S10.E23: The Gyroscopic Collapse

[TheOtherOne]

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"The Gyroscopic Collapse" - After Leonard, Sheldon and Wolowitz celebrate the completion of the top secret air force project, they are met with an unpleasant surprise. Also, Amy is offered a summer position as a visiting researcher, on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Thursday, May 4 (8:00-8:31 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

[anna0852]

This was a good episode. Sheldon was so good about Amy going to Princeton. And I loved Bernie and Howard admitting they both have quirks about ending projects.

$10 says Amy comes back visibly pregnant from that send off.

[Spartan Girl]

I can't believe we actually heard them doing it. As funny as it was, I'm a little grossed out.

All things considered, Sheldon was trying to be supportive. And it's always nice when he genuinely appreciates Amy.

[Nordly Beaumont]

I liked when Sheldon told Amy the luggage could survive a plane crash so she should fly inside it. Cute.

[Traveller519]

I must bear witness to the talents of the Rostenkowski-Wolowitz Ballroom Dancing team!

[mojoween]

I genuinely laughed several times so I take it as a win.

I did feel badly for Stuart because I can only assume he was left behind at the house watching Halley when everyone else was at the "end of phase one" party.

[jjj]

I was so sure that Raj was going to be in  Apartment 3A by the end of the episode.  They make decent salaries at Cal Tech -- no need to live above a garage with a drum set.  Even Penny could afford an apartment in that building when she was a waitress.   

[anna0852]

Raj thinks that building is a dump. He said so several episodes ago. But it would make for easier storylines to put him in 3A. I fear now we'll have more Burt and while he's entertaining, he's like Kripke. We only need him for a couple episodes a season.

I'm guessing the Princeton storyline was coverage in case contract negotiations didn't work out Mayim. So glad they did though. Can't imagine how they would have written out Bernie if Melissa didn't re-sign.

 I just adored Sheldon tonight. He was trying *so* hard and without prompting to be supportive, even though this will totally rock his world. Can you imagine the reaction from Sheldon circa season 4-5?

[Sarah 103]

35 minutes ago, jjj said:

I was so sure that Raj was going to be in  Apartment 3A by the end of the episode.  They make decent salaries at Cal Tech -- no need to live above a garage with a drum set.  Even Penny could afford an apartment in that building when she was a waitress.   

Me too. My thought was, oh so this is how Raj and Stuart become roommates. 

[AnnaRose]

27 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

Raj thinks that building is a dump. He said so several episodes ago. But it would make for easier storylines to put him in 3A. I fear now we'll have more Burt and while he's entertaining, he's like Kripke. We only need him for a couple episodes a season.

I'm guessing the Princeton storyline was coverage in case contract negotiations didn't work out Mayim. So glad they did though. Can't imagine how they would have written out Bernie if Melissa didn't re-sign.

 I just adored Sheldon tonight. He was trying *so* hard and without prompting to be supportive, even though this will totally rock his world. Can you imagine the reaction from Sheldon circa season 4-5?

I was thinking the same thing about the contract negotiations.  I'm glad they got them worked out.  I think Amy and Bernadette are just as much main characters as the original cast.  Probably even more so than Raj these days.  

I loved Sheldon too.  And his comment about the suitcase literally made me laugh out loud.  I love how much he cares for Amy.  Who woulda thunk it?

And I'm with you... Burt is good for several episodes a season like Kripke... but I don't want him part of the gang all the time.

[SmithW6079]

"The Big Bang Theory" has almost always treated the summer hiatus in real time. The Arctic trip, Leonard's research voyage -- all sent someone away for three months or so. That's the impression I got for Amy's opportunity too. I hadn't heard there were any acrimonious contract negotiations going on.

I too thought Raj would end up in Apt. 3A, but I thought it would be with roommate Sheldon,  who would need company during Amy's time away.

Leonard's talk with Sheldon is one of the reasons why he's my favorite character. For all his digs at Sheldon, Leonard genuinely cares about him. We've seen it on several occasions. For example, the episode where Sheldon ends up in the ballpit because he's frustrated by a problem he can't figure out. Security calls Leonard to come get Sheldon. Leonard's "oh, Shelly" when he sees Sheldon, to me,  speaks volumes  about their friendship.

Edited May 5, 2017 by SmithW6079

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, jjj said:

I was so sure that Raj was going to be in  Apartment 3A by the end of the episode.  They make decent salaries at Cal Tech -- no need to live above a garage with a drum set.  Even Penny could afford an apartment in that building when she was a waitress.   

I still think it's Chekhov's Empty Apartment; it's just that it's a story arc longer than one episode.

ETA: Perhaps more accurately it would be Chekhov's Empty Apartment Set.

Edited May 5, 2017 by shapeshifter

[Sarah 103]

6 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

I too thought Raj would end up in Apt. 3A, but I thought it would be with roommate Sheldon,  who would need company during Amy's time away.

I don't think Raj would ever agree to live with Sheldon. He knows too much/knows what he would be getting into. If Sheldon wants company, he can just go across the hall. 

[Snarklepuss]

I wonder if they were featuring the empty apartment just so they could have something to use should they decide over the hiatus perhaps based on how contract negotiations went to put people from the cast in it.  Maybe the love of Raj's life will move into it and the rest will be history as they say.

Or if Amy comes back from Princeton pregnant, they could be holding the apartment open so she and Sheldon can move into it because they'll need the extra room.

Although living in a walk-up with a baby would be a nightmare (ask my mom, she did it).  That could result in them pushing management to repair the elevator.

[Tyrone Biggums]

I fully acknowledge that I'm a terrible person for saying this.  It requires saying, though.

Galecki's face seems to be getting wider and wider by the episode.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's just me.  He was rocking serious double-chin in this episode.

Also? Enough of Raj.  He's been an intolerable whiner all season, and I almost actively mute the TV whenever he speaks.  

[Snarklepuss]

16 minutes ago, Tyrone Biggums said:

Galecki's face seems to be getting wider and wider by the episode.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's just me.  He was rocking serious double-chin in this episode.

No, it's not just you.  I almost mentioned it myself.  It's twice as wide as 2 seasons ago.  Yikes.

[rmontro]

6 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

I liked when Sheldon told Amy the luggage could survive a plane crash so she should fly inside it. Cute.

That was cute, although of course the physics don't work out.  If they did, we'd probably all be flying inside crates.

So they work on the guidance system all this time, the air force takes over the project, and that's the end of it.  I thought there might be a little more of a payoff to this storyline since it seems like it's been going on forever.  Seems anticlimactic.  I really thought they were going to take the project from them because they didn't seem to be taking any effort to keep it secret, they were blabbing about it to anyone who would listen.  I even thought we might see the return of Joyce Kim.

[Ms Lark]

5 hours ago, jjj said:

I was so sure that Raj was going to be in  Apartment 3A by the end of the episode.  They make decent salaries at Cal Tech -- no need to live above a garage with a drum set.  Even Penny could afford an apartment in that building when she was a waitress. 

Sheldon and Amy could move into 3A and Raj could take over Penny's apartment.

[SmithW6079]

3 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Sheldon and Amy could move into 3A and Raj could take over Penny's apartment.

But then we'd be subjected to Raj dropping in all the time, while Sheldon and Amy had to continually climb a flight of stairs. 

[AriAu]

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I liked when Sheldon told Amy the luggage could survive a plane crash so she should fly inside it. Cute.

That was actually the perfect Sheldon caring line-a little too smart until then it hits you- and very well delivered.

I thought it was a good episode, but really lacked energy. They all move at Amy's sorta plodding speed.

And I will tell you that while Howard and Bernadette were cute, I miss skeevy Howard since skeevy Howard was much funnier!

[DrSpaceman73]

6 hours ago, rmontro said:

That was cute, although of course the physics don't work out.  If they did, we'd probably all be flying inside crates.

So they work on the guidance system all this time, the air force takes over the project, and that's the end of it.  I thought there might be a little more of a payoff to this storyline since it seems like it's been going on forever.  Seems anticlimactic.  I really thought they were going to take the project from them because they didn't seem to be taking any effort to keep it secret, they were blabbing about it to anyone who would listen.  I even thought we might see the return of Joyce Kim.

The more I think about it, the more this makes sense on what happened with that project. 

They are the basic scientistists, except for Howard, they come up with the idea and work on building the prototype.  It would make sense to me that from there the AIr Force probably has other.......Sheldon won't want to hear it, but ENGINEERS, that mainly take over from there. 

However I don't think it would be as extreme as them just showing up and everything being gone and them being done.  I would think it would be more of a transition, where they no longer do day to day work on the project but are more consultants that are asked questions when needed as the project proceeds. 

The Sheldon-Amy plot was actually pretty good.  As annoying as Sheldon is on this show, he, as an actor and as a character, is the best as showing growth and true sentiment when needed.  That has happened  a number of times. 

I too thought Raj would stay in apartment 3A. 

really seems like they were just stretching for Howard, Bernadette and Kelly here for something for them to do and say. 

[Twilight Man]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 1:33 AM, Sarah 103 said:

I don't think Raj would ever agree to live with Sheldon. He knows too much/knows what he would be getting into.

There was that one time when Leonard was dating Raj's sister, Priya, who was living with Raj.  Raj and Leonard decided to switch living quarters temporarily (after Sheldon constructed a "temporary roommate agreement", of course).  Raj not only did not seem to mind; he performed "above and beyond" the requirement for being a roommate that Sheldon was considering making the switch more permanent. For a man who hates change, that's saying something.

Edited May 6, 2017 by Twilight Man

[Gulftastic]

They had a two year contract with the military or something, didn't they? Will they still get paid, even though they've had everything confiscated? Part of the point of the project was for Howard to secure a financial future for Halley.

[LoneHaranguer]

12 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Can't imagine how they would have written out Bernie if Melissa didn't re-sign.

I suspect the producers were only prepared to write out Amy and use that money to keep Melissa, with plan B being to cut the number of episodes both would be appearing in. The next episode may prove me wrong.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I still think it's Chekhov's Empty Apartment; it's just that it's a story arc longer than one episode.

Agreed. Was this the season finale?

Favorite line: Sheldon: "What if I become eccentric and strange?" LOL.

[Traveller519]

3A is interesting to just be sitting there empty. The larger space would certainly be conducive to having two people in it. While it was a great gag after the emptying of the lab, and worked well to represent Sheldon's emptiness, I hope it serves a bigger purpose going forward, though what that would be I'm not sure. It would certainly be an easier set to dress every week than another one for Raj's new apartment.

[mojoween]

It bothers me that the empty apartment wasn't locked.

[msrachelj]

Did I miss something? What happened to Raj's dog?

[Babalooie]

17 hours ago, Tyrone Biggums said:

Galecki's face seems to be getting wider and wider by the episode

Look at Jimmy Fallon compared to his SNL days.  Galecki is 41 years old.  Aging happens.

[rmontro]

14 hours ago, Gulftastic said:

They had a two year contract with the military or something, didn't they? Will they still get paid, even though they've had everything confiscated? 

They completed their assignment, so they will be paid.  I'm pretty sure they weren't being paid by the hour, they had a two year deadline.

[wendyg]

There should be one more episode this season. They usually do 24.

[CherryAmes]

19 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Was this the season finale?

No, the finale is going to feature that girl, Ramona, the one who helped Sheldon out years ago and turned out to be super pushy.

[Snarklepuss]

On 5/5/2017 at 5:10 AM, Ms Lark said:

Sheldon and Amy could move into 3A and Raj could take over Penny's apartment.

Yeah, but how could Raj afford Penny's old place when the whole idea behind him moving in with other people is because he now can't afford his own apartment?  That wouldn't be consistent.

[CherryAmes]

I guess Sheldon and Leonard are in those apartments because they want to be not because they can't afford to move because if Bert a geology professor can afford a house with an apartment over the garage then it doesn't make sense that the other guys are still in the apartments they rented when they started work at the university.

[Chaos Theory]

12 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

I guess Sheldon and Leonard are in those apartments because they want to be not because they can't afford to move because if Bert a geology professor can afford a house with an apartment over the garage then it doesn't make sense that the other guys are still in the apartments they rented when they started work at the university.

Is there rent control in California?  

I could definitely see people staying in apartments that are rent controlled especially if they are in an area that is close to stuff they like like the comic book store etc.

It would be awful for Sheldon to find new stuff that was acceptable to him.

[LaChavalina]

On May 5, 2017 at 1:27 AM, shapeshifter said:

I still think it's Chekhov's Empty Apartment; it's just that it's a story arc longer than one episode.

ETA: Perhaps more accurately it would be Chekhov's Empty Apartment Set.

I'll take a stab at connecting the dots. Next episode, Ramona is the new tenant to move into 3A. This sparks the season-ending cliffhanger, i.e. is it a coincidence or has she been waiting for the chance to move in on Sheldon? The B-plot will be Raj moves in with Bert and is miserable. The opening episodes of S11 will deal with the gang trying to get rid of Ramona. They will eventually succeed. Meanwhile, Raj experiences some change in fortune and eventually ends up in 3A (maybe with Stuart) once Ramona is gone.

[SmithW6079]

35 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

I guess Sheldon and Leonard are in those apartments because they want to be not because they can't afford to move because if Bert a geology professor can afford a house with an apartment over the garage then it doesn't make sense that the other guys are still in the apartments they rented when they started work at the university.

Bert was awarded the MacArthur Genius Grant. I assumed the down payment came from that. 

[Snarklepuss]

10 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I guess Sheldon and Leonard are in those apartments because they want to be not because they can't afford to move because if Bert a geology professor can afford a house with an apartment over the garage then it doesn't make sense that the other guys are still in the apartments they rented when they started work at the university.

I thought the show attempted to make sense out of keeping them all in the building by using the excuse of Sheldon's aversion to change.  Supposedly he would never consider leaving his apartment and pretty much begged Leonard and Penny not to move away so they just ended up staying in her old apartment until they made the switch to the bigger apartment last season when Amy moved in with Sheldon, again, which was preferable to Sheldon than them moving out of the building altogether.

[rmontro]

8 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

I thought the show attempted to make sense out of keeping them all in the building by using the excuse of Sheldon's aversion to change.

You're right of course, but when you think about it you wonder how they ever got him to move out of Texas, or his mother's house for that matter.

[CherryAmes]

10 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

I thought the show attempted to make sense out of keeping them all in the building by using the excuse of Sheldon's aversion to change.  Supposedly he would never consider leaving his apartment and pretty much begged Leonard and Penny not to move away so they just ended up staying in her old apartment until they made the switch to the bigger apartment last season when Amy moved in with Sheldon, again, which was preferable to Sheldon than them moving out of the building altogether.

That's true of course but I guess I was thinking about it more from the financial angle and the way the writers have spent so much time making us think the university pays peanuts.  Howard has a house because he inherited it.  Raj can't afford to live anywhere nice on his own now that his father doesn't support him and Leonard and Sheldon are still in the same apartment (technically) that they've been in since they first landed at the university.  For the sake of the continuity of the show this makes sense, in terms of what they should be able to afford at this point in their lives though it doesn't.  

[BlossomCulp]

20 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Bert was awarded the MacArthur Genius Grant. I assumed the down payment came from that. 

I don't think so.  Unless I missed something this is never stated in the show.  That grant has long since been spent on his hot young girlfriend anyhow!

Edited May 7, 2017 by BlossomCulp

[Snarklepuss]

2 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

That's true of course but I guess I was thinking about it more from the financial angle and the way the writers have spent so much time making us think the university pays peanuts.  Howard has a house because he inherited it.  Raj can't afford to live anywhere nice on his own now that his father doesn't support him and Leonard and Sheldon are still in the same apartment (technically) that they've been in since they first landed at the university.  For the sake of the continuity of the show this makes sense, in terms of what they should be able to afford at this point in their lives though it doesn't.  

Oh I agree, I was just pointing out the flimsy excuse the show is using to justify them still being there.  I think the show is going to great lengths to make them staying there look plausible, even if they have to twist reality around by downplaying what scientists earn in order to do it, which is ridiculous of course because we all know better.

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

That's true of course but I guess I was thinking about it more from the financial angle and the way the writers have spent so much time making us think the university pays peanuts. 

Funny thing is, the one advantageous thing in the "nerd stereotype" is that they end up making decent money.  Yet this show likes to portray the guys as broke.  Kind of strange.

As for their staying in that apartment building, I don't see anything that odd about it.  Seems like a nice enough place, aside from the elevator.  Why would they move?  Now if Penny (or Amy for that matter!) gets pregnant, maybe they might want some more space, but even then they probably wouldn't really need it unless they start having multiple kids.

[BlossomCulp]

For the purposes of the show it makes sense that they stay where they are but IRL?  Not so much.  I know very few people pushing 40, hmm, actually none, who are still living in the same place they moved into when they got their first job after university.  Some moved a lot, some only moved when they bought their first house and moved on later only if they were relocated out of the area or if they moved to bigger and better digs.  I think for people in the age group and salary range that these guys are in it's more likely than not that they would have moved from rental to home ownership, if for no other reason than investing their money rather than continuing to rent but I realise that reflecting reality isn't a strong suit of most TV shows.  Apartments lend themselves better to sets and movement of cast and interactions with others.

Edited May 8, 2017 by BlossomCulp

[LoneHaranguer]

On 5/7/2017 at 7:40 AM, rmontro said:

You're right of course, but when you think about it you wonder how they ever got him to move out of Texas, or his mother's house for that matter.

Sheldon likes to have things his way; that wasn't going to happen living at home. He was happy to escape being forced to watch football by his father.

[Gbb]

On 5/5/2017 at 0:26 AM, SmithW6079 said:

"The Big Bang Theory" has almost always treated the summer hiatus in real time. The Arctic trip, Leonard's research voyage -- all sent someone away for three months or so. That's the impression I got for Amy's opportunity too. I hadn't heard there were any acrimonious contract negotiations going on.

This past year they didn't (Lenny's wedding) so maybe they'll do the same thing this year and pretend the hiatus didn't happen.  I agree the summer trip for Amy leaves them the option to skip ahead.

[MakingBacon]

I think it makes complete sense they are still living in apartments. They live in Pasadena, California. To buy a semi-nice house in a semi-decent neighborhood is going to be expensive. They would probably have to go deep into the valley to find something nice below $750k. None of them would be buying in Pasadena for sure. I know many professionals here in Southern California living in apartments because they don't really have a choice. Houses are expensive here and most people don't  want a long, time consuming commute. Plus, people who live in Pasadena seems to love it and not want to move away. 

[John Potts]

On ‎06‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 3:23 PM, CherryAmes said:

No, the finale is going to feature that girl, Ramona

What, Rikki "Garfunkel" Lindholm?

That aside, I loved that Sheldon's response to Amy getting a job at Princeton was, "You have to take it!" rather than insisting how much any alteration would inconvenience him. Maybe one day he'll actually understand real emotions!

Edited May 16, 2017 by John Potts