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S12.E23: The Change Constant; S12.E24: The Stockholm Syndrome


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13 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

In the final scene Penny is wearing the shirt she wore in the first episode.

I think that's a cute shout out to the uber-fans.  I never would have noticed.

Did you see the "behind the scenes" special after the finale?  They did a walk-through of the wardrobe room, and ALL of the outfits/costumes were there.  I never realized a show would do this - keep every outfit worn by the characters through the run of the show.  I'm not exactly certain why they would want to do it, especially for 12 seasons.  But they even had the Aquaman and Flash halloween costumes, Bernadette's pageant dress, things like that. 

On that note, I hope Mayim was able to keep all the post-makeover outfits from the finale.  Especially her "reveal" outfit. 

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4 hours ago, gameshowjunkie said:

Metcalf has been doing theater in NYC - maybe they couldn't make the scheduling work? I kept waiting for her as well.

The episode was OK. Hate the Penny pregnancy. Good lord, some women do not want to have kids! It's OK!! I'm glad they didn't pair Raj off, as sitcom writers tend to do with finales.

Amy's makeover was probably my favorite part.

Yeah I know but a  telephone call  or something could have been done I think. BBT has money could have gone to her.

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7 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Penny not wanting to have kids wasn’t  exactly a twelve season story arc.  It only came up after she was married to Leonard and the other guy wanted Leonard to father his kid.  If anything Penny not wanting kids was a stupid plot point to add needless drama and make Leonard sad. 

This was always going to end with them having a kid.  I am just surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.

Right, if it has been established since the character showed up. That is one thing, but it really was just used in one episode and barely ever came up. So, having her pregnant wasn't a problem at all, because really. It was more of using Penny as a sergeant that caused so many problems. Once again ONE EPISODE! It be a difference if that was instilled in the character over the course of 12 years, but it wasn't. 

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1 minute ago, Dani said:

I loved that both of Georgie’s ex-wives texted Sheldon congratulations. 

It's also kind of a little weird.  I don't even know my ex-BIL's number.  They've shown that Sheldon and Georgie have been pretty estranged their entire adult lives.  I'm surprised he would even recognize their names.

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12 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I think that's a cute shout out to the uber-fans.  I never would have noticed.

Did you see the "behind the scenes" special after the finale?  They did a walk-through of the wardrobe room, and ALL of the outfits/costumes were there.  I never realized a show would do this - keep every outfit worn by the characters through the run of the show.  I'm not exactly certain why they would want to do it, especially for 12 seasons.  But they even had the Aquaman and Flash halloween costumes, Bernadette's pageant dress, things like that. 

On that note, I hope Mayim was able to keep all the post-makeover outfits from the finale.  Especially her "reveal" outfit. 

There are a few reasons for this, including expenses and tracking. Sometimes a scene has to be reshot for DVD release because of a production issue or there is a flashback in a future season.

This article is about movies, but it pertains to television shows too. Studios have to account for the money they are spending and cannot easily just give away or sell off things that cost money.  https://www.racked.com/2018/3/16/17072356/movie-and-tv-wardrobes-after

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15 minutes ago, Katy M said:

It's also kind of a little weird.  I don't even know my ex-BIL's number.  They've shown that Sheldon and Georgie have been pretty estranged their entire adult lives.  I'm surprised he would even recognize their names.

 I'd like to think that Georgie is so proud of his younger brother that he was all over social media and maybe the Ex-Wives found out that way.

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22 minutes ago, Katy M said:

It's also kind of a little weird.  I don't even know my ex-BIL's number.  They've shown that Sheldon and Georgie have been pretty estranged their entire adult lives.  I'm surprised he would even recognize their names.

Maybe they never socialized together but why wouldn't he recognize their names? I'm sure he met them a few times at least. Mary probably also talked or wrote about the family whenever she contact Sheldon.

 I also like to imagine one of the wives is Veronica whom Sheldon knew since childhood.

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4 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

I wasn't bored, but I was disappointed. Maybe our expectations were just too high? 

I didn't know what to expect from the finale, but I didn't think the whole thing would revolve around Sheldon once again.  Yes, we know he can be a jerk to his friends.  He apologizes from time to time, but then reverts back to the same behavior.  I thought they made him too full of himself, given that we've seen that he can be nice, so it was just a big set-up for his final speech - which was nice, but how many times have we seen him acknowledge his mistakes only to make them again?  Everyone will forgive him for 12 years of dickish behavior, then life will go on and before long they'll all be saying "oh, Sheldon," once again. 

I'm feeling 'meh' too, but maybe part of it is the realization that the show is over now.  That makes me sad.  There are so many questions left unanswered, and I'm kind of bummed about that.  Maybe they shouldn't have had the Nobel storyline and focused on the other characters and the things the fans wanted to know.  Whether Sheldon won a Nobel or not wasn't in my priority of events that had to happen with this show.  I would much rather had seen Leonard's siblings, and for Raj to meet the girl of his dreams, given that he's always wanted to meet someone special.  I would've loved to see Penny get back into acting in some capacity.  

I don't mean to be a Nellie negative about the show.  As I've said before, at least it wasn't a 'Lost' kind of ending, so for that I'm grateful! 

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2 hours ago, chaifan said:

  I never realized a show would do this - keep every outfit worn by the characters through the run of the show.  I'm not exactly certain why they would want to do it, especially for 12 seasons. 

They should have a charity auction. I enjoyed the finale although Penny getting pregnant was predictable.  I did get a little teary, and that's not like me at all.

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3 hours ago, Biggie B said:

I've always seen Sheldon as on the autism spectrum, and often wondered through the years why none of the other characters ever wondered about that,

I read where the writers said they weren't going to put any labels on him because it's too complicated for a sitcom. He's not crazy. His mother had him tested. 

7 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Sheldon, in particular, is not going to want to move. Changing jobs, states, and friends would be almost fatal for him.

He tried to move somewhere in a previous episode to get away from crime,  but that didn't work out. I wonder how he adjusted moving from Texas to California. 

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18 hours ago, Calvada said:

They blew up the elevator with rocket fuel.  It should have taken days to fix - how could no one have noticed that people were working on it?

None of them would have been home while workmen were there, now that Penny has a regular daytime job, and the tape and signs kept falling down and going missing over the years, so if things looked a little different at the end of the day, they wouldn't have given it a second thought (and neither would most viewers?).

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I never particularly wanted kids.  I also had one of those whoops pregnancies (possibly because 🍸🍹🤔 lol) at about the same age Penny is supposed to be.  After a minor panic moment (or two or three), I decided I was cool with it.  Remember, they didn't show Penny and Leonard's immediate reaction - they'd had time to adjust their feelings (her possible panic, his definite ecstacy) by the time it was shared with the audience.

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45 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

None of them would have been home while workmen were there, now that Penny has a regular daytime job, and the tape and signs kept falling down and going missing over the years, so if things looked a little different at the end of the day, they wouldn't have given it a second thought (and neither would most viewers?).

Plus they took 12 years to fix it, so the workmen might have only been there 10 minutes a day.

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Most of the finale was fine (predictable - in a good way - but fine). Still, I'm such a sucker for acoustic versions of songs that between it and the ending dinner scene, it made me more than a little misty eyed.  And the vanity card was perfect.

The weirdest part for me was hearing a Killers song used in an animated movie promo on a  commercial break.  It brought home how different things were 12 (TBBT) - 14 years ago.  

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17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

After thinking more about this finale, I have two more thoughts.  The first is that Amy's hair was actually shorter after the "two months" passed than it was right after the makeover.  I wonder what the story was with that.  I liked it better in its longer version. 

Eh, I had hip-length hair by the end of high school, kept it that way for a couple more years, and decided to cut it just before my junior year of college. I got ten inches cut off and it was at my shoulder blades, then a couple months later went to a place near school to get a "trim" and ended up cutting it to shoulder-length (another 6 inches or so), because why not? (Which reminds me, I need a haircut.)

Is it bad that I saw someone mention the cameo here last night and I already couldn't remember who it was?

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9 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Yep, I prefer the Mary Tyler Moore way of ending things - a group hug, a good cry, then Mary turns out the lights of the newsroom one last time. We don't know where they're going, but we know where they've been. Just like the gang sitting around the coffee table eating and joking. I don't know where they're going, but I've been there for their journeys so far. I've laughed, cried, and went "awww" so many times. Thank goodness for re-runs!

I agree. Had there been an "X years in the future" ending, I think it would actually have pleased the fans even less, just through looking at the different endings people wanted here in this one forum. Fading out with the couch scene leaves it all open. Maybe the cast had input into that (it would be nice).

I was a little torn at Raj leaping to change Amy's look. Instead of assuring her that everybody has angles they perceive as unflattering and it's just one photograph, he starts in on her glasses/hair/wardrobe/makeup. He was nice about it, but she's no stranger to not conforming; why now? All her achievements and she still didn't feel completely viable. Thanks, society /rant. But then she did seem so happy and she's probably my favorite character, so I don't know.

Thanks to the person upthread (I neglected to grab the quote) for mentioning other shows that didn't succumb to the pregnancy trope. (And thank goodness for syndication and YouTube for making it possible to see them no matter when you were born.)

I didn't want to tear up at Sheldon's speech, but it got me good. I don't think I'll miss this show, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

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29 minutes ago, HouseofBeck said:

I was a little torn at Raj leaping to change Amy's look. Instead of assuring her that everybody has angles they perceive as unflattering and it's just one photograph, he starts in on her glasses/hair/wardrobe/makeup. He was nice about it, but she's no stranger to not conforming; why now? All her achievements and she still didn't feel completely viable. Thanks, society /rant. But then she did seem so happy and she's probably my favorite character, so I don't know.

I don’t think Amy’s ever been completely happy with her old look. I looked at her makeover has her finally letting go of her mother’s judgement and her fear of upsetting Sheldon.

Edited by Guest
(edited)
2 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I didn't notice that the caution tape was gone. Not til Penny arrived in the elevator and the significance dawned on me.

I loved the way they shot that scene, because the camera just went back and forth from Leonard and Sheldon, and the elevator was only shown for a second before it opened. I would imagine most didn't register that the caution tape was gone, and that the elevator was dinging. Well done, writers. 

I loved the episode. From Amy's quiet "We won" which made me tear up, to the slap which made me howl, Amy's make over, Sheldon's speech, etc.  So much good stuff. As a woman who has never wanted children, I didn't even mind Penny being pregnant as it wasn't something that we saw/heard from her the entire series. Amy's make over was great, and I just wish they had done it earlier in the season so we could have seen more of her fantastic wardrobe. Also, I have several friends and relatives who have glasses the same shape as Amy's - they don't suit anyone I know, but looked fantastic on Amy. 

I thought Sheldon's speech was wonderful (also teared up at it), and for those who watch Young Sheldon, YS was brilliant in its ending as well. Though like some others I think the show could have ended a couple of years ago, I will miss this family of characters. 

Edited by UsernameFatigue
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47 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Is it bad that I saw someone mention the cameo here last night and I already couldn't remember who it was?

Re the cameo - I saw some article in which one of the showrunners was quoted about how amazing the cameo would be, how they swore the media to secrecy, it would be huge, blah blah blah, and it got me wondering who it would be, and I came up with George Lucas.  Never once thought of SMG!

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15 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm okay with at least one of the group remaining single for now—I just wonder if in the future it will be deemed racist that the one person not romantically matched is also the only main character who is a person of color.

Once they dropped the selective mutism personality quirk, the show never knew what to do with Raj. He hasn't had a good storyline in years, but I don't think his race had anything to do with it. I agree with those who said why even bother introducing Anu if they were just going to drop it at the end?

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19 hours ago, Yeah No said:

After thinking more about this finale, I have two more thoughts.  The first is that Amy's hair was actually shorter after the "two months" passed than it was right after the makeover.  I wonder what the story was with that.

I didn't even notice, but I would assume she got it cut again during a visit to the hairdresser.

11 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

The only thing which kept this from being as bad as the finale to How I Met Your Mother: they didn't kill off Howard so that Raj could marry Bernadette.

That would have been both hilarious and awful.

11 hours ago, Ottis said:

Here's another way this could have ended, which I would have respected more:

- Nobel winners Sheldon and Amy get job offers at MIT (or some Ivy league East Coast school) and go there, where Sheldon must now break in a whole new bunch of snobby, East Coast types who think they are smart and must realize Sheldon is smarter.

- Howard is called back to the space program to lead an initiative that helps scientists become astronauts, where his fears and vulnerabilities are a strength.... and Bernie's book about the astronaut becomes a smash hit. She leaves her job at the drug company to become a children's book author who doesn't take shit from publishers.

- Penny sticks to not having kids, and she is recruited to another company to a C-level position where she is fulfilled and happy, while ironically Leonard is spotted by a Hollywood scout and is cast in a new TV show about a blue collar family in the Midwest (hint, hint, wink)

- Raj decides to go to London and see if it works with Anya, and his dad coincidentally moves to London  as well where they will spend more time together and seem to realize the value of that

- Stuart marries his girlfriend and opens another comic book store

- And while all these things are signaled and don't happen yet, the clear message is that through these changes, they all remain friends.

I would have liked that a lot better. And it shows effort.

And I would have had less respect for a finale like that, because that's just the writers showing off, "Look what we can do with the characters" -- change for change's sake and not organic with the characters as they've been developed over the years.

**

So people are upset that Penny is pregnant -- a sitcom finale trope -- while simultaneously being mad Raj didn't find the girl of his dreams and live happily ever after -- a sitcom finale trope.

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10 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Things happen. She was happy. Maybe they shouldn't have made it such a big part earlier, but its okay. Plus she stopped drinking! 

Things happen in real life, but this was a scripted show. So it was someone's deliberate choice to override years of character development. 

7 hours ago, Trey said:

What I disliked the most was that they made Sheldon such a total dick, far worse than normal, just so they could all confront him and then have him give that wonderful speech.  I can't imagine Sheldon, in a normal episode, being so rude and condescending to Penny and Leonard about Penny being pregnant.

Ha, he seemed perfectly normal Sheldon to me. The person who, if not for Leonard staying with him, would have ended up totally alone, with every roommate storming out like the one before Leonard did. 

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9 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

So people are upset that Penny is pregnant -- a sitcom finale trope -- while simultaneously being mad Raj didn't find the girl of his dreams and live happily ever after -- a sitcom finale trope.

It's been Raj's running storyline though that he wants a fairytale romance and a happily ever after.   What I remember from Penny is that she didn't want kids, so the sudden jump to being pregnant and her being so happy was just a little odd.  Sure, a person can change their mind, but there was no in between with this storyline.  One minute she was adamant about not having kids, and the next moment she's pregnant.  I understand that this was an unplanned pregnancy and a person can accept it and be happy, but we were led to believe that this was a big issue between her and Leonard.  A softening of her feelings on it would've been a nice lead up to this moment, but the writers apparently wanted to just throw it in there for the finale.  Maybe seeing her reaction to hearing the heartbeat for the first time would've been a nice moment for her and Leonard, and the fans.  

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12 hours ago, marketdoctor said:

A lot of people being mad at Sheldon for being selfish might have been a meta-reference to the actors being mad at the show not going on for another season

Amy looked great after the makeover, but it fits Sheldon that he didn't care about appearance

I read that Jim Parsons decided not to do another season which is why the show had to come to an end.    

After reading through this thread I'm certain this is an unpopular opinion but I was NOT impressed with Amy's makeover.   The gown she wore to accept the award was hideous and her hair and makeup was average at best.  Considering Raj took her to Beverly Hills, I expected more. 

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6 hours ago, AriAu said:

That was a wonderful homage in Young Sheldon...worth waiting until the last 90 seconds of the episode

Someone posted that bit in the Young Sheldon episode thread, if anyone just wants to watch that. (I caught a couple things that I missed on first viewing, so that was cool.)

1 hour ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I loved the way they shot that scene, because the camera just went back and forth from Leonard and Sheldon, and the elevator was only shown for a second before it opened. I would imagine most didn't register that the caution tape was gone, and that the elevator was dinging. Well done, writers. 

My favorite part of that scene was Penny's gleeful grin when the door opened.

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(edited)

have to  confess i teared up at the end.

i did have one quibble: historically, a noble is awarded years, if not decades, after the discovery has been published.  so did i have to hand wave the conceit that amy and sheldon, however significant their very recent discovery, would have been waiting by the phone expecting to win.

would have love to have seen how that scenario would have played out as a finale, starting with sheldon’s deluded expectation, then disappointment. 

Edited by wonderwoman
1 hour ago, Mystery said:

Things happen in real life, but this was a scripted show. So it was someone's deliberate choice to override years of character development. 

That wasn’t years, that was a couple of episodes just this season. I watch the reruns on TBS all the time, Penny has in the past been quite open about having kids. 

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16 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

That wasn’t years, that was a couple of episodes just this season. I watch the reruns on TBS all the time, Penny has in the past been quite open about having kids. 

Yep,  A few days ago I saw the episode where Raj had the murder mystery party where the gang read what he thinks will happen to each of them in the future.  He says that Leonard and Penny have 3 children and while Penny said she didn't intend to have 3 kids she never said she wasn't having any.  That episode was season 7 I think.

Edited by Homily
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This is the perfect ending!
Everything is beautiful here ...
Amy looks stunning and royal.
Penny is pregnant and happy about it. She has changed too. Also matured.
Sheldon's speech is very touching. It was impossible not to cry.
Buffy! But Sarah looks amazing! Let them do the continuation of the show. All the same, so much the show has returned ...
Elevator! Works! This is another plus of the last episode. Another symbol of change.
And even "in the previous series" was great ... I immediately remembered how it all began ...
Mental show! Funny, sweet, touching, UNFORGETTABLE!
Thanks to everyone who is involved in its creation.

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9 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

In the final scene Penny is wearing the shirt she wore in the first episode.

I just realized that Sheldon is also wearing a Flash shirt (different shirts) in both scenes, and Leonard is wearing maroon (t-shirt under his jacket in the premiere, button-down in the finale).

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I teared up during the whole show. Was it perfect? No, but it was lovely way to say goodbye to a group of characters that we have watched for 12 years.

I loved that Penny was pregnant and happy about it. Especially as it allowed the callback from the pilot that their children will be smart and beautiful. Who knew way back then that geeky Leonard would get the girl of his dreams? I also think this gives Leonard the chance to give his child the love and understanding that his mother was unsuccessful at giving to him.

As for the oopsie pregnancy, I am not surprised. We already knew that Penny imagined what would happen if she got back together with Leonard: getting married with a huge pregnant belly. We also found that there were a lot of close calls and negative pregnancy tests for Penny. 

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13 hours ago, thebigboot said:

Wouldn’t so much say Amy has bad taste but good on Mayim Balik to stay within her beliefs. A lot of Jews were thrilled to see Modern Orthodox reflected on screen.

That's not it. Orthodox Jewish women aren't required to be as frumpy as possible. Some of the other dresses she was wearing after her makeover were very nice. The one she wore to the ceremony seemed inappropriate, not to mention fugly.

Her makeover was my favorite part of the entire episode, after Leonard slapping Sheldon. But I think it should have happened after her wedding. Maybe not all at once, but a new haircut, then eventually no more of those god awful sweaters, hose and skirts. But for some reason the show runners wanted everyone to wear their uniforms until the end. That always bugged me because it was so unrealistic. An entire group of people who wear basically the same thing, with a few variations, every day of their life?

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51 minutes ago, nilyank said:

I teared up during the whole show. Was it perfect? No, but it was lovely way to say goodbye to a group of characters that we have watched for 12 years.

P'Zactly!

Was it M*A*S*H?  Nah.  Was it Newhart?  Not really.  But it was as damn good as it gets for it's time.  It's been in syndication for a little while.  If I need a chuckle, I can tell by the BBT description that the episode might get it.

Some episodes I have watched over and over and will still crack up.

What the heck can anyone ask from a sitcom?  Even Fraiser got a little yawny towards the end.  

My cool takeaway is that I love Mayim and read GrokNation once a week.  I adored Simon in Florence Foster Jenkins and can't wait to see what he does next!

I'm all good.  This wasn't a doctorate thesis, just a fun ride that I am sad to see end.

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22 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

Her makeover was my favorite part of the entire episode, after Leonard slapping Sheldon. But I think it should have happened after her wedding. Maybe not all at once, but a new haircut, then eventually no more of those god awful sweaters, hose and skirts. But for some reason the show runners wanted everyone to wear their uniforms until the end. That always bugged me because it was so unrealistic. An entire group of people who wear basically the same thing, with a few variations, every day of their life?

I would have liked it if Amy’s makeover came earlier in the show but I don’t think she was really ready for that from a character standpoint.

It doesn’t get focused on much but Amy’s mother really messed with her head. The “sin closet” and the clavicle being the "the bosom's welcome mat" plus her previously acknowledging that she protects Sheldon from things that might upset him. 

She stuck with what was safe and familiar until seeing a picture of herself caused her to finally do what she wanted.

This season has been really lacking in storylines but Leonard and Amy standing up for themselves as been a pretty consistent theme. 

Edited by Guest
23 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

Her makeover was my favorite part of the entire episode, after Leonard slapping Sheldon. But I think it should have happened after her wedding. Maybe not all at once, but a new haircut, then eventually no more of those god awful sweaters, hose and skirts. But for some reason the show runners wanted everyone to wear their uniforms until the end. That always bugged me because it was so unrealistic. An entire group of people who wear basically the same thing, with a few variations, every day of their life?

I've been retired for about seven years, but I worked in a place chock-full of humanities nerds.  We had each developed some sort of personal "uniform" - mine was pretty extreme because I would buy multiples of the same clothes in color variations, and wear them for years.  Others weren't quite that bad, but still predictable in what they wore.  The weirdest was one day when eight of us spontaneously showed up in khaki pants and black shirts/blouses/tops.

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18 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

That's not it. Orthodox Jewish women aren't required to be as frumpy as possible. Some of the other dresses she was wearing after her makeover were very nice. 

They were all on Colbert last night and Mayim was wearing a knee-length dress with those open-shoulder sleeves (which I hate, but that's beside the point) and heels. Can't tell if she's wearing stockings or not. Definitely not frumpy. (Also, I live near a large Hasidic community and the women who came into the store I used to work in generally wore nice, well-fitting clothes (though more conservative/covered up than Mayim here).)

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(I did have to laugh at Melissa sitting on the couch with her feet not even touching the floor. She is tiny. Also it was nice to hear her normal voice.)

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1 minute ago, ams1001 said:

They were all on Colbert last night

Didn't wanna go there, but Kaley made me stabby!  When did she become BBT spokesmodel?   No one else got a word in edgewise (except Parsons).

Yes, I noticed Mayim wearing stockings!  IMHO, a whole lotta women are running around bare legged, when they ought not.

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