S11.E16: The Neonatal Nomenclature

[Bort]

Quote

When Bernadette won't go into labor, the gang tries different tactics to get things started. Howard confronts Bernadette after Amy accidentally reveals she's already chosen their son's name.

[Browncoat]

Where's Halley?

And Neil Degrasse Tyson!

Edited March 2, 2018 by Browncoat

[Sulador]

What the freaking hell is up with Leonard's and Sheldon's hair? Is the stylist on drugs? Or should be? Their follicles look like permed waffles soaked in canola oil.

[Spartan Girl]

Neil Michael is a good name.

LOL that Sheldon's guilty pleasure is La La Land. And even though the game was boring, it was nice of him to keep Bernadete company without having an ulterior motive of starting her labor.

[CleoCaesar]

Neil? I wish they'd stuck with Michael as his first name.

Not a bad episode. But are they ever going to do anything with Penny? Or Penny/Leonard? They've been so static for who knows how many episodes. Can Kaley Cuoco say more than 50 words per episode?

[BooksRule]

Neil Michael is a good name, but I think Wala Wala Wolowitz is kind of catchy.

[EllenB]

Kind of a meh episode, but worth it just for Walla Walla Walowitz.

[rmontro]

Nice to see Bernadette not being hidden behind a counter or beneath the bedcovers for a change.  I suppose we'll get the Wolowitz vasectomy episode now.

This may sound crazy, but I think spending a weekend playing that old fashioned North African board game sounds like fun.  Especially with Sheldon there to understand the rules so I don't have to bother with it.

I do wish they would do something interesting with Penny and Leonard.  Right now they are as dull as dishwater.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Next week's episode looks a lot like something they did on Brooklyn 99.

[Yeah No]

I think the board game was the most fun thing about this episode, only I disagree with Sheldon that it was about a "relatively obscure" battle.  If you know anything about WWII you know about the North Africa campaign. 

I agree that Leonard and Penny have turned into a big snooze.  I hate their relationship anymore.  The show really has to do something to make it more interesting.

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I think the board game was the most fun thing about this episode, only I disagree with Sheldon that it was about a "relatively obscure" battle.  If you know anything about WWII you know about the North Africa campaign. 

I agree that Leonard and Penny have turned into a big snooze.  I hate their relationship anymore.  The show really has to do something to make it more interesting.

The board game bit reminded me of the old episodes when it focused mainly on the guys doing nerd things.  Before they turned it into Friends II.

This sounds mean, but what if they brought back a (divorced) physicist David Underhill?  Penny just turned to goo around that guy.  That would cause some tension.

[Mystery]

I wonder why the baby name had to be another "space" name. Couldn't they find a biologist name, to reflect Bernadette's field?

[wendyg]

I think the writers probably think more of the general public is familiar with space science because it's so photogenic and on every front page.

Among microbiologists the best-known choices are probably: Robert (Koch); Louis (Pasteur); or Ignaz (Semmelweis).

Ignaz Wolowitz.

[roamyn]

7 hours ago, rmontro said:

Nice to see Bernadette not being hidden behind a counter or beneath the bedcovers for a change.  I suppose we'll get the Wolowitz vasectomy episode now.

This may sound crazy, but I think spending a weekend playing that old fashioned North African board game sounds like fun.  Especially with Sheldon there to understand the rules so I don't have to bother with it.

I do wish they would do something interesting with Penny and Leonard.  Right now they are as dull as dishwater.

They already did the vasectomy episode.  It was the first episode Bernadette was bed ridden.

Not me.  Sheldon made an interesting campaign sound stuffy & “board”, as hell.

[wknt3]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I think the board game was the most fun thing about this episode, only I disagree with Sheldon that it was about a "relatively obscure" battle.  If you know anything about WWII you know about the North Africa campaign.

Yeah personally I would think of Northern Italy or Greece/Crete as "relatively obscure" battles/campaigns with China Burma India further on the scale towards just obscure. Of course relative to D-Day it is obscure and Sheldon is both a stickler for linguistic precision and dismissive of the historical knowledge of the rest of the group, Amy (sometimes) excepted, so it's not necessarily an error, but it did bother the history nerd in me. However as a Big Bang Theory fan I was happy to see them doing a parody of gaming again so the writers win in the end.

 

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

I think the writers probably think more of the general public is familiar with space science because it's so photogenic and on every front page.

The writers room has more experience with engineering and tech so they tend to drop more references there than the other fields. But the name was supposed to reflect Howard's interest as Bernadette already had her heart set on Michael so both their interests/experience and what they think the public wants didn't really matter.

[Chit Chat]

I liked it that they didn't make a big deal about Bernadette giving birth.  Some comedies drag it out the entire episode with the woman in labor yelling at everybody around her (yawn.)  I liked the way they handled this with everybody trying to help her just get to the labor part instead of hearing her writhing around in pain the entire episode.   Wham, bam, the baby was born!  I'm glad that Howard at least chose Michael as the middle name.  It was important to Bernadette, so it would've been a crappy move on his part if he didn't compromise on the name.  Neil Michael Wolowitz.  I like it!  Of course Wala Wala Wolowitz had a nice ring to it too!  lol.  

[Lovecat]

I'm STILL laughing over Walla Walla Wolowitz.  Well done, writers, well done.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, ChitChat said:

I liked it that they didn't make a big deal about Bernadette giving birth.  Some comedies drag it out the entire episode with the woman in labor yelling at everybody around her (yawn.)  I liked the way they handled this with everybody trying to help her just get to the labor part instead of hearing her writhing around in pain the entire episode.  

Yes, it was refreshing (and more realistic) to have the actual birth happen off screen.
However, an equally big pet peeve of mine regarding late pregnancies on TV is the mother vociferously complaining about how she just wants to get the baby out of her. Am I really so different from most women who have given birth? Even though all three were a week "overdue," I was never in a hurry to get to the labor and postpartum pain part. And never did I have everything ready. My water broke with the first as I was sitting at a sewing machine finishing up a baby quilt--which did not get completed for another six months.

[CaliforniaLove]

11 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Yes, it was refreshing (and more realistic) to have the actual birth happen off screen.

I also appreciated the realism of Howard not immediately calling the friends to let them know & telling Raj something along the lines of "hmmm, should I go meet my newborn son for the first time, or CALL RAJ?!". 

This episode seemed to lay a little groundwork for Penny-Leonard, and/or Sheldon-Amy to start thinking about kids. Will it be Amy, or Penny who ends up pregnant for the season finale...or both? Can you imagine Amy & Penny going through a "BESTIE" pregnancy?!  

[Traveller519]

I hope that board game is a real thing. Sheldon Cooper is the perfect person to send it up, and he did so in fine fashion. So beautifully earnestly. 

I do wish they would give the audience a little more credit at times though. Bernadette staring at Penny's Belly was plenty funny on its own. Her calling it out just ruined the visual gag. 

[BusyOctober]

I know it is mildly (or maybe “wildly”) racist, but I cackled like a loon when Raj & Penny walked in with the take out...

Raj- ”I brought Chinese!”  

Penny - “And I brought Indian!”

[LoneHaranguer]

2 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I'm STILL laughing over Walla Walla Wolowitz.  Well done, writers, well done.

With everyone on the internet, would having initials of WWW be a good thing or bad thing for a kid going through school?

[Runningwild]

I like Neil Michael. Two of the Apollo 11 astronauts!  

[Pop Tart]

3 hours ago, ChitChat said:

 

I'm glad that Howard at least chose Michael as the middle name.  It was important to Bernadette, so it would've been a crappy move on his part if he didn't compromise on the name.  Neil Michael Wolowitz.  I like it!  Of course Wala Wala Wolowitz had a nice ring to it too!  lol.  

 

I wasn't thrilled that Michael ended up being the middle name, though I knew it would be. Of course compromise is good, but Howard was pretty definite he didn't want to name his son Michael. He wasn't just a bit 'meh' about the name, but really did not want it. And to have Bernadette effectively trying to do an end-run around him by just declaring it so and telling Amy that's the name? Then she uses the fact that she's the one giving birth as leverage to try and guilt Howard into making sure she got her way? Really did not like that and really did not like her in that moment (which is happening more and more with Bernadette). The name of a child is a big deal for both parents and shouldn't have to be something one swallows for the sake of the other. I know it happens all the time, and perhaps if I'd seen Howard actually get to pick Neil for the first name and the two of them agreeing to Michael as the middle name, it'd be different. But the way it happened just seems like more of Bernadette's bullying behavior.

For Penny and Leonard, I'd like them to get a story, but I don't want it to be another jealousy story where another ex of Penny's shows up. 

[MaryMitch]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Yes, it was refreshing (and more realistic) to have the actual birth happen off screen.
However, an equally big pet peeve of mine regarding late pregnancies on TV is the mother vociferously complaining about how she just wants to get the baby out of her. Am I really so different from most women who have given birth? Even though all three were a week "overdue," I was never in a hurry to get to the labor and postpartum pain part. And never did I have everything ready. My water broke with the first as I was sitting at a sewing machine finishing up a baby quilt--which did not get completed for another six months.

I have never known a woman who was past her due date who didn't just want the pregnancy to be over. You must have had really great pregnancies.

[Whimsy]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

However, an equally big pet peeve of mine regarding late pregnancies on TV is the mother vociferously complaining about how she just wants to get the baby out of her. Am I really so different from most women who have given birth? Even though all three were a week "overdue," I was never in a hurry to get to the labor and postpartum pain part. And never did I have everything ready. My water broke with the first as I was sitting at a sewing machine finishing up a baby quilt--which did not get completed for another six months.

Probably lol.  I was 10 days late with my first and was doing all kinds of things to try to induce labor.  Luckily I was only 1 day late with my 2nd but still just wanted that part of the pregnancy over with.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed both my pregnancies, but that far into it I was ready for it to be over and just be with my newborn. 

I also am glad they didn't show a long, drawn out birth.  I had both of mine so fast and most certainly didn't scream so I hate TV births. 

I don't mind Penny & Leonard, unlike some of you.  They're a married couple.  I don't want drama.  Maybe something fun once in awhile would be nice, though. 

[bad things are bad]

Quote

 

I like Neil Michael. Two of the Apollo 11 astronauts! 

 

Buzz Wolowitz has a ring to it

[iMonrey]

Quote

Of course compromise is good, but Howard was pretty definite he didn't want to name his son Michael. He wasn't just a bit 'meh' about the name, but really did not want it. And to have Bernadette effectively trying to do an end-run around him by just declaring it so and telling Amy that's the name? Then she uses the fact that she's the one giving birth as leverage to try and guilt Howard into making sure she got her way? Really did not like that and really did not like her in that moment (which is happening more and more with Bernadette). The name of a child is a big deal for both parents and shouldn't have to be something one swallows for the sake of the other. I know it happens all the time, and perhaps if I'd seen Howard actually get to pick Neil for the first name and the two of them agreeing to Michael as the middle name, it'd be different. But the way it happened just seems like more of Bernadette's bullying behavior.

That's kind of how I felt about it too. Howard doesn't exactly have a warm relationship with Bernadette's father. Would you want to be forced to name your child after someone who is openly antagonistic towards you? Granted, maybe naming the baby after his father-in-law would help alleviate some of the animosity he shows him, but at this point the name is closely associated with someone who actively dislikes him. I hope going forward Bernadette drops her insistence they call him Michael instead of Neil and that this doesn't become a thing, or that she doesn't just get her way.

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, CleoCaesar said:

Neil? I wish they'd stuck with Michael as his first name.

Not a bad episode. But are they ever going to do anything with Penny? Or Penny/Leonard? They've been so static for who knows how many episodes. Can Kaley Cuoco say more than 50 words per episode?

Neil is a terrific name.  Much better than Michael, and fewer of them.  If I'd ever had kids, which I wouldn't, but if I'd had a boy, I'd have named him for Neil Armstrong, too.

14 hours ago, rmontro said:

I suppose we'll get the Wolowitz vasectomy episode now.

We've already had that, earlier this season.

[Gothish520]

24 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Neil is a terrific name.  Much better than Michael, and fewer of them.  If I'd ever had kids, which I wouldn't, but if I'd had a boy, I'd have named him for Neil Armstrong, too.

I read an article online recently where the author was imploring people to stop naming their kids Michael. Just too common. Michael, John, Steve, Richard, Jim, Tom, Nick, Robert - all so common. 

That just made me realize that aside from Amy, all of the gang have at least somewhat uncommon first names.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Gothish520

[Pop Tart]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I hope going forward Bernadette drops her insistence they call him Michael instead of Neil and that this doesn't become a thing, or that she doesn't just get her way.

I'd forgotten this piece of it which was definitely the kicker for me. That they were going to end up calling him Michael at her insistence anyway made me really hate her in that moment.

[iMonrey]

Well, maybe it was just in that moment, post-delivery. Hopefully it's not a.) an ongoing conflict or b.) something Howard just gives in to.

[PinkRibbons]

*sigh* What bugged me throughout this whole episode was that Howard never once brought up that in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, naming a child after someone who is still alive is incredibly bad luck. You can literally curse someone by saying "may you soon have many children named after you" because naming children after the deceased is such a strong cultural tradition. I always say I'm not very religious except when it comes to birth, death and weddings, and I would never mess around with naming my kid after a living loved one. Superstition or not, if the child's namesake were to then drop dead I would wonder about it the rest of my life.

Meanwhile, back when Hallie was born they were throwing around baby names and Howard said that since it was a girl he wouldn't be getting his dream of a "Wally Wollowitz". Wally is usually short for Walter, and since Breaking Bad, I'd say that's become a pretty badass name. Wish they'd gone with that.

Edited March 2, 2018 by PinkRibbons

[Angeltoes]

Howard said the baby was named for three Neils - Armstrong, Diamond and who was the third?  Mr Angeltoes was talking and I didn't catch it.

Quote

I read an article online recently where the author was imploring people to stop naming their kids Michael. Just too common. Michael, John, Steve, Richard, Jim, Tom, Nick, Robert - all so common.

I work in a small group, probably about thirty people.  We have two Michaels and one each named Tom, Nick and Jim.  

[LoneHaranguer]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Neil is a terrific name.  Much better than Michael, and fewer of them.  If I'd ever had kids, which I wouldn't, but if I'd had a boy, I'd have named him for Neil Armstrong, too.

The only problem with "Neil" is that some people will be inclined to spell it "Neal", but a quick google suggests that there are fewer famous people with that spelling, so most people ought to get it right.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

16 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

Howard said the baby was named for three Neils - Armstrong, Diamond and who was the third?  Mr Angeltoes was talking and I didn't catch it.

Gaiman. Incredibly prolific fantasy writer who created the Sandman comic, co-wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, the novel American Gods (which is now a tv show) and has written several episodes of Doctor Who. Barely scratches the surface of his work, but he’s a huge part of fantasy and geek culture. 

[Angeltoes]

Thank you!  No wonder I didn't catch his name...never heard of him.  Probably because I'm not a fantasy fan.  I did think it was a nice shout-out to Neil Diamond especially with his health issues.

[CherryAmes]

4 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

I'd forgotten this piece of it which was definitely the kicker for me. That they were going to end up calling him Michael at her insistence anyway made me really hate her in that moment.

I haven't seen this episode yet.  Why does what Bernadette want not matter?

[Tosia]

I Floved when Howard and Amy geeked out to Sweet Caroline in the car.  Nice homage.  

Gaiman has a wonderful  story about a boy who lives in a graveyard.  It will make you cry cuz it's sweet and lovely, not scary ( much). 

Other Gaiman books are awesome as well.  Seriously awesome. I'm not into fantasy either,  but he is a fucking gifted writer.  

Loving Howard more and more as a husband and dad. Bernadette breaks the mold as  a  female character,  who I like. Hope they get a spinoff.

[marina707]

23 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Where's Halley?

And Neil Degrasse Tyson!

I was really surprised he wasn't mentioned. When Howard said Neil, I thought for sure he was going to be the one the baby was named after.

[roamyn]

8 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

I wasn't thrilled that Michael ended up being the middle name, though I knew it would be. Of course compromise is good, but Howard was pretty definite he didn't want to name his son Michael. He wasn't just a bit 'meh' about the name, but really did not want it. And to have Bernadette effectively trying to do an end-run around him by just declaring it so and telling Amy that's the name? Then she uses the fact that she's the one giving birth as leverage to try and guilt Howard into making sure she got her way? Really did not like that and really did not like her in that moment (which is happening more and more with Bernadette). The name of a child is a big deal for both parents and shouldn't have to be something one swallows for the sake of the other. I know it happens all the time, and perhaps if I'd seen Howard actually get to pick Neil for the first name and the two of them agreeing to Michael as the middle name, it'd be different. But the way it happened just seems like more of Bernadette's bullying behavior.

Every family has their reasons pro or con regarding naming.  I was so positive our first child was a boy, I picked the name and just threw out the girl naming to hubby.  Of course she now has one of his ex girlfriend’s name. 

But I thought giving Neil the middle name ‘Michael’ was a nice compromise.  And it might go a long way to help that relationship between Mike & Howard.  

@Gothish520, Rajesh is a very common Indian name.

Edited March 3, 2018 by roamyn

[Chit Chat]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

However, an equally big pet peeve of mine regarding late pregnancies on TV is the mother vociferously complaining about how she just wants to get the baby out of her. Am I really so different from most women who have given birth? Even though all three were a week "overdue," I was never in a hurry to get to the labor and postpartum pain part

I was very sick 4 out of the 9 months of my pregnancy (months 2-4, and month 9), so I was ready to have the baby, but not in the outspoken/loud way Bernadette was.  More of a quiet "let's get this show on the road" kind of way!

4 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

What bugged me throughout this whole episode was that Howard never once brought up that in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, naming a child after someone who is still alive is incredibly bad luck.

That's interesting to know!  

Quote

But I thought giving Neil the middle name ‘Michael’ was a nice compromise.  And it might go a long way to help that relationship between Mike & Howard.

I thought so too.  Hopefully Bernadette won't call him by Michael though.  I had a former co-worker who had this same issue.  She wanted one name, her hubby wanted another.  Her hubby won out with the first name, but she called her son by his middle name.  He's in his teens now, and they still do that.  Us co-workers thought her husband was a jerk (he was), and his choice of the first wasn't great either.  

[BlossomCulp]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

I haven't seen this episode yet.  Why does what Bernadette want not matter?

All she did was tell Amy that the name she wanted for the baby was Michael after her father.  It's not like she could or would have been able to name the baby without Howard knowing about!  My sympathy for Howard not liking the name was severely limited by him not having an alternative that he wanted badly enough to make an issue over it.  I agree that going with Michael as a middle name was a good compromise - but considering Bernie had two babies in less than two years I also think Howard would be a jerk for not being gracious enough to let her call the baby whatever the wanted!  

Edited March 3, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

 

*sigh* What bugged me throughout this whole episode was that Howard never once brought up that in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, naming a child after someone who is still alive is incredibly bad luck

Howard might have thought that if the bad luck (Bernadette's dad dying) happened, it would make his (Howard's) life less stressful and not be his fault because he had tried to prevent naming their son after a still-living grandfather—so Howard might not have wanted to mention it. And Bernadette did already say her dad was dying "eventually." 
But, yeah, I wonder if that was in an earlier version of the script. It seems like it would have fit in, and would put an entirely different spin on Howard's objection to naming their son after her father. And didn't Howard and Bernadette's dad reach an understanding anyway?

 

5 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

Meanwhile, back when Hallie was born they were throwing around baby names and Howard said that since it was a girl he wouldn't be getting his dream of a "Wally Wollowitz". Wally is usually short for Walter, and since Breaking Bad, I'd say that's become a pretty badass name. Wish they'd

I hope this happened in an alternate universe.

[Pop Tart]

3 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I haven't seen this episode yet.  Why does what Bernadette want not matter?

It’s not that what she wants doesn’t matter, it’s that she wasn’t caring very much (or at all really) what Howard wanted.

1 hour ago, BlossomCulp said:

All she did was tell Amy that the name she wanted for the baby was Michael after her father.  It's not like she could or would have been able to name the baby without Howard knowing about! 

That’s not how it sounded to me. When Amy is having the conversation with Howard she asks him something about Michael. Howard says ‘who’s Michael?” Amy tells him Michael is his son and then tells him that Bernadette told her the baby’s name. This doesn’t read as Bernie telling Amy they were thinking about Michael as a possible name, it reads as Bernie saying Michael is his name.

And then at the end when Howard tells everyone the name, Neil Michael, Bernie says in the background that they’ll be calling him by his middle name, Michael. Perhaps this won’t happen and they’ll use Neil, but I doubt it. Just didn’t sit right with me. Felt similar to when Sheldon is being selfish about something (dining table) and everyone eventually gives in to him. Not a fan of that either.

[Driad]

Have they ever had a plot in which Bernadette and Sheldon needed to cooperate and agree on something?  Might be interesting.

[BlossomCulp]

9 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

That’s not how it sounded to me. When Amy is having the conversation with Howard she asks him something about Michael. Howard says ‘who’s Michael?” Amy tells him Michael is his son and then tells him that Bernadette told her the baby’s name. This doesn’t read as Bernie telling Amy they were thinking about Michael as a possible name, it reads as Bernie saying Michael is his name.

But at this point Howard has no idea of a name he prefers.  And it does sound like he and Bernadette had discussed it at least at some point.  Personally I found it strange with Hallie and again with this baby that they waited 9 months to even really start talking names.  That was never my experience or the experience of anyone I know!  I could see waiting to make a final decision but not even having a few agreed upon names to choose from is so sitcommy.

8 hours ago, Driad said:

Have they ever had a plot in which Bernadette and Sheldon needed to cooperate and agree on something?  Might be interesting.

There was a sweet episode where the rest of the gang went on a wine tasting trip and Sheldon and Bernadette stayed home because she was pregnant with Hallie and he wasn't interested in wine tasting.  They seemed to have a nice evening together and it allowed Sheldon to do something for someone else where it wasn't benefiting him.  Anyway to they have shown the two of them together at least once.

[CherryAmes]

11 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

I agree that going with Michael as a middle name was a good compromise - but considering Bernie had two babies in less than two years I also think Howard would be a jerk for not being gracious enough to let her call the baby whatever the wanted!  

Finally saw this episode and as usual Lorre throws Bernadette under the bus because he has to have his Woman is s Shrew thing going and the writers don't think anything through.  It absolutely did not ring true to me that Howard would be so set against naming the baby Michael.  If anything he has been the one trying to please Bernadette's father not the other way around!  Further to that as you say it's not like Bernadette rushed off the forms to register the baby's name without telling Howard!  He was going to find out long before anything final could have been done.  Just a stupid way to have a conflict at the last minute.  And definitely agree with you about Howard being gracious!  Bernadette has been through two pregnancies now and the last one was particularly difficult, the least Howard could do was not negate the one name Bernadette wanted and throw out last minute names that he didn't even care enough about to have mentioned for 9 months!  It was annoying that the writers had to have this dopey fake conflict instead of just having them get on with having a baby and being happy that a rough pregnancy was finally over.

[wendyg]

CherryAmes: While it's tempting to blame everything on Lorre, I'd point out that the main showrunner for TBBT has been Steve Molaro for quite some years now. Molaro is the one who brought in the FRIENDS-redux flavor. Plus, all of Lorre's show are room-written - that is, the entire writers' room collaborates on pitching jokes and writing the script. I'd say Lorre and co-creator Bill Prady were a lot more closely involved for the first five or so years, when there was a lot more science (and the show was much funnier, IMO). I think MOM, now in its fifth season, is probably a lot closer to Lorre's heart. Five main female characters, all over 40, and none of them is a shrew.

 

Re the names of the characters: as @roamyn says Rajesh is a very common Indian name. Penny and Howard are pretty common, too. Sheldon and Leonard were very specifically named for the great TV producer (THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW and many others) Sheldon Leonard. Neither name is all that unusual, but in any case it's an homage. I've also known at least one Bernadette IRL. I actually love the richness of the names on this show. Except for Penny's unknown last name, which I've decided personally is "Moss" because I knew some people by that last name in Nebraska.

[CherryAmes]

32 minutes ago, wendyg said:

CherryAmes: While it's tempting to blame everything on Lorre, I'd point out that the main showrunner for TBBT has been Steve Molaro for quite some years now. Molaro is the one who brought in the FRIENDS-redux flavor. Plus, all of Lorre's show are room-written - that is, the entire writers' room collaborates on pitching jokes and writing the script. I'd say Lorre and co-creator Bill Prady were a lot more closely involved for the first five or so years, when there was a lot more science (and the show was much funnier, IMO). I think MOM, now in its fifth season, is probably a lot closer to Lorre's heart. Five main female characters, all over 40, and none of them is a shrew.

The only other Lorre show I am familiar with is Two and Half Men and if there was a positive female character on that show it was an exception not the rule!   If anyone other than Lorre is responsible for painting women as manipulative horrible people I'll concede to that but as it is Chuck Lorre is my go to guy for a man who must have had a bad divorce once upon a time!  Anyway that aside the Bernadette character we see today is not the same character we were introduced to and for whatever reasons the creator, the show runner, the writers think characters like Bernadette are hilarious.  Ugh.