S12.E04: The Tam Turbulence

[Bort]

Quote

When Sheldon won’t tell anyone why he’s never mentioned Tam, his childhood best friend, Leonard takes matters into his own hands. Also, Bernadette and Penny take out Raj’s fiancée, Anu, for dinner to get the skinny on her.

Airdate: Thursday, October 11, 2018

[displayname]

LOL a query I had shall be answered, it looks like.

[Spartan Girl]

Great to see Adult Tam! Even though Sheldon was being petty, it's also understandable that he'd be upset that his best friend wouldn't move to LA with him, being so anxious about living in a new state.

LMAO that Jim Henson is on the enemy list for creating Big Bird (and Georgie for peeing in his shampoo).

I really hate Raj's arranged marriage storyline bcease it's such a cheap-out. It's the last season and the writers could have given him some character development but nooooooo...

[ams1001]

Anyone else wondering where Tam's son was?

[Frost]

That was kind of a blah episode.  The Tam story felt like it was only there because people watching Young Sheldon wondered what happened to him.  It wasn't an especially interesting or funny plot line.  And Bernadette is rather cruel.  Penny blurted out things she shouldn't, but Bernadette seemed downright happy to pile on with the details.  It just made me uncomfortable.  I think she's more like Howard than she would probably want to admit.

[Snow Apple]

17 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Anyone else wondering where Tam's son was?

I just figured he was wandering around or on campus tours. I wanted to see Sheldon in a scene with Tam and his son though.

[shapeshifter]

54 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Anyone else wondering where Tam's son was?

No, but, now that you mention it, since Young Sheldon Tam is high-school aged, they should've had him at least do a cameo. Or maybe the casting folks decided it would be too confusing? Plus, assuming Ryan Phuong is under 18, he might not have had time to shoot a TBBT episode. But just as likely, they didn't want to pay him. IDK.

[anna0852]

I'm going to die laughing at the scenes of how Sheldon's life would have been if Tam had moved out there. Do we think they really reshot those or did they just manage to do a digital insert?

[Twilight Man]

32 minutes ago, Frost said:

The Tam story felt like it was only there because people watching Young Sheldon wondered what happened to him.

Not too many examples of something like this (for obvious reasons).

I can only think of the time they wrote an episode of Hercules where Herc and Ioalus had to travel to their old academy and we got to see Lilith as an adult.

And the comic book where Skeeter shows up at the Muppet Theater.

[marymon]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

I'm going to die laughing at the scenes of how Sheldon's life would have been if Tam had moved out there. Do we think they really reshot those or did they just manage to do a digital insert?

You can tell he was digitally inserted especially when Sheldon was hugging Penny.

[Mystery]

5 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Anyone else wondering where Tam's son was?

I thought they might use the actor from YS. 

As usual, there was too much Sheldon (my preference would be: NO Sheldon) but I liked Penny and Bernadette and Anu together. 

[Edmond83]

Not a fan of this one, granted I don't watch YS, so the interest in seeing 'Tam' was always going to be pretty low for me.

Seems to me this show has these characters grow and evolve, learn from experience and change their behaviour at times as they develop more wisdom from particular situations they encounter. They all have changed and grown (well maybe not Raj apart from being able to speak to the opposite sex) but the show DOES have these characters revert back to their early iteration when the story 'requires it'.  This happens with Sheldon more than any other character, this was a real old school, Seasons 1-3 Sheldon kind of episode here.

I found Sheldon to be an arse pretty much through most of this episode and the Tam storyline itself was boring.  Not a fan.

In terms of comedy, I thought Penny and Bernie had the best lines, but I still don't quite know what to make of Anu.  My gut feeling is still they won't get married, either she breaks it off with him as she learns more about him (she learnt some things in this one that could be off-putting) or he breaks up with her because his old romantic side kicks in and he feels an arranged marriage is wrong or they are not ready.

I've watched all the episodes so far this season and only one for me (12.2) has actually made me laugh a lot.  A worrying sign, it feels to me like they are plodding along to its end, still there is a lot of season left.

Though judging from that promo for next week's episode, well that's going to make me rage hard as a die-hard Amy fan.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Edmond83

[kili]

I actually can kind of see why Sheldon was angry with Tam. While Tam has to live his own life, he did break his promise that Sheldon relied on. For somebody as socially awkward as Sheldon, that must have been quite a blow. 

Of all the things that they told Annu, the deodorant is what he is mad about? Maybe Annu didn't tell them she knows about the dog baths.

Edited (sorry, originally, mixed up my threads).

Edited October 12, 2018 by kili

[Frost]

3 hours ago, Edmond83 said:

I've watched all the episodes so far this season and only one for me (12.2) has actually made me laugh a lot.  A worrying sign, it feels to me like they are plodding along to its end, still there is a lot of season left.

I'm getting worried as well.  Three out of the first four have been pretty flat.  I was hoping the writing staff would get energized by it being the final season and pull out all the stops.  Watching episodes from the early seasons, the writing is so sharp.  I want this show to go out on a high note!

[hoodooznoodooz]

13 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Great to see Adult Tam! Even though Sheldon was being petty, it's also understandable that he'd be upset that his best friend wouldn't move to LA with him, being so anxious about living in a new state.

LMAO that Jim Henson is on the enemy list for creating Big Bird (and Georgie for peeing in his shampoo).

I really hate Raj's arranged marriage storyline bcease it's such a cheap-out. It's the last season and the writers could have given him some character development but nooooooo...

Adult Tam has more of an accent than teenage Tam (Young Sheldon).

I enjoyed Raj’s “So, so jealous.”

I must have a high threshold, because this was one of the first times I really thought Sheldon was awful, telling Tam that Tam’s life was disappointing.

Amy was very funny. 

[Tanichka]

Pretty decent episode.  I find Anu really looks old.  I suppose she's a good mother figure for Raj.

[PinkRibbons]

I thought for once Sheldon's reason for hating someone seemed pretty justified. I'm assuming he was at most in his late teens when he came out to California, and a lot of normal kids that age struggle with suddenly being branded an adult and on their own. (At least two kids I knew turned to drugs, another to outrageous promiscuity, hell, I went into an anxiety meltdown and I was still living at home, as did my sister.) It's a lot to handle and Sheldon in particular has never had the natural coping skills to make it on his own. So Tam promising him that he'd help and then throwing Sheldon over for a girl was pretty harsh.

[CherryAmes]

Agreed.  I liked that they managed to find a believable reason why Tam was never mentioned through the years.  Sheldon is king of the grudge holders and the scenario they came up with made sense.  Sheldon, Amy and Raj were the standouts in this one for me.  They actually gave Raj some very funny lines.  I hope they keep that up.

[LoneHaranguer]

11 minutes ago, PinkRibbons said:

I'm assuming he was at most in his late teens when he came out to California, and a lot of normal kids that age struggle with suddenly being branded an adult and on their own.

Sheldon left home when he was 12. Since he started college at 11, he should have had enough experience with a collegiate environment to find some comfort, but being away from his family would have been huge.

[hnygrl]

I like Anu more and more every episode. She's awesome, and I still think her and Raj make sense. She's hard where he's soft. She's assertive where he's a pushover. He's sensitive and giving. They'll make a good couple if people can get over how they got together.

 

Otherwise?

 

That's all I got.

 

HATED this episode. HATED IT. They're reverting Sheldon back into the over-entitled asshole.  The jerk who feels it's his right to piss all over everyone. Uh...producers? Showrunners? Y'all DO know that's called ABUSE in the real world right?
Three episodes in and I don't know if I'm gonna make it to finale. I may have to resort to recording this show so I can fast forward through the sheldon parts.

[CherryAmes]

32 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Sheldon left home when he was 12. Since he started college at 11, he should have had enough experience with a collegiate environment to find some comfort, but being away from his family would have been huge.

I don't think Sheldon moved too far from home during his teen years and I think it's logical that he'd have roomed in a private home rather than on campus and in addition a lot of that time his mother was with him. I guess they didn't think it through really but he'd have been going to Caltech to do his second Phd when Tam was probably starting undergrad work so it's likely they weren't seeing all that much of each other before the move anyhow.

Edited October 12, 2018 by CherryAmes

[Edmond83]

22 minutes ago, hnygrl said:

HATED this episode. HATED IT. They're reverting Sheldon back into the over-entitled asshole.  The jerk who feels it's his right to piss all over everyone. Uh...producers? Showrunners? Y'all DO know that's called ABUSE in the real world right?
Three episodes in and I don't know if I'm gonna make it to finale. I may have to resort to recording this show so I can fast forward through the sheldon parts.

2

I would agree.

The way Sheldon has changed over the years is a very touchy subject, it has its fans and its detractors.  Me personally? I'm a fan of how he has changed over the years, Amy literally saved his character for me, had he stayed the same over the years I probably would have given up watching years ago.

But they just have to remind you every so often of what he was like for comedy purposes, but honestly the way he was behaving last night with Tam, Leonard and even Amy at times I didn't laugh one bit.  I've moved on from that Sheldon long ago.

I think also with the other show there is a danger you are going to see further moments like this if they are to try and inject characters from that show into this one.  And by the sounds of it in the media it is very likely we will see more YS/TBBT crossovers during the final season.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Edmond83

[thebigboot]

1 hour ago, PinkRibbons said:

I thought for once Sheldon's reason for hating someone seemed pretty justified. I'm assuming he was at most in his late teens when he came out to California, and a lot of normal kids that age struggle with suddenly being branded an adult and on their own. (At least two kids I knew turned to drugs, another to outrageous promiscuity, hell, I went into an anxiety meltdown and I was still living at home, as did my sister.) It's a lot to handle and Sheldon in particular has never had the natural coping skills to make it on his own. So Tam promising him that he'd help and then throwing Sheldon over for a girl was pretty harsh.

He got a taste of the real world, can’t see the problem with that. Given how often we’ve seen Sheldon steam roll over people, both through his own actions and the coddling received from his family, I thought what happened was great. Not that it did anything to change his behavior, but I guess after so long you expect to be treated like a king all the time.

[Guest]

The first four episodes seem like they are running through a checklist of things to address in the final season. This was the why hasn’t Sheldon mentioned Tam episode. I still enjoyed it and thought the small moments worked the best. I loved that Georgie had a long conversation with someone he thought was Tam at the wedding. 

Edited October 12, 2018 by Guest

[proserpina65]

34 minutes ago, Dani said:

loved the Georgie had a long conversation with someone he thought was Tam at the wedding. 

I was disappointed with the episode overall, but I did laugh at that part.

[Katy M]

Bernadette really sold poor Raj out.  

[BlossomCulp]

8 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Bernadette really sold poor Raj out.

My sympathy is limited.  If I had a friend who was interested in a Raj I'd want people to tell her that all may not be as it seems.

[CleverUserName975]

I'm really liking Anu. In fact, if Stuart did not have a girlfriend right now I could see Anu eventually passing on Raj and going for Stuart. Despite the sad sack treatment over the years, Stuart has been one of my favorite minor characters. Business owner, artist, heck he went for Penny before Leonard did so he's willing to get out there and play the dating game even if he's often shot down.

Bernadette--I dunno, she seems to be getting meaner and meaner. I don't mind a snarky female character but dang, there has to be something likeable about them or it's just unpleasant to watch.

Amy's line about buying the crazy cow made me snort-laugh.

[Mittengirl]

Didn’t Sheldon live in Germany while a teen?  California should have been no big deal.

[LoneHaranguer]

51 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Didn’t Sheldon live in Germany while a teen?  California should have been no big deal.

He was in Germany when he was 14, as a visiting professor. We don't know where he studied between when he left home and then. He has a  PhD from CalTech and doesn't like change, so there's a good chance he had studied there for his earlier degrees too.

[BlossomCulp]

14 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

We don't know where he studied between when he left home and then. He has a  PhD from CalTech and doesn't like change, so there's a good chance he had studied there for his earlier degrees too.

I don't think so.  We know he went to CalTech but we also know he got most of his other degrees while he was still in his teens.  I can't see the Coopers letting Sheldon live that far from home as a teenager.  Maybe along with some of the other questions this last season or two has answered for us they'll also finally put to rest the question of where did Sheldon get his other degrees!

[ams1001]

20 hours ago, marymon said:

You can tell he was digitally inserted especially when Sheldon was hugging Penny.

lol...I just watched that episode on... one of the 12 channels that runs reruns incessantly...that is still my favorite scene ever on this show.

[Winston Wolfe]

21 hours ago, Katy M said:

Bernadette really sold poor Raj out.

That scene left me with such mixed feelings.  I'm a bit concerned that Bernie and Penny may have scared Anu off, she did seem a bit surprised by Raj's idiosyncrasies.  On the one hand, as friends they should be more in tune with Raj's loneliness.  Geez, even Stuart is happily hooked up now. 

On the other hand, I do remember how upset Bernie was once she realized Penny hadn't given her a heads-up about Howard's sordid past.  Ultimately, for me it comes down to the fact that Raj may be weird (they all are) and a bit of a Dick sometimes, but there's a heart of gold underneath all that.  They're all getting older now, real friends wouldn't derail his shot at being happy.

19 hours ago, CleverUserName975 said:

I'm really liking Anu.

Me too.  She's nice, really grounded and adds another non-scientist to the core group.  I was hoping for a return of Yvette the Vet as endgame, but Anu is looking even better.  Plus she'll probably be the most "normal" of the group, outside of Penny.

19 hours ago, CleverUserName975 said:

Bernadette--I dunno, she seems to be getting meaner and meaner. I don't mind a snarky female character but dang, there has to be something likeable about them or it's just unpleasant to watch.

ITA - the writers seem to be ratcheting up the Bernie's mean factor and it's making her really un-likeable these days.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Winston Wolfe

[TheOtherOne]

On 10/11/2018 at 8:33 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I really hate Raj's arranged marriage storyline bcease it's such a cheap-out. It's the last season and the writers could have given him some character development but nooooooo...

 

12 hours ago, Frost said:

I'm getting worried as well.  Three out of the first four have been pretty flat.  I was hoping the writing staff would get energized by it being the final season and pull out all the stops. 

 

6 hours ago, Dani said:

The first four episodes seem like they are running through a checklist of things to address in the final season. This was the why hasn’t Sheldon mentioned Tam episode.

 

It's unlikely these episodes were written with the knowledge this was the last season, considering CBS and the producers were widely discussing another renewal most of the summer. The news that the show was ending broke August 22, and all the reports were that Jim Parsons told the cast and producers that he was leaving the previous Friday, August 17, and it was a shock to them. These first four episodes were shot 8/21, 8/28, 9/5 and 9/18, and the writers would have started working on the season in late June/early July. (If Anu was introduced in the episode shot two weeks after the show’s ending was announced, that plotline had to have planned before that so they had time to write and cast it.) I wouldn’t expect any indication the writing was done with the show's ending in mind or last season spark of inspiration to appear for a few more episodes (if it does at all, that is.)

Edited October 13, 2018 by TheOtherOne

[SpiritSong]

13 hours ago, Frost said:

I'm getting worried as well.  Three out of the first four have been pretty flat.  I was hoping the writing staff would get energized by it being the final season and pull out all the stops.  Watching episodes from the early seasons, the writing is so sharp.  I want this show to go out on a high note!

This, exactly. A local station today was playing the episode where Penny goes along on Sheldon and Amy's first date, and the B plot was Leonard and Raj taking Howard to the ER after he got his robot arm stuck on his penis. The writing was so sharp and witty, and though I've seen this episode several times, it still made me laugh throughout. That very rarely happens with the last few seasons, though they occasionally do still hit it out of the park. Unfortunately, that's now the exception rather than the rule.

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, LadyKenobi said:

Who, exactly, did KC piss off in wardrobe to get this endless parade of fug blouses over the last few seasons? 

I was admiring Penny's blouse—

 

5 hours ago, CleverUserName975 said:

Bernadette--I dunno, she seems to be getting meaner and meaner. I don't mind a snarky female character but dang, there has to be something likeable about them or it's just unpleasant to watch.

Bernadette's toxicity is mitigated by her somehow having a positive impact on her friends' lives. Howard is no longer a sex starved creep, and Penny is no longer penniless. 
My sister is kind of like that.
We are not close—nor would I be with any of these characters.
I've enjoyed some of the episodes, but I am fine with this being the last season. These people have pretty much reached the limits of their personal growth.

[Zoe]

12 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I don't think Sheldon moved too far from home during his teen years and I think it's logical that he'd have roomed in a private home rather than on campus and in addition a lot of that time his mother was with him. I guess they didn't think it through really but he'd have been going to Caltech to do his second Phd when Tam was probably starting undergrad work so it's likely they weren't seeing all that much of each other before the move anyhow.

Don't forget Tam is 4 or 5 years older than Sheldon. He's only a few years away from graduating high school on a normal schedule. If Sheldon's education starts accelerating soon on YS, it could easily be his grad school along side Tam's undergrad.

[K42]

Anu needs to leave. I hate her and I hate this modern relationship storyline. If it weren't Raj, I'd probably be okay with it. But he's a romantic at heart. I want him to find someone the traditional way. I don't get why they won't case his actual wife as his partner. She's stunning and he'll put everyone (and their girlfriends) to shame for mocking him throughout all these years.

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, K42 said:

Anu needs to leave. I hate her and I hate this modern relationship storyline. If it weren't Raj, I'd probably be okay with it. But he's a romantic at heart. I want him to find someone the traditional way. I don't get why they won't case his actual wife as his partner. She's stunning and he'll put everyone (and their girlfriends) to shame for mocking him throughout all these years.

Actually, this is the traditional way.

[SmithW6079]

13 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

On the other hand, I do remember how upset Bernie was once she realized Penny hadn't given her a heads-up about Howard's sordid past.  Ultimately, for me it comes down to the fact that Raj may be weird (they all are) and a bit of a Dick sometimes, but there's a heart of gold underneath all that.  They're all getting older now, real friends wouldn't derail his shot a being happy.

I disagree. I think Raj is a dick pretty much all the time. Everything he "does" for other people is predicated on how much gratitude he will get from them. I don't think he acts selflessly at all. As Howard once said to Penny, Raj is a dick, she just doesn't know it because that was when Raj couldn't talk to women. Even as late as last season, when Raj and Howard found the drone, Raj was creepy and borderline misogynistic, as the drone's owner saw when she was reviewing the video captured by the drone. 

[Driad]

Someone said Anu looked a lot older than Raj.  According to IMDB, Kunal Nayyar (Raj) is 37.  Rati Gupta (Anu) is 34.  Maybe they make her look older because of her job.  Also, if she were older and they were fine with it, so what?

[CherryAmes]

16 hours ago, Zoe said:

Don't forget Tam is 4 or 5 years older than Sheldon. He's only a few years away from graduating high school on a normal schedule. If Sheldon's education starts accelerating soon on YS, it could easily be his grad school along side Tam's undergrad.

Yep I agree I think that's what would have happened but I was addressing more the idea that Tam and Sheldon would still have been close friends up to that point.  We know that in a very few years Sheldon will be starting university, being a visiting professor in Germany etc.  It's nice in a way to think that Sheldon and Tam will remain friends but it also seems a little unlikely.  Tam will continue as a normal high school student and Sheldon won't be around much.  Oh well I think I'm giving this too much thought!

[theatremouse]

I don't really think the age difference between Sheldon and Tam matters a ton to the "betrayal", nor their specific ages at the time. When they first started the story I expected Sheldon's grudge would be baseless or him overreacting since that's usually the case, but even if they had both been 20, if you make plans with a friend that "we will both move to different state X together and be roommates" and one, last minute it sounds like, suddenly bails and is all  'nah, I'm staying here, that's a pretty crappy thing to do. Not saying everyone would end the friendship over it instantly or hold a grudge for 20 years, but it's pretty reasonable to me that anyone would be perturbed by that.

[Katy M]

14 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I don't really think the age difference between Sheldon and Tam matters a ton to the "betrayal", nor their specific ages at the time. When they first started the story I expected Sheldon's grudge would be baseless or him overreacting since that's usually the case, but even if they had both been 20, if you make plans with a friend that "we will both move to different state X together and be roommates" and one, last minute it sounds like, suddenly bails and is all  'nah, I'm staying here, that's a pretty crappy thing to do. Not saying everyone would end the friendship over it instantly or hold a grudge for 20 years, but it's pretty reasonable to me that anyone would be perturbed by that.

Did they have plans?  I didn' tget that at all.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

Did they have plans?  I didn' tget that at all.

From the closed caption script:

Quote

[Sheldon]: When I got accepted to grad school at Caltech, I was afraid to move so far away from home. So Tam said he'd move out here with me and be my roommate. Then, over the summer, he got a girlfriend, even after reading all the pamphlets I gave him about social diseases.
. . .
Anyway, Tam stayed with her in Texas, and I had to move out here all by myself.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, Driad said:

Someone said Anu looked a lot older than Raj.  According to IMDB, Kunal Nayyar (Raj) is 37.  Rati Gupta (Anu) is 34.  Maybe they make her look older because of her job.  Also, if she were older and they were fine with it, so what?

I agree, plus I didn't think she looked older than Raj.  She just seems that way because of her stronger personality.

I don't think Penny and Bernadette will scare her away.  I think her scenes with them were done to show that she won't be fazed by the stuff they throw at her at all.  I liked her dynamic with the other women.  I could see Anu being accepted into their circle.

[bounnatalie]

I like Anu also. I was surprised that they didn't touch upon the subject that Amy wasn't included.

Edited October 14, 2018 by bounnatalie

[Edmond83]

I believe it was at PaleyFest they said they had already written the first 6? episodes.  Jim and then Chuck apparently dropped their bombshells the week of the second taping.  Mayim wrote an article on her Groknation site confirming that the cast were happy to be back at work after the first taping (you saw pics on social media) but they found out filming the second episode, during the table read and the pretaping part of filming.  Mayim sounded clear that the cast didn't know it was coming, Jim of course did if reports and the timeline are accurate.

So they already wrote the start to this season and it was planned, it will be interesting to see if episode 7 onwards reflect the fact this is the final season or they continue to plod along.

It's been a rather lacklustre start so far IMO.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Edmond83

[Winston Wolfe]

On 10/12/2018 at 11:34 PM, SpiritSong said:

On 10/12/2018 at 9:36 AM, Frost said:

I'm getting worried as well.  Three out of the first four have been pretty flat.  I was hoping the writing staff would get energized by it being the final season and pull out all the stops.  Watching episodes from the early seasons, the writing is so sharp.  I want this show to go out on a high note!

This, exactly. A local station today was playing the episode where Penny goes along on Sheldon and Amy's first date, and the B plot was Leonard and Raj taking Howard to the ER after he got his robot arm stuck on his penis. The writing was so sharp and witty, and though I've seen this episode several times, it still made me laugh throughout. That very rarely happens with the last few seasons, though they occasionally do still hit it out of the park. Unfortunately, that's now the exception rather than the rule.

Over on Mayim's Groknation site several posters noted that this episode and the two before it seemed "off," and that there appeared to be a tension between the characters.  I have a feeling that the cast had a hunch this season would be the last even before the official word dropped, and it reflected in their performances. 

Perhaps an unpopular opinion here, but I for one am basically ok with BBT coming to an end.  As a big HIMYM fan, it was rough watching a brilliant sitcom evaporate into mediocrity over the last three seasons.  That cast wanted to go on past season 9, but CBS saw the writing on the wall.  BBT has slipped a bit in the last three or four seasons as well, but not nearly as much, and I don't want to see this show, possibly one of the top ten best sitcoms of all time, go out the same way.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Winston Wolfe

[CherryAmes]

28 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Over on Mayim's Groknation site several posters noted that this episode and the two before it seemed "off," and that there appeared to be a tension between the characters.  I have a feeling that the cast had a hunch this season would be the last even before the official word dropped, and it reflected in their performances. 

If the reason for the tension is that the other cast members wanted the show to go on and they didn't like the idea that Jim Parsons would be able to in effect"fire" them (sort of) then I can understand how they feel,  But still and all I think they've all made a nice chunk of change off BBT and should be happy to go out on a high rather then stick it out until the show sputters to a sad end.  I really don't want that for a show I've come to view as 'must see TV".

Edited October 14, 2018 by CherryAmes