S01.E10: An Eagle Feather, a String Bean, and an Eskimo

[formerlyfreedom]

When Sheldon moves to Dallas to attend a school for gifted children, the family struggles to cope with his absence.

[Katy M]

Aw.  Sheldon missed Missy.

[Runningwild]

Loved this episode! I thought it was hilarious. I LOLed several times. 

[jumper sage]

This show has been surprisingly touching and funny.  Loved this episode.  Loved when George went to get him.

Favorite Sheldonisms:  Dust ruffle = dust; overhead fan = decapitation.

[Spartan Girl]

It was all a perfect setup for Sheldon until he realized those people were hippies. He truly is a Texan.

I love how all the family (minus Georgie) went through withdrawal without Sheldon. My brother is a jackass but we were all still sad when he moved out, so I can relate.

[SparklesBitch]

This episode cracked me up! Loved the teachers at the end commiserating over dealing with Sheldon over drinks at 11am. 

Missy and Sheldon missed each other, of course. I liked her certainty that he would miss her and her commentary on dinner: “this is tense.” She’s awesome.

I felt so bad for Mary, wanting the best for Sheldon, but in tears over him leaving. George obviously missed him too, loved that he went to pick him up. 

Other favorites: 

- Sheldon being self-aware enough to comment “that doesn’t sound like me at all!”  about the teachers’ glowing reviews. I laughed out loud at the insinuation that they were desperate enough to get rid of him that they would lie. 

- Meemaw’s comment “we talked about that for an hour” regarding Georgie’s comment about the dolphin’s helmet. Awesome.

[SmithW6079]

I hate when shows invoke a sea change that is reversed by the end of the episode. There was obviously no way Sheldon was going to stay at the school.

I'm starting to really dislike how they treat Georgie. No wonder the kid is fucked up as an adult, the way everyone puts him down.

[jumper sage]

8 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

It was all a perfect setup for Sheldon until he realized those people were hippies.

I forgot about that.  I like how they are hitting on Sheldon's idiosyncrasies.  He is always going on about hippie dippies on TBBT.

[Frost]

I loved this episode!  Missy was absolutely adorable.  Sheldon, in his heart of hearts, does love his string bean!  I thought the behavior of all the characters was spot on.  Although I did think just going along with the host family being the principal and her husband, without looking into various options for their 9 year old seemed a little off.   Loved Mee Maw and her family heirloom - complete with price tag!  

[chocolatine]

9 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

It was all a perfect setup for Sheldon until he realized those people were hippies. He truly is a Texan.

It's telling that he tolerates things he doesn't like/believe in with his own family, but not with anyone else. Even though he won't admit it, he's very attached to them.

I feel bad that there was apparently no other option for him to get a more challenging education than moving far from home. Isn't there a college within commuting distance where he could take undergraduate math and science classes while living at home?

10 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

I'm starting to really dislike how they treat Georgie. No wonder the kid is fucked up as an adult, the way everyone puts him down.

I really wish Meemaw hadn't called him stupid. I know this is a sitcom and that comment was supposed to be funny, but calling a child stupid is never OK in my book.

[Bort]

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I feel bad that there was apparently no other option for him to get a more challenging education than moving far from home. Isn't there a college within commuting distance where he could take undergraduate math and science classes while living at home?

There are several in Houston: U of H, Rice… But that’s still hours away from Medford. 

[jumper sage]

In today's world he would be part of special education.  He would get the education he needs.  I love that special ed now includes the gifted.  Many schools are cultivating gifted students (schools of choice here) and have built special buildings with higher learning and even transporting students to college where they get both school/college credit.  Many districts in Macomb and Wayne counties have colleges right at the high school.

[Sarah 103]

2 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

I hate when shows invoke a sea change that is reversed by the end of the episode. There was obviously no way Sheldon was going to stay at the school.

Once I heard the phrase underground lab, I was mentally counting down until the explosion. It would have been the perfect way to get Sheldon out of the gifted school and back into his regular school. I was really disappointed that didn't happen. 

[mxc90]

Missy's reaction to seeing Sheldon was nice.

2 knocks on Meemaw's door from Sheldon. Almost there.

I was surprise the parent's didn't make an issue with the principal finding another school for Sheldon.

Sheldon's inability to sense if Tam was heartbroken was sad/funny.

[Snow Apple]

I really like the side characters in this show. The teachers are great. I wouldn't mind if one of them show up on TBBT though they'll need makeup to age them up.

[LoneHaranguer]

13 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I feel bad that there was apparently no other option for him to get a more challenging education than moving far from home. Isn't there a college within commuting distance where he could take undergraduate math and science classes while living at home?

Yes, but he'd have to be at least a junior in high school for a college to even consider allowing him to enroll; most require that you be a senior.

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Yes, but he'd have to be at least a junior in high school for a college to even consider allowing him to enroll; most require that you be a senior.

Do we know that he's not a junior?  If he's going to start college at 11, he may very well be taking junior level classes now, since he's 9.

[CherryAmes]

10 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Do we know that he's not a junior?  If he's going to start college at 11, he may very well be taking junior level classes now, since he's 9.

We know he is in at least one science or math class with Georgie (can't remember which offhand).  IIRC he's 14 so would that mean grade 9?  If that's the case I think that would make him a freshman or at most a sophomore.  I'm not that used to using this terminology (I don't think it's that commonplace in Canada) but isn't it - freshman, sophomore, junior, senior?

Edited January 5, 2018 by CherryAmes

[2727]

This has somehow become one of my favorite shows when I wasn't looking. I love spending time with the Cooper family and all their dysfunctional interactions (consistent with BBT or not).

I ran across this promo photo for the show -- Iain has already matured a lot and Zoe looks so young and modern out of her Mary hairstyle!

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by 2727

[CherryAmes]

17 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I really wish Meemaw hadn't called him stupid. I know this is a sitcom and that comment was supposed to be funny, but calling a child stupid is never OK in my book.

Georgie isn't a child, he's 14 and he was remarkably insensitive.  If Meemaw had called him stupid because he brought home a bad grade that would be one thing, as it was I'd have been tempted to say the same thing!

I liked the whole episode but I think my favourite part was the dueling versions of the Coopers meeting the principal and her husband!

Edited January 5, 2018 by CherryAmes

[Mystery]

From a young Sheldon point of view, all this episode did was (1) make me realize how annoying the Sheldon voiceovers are and (2) make me wish he had stayed with that family and school, and got some of the nonsense knocked out of him. 

Missy was my favorite part. 

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

This episode cracked me up! Loved the teachers at the end commiserating over dealing with Sheldon over drinks at 11am. 

Did anyone else think that it was odd that the school (or the principal at least) was okay with the teachers drinking alcohol at work?  I'm surprised alcohol is even allowed on grounds, even if it is Texas.

[LoneHaranguer]

2 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I'm not that used to using this terminology (I don't think it's that commonplace in Canada) but isn't it - freshman, sophomore, junior, senior?

Traditionally, but some areas have a middle school that takes care of grades 7-9, so high school is just 10-12 (not sure what they call 10). If that's the case, Sheldon may be doing grades 10 & 11 with his brother, then going to college for dual credit.

[Bort]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

Did anyone else think that it was odd that the school (or the principal at least) was okay with the teachers drinking alcohol at work?  I'm surprised alcohol is even allowed on grounds, even if it is Texas.

Not for 1989. I remember the CLOUD of cigarette smoke that would come out of the teachers lounge when someone opened the door. 

I want Georgie’s Houston Oilers shirt. 

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Not for 1989. I remember the CLOUD of cigarette smoke that would come out of the teachers lounge when someone opened the door. 

I want Georgie’s Houston Oilers shirt. 

Big difference between cigarettes and alcohol.  

[Bort]

13 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Big difference between cigarettes and alcohol.  

In 1989? Not so much. It really wasn’t a taboo for the staff to have it in their lounges. 

[Katy M]

36 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

In 1989? Not so much. It really wasn’t a taboo for the staff to have it in their lounges. 

I was in high school in 1989, too.  My teachers were not getting drunk during their free periods. They most likely would have at least been reprimanded.  There was a difference between alcohol and cigarettes back then, also, but perhaps not down south.  I'm from the north.

[Browncoat]

44 minutes ago, Katy M said:

There was a difference between alcohol and cigarettes back then, also, but perhaps not down south. 

In Virginia there was.  One of my teachers regularly chewed tobacco in class without issue, but he was fired for coming to work with alcohol on his breath.  This would have been a bit earlier in the 80s.

[Chit Chat]

That was a good episode and true to form that everybody except Georgie missed Sheldon!  Georgie's at that age where he doesn't want to be bothered by his younger siblings, especially Sheldon!

Given that we know that Sheldon wasn't very close to his Dad, having these moments where we see how much George Sr. cared about him is very touching.  I love the casting of this show.  They're all very funny.  The ending with Missy jumping over on Sheldon's bed and hearing him yell "no hugs" was great!   I loved that moment of clarity for Sheldon when he told the lady and her husband that he didn't like string beans, but he ate them.  Sheldon realizing how much he missed his family  was nicely done.  

[rhys]

Clearly I have the memory of a goldfish. Why is Eskimo in the title of this episode?

[CherryAmes]

1 minute ago, rhys said:

Clearly I have the memory of a goldfish. Why is Eskimo in the title of this episode?

Because of the song that the principal and her husband sing "Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn)".

[rmontro]

23 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

Given that we know that Sheldon wasn't very close to his Dad, having these moments where we see how much George Sr. cared about him is very touching.

It is.  I'm liking this "kinder, gentler" George Sr.  It's taken me awhile to come around to, but I don't really want to see the family change to put it more in line with Big Bang Theory.  I'm willing to chalk it up to alternate universes at this point.

[howiveaddict]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I was in high school in 1989, too.  My teachers were not getting drunk during their free periods. They most likely would have at least been reprimanded.  There was a difference between alcohol and cigarettes back then, also, but perhaps not down south.  I'm from the north.

But, your parents didn't have Sheldon for a student either.

[AnnaRose]

3 hours ago, ChitChat said:

That was a good episode and true to form that everybody except Georgie missed Sheldon!  Georgie's at that age where he doesn't want to be bothered by his younger siblings, especially Sheldon!

Given that we know that Sheldon wasn't very close to his Dad, having these moments where we see how much George Sr. cared about him is very touching.  I love the casting of this show.  They're all very funny.  The ending with Missy jumping over on Sheldon's bed and hearing him yell "no hugs" was great!   I loved that moment of clarity for Sheldon when he told the lady and her husband that he didn't like string beans, but he ate them.  Sheldon realizing how much he missed his family  was nicely done.  

I agree with everything you wrote.  I really love this show and watch it with a silly grin on my face.  It's hard for me to even pick favorite scenes in this episode because I loved the whole thing so much.  But here's a few odds and ends...

Everything with Missy and Sheldon was fantastic:  The scene in which Missy asks Sheldon if he thinks he'll miss her, the string bean analogy, and Missy's: "You're going to miss me!"  And then when he's in Dallas and she looks over at his empty bed, prompting her to have a telepathic twin conversation with him.  "I can't hear you, so I'm hanging up now."  Aww, so cute!  And then when she wakes up and sees her twin... her eyes get big because he got her message and he's back!  I love the way the cut away as she's gleefully jumping over to hug him and he's all, "No hugging!  No hugging!"

I love all the sweet, tender moments between Sheldon and his dad.  And Meemaw and Mary were great in this one too.

I also particularly enjoyed the way the conversation went at the kitchen table when they decided to see if Sheldon was interested, and later in the office in Dallas when Sheldon said he was 'tingling'.  Haha!

Oh yeah, and in the hallway when Sheldon wondered why all the students were so quiet and whether it was because they were all on medication.  Mary tells him no, they are just really smart like you, and Sheldon responds that he's been going to school in a zoo. :D

The family heirloom Native American necklace with the price tag was funny too.  Oh Meemaw, never change!

Edited January 6, 2018 by AnnaRose
Typo - the students were quiet, not quite.

[atlantaloves]

You could drink in the Teacher's Lounge after 3:00, in the early 70's for sure, Texas (well, at least Houston) was dry, believe it or not, you could buy liquor at a package store but not get it in a restaurant in Houston, let me tell ya. You had to pay a phony club membership charge to get a mixed drink.  Beer, served everywhere, it made no sense.  Everybody drank at work and at home, trust me.  I grew up in Houston. ?

[rmontro]

16 hours ago, atlantaloves said:

You could drink in the Teacher's Lounge after 3:00, in the early 70's for sure

An interesting fact.  I could see that back in the 60s and early 70s, the "cocktail lunch" would be more part of the culture.  There was more tolerance for a lot of things back then - for instance, people smoked everywhere.  Of course, this show doesn't take place in the early 70s.

[Chit Chat]

What tickled me was seeing Zoe's mannerisms when she turned around and pointed at the principal and told him that maybe they were the aliens.  If you look at Laurie Metcalf as Mary over the years, Zoe has the same mannerisms as her mother (not unexpected), but I wondered if that was deliberate on Zoe's part or if it just came naturally to her.  Either way I'm thrilled that Zoe is playing a young Mary.

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 8:29 PM, SparklesBitch said:

Meemaw’s comment “we talked about that for an hour” regarding Georgie’s comment about the dolphin’s helmet. Awesome.

That was pretty funny.  Poor Georgie though.  He just doesn't seem to have much drive to succeed academically.  Even when Sheldon tried to help him with his math, he resorted to cheating.    Sheldon struggled with knowing that Georgie cheated.  I wish that MeeMaw would've told him that he did what was asked of him, and that was to help Georgie.  It was then up to Georgie to take the information and do the best he could.  It wasn't Sheldon's responsibility after that point. That is a good life lesson. Sometimes you try to help somebody, then the rest is up to them.  You can't help somebody who won't help themselves.  "Teach a man to fish........"

Even if Georgie was an only child, I think he'd still have the same attitude towards school.  This is a realistic view of a lot of families though.  Some kids are super smart, while others struggle a little more.  Sheldon, however, is an anomaly when it comes to intellect!

I love the kids on this show.  They all seem to be very sweet and genuine in their interviews.  Yay that there is going to be a Season 2! I watched an interview with Raegen (Missy) where she was showing all of the props on the set and how a lot of it was foreign to her.  It's funny to think about how young kids have no idea of the things people my age grew up with.  You can catch that on YouTube if interested. 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, ChitChat said:

It's funny to think about how young kids have no idea of the things people my age grew up with.  You can catch that on YouTube if interested. 

I find it mostly sad.  I'm a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and my Little Sister thught I was totally making up rotary phones.  Sure, to a person who has never even had a land line, a rotary phone that you have to dial the numbers all the way around and the receiver has to stay connected to the phone all the time so you can't go very far must seem super-inconvenient and why would anyone invent something like that?  LOL.  I think she had the same look I had when my parents were telling me about party lines.  She also thinks it's amazing I was able to do homework without a computer.

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

Sure, to a person who has never even had a land line, a rotary phone that you have to dial the numbers all the way around and the receiver has to stay connected to the phone all the time so you can't go very far must seem super-inconvenient and why would anyone invent something like that?  LOL.  I think she had the same look I had when my parents were telling me about party lines. 

I remember party lines.  What a pain!  lol.  I have one of the old-timey wall phones with  a crank (early 1900's type of phone).  You have to stand right in front of the phone to talk. 

We had it made in the 60's with our wall phones - compared to the old-timey kind!  I think about how nice it is now to be able to wander around and talk on the phone.  Seems odd that there's generations of kids that will never know what wall phones were like.

 

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

She also thinks it's amazing I was able to do homework without a computer.

They look at us thinking "What are these encyclopedia's you speak of?"  That and going to the library.  I wonder if kids still do that. We thought we had it good when we went from manual typewriters to the electric IBM ones, and that wasn't until I was in 11th grade (1978).   

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, ChitChat said:

They look at us thinking "What are these encyclopedia's you speak of?"  That and going to the library.  I wonder if kids still do that. We thought we had it good when we went from manual typewriters to the electric IBM ones, and that wasn't until I was in 11th grade (1978).   

I have my family's set of encyclopedias, and I'm kind of puzzled as to what to do with them.  From what I understand, they're basically worthless, and even people who take book donations won't take encyclopedias.  The main problem with them is they take up a lot of space.  Right now I have a stack of them holding up a speaker, so I'm using them as a decorative speaker stand lol.

I think I went directly from a manual typewriter to a word processor - I did a lot of college assignments on that thing.

[Chit Chat]

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

I have my family's set of encyclopedias, and I'm kind of puzzled as to what to do with them.  From what I understand, they're basically worthless, and even people who take book donations won't take encyclopedias.

We recently moved and I had a bunch of worthless books too.  Some of them I took to a local library that takes donations.  I left them in the drop-off area after hours (then they couldn't tell me they didn't want them!) I figured that whatever they didn't want, they could throw in the dumpster.  I literally had no more room in my trash cans for the books, so I figured this was the best solution.  Some books I donated to the local Habitat for Humanity which puts items like this in their store for sale.  I'm sure that if they couldn't sell the books, they'd put them in the dumpster too.  It was sad leaving those books I grew up with, but I had to part with a lot of things for the move.  It's fun to watch this show and look at all of the items in the house and the actual style of things.  It brings back a lot of memories!

[LoneHaranguer]

On 1/5/2018 at 7:19 PM, Browncoat said:

In Virginia there was.  One of my teachers regularly chewed tobacco in class without issue, but he was fired for coming to work with alcohol on his breath.  This would have been a bit earlier in the 80s.

The tobacco industry was too important in Virginia for anyone to have an issue.

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

I have my family's set of encyclopedias, and I'm kind of puzzled as to what to do with them.

You can hide things in or behind them.

[CherryAmes]

1 hour ago, ChitChat said:

I figured that whatever they didn't want, they could throw in the dumpster. 

My sister is a librarian, she has told us about how they have to throw books out in the dead of night (well super secretly anyway) because otherwise they get "concerned citizens" writing letters to the paper or the town council  screaming about how the terrible people at the library are throwing away perfectly good books.  I wonder how many of those "concerned citizens" would ever take out any of those moldy old books that they think are so wonderful?

[LoneHaranguer]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

I wonder how many of those "concerned citizens" would ever take out any of those moldy old books that they think are so wonderful?

A local library periodically puts theirs up for sale (50 cents softcover, $1 hardcover), and anything unsold after something like a month goes into the recycling bin.

[NYCFree]

I went to a high school that isn't  technically described as "gifted and talented" but is science focused, has an entrance exam, and is basically 100% college bound. We did not actually stand around in the hallways reading silently. That part oddly bothered me.

The high school in Spider-Man Homecoming used my school as a model and they got it right; a bunch of smart, nerdy and still "normal" teens.

[msrachelj]

On 1/4/2018 at 9:43 PM, Frost said:

I loved this episode!  Missy was absolutely adorable.  Sheldon, in his heart of hearts, does love his string bean!  I thought the behavior of all the characters was spot on.  Although I did think just going along with the host family being the principal and her husband, without looking into various options for their 9 year old seemed a little off.   Loved Mee Maw and her family heirloom - complete with price tag!  

mee maw is quite the scammer. it's nice that she is  there 100% for sheldon but there was no reason for the whole family heirloom lie. she really rubs me the wrong way most of the time.

[jumper sage]

On 1/5/2018 at 11:50 AM, LoneHaranguer said:

Yes, but he'd have to be at least a junior in high school for a college to even consider allowing him to enroll; most require that you be a senior.

Depends on the state and county I would guess.  In our county you can start college for free at the local community college as a freshman in high school.  The best use of this program is a friend of mine whose daughter graduated high school and entered a university halfway through her junior year.  Talk about a cost savings!

[Gothish520]

On 1/5/2018 at 3:00 PM, Mystery said:

From a young Sheldon point of view, all this episode did was (1) make me realize how annoying the Sheldon voiceovers are and (2) make me wish he had stayed with that family and school, and got some of the nonsense knocked out of him. 

Missy was my favorite part. 

I love Jim's voiceovers.  I like that they are not constant throughout the episode - they are just enough, and give a good insight into Sheldon's character and his views on a given situation. 

[John Potts]

On ‎05‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 2:26 AM, Spartan Girl said:

I love how all the family (minus Georgie) went through withdrawal without Sheldon.

Loved that too. I'm impressed at how they're making George (Sr) sympathetic to Sheldon, even if he thinks him a pain at times: it would be very easy to make him the villain, given what he's going to do (does that count as a spoiler if it's happened in the parent show?), but he drove 200 miles there and back to pick up his boy!

Missy's prayer/telepathic communication was hilarious!