No doubt, Penny had liquor in her purse and was going to force it on to the Tenure Committee.

 

How can AFF look so yucky on this show but really be such a cutie in real life? I guess the cloths really do make the woman.

That's certainly a matter of interpretation.

How'd Kripke evolve into a character that is so personable and conniving. Early on he was as inept at social interaction as the rest of the guys.

 

That's certainly a matter of interpretation.

How'd Kripke evolve into a character that is so personable and conniving. Early on he was as inept at social interaction as the rest of the guys.

Because he's so wovable.

 

Sheldon "Did she do it yet?"

This made me laugh out loud.

 

I really wish they would A) Give Raj some medicine that works so he can talk to women normally. His bit about being drunk and an ass is getting old. B) Have Penny move on to an office job or something, maybe work at the University in admissions. They don't have scenes at her work anymore so they need to move on from that.

 

B) Have Penny move on to an office job or something, maybe work at the University in admissions. They don't have scenes at her work anymore so they need to move on from that.

But that's not the career path of an actress. To get an office job would be to admit that she'll never be a movie star!

 

One thing I didn't get and kept waiting for the tie-in and it never arrived, was WHY the girls were pushing so hard to get the guys to the memorial service. There was definitely some artful conniving on both Amy and Penny's part that went well above and beyond just being supportive girlfriends. Similarly, it seemed that from the start, Howard was manipulating the others to go to the service. Not being eligible for tenure, he had no motive here and claimed he was going to show support to a colleague but he didn't seem to actually know the guy more than any of the others and he seemed MUCH more interested in getting them to go than in the service itself. Again, I kept waiting for the big reveal of what he got out of it and never saw one.

The basic plot seemed to be pulled from the Big Book o' Sitcom Plots and the nerd jokes were draped attractively over it, which is one of the things that initially turned me off about the series---when I feel like they could swap the science jokes for chronic womanizer jokes and then slip the whole script into 2 1/2 Men or for hippy jokes and stick it in Dharma & Greg, etc. then I don't enjoy the show. I want a show ABOUT nerd life not about generic sitcom life with extra science jokes.

 

Maybe the girls just wanted to go somewhere besides watching old Star Trek EPs.

 

The basic plot seemed to be pulled from the Big Book o' Sitcom Plots and the nerd jokes were draped attractively over it, which is one of the things that initially turned me off about the series---when I feel like they could swap the science jokes for chronic womanizer jokes and then slip the whole script into 2 1/2 Men or for hippy jokes and stick it in Dharma & Greg, etc. then I don't enjoy the show. I want a show ABOUT nerd life not about generic sitcom life with extra science jokes.

This was my biggest complaint about the show early on. It's gotten much better since then with the addition of more girls, but I think it still sometimes resorts to old sitcom plots with science jokes.

 

One thing I didn't get and kept waiting for the tie-in and it never arrived, was WHY the girls were pushing so hard to get the guys to the memorial service. There was definitely some artful conniving on both Amy and Penny's part that went well above and beyond just being supportive girlfriends. Similarly, it seemed that from the start, Howard was manipulating the others to go to the service. Not being eligible for tenure, he had no motive here and claimed he was going to show support to a colleague but he didn't seem to actually know the guy more than any of the others and he seemed MUCH more interested in getting them to go than in the service itself. Again, I kept waiting for the big reveal of what he got out of it and never saw one.

Were we watching the same show? I thought this stuff was explained perfectly well.

The guys wanted to go to the service because the tenure committee would all be there and they knew it would be a good opportunity to schmooze.

Howard wanted them all to go because he knew it would create chaos among them and he would get to sit back and enjoy the carnage.

Amy wanted Sheldon to get tenure so he would be able to afford to buy a house, get married, and start a family. She wanted to go to the memorial service because it was on their date night and if she didn't, she wouldn't have gotten to hang out with Sheldon that night.

Penny wanted Leonard to get tenure because it's something he wants. She wanted to go to the service because she knew she'd be able to help him flirt with the tenure committee.

 

Howard wanted them all to go because he knew it would create chaos among them and he would get to sit back and enjoy the carnage.

Meerkat fight.

 

Were we watching the same show? I thought this stuff was explained perfectly well.

The guys wanted to go to the service because the tenure committee would all be there and they knew it would be a good opportunity to schmooze.

They can explain until they're blue in the face, but it doesn't explain away the way the real world works. Whatever positions the guys might have, they aren't in tenure-track positions.

 

They can explain until they're blue in the face, but it doesn't explain away the way the real world works. Whatever positions the guys might have, they aren't in tenure-track positions.

Yes, we already discussed that. It's not at issue here. Polca wanted to understand the motivation as it existed WITHIN THE STORY and I explained. How it would work in the real world is irrelevant.

 

The basic plot seemed to be pulled from the Big Book o' Sitcom Plots and the nerd jokes were draped attractively over it, which is one of the things that initially turned me off about the series---when I feel like they could swap the science jokes for chronic womanizer jokes and then slip the whole script into 2 1/2 Men or for hippy jokes and stick it in Dharma & Greg, etc. then I don't enjoy the show. I want a show ABOUT nerd life not about generic sitcom life with extra science jokes.

Amen

Hmmm.... what kind of job could Penny go into that would fit with the standard starlet trying to happen?..Maybe she could get a bit part in a sitcom called something like "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter"??

Or better yet, let's have return to her real life sport of tennis and try to make a comeback in the sport. Then we could see her in skimpy little tennis outfits and maybe have a cameo of the former tennis star Ywanna Cornucopia .
http://www.superiorpics.com/anna_kournikova/pictures/6389_koourn66212_picture.html
http://www.cardboardcutouts.com/cut.../cutouts/1331/penny-blue-dress-big-bang-theory?gclid=COKzxeTYtLYCFa9aMgodnSsAjg

 

No doubt, Penny had liquor in her purse and was going to force it on to the Tenure Committee.

You know, a new community member would wander into BBT threads and be soooo lost.

(Oops, I said "lost")

 

I really wish they would A) Give Raj some medicine that works so he can talk to women normally. His bit about being drunk and an ass is getting old. B) Have Penny move on to an office job or something, maybe work at the University in admissions. They don't have scenes at her work anymore so they need to move on from that.

Maybe but I loved how Bernadette was trying to sober him up so he would shut up.

 

The guys wanted to go to the service because the tenure committee would all be there and they knew it would be a good opportunity to schmooze.

I understand the guys. I don't get the girls AT ALL. Amy is smart enough to know that Sheldon getting tenure does not give her an automatic Happily Ever After (any more than NOT having tenure is keeping her from one---remember, Sheldon has a salary surplus as it is.).

Penny also made no sense. When has she ever wanted to, pretty literally, whore herself out to a bunch of eggheads? Especially given that the focus of the episode was on the one FEMALE tenure committee member.

It felt like the writers had an idea and tried to shoehorn the character's motives into it after the fact. Plot-driven, not character-driven. Plot-driven just isn't good writing.

(I can *kinda* see Howard wanting to witness the mayhem, but he's usually not the type to just stir up a pile of ants for no reason like that.)

 

This was my biggest complaint about the show early on. It's gotten much better since then with the addition of more girls, but I think it still sometimes resorts to old sitcom plots with science jokes.

Sigh. And many here think the opposite. That it was about geeks in the beginning and is now more sitcom with geeks sprinkled in.

I would agree with them but it is still funny and has enough geek stuff. The early shows were stunning in that they did geeks right.

Now it is just good even though it is less geeky.

 

Maybe but I loved how Bernadette was trying to sober him up so he would shut up.

I am just waiting for Bernadette to open up a can of woopa#$ and really beat the bejebbers out of someone at some point!

 

They can explain until they're blue in the face, but it doesn't explain away the way the real world works. Whatever positions the guys might have, they aren't in tenure-track positions.

It ain't real life. It's a tv show. A comedy. Fake. With just enough reality blended in to make it feel real enough.

Come on. Where in real life would penny afford that apartment living alone and fall in love with a complete awkward geek while remaining out of jail at the same time?

Sitcom.

 

I am just waiting for Bernadette to open up a can of woopa#$ and really beat the bejebbers out of someone at some point!

I laughed at that. Plot for next year.

 

It felt like the writers had an idea and tried to shoehorn the character's motives into it after the fact. Plot-driven, not character-driven.

Do you even watch this show?!?

 

One thing I didn't get and kept waiting for the tie-in and it never arrived, was WHY the girls were pushing so hard to get the guys to the memorial service.

So they could shmooze with the tenure committee people.

This was my biggest complaint about the show early on. It's gotten much better since then with the addition of more girls, but I think it still sometimes resorts to old sitcom plots with science jokes.

Weird. I agree with you that the show HAS gotten better overall with the addition of the girls, but I *also* think that it has gotten to be WAY more generic sitcom-y + sprinkling of science jokes.. Exactly the opposite of what you two are saying.

So it's better overall, but less geeky.

 

While the girlfriends might have had some additional motivation, I think the doctor's primary reason for going for the vacant position was plain old competition. We've seen all of them be competitive in the past, not just in video games. As soon as one of them expressed the slightest interest in the position, ( nudged by Howard ) the rest all piled on.

 

Tenure is not competitive. You earn tenure by winning a tenure-track position (i.e., an Assistant Professorship), and then putting in several years of fairly grueling teaching and research. You then apply for tenure, and are granted or denied it on the basis of the quality of your teaching and research.

I have a vague idea this has been discussed in the past in these threads.. but I'll ask (possibly again).

Do you essentially get "a few tries" at getting tenure, then that's that?

Admittedly, my legal knowledge comes from lawyer shows (which is probably just as bad as trying to find out how universities work from Big Bang Theory)… but it seems like lawyers get a couple of tries to become partner… and if they don't get it then, they realize they either stay as a low level peon, or go to another firm/start their own.