The Big Bang Theory - General Discussion

[Katy M]

42 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

If he hadn't already been on as Toby Loobenfeld, I always thought DJ Qualls would be perfect as Penny's brother.

it would have been funny if Sheldon had accidentally hired Penny's brother to play his cousin.  We don't know Penny's last name, so maybe he doesn't either.

[SmithW6079]

On 3/15/2021 at 6:39 PM, Perfect Xero said:

Speaking of Penny and siblings, watching back through the series on Max and the casting of Jack McBrayer as her ex-convict brother Randall has to be the oddest match of backstory to actor in the entire series.

Yes. I thought he was much too old to be Penny's brother.

17 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

If he hadn't already been on as Toby Loobenfeld, I always thought DJ Qualls would be perfect as Penny's brother.

Definitely, he looked like a meth head.

[Driad]

"Science Friday" today interviewed a woman who is researching ticks. Reminded me of Sheldon's joke that someone has "more nervous tics than a Lyme disease research lab."

[WinnieWinkle]

Watching an episode today where Sheldon is talking about how wonderful Joss Whedon is - made me wonder if the show was still on the air if they'd address any of the issues that have come up with regard to Whedon et al.  I don't really recall BBT dealing too much with current events during the course of its run but it would be hard for them to keep having Sheldon make fawning comments about people who are being accused of pretty crappy behavior.  Or would it?

[SmithW6079]

On 4/13/2021 at 5:13 PM, WinnieWinkle said:

Watching an episode today where Sheldon is talking about how wonderful Joss Whedon is - made me wonder if the show was still on the air if they'd address any of the issues that have come up with regard to Whedon et al.  I don't really recall BBT dealing too much with current events during the course of its run but it would be hard for them to keep having Sheldon make fawning comments about people who are being accused of pretty crappy behavior.  Or would it?

I think the guys just wouldn't mention those people anymore; they'd become "unpersons" in TBBT universe. 

[ljenkins782]

I've been watching this again here and there and Jim Parsons/Sheldon in the earliest seasons were such a peak for the humor of the show. I did like Amy Farrah Fowler as a character, but I never liked the softening of Sheldon.

His earliest portrayal of the character was the funniest to me. Like the episode where he cleans Penni's apartment, his first reaction to seeing her place was hilarious and his artificially deep-voiced "if you have time to lean, you have time to clean" cracked me up.

Edited April 15, 2021 by ljenkins782

[Driad]

Woman faced felony charge for not returning VHS tape 21 years ago

Sheldon: "Leonard, I informed you thusly."

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Woman faced felony charge for not returning VHS tape 21 years ago

Sheldon: "Leonard, I informed you thusly."

A felony sounds like a gross overreach. Basically, she stole the movie.  How much does it cost?  $20?  that's  a misdemeanor.

[Perfect Xero]

14 minutes ago, Katy M said:

A felony sounds like a gross overreach. Basically, she stole the movie.  How much does it cost?  $20?  that's  a misdemeanor.

The rental stores had to pay significantly more than retail for a copy to keep the studios happy. Like $65-$100 per tape, still absurd that they were allowed to charge more in late fees than the actual cost of restocking the VHS and into felony territory.

[Guest]

On 4/26/2021 at 6:44 PM, Perfect Xero said:

The rental stores had to pay significantly more than retail for a copy to keep the studios happy. Like $65-$100 per tape, still absurd that they were allowed to charge more in late fees than the actual cost of restocking the VHS and into felony territory.

It wasn’t the late fees that made it a felony. Apparently not returning a rental is considered embezzlement and in Oklahoma, at the time, anything over $50 was felony embezzlement. They changed that not long after she was charged. Crazy. 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Guest

[WinnieWinkle]

Over at the Young Sheldon page there is discussion on whether the show will follow the BBT timeline in terms of the way Sheldon described his parent's marriage and his father's infidelities.  Much as I want them to walk back some of this every time I watch BBT it strikes me that the Sheldon we see here is Sheldon for a reason.  To tinker too much with what we've been told about Sheldon's childhood would make it a little harder to watch BBT going forward.  I don't think Sheldon was lying or misinterpreting the things he said -- but I also don't want George to be the drunken womanizer we're told he is on BBT.  I guess I am experiencing The Kobayashi Maru, as Sheldon would say.

[Katy M]

17 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

Over at the Young Sheldon page there is discussion on whether the show will follow the BBT timeline in terms of the way Sheldon described his parent's marriage and his father's infidelities.  Much as I want them to walk back some of this every time I watch BBT it strikes me that the Sheldon we see here is Sheldon for a reason.  To tinker too much with what we've been told about Sheldon's childhood would make it a little harder to watch BBT going forward.  I don't think Sheldon was lying or misinterpreting the things he said -- but I also don't want George to be the drunken womanizer we're told he is on BBT.  I guess I am experiencing The Kobayashi Maru, as Sheldon would say.

they could have fixed it last week by actually having a black hole and then we would be watching an alternate version where none of the bad stuff happens.  I was actually hard core hoping for that.

[Perfect Xero]

20 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

Over at the Young Sheldon page there is discussion on whether the show will follow the BBT timeline in terms of the way Sheldon described his parent's marriage and his father's infidelities.  Much as I want them to walk back some of this every time I watch BBT it strikes me that the Sheldon we see here is Sheldon for a reason.  To tinker too much with what we've been told about Sheldon's childhood would make it a little harder to watch BBT going forward.  I don't think Sheldon was lying or misinterpreting the things he said -- but I also don't want George to be the drunken womanizer we're told he is on BBT.  I guess I am experiencing The Kobayashi Maru, as Sheldon would say.

They addressed some of the inconsistencies in the BBT episodes where Georgie showed up., he pretty much said that Sheldon didn't really understand everything that was going on when he was a kid and filtered through Sheldon's own biases (for example telling the BBT crew that Georgie is a "tire salesman" when Georgie actually owns a highly successful chain of stores all over the state).

One of the early YS episodes also had Mary accuse George of cheating on her because she found out that he wasn't a virgin when they got married and spent most the episode acting like it was an ongoing thing, rather than him having slept with his high school girlfriend before he ever met Mary.

I've always thought those two things were the writers saying that none of the sources we had on Sheldon's childhood on BBT were entirely grounded in reality. Mary is prone to huge prolonged bouts of jealousy and Sheldon takes things that his mom and meemaw said at face value. without considering that they might just be talking shit.

[WinnieWinkle]

35 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:

Mary is prone to huge prolonged bouts of jealousy and Sheldon takes things that his mom and meemaw said at face value. without considering that they might just be talking shit.

The specific stuff Sheldon says about his Dad's infidelities are things he witnessed firsthand.  I hope YS doesn't go there to be honest.  I'd prefer it if they do have to have the marriage self destruct (and given this is a Chuck Lorre show I can't see it not happening even if there had never been a BBT) that they just do it without dragging in every incident Sheldon recounted on BBT.

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:

They addressed some of the inconsistencies in the BBT episodes where Georgie showed up., he pretty much said that Sheldon didn't really understand everything that was going on when he was a kid and filtered through Sheldon's own biases (for example telling the BBT crew that Georgie is a "tire salesman" when Georgie actually owns a highly successful chain of stores all over the state).

They also did that with Tam where Sheldon’s interpretation of what happened had very little basis in reality. 

 

33 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:

I've always thought those two things were the writers saying that none of the sources we had on Sheldon's childhood on BBT were entirely grounded in reality. Mary is prone to huge prolonged bouts of jealousy and Sheldon takes things that his mom and meemaw said at face value. without considering that they might just be talking shit.

That works for a lot but it’s impossible for them to walk back the story of why Sheldon knocks three times before entering a room. They may be able to soften George’s behavior but they can’t ignore that things get very bad in Mary and George’s marriage. 

[marypat57]

I seem to remember that Sheldon “knocked three times” during a Young Sheldon episode, which would place that habit long before his dad’s “infidelity “. 
I cannot remember which episode in Young Sheldon it was, however.

[Guest]

44 minutes ago, marypat57 said:

I seem to remember that Sheldon “knocked three times” during a Young Sheldon episode, which would place that habit long before his dad’s “infidelity “. 
I cannot remember which episode in Young Sheldon it was, however.

I know his done two rounds of his knock but can’t remember if he’s added the third yet. Anyway, I was talking about the reason why his knock becomes a very deliberate and obsessive trait the way it is in Big Bang. 

[Perfect Xero]

Sheldon's story about the 3 knocks is already sort of a plot hole because he didn't start doing that until Season 2 of the show.

 

[MaryMitch]

Mayim Bialik will be guest host of Jeopardy May 31-June 11.

Full list of guest hosts here:

https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/news-events/jeopardy-guest-host-schedule

[WinnieWinkle]

On 4/13/2021 at 5:13 PM, WinnieWinkle said:

Watching an episode today where Sheldon is talking about how wonderful Joss Whedon is - made me wonder if the show was still on the air if they'd address any of the issues that have come up with regard to Whedon et al.  

Quoting myself because of the recent revelations about Bill Gates.  Boy it sure seems like if someone was idolized on BBT there is a good chance they were kinda crappy people!  I am hoping we don't get any revelations about Leonard Nimoy or Stephen Hawkings!

Edited May 21, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[DedicatedFan]

I just watched the episode "The Robotic Manipulation" for the umpteenth time.  I've watched it on TBS, FOX New York, and WOR (an independent New York TV station).  If it weren't for youtube, I wouldn't know that the episode ends with Leonard saying to Howard, "What do you mean it happened again?"  Every single time, the episode that I watch ends with Sheldon telling Penny that she has time to go out and look for #32.  Why do TPTB at those TV stations cut off the extremely funny ending?  I don't think it's because of censorship, because nothing in that episode is ever censored.

[WinnieWinkle]

8 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

Every single time, the episode that I watch ends with Sheldon telling Penny that she has time to go out and look for #32.  Why do TPTB at those TV stations cut off the extremely funny ending? 

I haven't noticed that with this specific episode but I've definitely noticed it with others and I just do not understand it!  BBT of all shows already has a shorter episode to accommodate a thousand commercials.  They actually need to cut out MORE to throw in another advert or two?  Ugh.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

Why do TPTB at those TV stations cut off the extremely funny ending?  I don't think it's because of censorship, because nothing in that episode is ever censored.

It’s for time. All of the episodes have something edited out for syndication. For most, it’s a line or two but for some it’s entire scenes. Unfortunately, that means a lot of funny jokes are cut because they can be removed without missing with the flow. 

[ifionlyknew]

15 minutes ago, Dani said:

It’s for time. All of the episodes have something edited out for syndication. For most, it’s a line or two but for some it’s entire scenes.

I've been told Law & Order has things cut that are actually necessary for a viewer to understand the plot.

[chitowngirl]

Considering TBBT episodes usually have a run time of 20 minutes or less, that’s just sad that anything needs to be trimmed for even more commercials.

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Considering TBBT episodes usually have a run time of 20 minutes or less, that’s just sad that anything needs to be trimmed for even more commercials.

I think there are fewer things cut in the later seasons once the episodes got noticeably shorter. I believe the run time for syndication is 20 minutes. The most noticeable changes seem to be to season premieres and finales which tend to be a little bit longer. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Guest

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Kaley Cuoco and Elizabeth Olsen on Variety's Actors on Actors series:

 

[DedicatedFan]

I've been told Law & Order has things cut that are actually necessary for a viewer to understand the plot.

I wouldn't be surprised.  There was an episode of "Three's Company" in which a guy invited Janet to a party and told her to bring a date, so she brought Jack.  Before the party started, there was a scene where the guy was talking to a gorgeous blonde, and the viewing audience eventually learned that she was his sister Nancy.  When Jack and Janet arrived, the guy started to introduce them to Nancy, but he was interrupted before he could say the word "sister."  So when Nancy hit on Jack, he was very uncomfortable, because he didn't realize that she was the guy's sister.  He thought that she was his girlfriend.

In syndication, the conversation between the guy and Nancy was cut out, so the viewing audience had no idea that they were brother and sister.  So when Nancy hit on Jack, and Jack got uncomfortable, and the studio audience laughed and laughed, the viewing audience had no idea what was so funny.

Now I'm wondering what other funny stuff from "The Big Bang Theory" I missed.  

[Perfect Xero]

2 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

I've been told Law & Order has things cut that are actually necessary for a viewer to understand the plot.

I wouldn't be surprised.  There was an episode of "Three's Company" in which a guy invited Janet to a party and told her to bring a date, so she brought Jack.  Before the party started, there was a scene where the guy was talking to a gorgeous blonde, and the viewing audience eventually learned that she was his sister Nancy.  When Jack and Janet arrived, the guy started to introduce them to Nancy, but he was interrupted before he could say the word "sister."  So when Nancy hit on Jack, he was very uncomfortable, because he didn't realize that she was the guy's sister.  He thought that she was his girlfriend.

In syndication, the conversation between the guy and Nancy was cut out, so the viewing audience had no idea that they were brother and sister.  So when Nancy hit on Jack, and Jack got uncomfortable, and the studio audience laughed and laughed, the viewing audience had no idea what was so funny.

Now I'm wondering what other funny stuff from "The Big Bang Theory" I missed.  

This is why I've been enjoying rewatching the series on HBO Max since I dropped cable

[DedicatedFan]

Random thoughts:

In the episode "The Friendship Contraction," Sheldon asked his friends who would be willing to take him to various places, including Supercuts.  But three episodes later, in "The Werewolf Transformation,"  it is revealed that Sheldon has always patronized one barber in Pasadena, believing that the barber has his "haircut records." 

In the episode "The Pants Alternative," Leonard carried on about how, when he was eight years old,  he felt compelled to return the blue ribbon he won at a science fair because his mother announced that his brother had already done a similar project.  In the episode in which we first saw Leonard's mother, she mentioned that Leonard's brother was younger than Leonard.  I'm wondering how old/young Leonard's brother was when he did this project.  I don't remember doing any science projects when I was that young.

I really liked the episode "The Prestidigitation Approximation" in which Sheldon couldn't figure out how Howard did his card trick.  I got a kick out of Raj holding two fingers over his heart to indicate that Sheldon had the two of hearts.  But I'm still wondering how Raj would have signaled the correct card to Howard if Sheldon had picked, say, the king of clubs or the queen of spades.    

[Perfect Xero]

11 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

I really liked the episode "The Prestidigitation Approximation" in which Sheldon couldn't figure out how Howard did his card trick.  I got a kick out of Raj holding two fingers over his heart to indicate that Sheldon had the two of hearts.  But I'm still wondering how Raj would have signaled the correct card to Howard if Sheldon had picked, say, the king of clubs or the queen of spades.    

In the long standing tradition of sitcom characters having absolutely no peripheral vision Raj probably would have just done some less subtle hand signals.

[WinnieWinkle]

11 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

In the episode "The Pants Alternative," Leonard carried on about how, when he was eight years old,  he felt compelled to return the blue ribbon he won at a science fair because his mother announced that his brother had already done a similar project.  In the episode in which we first saw Leonard's mother, she mentioned that Leonard's brother was younger than Leonard.  I'm wondering how old/young Leonard's brother was when he did this project.  I don't remember doing any science projects when I was that young.

That project seems a little advanced even for an 8 yr old IMO.  But ok let's assume (probably rightly) that little Leonard is in some kind of gifted program.  It still makes no sense that a child even younger than that would have done this same project!  Clearly in this episode Leonard's brother was older than he was.  I guess they decided making Leonard to middle child was better for his character or something.

[Katy M]

12 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

n the episode "The Pants Alternative," Leonard carried on about how, when he was eight years old,  he felt compelled to return the blue ribbon he won at a science fair because his mother announced that his brother had already done a similar project.  In the episode in which we first saw Leonard's mother, she mentioned that Leonard's brother was younger than Leonard.  I'm wondering how old/young Leonard's brother was when he did this project.  I don't remember doing any science projects when I was that young.

She  paid so little attention to her children that I'm sure she forgot their birth order.

12 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

really liked the episode "The Prestidigitation Approximation" in which Sheldon couldn't figure out how Howard did his card trick.  I got a kick out of Raj holding two fingers over his heart to indicate that Sheldon had the two of hearts.  But I'm still wondering how Raj would have signaled the correct card to Howard if Sheldon had picked, say, the king of clubs or the queen of spades.    

Do the ASL signs for K or Q.  In front of the left finger for a diamond, up by the shoulder for a club (like you're going to swing a golf club) and anywhere else for a spade

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

That project seems a little advanced even for an 8 yr old IMO.  But ok let's assume (probably rightly) that little Leonard is in some kind of gifted program.  It still makes no sense that a child even younger than that would have done this same project!  Clearly in this episode Leonard's brother was older than he was.  I guess they decided making Leonard to middle child was better for his character or something.

I’m not sure if it is advanced for an 8 year old. I first heard of it in the Baby-Sitter’s Club books being done by an 8 year old. I copied the idea when I had to do a science fair project around the same age. It was pretty basic. 

I don’t think it means they changed Leonard to the younger brother but that his brother is supposed to be much smarter. This is a family that submitted papers at Christmas and was subjected to endless experiments throughout their childhood I would be more surprised if they weren’t doing experiments at a very young age. 

[WinnieWinkle]

21 hours ago, Dani said:

I don’t think it means they changed Leonard to the younger brother but that his brother is supposed to be much smarter. This is a family that submitted papers at Christmas and was subjected to endless experiments throughout their childhood I would be more surprised if they weren’t doing experiments at a very young age. 

I didn't think of that.  For some reason I had taken from that episode the idea that the younger brother had done that experiment for school.  In grade 1?  Kindergarten?  I don't think so - not because the child might not be capable of doing it but it would be a very unsual school that would have expected it.  But you're right, I can see Beverly expecting the children to do experiments and write papers on the results from a very young age.

[DedicatedFan]

That project seems a little advanced even for an 8 yr old IMO.  But ok let's assume (probably rightly) that little Leonard is in some kind of gifted program.  It still makes no sense that a child even younger than that would have done this same project!  Clearly in this episode Leonard's brother was older than he was.  I guess they decided making Leonard to middle child was better for his character or something.

Leonard was in a gifted program.  In one episode, he mentioned taking AP (Advanced Placement) classes.  And Leonard already was the middle child (assuming that his brother was younger than him), because in the episode in which Raj was complaining about Leonard dating Priya and threatening to ask out Leonard's sister, Leonard said, "My sister is 38 and married."

Do the ASL signs for K or Q.  In front of the left finger for a diamond, up by the shoulder for a club (like you're going to swing a golf club) and anywhere else for a spade

Yes, I had already figured out that Raj could have touched his left ring finger to indicate diamond, but I didn't know how he would indicate jack, queen, or king.

More recently, some of the Frasier episodes look like they are missing some of the funnier lines here and there.

DAMN! 

 

In the episode in which they gave Howard differing accounts as to the contents of the letter from his father, some people believe Amy's story was the correct one, as she stood up.  But she said that Howard's father was in the auditorium when he graduated, and I don't believe this, because tickets for indoor ceremonies are very limited, and I'm wondering how the father obtained a ticket.

Penny said that Howard's father's secret life caught up with him, and he left Debbie and Howard in order to protect them.  But it didn't take long for a lawyer to find Howard's father (living under the name of Sam Wolowitz, not another name) so that he could sign his share of the house over to Howard, and that is why I don't believe Penny's story.

No one believes Sheldon's story is the correct one.

So I don't know whether Raj's story (a card for Howard's 18th birthday), Leonard's story (that family is important), or Bernadette's story (that it was picture of Howard's father holding Howard on the day he was born) is the correct.  If I HAD to choose, I would choose Leonard's story, because Howard's father so regretted deserting Debbie and Howard that he married another woman and had a child.  I was thinking that maybe Bernadette's story was the correct one, thinking that Howard's father mailed the photo to Howard so that his wife and Josh wouldn't be able to come across it, but I'm not really sure, since it appears that Sam came clean to Josh after he signed over the house.

[MaryMitch]

27 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

In the episode in which they gave Howard differing accounts as to the contents of the letter from his father, some people believe Amy's story was the correct one, as she stood up.  But she said that Howard's father was in the auditorium when he graduated, and I don't believe this, because tickets for indoor ceremonies are very limited, and I'm wondering how the father obtained a ticket.

When I graduated high school (and college), it was open to anyone who wanted to attend. No ticket required. I guess it depends on the size of the venue.

Edited July 7, 2021 by MaryMitch

[WinnieWinkle]

55 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

When I graduated high school (and college), it was open to anyone who wanted to attend. No ticket required. I guess it depends on the size of the venue.

Also BBT was never at its best when it came to details  like this anyway. I always thought Amy's version made the most sense and it's the one I think was meant to be the right one.

Edited July 7, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[DedicatedFan]

When I graduated high school in the olden days (1968!), the ceremony was scheduled for outdoors, but if bad weather forced us to graduate inside the high school, we were limited to four guests per graduate.  Of course, if you had fewer than four guests, you could give the tickets to someone else.  Even this year, people on my community facebook page were begging for extra tickets to the high school graduation, which was held indoors.  I went to a relative's high school graduation, which for an unlimited number of guests, because it was held at a football stadium.  But Amy specifically mentioned the word "auditorium," which leads me to believe that the ceremony was indoors and required a ticket.

But then, there was a big kerfuffle on a discussion forum for "Two and a Half Men" about the time that Alan went to Motor Vehicles and bragged to everyone waiting there about having made an appointment, and then we learned that he had taken a number, and then he traded his number with a woman with a "worse" number, hoping that she would be willing to date him (she wasn't), and some of us wondered why he had even bothered to take a number in the first place, seeing that he had an appointment.  Some people tried to justify having an appointment AND a number, and why trading for a less advantageous number meant missing out on your appointment, but we didn't believe them.  I don't know why the writers wrote that he had both an appointment and a number.  If they had omitted writing anything about an appointment, the story would have been funnier.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

 

In the episode in which they gave Howard differing accounts as to the contents of the letter from his father, some people believe Amy's story was the correct one, as she stood up.  But she said that Howard's father was in the auditorium when he graduated, and I don't believe this, because tickets for indoor ceremonies are very limited, and I'm wondering how the father obtained a ticket.

Penny said that Howard's father's secret life caught up with him, and he left Debbie and Howard in order to protect them.  But it didn't take long for a lawyer to find Howard's father (living under the name of Sam Wolowitz, not another name) so that he could sign his share of the house over to Howard, and that is why I don't believe Penny's story.

No one believes Sheldon's story is the correct one.

So I don't know whether Raj's story (a card for Howard's 18th birthday), Leonard's story (that family is important), or Bernadette's story (that it was picture of Howard's father holding Howard on the day he was born) is the correct.  If I HAD to choose, I would choose Leonard's story, because Howard's father so regretted deserting Debbie and Howard that he married another woman and had a child.  I was thinking that maybe Bernadette's story was the correct one, thinking that Howard's father mailed the photo to Howard so that his wife and Josh wouldn't be able to come across it, but I'm not really sure, since it appears that Sam came clean to Josh after he signed over the house.

Every time I watch that episode I think that Bernadette was probably the correct one just because they would have his wife tell him the truth. Plus just from the acting Melissa Rauch plays it so sincere and emotional.

Based on what Josh said he never came clean. The lawyer showed up to the house and the truth came out. 

In my experience available seating at a graduation is not an issue in California. Many of the schools use off campus facilities that can hold a lot of people. Some of the high schools near me use an indoor arena with 18,000 seats.  So it’s possible for an indoor ceremony to not be limited. Either way I doubt they gave it that much thought. 

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

But Amy specifically mentioned the word "auditorium," which leads me to believe that the ceremony was indoors and required a ticket.

My college graduation was indoors, but in a gym, and there were no tickets.

[DedicatedFan]

Okay, so maybe Amy was telling the truth about Howard's father being at his high school graduation.

Based on what Josh said he never came clean. The lawyer showed up to the house and the truth came out.

Even if Sam never came clean voluntarily, he still came clean, since Josh learned about Howard's existence and Howard's address.  I'm not sure if the lawyer went to the house.  He might have called Sam, and Sam might have gone to the lawyer's office to sign the papers.  It's possible that this happened while Josh was at one of his oceanography classes.  Maybe Josh lives at a college dorm and not at home.  If so, then Sam could have avoided telling all to Josh.

So this is telling me that maybe Bernadette's story was the correct one, that the letter contained the photo of Sam with baby Howard, and it's possible IMHO that he mailed the photo to Howard to keep his current wife and Josh from finding it.  He might have had a change of heart in the twelve or more years that came afterwards, but it took Debbie's death (and the lawyer's search for him) for him to do anything about it.

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

Even if Sam never came clean voluntarily, he still came clean, since Josh learned about Howard's existence and Howard's address.  I'm not sure if the lawyer went to the house.  He might have called Sam, and Sam might have gone to the lawyer's office to sign the papers.  It's possible that this happened while Josh was at one of his oceanography classes.  Maybe Josh lives at a college dorm and not at home.  If so, then Sam could have avoided telling all to Josh.

When Josh introduces himself he says that a lawyer was trying to contact his father because is name was on the house. It wasn’t written like anyone came clean but like Josh found out from the lawyer. 

 

3 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

So this is telling me that maybe Bernadette's story was the correct one, that the letter contained the photo of Sam with baby Howard, and it's possible IMHO that he mailed the photo to Howard to keep his current wife and Josh from finding it.  He might have had a change of heart in the twelve or more years that came afterwards, but it took Debbie's death (and the lawyer's search for him) for him to do anything about it.

I’m pretty sure you’re putting way more thought into this than the writers did. 

[DedicatedFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxM4TWhoTd0

Here's the episode in which Howard and Josh met.  Yes, Josh said that a lawyer was trying to contact his father, but he doesn't specifically say that it was the lawyer who told him the truth.  He also doesn't say that Sam was the one who told him the truth.  And I don't know why Josh said that the lawyer was trying to contact his father, since the lawyer had already succeeded in doing so.  I'm not sure if a lawyer would be allowed to spill the beans to the child of someone he/she was looking for, but then, I'm not a lawyer.

I’m pretty sure you’re putting way more thought into this than the writers did.

But isn't that what all of us do?  😄

 

[Driad]

20 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

Quote

I’m pretty sure you’re putting way more thought into this than the writers did.

But isn't that what all of us do?  😄

That's pretty much the purpose of this forum, right?

[DedicatedFan]

Yup.

[NoReally]

Just saw the Valentine's Day episode where Leonard and Penny accidentally let Cinnamon eat a box of chocolates and then take her to the vet.

And once again I find myself wondering why the show-runners didn't pursue a relationship between Raj and Yvette the vet. Seemed like it would've been a good pairing.

[DedicatedFan]

I read this summary of that episode:
https://bigbangtheory.fandom.com/wiki/The_Locomotive_Manipulation

Quote

Raj is back at his apartment putting Cinnamon to bed. Reading the vet's list of symptoms, it actually says that she was dreading Valentine's Day and thanked him for spending it with her, including her phone number. Raj, overcome with joyful surprise, gleefully tells Cinnamon that he would have considered poisoning her months ago if he'd known this would happen. Picking up the phone, he decides he will start his call with the obvious observation the "Yvette rhymes with vet", while Cinnamon looks at him pityingly.

IMHO we were supposed to know that the relationship between Raj and Yvette was doomed from the start.  Raj doesn't really know how to talk to women he's dating.  In one episode in which he asked Bernadette for help in getting back together with a woman (the one who escaped through the ladies room window IIRC), he asked if he should tell her that he has painted a picture of the two of them and their future children (and possibly their future grandchildren - I can't remember).

And he thinks that Cinnamon can understand what he says.  And what Leonard says - he asked Leonard to tell Cinnamon a bunch of baby-doggie talk, and Leonard started to do so, and then said that he couldn't finish.  He wanted Cinnamon to see Leonard and Penny have sex.  I think he believed that Cinnamon understood him when he said that he would have considered poisoning her months ago had he known that it would have resulted in meeting Yvette.  If he could tell Cinnamon that, I bet he would have told Yvette that.  And Yvette would have been horrified, and Raj would have wondered why, since he obviously didn't poison Cinnamon, and he had said that he merely considered poisoning her.

I think that when we saw that scene, we were supposed to think, "Yeah, they were never going to get together."  Yes, it would have been nice to get some closure.  Even if the actress hadn't been available to shoot another episode, Raj still could have told his friends that after dating Yvette a few times, she dumped him because of X or Y.  But, as we learned in another episode, we don't always get closure.  (I love that episode!)  Penny suggested that Sheldon make up his own ending of the TV series.  I've made up my ending to the Raj-Yvette romance.  Do you think it's plausible?  

Edited July 10, 2021 by DedicatedFan

[marypat57]

On 7/8/2021 at 7:01 AM, Katy M said:

My college graduation was indoors, but in a gym, and there were no tickets.

My undergraduate graduation was at Madison Square Garden in the main arena.  Tickets were required.
I remember my sister was mad at me because that evening was her annual high school sports color competition.  My parents said my college graduation took precedence.

My high school graduation was outdoors on the football field.  The graduates sat on folding chairs on the field, while the ticketed guests had to sit on the bleachers.  It was a very hot, humid day at the end of June, and I will be forever grateful for my classmate who had two cans of cold Fresca that she shared with the people in our row.  
 

 

[DedicatedFan]

I bet all those people were glad that she was sitting in their row!  Is your area known for being hot and humid at the end of June?  If so, then outdoor graduations and weddings are a bad idea, unless there are tents and beverages and battery-operated fans.

I remember going to an indoor cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres before a wedding reception.  There weren't any chairs.  I guess they figured that people like standing non-stop while wearing high heels.  And there wasn't any place for us to put down our purses or our drinks or plates of hors d'oeuvres.  Meaning that it was impossible to eat something properly that required a knife and fork, and it was difficult to take a picture of someone while holding a drink. 

The Big Bang Theory was not the first time a sitcom used the Schrodinger's Cat thing in an episode.  In "Return to Fantasy Island," which first aired in 1978, a couple wanted to meet the daughter they had given up for adoption.  Even though I remember watching this episode, I don't remember why they had to give her up.  So they were introduced to three little girls, all of whom were born on the same day and all of whom had been adopted (and knew that they were adopted), and they were told that one of them was their biological daughter.  But I do remember that none of the girls' parents objected to their daughter going to Fantasy Island all alone.  None of the parents accompanied them.  So the couple managed to meet the girl they gave up, even though they didn't know which girl she was, and they wound up feeling that now they had three daughters!