S10.E13: The Romance Recalibration

[TheOtherOne]

WHEN LEONARD AND PENNY FIGHT, SHELDON PLAYS THE UNLIKELY PEACEMAKER, ON "THE BIG BANG THEORY," THURSDAY, JAN. 19

"The Romance Recalibration"- When Penny feels that Leonard is taking her for granted, she decides to go on a spa weekend with Amy. Also, Wolowitz and Koothrappali try to fix a squeaky floorboard in the baby's room, on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Thursday, Jan. 19 (8:00-8:31 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

[Spartan Girl]

Raj and Howard trying to fix the squeaky floor in the baby's room was ridiculous but the sight gags made it worthwhile.

I'm going to have to side with Leonard, since his relationship with Penny has pretty much been him doing all the work while Penny was the halfhearted one. Shoe is on the other foot now, huh, Penny?

Continuing to be amazed that Sheldon is trying to be more considerate while still remaining Sheldon. 

[DrSpaceman73]

I have to give them credit that at least they did something with Leonard and Penny this episode besides just watching and talking about their friends. 

And I can actually see both Leonard and Penny's points on this one.  He had done the majority of the fawning, chasing and gestures over the years.  But I can see her being bored with his in many ways childish interests and his general lack of effort now, based on what he looked like on the couch. 

I thought the Raj/Howard story was just cartoonish.  Just replace the floor. 

[mojoween]

Oh yay!  Penny and Leonard are fighting!  That's 

so

awesome.

Sigh.  Can they be happy for more than three consecutive episodes, show?

Also, if you are going to have that big of a cast, either have them all together or leave someone out sometimes.  The three ladies, then Howard and Raj, then Sheldon and Leonard were too many quick cuts.

I still love this show and most of the characters, but there is room for improvement even after ten years.

[PinkRibbons]

I found myself very surprised when the episode ended. It was like it was missing an act with a resolution to the floor problem, and showing how the new Relationship Agreement was working out (btw, am pleased to hear the implication that Amy and Sheldon have rewritten their own contract at least once, since she talked about their "first" contract. Still bummed Amy obviously still has to put up with some silly crap though.)

Also I thought about it for two minutes: MOVE THE CRIB. I thought that if anything the last episode suggested they would start cosleeping with Halley, and at the very least, having her crib in her parents' room would save them a lot of lost sleep. Babies really don't need whole rooms to themselves -- maybe just places to stash their stuff.

Edited January 20, 2017 by PinkRibbons

[Chit Chat]

Quote

I thought the Raj/Howard story was just cartoonish.  Just replace the floor. 

That's easier said than done, and expensive to boot.  We had a house that had this problem, and we were able to put nails into the floor.  It quit squeaking.  There's a certain way to do it, but it can be done.   We recently moved again and have a squeaky floor upstairs.  You do try to avoid those spots!   It's annoying.

[Pepper the Cat]

Howard has lived most of his life in that room and is just finding out now that the floor squeaks? Doesn't make sense to me.

[anna0852]

Weird episode. That scene with Bernie and the crying baby at the beginning was from the last episode, when they were all talking about their holidays. 

I get the friction between Leonard and Penny and I was actually pleased to see it, it seems very true to life. But it was very poorly executed. As someone said above, it felt like scenes were missing.

I do like seeing Sheldon make an effort while staying Sheldon. I imagine that is tricky to write and potray but they seem to be doing it.

If I remember correctly, that bedroom had carpet and a lot more furniture when Howard lived there. The squeaking might not have been as noticeable. And he wouldn't have been concerned about waking up a baby at that time. 

[P3pp3rb1rd]

Another episode written in someone's sleep. I may have laughed once.

Bernadette and Howard have so much money they could quickly get a thick carpet installed in that bedroom, or they could hire a night baby nurse for awhile. If the baby isn't getting adequate milk from Bernadette, or if the baby has colic, she would cry a lot too--easily fixed by supplementing the diet with bottles. 

Howard's remark that he hoped the baby "would get as much sex in here as I did when I had the room" was really gross and seemed to be a whiff of pedophilia that tainted the ep.

[hnygrl]

I guess I'm on "team Leonard" on this one. She's done exactly nothing to keep the fires lit other than marry him. He's the one who did all the "work work work work work" and she just accepted his accolades as her due. Now that he's wooed and won her he feels like he can relax a little. We all know that's a huge "um, no playa, what you did to get her? You continue to do to keep her." But damn Penny...what have YOU done for HIM lately? Other than allow him to have sex with you?

Agree with everyone upthread. It felt like an act or two in the "Lenny" drama were missing.  But I'm still team Leonard.

The other storyline was meh. I get that replacing  a floor is hella expensive, but why can't they just lay carpet in that room? Thick carpet with a thick pad underneath? There. No squeaks, and bonus, when Halley gets older they won't have to worry so much about her falling on hardwood.

[EtheltoTillie]

37 minutes ago, P3pp3rb1rd said:

Another episode written in someone's sleep. I may have laughed once.

Howard's remark that he hoped the baby "would get as much sex in here as I did when I had the room" was really gross and seemed to be a whiff of pedophilia that tainted the ep.

No it was the opposite. He was now an overprotective dad who hoped his daughter got no sex, just as he did as a nerd. 

[Gulftastic]

I loved Sheldon and Amy's lovey dovey talk using formulas. I also appreciate that Sheldon is turning into a bit of a horn dog now he is enjoying living with Amy. 

Sheldon's excitement at getting to write a relationship agreement also got a laugh, then Amy topped it with her mandated laughter at the 'party' gag.

Raj and Howard, a couple of decent lines aside, was a  bit of a waste of time.

[madfortv]

I laughed out loud at Sheldon and Amy saying goodbye at the door and topping each other using algebra to say how much they would miss each other.

I enjoyed the entire show more than other recent episodes even the silliness with the squeaky floor.

[DrSpaceman73]

I realize it can be expensive to replace floors, but :

They inherited the house and have no house payment

They seem to have already redone most of the rest of the house after Howards mom died, had to have some money to fix it up already

They have free child care basically for the baby with Raj and Stuart while they both work at good jobs

I know its an excuse for the comedy gag, but still........more laziness by the writers. 

Or, as mentioned, just buy a big rug.  Or move the crib. 

[o-gal]

Putting down carpet is not going to fix the squeaks. At the most, they are not as noticeable. The correct way to fix a squeaky floor is to use screws, not nails. They even make screw kits that you can screw down through carpet, and the head breaks off flush with the floor/subfloor. But with any older house, new squeaks will develop over time.

And besides, you don't want to keep it deathly quiet for a baby, barring any medical conditions. Babies need to learn to adjust to the natural noises around them in the household. It might take awhile, but the baby will get used to the squeaks.

[proserpina65]

I've enjoyed this season so far, but last night's episode was lackluster.  Although Raj's various scenarios for Howard crossing the baby's room without touching the floor were amusing.

8 hours ago, P3pp3rb1rd said:

Howard's remark that he hoped the baby "would get as much sex in here as I did when I had the room" was really gross and seemed to be a whiff of pedophilia that tainted the ep.

I didn't get that at all, especially when he followed it up with "none".

[CherryAmes]

I completely forgot to tape this episode!  I'll have to wait til it shows up on my On demand. Oh well.

[CherryAmes]

11 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I didn't get that at all, especially when he followed it up with "none"

I know the show plays these comments for laughs and loves to suggest that "the nerds" never had sex but this just isn't true!  I can remember at least three different women cuddling up with Howard in his room: the 'whore from Omaha'; Leslie Winkle; Bernadette.  There  may have been a few others.  How many women does the average man expect to entertain in the bedroom of his parents house?  

[proserpina65]

7 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

I know the show plays these comments for laughs and loves to suggest that "the nerds" never had sex but this just isn't true!  I can remember at least three different women cuddling up with Howard in his room: the 'whore from Omaha'; Leslie Winkle; Bernadette.  There  may have been a few others.  How many women does the average man expect to entertain in the bedroom of his parents house?  

I completely forgot about any of that, apparently.  I was just going by what Howard said.

[CherryAmes]

4 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I completely forgot about any of that, apparently.  I was just going by what Howard said.

This is just another example of the writers going for a joke and rewriting the past.  Like the example we discussed in another thread about how Penny can be so stupid she can't use glue even though we can all give examples of this being completely untrue based on other episodes.  If a show stays on the air as long as BBT the writers need to remember that we're not just watching the new episodes we're seeing all the old ones in endless reruns on multiple channels!  You rewrite your character's backstory don't be surprised if we notice!

[Artsda]

I was Team Leonard with his voicing that he was the one making all the effort to do all the work. Even in that wine and favorite foods scene, it was Leonard that remembered what she said and her that was too drunk to remember.  

[CherryAmes]

Ok, just saw it.  (Yay On Demand).  Not a bad episode.  I liked that finally Penny and Leonard had their own story.  Totally Team Penny at least in the way Leonard was shown.  Sure he made the effort when he wanted Penny to be his girlfriend but seriously dude, texting her from the bathroom?  Sitting watching TV in his underwear?  So gross.  I've been married a lot longer than Penny and Leonard and if my husband started doing that we'd be having words too!!

[EVS]

26 minutes ago, Artsda said:

I was Team Leonard with his voicing that he was the one making all the effort to do all the work. Even in that wine and favorite foods scene, it was Leonard that remembered what she said and her that was too drunk to remember.  

Wasn't that a fantasy sequence imagined by Penny?

[ExplainItAgain]

13 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Weird episode. That scene with Bernie and the crying baby at the beginning was from the last episode, when they were all talking about their holidays. 

It had a "Previously..." tag on it and then flashed to the first scene with an "And now..." tag.

I enjoyed Amy and Sheldon's goodbye. I'm also personally with Sheldon - I don't get cucumber water! Ha.

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

I know the show plays these comments for laughs and loves to suggest that "the nerds" never had sex but this just isn't true!  I can remember at least three different women cuddling up with Howard in his room: the 'whore from Omaha'; Leslie Winkle; Bernadette.  There  may have been a few others.  How many women does the average man expect to entertain in the bedroom of his parents house?  

I thought it was clear that by 'none', Howard was referring to his non-existent sex life as a teenager, not as a grown adult.  I don't think they were trying to retcon the past.

Edited January 20, 2017 by AnnaRose

[CherryAmes]

Just now, AnnaRose said:

I thought it was clear that by 'none', Howard was referring to his non-existent sex life as a teenager, not as a grown adult.

Now that I've seen this episode I think you're right about that.  I agree with others that it's icky to say the least to speculate about the future sex life of your baby daughter, even if it's to hope she doesn't have one!

[hnygrl]

2 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I completely forgot to tape this episode!  I'll have to wait til it shows up on my On demand. Oh well.

Try CBS.com. It should be up by now.

[LoneHaranguer]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

Sure he made the effort when he wanted Penny to be his girlfriend but seriously dude, texting her from the bathroom?  Sitting watching TV in his underwear?  So gross.

In an earlier episode, he also expressed that now that he was married he could let himself go physically.

3 hours ago, o-gal said:

The correct way to fix a squeaky floor is to use screws, not nails.

There are also special nails you can try. Screws can be an issue if you're concerned about keeping a hardwood floor looking good, although it sounds like Howard's earlier efforts may have made that moot.

[BlossomCulp]

39 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

In an earlier episode, he also expressed that now that he was married he could let himself go physically.

Yep and there was another early episode where Penny and Sheldon have been working out together and Sheldon tells Leonard that Penny is trying a lot harder to stay in shape for him than he is for her!  That said I agree that Leonard maybe can relax a bit in the catering to Penny's every whim department but that wasn't really what she was annoyed about.  The stuff she talked about would have gotten me mad too.  And considering Leonard has always been insecure where Penny is concerned it seemed a little unlikely to me that he'd be quite that gross around her but I did think the writers managed to make this funny and thoughtful so I'll let that one go!!

43 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

The correct way to fix a squeaky floor is to use screws, not nails.

I'm more on Bernadette's Dad's side here, the only real solution most of the time is to pull up the floor and start over.  We threw a lot of time and money at trying to fix  squeaky floors in our last house and nothing really worked well.  Our ultimate solution was to sell the house and let someone else deal with it :).

[iMonrey]

Quote

I've been married a lot longer than Penny and Leonard and if my husband started doing that we'd be having words too!!

Sure but all it takes is "Honey, don't lay around the house in your underwear playing video games," or "please don't text me when you're on the toilet, it's gross." Letting it simmer then blowing up about it is the wrong approach. Maybe the relationship agreement will help.

Quote

I loved Sheldon and Amy's lovey dovey talk using formulas. I also appreciate that Sheldon is turning into a bit of a horn dog now he is enjoying living with Amy. 

I get that people are enjoying this "growth" in Sheldon but I find it wholly unrealistic and out of character that he would have a giant make-out session with Amy just saying goodbye to her for the weekend right in front of Leonard and Penny. 

[BlossomCulp]

3 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Sure but all it takes is "Honey, don't lay around the house in your underwear playing video games," or "please don't text me when you're on the toilet, it's gross." Letting it simmer then blowing up about it is the wrong approach. Maybe the relationship agreement will help.

Most sitcom arguments could be resolved if the people involved were straightforward and clear from the start.  Sitcoms that handle problems this way probably don't stay on the air for 10 years though :).

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Sure but all it takes is "Honey, don't lay around the house in your underwear playing video games," or "please don't text me when you're on the toilet, it's gross." Letting it simmer then blowing up about it is the wrong approach. Maybe the relationship agreement will help.

I get that people are enjoying this "growth" in Sheldon but I find it wholly unrealistic and out of character that he would have a giant make-out session with Amy just saying goodbye to her for the weekend right in front of Leonard and Penny. 

I think they were trying to show up Penny and Leonard's relationship. Kind of like "see WE have our shit together and you don't".

[3 is enough]

Don't know if this has been addressed yet, but I have to say that I love the fact that we have not actually seen Howard and Bernadette's baby.  I just find it refreshing that they are acknowledging the fact that Howard and Bernadette are parents without dragging out a baby that would obviously be too old to be a newborn.

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

Don't know if this has been addressed yet, but I have to say that I love the fact that we have not actually seen Howard and Bernadette's baby.  I just find it refreshing that they are acknowledging the fact that Howard and Bernadette are parents without dragging out a baby that would obviously be too old to be a newborn.

Well we never saw Howard's mom either. I think it's clever.

[mojoween]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I get that people are enjoying this "growth" in Sheldon but I find it wholly unrealistic and out of character that he would have a giant make-out session with Amy just saying goodbye to her for the weekend right in front of Leonard and Penny. 

God yes.  I personally hate that Sheldon is like that now.  It's gross.  I want asexual Sheldon back!

And if there are so many mandates in the relationship agreement, what other things are getting faked?

My husband texts me from the bathroom all of the time.  It doesn't bug me, I know what goes on in there.

[abstractstuff]

I find it amusing that a spouse sitting around in their underwear or texting from the bathroom is considered horrible. 

[BlossomCulp]

Texting from the bathroom is just not necessary for one thing - and if not horrible it's certainly just a little too casual.  And sitting around burping in your underwear is just not on around this house that's for sure!   If Penny has a problem with it that should be enough of a reason for Leonard to stop.  Although really with the was friends drop in on them constantly you'd think that would be motivation enough for Leonard to keep his pants on!

With regard to the bathroom texting I can remember when cell phones were still a bit of a novelty and being grossed out by people calling others from public bathrooms.  Especially the gal who was obviously talking to someone about setting up a job interview.  I always wondered what the person on the other end of the line thought about hearing toilets flushing as she talked to that potential candidate!

Edited January 20, 2017 by BlossomCulp

[LoneHaranguer]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Well we never saw Howard's mom either. I think it's clever.

We eventually got a glimpse of her in the episode where Raj checks in on her while Howard is away. A couple of frame captures can be found through google.

[peacheslatour]

11 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

We eventually got a glimpse of her in the episode where Raj checks in on her while Howard is away. A couple of frame captures can be found through google.

Oh, I'm sure we'll see flashes of the baby too. Once we saw the back of Maris' head on Frasier. 

[Browncoat]

Unless you're texting someone to bring toilet paper, I see no reason to text from the bathroom.  In fact, unless you have a ginormous house, just yell at the other person to bring toilet paper.  There's really no need for a phone of any type in the bathroom, imo.

[ginger90]

When ICQ was a thing, (way back in the day!!) my kids used to message each other just a few feet apart. So, the texting from the bathroom isn't surprising to me.

[SmithW6079]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

God yes.  I personally hate that Sheldon is like that now.  It's gross.  I want asexual Sheldon back!

Every time I see sexual Amy and Sheldon, I'm repulsed and grossed out.

I know it was crude, but I laughed out loud at Leonard's belch and then his comment that he burped so hard he died in his game.

[needschocolate]

If I have to take sides in the Leonard and Penny argument, I am on Team Leonard, mostly because it seems like Penny has always taken Leonard for granted and because she shouldn't just sulk off and refuse to talk about it. I am glad that the relationship agreement includes "Penny cannot say 'Don't worry about it." Penny cannot say, 'It's fine.' And Penny cannot say "Don't worry about it, I told you it's fine." (or something close to that).

The part that bugged me was that I wish the Sheldon and Leonard conversation would have gone like this-

Sheldon: They are still having girls' night across the hall.

Leonard: Come hang out with me.  We'll have boys' night.

Sheldon: Okay.  Why do we call it "boys' night"? Shouldn't we call it "men's night"?

Leonard: For the same reason we don't call what is happening across the hall "women's night."

or - Leonard: But then we would have to call it "women's night."

Yeah, it was just a set-up for the comic book punchline, but this is a pet peeve of mine.  

[kat165]

I have a question about the layout of the Wolowitz house. It's been bugging me for years now and the opening scene in this ep brings it to mind again. Bernie is seen coming out of some room, to upper left of our screen, and into the living room area. The baby is in that other room. But when we see the baby's room later on it's upstairs, Howard's old room. Now the room Bernie comes out of is also the same room - or rather doorway - that Stuart used when he was tending Debbie after she'd broken her leg. But according the Thanksgiving ep a couple seasons ago (when we also find out Penny is married to Zack) that door should lead to the dining room and/or the kitchen. The kitchen is just off of the diningroom. So what room is it that Bernie is seen walking out of at the beginning of this ep? What am I missing here?

[theatremouse]

If you mean in the "Previously" clip at the beginning, Bernie is walking out of the dining room into the living room. She was coming from trying to feed the baby and based on her path was presumably either doing so in the dining room or kitchen. So she either went kitchen to dining to living, or just dining to living room in that clip.

Edited January 21, 2017 by theatremouse

[AnnaRose]

I always thought that was the dining room.  I wondered why the baby was in there.  I figured they must have a bassinet or something in there that they use when they're all downstairs.  I don't have kids, so I may be way off base here.   Do people still use bassinets?  I'm guessing it just makes filming easier to leave it all vague, and also to not have to hire twins or triplets to show the baby.

[shapeshifter]

On January 19, 2017 at 8:45 PM, PinkRibbons said:

. . . Also I thought about it for two minutes: MOVE THE CRIB. I thought that if anything the last episode suggested they would start cosleeping with Halley, and at the very least, having her crib in her parents' room would save them a lot of lost sleep. Babies really don't need whole rooms to themselves -- maybe just places to stash their stuff.

Having Stewart move the crib near the door could have been a great visual punchline to the fluorescent Twister sight gags.

Sheldon and Amy's groping and smooching grosses me out, but then so do most other on-screen sex scenes. When Sheldon (and Amy at first) disdained sex, they were speaking for me as far as what I want to see on TV. Exceptions to that rule seem to be when the couple are also in the early stages of an off-screen romance, which I find out about after seeing the scene, so my reaction is not based on approval based on any prior knowledge of a relationship IRL.

[kat165]

Thanks, theatremouse & AnnaRose. Yeah, I did mean in the previously. Which it made
no sense, to me, to include that. It wasn't even connected to the story in any way. It
was just a timewaster, and they waste enough of the actual showtime with commercials.

I guess when Mrs. W was in there they'd had a bed or cot set up in the dining room cause
with a broken leg she wouldn't be able to manage the stairs.

[MissLucas]

Bit lackluster. I expect an engineer to know how to fix a squeaky floor. Sheldon and Amy were the best part of the episode. And Sheldon's failure to appreciate the allure of cucumber water was priceless (I'm with you on that Godzilla).

Edited January 21, 2017 by MissLucas

[CherryAmes]

22 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

I expect an engineer to know how to fix a squeaky floor.

My husband is an engineer and he couldn't handle ours!  We had to eventually bring in "floor guys" who did resolve the problem.  I don't remember how but it worked.

Anyway they've got a history on this show of trying to fix simple problems with complicated solutions that get out of hand so I thought the floor storyline was a nice shout out to earlier episodes in that respect (not that a squeaky floor is a simple problem but there were other obvious solutions).  Aside from all else does the baby HAVE to be in Howard's old room at all?  Surely a house that size has at the very least a third bedroom.