S11.E18: The Gates Excitation

[MissLucas]

Bernadette's fuzzy brain reminded me of Lily's notorious 'pregnancy brain' on HIMYM. A somewhat similar plot that also garnered a lot of critique.  I know what they were aiming for but they overdid it and parts were out of character and out of continuity. In episode 17 Bernadette was back at work (if only briefly), happy and competent - relishing the change. And now she has reverted backwards and is getting hooked on Bob the Builder? Didn't work for me.

Penny looked great in all her scenes and I covet those jeans.

[Meushell]

4 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

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!

I guess I just disagree. We have not seen the kids, but I just can’t picture him just pushing the stroller around the park long enough to be a regular, but they have not seen him interact with the kids. 

[Perkie]

Line of the episode....

Bernadette:. Wait I want to see if Bob can do it..... YES HE CAN!!!!!

 

As someone who spent a whole bunch of years watching Bob the Builder, that was truly funny.  

[wendyg]

chocolatine: CS degrees. You and your friends weren't physicists and engineers. Wozniak was always the one who IME was admired by a lot of geeks because he actually built things and made things (including a lot of people's first home computer), and because Apple set the standard that Microsoft copied. It's true that in the last decade or two Gates has become admired for his philanthropy, though (in the 1990s, he was often criticized for not being engaged in good works).

[shapeshifter]

20 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

Given the way Stuart has behaved in the past I was expecting him to start hitting on them to be honest

—which could even lead to a happily ever after story for him if the writers wanted to go there (maybe for the series finale).

[CherryAmes]

On 3/31/2018 at 1:21 PM, BlossomCulp said:

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!

The nannies do mention something like "this guy again" so they have seen Stuart around.  They may be being mean and jumping to conclusions about him but I agree that he does seem to be going out of his way to behave awkwardly and is being very  "Stuartish" in his approach.  I think it's clear the writers or whoever want Stuart to be seen as that creepy guy at the park!

[AAEBoiler]

It's one thing to have a nanny watch the kids when you're working but for Bernadette to sit there gabbing in the living room while Stewart takes her kids on a walk to the park well, that's just wrong. It's called bonding with your child.

[Browncoat]

15 minutes ago, AAEBoiler said:

It's one thing to have a nanny watch the kids when you're working but for Bernadette to sit there gabbing in the living room while Stewart takes her kids on a walk to the park well, that's just wrong. It's called bonding with your child.

Perhaps.  But you don't have to be with your kids 24/7 to bond with them. 

[CherryAmes]

I assumed this played out on a Saturday since no one was at work.  The least Stuart can do considering he is living with them rent free is to take the kids to the park on a Saturday and give Mom and Dad a break!

[TV Diva Queen]

15 hours ago, AAEBoiler said:

It's one thing to have a nanny watch the kids when you're working but for Bernadette to sit there gabbing in the living room while Stewart takes her kids on a walk to the park well, that's just wrong. It's called bonding with your child.

There's weren't enough facts in that scene to make a judgement.  Maybe she was up all night and needed a break is one possible scenario, there are many other too.  

[CherryAmes]

13 minutes ago, TV Diva Queen said:

Maybe she was up all night and needed a break is one possible scenario, there are many other too.  

So much this!  That's why the scenario they played with years ago where Howard stayed home with the kids and Bernadette "had a life" was just so stupid.  Kids don't operate on a 9-5 schedule!  They have two babies and they are not at a stage with either of them where they tuck the kiddies in at 7 pm and it's seeya tomorrow at 8 am!  

[LoneHaranguer]

On 3/30/2018 at 2:20 PM, CherryAmes said:

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.

Penny didn't say she was 22 until after her birthday in the second season, so she actually started out as 20, making her 31 in this episode. Kaley is playing someone younger, but by less than a year.

[CherryAmes]

32 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Penny didn't say she was 22 until after her birthday in the second season, so she actually started out as 20, making her 31 in this episode. Kaley is playing someone younger, but by less than a year.

I think that they didn't nail her age down accurately because in the first episode we're told she had been living with her boyfriend for 4 years.  I don't think we are ever supposed to believe she was only 20 when she was introduced!  They just didn't think the age through at the time.  Just like they didn't think through that she couldn't be in a 4 year relationship but still have had a string of boyfriends.  Well of course she could have! but I doubt that's where the writers were going.  Lots change from the initial episodes which I can accept.  It's when they play fast and loose years into the show that I get irked.  Irked I say!

ETA: Anyway regardless of Penny's actual age, Kaley Couco is 32 and looks it IMO!  I  also appreciate that they are dressing Penny differently now then they were dressing her when the show first aired and this episode was a good example of that.

Edited April 2, 2018 by CherryAmes

[DrSpaceman]

Cliché storyline done a million times with the "baby-brain" idea.  Just a small twist that didn't actually do much. 

And stunt casting again.  They do it quite a bit on this show

It had its moments.  I figured somehow going to the hotel to stalk Gates would backfire on Leonard by Penny inviting him to somewhere to see him the next day

And Penny would actually be perfect for the PR job at her company.  Its a great idea......or would be if the writers ever actually used it and in some way actually incorporated her job in the stories.  As it is, they don't do that, so......doesn't really matter.  But it could be great. 

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 12:57 AM, 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 figured Penny was just the guide taking him around to meet the people in question.

[CherryAmes]

4 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

I figured Penny was just the guide taking him around to meet the people in question.

Agreed.  That's exactly what she said she was doing.  Nowhere was there any suggestion that she was supposed to actually secure an investment from Gates.  She was the equivalent of the receptionist greeting people at the door.

[rmontro]

13 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

ETA: Anyway regardless of Penny's actual age, Kaley Couco is 32 and looks it IMO!  I  also appreciate that they are dressing Penny differently now then they were dressing her when the show first aired and this episode was a good example of that.

She's lost her youthful baby face, so she isn't as cute as she once was, but they've had her show off an incredibly fit body on a few occasions.  But you're absolutely correct that they are generally dressing her in a more mature way than they did in the early seasons.

[msrachelj]

episode was meh. time to pull the plug on this. all i can think of when i watch is how much money they are making per episode. i have big time conflict with this issue. i love tv and use it as a happiness bringer since real life is shitty but then i hate the fact that these people are raking in the cash when so many people and animals are suffering. yikes. didn't mean to get so heavy.. i will miss mayim and hope she gets another sitcom. 

[chocolatine]

20 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

I figured Penny was just the guide taking him around to meet the people in question.

 

19 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

She was the equivalent of the receptionist greeting people at the door.

Not to belabor the point, but in my experience, someone like Bill Gates does not get handed off to a receptionist or sales person for any length of time. We are talking about one of the richest and most influential people in the world; his time is much more valuable than everyone's at the company combined. The company's CEO or COO would personally greet him as soon as he arrived, give him the tour, and introduce the people he'd be meeting.

[CherryAmes]

They had to find a reason for Penny to be involved with Bill Gates.  I can accept that it may not be true to life but it was still a good stab at making some sense.  Not like the time Sheldon stalked James Earl Jones and they became besties :).

[thebigboot]

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

 

Not to belabor the point, but in my experience, someone like Bill Gates does not get handed off to a receptionist or sales person for any length of time. We are talking about one of the richest and most influential people in the world; his time is much more valuable than everyone's at the company combined. The company's CEO or COO would personally greet him as soon as he arrived, give him the tour, and introduce the people he'd be meeting.

It’s almost as believable as her doing PR for the company. She’s a sales rep, literally no reason she should be doing anything with him. Then again, when has logic meant anything to this show?

[DrSpaceman]

12 hours ago, thebigboot said:

It’s almost as believable as her doing PR for the company. She’s a sales rep, literally no reason she should be doing anything with him. Then again, when has logic meant anything to this show?

except she is young, attractive, relates well to people, easy to get along with and as we have seen has extensive experience relating to, lets face it, nerds and geeks. 

And yes the CEO would meet Mr. Gates I am sure, but I doubt the CEO is going to spend all day with him

I am as critical of the show as anyone.  Raj was in this episode for what, like one minute and made hundreds of thousands of dollars for that?  But this plot with Penny was actually one of the more believable ideas they had, IMO

[CherryAmes]

18 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

But this plot with Penny was actually one of the more believable ideas they had, IMO

Agreed.  And in some ways it really does make sense. Scientists aren't always the most social of people, getting someone who can talk easily with a stranger and make them feel comfortable is a priority in these kinds of situations I would expect.  Penny wasn't selling Gates on anything she was tasked with showing him around.  I appreciated that they made an effort to find a plausible reason why Penny would be involved.  This is a sitcom not a documentary - what they came up with worked for me.

[MaryMitch]

17 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

They had to find a reason for Penny to be involved with Bill Gates.  I can accept that it may not be true to life but it was still a good stab at making some sense.  Not like the time Sheldon stalked James Earl Jones and they became besties :).

Ok, but James Earl Jones and Sheldon Cooper have to be one of the funniest pairings I've ever seen!

[LoneHaranguer]

23 hours ago, msrachelj said:

i love tv and use it as a happiness bringer since real life is shitty but then i hate the fact that these people are raking in the cash when so many people and animals are suffering.

What does one have to do with the other? Except maybe the former making the person more able to help with the latter. The cast does charity work, and you  see Kaley all of the time in PSA's and Humane Society ads.

[CherryAmes]

31 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

Ok, but James Earl Jones and Sheldon Cooper have to be one of the funniest pairings I've ever seen!

God yes!!  I didn't mean that I didn't like the episode!  I guess it's just that of all the unlikely things that have happened Penny being asked to show someone around her workplace doesn't really enter the top ten of my "oh like that could ever happen" list!

[Gummo]

Quote

 Not like the time Sheldon stalked James Earl Jones and they became besties :).

Yes, but the whole point of that was how utterly ridiculous it was; and to have JEJ play an over-the-top absurd fanboi version of himself!

[John Potts]

On ‎03‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 11:07 PM, chocolatine said:

Not to belabor the point, but in my experience, someone like Bill Gates does not get handed off to a receptionist or sales person for any length of time

I think they did address the (relative) realism of his when they had the discussion about:

1) Penny looking to move into more of a PR role and

2) How she'd respond to questions about whether she could cope with the tech talk.

(How realistic that Penny might be eligible for such a position is another matter)

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

I think that they didn't nail her age down accurately because in the first episode we're told she had been living with her boyfriend for 4 years.

I think they have nailed down Penny's age since then. I remember an episode a couple of years back, where Leonard and Penny were waiting in a restaurant for a tale to be free. When Penny went to talk to the maitre d' she mentioned her age, when she was shocked as he called her m'am. I think she said she was 30 in that episode.

[CherryAmes]

On 4/4/2018 at 4:34 PM, Gummo said:

Yes, but the whole point of that was how utterly ridiculous it was; and to have JEJ play an over-the-top absurd fanboi version of himself!

Exactly.  And the point of a sitcom is to entertain and make us laugh.  Expecting realism is probably asking more than most sitcoms can deliver!  Watching a sitcom and wondering why unlikely things happen is a bit like watching a musical and wondering why people keep singing at each other.

[Gothish520]

On 4/6/2018 at 10:13 AM, CherryAmes said:

Exactly.  And the point of a sitcom is to entertain and make us laugh.  Expecting realism is probably asking more than most sitcoms can deliver!  Watching a sitcom and wondering why unlikely things happen is a bit like watching a musical and wondering why people keep singing at each other.

Ha, I like this analogy!

[possibilities]

Gates being willing to accept the role and show up for filming it, is all I needed to allow me to handwave any credibility issues. If he's willing to do it, I'm willing to suspend disbelief.