Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

S12.E05: The Planetarium Collision


Recommended Posts

Quote

When Amy doesn’t have time to work on super-asymmetry, Sheldon goes to great lengths to ensure she’s available to work with him even it if means accidentally sabotaging her career in the process. Also, Koothrappali doesn’t want Wolowitz to join him in hosting a show at the planetarium.

Link to comment

When I saw the previews for this one I got angry so I knew this wasn't one I was going to watch.

Thanks guys, for the confirmation (I live in Hawaii. It's only 4 in the afternoon here).

I'll be sure to skip this one.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

The A plot severed the episode (even if you shelve Sheldon's dickishness, there is no way the University would reassign Amy's workload without discussing it with her), but the other five were good humor, especially through the whole second act.

The whole apartment scene with Leonard's Dad jokes playing of Penny and Raj, and then the flights of stairs debate was good well paced humor, and Bernadette's Greek chrous to the palebtarium show, which was its own delightful shit-show, were great.

Free Amy first, but then free the rest of the cast

  • Love 10
Link to comment

The Sheldon and Amy story made me squirm--I usually still find Sheldon funny when he is exceptionally obnoxious, but not tonight.  In fact, very little of this episode was funny (other than Bernadette in the last scene at the Planetarium, watching Raj and Howard gush over each other).  I really hope that knowing this is the last season, they aren't just phoning it in from here on out.

  • Love 9
Link to comment
35 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

Eh, Sheldon didn't bother me nearly as much as he bothered many of you.  Yes he was wrong and he realized it, tried to make it right and felt terrible about it.  He loves Amy and in his own clueless way he thought he was doing his wife a favor and she would be happy to have the time to pursue their work together that she said she was excited about but didn't have the time for.  Plus in Sheldon's mind, there is nothing better or more important than working to answer the really monumental physics questions that are the focus of their research.  I could see how he would assume his wife felt the same way.  But yes, he was totally wrong and had no right to go to the university president rather than talking to her and encouraging her to do it if that was what she wanted.

I wasn't pissed off at Sheldon or the episode so I found the irony of Sheldon mansplaining mansplaining hilarious, but irony is one of my favorite types of humor.

I believe Sheldon when he said he didn't do it maliciously and I like that he expressed his sincere gratitude that Amy explained exactly why it was wrong and why it upset her so much.  He is very literal and doesn't think the way normal people do and needs those things spelled out for him.  But I think it's obvious that he loves Amy more than anything and is willing to do whatever he can to make her happy and make things right when he screws up.

I liked the Leonard and Penny scenes in this episode and recently watched last season's bonus feature in which Chuck Lorre spoke about their relationship and how nice it was that they were so comfortable with each other and could joke around together.  (I think it was Lorre who mentioned it, but it could have been another producer.) Anyway, I have been noticing that too for a while and I find it very enjoyable to watch.  They are usually very cute together.

I loved Bernadette's cosmonaut role-playing character - Melissa Rauch is so talented with her voice impressions, even just speaking in her Bernadette voice is kind of amazing when you hear her normal voice.  I also liked the Raj and Howard scene in the planetarium, along with Bernadette's and Leonard's reactions.

Sheldon didn't bother me either, for all of the reasons you covered above. If there was anyone to be mad at it would be Amy's boss who took her off her project without taking to her.

I loved the line when Sheldon said that Amy said he could buy one big thing or two little things at the gift shop, and he was so excited. That just cracked me up. 

  • Love 14
Link to comment

That was horrible. Probably the worst TBBT episode ever. What Sheldon did, aside from being illegal, was the most unethical thing he's ever done. I'm on the divorce court time wagon. Ridiculous.

Writers, stop trying to make "boop" a thing. File it up your butts along with "bazinga." Not cute, not funny. If this is the direction we're going, it only proves beyond a doubt that it's a damn good thing this is the final season.

  • Love 23
Link to comment
2 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I loved Bernadette's cosmonaut role-playing character

Too bad it was buried in an otherwise nearly unwatchable episode.

 

Maybe the writers were trying to demonstrate just how terrible male dominance in the sciences can be? If so, mission accomplished. But if it was supposed to be funny too: Not.

  • Love 14
Link to comment

This season so far has been a regression of the Sheldon character and all the growth in recent seasons. Are they doing this for nostalgia reasons because it's the final season? Who knows but I am not a fan of the way he is being written right now. He's in prime asshole mode right now, reminiscent of earlier seasons.

I don't think he can be excused in any way, he interfered in Amy's work and career when he had no right to. Siebert was at fault as well, he made the decision ultimately, but Sheldon put that seed in his head.

I found it a deeply uncomfortable episode to watch, I wanted to give Amy a hug.

Further evidence they have lost it creatively and in terms of comedy and that the decision to end was the right one.

For the final season of a show I truly love its been such a disappointment so far.

  • Love 15
Link to comment
9 hours ago, anna0852 said:

I'm so mad I could spit nails. If I was Amy I'd not only be filing for divorce, I'd be looking into legal action against the university. How on earth did anyone in the writers room or on the production team think this was funny?

On the flip side, it's nice to see the Bernie still has the hots for her husband. 

I would have lost it.  It is just such a sad commentary of the negative view of women today.

  • Love 13
Link to comment
7 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

Eh, Sheldon didn't bother me nearly as much as he bothered many of you.  Yes he was wrong and he realized it, tried to make it right and felt terrible about it.  He loves Amy and in his own clueless way he thought he was doing his wife a favor and she would be happy to have the time to pursue their work together that she said she was excited about but didn't have the time for.  Plus in Sheldon's mind, there is nothing better or more important than working to answer the really monumental physics questions that are the focus of their research.  I could see how he would assume his wife felt the same way.  But yes, he was totally wrong and had no right to go to the university president rather than talking to her and encouraging her to do it if that was what she wanted.

I wasn't pissed off at Sheldon or the episode so I found the irony of Sheldon mansplaining mansplaining hilarious, but irony is one of my favorite types of humor.

I believe Sheldon when he said he didn't do it maliciously and I like that he expressed his sincere gratitude that Amy explained exactly why it was wrong and why it upset her so much.  He is very literal and doesn't think the way normal people do and needs those things spelled out for him.  But I think it's obvious that he loves Amy more than anything and is willing to do whatever he can to make her happy and make things right when he screws up.

I agree 100%.  This is why Sheldon is my favorite.  For the most part his mistakes are never malicious (excluding him getting "revenge"). He felt really bad about it too.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

What this episode needs is a follow up.  It can be completely redeemed if we had, in the next episode, a scene of Amy going nuclear on the university president maybe with HR present (would be nice to see Regina King again I've liked her in that role) AND then see the fallout of that with Sheldon being sanctioned by the university in some way that really gets to him, a temporary suspension, a fine, something.  Then one scene with him complaining about the sanction as we know he will because he thinks he's never wrong and Amy taking him down a few pegs to where he realizes how he overstepped.  

To have him do what he always does, plow ahead like all his ideas are right and he knows what's best for everyone is in character so what he did to Amy wasn't unusual for him.  What he needs is to learn from his mistakes and the show usually uses his actions for laughs but rarely includes consequences.  This time, with this plot, they really, really need to include consequences.  

There are only two BBT episodes I don't like.  I know it's a "what you find funny" thing and some like them but I just never found them to be funny.   They are:   The one where the gang is dressed up as Star Trek characters and Leonard's car is stolen while they're taking pictures in the desert.  And the one where Leonard and Sheldon stop at Skywalker Ranch and they end up detained after breaking in; which is definitely another Sheldon does what he wants no matter who else gets in trouble episode.  I think this episode has made #3 on my list, the sub-plot with the planetarium was cute but not cute enough to make me tune in again once it hits repeats.

  • Love 15
Link to comment

I'm still "angry" about this episode. I haven't been this "angry" about a TV episode since the LOST! finale. What's adding to my "anger" is the BOOP. So demeaning and dismissive. OMFG Sheldon, don't "boop" your wife. Don't boop another human, unless it's a baby and you're playing. Boop a kitty nose, boop a puppy nose but BOOPing a human is... UGH! I can't believe I am this "angry" about the whole thing.


And yes, angry is in quotes because I'm just ranty and ragey here. I'm not running around ranting and losing sleep over it.

  • Love 23
Link to comment

I didn't like this episode either and thought Sheldon was being a monumental clueless ass, even by his standards.  Although I agree with the poster above that Amy's job can and should be restored in the next episode.  There is no way it couldn't be reversible so early in the game, especially in some kind of alternate TV universe.  I have no idea why the show decided to go down that road when it would have been very easy for the president to say "Oh, my bad, we'll rectify it", especially when in anybody's universe, whether real or on a sitcom, they would have to be worried about a lawsuit if they didn't.  Just very stupid for the show to do this.  They have to have known it wouldn't go over well with the audience and would not be taken ironically and dismissed by most people as "Oh, that Sheldon, what a character".  He's already grown past this before our eyes so they can't just go backsies now without making him look really bad.  It makes me almost think that the show doesn't care what the audience thinks anymore and is purposely pissing us off out of some kind of ridiculous spite.  Like they gave in to give us what we wanted for umpteen years so now it's their chance to get us back for it at the end.  Or something like that.

Edited by Yeah No
typo
  • Love 5
Link to comment
3 hours ago, Kanner said:

I agree 100%.  This is why Sheldon is my favorite.  For the most part his mistakes are never malicious (excluding him getting "revenge"). He felt really bad about it too.

Not meaning to isn't good enough. Sheldon is a 40 year old man. At some point it's incumbent on him to lift his head and pay attention to the larger world. We've had a year of women talking frankly about sexual assault/sexual harassment/workplace discrimination/misogyny in society. He is coming from a place of privilege and he needs to learn. Sheldon claims to love learning. Yet, he's never expected to learn and that is some bullshit.

Also, Penny not understanding how flights of stairs work is a level of dumb we haven't seen since she was confused by glue. I hate that they do this to her character in general and it was really off-putting in this episode.

  • Love 18
Link to comment
3 hours ago, Kanner said:

I agree 100%.  This is why Sheldon is my favorite.  For the most part his mistakes are never malicious (excluding him getting "revenge"). He felt really bad about it too.

I don't agree with this at all. I knew a person like this IRL. It was annoying, and it was even more annoying that the social ineptitude was supposed to be "adorable" or something. Leads to a toxic work environment.

  • Love 17
Link to comment

So because Sheldon didn’t do it maliciously that makes it ok? The entire show (Young Sheldon included) has time and again shown Sheldon has gotten so used to the coddling given to him by family and friends he will do whatever he wants without any repercussions. This is what we’re supposed to laugh about? Douche baggery - it’s ok as long as it’s not done on purpose!

  • Love 18
Link to comment
21 minutes ago, displayname said:

I don't agree with this at all. I knew a person like this IRL. It was annoying, and it was even more annoying that the social ineptitude was supposed to be "adorable" or something. Leads to a toxic work environment.

I hear you. If I knew Sheldon IRL I would hate him.  I would never tolerate his behavior, we wouldn't be friends, and I would never let him get away with the things he did.  But since it is TV, I allow myself to push that to the side and like things or not be bothered by things I would in real life.   Seinfeld was about a group of unlikable people but it still makes me laugh.

  • Love 4
Link to comment

Only in TV land (I hope) would a university administrator have failed to shut down Sheldon's grossly inappropriate suggestion right away - for all sorts of reasons people have given, but mostly I would hope just for the sake of decency. I was sitting with my mouth hanging open - was I really expected to find Sheldon's actions cluelessly endearing and Amy's outrage funny?

Erm, not.  I've never been so happy to see the scene switch to the B-plot in my life.

  • Love 12
Link to comment
6 minutes ago, thebigboot said:

So because Sheldon didn’t do it maliciously that makes it ok? The entire show (Young Sheldon included) has time and again shown Sheldon has gotten so used to the coddling given to him by family and friends he will do whatever he wants without any repercussions. This is what we’re supposed to laugh about? Douche baggery - it’s ok as long as it’s not done on purpose!

I don't think anyone said it was ok. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment
18 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Also, Penny not understanding how flights of stairs work is a level of dumb we haven't seen since she was confused by glue. I hate that they do this to her character in general and it was really off-putting in this episode.

There are buildings that don't count the ground floor in their numbering because there are no apartments there, so you do have to walk up four flights to get to a "fourth floor" apartment labeled 4A. Not noticing that she's only been walking up three flights makes her oblivious rather than dumb, and implausibly so after this many seasons. This gag was probably a cover for clarifying the building layout to viewers.

  • Love 6
Link to comment
16 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Who was the biggest dick in this episode? Sheldon or Raj? 

Sheldon for the win. What did Raj do that was even close to what Sheldon did? Raj not wanting to share the spotlight is totally different from what Sheldon did. 

4 hours ago, sigmaforce86 said:

What this episode needs is a follow up.  It can be completely redeemed if we had, in the next episode, a scene of Amy going nuclear on the university president maybe with HR present (would be nice to see Regina King again I've liked her in that role) AND then see the fallout of that with Sheldon being sanctioned by the university in some way that really gets to him, a temporary suspension, a fine, something.  Then one scene with him complaining about the sanction as we know he will because he thinks he's never wrong and Amy taking him down a few pegs to where he realizes how he overstepped.  

To have him do what he always does, plow ahead like all his ideas are right and he knows what's best for everyone is in character so what he did to Amy wasn't unusual for him.  What he needs is to learn from his mistakes and the show usually uses his actions for laughs but rarely includes consequences.  This time, with this plot, they really, really need to include consequences.  

I love this idea. It would have made a fantastic two part episode. You also could have extended the Raj Howard subplot and carry that over as well. Show them fighting and then show them making up at the planitarium show (just as we saw in this episode). 

12 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I loved Bernadette's cosmonaut role-playing character - Melissa Rauch is so talented with her voice impressions, even just speaking in her Bernadette voice is kind of amazing when you hear her normal voice.  I also liked the Raj and Howard scene in the planetarium, along with Bernadette's and Leonard's reactions.

That was without question, the best thing about the entire episode. 

11 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I loved the line when Sheldon said that Amy said he could buy one big thing or two little things at the gift shop, and he was so excited. That just cracked me up. 

That was adorable and wonderful, but I wished it had been in a different episode. 

17 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

There are buildings that don't count the ground floor in their numbering because there are no apartments there, so you do have to walk up four flights to get to a "fourth floor" apartment labeled 4A. Not noticing that she's only been walking up three flights makes her oblivious rather than dumb, and implausibly so after this many seasons. This gag was probably a cover for clarifying the building layout to viewers.

I think it was just bit of silly fun and a cheap laugh. It worked for me and didn't make me think Penny was stupid. She couldn't process it in words, she needed to actually see it and walk it for it make sense. 

  • Love 3
Link to comment

OK then I'm dumb too. The ground floor to the 1st floor is the 1st flight of stairs; the 1st floor to the 2nd floor is the 2nd flight; the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor is the 3rd flight, and the 3rd floor to the 4th floor is the 4th flight. What am I missing? Or are the ground floor and 1st floor one and the same? But that would mean they live on the 3rd floor, not the 4th.

The whole thing with Sheldon getting Amy kicked off her own research project was remarkably tone-deaf even for this show. I'm also tired of the show revolving around Sheldon week after week. It feels like Leonard and Penny have become background characters.

  • Love 7
Link to comment
17 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

OK then I'm dumb too. The ground floor to the 1st floor is the 1st flight of stairs; the 1st floor to the 2nd floor is the 2nd flight; the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor is the 3rd flight, and the 3rd floor to the 4th floor is the 4th flight. What am I missing? Or are the ground floor and 1st floor one and the same? But that would mean they live on the 3rd floor, not the 4th.

I think that depends where you grew up. In some countries the ground floor is considered the first floor, in others the next floor up from the ground floor is considered the first floor. It took me a while to wrap my mind around it when I moved from the former Soviet Union to Germany, that I suddenly had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the first floor.

  • Love 8
Link to comment
16 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I think that depends where you grew up. In some countries the ground floor is considered the first floor, in others the next floor up from the ground floor is considered the first floor. It took me a while to wrap my mind around it when I moved from the former Soviet Union to Germany, that I suddenly had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the first floor.

Gets worse in high rise buildings where frequently there isn't an official 13th floor. 

  • Love 6
Link to comment

To throw a wrench in the flights of stairs count, Mr. Pallida pointed out that it seems like there’s a landing and switchback between floors, so even if the 4th floor was theee levels above ground level, couldn’t that be called six flights of stairs?

  • Love 5
Link to comment

I think Leonard somewhere mentioned that the ground floor and first floor were one and the same, so apartments on the ground floor were 1a, 2A, etc., one flight up would be 2A, 2B, etc., two flights up were 3A, 3B, etc., and three flights up would then be 4A. 4B, etc.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
30 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:
52 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

There are buildings that don't count the ground floor in their numbering because there are no apartments there, so you do have to walk up four flights to get to a "fourth floor" apartment labeled 4A. Not noticing that she's only been walking up three flights makes her oblivious rather than dumb, and implausibly so after this many seasons. This gag was probably a cover for clarifying the building layout to viewers.

In her defense we once spent over an hour fighting (or debating if you want to be nice) how many stairs my Grandmother had in her house because nobody could agree whether the landing at the top counted as a step (those who said yes argued that it counts as a step because you have to step up to reach it, those who said no said it's even with the upstairs floor therefor it's the floor not a step), and we couldn't agree whether the downstairs floor counted as a step (same argument, you have to step down to reach the floor so it's a step, but it's part of the floor so it's not a step).   I can still see my Aunt standing at the bottom pointing to each step and saying this counts and you step here so this counts so you have to start counting here and that's step one then counting her way up the stairs  (trust me it was funny if you were there and could see the hand waving and facial expressions!)

I could see automatically thinking I walked up 4 flights because I live on the fourth floor, plus they have that turn in the stairs so two "sections" of flights per floor.  If I lived there I'd probably double it and call that eight flights of stairs.  Considering how heated the argument got at Grandma's my family would never settle how many flights their were and trying to agree on total number of "stairs" would probably make their head explode.

  • Love 12
Link to comment
34 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I think that depends where you grew up. In some countries the ground floor is considered the first floor, in others the next floor up from the ground floor is considered the first floor

The main classroom building at the college where I went had such a weird numbering system---you essentially walked in on the second floor (all the rooms were 200 something), walked down a flight (through a door marked "basement") to get to the 100 rooms (in fact, several professors didn't even realize there were 100 numbered rooms), up 1 & 2 flights to get to 300 & 400 numbered rooms. Furthermore, on the 300 level, there was 306A, 306B, 306C, 306D. First day of classes, students were always dropping by the TA office (326) asking "Where's 308?" and we'd answer "There is no 308". Because, there wasn't. DuSable Hall (denoted DU on schedules) had no 308---they wanted Davis Hall (denoted DH on schedules). 

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Oh Raj,  scared of "showing up at a costume party that turns out to be a regular party" I so identified!  And Dr Siebert's "I must say, I do not enjoy our talks." Laughed out loud.  There may have been lots of issues with this episode but I thought there were some excellent lines!

Edited by BlossomCulp
  • Love 15
Link to comment
43 minutes ago, sigmaforce86 said:

I could see automatically thinking I walked up 4 flights because I live on the fourth floor, plus they have that turn in the stairs so two "sections" of flights per floor.  If I lived there I'd probably double it and call that eight flights of stairs. 

Agreed!  I've been watching this show going on 11 years now and that's my excuse for why I didn't know how many flights of stairs they went up - and they show them going up those stairs fairly often!

  • Love 4
Link to comment

With regard to the Sheldon aspect of this episode :shrug: in a world where Howard Wolowitz is an astronaut and they have junior professors and people competing for tenure who never teach a class I can accept that they're going to have administrators make whoppers like Siebert did.  I liked that as soon as Amy raised objections the inappropriateness of what happened was acknowledged.  I was afraid they were going to turn it around and make Amy happy about it in the end and they didn't do that.  Thankfully!  I did love Sheldon mansplaining mansplaining to Amy mainly because I have had the same thing happen to me (well without the stupid nose bopping) and it's aggravating as hell so showing it is very real to the life experience of a lot of us.

Edited by CherryAmes
  • Love 7
Link to comment
13 minutes ago, Pallida said:

To throw a wrench in the flights of stairs count, Mr. Pallida pointed out that it seems like there’s a landing and switchback between floors, so even if the 4th floor was theee levels above ground level, couldn’t that be called six flights of stairs?

According to nearly all of the online dictionaries I just checked, you're right; landings count, so it should be six, although most people wouldn't call it that unless they want to brag or complain about how many flights they climbed.

8 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

I've been watching this show going on 11 years now and that's my excuse for why I didn't know how many flights of stairs they went up - and they show them going up those stairs fairly often!

The way those scenes are shot, you don't always see them climbing or descending all of them, and you don't know what you may not have seen.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
×
×
  • Create New...