Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Big Bang Theory - Recap & Review - The Terminator Decoupling

The Big Bang Theory
“The Terminator Decoupling”

Original Air Date: March 9, 2009

Theresa – Staff Writer
theresa@thetwocentscorp.com

The latest episode of Big Bang Theory had a guest appearance that was sure to draw in tons of drooling fanboys. That's right, Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist George Smoot. Oh, and Summer Glau was there too.

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[photo: CBS]

7 comments:

  1. The Big Bang Theory
    “The Terminator Decoupling”

    Original Air Date: March 9, 2009

    Theresa – Staff Writer
    theresa@thetwocentscorp.com

    The latest episode of Big Bang Theory had a guest appearance that was sure to draw in tons of drooling fanboys. That's right, Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist George Smoot. Oh, and Summer Glau was there too.

    The boys are taking an 11-hour train trip to San Francisco for a symposium on... something I didn't even attempt to understand, so let's just say “physics”. They're taking the train because Howard, Raj, and Leonard voted plane, and Sheldon voted train. Reasonable.

    After a struggle between voiding the Tivo warranty or erasing Battlestar Galactica (not even a choice), Sheldon attaches some RFIDs to all of his clothes to simplify packing, and off they go. Sheldon herds them onto the correct side of the Coast Starlight train to see the best views, but all the boys manage to see is random train-rider Summer Glau from The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

    After a brief fight after who gets to hit on her first, Howard decides he's got first dibs. He starts to walk over, but can't do it and hits on some nuns instead. While cowering in an adjacent booth, mumbling, “It's hot in here, it must be Summer,” he loses his chance to a beer-and-confidence-infused Raj – who also steals his line. And it works. Unfortunately, Howard gleefully points out that Raj is actually suffering from the placebo effect of non-alcoholic beer, and so our “foreign and exotic” friend falls mute and is supplanted by the “frail and pasty” Wolowitz. Who then proceeds to completely freak out Summer Glau.

    Meanwhile, Sheldon realizes he's forgotten the flash drive with his brilliant paper on it and begins to panic, in rhythm with the clickety-clack of the train. He insists they go back to retrieve it so he can deliver the paper to George Smoot in person, but Leonard convinces him to let Penny email the paper from back home. Sheldon begrudgingly instructs Penny via phone to enter his room and find a Japanese puzzle box, which holds the key to the locked drawer in his desk where his flash drive is. In the course of her search, she finds a different box, which has letters from Sheldon's “memaw” (grandmother). Penny then proceeds to drive Sheldon crazy by calling him by the nickname in the letters: Moon-pie. “Because he's nummy-nummy and she could just eat him up.”

    In the end, Leonard just misses a chance with Summer Glau who has to get off the train, and Sheldon gets his chance with George Smoot, but is spurned.

    Maybe I would've liked this episode better if I'd ever watched The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As it was, the Sheldon/Penny phone conversation was (surprise) my favorite bit, despite my firm opinion that Sheldon would never forget his flash drive. It's too bad I can't transcribe Jim Parsons' exasperated faces in the Quotes, because they really made these scenes. I also love the way Raj's slightly smarmy lines always seem to work – when he can pull them off, that is.

    So what did you all think? Did you enjoy the Summer Glau cameo? The reference to Howard and Leslie's continuing arrangement? Should we incorporate “What up, Moon-pie?” into current slang? Leave your Two Cents in the comments!

    Best Lines:
    Raj: Please, when it comes to Terminators, you've got a better shot at scoring with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
    Howard: You're overlooking something – I have 11 hours with her in a confined space. Unless she's willing to jump off a moving train, tuck and roll down the side of a hill, she will eventually succumb to the acquired taste that is Howard Wolowitz.
    Leonard: My money's on tuck and roll.

    Sheldon: Penny would have to go in my room.
    Leonard: So?
    Sheldon: People don't go in my room!
    Leonard: Well, it seems once again you're caught between a rock and a crazy place.
    Sheldon: I hate when that happens.

    Howard: Do you believe him? Normally around women he has the personality of a boiled potato. Put one beer in him and he's M. Night Charmalamalan.

    Sheldon: Now what you'll be looking for is a small wooden box located between a Hoberman sphere and a sample of quartz flecked with pyrites... HOBERman Sphere. It's a collapsible icosidodecahedron. ... No, the thing with the time on it is my alarm clock.

    Howard: Hi, I'm the small package good things come in.

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  2. "What up, Moon-Pie?" FAVORITE LINE EVER!!!

    I love that Sheldon had a MeMaw LOL He always seems to have completely left Texas behind & it's funny when it comes back to slap him in the face!

    Raj is a bit smarmy, but it was nice to see him in the game this week. I just felt sorry for the poor girl!

    (Are we done with Leonard's Dr girlfriend for good now or what?)

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  3. Seriously, the way Kaley Cuoco delivered the Moon-Pie line was hilarious! And I do always love when Raj and Howard get some real stuff to do.

    I guess there's no more Dr. Stephanie. Nothing against Sara Rue, but that is fine by me.

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  4. Put me down as another "What up, Moon Pie?" fan. Genius.

    Also, when Penny stomped on the box was awesome.

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  5. a) I love and miss Sara Rue and b) I thought it was hysterical when Raj (under the spell of the placebo effect) stole Howard's pick-up line in his opening salvo to Summer.

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  6. I wonder if they asked Summer what pick-up lines she's gotten, because I'm sure she's had to have heard some variant of that line a few times, lol.

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  7. “It’s hot in here, it must be Summer.” The fact that they filmed on an actual train on it’s way to San Francisco was amazing. I love when they are able to focus the camera on near and far. “Again, you’re caught between a rock and a crazy place.” I love this show! These shows were difficult for me to watch because I was so busy that year but luckily I saved them on my DISH Network employee DVR and now that I have my free Sling adapter http://bit.ly/k80U6m I got with the special offer they have I was able to watch in my spare time on my iPhone; it’s so convenient.

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