S12.E06: The Imitation Perturbation

[CherryAmes]

1 minute ago, iMonrey said:

I laughed when Bernie said that her brothers once made her inhale helium, and that she tried to cry for help but the only one who could hear her was the dog.

I thought that was funny too but it also raised, for me, the "why did they retcon Bernadette's family" question.  One of the reasons Bernadette did not want children initially is because she ended up being the de facto Mom to her younger siblings.  We rarely hear about these siblings anymore but the few times they get referenced (like this episode) it sounds like they are older than Bernadette - certainly anyway that she is not the oldest and would not really have been the one doing all that caregiving for much younger children anyway.

[Katy M]

I agree that it's not a good idea to dress up as someone and mimic them.  But, Sheldon has been crapping all over Howard for years.  Another difference between Howard's costume and Sheldon's/Amy's is that Howard was impersonating Sheldon.  He was acting and saying exactly what Sheldon would do and say.  Sheldon and Amy were editorializing while doing, which, IMO, made it more hurtful.  But, they were both wrong.

As for the apologies or lack thereof.  Leonard should have gone to Howard.  Barring that, Amy should have gone to Howard.  OK, it came out that Bernadette made the costume, but this was really about Howard and Sheldon.  And, Bernadette had a good point about Sheldon rarely apologizing.  And, then Sheldon did end up apologizing to Bernadette, when that was all about Bernaadette and Amy.  Sheldon's not the one that made fun of Bernadette's voice and size.  And, actually I don't think Howard much cared about Sheldon making fun of him, because he does it all the time.

I liked Leonard and Penny's story.  I was afraid it was going to devolve into a ridiculous fight, but that was actually really sweet why Penny "didn't remember" their first kiss.  

And, I loved when Burt asked if it was a good party, and Stuart was like "oh, yeah."  LOL.

And, like others, I liked when Anyu came to Raj's defense.  I think those two will make it.  

[Latverian Diplomat]

14 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I loved when she came to Raj's defense, twirling around to cite free speech somewhere on the back of the constitution she was wearing.  So cute.  (And Raj interprets her and she had on the 'bill of tights' underneath.)

 

Technically, free speech would be written on the "bill of tights", but it's a family show, so let's not be that precise. ;-)

[HazelEyes4325]

I think what bothered me about Amy and Sheldon's impression vs. Howard's is that I don't think Howard was trying to be especially malicious.  Yeah, he was poking fun at Sheldon--but not any more so than if he had dressed up as Leonard or Raj.  And he clearly seemed to *want* to have fun with Sheldon over it.  The fact that Sheldon was hurt was unfortunate, but I don't think it was intended (except maybe by Bernadette).  Amy and Sheldon, however, really were trying to be hurtful with their costume--which, as someone said, was pretty out of character for Amy.  And, yes, it was funny...but it was also a little embarrassing (for me) to watch.

[theatremouse]

5 hours ago, greekmom said:

I agree with the above posters about Amy being really cruel.  Even though Bernadette made the costume, Howard wore it.  Why didn't Amy just make Sheldon a Howard costume and not mock Bernadette as well?

Probably because Bernie literally told her it was NBD and to get over it. If when Amy went to Bernie to try to get Howard to apologize (which...I sort of question why Amy would've done that in the first place, but accepting that she did), had Bernie responded with "this is between them" or something to that effect, then Amy's a jerk for looping Bernie into the vengeance costume. But Bernie's reaction in the kitchen when she and Amy were discussing it is exactly why it turned into new costumes for both Amy and Sheldon. Bernie said Sheldon was overreacting to be upset. Hence the whole "let's see how you like it" was applied to both Wallowitzes. I'm not saying I agree with the vengeance costumes at all in the first place, but there was a logical reason why they went after Bernie too.

Given Howard's response at the end, I actually think if it had just been Sheldon coming as Howard afterward, Howard probably would've shrugged the whole thing off anyway. It escalated both because of Bernadette's original reaction to what Howard did AND her reaction to what Sheldon and Amy did.

[BlossomCulp]

2 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

Given Howard's response at the end, I actually think if it had just been Sheldon coming as Howard afterward, Howard probably would've shrugged the whole thing off anyway. It escalated both because of Bernadette's original reaction to what Howard did AND her reaction to what Sheldon and Amy did.

Which as someone noted above is pretty in character for both Amy and Bernadette.  There have been a few episodes where they've gotten very protective of their respective guys and it has almost literally come to blows.  Both have said some regrettable things and both have done some regrettable things!  The costume scenario doesn't even come close to what happened in the parking spot spat.

[Bort]

2 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I thought that was funny too but it also raised, for me, the "why did they retcon Bernadette's family" question.  One of the reasons Bernadette did not want children initially is because she ended up being the de facto Mom to her younger siblings.  We rarely hear about these siblings anymore but the few times they get referenced (like this episode) it sounds like they are older than Bernadette - certainly anyway that she is not the oldest and would not really have been the one doing all that caregiving for much younger children anyway.

Bernadette may have been the oldest female child. Boys weren't really expected to be caregivers of their younger siblings.

[Lily H]

Probably my favourite ep of the season so far, just for the fantastic costumes. And Howard's "Sheldon" was really funny.

[BlossomCulp]

19 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Bernadette may have been the oldest female child. Boys weren't really expected to be caregivers of their younger siblings.

I don't know why now but when I think of the episode CherryAmes is referencing I'm almost positive Bernadette says she's the oldest.  Anyway I think that episode is one the writers have conveniently forgotten as Bernadette became a bigger player on the show,   I don't always care when they change things up with a character's back story and with Bernadette I can give it a pass.  I save my ire for the way they mess around with Penny!

[Reality police]

3 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I thought that was funny too but it also raised, for me, the "why did they retcon Bernadette's family" question.  One of the reasons Bernadette did not want children initially is because she ended up being the de facto Mom to her younger siblings.  We rarely hear about these siblings anymore but the few times they get referenced (like this episode) it sounds like they are older than Bernadette - certainly anyway that she is not the oldest and would not really have been the one doing all that caregiving for much younger children anyway.

Bernie has talked about her mom having an illegal day care in the basement and she had to do a lot of the work. That's why she didn't want kids. 

[BlossomCulp]

1 minute ago, Reality police said:

Bernie has talked about her mom having an illegal day care in the basement and she had to do a lot of the work. That's why she didn't want kids. 

That came before we find out Bernadette's Dad was a police officer.  I wonder how he felt about that illegal daycare!

[Reality police]

1 minute ago, BlossomCulp said:

That came before we find out Bernadette's Dad was a police officer.  I wonder how he felt about that illegal daycare!

With six kids to raise on a cop's salary, I'd say he turned his head. 

[Chit Chat]

6 hours ago, greekmom said:

Amy looked like Ms. Olson from LHOTP in her Clara costume. 

That's who I thought she was at first too, given her love of Little  House on the Prairie.  Imagine how hard that would be to walk around all day with a corset and bustle!  All of their costumes were great.  I am rooting for Raj & Anu to become a happy couple - married or not.  Raj is such a romantic and has been in search of love for so long that he deserves a win.  Maybe his parents were right all along, and an arranged marriage wasn't such a bad idea.  Surely it can't be any worse than some of the women he's already dated!   

[iMonrey]

Quote

I agree that it's not a good idea to dress up as someone and mimic them.  But, Sheldon has been crapping all over Howard for years. 

The show falters in failing to specify whether Sheldon falls somewhere in the autism spectrum and therefore cannot help his social awkwardness, or if he's simply an asshole who cannot stop insulting his friends. If it's the former then what Howard did would be in poor taste, to say the least. If it's the latter, though, he deserved what he got.

I can't help but think so much of the show revolving around Sheldon is because of CBS's investment in the spin-off show, and that so much of his behavior is excused as adorable because of it.

[CherryAmes]

13 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

I don't know why now but when I think of the episode CherryAmes is referencing I'm almost positive Bernadette says she's the oldest.  Anyway I think that episode is one the writers have conveniently forgotten as Bernadette became a bigger player on the show,   I don't always care when they change things up with a character's back story and with Bernadette I can give it a pass.  I save my ire for the way they mess around with Penny!

I don't disagree with you here!  With the back stories I think it's only Howard and Sheldon who have had their back stories stay relatively consistent.  Lots of things I could pick at with Raj, Bernadette, Leonard,  Amy and especially Penny!  I think I need to remember the wise words my husband throws at me when I complain about inaccuracies "It's a sitcom, relax!" :) 

Edited October 26, 2018 by CherryAmes

[Driad]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

Bernadette made the costume

Not getting what was involved in making Howard's "Sheldon" costume. Two T-shirts, which he may have already had. Maybe Bernadette helped Howard make his hair look like Sheldon's but I don't see any other difficulty.

Raj apparently said his own costume was "not Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but ______ Beder Ginsberg."  Did he say that, and if he did, what was the missing word?  I liked how well he and Anu were getting along.

[taanja]

4 minutes ago, Driad said:

Not getting what was involved in making Howard's "Sheldon" costume. Two T-shirts, which he may have already had. Maybe Bernadette helped Howard make his hair look like Sheldon's but I don't see any other difficulty.

Raj apparently said his own costume was "not Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but ______ Beder Ginsberg."  Did he say that, and if he did, what was the missing word?  I liked how well he and Anu were getting along.

Kuth-- a play on his last name

[chitowngirl]

3 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I thought that was funny too but it also raised, for me, the "why did they retcon Bernadette's family" question.  One of the reasons Bernadette did not want children initially is because she ended up being the de facto Mom to her younger siblings.  We rarely hear about these siblings anymore but the few times they get referenced (like this episode) it sounds like they are older than Bernadette - certainly anyway that she is not the oldest and would not really have been the one doing all that caregiving for much younger children anyway.

I could see that younger brothers, once they got taller than Bernadette, would turn the tables on her.

[Zoe]

4 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I don't think Penny would have been a creepy costume. It would have worked well with Leonard's line about assuming that Penny's costume would be sexy. Penny from Inspector Gadget is not a sexy costume and would have worked well with the couples theme. 

I was thinking more along the lines of whether it would be appropriate for a husband and wife to cosplay as an uncle and niece, lol

[AriAu]

Quote

I remember reading that the first six episodes were already filmed before Parsons said he wasn't coming back for another season, so I'm interested if the next episode starts to reflect that, maybe we'll get some growth back

Quote

They found out after the first taping.  The first batch of episodes were already written though.

I thought them harkening back to the first Halloween party/first kiss was the start of a "victory lap" for the show. There will be some controversy (maybe Amy and Bernadette fighting) and then it will all get wrapped up at Raj's wedding (it will most certainly be Raj's wedding and not Anu's wedding or even Raj and Anu's wedding) for the Finale..

And yes, Anu was much less annoying than I thought she would be in this setting, altho I am surprised that she did not get in any good digs on the antics.

[MissLucas]

Raj and Anu were cute. Penny and Leonard were great. Stuart having fun at things going sideways was fantastic.

I loved Helmberg's Sheldon impersonation - he's such a great comedian. I did not care much about the rest of that plot. People in sitcoms often do stuff that is supposed to be just good old fun among friends and I think it's dick*** and unacceptable (HIMYM's slap-bet comes to mind). At least they were trying to make the point that certain pranks and jokes can cross the line and can be hurtful and abusive. But I don't think the execution of the idea was that good.

Edited October 26, 2018 by MissLucas

[nx74defiant]

Loved when Bernie told about the helium and only the dog could hear her that Sheldon's respond with that was horrible because she grew up in a house with a dog!

[ams1001]

18 hours ago, BckpckFullaNinjas said:

Simon Helberg never misses!!!

I enjoyed this episode — the first in many moons. 

My favorite was his reaction to Sheldon's initial (non)reaction to his costume in the hallway. His face was great. (I, too, want to see outtakes of that scene.)

 

18 hours ago, EllenB said:

Some of my co-workers talked about a legendary Halloween party before my time there, at which one guy dressed as another, and not in a complimentary way.  Oh, those crazy PhDs!  The one being imitated was a dick and a slob and deserved some humiliation.  Sheldon's a dick and a control freak, not to mention  rude and condescending, and also  deserved it.

There was a letter a while back (I only read it recently) on the Ask A Manager blog about an employee who dressed up as a relatively new coworker in a not-flattering way and the rest of the office (including higher-ups) voted her best costume. The newer employee did not stay at the job (and the person who wrote the letter was looking to get out, too, as I recall).

 

11 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

 Then she shows up as buxom St. Pauli Girl? 

Is that what she was? I couldn't figure it out.

 

Modern Family had Alex dressed as RBG this week, too. Raj definitely wore it better.

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I am rooting for Raj & Anu to become a happy couple - married or not.  Raj is such a romantic and has been in search of love for so long that he deserves a win.  Maybe his parents were right all along, and an arranged marriage wasn't such a bad idea.  Surely it can't be any worse than some of the women he's already dated!   

I am so Team Rajanu!  She's a cutie, great personality, obviously likes him, and fits in seamlessly with the core group - none of Raj's past GFs ever did.

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

People in sitcoms often do stuff that is supposed to be just good old fun among friends and I think it's dick*** and unacceptable (HIMYM's slap-bet comes to mind).

Does it make me a horrible person that the "Slapsgiving" episode of HIMYM is one of my all-time favorite shows? ;)

3 hours ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

Amy and Sheldon, however, really were trying to be hurtful with their costume--which, as someone said, was pretty out of character for Amy.

Interesting how Amy went from isolated loner to now showing "mean girls" tendencies fairly regularly now.  As another poster said, maybe acceptance has gone to her head.

[TigerLynx]

8 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I agree with your entire post, especially the bolded.  I think that's why I'm able to find this episode and the show in general so funny.  It's not as one-sided as many people think - they do all bust on each other.  Plus it's exaggerated because it's a sitcom and not real life.  I'm grateful to have a show that actually manages to make me laugh out loud on many occasions.

Same here.  And I would love to see the out takes too.  I don't know how they kept it together in the hallway scene. 

In the episode where Beverly came to work with Leonard, Howard and Raj were giving Leonard all kinds of grief until he turned the tables and Beverly on them.  It is mutual.

7 hours ago, BckpckFullaNinjas said:

Also, Mayim Bialik was hilarious! Fun to see her get to act beyond the confines of AFF.

I did to.  I think Amy dressed as Bernadette because of Bernadette's comment that Sheldon could dish it out, but not take it.  Amy wanted to see how Bernadette handled being impersonated.

Also, out of everyone, I find it interesting that Sheldon was the only one who apologized.  It was a Sheldon type apology, but Howard, Bernie, and Amy didn't apologize at all.

[MissLucas]

6 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Does it make me a horrible person that the "Slapsgiving" episode of HIMYM is one of my all-time favorite shows? ;)

Nah, I know it's a favorite of many folks - they can't all be horrible *she hopes*

[CleoCaesar]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The show falters in failing to specify whether Sheldon falls somewhere in the autism spectrum and therefore cannot help his social awkwardness, or if he's simply an asshole who cannot stop insulting his friends. If it's the former then what Howard did would be in poor taste, to say the least.

To me (and many others) Sheldon is very clearly somewhere on the autism spectrum. The inability to understand social cues, the inability to understand sarcasm, even stuff like an obsession with trains and flags, the obsessiveness of his hobbies, rigidity, the list goes on. He's on the high-functioning end of it, sure, but definitely not "neurotypical", in short. But the writers have always been deliberately wishy-washy on the subject as a way to keep making fun of him and not have to get criticism on that front.

The second I saw Howard mocking Sheldon's robotic speech and stilted communication style, I wondered if people on this forum and others were going to get offended and accuse the show of mocking people with autism.

[AnnaRose]

15 minutes ago, TigerLynx said:

Also, out of everyone, I find it interesting that Sheldon was the only one who apologized.  It was a Sheldon type apology, but Howard, Bernie, and Amy didn't apologize at all.

I wasn't surprised Sheldon was the only one to apologize. Like everybody else on this planet, Sheldon has plenty of flaws, but he does admit when he's wrong and he also has always been willing to sincerely apologize and make amends when it is pointed out to him that he hurt someone.  That is something I really admire about the character.  I know people in real life who are sadly incapable of ever doing either of those things.  Ever.

Another example from a while back: Sheldon drew up a contract stipulating that he and Leonard would share their profits with Howard, promising not to make fun of him/engineering and explaining that Howard was the one who had actually started that whole thing.  Even so, Sheldon felt bad for hurting his friend more than he realized and added a clause to give 25% off his profits to a scholarship for Howard and Bernadette's first child.

[Meushell]

15 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Yeah, that bugged.  And it was compounded by Bernie's "Oh, so you wanna talk about bodies?  You really wanna go there" to Amy came dangerously close to fat-shaming, IMO.

That’s a huge leap in logic. Amy isn’t fat. She’s not model thin, but she isn’t fat either. 

[anna0852]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

 

There was a letter a while back (I only read it recently) on the Ask A Manager blog about an employee who dressed up as a relatively new coworker in a not-flattering way and the rest of the office (including higher-ups) voted her best costume. The newer employee did not stay at the job (and the person who wrote the letter was looking to get out, too, as I recall).

I immediately thought of that letter as well. I wonder Alison's response would have been if Amy wrote in about what happened last week 

[Winston Wolfe]

Given the model-thin standards set by this show, and Hollywood in general, Amy isn't the general standard.  That's what Bernie was hinting at, is all I'm saying.

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, CleoCaesar said:

The second I saw Howard mocking Sheldon's robotic speech and stilted communication style, I wondered if people on this forum and others were going to get offended and accuse the show of mocking people with autism.

While I  applaud Simon Helberg on his impersonations, I thought that his impersonation of Sheldon was a little too robotic, especially the way he held his arms out.   Sheldon's not that stiff!  I didn't care for the direction the episode took with Amy & Sheldon mocking Bernadette and Howard.  They took it too far.  It made Amy look like the mean girl, and she's not usually that way.  

[luvly]

6 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Probably because Bernie literally told her it was NBD and to get over it. If when Amy went to Bernie to try to get Howard to apologize (which...I sort of question why Amy would've done that in the first place, but accepting that she did), had Bernie responded with "this is between them" or something to that effect, then Amy's a jerk for looping Bernie into the vengeance costume. But Bernie's reaction in the kitchen when she and Amy were discussing it is exactly why it turned into new costumes for both Amy and Sheldon. Bernie said Sheldon was overreacting to be upset. Hence the whole "let's see how you like it" was applied to both Wallowitzes. I'm not saying I agree with the vengeance costumes at all in the first place, but there was a logical reason why they went after Bernie too.

Bernie did say that though. 

Quote

A: Maybe Howard could apologize?
B: You're kidding, right? Sheldon didn't apologize when he said my baby looked like Winston Churchill.
A: He loves Churchill. Your son should take that as a compliment.
B: He said it about my daughter.
A: Well, this isn't about Sheldon. This is about Howard.
B: I think it is about Sheldon. How many times has he made fun of Howard for being an engineer? Going to MIT? His magic?
A: Sheldon doesn't make fun of his magic.
B: Well, he should. It's stupid. Anyway, the point is, Sheldon shouldn't dish it out if he can't take it.
A: I think the point is that Howard owes him an apology.
B: Yeah, well, I think the point is if Sheldon has a problem with Howard, Sheldon should take it up with him.
[Halley cries over monitor]
B: Now, if you'll excuse me, the prime minister of England needs her diaper changed. 

Amy left that conversation knowing that Bernadette felt Sheldon and Howard needed to hash it out amongst themselves, but still chose to make fun of her. 

[SosaLola]

13 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I laughed when Bernie said that her brothers once made her inhale helium, and that she tried to cry for help but the only one who could hear her was the dog. 

I loved how Sheldon tried not to laugh at that. 

[SosaLola]

The third time Howard said "iiiiiiinteresting" I snorted out my milk laughing! 

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I laughed when Bernie said that her brothers once made her inhale helium, and that she tried to cry for help but the only one who could hear her was the dog. But . . . I could have sworn there was an earlier joke where she actually did inhale helium, and her voice didn't change at all.

Poetic/literary/sitcom writers' license.
But the writers' attempt to admit this was bullying kind of fell flat to me—like it was tacked on but they really didn't care. IDK. Decades ago I had a truly kind friend with a voice like Bernadette's (or Karen's of Will and Grace) who never yelled because of the way it sounded.

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, LadyKenobi said:

so I call non-continuity on her not being at one with the corset for a day.

From what I understand, corsets are wicked uncomfortable, so I don't call it a continuity fail for her to complain about it, even if she enjoyed the look of the costume at the same time.

[Driad]

On 10/26/2018 at 10:07 AM, CherryAmes said:

[Bernadette] was upset about being mocked for things she can't change (her height and her voice)

A voice can be changed, at least a little. Long ago I heard a recording of my voice and thought it was too high pitched, so I started making a conscious effort to speak in a lower register.  It has become a habit now, although I need to remind myself when I get excited.

[theatremouse]

12 hours ago, luvly said:

Bernie did say that though. 

Amy left that conversation knowing that Bernadette felt Sheldon and Howard needed to hash it out amongst themselves, but still chose to make fun of her. 

But by the time Bernadette said that, B had already said this "Anyway, the point is, Sheldon shouldn't dish it out if he can't take it." So the gauntlet was thrown. I was suggesting if B's only response to A was "they should hash it out themselves" and didn't engage otherwise, but that's not how it went down. B suggested they should work it out with each other after having already been dismissive to A. So it was too late.

[Chit Chat]

I'm disappointed in the writers for having written Amy's character the way they did.  It wasn't very nice of Amy to make fun of Bernadette's short stature by calling attention to her short legs and how many steps it would take her to walk back to her apartment to change.  It's just not cool.   Nobody likes to be made fun of, especially about things one has no control over.  The worst thing people will say to us short folks is "when are you going to grow up?"  Ugh.  It's not cute.  It's not funny.    I wonder if Mayim had any qualms about that particular line in her dialogue.  Amy knows what it's like to be the unpopular girl.  It's not in her nature to hurt her friends like that.  

[Trey]

2 hours ago, ChitChat said:

The worst thing people will say to us short folks is "when are you going to grow up?"

Or, "how's the weather down there?". I am short too and it gets pretty tiresome.

I thought Howard was really hilarious doing Sheldon - Leonard's and Raj's reactions were great too and I think they were laughing more at how good the impersonation was than actually laughing at Sheldon. I think both Sheldon and Amy took it far more seriously than they needed to.

I didn't care so much for the rest of it, Bernie's dismissive attitude to Amy or their meanness to Howard and Bernie.

I did like the "first kiss" explanation from Penny; also, Anu, Burt and Stewart were good in their brief allotments of time.

[Ciarrai]

I love Bernie and have for years, so I was on her side for the entire episode. I also really related to her lines at the end about how hard it is for her when people don't take her seriously because of her height and voice. As someone under 5'0 and with a relatively higher voice (though nowhere near as high as Bernadette's), I too find it frustrating when people make fun of my height or don't take me seriously. You have to earn being able to make fun of me being short; few people in my life have other than my husband, brother, and similarly short cousin (because we make fun of each other's height).

[wknt3]

On 10/26/2018 at 12:09 AM, shapeshifter said:

I like to think Jim Parsons chose to do the dress-up-as-a-friend bit more subtly--letting Sheldon (who would not be a good impersonator) show through
--and that maybe JP felt just as uncomfortable with this type of bullying as I did watching it.

Oh it was definitely a deliberate choice - As you say Sheldon would not be a good impersonator, especially an angry Sheldon. So both the writing and the performance didn't have the same subtlety and were obviously Sheldon just copying some elements of his appearance and saying insulting things that he thought were the same thing as what Howard was doing. And Amy was somewhere in the middle. They knew what they were doing and they did it very well.
 

On 10/26/2018 at 4:46 PM, iMonrey said:

The show falters in failing to specify whether Sheldon falls somewhere in the autism spectrum and therefore cannot help his social awkwardness, or if he's simply an asshole who cannot stop insulting his friends. If it's the former then what Howard did would be in poor taste, to say the least. If it's the latter, though, he deserved what he got.

I can't help but think so much of the show revolving around Sheldon is because of CBS's investment in the spin-off show, and that so much of his behavior is excused as adorable because of it.

I think their intention is that Sheldon is not Aspberger's per se, but is someone who cannot completely help himself due to various issues (some OCD traits, his upbringing, etc.) but is capable of growth and change, Indeed they have shown some of that growth over the series. I'm not sure it is faltering to not come down more firmly on exactly what is inherent and what is a character flaw since it creates all sorts of story issues of exactly the type you lay out.

As far as the show revolving around Sheldon and the spinoff it was focused on Sheldon before the spinoff was around. It exists because he was the breakout character and CBS wanted to find a way to give Jim Parsons more money and keep him around to get the last few seasons. If the show never actually made it to air or flopped the show would still revolve around Sheldon since they ran out of new ideas for Leonard, Penny, and Raj about 4 years ago.

[SpiritSong]

On 10/26/2018 at 7:25 AM, greekmom said:

I agree with the above posters about Amy being really cruel.  Even though Bernadette made the costume, Howard wore it.  Why didn't Amy just make Sheldon a Howard costume and not mock Bernadette as well?

Amy looked like Ms. Olson from LHOTP in her Clara costume. 

I used to like Amy Farrah Fowler. Now I think she's as big a dick as Sheldon. Why was she sticking her nose in Sheldon and Howard's relationship in the first place? If she had to interfere it should have been her encouraging Sheldon to stick up for himself. Instead she becomes the Mommy-wife who fixes all his problems and makes sure no one hurts his little feelings. Gag me.

[Runningwild]

I thought Howard’s impersonation was funny. But when Any told Bernadette that Sheldon’s feelings were hurt, she should have not been so dismissive of Amy or Sheldon. Maybe it was all in good fun to Howard, but it seemed like Bernadette wanted to hurt Sheldon’s feelings. So I have no problem with Sheldon and Amy’s impersonations. Bernadette’s a bully. She’s just as bad as Sheldon. 

[SpiritSong]

On 10/26/2018 at 12:37 PM, HazelEyes4325 said:

I think what bothered me about Amy and Sheldon's impression vs. Howard's is that I don't think Howard was trying to be especially malicious.  Yeah, he was poking fun at Sheldon--but not any more so than if he had dressed up as Leonard or Raj.  And he clearly seemed to *want* to have fun with Sheldon over it.  The fact that Sheldon was hurt was unfortunate, but I don't think it was intended (except maybe by Bernadette).  Amy and Sheldon, however, really were trying to be hurtful with their costume--which, as someone said, was pretty out of character for Amy.  And, yes, it was funny...but it was also a little embarrassing (for me) to watch.

I think the intent makes all the difference. Isn't imitation supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery? Howard's impersonation of Sheldon was hilarious, but then Simon Helberg is probably the best comedic actor on the show. Amy was deliberately being a bitch to Bernadette, because she was annoyed about something her husband had done, and she did it as cruelly as possible. Why didn't she go to Howard if she thought him apologizing was so important? I find the whole mother/child aspect of Amy and Sheldon to be icky, for lack of a more scientific word.

Raj and Anu were great together. See writers, that wasn't so hard. I also enjoyed Burt asking if arranged marriages were only for Indians or could he get in on it. Wonder if he blew all of his MacArthur award money already? He was happy enough to use that to attract women in an earlier episode.

I also like that we're getting to see some of the sweeter moments between Penny and Leonard. It's clear the writers have no idea what to do with them at this point but I'd rather see some genuine moments of connection than insults or stupid misunderstandings.

[summitsw]

54 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

So I have no problem with Sheldon and Amy’s impersonations. Bernadette’s a bully. She’s just as bad as Sheldon. 

I actually think she’s worse, Sheldon often doesn’t know better. Bernadette always knows she’s being a dick and chooses to be. 

[displayname]

28 minutes ago, summitsw said:

Sheldon often doesn’t know better.

An excuse that needs to not be thrown about anymore with his "character development". He's not a child, in his own words.

Edited October 28, 2018 by displayname

[Katy M]

5 hours ago, summitsw said:

 Sheldon often doesn’t know better. 

He's been told time and again.  He's at least in his mid-thirties, raised by a kind, caring woman, surround by friends who are more understanding than most people would be of his foibles, explained to when he does something really hurtful.  If he doesn't know better by now, he's nowhere near the genius he thinks he is.

[shapeshifter]

In part, I suppose these 12th- and last-season impersonations served as auditions for SNL or other venues.