Big Bang Theory 10/7/10 "The Zazzy Substitution"

betts4 · 10-08-2010, 09:02 AM

Best episode so far this season!

I was losing faith but this episode was a winner. I loved Leonard getting Sheldon's mom for an intervention and the whole Shamy thing. I think it was done just right.

betts4 · 10-08-2010, 09:06 AM

"I'd like you to meet Oppenheimer, Frisch, Panofsky, Feynman, Weisskopf—"

"Yeah, I get it. You got a lot of cats, and you gave 'em cute Jewish names"

and I can't remember the lines for the break up scene in the cafeteria, but the actors played it beautifully!

Rob Helmerichs · 10-08-2010, 09:07 AM

I had the opposite reaction...the show has become a sad parody of what it used to be. Everybody has become a caricature of the characters they used to be. There's nothing smart about it any more.

I'm actually on the verge of dropping it.

betts4 · 10-08-2010, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Helmerichs

I had the opposite reaction...the show has become a sad parody of what it used to be. Everybody has become a caricature of the characters they used to be. There's nothing smart about it any more.

I'm actually on the verge of dropping it.

I felt like this too...until this episode. I hope this is an upswing.

I also wondered - wasn't Sheldon, or maybe Leonard allergic to cats? Or maybe it is just Sheldon didn't like animals?

DancnDude · 10-08-2010, 09:15 AM

I liked how at the end he was paying people $20 each to take a cat

SorenTodd · 10-08-2010, 10:53 AM

Loved it. That whole Shamy dynamic is comic genius. I was worried for a second that they would actually break up.

I'm wondering if the writers for the show also watch Degrassi: the Next Generation (a Canadian show on TeenNick). Fans of Degrassi have been combining the male and female names (ala Sheldon + Amy = Shamy) for years now. We even do it on their message boards.

JYoung · 10-08-2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SorenTodd

Loved it. That whole Shamy dynamic is comic genius. I was worried for a second that they would actually break up.

I'm wondering if the writers for the show also watch Degrassi: the Next Generation (a Canadian show on TeenNick). Fans of Degrassi have been combining the male and female names (ala Sheldon + Amy = Shamy) for years now. We even do it on their message boards.

Huh?

This has been prevalent in pop culture for years as well.
Brangelia? Bennifer?

Ment · 10-08-2010, 12:03 PM

I don't believe for a second Sheldon would turn to cats for companionship but it was a funny gag. Sheldon's mom manipulating him and Leonard was great as well.

Oh and Penny has the best work uniforms.

DancnDude · 10-08-2010, 12:48 PM

I also liked how they broke up. He motioned, she seconded the motion, and then the motion passed

rockislandmike · 10-08-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Helmerichs

I had the opposite reaction...the show has become a sad parody of what it used to be. Everybody has become a caricature of the characters they used to be. There's nothing smart about it any more.

I'm actually on the verge of dropping it.

+1. fortunately shatner's show is turning out to be a dud too, so i can stop watching that entire hour in favor of doing something else. i'll have to catch up on community for starters.

Frylock · 10-08-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JYoung

Huh?

This has been prevalent in pop culture for years as well.
Brangelia? Bennifer?

Yeah, considering that it came from Penny, who is an aspiring actress (at least in her mind) she would be pretty familiar with Bennifer and Brangelina...

Frylock · 10-08-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DancnDude

I also liked how they broke up. He motioned, she seconded the motion, and then the motion passed

With no objections!

rockislandmike · 10-08-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by betts4

I felt like this too...until this episode. I hope this is an upswing.

I also wondered - wasn't Sheldon, or maybe Leonard allergic to cats? Or maybe it is just Sheldon didn't like animals?

I thought I recalled someone being allergic too, but didn't remember who or what ep it came up in.

DancnDude · 10-08-2010, 01:22 PM

The main thing I don't like about Amy is that she doesn't interact well with the rest of the cast. Sheldon and Penny interacted quite well together, but the same hasn't happened with Amy and any other character. Hopefully if they stay together, we'll get her interacting a bit more with everybody because right now she's only funny if Sheldon is interacting with her and she's a jerk most of the rest of the time.

That's not to say I'm not enjoying the story, because it is quite funny. Just that it's gonna get old if they don't expand it somehow.

DevdogAZ · 10-08-2010, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DancnDude

I liked how at the end he was paying people $20 each to take a cat

Yes, I saw the sign and my immediate reaction was "Who's gonna pay $20 for a cat?" But then they sold the joke by having Sheldon paying people to take the cats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DancnDude

I also liked how they broke up. He motioned, she seconded the motion, and then the motion passed

Yes, the concept of Robert's Rules of Order to govern a relationship is hilarious.

I'm kind of shocked there's not something in the Roommate Agreement about cats, though. I would have expected Leonard to bring that up and finally use that against Sheldon for once.

Jonathan_S · 10-08-2010, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevdogAZ

I'm kind of shocked there's not something in the Roommate Agreement about cats, though. I would have expected Leonard to bring that up and finally use that against Sheldon for once.

Leonard probable didn't find anything specifically for 'cats' or 'pets' but forgot to check for the section on 'non-sapient lifeforms'

Rob Helmerichs · 10-08-2010, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevdogAZ

I'm kind of shocked there's not something in the Roommate Agreement about cats, though. I would have expected Leonard to bring that up and finally use that against Sheldon for once.

Except, as we've seen over and over, Leonard's not the one who actually knows what's in the Roommate Agreement.

scooterboy · 10-08-2010, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SorenTodd

Loved it. That whole Shamy dynamic is comic genius. I was worried for a second that they would actually break up.

And I wish they had stayed broken up. Blossom's over-the-top monotone and wooden mannerisms are making the show a lot less enjoyable for me. I can't wait until she's gone.

ScubaCat · 10-08-2010, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockislandmike

I thought I recalled someone being allergic too, but didn't remember who or what ep it came up in.

It was season 1, episode 3 - The Fuzzy Boots Corollary. I watched it on my iPad during a recent flight. Leonard was depressed about his relationship with Penny and came home with a bunch of cat toys and cat food. I remember he mentioned he wanted to get a hypoallergenic cat but I don't remember the explanation. I'll review the episode later this evening and let you know.

Update: I checked the episode. When Sheldon protested Leonard getting a cat, Leonard said "I took your asthma into account" and then described the hypoallergenic cat.

So apparently the writers didn't let Sheldon's asthma get in the way of a good joke in the new episode.

vertigo235 · 10-08-2010, 04:02 PM

I've got a cat that I'd like to get rid of, anyone interested int taking it for $20?

Gunnyman · 10-08-2010, 04:17 PM

"He's always an ass, you just usually can't hear him"

DianaMo · 10-08-2010, 04:33 PM

Quote:

When Leonard tried to tell Sheldon how much the group dislikes Amy, Sheldon countered with all the ways he’d had to “suffer in silence” because of Penny. Like watching “night after night of uninformative TV documentaries about the Jersey shore.”

http://insidepulse.com/2010/10/08/th...de-4-3-review/

Did you know that Counterfactuals is actually a word?

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...ounterfactuals

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfactual

Rob Helmerichs · 10-08-2010, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DianaMo

Did you know that Counterfactuals is actually a word?

Of COURSE I knew!

You mean...you DIDN'T?!?

(There were a couple of collections of counterfactuals written by historians...What If? and More What If?, which were subsequently re-published as an omnibus, The Collected What If? Most of the contributors were serious big-name scholars. Cool stuff!)

Turtleboy · 10-08-2010, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Helmerichs

Of COURSE I knew!

You mean...you DIDN'T?!?

(There were a couple of collections of counterfactuals written by historians...What If? and More What If?, which were subsequently re-published as an omnibus, The Collected What If? Most of the contributors were serious big-name scholars. Cool stuff!)

I liked the one where Gwen Stacy didn't die.

Rob Helmerichs · 10-08-2010, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtleboy

I liked the one where Gwen Stacy didn't die.

Was that the one that Michael Beschloss wrote?

Mars Rocket · 10-09-2010, 12:33 AM

Nice ep, but I don't for a second believe that Sheldon would feed milk to a cat. Surely he would know that many cats are lactose intolerant.

danieljanderson · 10-09-2010, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunnyman

"He's always an ass, you just usually can't hear him"

I thought it would have been funny if Raj had no trouble speaking in front of Amy.

Hunter Green · 10-09-2010, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Helmerichs

Except, as we've seen over and over, Leonard's not the one who actually knows what's in the Roommate Agreement.

That's what would have made it funny. We'd need him to look exhausted like he just pulled an all-nighter, and it turns out he's been reading the agreement looking for a relevant clause.

I also thought Sheldon's appreciation for cats seemed odd, despite that song he likes so much.

While I loved Counterfactuals, I would also like to play the game, and as presented it's unplayable because there can't be only one right answer. ThinkGeek needs to find a way to make it a playable game (not just a joke, but actually playable) and sell it.

zordude · 10-09-2010, 08:10 AM

I found the cat thing to be very out of character, even if it was supposed to be intended that way to show Sheldon's feelings it didn't feel right.

No cat named Schrodinger?

dianebrat · 10-09-2010, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mars Rocket

Nice ep, but I don't for a second believe that Sheldon would feed milk to a cat. Surely he would know that many cats are lactose intolerant.

yeah, I caught that one too, it worked on the humor front, failed on the geek and knowledgeable front.