S12.E11: The Paintball Scattering

[Reality police]

Just now, Mystery said:

 

Oh, man! You beat me to it. :-) 

Great minds and such..........

[Guest]

On 1/4/2019 at 8:40 AM, kariyaki said:

I thought Stuart HAD moved out. When did he move back in?

He moved back in just before Halley was born after he got evicted from is apartment. 

9 hours ago, wknt3 said:

The issue is that there is a conflict between what the writers put in the script about how terrible business is and how Stuart isn't making money and what the set designers, directors, etc. put on screen with all the extras in the background, top notch merchandise, etc. I guess you can always fanwank it by saying that rent is high and he has too much money locked up in merchandise and no cash flow...

The store has been successful ever since the Neil Gaiman tweet in the middle of last season. I wasn’t paying that much attention but I don’t remember many extras at the store during the seasons when they really focused on Stuart being broke.

They explained away the current set design by saying it was rebuilt after the fire with money from insurance and Howard’s mom. 

[Reality police]

4 hours ago, Mystery said:

 

Oh, man! You beat me to it. :-) 

 

[Chit Chat]

I could watch Sheldon and James Earl Jones karaoke for an hour, along with Amy and Howard doing their best Neil Diamond songs.  

Quote

The store has been successful ever since the Neil Gaiman tweet in the middle of last season.

I am happy to see Stuart have some success with his store.  I'm glad that he finally has a girlfriend too.  Now we need to see Raj happy - with or without a girlfriend, just make him happy!  I would've liked to have seen them do some story lines with Raj as the Party Planner he wants to be.  That could've been fun.  

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 1/4/2019 at 12:10 AM, Yeah No said:

I hope Raj and Anu cancel the wedding plans and only reschedule them after they date and fall in love, preferably before the series ends, of course.

I wonder if everyone already bought their February plane tickets to India. 

[UncleChuck]

Quote

this series can't end soon enough. everyone needs to go away except mayim who needs her own sitcom. 

Why not?  With so many old shows getting resurrected from the dead, TPTB could always reboot "Blossom"...

[aemom]

On 2019-01-04 at 4:31 PM, willco said:

I timed an episode last year & without ads it was 18 minutes, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if it's now 17 minutes. The way the salaries are, not even counting production costs, I'm sure they are losing money on the 1st run.

They are.  I read an article about this a while back. They're only going to get the money back in syndication. 

Edited January 6, 2019 by AEMom
Typo

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, LadyKenobi said:

How mad would we all rightly have been if the headline were “The Physicist Who Revolutionized Nerology”?

And now I'm imagining an episode in which Sheldon and Amy debate whether the Wired article is to be re-titled online as

• The Neurobiologist Who Revolutionized Physics and the Physicist Who Revolutionized Neurology

or:

• The Physicist Who Revolutionized Neurobiology and the Neurobiologist Who Revolutionized Physics

And now I understand how the writers wind up recycling plot points.

Edited January 6, 2019 by shapeshifter

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, LadyKenobi said:

What I would have liked to see is Sheldon facing the prospect of sharing credit and seeing that he *wants* to do it, because he respects Amy’s intelligence/work *and* because he wanted her to receive proper credit because he loves her. That would have shown character growth and function as a smart parallel to the episode where he gets the credit for Leonard’s work.

I think the biggest problem with Sheldon - as the President of their university pointed out, was that he doesn't interview well.  It was too much risk that he'd shoot himself in the foot and make himself and the university look bad.  I think Sheldon has mellowed a little bit in being able to share credit just by working with Amy.  There's always room for improvement in this area for him, but she knows how to reign him in and they seemed to enjoy working together.  His biggest obstacle with interviews would be the challenges to his intellect - which he thinks is far superior to those who would be interviewing him.  In his mind, no one should dare question him!  I really liked the scene at the end when he realizes that he's about to make an ass of himself, so he quietly retreats to his car.  I'm not sure that Sheldon will ever be able to accept that there are those who are equal or superior to him in intellect.  ;)

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I'm not sure that Sheldon will ever be able to accept that there are those who are equal or superior to him in intellect.  ;)

There seem to be a few exceptions, especially WRT "equal…to him in intellect," beginning with Amy? and then the "luminaries" like Hawking, Einstein, and so on.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, ChitChat said:

  I'm not sure that Sheldon will ever be able to accept that there are those who are equal or superior to him in intellect.  ;)

I’ve been wondering is they are planning on bringing in a grown up version of Paige from Young Sheldon. It would be interesting to see how the current Sheldon deals with her considering she is his age and smarter than him. 

[Chit Chat]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

There seem to be a few exceptions, especially WRT "equal…to him in intellect," beginning with Amy? and then the "luminaries" like Hawking, Einstein, and so on.

One of the funniest scenes to me, and a big comeuppance for Sheldon was when he presented Stephen Hawking his paper with an arithmetic error in it.  Also, I think he finally admitted to Howard that he was jealous of him becoming an astronaut, but he still won't give Howard his due since he's "just" an engineer.  I love Sheldon's character though, warts and all!  There are the times when he is an ass, but there are other times when he's so darn likeable.  I will miss this show.  

It was nice to see Leonard and Penny toasting Sheldon & Amy for their success.  Leonard has always been genuine (that I can remember) when it comes to other people's accomplishments.  I also loved the scene where Leonard couldn't believe that he was getting picked first for a team with paintball.  "What's happening here?"  I can relate to that from my high school days!  I was underestimated because I was short.  ;)

[HazelEyes4325]

4 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I'm not sure that Sheldon will ever be able to accept that there are those who are equal or superior to him in intellect.  ;)

 

The thing is, I think that Leonard, Howard, Amy, Bernadette and (maybe) Raj are all at least equal to Sheldon in intellect, just in different fields.  Heck, Penny has a hell of a lot more social intellect than he does.  But Sheldon's world is so myopic that the only "equal or superior" intellect he would recognize would be someone who had the exact same field of study.

[rmontro]

5 hours ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

The thing is, I think that Leonard, Howard, Amy, Bernadette and (maybe) Raj are all at least equal to Sheldon in intellect, just in different fields.

Hmm, I'm not sure I agree with you here, although I'm not sure I disagree either.  Interesting food for thought.  Sheldon does have a higher IQ, although that isn't necessarily conclusive.  He also completed his academic requirements much sooner than the others, although prodigies tend to plateau once they reach a certain age.  But I do think you definitely have to include Raj if you're including all the others, he knows his astrophysics stuff.  And I agree Sheldon has a myopic world view.

[Gothish520]

On 1/5/2019 at 3:28 AM, shapeshifter said:

I would think they might feel guilty. But I'm one of those worker bees who was recently shocked to learn that a lot of people think "working from home" is a euphemism for lounging around.

Hmm, well, my sister works from home one day a week, and it's definitely not the same as going into the office. Yes she is on her computer, but she's also in comfy clothes, has tv playing on her kindle, takes frequent breaks to get snacks and drinks, and when five o'clock comes, she closes her laptop and her work day is done. No dressing up, no commute to and from, no bosses hanging around - still a heck of a lot better than a regular work day.

[Accidental Martyr]

On 1/5/2019 at 2:23 PM, Dani said:

 

I’d also love to see Melissa Rauch in a new show. This show has been wasting her comedic skills for years to turn her into a bully. 

Check out The Bronze for a little different side of Rauch.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3859304/?ref_=nv_sr_2

[rmontro]

9 hours ago, Accidental Martyr said:

Check out The Bronze for a little different side of Rauch.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3859304/?ref_=nv_sr_2

I saw that, I liked it.  Worth a watch I thought, wasn't great but wasn't bad.  And you get to hear her normal voice throughout (which is a little disorienting lol).

[bad things are bad]

On 06/01/2019 at 8:37 AM, AEMom said:

They're only going to get the money back in syndication. 

Oh, but that money is going to be huge for years, maybe decades. Seinfeldian. Or Friendsian. 

[BlossomCulp]

On 1/4/2019 at 5:34 AM, MissLucas said:

 

Sheldon all of a sudden not wanting to hog all the attention felt OOC but I guess the writers felt Amy deserved a bit of spotlight too after having been forced to abandon her research. So we were left with a bit of a 'meh' plot. I wonder if there will be a follow-up.

 

I don't think that really stuck though.  By the next episode it's never mentioned again which makes me think Amy got her research back.  Was anything said that makes the "Amy loses her research" any different from the dining room table episode?  In other words something done for one episode that is totally forgotten by the writers after the show airs.

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

In other words something done for one episode that is totally forgotten by the writers after the show airs.

I think "selective amnesia" is required of both the writers and viewers in long running comedies.

[CherryAmes]

On 1/4/2019 at 12:22 PM, iMonrey said:

It's been that way with this show for years. I don't know how anyone can watch it live. I always make sure to record it so I can FF thru the interminable commercial breaks.

 Watching it after recording it is something I've done for awhile now, which may explain why I still like it - and seem to like it more than a lot of the people posting here :).  Amy was definitely the star of this episode, but she's kind of owned any scene she's in pretty much since the she started on the show but even more so in the last couple of years.

[Gothish520]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I think "selective amnesia" is required of both the writers and viewers in long running comedies.

Haha, very true! Just check out the "lack of continuity" thread on The Golden Girls forum - it will make your head spin.

2 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

 Watching it after recording it is something I've done for awhile now, which may explain why I still like it - and seem to like it more than a lot of the people posting here :).  Amy was definitely the star of this episode, but she's kind of owned any scene she's in pretty much since the she started on the show but even more so in the last couple of years.

I dvr everything. And I still love this show. Sure, most recent episodes won't make anybody's Top Ten (or even top twenty) but every year they have a handful that really hit the mark - and even the average or below-average ones are fun. I love these characters, and this is one of those familiar shows that I could have on all day. 

[possibilities]

I liked this episode because I thought it had some interesting character moments.

When Leonard didn't want to shoot Penny at close range because it would hurt, and she shot him, and then he shot her and she conceded he was right; it did hurt... I liked that. He was kind to her in his usual way, but then he kind of stood up to her instead of just withdrawing into his woe is me victim mode. And she was inconsiderate and kind of flip with him, but then totally conceded he was right, and accepted the harsh demonstration. It felt in character for both of them, but strangely like a shift in their dynamic at the same time, more towards them feeling more like equals. They'll probably revert to past dynamics and pretend it never happened, but I hope not.

Then, with Raj and Anu, I thought that was also a good moment, when they realized they don't really know each other well enough-- but decided to keep working on getting to know each other, rather than giving up. It seemed like they want to get to know each other for real, and not just go through the motions.

This was much smaller, but I liked that when Howard said yes to paintball on behalf of both himself and Bernadette, his friends thought he ought to ask her first.

And I liked that Sheldon realized he really couldn't handle the interview, and bowed out instead of insisting he could and then letting it blow up in everyone's faces-- twice, no less. That glimmer of humility is real growth for him, even though he was also annoying and tantrummy in other ways.

I am not sure I agree that the show has deteriorated in quality. I think sometimes with longrunning shows, people just get bored with them. I like that they no longer have plots revolving around the guys being gross in pursuit of women they define solely as "hot girl conquests" or "embarrassing compromises because we can't get anyone hotter." That part of the early seasons really offended me. So in some ways I like the later seasons more than the early ones.

I do agree that it's more of a Sheldon show than a true ensemble, and I wish that was more in balance than it is. But that always happens with shows where one character is kind of a breakthrough iconic type. Nowadays, there are quite a few spectrummy characters on TV. But back when BBT started, Sheldon was a big deal. I know there's disagreement about whether he's a true representation of any particular label, but I know of at least one Asperger kid who totally identifies with Sheldon and considers him a representative. (And I also know the "aspergers" label has been phased out by the Lords of the DSM, but I also know people who spent years of their lives being Aspies and don't want to have to stop thinking of themselves under that name just because TPTB decided to phase it out.)

This is not my favorite show by any means, but I still like it enough to watch.

[aemom]

20 hours ago, bad things are bad said:

Oh, but that money is going to be huge for years, maybe decades. Seinfeldian. Or Friendsian. 

Absolutely!

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

I liked this episode because I thought it had some interesting character moments.

When Leonard didn't want to shoot Penny at close range because it would hurt, and she shot him, and then he shot her and she conceded he was right; it did hurt... I liked that. He was kind to her in his usual way, but then he kind of stood up to her instead of just withdrawing into his woe is me victim mode. And she was inconsiderate and kind of flip with him, but then totally conceded he was right, and accepted the harsh demonstration. It felt in character for both of them, but strangely like a shift in their dynamic at the same time, more towards them feeling more like equals. They'll probably revert to past dynamics and pretend it never happened, but I hope not.

Then, with Raj and Anu, I thought that was also a good moment, when they realized they don't really know each other well enough-- but decided to keep working on getting to know each other, rather than giving up. It seemed like they want to get to know each other for real, and not just go through the motions.

This was much smaller, but I liked that when Howard said yes to paintball on behalf of both himself and Bernadette, his friends thought he ought to ask her first.

I suspect that your excellent analysis has more character development put into it than the writers actually intended.

[NoReally]

Quote

One of the funniest scenes to me, and a big comeuppance for Sheldon was when he presented Stephen Hawking his paper with an arithmetic error in it. 

That's one of my favorites, too.

I also like the episode in which the Russian janitor knows the answer that stumped Sheldon (and everyone else) in the Physics Bowl competition. As Leonard said, Sheldon chose to lose by himself rather than win as part of a team.

[Accidental Martyr]

On 1/6/2019 at 11:06 PM, Accidental Martyr said:

Check out The Bronze for a little different side of Rauch.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3859304/?ref_=nv_sr_2

 

On 1/7/2019 at 8:28 AM, rmontro said:

I saw that, I liked it.  Worth a watch I thought, wasn't great but wasn't bad.  And you get to hear her normal voice throughout (which is a little disorienting lol).

Yeah, it’s not great but it has it’s moments. Mostly because you get to hear her say things like:

”Get your bloated pussy in the car!”

[CherryAmes]

13 hours ago, possibilities said:

I am not sure I agree that the show has deteriorated in quality. I think sometimes with longrunning shows, people just get bored with them. I like that they no longer have plots revolving around the guys being gross in pursuit of women they define solely as "hot girl conquests" or "embarrassing compromises because we can't get anyone hotter." That part of the early seasons really offended me. So in some ways I like the later seasons more than the early ones.

Completely agreeing with you on this!  The Comedy Channel here had a marathon over the Christmas break and it was actually disgusting to me how many episodes had as one of the plot points one of the guys having a one night stand (or in Stuart's case a relationship) with a plus size woman.  Played totally for "yeah I know she's fat and disgusting but at least I got sex".  Ugh.  I am very glad this kind of thing has been phased out.

[John Potts]

Can anyone remember if the physicist the President (and then later the interviewer) asked was the one that wrote the paper that Howard and Raj (or was it Leonard?) thought disproved Super Asymmetry? It sounded like a Russian (or at least, Slavic) name. And you'd think Sheldon would have come up with an answer (As Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". All science builds on what comes before - My brilliance relied on their hard work. I mean, our hard work) - or something like that.