S12.E12: The Propagation Proposition

[NeenerNeener]

3 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

7 hours ago, MissLucas said:

 

I wonder if this was an intentional call-back to the pilot where Sheldon and Leonard considered sperm-donation as a means of making money.

 

Slightly OT but I’m glad you mentioned this-I thought I misremembered this scene since it seems to be cut out of the reruns when they cycle back to the beginning.

That was  from the unaired pilot with Amanda Walsh (I think that's her name anyway) as Katie, that was all over the internet a few years back. Katie was such an unlikeable character that they totally rewrote the pilot and hired Cuoco instead.

 

ETA: would Lorre end the series on Penny and Leonard splitting up? It wouldn't be the first time a sitcom tried it and with 13 episodes left there's time to break them up and then get them back together in the last 5 minutes of the finale a la The King of Queens.

Edited January 12, 2019 by NeenerNeener

[Winston Wolfe]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

On Young Sheldon the vanity card had a picture of a photographer from the Globes so now I don’t know what to think.

Hmm...maybe updated vanity cards are added in post-production?  I dunno.

43 minutes ago, Calvada said:

If we're not allowing stupid people to have children, we need to  start sterilizing a  whole bunch of people.  I vote we start with Congress!  And then all the people in front of me in the checkout line at the grocery store.  Then the people who can't figure out a 4-way stop . . .  Wow, this list is long.  I haven't even gotten to my co-workers yet.  

I'm LMAO agreeing but you...but my feelings are a little hurt too :-(   People tell me I'm a pretty bright guy, but 4-way stops have always been a mystery to me as well.  Off to night school I go...

43 minutes ago, Calvada said:

I did not like the return of Amy's infatuation/obsession about the supposed perfection of Penny.  What am I missing?  Penny's a nice looking person, but nothing that warrants that amount of gushing IMO.  Is Kaley Cuoco supposed to be a raving beauty?  I just don't see it.  

Nah, you're not missing anything.  As I posted before, Penny sometimes looks like an animated character.  Cute enough and pretty easy to draw, lol.  Oddly enough there have been much prettier women on BBT.  The other day the show where Sheldon was Raj's wing-man came on and they scored (!) at a party.  The brunette actress in that episode who was not Danica McKellar was so geeky hot it was almost insane.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Winston Wolfe

[Artsda]

Shouldn't Leonard have more of an issue with his current only way of having child is Zach?  I think they brushed under the rug his feelings on Penny not wanting kids.

[LoneHaranguer]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Zack's stupidity already did the job. He’s sterile. He should just get a fish. That way if he drops it overboard, it stands a chance of surviving.

Where is his boat? It'll probably be the wrong species of fish for whatever kind of water he's on.

1 hour ago, Calvada said:

If we're not allowing stupid people to have children, we need to  start sterilizing a  whole bunch of people.  I vote we start with Congress!

That's a little unfair. We can only really judge the ones who keep jumping in front of a camera.  :-)

[Chit Chat]

4 hours ago, Trey said:

It's been mentioned that they should have discussed children before they even got married but  Penny had mentioned at least once that she wanted to have a baby "someday" so I think they both assumed they wanted the same thing. But Penny finally realized she didn't want children.

That's the way I remember it.   She probably changed her mind after watching Howard and Bernadette deal with parenthood.  Sometimes watching someone else go through it is enough to change one's mind!  Reality vs. what one thinks it'll be like.  ;)

I think Penny is very pretty and has a great body.   The only comment that bothered me from Amy was the one about them breast feeding each other's babies.  That was just too much, IMO.  The comments about how she works out and looks good are okay with me.  YMMV.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NeenerNeener said:

That was  from the unaired pilot with Amanda Walsh (I think that's her name anyway) as Katie, that was all over the internet a few years back. Katie was such an unlikeable character that they totally rewrote the pilot and hired Cuoco instead.

The rewritten pilot also included a scene at the sperm bank that is slightly different then the one of the unaired pilot. It has been edited out in the syndicated version but is included on the DVD. 

[CherryAmes]

22 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

And speaking of babies, it annoyed me all over again that Penny unilaterally decided they wouldn't have a family.

It's the one of very few things though where there isn't really any compromise.  Should Leonard get to overrule Penny and force her to have a child?

[Sarah 103]

21 hours ago, Edmond83 said:

I think this is a whole setup to changing Penny's mind about kids in a really silly and stupid way.

If Leonard potentially donating makes Penny change her mind about kids so they agree to try and Leonard ditches helping Zack and his wife then some part of me will always think deep down does she really wants kids or is she just doing it to save her relationship with Leonard?

Penny gave Leonard permission to donate sperm to Zack and his wife. Also, Leonard donating sperm to Zack and his wife does not rule out the possibility of Leonard and Penny having  a child later on so I don't think it's an issue. 

15 hours ago, greekmom said:

If Zack is so rich, they can get the creme de la creme of sperm at some sperm back. They don't need Leonard.

Zack and his wife decided they would rather have someone they know and like as a sperm donor instead of an anonymous person. They could have gone to a sperm back, but they decided not to.

[Homily]

21 hours ago, Edmond83 said:

I think this is a whole setup to changing Penny's mind about kids in a really silly and stupid way.

If Leonard potentially donating makes Penny change her mind about kids so they agree to try and Leonard ditches helping Zack and his wife then some part of me will always think deep down does she really wants kids or is she just doing it to save her relationship with Leonard?

They decided not to resolve this in this episode so who knows where it will go but I did like that Penny acknowledged to Leonard that just as she was the one who gets the final say on whether she will have a baby he should be the one who gets the final say on whether he donates sperm to father a child.  I don't know if this was the show's intent here but it showed a nice level of maturity on Penny's part.  

[Homily]

5 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

No way will Leonard go through with it. Right now he's thinking "his" baby and not "their" baby. Once he thinks clearly, he'll realize this. Hopefully.

Yeah, I think he's just really flattered and probably feeling a bit bad about how jealous he was of Zach only to learn that Zach thinks so much of him that he wants him to help them have a baby, I guess the show could go really cutting edge and actually go through with this and Leonard does it and doesn't make it a big deal and that's the end of it but somehow I just don't see that happening.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Homily said:

They decided not to resolve this in this episode so who knows where it will go but I did like that Penny acknowledged to Leonard that just as she was the one who gets the final say on whether she will have a baby he should be the one who gets the final say on whether he donates sperm to father a child.  I don't know if this was the show's intent here but it showed a nice level of maturity on Penny's part.  

I agree. It was a really refreshing change from the controlling wife that is so common on tv. 

[Yeah No]

22 hours ago, Edmond83 said:

I think this is a whole setup to changing Penny's mind about kids in a really silly and stupid way.

If Leonard potentially donating makes Penny change her mind about kids so they agree to try and Leonard ditches helping Zack and his wife then some part of me will always think deep down does she really wants kids or is she just doing it to save her relationship with Leonard?

 

21 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

They definitely should have talked about it before marriage, and that's on both of them, but not wanting children is the one time someone absolutely does get to make a unilateral decision. No one should ever be forced to be a parent if they don't want to be. If having a kid is so important to Leonard, he should divorce Penny and find a woman who does want to procreate with him.

The sperm donation is not going to change Penny's mind about having kids by itself.   Her mind will change on its own when she suddenly turns up pregnant unintentionally.  She will melt into a pile of mush when it happens to her and she will voluntarily embrace motherhood.  Or something compelling will happen to her to make her rethink her position.  It's going to be that cliche turnaround so typical of TV.  And of course it will happen either right before or right after Leonard's sperm gets donated to anyone, depending on how much irony they're going for.  And it seems like they're already going for a lot considering that a guy that's supposedly as dumb as Zach has made that much money and owns a luxury yacht.

[Edmond83]

13 hours ago, Calvada said:

 I did not like the return of Amy's infatuation/obsession about the supposed perfection of Penny.  What am I missing?  Penny's a nice looking person, but nothing that warrants that amount of gushing IMO.  Is Kaley Cuoco supposed to be a raving beauty?  I just don't see it.  

 

Beauty is of course in the eyes of the beholder,

She's not my type, in terms of tv characters crushes there is only Dana Scully in my eyes lol.

[Bort]

13 hours ago, Calvada said:

I did not like the return of Amy's infatuation/obsession about the supposed perfection of Penny.  What am I missing?  Penny's a nice looking person, but nothing that warrants that amount of gushing IMO.  Is Kaley Cuoco supposed to be a raving beauty?  I just don't see it.  

Taking response to the Penny topic.

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Zack and his wife decided they would rather have someone they know and like as a sperm donor instead of an anonymous person. They could have gone to a sperm back, but they decided not to.

They're probably too dumb to know what a sperm bank is.  I can picture Zack standing there with that look on his face saying something like "Whoa! You mean you can deposit your money and your sperm at the same place?"  I'm sure you fine folks could come up with a much funnier line, but I do think that would be news to Zack! 

[Bort]

Maybe it’s because I have no experience with the IVF process of getting a sperm donor, neither personally nor third-hand, but I would think that an anonymous donor would be preferable just to avoid the potential awkwardness (and possible legal issues) that could come from using a friend’s. Especially since Leonard will not be having any kids of his own if he stays with Penny — though, to be fair, Zack has no way of knowing that part.

[Captain Stable]

I was more concerned that they were still playing Version 4 of Dungeons and Dragons, rather than 5e (which has been around since 2014...)

[DrSpaceman73]

I always liked Zack.  I hope he makes some more appearances

It struck me last night that Sheldon and Zack are the antithesis of each other. 

Zack is not at all intelligent, but he has a whole lot of people skills.  He is oblivious at times to his lack of intellect but is also completely comfortable with himself about it and is completely egosyntonic with himself with no reservations or qualms about his skills

Sheldon for the most part has very few people skills and but is high on intellectual skills.  He is oblivious to his social faux pas but is also completely ego-syntonic about it all

I am almost positive Chuck Lorre had no intention of doing this.  But it still worked out that way. 

And some people prefer knowing the donor rather than using an anonymous one. 

Plus, you know, its TV, where these situations happen all the time. 

No pregnancy can ever occur on TV unless there is some complication.  Unwanted pregnancy, can't get pregnant, twins, IVF, sperm donor, something. 

[DrSpaceman73]

And for the record, I think Kaley Cuoco is pretty hot. 

In California, especially LA, there are probably many young women as hot as her

But still in comparison to Leonard, she is certainly the better looking one of the couple.

[Homily]

19 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

And for the record, I think Kaley Cuoco is pretty hot. 

In California, especially LA, there are probably many young women as hot as her

Agreed.  And I think the show addresses this fairly often.  Like a lot of people I saw the BBT marathon over the Christmas holidays (it was airing on Comedy Channel) and they make it very clear that while Penny is "hot" she's no more Hollywood hot then most of the other aspiring young actresses trying to get a break.  It's one of the strengths of the show IMO.  Sitcoms aren't exactly known for their realism (with some notable exceptions of course).  Personally I found it refreshing that they don't have Penny being pursued by a host of guys offering her parts if she'll sleep with them and they don't have her getting noticed - because even if she's a good actress and a pretty "hot" girl so are tons of other young women.  She stands out in her crowd, she doesn't stand out in the Hollywood crowd.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Maybe it’s because I have no experience with the IVF process of getting a sperm donor, neither personally nor third-hand, but I would think that an anonymous donor would be preferable just to avoid the potential awkwardness (and possible legal issues) that could come from using a friend’s. Especially since Leonard will not be having any kids of his own if he stays with Penny — though, to be fair, Zack has no way of knowing that part.

Perhaps because I've been on this planet more years than most, I happen to have second-hand knowledge of 2 different, related experiences, which I doubt the writers are at all familiar with. 

1. 16 years ago my beautiful, genius, NYU scholarship daughter sold her eggs to earn money to afford to move out of the NYU dorm (she's still in debt, BTW, and I was initially very upset when I learned of what she had done). She actually met with the parents, who chose her out of a number of potential donors. It was all legal and she signed papers stating neither she nor the recipients of her eggs could ever contact each other again. (FYI: It involved taking hormones and surgical procedures.)
   So maybe Penny will suggest something like this to Zack's wife, since the guys both seem to not be thinking beyond the time of a one-night-stand WRT how the future would play out with Zack and his wife raising Leonard's bio-kid. I mean, I'm guessing through a high-end service that they could meet and interview potential sperm donors.
   Lorre could probably get at least a season out of this spin-off. 
2. 39 years ago a friend and her husband (who were unable to get pregnant) adopted the baby of a friend of a friend who already had 4 kids, was currently single, didn't want to marry the father, and overwhelmed. When the adopted girl was in elementary school, my friend and her husband divorced. Shortly after, my friend came in contact with the bio-dad of her daughter. They got together as a family. I have since lost contact with her (pre-Facebook acquaintance).
   Maybe in my imaginary Lorre spin-off, Zack's wife divorces him (gets plenty of $$) and Zack and the kid move in with Penny and Leonard. Zack miraculously is still rich, so NBD--although even if Zack was penniless (no pun intended), IRL Leonard and Penny's salaries should be more than sufficient to provide for all. But that scenario sounds too similar to the horrible (IMO) Two And A Half Men. 

 

Anyway, I'm still expecting Penny to decide she really does want to have a kid.

[Homily]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

IRL Leonard and Penny's salaries should be more than sufficient to provide for all.

This reminded me of the aspect of the show last night that really got me annoyed.  They've had Leonard jealous in the past of friends who are wealthy (when he finds about that Raj's family is Richie Rich rich for instance) and tonight they have him very jealous of, in his opinion, Zach's undeserved wealth.  What annoys me is twofold: Leonard may not be rich but he is better off than probably at least 75% of the people watching this show and if he wants to be rich why did he go into the career he chose?  Leonard is supposed to be a smart guy.  He had to know that while he could expect to make a good living in his chosen field he couldn't expect to become a millionaire and retire in his 30s.  

[Katy M]

24 minutes ago, Homily said:

This reminded me of the aspect of the show last night that really got me annoyed.  They've had Leonard jealous in the past of friends who are wealthy (when he finds about that Raj's family is Richie Rich rich for instance) and tonight they have him very jealous of, in his opinion, Zach's undeserved wealth.  What annoys me is twofold: Leonard may not be rich but he is better off than probably at least 75% of the people watching this show and if he wants to be rich why did he go into the career he chose?  Leonard is supposed to be a smart guy.  He had to know that while he could expect to make a good living in his chosen field he couldn't expect to become a millionaire and retire in his 30s.  

It's realistic.  My sister's a teacher.  She makes enough to live on but constantly complains about how other careers make more money.  Which she presumably knew before going back for her Masters to become a teacher.

And, when you consider that Leonard's mother has spent his whole life negatively comparing him to his siblings, it makes sense that he does the same to himself and always finds himself coming up short.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Katy M

[MissLucas]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I always liked Zack.  I hope he makes some more appearances

It struck me last night that Sheldon and Zack are the antithesis of each other. 

Zack is not at all intelligent, but he has a whole lot of people skills.  He is oblivious at times to his lack of intellect but is also completely comfortable with himself about it and is completely egosyntonic with himself with no reservations or qualms about his skills

Sheldon for the most part has very few people skills and but is high on intellectual skills.  He is oblivious to his social faux pas but is also completely ego-syntonic about it all

They have something else in common - Zack's stupidity and Sheldon's social awkwardness are both plot dependent and fluid.

[Homily]

43 minutes ago, Katy M said:

It's realistic.  My sister's a teacher.  She makes enough to live on but constantly complains about how other careers make more money.  Which she presumably knew before going back for her Masters to become a teacher.

And, when you consider that Leonard's mother has spent his whole life negatively comparing him to his siblings, it makes sense that he does the same to himself and always finds himself coming up short.

Good points and I do have to say I was glad it was Leonard expressing feelings of jealousy and not Penny expressing feelings of regret!  That was certainly a route they could have taken with this storyline and instead of having Penny bemoaning the road not taken she's more focused on how she feels about the idea of Leonard fathering a child for someone else.  That definitely made for a better story for me that's for sure!

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, Homily said:

This reminded me of the aspect of the show last night that really got me annoyed.  They've had Leonard jealous in the past of friends who are wealthy (when he finds about that Raj's family is Richie Rich rich for instance) and tonight they have him very jealous of, in his opinion, Zach's undeserved wealth.  What annoys me is twofold: Leonard may not be rich but he is better off than probably at least 75% of the people watching this show and if he wants to be rich why did he go into the career he chose?  Leonard is supposed to be a smart guy.  He had to know that while he could expect to make a good living in his chosen field he couldn't expect to become a millionaire and retire in his 30s.  

All true

And there is also the fact that these people have a whole lot of wasteful spending and basically whatever they want.  Eating out, comics, sci fi collectibles, etc. 

Leonard and Penny are a two income family with no kids.  I know Penny was low income for a long time and may have some debt, but still, several years now she has been doing pretty well, at least as its implied on the show, with her pharmaceutical job.

I guess they own a car?  They drive people around everywhere, so they must, but seems they've had the same one for a longtime likely.  Never really mentioned. 

I am sure has had good benefits at the University even if his salary is not high.  Do they get pensions at a University?  I don't know. 

Anyway the point being they live pretty well and the only likely big expense they have is rent for California, I am sure its not cheap.  That should still leave them with plenty of discretionary income between the two of them though. 

Lets say theoretically they did have more money or could retire, would their lives likely change much?  They might move to a nicer apartment and travel more, but outside of that, I'd say, not really. 

Financial jealousy is pretty petty for them given their situation

[Katy M]

10 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I guess they own a car?  They drive people around everywhere, so they must, but seems they've had the same one for a longtime likely.  Never really mentioned. 

I feel like Leonard bought Penny a new car at some point, but maybe I'm making stuff up in my head.

[Bort]

2 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I feel like Leonard bought Penny a new car at some point, but maybe I'm making stuff up in my head.

He did, but she sold it when she got a company car with her pharma job.

[Reality police]

2 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I feel like Leonard bought Penny a new car at some point, but maybe I'm making stuff up in my head.

Leonard has always had a pretty nice car. He bought Penny one and when she got the sales job she sold it and they banked the money for a nest egg. 

Sad that I know all this. 

[Homily]

6 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I feel like Leonard bought Penny a new car at some point, but maybe I'm making stuff up in my head.

It was around the time Penny left the Cheesecake Factory and tried to focus only on being an actress.  He bought her a small second hand car.  A few seasons later when she got the job as a pharm rep she sold the car and tried to give him back the money.  It led to a cute scene or two and some angst but ultimately they put the money aside to spend later (don't remember if they ever address that again).  Anyway Penny now drives a company car so in a way they are a two car family with 1/2 the expense :).

 

Or what everyone else said!!

Edited January 12, 2019 by Homily

[Chit Chat]

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I always liked Zack.  I hope he makes some more appearances

The thing about Zack is that he is genuinely a nice guy.  I say good for him for striking it rich!  The guys have been so judgmental about him over the years and insult him under their breath, so it's nice to see that he had some good fortune come his way.  

[Guest]

20 hours ago, Calvada said:

 

I did not like the return of Amy's infatuation/obsession about the supposed perfection of Penny.  What am I missing?  Penny's a nice looking person, but nothing that warrants that amount of gushing IMO.  Is Kaley Cuoco supposed to be a raving beauty?  I just don't see it.  

I’ve always taken the “Penny is hot” comments to be more about the character commenting than Penny.  I saw Amy’s infatuation with Penny is a result of her desperately wanting to fit in with the cool kids.

I have always disliked it because it clearly makes Penny uncomfortable. I am disappointed that it was brought back because it doesn’t fit with who Amy is now.  They would not bring back that aspect of Howard’s personality so I do not know why the writers think it is okay coming from Amy.

[SpiritSong]

7 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Sheldon for the most part has very few people skills and but is high on intellectual skills.  He is oblivious to his social faux pas but is also completely ego-syntonic about it all

I am almost positive Chuck Lorre had no intention of doing this.  But it still worked out that way. 

And some people prefer knowing the donor rather than using an anonymous one. 

Plus, you know, its TV, where these situations happen all the time. 

No pregnancy can ever occur on TV unless there is some complication.  Unwanted pregnancy, can't get pregnant, twins, IVF, sperm donor, something. 

I don't remember any complication from Howard and Bernadette's first baby. I would say she was unexpected, but not unwanted. That's pretty realistic and true to life.

Had to look up egosyntonic. LOL

Edited January 12, 2019 by SpiritSong

[NeenerNeener]

20 hours ago, Dani said:

22 hours ago, NeenerNeener said:

That was  from the unaired pilot with Amanda Walsh (I think that's her name anyway) as Katie, that was all over the internet a few years back. Katie was such an unlikeable character that they totally rewrote the pilot and hired Cuoco instead.

 

The rewritten pilot also included a scene at the sperm bank that is slightly different then the one of the unaired pilot. It has been edited out in the syndicated version but is included on the DVD. 

Interesting. I haven't seen the unaltered, aired pilot since its first run, so I don't remember that scene. Did they say on the dvd why it was cut from the syndicated runs? For more commercial time? To make it play better in The Bible Belt in late afternoon reruns? Because it really didn't fit with the ascetic personality they decided to give Sheldon in episode two?

It was certainly the part of the unaired pilot that I found most cringe-worthy and un-amusing.

[retiredviewer]

On 1/10/2019 at 10:31 PM, shapeshifter said:

What about when they repeatedly bump the kid's head while going down the boat stairs with him to change his diaper (just one example of what can go wrong)?

And, seriously, I didn't need Sheldon to point out that Leonard has heritable illnesses, like asthma and food allergies--not to mention extreme nearsightedness (my kids and I have all of these shortcomings, so I get to point them out). Plus, in the U.S. height is a determinate of success for men--okay, admittedly I should have selected fathers for my kids not based on them being taller than anyone in my family.

And, is niceness passed on through ones genes???

And, furthermore, is Leonard really going to be okay with them parenting his offspring? How will that work? Will he never see them again? Or what? 

Were all the writers and producers sick with the flu when they okayed this script?

I don't think Leonard will go through with it. I do think it will cause Penny to change her mind and decide to have a baby.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NeenerNeener said:

Interesting. I haven't seen the unaltered, aired pilot since its first run, so I don't remember that scene. Did they say on the dvd why it was cut from the syndicated runs? For more commercial time? To make it play better in The Bible Belt in late afternoon reruns? Because it really didn't fit with the ascetic personality they decided to give Sheldon in episode two?

It was certainly the part of the unaired pilot that I found most cringe-worthy and un-amusing.

I’ve never seen a official reason given. I started watching a show in syndication before I saw the original versions and I noticed several thing cut out from the first few seasons. Based on the type of things cut my guess is for more commercial time. 

The aired scene is available on YouTube. It’s not great but it is much better than the one in the unaired pilot. 

[DrSpaceman73]

4 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

I don't remember any complication from Howard and Bernadette's first baby. I would say she was unexpected, but not unwanted. That's pretty realistic and true to life.

Had to look up egosyntonic. LOL

True

Exception proving the rule?

[Driad]

32 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Exception proving the rule?

In case anyone here does not understand this phrase, it uses "proving" in the sense of testing, as in "proving ground."  [/pedantic]

[Crs97]

I thought Bernadette and Howard had decided to try for kids so Halley was both expected and wanted.

[SpiritSong]

3 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I thought Bernadette and Howard had decided to try for kids so Halley was both expected and wanted.

You could well be right. I'm relying on my memory, which isn't what it used to be.  :-(

[trudysmom]

Halley was expected and wanted, the 2nd baby whose name I don't even know, was a surprise, and not a welcome one.  Bernadette was on bedrest for part of the pregnancy and Penny helped them out at least once.  So while not a huge dose of motherhood, she is close enough to Bernadette to decide for herself that it's not for her. 

I would like to see Leonard donate for Zack and his wife, and be allowed to be a part of the child's life.  Uncle Leonard or something.  I can see Zack being okay with that. With all the blended, melded and unconventional families today, these people could make it work and not be weird.

[CherryAmes]

23 minutes ago, trudysmom said:

Halley was expected and wanted, the 2nd baby whose name I don't even know, was a surprise, and not a welcome one. 

I just saw the episodes tonight where we find out Bernadette is pregnant the first time.  It's clear Halley is wanted but she certainly wasn't expected.  She was the result of an impetuous interlude on Sheldon's bed (which Sheldon was not happy to learn of when this came out!)

Edited January 14, 2019 by CherryAmes

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

I just saw the episodes tonight where we find out Bernadette is pregnant the first time.  It's clear Halley is wanted but she certainly wasn't expected.  She was the result of an impetuous interlude on Sheldon's bed (which Sheldon was not happy to learn of when this came out!)

In a later episode she said that she made them have a baby when she was restless after being take off a work project. I interpreted as Halley was semi-expected in that the weren’t trying but they knew it was a possibility. 

[Accidental Martyr]

On 1/12/2019 at 5:02 PM, NeenerNeener said:

Interesting. I haven't seen the unaltered, aired pilot since its first run, so I don't remember that scene. Did they say on the dvd why it was cut from the syndicated runs? For more commercial time? To make it play better in The Bible Belt in late afternoon reruns? Because it really didn't fit with the ascetic personality they decided to give Sheldon in episode two?

It was certainly the part of the unaired pilot that I found most cringe-worthy and un-amusing.

I guess it could have been for any of those reasons but I also though it might have been an attempt to retcon due to Sheldon basically being portrayed as asexual as the series went on. During the scene there’s this bit of dialogue :

Sheldon: Leonard, I don’t think I can do this.

Leonard: What, are you kidding? You’re a semi-pro.

Of course there are plenty of examples of the writers not paying a lot of attention to continuity so I could be wrong.

Edited January 14, 2019 by Accidental Martyr

[SmithW6079]

On 1/11/2019 at 8:36 PM, Artsda said:

Shouldn't Leonard have more of an issue with his current only way of having child is Zach?  I think they brushed under the rug his feelings on Penny not wanting kids.

Penny bought him off by renting the Batmobile for a day.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 1/12/2019 at 12:54 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I am sure has had good benefits at the University even if his salary is not high.  Do they get pensions at a University? 

Not everyone does, but Leonard definitely would.  He also gets a stake in whatever he develops, which hasn't been much so far.

[CherryAmes]

On 1/12/2019 at 12:54 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

Financial jealousy is pretty petty for them given their situation

I've banged this drum before but my biggest beef with BBT when they do this is they seem to have a complete disregard for what the average income of most of their viewers must be.  Between them Penny and Leonard are pulling in somewhere in the neighbourhood of $175-200K.  Excuse me, Leonard if that's not good enough for you!!

[HurricaneVal]

I'm going to co-sign the "Penny gets pregnant on accident, and has a change of heart about having a baby" prediction.  It will probably come as a result of her switching to some experimental form of chemical birth control from her pharmaceutical company that she got for free.  That will also allow for some workplace interactions with Bernadette, which I always enjoy.

I'm also going to predict that Leonard will try to go forward with the sperm donation, but when it comes right down to actually providing the deposit for the sperm bank, he's completely unable to follow through, which will bring up a personal existential crisis for him.  Bonus points if Lorre gets Christine Baransky to make a cameo on the episode.

[LoneHaranguer]

27 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

I've banged this drum before but my biggest beef with BBT when they do this is they seem to have a complete disregard for what the average income of most of their viewers must be.  Between them Penny and Leonard are pulling in somewhere in the neighbourhood of $175-200K.  Excuse me, Leonard if that's not good enough for you!!

When Leonard found out that Penny made more than he did, he was upset and whined about the amount of work and expense he went to. Whenever he sees someone be more successful with seemingly less effort, there may be a part of him that questions whether his mother was right to put him down, and he hates that.

[John Potts]

On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 1:59 PM, Captain Stable said:

I was more concerned that they were still playing Version 4 of Dungeons and Dragons, rather than 5e

Hey, there's nothing wrong with playing an older edition if you prefer that ruleset (though I'm unaware of any editions past 2nd, so can't comment on which I'd prefer).