S11.E18: The Gates Excitation

[aemom]

Episode description:

Penny gets the opportunity to host Bill Gates at work when his company wants to partner with hers; Leonard, Koothrappali and Wolowitz do everything in their power to meet him; Sheldon thinks he is the victim of a prank.

---------------

Stuart is alive!

It's kind of silly that they had Bernadette acting this way, that didn't happen after Halley was born.

Poor Leonard was defeated by his own deviousness. Sheldon running around town because of the April Fools jokes.

It was ok, but there have been far better episodes.  

Edited March 30, 2018 by AEMom
Clarification

[thebigboot]

So did Sheldon get punched by Bill Gates or not? Seems continuity doesn’t count for much.

That being said, what they did to Bernadette annoyed me. After all that bravado about her science work to... a woman who can’t think for herself? Her entire life, thoughts, everything is kid and kid related. Got it.

[Zoe]

Chuny! Haven't seen her in forever!

Good episode for Penny--nice to hear about her work for once (and she was looking really pretty in the laundry scene).

[howiveaddict]

Will we ever see the kids?  It is like Howard and Bernadette still hang out with their friends, but the kids are never present. Do they have Stewart babysit 24/7?  It's like they had them have babies, but didn't work out the aftermath.  It would be nice to see them actually interacting like real parents.

[AnnaRose]

4 minutes ago, Zoe said:

Chuny! Haven't seen her in forever!

Good episode for Penny--nice to hear about her work for once (and she was looking really pretty in the laundry scene).

I thought so too!

Also, who's Chuny?

[JamieLynn832002]

4 minutes ago, howiveaddict said:

Will we ever see the kids?  It is like Howard and Bernadette still hang out with their friends, but the kids are never present. Do they have Stewart babysit 24/7?  It's like they had them have babies, but didn't work out the aftermath.  It would be nice to see them actually interacting like real parents.

I think the showrunners have said we will never see the kids. I agree that it doesn't really work but it seems to be where they want to go.

[Zoe]

Just now, AnnaRose said:

Also, who's Chuny?

One of the long time nurses on ER

[shapeshifter]

46 minutes ago, AEMom said:

It's kind of silly that they had Bernadette acting this way, that didn't happen after Halley was born

Having 2 kids is exponentially more work and sleep loss than just 1 kid plus 1 kid. And then having 2 kids that close together is like having twins that have completely unique requirements, and it goes on twice as long. The only reason that her state of mind didn't ring true for me is that Bernadette is not doing it without supportive family and friends.

 

18 minutes ago, JamieLynn832002 said:

 

24 minutes ago, howiveaddict said:

Will we ever see the kids?  

I think the showrunners have said we will never see the kids.

I like it. Plus, it's like an homage to Carol Ann Susi (Howard's mom).

[Mystery]

During the opening scene when the guys were talking about Batman, all I could think about was how *old* they all look. 

[chocolatine]

It wasn't a terrible episode, but I couldn't get past the premise that Penny was supposed to be a key player in securing an investment from Bill Gates. If he is looking to invest in a company to develop vaccines for the developing world, his primary concern would be to make sure that the company's research team - i.e. people like Bernadette and Ruchi - are up to the task, and his secondary concern would be that the company is well managed. Penny, as a sales rep, doesn't factor into any of that.

[Zoe]

35 minutes ago, Mystery said:

During the opening scene when the guys were talking about Batman, all I could think about was how *old* they all look. 

Parsons was definitely sporting a bit of a belly in the comic book store scene lol

[aemom]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Having 2 kids is exponentially more work and sleep loss than just 1 kid plus 1 kid. And then having 2 kids that close together is like having twins that have completely unique requirements, and it goes on twice as long. The only reason that her state of mind didn't ring true for me is that Bernadette is not doing it without supportive family and friends.

I know from experience that 2 kids is way more work than 1, but I was just more tired and busy and running around more. My whole personality didn't change and I still wanted to read a book or watch a show/movie or do something else grown-up related once in a while. I did all that kid stuff she was doing, but when I had some time alone, then it was time to do what I wanted.  YMMV.

[BlossomCulp]

I loved Bernadette in this episode.  The way she watched Bob the Builder made me laugh,  I have been known to sit in front of The Wiggles and keep watching even after the child watching it has long wandered away :).  I also liked that they handled Sheldon's original meeting with Bill Gates by just not having them meet at all but was there any mention of the restraining order or the punch?  

One more question - when did Stuart become the Nanny?  I mean that seems to be his official job now or is it still the same deal it was with Halley where he helps out when he's not at work?  Loved the scene with the two Nanny's at the end "remember the name we may need it for the police".

Also while I rarely read those vanity cards at the end I laughed out loud at the one from last night :).*****

 

Edited - apparently I was referring to a vanity card likely for Young Sheldon definitely not the vanity card from last night's episode - thank you for pointing that out buffynut and mea culpa!

Edited March 30, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[buffynut]

31 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

Also while I rarely read those vanity cards at the end I laughed out loud at the one from last night :).

I don't DVR, so it flashed too fast to read more than a few words last night.  

Not sure if we can post the whole text here or not, so here's the link to read it:  http://www.chucklorre.com/index-bbt.php?p=583

Here's the last couple sentences:   And while there’s no way for a civilian like me to even remotely appreciate his intellect, I can tell you what I came to understand about the man: Stephen Hawking had a fierce sense of humor. Especially about himself. His willingness to laugh, despite the enormous difficulties he faced, was part of his genius.

RIP Mr. Hawking.  

[BlossomCulp]

Jeeze are they doing vanity cards for Young Sheldon as well because that's not the card I read last night!!!  Thanks for the catch buffynut!  The card I read talked about Russian spies not Stephen Hawking!

[buffynut]

BlossomCulp:  That explains how you were able to read it, and why you "laughed out loud", when I only kinda smiled, then got teary-eyed. 

Here's the link to the Young Sheldon one:  http://www.chucklorre.com/index-ys.php?p=584

[Driad]

Amy mentioned a novel about women artists in the Renaissance; any idea what it was? This page, if you scroll down, has a section on historical novels about women artists.  Maybe one about Artemisia Gentileschi.

[EllenB]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

It wasn't a terrible episode, but I couldn't get past the premise that Penny was supposed to be a key player in securing an investment from Bill Gates. If he is looking to invest in a company to develop vaccines for the developing world, his primary concern would be to make sure that the company's research team - i.e. people like Bernadette and Ruchi - are up to the task, and his secondary concern would be that the company is well managed. Penny, as a sales rep, doesn't factor into any of that.

I don't think Penny was going to do much except show him around, introduce him to some staff, and make some work-related small talk before handing him over to the professionals.  I worked in a completely different field, but it was normal for a visiting big shot to get a tour and schmooze from someone before taking the guest to the meeting with the pros.  The guide would have certain talking points to cover during the tour part relevant to the meeting, which is what Penny would have been studying.

[proserpina65]

So they are calling the baby "Michael"?  Ugh.

Hated this episode.

[CherryAmes]

13 minutes ago, EllenB said:

I don't think Penny was going to do much except show him around, introduce him to some staff, and make some work-related small talk before handing him over to the professionals. 

This made sense to me, and I liked that she mentioned the possibility of a PR job that she would like to apply for.  I hope they keep Penny working where she is but changing her job rather than having her quit and go through episodes where she's unemployed and back trying her hand at acting again.  

Overall a good episode and I appreciated that Penny and Leonard both got a chance to be Penny and Leonard rather than background support for the others!  I also liked Bernadette and agree that Mommy Brain is a very real thing - and :small voice: back in the day I was hooked on Thomas the Tank Engine and watched right along with my son :).

[sigmaforce86]

The only problem I had was the set up for the end gag.  How did super smart Leonard not realize it would be Gates when his wife was at the party and said she had a "surprise"?  I feel like even Sheldon at his most socially awkward could have figured that out.  Also loved Raj's reaction to Gates, initial excitement and toned down excitement.

I don't have a problem with Bernadette, I don't think she's gone dumb she just shifted her focus and is forgetting to shift it back or switch between adult time and baby time.  I think a lot of Mom's do that at first then they learn the balance and they just took that and inflated it for comedy. 

I don't look for much "reality" in a sitcom anyway.  But I do like where they're going with Penny, her acting background and general outgoing personality made her a good choice for Sales and the idea of her moving to PR could be realistic.  Plus it's a nice change and what's likely to happen at their age instead of keeping her stagnant still pursuing the acting that never quite pans out.

Now if they just knew what to do with Raj, let him move on personally and professionally like the rest of the gang. 

Edited March 30, 2018 by sigmaforce86
clarity

[MaryMitch]

Bill Gates has aged really well.

[Tanichka]

Not a bad episode.  I felt that Amy was not given much to do & Bernadette was a tad annoying.

[aemom]

1 hour ago, BlossomCulp said:

Jeeze are they doing vanity cards for Young Sheldon as well because that's not the card I read last night!!!  Thanks for the catch buffynut!  The card I read talked about Russian spies not Stephen Hawking!

They are usually the same for the two shows each week. I was surprised that they were different,  but for TBBT he referred specifically to when Stephen Hawking was a guest on the show, so that would have been out of place after YS.

[wendyg]

What bothers me about this is that these guys are physicists and engineers, not software developers. I just don't see Bill Gates as someone they'd regard as a hero. Far more likely they'd despise Microsoft because they're Linux users who use "real" software. Of all the famous people they've had on the show, this one just doesn't really work where all the others did.

[iMonrey]

Leonard getting all weepy and fan-girly with Bill Gates was hysterical. Other than that though, this was a pretty weak episode. 

[CherryAmes]

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

Far more likely they'd despise Microsoft because they're Linux users who use "real" software.

It would be pretty hard to be in anyway involved with computers either recreationally or for work and not be affected by Bill Gates.  In the episode, for instance, where they tell Priya about Bill Gates punching Sheldon Leonard says " Bam! Right in the nose! Made me proud to own a PC."

Edited March 30, 2018 by CherryAmes

[hnygrl]

Unpopular opinion I think...

Didn't like it. At all. Super boring. These 40-going-on-50 year olds playing 20 and 30-somethings just. Doesn't. WORK anymore.

I'm glad Bernie changed her mind (had it re-written/forgotten about) about hating kids. It's sweet she loves her babies so much.

This show....this should've realistically been the last season. It's....just....not funny anymore. I can't see 2 more seasons of this. It's just. So. BAD now...43, 44 year olds playing 28, 29, 30, 33 year olds is just jarringly bad. Leonard looks 50, his wife looks 43, 44, not 25 or so...only ones not aging are Raj & Howard. Everyone else's age is showing.

This episode (even with Bill Gates) was a boring snooze-fest. 

[Zoe]

None of the characters are that young. Penny is early 30's and Leonard's pushing 40.

[CherryAmes]

32 minutes ago, hnygrl said:

Leonard looks 50, his wife looks 43, 44, not 25 or so

I don't think you know the same 40ish people I know if you think Kaley Couco looks 43!!!  She looks her age IMO which is pretty much the age Penny is supposed to be.  The guys are all 35-40.  Penny is probably the youngest of the women (I don't know if we are ever told how old Amy and Bernadette are) but Penny is introduced as 22 when the show starts which makes her 33 now - a year older than Kaley Couco.

[chitowngirl]

I bought Bill Gates was going to say he remembered Leonard from the crying and Penny would assume that Bill meant from the meet at Princeton and Leonard would have gotten away with it.

[TV Diva Queen]

I wanted Sheldon to meet Gates.  I know many people don't like him, but I do, he makes me laugh.

[proserpina65]

45 minutes ago, hnygrl said:

I'm glad Bernie changed her mind (had it re-written/forgotten about) about hating kids. It's sweet she loves her babies so much.

I'm not.  I mean, I don't want her to not love her own kids, but she could've stayed less "all mommy, all the time" and that would've been realistic.  And I wish they'd remembered that Howard was going to be the one staying home with the kids.

[CherryAmes]

Just now, proserpina65 said:

And I wish they'd remembered that Howard was going to be the one staying home with the kids.

Howard never really agreed to that, it was more like he shrugged and changed the subject - if memory serves to birth control!  Anyway that whole conversation back in the day was ridiculous.  No one needed to stay how with the kids - in today's reality that was the least likely option anyway - and if they'd kept Bernie hating children and not wanting to be around them her not being home during the day wasn't going to solve anything!

[BlossomCulp]

35 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

No one needed to stay how with the kids - in today's reality that was the least likely option anyway - and if they'd kept Bernie hating children and not wanting to be around them her not being home during the day wasn't going to solve anything!

One thing I've really liked about the Baby Wolowitz storylines is that they are at least somewhat realistic about daycare etc.  I didn't think that was going to happen based on the episode you guys are referencing!  The way they are out of touch with university salaries and the incomes of most of their viewing audience was already maddening enough I really didn't need to see them act as if daycares and babysitters didn't exist!

[ProudMary]

4 hours ago, wendyg said:

What bothers me about this is that these guys are physicists and engineers, not software developers. I just don't see Bill Gates as someone they'd regard as a hero. Far more likely they'd despise Microsoft because they're Linux users who use "real" software. Of all the famous people they've had on the show, this one just doesn't really work where all the others did.

Sheldon did geek out over seeing Steve Wozniak at the Cheesecake Factory so there's already some precedent.

[Chit Chat]

5 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

Jeeze are they doing vanity cards for Young Sheldon as well because that's not the card I read last night!!!  Thanks for the catch buffynut!  The card I read talked about Russian spies not Stephen Hawking!

Usually he has the same vanity card for both shows, but TBBT's was different this time.  

Quote

Didn't like it. At all. Super boring. These 40-going-on-50 year olds playing 20 and 30-somethings just. Doesn't. WORK anymore.

I've been saying for awhile that I think the show has pretty much run it's course.  I didn't like it that they lied to Sheldon about where Bill Gates was staying.  C'mon guys!  Let him meet the guy too!  I was disappointed that there wasn't more of Bill Gates in the episode, given the promotion for the episode.  

Edited March 30, 2018 by ChitChat

[meep.meep]

53 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

One thing I've really liked about the Baby Wolowitz storylines is that they are at least somewhat realistic about daycare etc.  I didn't think that was going to happen based on the episode you guys are referencing!  The way they are out of touch with university salaries and the incomes of most of their viewing audience was already maddening enough I really didn't need to see them act as if daycares and babysitters didn't exist!

JPL actually has a awesome day care center.  It's probably super expensive, but they aren't making a house payment and have two incomes.

[Angeltoes]

10 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

I have been known to sit in front of The Wiggles and keep watching even after the child watching it has long wandered away :). 

This happens to me with Peppa Pig.

[Pepper the Cat]

Since when does the lobby door to the building lock? They have never used keys to get in the lobby and have never buzzed in visitors. Just a minor nit-pick.

[jumper sage]

3 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

13 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

I have been known to sit in front of The Wiggles and keep watching even after the child watching it has long wandered away :). 

This happens to me with Peppa Pig.

[waves hand] with me it's Daniel Tiger.

[Meushell]

Leonard could have gotten away with it if he had just been satisfied with seeing Bill Gates at the hotel without approaching him. That’s what I thought his original plan was.

 

The nannies at the end were horrible. Poor Stuart. Not knowing English is not a reason to bad mouth him like they’re high school teenagers. That’s assuming they aren’t pretending to not know English just to avoid him. That’s the impression I got from their behavior. The only way this ending is funny is if Stuart actually learns enough Spanish to learn what kind of people they are, and he embarrasses them for their behavior.

[chocolatine]

13 hours ago, wendyg said:

What bothers me about this is that these guys are physicists and engineers, not software developers. I just don't see Bill Gates as someone they'd regard as a hero. Far more likely they'd despise Microsoft because they're Linux users who use "real" software. Of all the famous people they've had on the show, this one just doesn't really work where all the others did.

I have two CS-related degrees, and all my friends in college and grad school were staunch Linux or OSX users who hated Windows, but they still admired Bill Gates for revolutionizing the tech industry and for the work he and his wife do through their philanthropic foundation. A lot of them went on to work at Microsoft because it's a prestige company and the money is great. 

8 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I didn't like it that they lied to Sheldon about where Bill Gates was staying. 

 

I thought it was hilarious that Sheldon believed Bill Gates was staying at a La Quinta Inn & Suites. The guy is a billionaire and lives in a mansion with 24 bathrooms; he does not stay at three-star hotels.

Edited March 31, 2018 by chocolatine

[hoodooznoodooz]

I liked Amy saying, “So I guess that means you don’t want to split a salad?”

[BlossomCulp]

10 hours ago, Meushell said:

The nannies at the end were horrible. Poor Stuart. Not knowing English is not a reason to bad mouth him like they’re high school teenagers.

He looked creepy to me,  If I was paid to look after someone else's children I'd be cautious too if I saw some odd looking 40 yr old man hanging around the park.  I don't know if that's fair or not but I think it's probably the way most women (and a fair number of men too for that matter) would feel.  They went out of their way to make Stuart look questionable and his approach was typical Stuart - which ain't good!

Edited March 31, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[shapeshifter]

Did the other nannies know for sure Howard wasn't the dad?

[Trey]

42 minutes ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

I liked Amy saying, “So I guess that means you don’t want to split a salad?”

Another line I liked, when Amy arrived at Bernadette's:

Bernadette: Can I offer you a drink or a nanner?

Amy: a what?

Bernadette: Oh, I'm sorry, a ba-nanner.

[madfortv]

I didn't care for the episode at all.  I don't know any women who went to the extreme like Bernadette. It was too much. Perhaps going a little in that direction would have worked. It has been an over used story line. The segments with Bill Gates and the guys and their treatment of Sheldon was terrible.  The ending with Stuart was just sad.

Maybe they need new writers!

[Meushell]

2 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

He looked creepy to me,  If I was paid to look after someone else's children I'd be cautious too if I saw some odd looking 40 yr old man hanging around the park.  I don't know if that's fair or not but I think it's probably the way most women (and a fair number of men too for that matter) would feel.  They went out of their way to make Stuart look questionable and his approach was typical Stuart - which ain't good!

Maybe it’s because we know Stuart, but while awkward and trying to be friendly, he’s not pushy. We have also seen that’s he’s good with the kid, now kids. I would have a hard time believing they don’t see that as well. 

Also, if they truly thought he might be a threat, then they need to walk away, not sit there and gossip about him. They also should not keep going to the same park if they honestly think he’s a creep.

[BlossomCulp]

51 minutes ago, Meushell said:

I would have a hard time believing they don’t see that as well. 

All they see, or at least all they see that the audience sees, is him pushing a stroller, dressed oddly and trying to make awkward conversation with them.  If they actually see him interacting with Bernadette and Howard's invisible children I'd expect they might change their minds about him.  As it is though he's just hovering nearby and I think it's intentional on the part of the powers that be that he looks potentially scary but perhaps not scary enough for them to feel they need to leave or call the police.  Yet. Given the way Stuart has behaved in the past I was expecting him to start hitting on them to be honest!