S01.E08: Cape Canaveral, Schrodinger's Cat and Cyndi Lauper's Hair

[formerlyfreedom]

In an attempt to bond with Sheldon, George Sr. takes the boys on a road trip to see a space shuttle launch. Also, Mary, Missy and Meemaw have a girls' weekend at the salon.

[chocolatine]

There was no thread for tonight's episode so I'm starting one.

Very bittersweet episode. I loved that Sheldon said it was the best trip he'd ever taken. Family road trips are like pizza - even when they're bad, they're good.

I'm sad for Missy that she automatically gets excluded from all the "boys" activities. She seems like the kind of kid who would have a blast on a fishing or camping trip.

Spoiler

And it must be all the more devastating for her when George dies that she did't get to spend as much time with him as her brothers did.

 

Apparently Meemaw isn't just mean to George, she also compares her own daughter to Adolf Hitler. While she's great with the kids, I don't like how they write her with George and Mary. Too hostile for a sitcom.

[jewel21]

That ending was sad with the Sheldon v.o. saying he had wished he had told his father before he died that it was the best trip ever.

I loved Missy's sleeping position with her leg sticking straight out of the bed, heh. She greatly amuses me.

[SparklesBitch]

That last line tonight - Sheldon saying that trip was the best he ever had and that he wished he would have told his dad that before he died....I teared up, I admit it. 

It’s a small thing, but I loved that Mary’s reaction to Missy going to a shooting range was no, but not because she’s a girl, but only because she’s too young. As a girl that grew up being the only kid in my family who loved going to the shooting range with my dad, I thought that was a great touch. Yay for Meemaw taking her and yay for Mary not automatically disallowing it because she’s a girl. 

I also really enjoyed George asking Sheldon for an explanation of the thunderstorm and then affectionately watching Sheldon as he explained it all. Very sweet. 

Georgie keeps growing on me with each episode and his self-satisfied grin after he told them to crack a window in the car cracked me up. He’s a cute kid. 

I’m surprised that Sheldon would agree to sleep in a hotel bed at all. 

Also, not going to lie, I thought that the first scene of post-coital Mary and George was super cute. They were affectionate and discussed their kids and it all seemed very normal and real. 

I’m very, very curious now about the history of Mary’s childhood. Sounds like she got stuck taking care of her siblings a lot and resents it. She also defended her dad pretty readily.....so we know what happened to him? 

I liked a lot of the dialogue in this one too. Some of my favorites: 

George on Sheldon: “That ball is already pretty odd.”

and when they can’t find him: 

“Maybe he finally got that time machine to work.”

Meemaw talking about “giving it up” to John Glenn: 

Missy: “Given what up?”

Mary: “Her allowance. Just eat!”

And lastly, more Missy and Mary: 

Missy: “I want to be more like Madonna.”

Mary: “Are you trying to kill me? Because if you are, good job.”

Lol!! 

[Mystery]

I loved Missy yelling about how hot her head was under that dryer. 

[Bobbin]

BBT Mary talks about Georgie and Missy being as dumb as a sack of rocks, and they may seem that way compared to Sheldon, but from what we've seen, they're just normal kids. And George may be no Fred Rogers (who is?), but he's a decent husband and father doing the best he can. As a retired teacher, I can say that teaching a classroom of kids with an extreme range of needs is a challenge, let alone raising them. There's a lesson here that things are not exactly as Mary remembers them.

[OtterMommy]

13 minutes ago, Bobbin said:

BBT Mary talks about Georgie and Missy being as dumb as a sack of rocks, and they may seem that way compared to Sheldon, but from what we've seen, they're just normal kids. And George may be no Fred Rogers (who is?), but he's a decent husband and father doing the best he can. As a retired teacher, I can say that teaching a classroom of kids with an extreme range of needs is a challenge, let alone raising them. There's a lesson here that things are not exactly as Mary remembers them.

Taking my response to the YS/TBBT thread....

[Spartan Girl]

I hated sharing a hotel bed with my brother when we were kids, so I could relate to Georgie and Sheldon in that scene.

Big aww at George Sr. trying to distract Sheldon from his disappointment over the launch getting rained out by asking him about how lightning works.

"That was the best trip I ever went on...I just wish I told my father before he died." That killed me.

[Quark]

I love this show.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I completely forgot about those Fotomat huts!

Annie Potts looks too young/"good" to be Mary's mom! How has this woman not aged? And it looks as if she has not had work done. 

But she's doing a great job. Although, yes, she could be a little nicer to the adults. 

[Gulftastic]

Are they pulling a bit of 'Goldbergs' with the timelines? I had it set in about 1989 and I don't think a girl Missy's age would have been into Cyndi Lauper by then. Madonna, I can see as she'd just released her finest ever album ('Like A Prayer').

Loved Sheldon and his Dad. It's going to be sad watching him start having an affair and drinking too much before he dies. That's if they follow the BBT timeline, of course.

[madpsych78]

20 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

I’m very, very curious now about the history of Mary’s childhood. Sounds like she got stuck taking care of her siblings a lot and resents it. She also defended her dad pretty readily.....so we know what happened to him? 

 

Me too. Based on MeeMaw, it seems to me that Mary likely converted to conservative Christianity later in life, rather than being born into it. MeeMaw seems more progressive than Mary. 

I also loved Sheldon and his Dad.

Edited December 16, 2017 by madpsych78

[Gothish520]

13 hours ago, Quark said:

I love this show.

DITTO.

From George and Mary's afterglow conversation to Jim Parson's final voiceover, this was a pretty perfect episode from stem to stern.

The show is definitely getting me in the feels. It's the yin to the Big Bang Theory's yang. Kudos to Jim Parsons and everyone involved. Despite being a huge fan of Sheldon and the flagship, when I first heard the plans for this all I could think was how wrong this could go. But they've really pulled it off.

[SparklesBitch]

18 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

Me too. Based on MeeMaw, it seems to me that Mary likely converted to conservative Christianity later in life, rather than being born into it. MeeMaw seems more progressive than Mary. 

Exactly!! I want to know how Mary got from point A to point B. 

[Helena Dax]

The natural end of this show should be the moment when Sheldon goes to college, at 11 years old. I mean, it's actually a show about the Coopers and once Sheldon is in college, it can't work anymore. So hopefully, we'll never get to see George's alcoholism or his death. That belongs to another kind of story. 

I enjoyed the episode a lot, but I didn't like the gender dynamics. I get that Missy had fun, good for her. But I was seeing a scenario that would have destroyed me as a child. It would have broken me forever. So yeah, not very fond of that part. 

[babyhouseman]

21 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

 

She also defended her dad pretty readily.....so we know what happened to him? 

 

I'm going to address this in the BBT/YS thread.

 

I'm with Sheldon as not being an animal person. His "as long as I don't have to touch the cow" was funny.  And I had a fishing trip with my grandparents where I waved the fish around in the air on the line not wanting to touch it. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

The natural end of this show should be the moment when Sheldon goes to college, at 11 years old. I mean, it's actually a show about the Coopers and once Sheldon is in college, it can't work anymore.

Where did he go to college? Out of state? 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Where did he go to college? Out of state? 

Responding in TBBT/YS thread....

[Sarah 103]

On December 14, 2017 at 11:18 PM, chocolatine said:

I'm sad for Missy that she automatically gets excluded from all the "boys" activities. She seems like the kind of kid who would have a blast on a fishing or camping trip.

I hope Missy gets to spend some time with her dad. I would love to see what they dynamic is between them. Maybe there could be some sort of father/daughter event at school or church. 

On December 15, 2017 at 1:03 AM, Bobbin said:

BBT Mary talks about Georgie and Missy being as dumb as a sack of rocks, and they may seem that way compared to Sheldon, but from what we've seen, they're just normal kids. 

I think that Sheldon is Mary's favorite. Not in a mean way, but in the way that Georgie is his father's favorite, and it seems Missy has spent time alone with Mee-Maw away from her siblings. 

On December 15, 2017 at 9:40 AM, Gulftastic said:

Are they pulling a bit of 'Goldbergs' with the timelines? I had it set in about 1989 and I don't think a girl Missy's age would have been into Cyndi Lauper by then.

My guess is that because she had an older sibling, she was exposed to music/things that she may not have heard otherwise. She may have liked it. Maybe there was a picture of Cyndi Lauper in a magazine that Georgie was reading and the image stuck with Missy.

Also, I was surprised and impressed with how much George knew about Sheldon's eating habits. I think it's great that he's so aware of what Sheldon likes and dislikes. 

Edited December 17, 2017 by Sarah 103

[Calamity Jane]

I am surprised that I love this show so much - I held off watching it for a few weeks because I was so afraid it would be so disappointing.  My only reservation now is that it will get weird as young Sheldon approaches adolescence and goes to college - doesn't he just become Sheldon then?  And how do they pull that off?  But I am now willing to sit back and enjoy it, no matter where it ends up.  One of my great fears was that they would make as big a mis-step in the casting of Meemaw as they did on BBT, but they pulled off a miracle with Annie Potts.  Woohoo!!

[TV Diva Queen]

I just love this show. (had to say that first).  :)  I can't get over how the mother on this show has Laurie Metcalf's voice, both sound and intonation down pat.  I keep thinking its a voice over.  

[ItCouldBeWorse]

46 minutes ago, TV Diva Queen said:

I just love this show. (had to say that first).  :)  I can't get over how the mother on this show has Laurie Metcalf's voice, both sound and intonation down pat.  I keep thinking its a voice over.  

You know it's her real-life daughter?

[Katy M]

On ‎12‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 9:45 PM, Helena Dax said:

The natural end of this show should be the moment when Sheldon goes to college, at 11 years old. I mean, it's actually a show about the Coopers and once Sheldon is in college, it can't work anymore. So hopefully, we'll never get to see George's alcoholism or his death. That belongs to another kind of story. 

I have a feeling that if the show gets to the point where Sheldon is 11, he just won't be going to college yet.  They're 9 now, so that's only 2 years.  In this show, he will probably stay in high school for 4.

[Driad]

He could stay 9 for more than one season.  Look at the Simpsons.

[chitowngirl]

Depends on much the kids grow! Bart, Lisa, and Maggie don't have those problems.

[TV Diva Queen]

20 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

You know it's her real-life daughter?

Get out!!!!!!   I have no idea AT ALL!!!!  thank you.  

[OtterMommy]

6 hours ago, Driad said:

He could stay 9 for more than one season.  Look at the Simpsons.

Yes, but the Simpsons are animated and never age.  Kids do age differently, but who knows when puberty will hit the actors playing Missy and Sheldon.  One of the issues with kid actors is that they really can only play the age that they are (which I think is one reason why we so often see teenage characters being played by youthful-looking older actors).

[ItCouldBeWorse]

3 hours ago, TV Diva Queen said:

On 12/18/2017 at 5:18 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

You know it's her real-life daughter?

Get out!!!!!!   I have no idea AT ALL!!!!  thank you.  

http://www.tvguide.com/news/young-sheldon-zoe-perry-laurie-metcalf-mother/

Edited December 19, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[TheLastKidPicked]

Thank you for the pics, Itcouldbeworse.  Laurie still looks amazing!

 

On 12/14/2017 at 9:45 PM, SparklesBitch said:

That last line tonight - Sheldon saying that trip was the best he ever had and that he wished he would have told his dad that before he died....I teared up, I admit it. 

I have the same reaction when I see the preview video on IMDB.   Sheldon insists on wearing oven mitts when they hold hands to say grace before dinner.  Sheldon finds out that his dad is still sad from losing his previous job.  Without saying anything, Sheldon takes off his oven mitt to hold hands with his dad during grace.

[libad]

On 12/15/2017 at 9:45 PM, Helena Dax said:

The natural end of this show should be the moment when Sheldon goes to college, at 11 years old. I mean, it's actually a show about the Coopers and once Sheldon is in college, it can't work anymore. So hopefully, we'll never get to see George's alcoholism or his death. That belongs to another kind of story.

In a several ways YS is like The Wonder Years.  Both are retrospectives from the primary character's point of view.  Both use a present day narrator for context.  Both are about family dynamics.  Time and place and themes are different, but the stories resonate in similar ways.  I hope they use the TWY wrap-up method with the narrator telling what happened after the final scene, both the good and the bad.  It leaves it up to the audience to imagine details and sends the series off into semi-mythical, nostalgic, bittersweet territory that will stick with fans.