(S02E18) As much as I love Leonard, tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory only further proves that Penny and Sheldon are meant to be. Maybe not in a romantic sense (I still have a hard time picturing Sheldon in a relationship with any woman), but in a platonic life mate sense. Proving that there is, in fact, a market in everything, Penny manages to start selling her Penny Blossoms, which are really hideous flower barrettes. This obviously means that the guys are going to get involved and geek it up, which they do in a splendid fashion that somehow involves charcoal.
I also learned an important tip: If you're looking to sell something to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered market, design your website like a 13-year-old girl's MySpace page. They are apparently attracted to the same graphic design sensibility -- which Leonard apparently possesses.
Let's cut to the chase, though: The best part of this episode was absolutely Sheldon and Penny singing. The sea shanty when they first started their assembly line was priceless. It was kind of fun when the rest of the guys got involved later (especially when Raj whispered his part of the song to Wolowitz), but Sheldon and Penny performed so well together, that they could have done just fine on their own.
The other highlight of the episode for me was Sheldon's descent into the dark world of caffeine. Despite the fact that he promised his mother that he would never do drugs, he couldn't stop himself from indulging in coffee. Even though the result was predictable, Sheldon's manic monologue was pretty hilarious, as was his decision to dress up like The Flash and zoom around the apartment.
All in all, this was a really funny episode with a good balance between all the characters. I'm curious to see whether or not the whole Wolowitz/Leslie relationship is going to get anymore screentime or if we're ever going to hear about Penny Blossoms again. As much as I love this show, my main problem with it is the dropped storylines.
Some of my favorite lines from this week's episode:
"Penny, I'm a physicist. I have a working knowledge of the universe and everything it contains." --Sheldon
Sheldon: "You are effectively paying yourself five dollars and nineteen cents a day."
Penny: "A day?"
Sheldon: "There are children working in sneaker factories in Indionesia who outearn you."
Sheldon: "To start with, she has a terrible problem with moisture-induced glitter clump."
Penny: "Yeah, it's a bitch."
Wolowitz: "Ah, I've seen this before."
Leonard: "Where?"
Wolowitz: "It's a common stripper problem.They dance, they sweat, they clump."
Penny: "How are flower barrettes going to appeal to men?"
Wolowitz: "We add Bluetooth."
Wolowitz: "Oh, stop it with the fake third world crap. Your father is a gynecologist and you had a house full of servants."
Raj: "We only had four servants, and two of them were children."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-17-2009 @ 3:37AM
brooke said...
How could you have left out any reference to Laser Obstacle Chess???
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3-17-2009 @ 11:34PM
Phish said...
Great episode, idiotic write up, a 4 year old retarded monkey could have done a better job! Where in the world is 'indionesia' ??? Gosh, americans are so stupid!
3-17-2009 @ 5:52AM
Lisa said...
Where to start...this show so outshines HIMYM now and I never thought I'd say that. Penny and Sheldon are amazing together, the whole initial exchange on mass production, the sea shanty, the scientific answers to glitter and glue issues...this was inspired. Who are these writers? Can we get some emmy talk going for this show?
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3-17-2009 @ 7:23AM
Jimmy said...
Your first "favorite line" doesn't work as well without Penny's comeback: "What's Radiohead?"
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3-17-2009 @ 7:33AM
Ryan said...
Absolute agreement on Penny & Sheldon.
To be fair, BBT is a fairly traditional sitcom, while HIMYM is much more ambitious in its storytelling and arcs. That being said, I agree that BBT hits all its marks perfectly, and does outshine HIMYM, which has been distressingly uneven the past two seasons.
That's why I think many of the dropped storylines are merely one-off gags that were never intended to return. We shouldn't fault the show for that structure, but celebrate what bits do recur. Like NCIS, this show is very episodic and should do quite well in syndication.
Kona, you really should add the rest of the first quoted scene:
Penny: "Who's Radiohead?"
Sheldon: Long pause, eye twitches, mouth trembles. "I have a working knowledge of everything IMPORTANT..."
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3-17-2009 @ 8:37AM
Martin said...
The Flash outfit was a nice callback though, dropped storylines aside.
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3-17-2009 @ 11:38AM
eric f. said...
That was the funniest thing on TV I can remember.
3-17-2009 @ 9:13AM
GG said...
I wouldn't go as far to say that TBBT outshines HIMYM, which in my opinion has better comedic timing and a whole lot of more heart. The novelty of TBBT, however, is great fun. I think the relationship between Penny and Sheldon has a lot to do with the appeal of this show (to me at least). Not that I wouldn't tune in every week just to watch the boys play more Laser Obstacle Chess and the like. But watching Sheldon and Penny try to figure each other and learn from each other...it's fascinating.
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3-17-2009 @ 9:11AM
Darren said...
This is an automatic series classic!!
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3-17-2009 @ 9:26AM
ko said...
the oddest part of the episode is the timing...
so, it's saturday night and they receive a 1 day rush order. That order wouldn't be received traditionally until beginning of business on monday, giving them til tuesday to deliver.
for a bunch of geniuses, they sure don't understand shipping.
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3-17-2009 @ 11:55AM
Chadwick said...
Dude. This show is lights out! This show is climbing up my chart as favorites. Pretty soon it could be up there with Lost and Earl.
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3-17-2009 @ 10:12AM
MikLamb said...
When I first saw this show last year, I was impressed with the characters, but I was worried that the writers wouldn't have enough material to put out interesting episodes past the first season. Wow, I am so glad that was I wrong. This episode was on of the best and funniest yet!
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3-17-2009 @ 10:30AM
Michael said...
And what about Wolowitz and his comment about a "pulled testicle"??? Holy crap on a cracker! I thought I was going to pull something I was laughing so hard.
This show gives us more hilarious quotes and scenes than any other show on television right now. This week was right up there with the best eps ever.
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3-17-2009 @ 10:59AM
Bill said...
pennyblossoms.com
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3-17-2009 @ 12:04PM
MikLamb said...
OMG, nice find, hilarious!
3-31-2009 @ 10:02AM
Laura said...
Great site!! totally preteen myspace.....LOVE IT!
3-17-2009 @ 11:30AM
Ryan said...
Yeah I wouldn't say BBT outshines HIMYM, but BOTH shows are absolutely fantastic and last night they both delivered hilarious episodes that had me in stitches.
I think there should be a musical crossover down the line between the two shows. It would be awesome.
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3-17-2009 @ 3:01PM
Sarah said...
OMG Ryan! You just blew my mind! A crossover episode between HIMYM and BBT would be brilliant! Just imagine the interactions Barney and Sheldon would have. Or Raj and Lily. Robin and Penny. And of course Leonard and Ted. I think a crossover episode is something CBS needs to seriously consider.
Oh, and my daughter's name is Penelope and I think her new nickname will have to be Penny Blossoms. (I've called her "Queen Penelope AFK" since that particular episode.)
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3-17-2009 @ 7:45PM
Donna said...
Okay, I thought it was definitely one of the best episodes to date. But I would like to point out that Sheldon is showing definite signs of growth. He actually RECOGNIZED that Penny was using sarcasm! That's something that hasn't happened before.
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3-17-2009 @ 7:56PM
anti-believer said...
BBT is one of the best comedies on!!!
I always watch it.
Very well written!!!!
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