S01.E19: Gluons, Guacamole, and the Color Purple

[formerlyfreedom]

Description to come

 

[hoodooznoodooz]

Hmmm... not sure I’m crazy about Sheldon letting his mom know he doesn’t consider her smart.

Meemaw looks so glamorous on her date. 

[anna0852]

I don't like it either but it's perfectly in character for Sheldon. That boy has never been discreet in his life.

[Spartan Girl]

Wallace Shawn playing a guy so much like Sheldon, except more neurotic and less arrogant. I was shocked that Sheldon was so okay with them dating considering in BBT he expressed how much he loved his Pop Pop. 

I loved Georgie and Missy bonding over homework. Aw and he got her an 100%! Georgie really is a good brother.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[SparklesBitch]

Annie Potts is such a gem! I got a kick out of her date with the professor. 

Missy and Georgie doing her homework together was the sweetest. I’d like to see more of them interacting. “Put a verb in there, girl!” was easily my favorite line of the episode, and I loved him proudly hanging up her homework. :) 

I also really liked George and Meemaw hanging out and discussing her date. Mary joining was great too, but I missed what she said after Meemaw made the Pillsbury Doughboy comment that made George protest that he had feelings. Help? 

Lastly, something about Missy’s posture during the dinner prayer at the beginning cracked me up. lol! 

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, SparklesBitch said:

I also really liked George and Meemaw hanging out and discussing her date. Mary joining was great too, but I missed what she said after Meemaw made the Pillsbury Doughboy comment that made George protest that he had feelings. Help? 

I think she said "Don't I know it!" I think he's OK with Meemaw making fun of his weight because that's what she always does, but it hurt him that Mary joined in because she's supposed to be on his side.

My favorite scene was easily Missy and Georgie trying to figure out her homework without Sheldon's help. I'm glad that the show is using them more.

I love that young Sheldon is focused on making other people happy, even if it is for the purpose of doubling the number of smart people in his family. I wonder at what point he becomes the person who only cares about himself.

[Bobbin]

2 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

Missy and Georgie doing her homework together was the sweetest. I’d like to see more of them interacting. “Put a verb in there, girl!” was easily my favorite line of the episode, and I loved him proudly hanging up her homework. :) 

I don't know if Georgie teared up, but I did. It seems that both Georgie and Missy might have been much better students if they had gotten the attention and encouragement that Sheldon did. Instead they ultimately lived down to their parents' low expectations. They were at least bright enough to figure out Missy's homework assignment without adult help (helping with their homework is not Sheldon's responsibility).

[Mystery]

Like almost everyone else, I loved Georgie and Missy figuring out the homework. Up to and including Georgie pinning it up on the wall. And the moment between them when they were wondering if they were dumb only in comparison with Sheldon, or really dumb. 

I loved Missy's "head back, waiting for grace to be over" position at the beginning. 

[AnnaRose]

2 minutes ago, Mystery said:

Like almost everyone else, I loved Georgie and Missy figuring out the homework. Up to and including Georgie pinning it up on the wall. And the moment between them when they were wondering if they were dumb only in comparison with Sheldon, or really dumb. 

I loved Missy's "head back, waiting for grace to be over" position at the beginning. 

I loved all of that too!  And Missy during grace... I could be wrong, but I think she always does that, which is so Missy!  She was great in that scene about wondering if she was actually dumb.  Aww!!  And she and Georgie were so adorable together.  They really do look like siblings too.

MeeMaw is a treasure and I really enjoyed her interactions with the professor.  I hope we see him again some time.

[J-Man]

So if the university is an hour's drive away, how can the professor possibly ride his bike all the way to Meemaw's house?

[paulvdb]

I had the same thought. He could live closer to Meemaw, but in that case he'd have a long bike ride to the university every day.

[Gulftastic]

The purple bike was a smashing gift. I'd have given him a second date.

Poor George and Missy. It must be hard to shine standing next to someone as bright as Sheldon. Great scenes this week.

[Chit Chat]

5 hours ago, paulvdb said:

I had the same thought. He could live closer to Meemaw, but in that case he'd have a long bike ride to the university every day.

Maybe he catches a ride with somebody to the university like older Sheldon does! They seem to be so much alike.   I think that will be the issue if MeeMaw decides not to see him again.  George mentioned that and MeeMaw said "don't put that thought into my head!"  

Quote

Hmmm... not sure I’m crazy about Sheldon letting his mom know he doesn’t consider her smart

It's not a nice thing to say, but Sheldon's never been shy about letting people around him know that they have an inferior intellect.  Older Mary reminds him in one episode that "It's okay to be smarter than everyone else, but you can't go around telling everybody that."  Or something to that effect.  It's something she said many times in his youth from the way she worded it!  

It melted my heart the way Georgie looked at Missy when she made the comment about looking dumb standing next to Sheldon.  He did not want her to feel that way.  That was really a sweet moment between the 2 of them. 

[sigmaforce86]

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Wallace Shawn playing a guy so much like Sheldon, except more neurotic and less arrogant. I was shocked that Sheldon was so okay with them dating considering in BBT he expressed how much he loved his Pop Pop. 

 

It's another weird quirk of Sheldon's that he'll willingly put aside his "rules" if it benefits him.  We could go down the rabbit hole of what falls in that category vs. what's an inconsistency between the two shows but off the top of my head I'm thinking of things like his hospital phobia, he tried to get out of going when Mrs. Wolowitz had food poisoning but happily went to get a brain scan with Beverly and some routine tests from Leonard's Doctor girlfriend.  That seems to be keeping with the (adult) character's manipulative ways to get things he wants.  His wanting another smart person, his pen-pal that he looked up to, in the family overrode his Pop Pop although I wonder he didn't decide at the end the guy wasn't all that smart after all since Sheldon said he "already knew" the material.

Michael Cudlitz!  Looking as Un-Abrahamlike as possible!  Nice cameo; wasn't 100% sure it was even him until the credits.   But they didn't have Wallace Shawn slip an "Inconceivable" in there?   Missed Opportunity!

Edited April 20, 2018 by sigmaforce86
wrote his name backwards - guy has two first names!

[hoodooznoodooz]

I like to construe Missy’s head back, barely perceptible smile during grace habit as her basking in the Lord’s love.  

[Yeah No]

I enjoyed this episode but actually didn't love it that Sheldon's siblings are being portrayed as so much dumber than he is.  I could believe they were of average intelligence but this episode made me think they're trying to make them look below average or way below average in the case of his brother.  I get it that this is a comedy and they're going for big contrasts to enhance the humor but it still doesn't feel realistic to me.  Sheldon would still look like he dropped down from another planet even if they were better students.

It also bugged me about the professor riding his bike such a long way.  And wearing a suit too.  At his age.  Not buying that, but I like this show so I'm not going to let it spoil things for me.

[AnnieHeights]

I think this is one of the best assembled casts on TV right now.  I love each character.  Sheldon, obviously does a great job of being a believable child genius and there was a genuine sweetness between he and the professor while discussing Meemaw's favorite things.  Wallace Shawn was great in this role, I loved him. Much better than Jason Alexander a couple of weeks ago.  Georgie and Missy.......they were great tonight.  George and Mary and Meemaw are wonderful.  I would have picked Georgie as the weak link early on but he was wonderful.  I don't know why but this episode truly touched me in so many ways.

Wait, who was Michael Cudlitz in this episode!???     

[CherryAmes]

3 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I enjoyed this episode but actually didn't love it that Sheldon's siblings are being portrayed as so much dumber than he is.  I could believe they were of average intelligence but this episode made me think they're trying to make them look below average or way below average in the case of his brother.  I get it that this is a comedy and they're going for big contrasts to enhance the humor but it still doesn't feel realistic to me.

These are the kids that Mary once described as "dumb as soup".  It makes sense to me that they aren't going to show them as academically inclined.  Lots of people aren't.  These are kids who probably won't go on to any form of higher education and there's nothing wrong with that.  I just hope as the show goes on that we can see those kids excel in other areas - Georgie in sports and Missy, well, not sure - did BBT ever indicate what Missy was doing as an adult? 

[TV Diva Queen]

2 hours ago, sigmaforce86 said:

It's another weird quirk of Sheldon's that he'll willingly put aside his "rules" if it benefits him.  We could go down the rabbit hole of what falls in that category vs. what's an inconsistency between the two shows but off the top of my head I'm thinking of things like his hospital phobia, he tried to get out of going when Mrs. Wolowitz had food poisoning but happily went to get a brain scan with Beverly and some routine tests from Leonard's Doctor girlfriend.  That seems to be keeping with the (adult) character's manipulative ways to get things he wants.  His wanting another smart person, his pen-pal that he looked up to, in the family overrode his Pop Pop although I wonder he didn't decide at the end the guy wasn't all that smart after all since Sheldon said he "already knew" the material.

Michael Cudlitz!  Looking as Un-Abrahamlike as possible!  Nice cameo; wasn't 100% sure it was even him until the credits.   But they didn't have Wallace Shawn slip an "Inconceivable" in there?   Missed Opportunity!

OMG -- I could not place him for the life of me!  thank you!!

[BlossomCulp]

19 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

These are the kids that Mary once described as "dumb as soup".  I

I like that they are showing Georgie and Missy as pretty normal kids who are coping with having a brilliant brother.  I don't think they really are "as dumb as soup" - whatever that means! - but I do like that they aren't ignoring BBT and acting like Sheldon's siblings were bright kids who looked dumb in his shadow.  I could have accepted that if all we'd ever had to go on was Sheldon's word - I mean he thinks Howard is dumb because he went to MIT and he has referred to medical school as a trade school -  but we also have what Mary has said about them and subsequent references to them revolved around Missy being married and having a child and Georgie IIRC having multiple marriages and arrests (where did that come from though?) nothing as far as I remember about colleges or careers or businesses.  Anyway I am really liking the way they are showing Missy and Georgie and Georgie in particular seems to be a chip off the old block!

Edited April 20, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[Quark]

Missy and Georgie were definitely the highlight of this episode. They were just adorable.

[Chit Chat]

4 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

These are the kids that Mary once described as "dumb as soup".  It makes sense to me that they aren't going to show them as academically inclined.  Lots of people aren't.  These are kids who probably won't go on to any form of higher education and there's nothing wrong with that.  I just hope as the show goes on that we can see those kids excel in other areas - Georgie in sports and Missy, well, not sure - did BBT ever indicate what Missy was doing as an adult? 

I wish that all kids could know that they're  smart (with a few exceptions) in different ways and that they all learn differently.  Some schools understand this and try to teach kids based on how they learn (visually, hands-on, listening, etc.)  I think that so many kids with a lot of potential get left behind simply because the child doesn't understand how they need to study in order to comprehend things.  Sheldon is one of those lucky kids who picks up on things very quickly and has a rare eidetic memory.  Some kids have to read things over and over for it to sink in.  Some kids need the visual cues and examples to retain info.  

I guess Mary and George are so focused on how to deal with Sheldon's unique intellect that they don't seem to show a lot of interest in Georgie or Missy's particular needs in regards to homework.  Growing up in the 60's and 70's, my parents didn't ask me about my homework and such.  They just assumed I was doing okay.  It's kind of like what I see on this show.  If the report card looks okay, they assume all is well (when sometimes that's not the case.)  I'm not sure how Georgie's report card looks though!  He does seem to struggle a bit, but on the other hand, he doesn't seem to care either.  It's hard to help a kid if he/she isn't interested in school.    

Edited April 20, 2018 by ChitChat

[marketdoctor]

Just for the fan-joy of it, I'll explain how the professor could make the bike ride in an almost-plausible way:

1.  The "hour away" refers to driving a lot of suburban/city speeds.  That gets the distance down to about 35 miles.

2.  "An hour" is rounded up for exaggeration; with Sheldon's love of precision, that only gives you a range of about 55 minutes, but that shaves a few miles.

3.  The professor lives on the Sheldon's-family-side of town/the university,

That could put him 25 miles away, which is a long bike ride for most people--Meemaw would be worth it, but there's still a wormhole helping out the course of romance.

[Driad]

Georgie is 5 years older than Missy and Sheldon. What was he like in those first years? I hope his parents and Meemaw at least read to him. Maybe they did not focus on his intellectual development until he was in school, and then they had twins to deal with. 

[LoneHaranguer]

5 minutes ago, marketdoctor said:

That could put him 25 miles away, which is a long bike ride for most people--Meemaw would be worth it, but there's still a wormhole helping out the course of romance.

I don't recall him saying that he rode his bike all of the way. Most of his trip could have been by bus.

[sigmaforce86]

3 hours ago, AnnieHeights said:

Wait, who was Michael Cudlitz in this episode!???     

The head NASA guy in Sheldon's daydreams, the one with the curly blonde hair.

[BitterApple]

Georgie pinning the homework on the wall was sad and sweet at the same time. I'm sure it's common for siblings to get neglected or overlooked when one child is the standout in the family. It seems like Mary is so focused on coddling Sheldon she doesn't encourage her other children to find and develop their own talents. 

I absolutely loved the Wallace Sean cameo. It was so much more convincing than Jason Alexander. The look on Meemaw's face when he asked to ride in the backseat was hilarious.

Overall, good episode. I wouldn't consider it one of my favorites, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

[Frost]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Georgie is 5 years older than Missy and Sheldon.

In regards to this, it still took quite a lot of work for Georgie to help Missy with her homework.  In the normal course of events, that level of homework should have been a piece of cake to an older brother.  It stinks that Georgie and Missy feel dumb compared to Sheldon, but it looks to me like Missy is probably average and Georgie just isn't all that smart.  It doesn't make either of them useless human beings.  They're still good kids.  Mary thinking of them as dumb as soup bothers me much more now that I know these characters.  There's nothing wrong with being average, or even a little below average.  Someone has to be.

I'm going to laugh if Sheldon's undergrad degree ends up being from East Texas Tech or whatever it was.  I've always wondered where his degrees are from if he's so snobby about MIT, Princeton, and Harvard.  

[Chit Chat]

54 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I'm sure it's common for siblings to get neglected or overlooked when one child is the standout in the family. It seems like Mary is so focused on coddling Sheldon she doesn't encourage her other children to find and develop their own talents. 

I think Mary is so focused on how to help Sheldon because he can be such a challenge! George and Mary seem to be at a loss on how to navigate life with a little genius. It's a shame that Georgie and Missy end up playing second fiddle to him though.  As I've said before, Mary didn't have the internet to be able to look up info on kids like Sheldon.  Nowadays we can Google anything and pretty much find a support group of some sort!  Mary sure could've used that when dealing with Sheldon.  At least she's got her Mom to help her.  MeeMaw seems to play a bigger role than what I imagined from listening to Sheldon on TBBT.  I  knew he loved her dearly, but we never really knew how much day-to-day interaction the kids had with their MeeMaw.  

Georgie has his Dad for sports, so he appears to be closer to his Dad than Sheldon is.  Maybe we'll see some Mary/Missy bonding in the future.  

[A-Lo]

2 hours ago, sigmaforce86 said:

The head NASA guy in Sheldon's daydreams, the one with the curly blonde hair.

I'm going to have to go back and re-watch this episode to catch this.  Totally missed it!

[OtterMommy]

17 hours ago, Bobbin said:

I don't know if Georgie teared up, but I did. It seems that both Georgie and Missy might have been much better students if they had gotten the attention and encouragement that Sheldon did. Instead they ultimately lived down to their parents' low expectations. They were at least bright enough to figure out Missy's homework assignment without adult help (helping with their homework is not Sheldon's responsibility).

The line that really got me was when Missy asked Georgie if they were dumb and then said something along the lines of she tells herself she only seems dumb next to Sheldon.  Now, I'm pretty sure she said that to get Georgie to help her, but I took it to be true at least for Georgie (Missy is, in terms of common sense and street smarts, probably the smartest in the family...), and I found that very poignant.

[Katy M]

Missy broke my heart when she said that line about thinking maybe she only looked stupid because Sheldon was so smart.  And, no I think she really was questioning that and thinking she was really stupid.  I know that Missy can be manipulative sometimes, but I absolutely believed that to be sincere.  And, that was so nice of Georgie to read the instructions with her and help her figure it out.  

The professor was somewhat like Sheldon, but IMO, he was much better.  He didn't drive, but he didn't seem to expect other people to give him rides everywhere.  He road his bike to MeeMaw's. He was planning on paying for a cab.  It's not that crazy to take a cab to a restaurant on a date.  He was apprehensive about not like guacamole, but completely willing to try it.  Sheldon would never try anything he didn't already know he liked.  He took Connie to where she wanted to go, not to where he wanted to go.  So, yeah, he had some quirks, but he also seems to be a kind, loving, generous person.  Connie could do worse.

[AnnaRose]

11 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Missy broke my heart when she said that line about thinking maybe she only looked stupid because Sheldon was so smart.  And, no I think she really was questioning that and thinking she was really stupid.  I know that Missy can be manipulative sometimes, but I absolutely believed that to be sincere.  And, that was so nice of Georgie to read the instructions with her and help her figure it out.  

The professor was somewhat like Sheldon, but IMO, he was much better.  He didn't drive, but he didn't seem to expect other people to give him rides everywhere.  He road his bike to MeeMaw's. He was planning on paying for a cab.  It's not that crazy to take a cab to a restaurant on a date.  He was apprehensive about not like guacamole, but completely willing to try it.  Sheldon would never try anything he didn't already know he liked.  He took Connie to where she wanted to go, not to where he wanted to go.  So, yeah, he had some quirks, but he also seems to be a kind, loving, generous person.  Connie could do worse.

Yep, Missy broke my heart in that scene too.

And I agree with you about the professor.  He was brilliant and eccentric like Sheldon, but such a delightful person.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

These are the kids that Mary once described as "dumb as soup".  It makes sense to me that they aren't going to show them as academically inclined.  Lots of people aren't.  These are kids who probably won't go on to any form of higher education and there's nothing wrong with that.  I just hope as the show goes on that we can see those kids excel in other areas - Georgie in sports and Missy, well, not sure - did BBT ever indicate what Missy was doing as an adult? 

Of course lots of people aren't academically inclined but even if not they aren't also necessarily that dumb either.  And I'm not talking just about being "book smart" either.  Sheldon doesn't just look like he's from a different family next to them, but a different planet.  I've never known siblings to be that far apart in intelligence unless one was born with a medical condition, but it's just a TV show I guess, not reality.  They're going for the biggest contrast for dramatic/comedic effect.

P.S.  I actually grew up around a lot of real life Sheldons.  I went to school with them, often knew their siblings, and none of them were as "dumb as soup" by far.  Most were almost if not as intelligent judging from the schools they got into and careers they pursued.  So maybe that's why I find this so unrealistic.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Yeah No
the P.S.

[BlossomCulp]

I think the dumb as soup remark was a throwaway line in an early episode said long before they ever dreamt there would ever be a Young Sheldon.  In the years since that comment we've met Missie and we've heard about both her and Georgie   and while I don't recall any comments like "after Georgie got his phd in French literature..." we also have not heard the dumb as soup comment repeated either.  I give the writers some slack here and assume they were going for a laugh not engraving in stone that this is the way Sheldon's siblings are.  I do find it very realistic though that neither of them is "smart" if we define smart as excelling in school.  Not everyone does for any number of reasons and for me the only thing worse than not giving a child like Sheldon a chance to develop to their full potential is not accepting for some kids getting a C is as good as it's going to get and pushing for them to do better is pushing them to fail.

Edited April 21, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[OtterMommy]

Actually, there have been comments about George's intelligence. They weren't "dumb as soup," but they very much conveyed the message that the family sees him as below average intellectually.  I haven't heard those sorts of remarks about Missy, but I bet they're all afraid of what Missy might do to retaliate against such remarks!  Also, I don't think we've seen anything to indicate that Missy is below grade level at school.  She may not be a genius, but she doesn't seem to be at Georgie's level either.

Speaking of Georgie, if he's so dumb, why are he and Sheldon in so many of the same classes?

I do think that there is an issue in that family of classifying people....Sheldon is the smart one, Missy is the the feisty one (or the scary one), Georgie is the dumb one.  This is all incredibly common, but I think it is very sad when I see it, either on TV or IRL.

[Katy M]

Meemaw is really mean to Georgie.  She said it was hilarious that he thought he would graduate high school.  And, I think she made some other snide comments to him. 

[BlossomCulp]

10 hours ago, Driad said:

Georgie is 5 years older than Missy and Sheldon. What was he like in those first years? I hope his parents and Meemaw at least read to him. Maybe they did not focus on his intellectual development until he was in school, and then they had twins to deal with. 

Also even with a brilliant baby brother to contend with Georgie had at l;east 5 years of school under his belt before Sheldon even started kindergarten.  The idea that he might have been a good or even average student who just looks bad compared to his genius brother doesn't really hold water for me. Georgie is Georgie and while they don't seem to be painting him to be as stunningly stupid as they painted Jake,  a teenager on another Lorre show, (Two and a Half Men) they aren't  making him in any way that I can see a perfectly intelligent kid who just hasn't had his chance to shine.  It's believable to me that he would resent Sheldon but it's not believable that he would have been any smarter if Sheldon had never come along.

Edited April 21, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[Yeah No]

This may be another unpopular opinion but it kind of rubs me the wrong way that Georgie sounds like what can be perceived as a negative stereotype in that his country accent is the most pronounced of the cast (at least to my ear).  Young Sheldon doesn't even sound like he's from the same region let alone the same state.  It doesn't exactly do Texans/Southerners any favors in that the more pronounced accents in the region are traditionally associated (by northerners) with lack of intelligence.  I know a lot of very smart southerners that have battled with that stereotype all their lives.  I had a very pronounced New York accent when I was young that was associated with lack of class and intelligence and so I know just how that is.  I didn't really intend to nitpick this show to death as I actually like it a lot, but there were a couple of things I had to get off my chest.  I'll see myself out now.  ;-)

[Katy M]

14 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

This may be another unpopular opinion but it kind of rubs me the wrong way that Georgie sounds like what can be perceived as a negative stereotype in that his country accent is the most pronounced of the cast (at least to my ear).  Young Sheldon doesn't even sound like he's from the same region let alone the same state.  It doesn't exactly do Texans/Southerners any favors in that the more pronounced accents in the region are traditionally associated (by northerners) with lack of intelligence.  I know a lot of very smart southerners that have battled with that stereotype all their lives.  I had a very pronounced New York accent when I was young that was associated with lack of class and intelligence and so I know just how that is.  I didn't really intend to nitpick this show to death as I actually like it a lot, but there were a couple of things I had to get off my chest.  I'll see myself out now.  ;-)

I don't think it's intentional. I think they're all just talking normally.  At least the kids.  The actor who plays Georgie is from Texas.  That's his real accent.  The other two kids are probably not, and I would much rather they concentrate on their acting than trying to "do accents."  Nothing will take you out of a show faster than a bad fake accent, IMO.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Speaking of Georgie, if he's so dumb, why are he and Sheldon in so many of the same classes?

Good point. I guess the school is small enough that there is only one class for each subject at each level—no AP classes. Actually, my oldest daughter went to high school in the early 1990s in a rural town with no AP classes, which made it very difficult for her in college when she got a scholarship, but then she's just normal smart, not Sheldon smart.

When Georgie and Missy were first looking at her homework, the way the camera zoomed in at that angle, their faces looked as similar as real siblings—a rare thing on TV. I wonder if as child actors whether they are tutored on set and if maybe someone saw them doing homework together and realized the cuteness potential.

[BlossomCulp]

I felt that they had to have the school small so the boys would share some classes because that makes for a lot of the comedy, and tension, to have them in the same room.Otherwise even if ability wasn't an issue most schools will make an effort not to have siblings in the same class.  My best friend growing up was a twin and it was only in the later years of high school when some of the optional courses were small that she and her sister were ever in the same classroom.  Of course we were kids at the tail end of the baby boom and schools where we lived were catering to upwards of 3,000 teens at a time.   In a small town in Texas in the late '80s I can imagine the local high school would have been much smaller than ours was!

Edited April 21, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[Katy M]

3 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

I felt that they had to have the school small so the boys would share some classes because that makes for a lot of the comedy, and tension, to have them in the same room.Otherwise even if ability wasn't an issue most schools will make an effort not to have siblings in the same class.  My best friend growing up was a twin and it was only in the later years of high school when some of the optional courses were small that she and her sister were ever in the same classroom.  Of course we were kids at the tail end of the baby boom and schools where we lived were catering to upwards of 3,000 teens at a time.   In a small town in Texas in the late '80s I can imagine the local high school would have been much smaller than ours was!

I have friends who were twins and they had classes in HS together.  they were always in the same class prior to that because they were in small town where there were only maybe 10 students per grade.  But, I don't think there was any special effort to make schedules to keep them completely out of classes together when they merged into the bigger town high school.

I had a friend in HS who was in my English class and her father was the teacher.  She told me he went to the administration and said he didn't want her in his class and they basically said, "too bad."  When I was in 2nd grade one of the girls was the teacher's niece.  Not sure why she wasn't in the other class, but apparently nobody cared.

[BlossomCulp]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

She told me he went to the administration and said he didn't want her in his class and they basically said, "too bad."

Wow!  I think teachers unions here (I am in Ontario) would have had something to say about an administration who reacted like that!  BTW I love boards like this it is a great way to learn about how others grew up and how they live in different parts of the world!  I think we all can sometimes assume that what was true for us must have been the case for everyone else!

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

he actor who plays Georgie is from Texas.  That's his real accent.  The other two kids are probably not, and I would much rather they concentrate on their acting than trying to "do accents." 

IIRC, Montana (Georgie) said that he'd been helping Raegan (Missy) with her accent and giving her tips.    Like you, I don't want to see them all try too hard to sound alike.  We know that Sheldon won't have a southern drawl.  He's so focused on proper English and being grammatically correct with every word spoken!  I think they're all perfect in their respective roles when it comes to their accent.  

 

3 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 I know a lot of very smart southerners that have battled with that stereotype all their lives.

So true!  I think that every region has it's perceived stereotypes.  It's a battle we all fight on some level!

[TurtlePower]

22 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I wish that all kids could know that they're  smart (with a few exceptions) in different ways and that they all learn differently.  Some schools understand this and try to teach kids based on how they learn (visually, hands-on, listening, etc.)  I think that so many kids with a lot of potential get left behind simply because the child doesn't understand how they need to study in order to comprehend things.  Sheldon is one of those lucky kids who picks up on things very quickly and has a rare eidetic memory.  Some kids have to read things over and over for it to sink in.  Some kids need the visual cues and examples to retain info.  

I guess Mary and George are so focused on how to deal with Sheldon's unique intellect that they don't seem to show a lot of interest in Georgie or Missy's particular needs in regards to homework.  Growing up in the 60's and 70's, my parents didn't ask me about my homework and such.  They just assumed I was doing okay.  It's kind of like what I see on this show.  If the report card looks okay, they assume all is well (when sometimes that's not the case.)  I'm not sure how Georgie's report card looks though!  He does seem to struggle a bit, but on the other hand, he doesn't seem to care either.  It's hard to help a kid if he/she isn't interested in school.    

* This. I know someone who was thought to be mentally challenged in grade school because they learned differently than others, got bored and distracted easily. Years later, 4.0 in college and mastered music and languages. 

* I kinda feel bad for Georgie and Missy in this regard, they're adorable characters. 

[CherryAmes]

14 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

Georgie is Georgie and while they don't seem to be painting him to be as stunningly stupid as they painted Jake,  a teenager on another Lorre show, (Two and a Half Men) they aren't  making him in any way that I can see a perfectly intelligent kid who just hasn't had his chance to shine. 

I was a little worried about how they'd portray Georgie.  Partly based on what we know they've said about him as an adult on BBT (one fairly recent episode has Mary talking about him running around with a "whore" and she talks about him like he has screwed up most of his life) anyway combining that with the horrible way they depicted teenage Jake and I did wonder if they'd do the same thing to Georgie.  I am so glad that so far they haven't done that!  Jake was never a very believable character - way too cartoonishly stupid - but Georgie is like so many teenage boys I have known!  A smart mouth who delights in pushing buttons but is also vulnerable underneath all the bluster!

[Ouisch]

Adult Sheldon has slight traces of an accent at times (Jim Parsons is from Texas, though) so I find it a bit unusual that the Young version has no twang whatsoever.

 

My husband spotted Michael Cudlitz immediately....I would have never recognized him without his fire engine red hair and mustache! Speaking of looking different, Annie Potts did not look like anyone's Meemaw when she wore her hair down!

[Gulftastic]

Watching the more down to Earth 'Young Sheldon' as opposed to the more trad sit com-y BBT, makes me want them to feature George and Missy more in the parent show, but only in the style of the spin off, if that makes sense. 

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

A smart mouth who delights in pushing buttons but is also vulnerable underneath all the bluster!

The look he gave Missy when she said that she wondered if she looked dumb because Sheldon is so smart spoke volumes.  I'm sure he feels the same way, and he looked like he felt so bad for Missy that she felt that way.  There are some cute photos of all 3 kids off-camera.  They all look like they're very close.  I'm sure that Montana truly feels like a big brother to Iain and Raegan.  

 

3 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

I know someone who was thought to be mentally challenged in grade school because they learned differently than others, got bored and distracted easily.

I wish that I had understood how I learned best when I was in school.  I did okay, but always felt inferior to those who seemed so far above me.  If I had understood my particular needs, I could've done a lot better.   I learned that lesson a little too late!  At least I was able to give my son direction in this area.  Live and learn!