

32 minutes ago, ari333 said:

 

Since when does Sheldon drink alcohol? And over-indulge?

 

I had assumed he didn't realize he was drinking mimosas (at least I assume those were mimosas) anyway orange juice with booze.

[BlossomCulp]

18 minutes ago, bad things are bad said:

Au contraire, that was a Chrysler, or possibly Dodge, minivan. I know, I own one and actually make my living doing auto industry market analysis so I know from cars. 

It was a damn honking big minivan whatever kind it was!  And totally unrealistically too big for their needs which was why the scene with the 'tank' was a funny one.

Very good episode - I liked all the storylines but especially the comic convention one.  

1 hour ago, Traveller519 said:

But it really marginalized Penny, which was a shame, since we've seen her and Leonard really working well as a couple for the past year. More manufactured drama between them hurts, I feel.

See I didn't get that feeling, I thought Penny was fine with the way Leonard behaved, if anything she found it funny.  She also seemed to have come to terms with the idea that she wasn't a very good actress so I hope they leave things like that and let her have some happiness and success without resorting to having her go back to making movies like Serial Apist!

[LoneHaranguer]

4 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

If that was product placement they lost me.  I have no idea what kind of minivan they featured and if I was the manufacturer I wouldn't have been happy that they used the "see you can open it with your foot" thing as a joke and couldn't actually do it!

Apparently it's also easily damaged; the guys mentioned denting it up from carrying the box with the crib in it.

13 hours ago, chocolatine said:

He was doing so well, I was really upset when he slipped up about it being their "trial run" brunch so that they have the routine down when they invite their real friends over.

It wouldn't have been bad if Sheldon highlighted the right aspects of why they were chosen.

10 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Penny seems to be losing her independence, and I don't like that either.  She settled.

And still wound up with a jerk. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Sheldon did get drunk at the karaoke night, even after Leonard warned him to slow down.

He also got drunk on beer with Bernadette's father on a Thanksgiving episode. I thought this was kind of a dumb way to end the episode, though. I was also a little annoyed when he and Amy were having a word-smithing discussion and he said "Don't get me all randy, there's company coming over." Since when does Sheldon get "randy?" The idea of sex+sheldon just doesn't work for his character and I wish they'd never gone there. There are people who are asexual, after all, and I can't think of anyone who fits that description better than Sheldon.

[AnnaRose]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I was also a little annoyed when he and Amy were having a word-smithing discussion and he said "Don't get me all randy, there's company coming over." Since when does Sheldon get "randy?" The idea of sex+sheldon just doesn't work for his character and I wish they'd never gone there. There are people who are asexual, after all, and I can't think of anyone who fits that description better than Sheldon.

Aw, I liked that part.  I liked that he was being playful with Amy.  And now that it's been established that the character isn't 100% asexual, I'm okay with it.  It's not like he's turned into a raging horn-dog or anything.

[BlossomCulp]

I missed a few episodes from this season,  what are the living arrangements now?  Amy and Sheldon are in Penny's apartment and Leonard and Penny are in the guys apartment?  Is that right?  If so how come Sheldon moved out of his apartment?  It was his first after all so I'd have expected Leonard to move out if anyone was going.

[AnnaRose]

BlossomCulp, it's just a five week experiment because Amy's apartment was flooded.

[anna0852]

Not if Leonard has anything to say about it. He mentioned changing the locks in the last episode. 

[theatremouse]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

I had assumed he didn't realize he was drinking mimosas (at least I assume those were mimosas) anyway orange juice with booze.

He spent 15 minutes opening the Champagne bottle and then poured it into the orange juice. He had to know the mimosas he made were mimosas.

[shapeshifter]

13 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

...She also seemed to have come to terms with the idea that she wasn't a very good actress so I hope they leave things like that and let her have some happiness and success without resorting to having her go back to making movies like Serial Apist!

I always wondered if the episode in which Sheldon is enthralled with Penny's acting in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (and Leonard sincerely agrees) was a brief retcon. Her current job seems to indicate she knows how to sell, so her acting career failure can't just be a lack of self-marketing smarts. Anyway, I wouldn't mind if she starts getting acting gigs that result in a series finale with her becoming a fulltime working actor.

[theatremouse]

My take is we were supposed to believe she was a decent actress. Terrible singer, but decent actress. The problem in LA is there are simply too many and being good has less to do with actually earning a living doing it. The issue with Serial Apist is that it was a terrible campy movie and it'd probably be impossible for any actor (regardless of talent) to make a script that bad seem good.

[BlossomCulp]

9 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

 

My take is we were supposed to believe she was a decent actress.

 

I agree with you here, I should have chosen my words better.  I never thought we were supposed to believe Penny was a bad actress just not as good as she needed to be to get anywhere.  Which is  reality - Penny was a classic wannabe star who just didn't have the acting chops to back that up.  But even if she'd been the best actress since Katherine Hepburn you need to get the breaks and that didn't happen for her either.  I actually liked that BBT didn't go there with Penny - as the song goes:

In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years. How quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas.

At least Penny has a good job and a happy marriage, that's more than a lot of kids who came to Hollywood with dreams of fame and fortune in their eyes can say and kudos to BBT for not making it seem like stardom is likely for most.  It's just not.

[Mom x 3]

18 hours ago, bad things are bad said:

 

Also for the record, minivans absolutely rule, even for one kid. We are empty nesters and they are the best road trip vehicle around. The Swiss Army Knife of vehicles and infinitely superior to SUVs for ride, gas mileage, versatility. 

I have two kids (and one on the way), and I second this.  I don't care if I'm eighty and have no children anymore, I think I will always own a minivan.  The Swiss Army Knife of vehicles is spot on.  

On topic:  baby stories don't bother me, because it is a huge change.  I just wish the rest of the guys would have the same character growth as Howard has had.  Raj doesn't bother me either.  He and Howard always had sort of a brosexual thing going, so it makes sense that he's coming off creepy now.

[Crs97]

I admit I had this on more for background noise than anything else, but didn't Sheldon put together the whole brunch and Amy is annoyed he didn't clean up, too?!?  My unpopular opinion is that I still don't like her character.

[mansonlamps]

22 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

 

10 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I admit I had this on more for background noise than anything else, but didn't Sheldon put together the whole brunch and Amy is annoyed he didn't clean up, too?!?  My unpopular opinion is that I still don't like her character.

My even more unpopular opinion is that, not only do I dislike the character, I hate the way the actress plays her.

[theatremouse]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

I admit I had this on more for background noise than anything else, but didn't Sheldon put together the whole brunch and Amy is annoyed he didn't clean up, too?!?  My unpopular opinion is that I still don't like her character.

I don't follow your reasoning. He planned a surprise brunch. She didn't know about it until it was already happening. Yes, he cooked everything, very nice of him. But how is it her bad when he made her clean up for the party he threw that she didn't know about? If they'd planned it together and he cooked I could see it being fair that he do the "before" so she might do the "after" if they'd planned it that way, but if you cook up a storm for someone, make a giant mess, it's not really nice to say "see wasn't it nice of me to do this for you? Now clean it up."

Edited October 29, 2016 by theatremouse

[Crs97]

It looked to me like he had kept the place clean while he cooked and did all the other stuff and was still entertaining one of their guests when Amy decided to put the food away.  At that point she was the rude one for cleaning around Stuart and complaining about it instead of waiting till he left.  As I said, I don't like her character.

[BlossomCulp]

Getting drunk with the last remaining guest, who doesn't seem to know how to leave, isn't really entertaining a guest as far as I'm concerned!  Amy had every right to be annoyed.  But then I've also never been a fan of the "rule" that the person who does the cooking is exempt from cleaning up.  I've been the victim of one too many cooks who use every pot, dish and surface to create their meal and I get to be the cleaner upper.  Totally not fair!  Not that Sheldon did that in this case - just me ranting!

[anna0852]

I thought it was totally fair that Amy cleaned up. She's the one that wanted to entertain in the first place. Sheldon did all of the prepping, cleaning and set up. Yes, that is because he wanted to surprise her which actually means Amy cleaning up makes even more sense. If someone went to all that trouble to step outside their comfort zone and set up a lovely surprise for me, you can bet I'm not going to be annoyed at cleaning up.

[chitowngirl]

I hate it when the storylines are separate. They work better when they overlap. Same with Modern Family.

Considering how far along Bernie seems to be, even if she's showing early because Bernis is tiny, they would have felt the baby kick long before this.

[anna0852]

To be fair that was Howard feeling the baby for the first time. Bernie has probably been feeling it for awhile now. Some babies are shy little boogers. My nephew turned my sister-in-law black-and-blue on the inside but let anyone lay a hand on her stomach and he'd stop immediately. No one really felt him except her. My brother got a few feels but less than you'd think.