bigbangsheldon

i felt like a good screaming tbh i am sorry if i hurt u peacec and love

topherkraz78

Yeah Like I said at the other forum. I'm actually glad they are focusing on a couple of 'serious' situations. It throws more depth to the characters and gives some insight that some may have been curious about. It cant always be about the 'coupling' or romance. Whatever may be I will be waiting with bated breath,

lancer1993

I thought Leonard turning down sex with Penny showed growth in his character, I do like he joked about it towards the end.

phantagrae

I haven't had time to read through any of the comments on this forum and only some on the other forum (it's called sleeping well past my alarm--supposed to be at work 8:30, WOKE UP AT 11:00!!!)

But I did read the taping report last night and even though it was prefaced as not being "good" or funny or whatever, I found myself laughing at several points in the story.

Though I know that many were counting on some kind of sweet or funny/happy Christmas-themed episode, and we were all puzzling about Santa and the mention of Pop-Pop, etc., I still didn't find the report all that disappointing.

I do think it's funny and it speaks to the guys' bond when they all decide they're going to do an old-school D&D night with no girls allowed. It kind of harks back to that previous guys-only weekend, but with a different tone.
Instead of the girls fussing about it, they decide they're going to enjoy themselves, too.
The guys don't seem afraid to offend the girls by making their own group bond a priority (because, really, how often do they actually do stuff like this?) and they all told the girls ahead of time, etc.

It all seems very mature and calm, to me.

I do think it was cute of the girls to kind of show the guys what they were missing, but again, no one had a cow and no one cried or complained, really.

As for Raj, I think it's nice that they girls let him tag along (and I love Stuart trying to point out to Raj how he should be careful how he says things )
I think that Raj's attraction to Bernie and Penny is understandable, given his circumstances and his affliction. These are the girls he knows best and who treat him kindly and try to reassure him that he's a cutie and that he'll eventually find a girl. I think it's understandable that he would be attracted to them, it's just that he is inappropriate and wants to hope that if something were to happen, he'd be the next in line or something.
I always liked the fact that when he fantasized about being with Bernadette, it always involved Howard giving him permission or asking him to take care of her, etc.

Anyway, I'm going to have to go back and re-read the stuff between Raj and Amy, but I think that Amy being disappointed that he hadn't been attracted to her is kind of natural. Even though she didn't want Raj, it's kind of a "what's wrong with me?" kind of moment for her.
In some ways, Amy is a little like Howard used to be--somehow confident of her own desirability while being completely oblivious to what she really looks like or what others' reactions really are.
Like when she talked about her cheekbones and her pelvis, and how poor sad-sack Leonard had fallen in love with her, and how she felt beautiful in her maid-of-honor dress, etc.
And even though part of her knows that she was never one of those "Penny-beautiful" girls, she seems to have an odd confidence of her own attractiveness or sexiness. She's still learning about make-up and bikini waxes and all that, but she likes to think, or she actually does think, that she's attractive.

So, for Raj, who finds Bernie and Penny attractive, to not find her (Amy) attractive, maybe pokes a little hole in Amy's self-confidence, the way Bernie & Penny going dress-shopping without her did.

Anyway, I'm not going to try to speculate about where they may or may not be going with Raj's life, but I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of empathy between Raj and Amy might lead to her trying to help him with his mutism.

I do like Sheldon's rant about Santa and Pop-Pop, but I do think the fact that they changed the Santa ending more than once makes it seem that they were not at all confident in how to make that ending funny. It's one thing to change a punchline, but with such an over-the-top ending (Santa blowing up the apartment?!) you either have to KNOW it is exactly the right way to end it, or else you're going to struggle to get it right, which is what the revisions say to me.

I've never been a fan of "dark Santa" ideas, and even though this is supposed to be Sheldon's bad dream brought on by the fact that he chose to leave Santa in the dungeon, it's still pretty harsh and seems a little out of left field.
I can imagine them wanting to use the story of Sheldon asking Santa to bring back his Pop-Pop and being disappointed that it didn't happen, since Sheldon has always seemed so willing to believe in things (like superheroes), and then trying to garner a laugh out of it in the end.
So, apparently Sheldon has Santa on his mortal enemies list and seizes the D&D game as an opportunity to get back at Santa, but having Santa get back at him...

I dunno.

Anyway, as I said, overall I didn't find it to be disastrous. I think it's more a matter of most of us hoping for something somewhat specific--a sweet, romantic, "Very Special" Christmas episode--and getting something that focuses on other things, instead.

I'm still looking forward to seeing the episode, except for the cannon-shooting Santa.

notyoda

Phanta - good post! Though I'm probably in the minority regarding the romantic stuff. I don't like schmaltz, it's good when it doesn't get too bogged down with that sort of thing. (not that it ever has, really... there is usually a comedic spin on things to take away the heaviness.)

I agree, Moyra. Expectations probably did get a bit lofty... they can't all be jaw-dropping/rib-tickling episodes. But it felt alright to me, not depressing at all, and even the Santa scene was still amusing after so many rewrites. It all depends how it plays out on screen of course, but it is miles better than Speckerman, that much is true.

Lionne

Here's the thing about Speckerman - It wasn't a bad episode up until the last scene and joke. Leonard and Sheldon running from the apartment, and the "I just have to run faster than you" line, which is an incredibly hackneyed and old joke that's been around forever - I just can't believe that this show used such a tired and horrible joke to end a show on, not to mention that no one liked seeing Leonard and Sheldon running from their own home. It's really that ending that just ruined the whole thing. Up until then, there was actually some interesting stuff in the episode, and some great lines and moments.

If the ending and final joke hadn't blown so hard, the episode would be judged differently, I think. However, as it is, it's definitely the worst episode of the entire show, EVER.

phantagrae

I dunno, that joke didn't bother me at all--maybe I just didn't take it that seriously. To me it was just another "throw-away" joke for a funny ending. T me it kind of underscored that even though they had won the moral high ground, n the end they were still the nerds they had always been.

Fr me, the only reason I've never been that excited about this ep was that I found Speckerman himself boring and the story a little one-note. I did like that Bernie and Amy helped Penny see how her actions in high school really were bullying, and I did find their rummaging in the donation bin kind of funny, but the guys didn't have a lot to do. I did like that Leonard finally did stand up to Speckerman.
But I thought the end was one of the funnier moments.

smoguntia

I'm still looking forward for this episode and for a change its relaxing to have an episode were you don't have to freak when you read the taping report


Exactly, this final joke ruined it for me, too. In the end they had the Status Quo from the beginning. Nothing really changed and I asume Speckerman didn't remember anything he had said because he was so drunken.

vasu

Well I have posted my views on Speckerman episode before... I'll post it again

Here's how I see it..

The entire premise of The Big Bang Theory is to prove that nerds are cool

When Jimmy mentions that back in school Leonard was the loser and he was the winner but now Leonard is the winner and he is the loser --- this is what TBBT is made for---The nerd coming good

Yeah too bad they ended it that way..but they atleast stood-up to the bully(which I don't think they have ever done back in school).....and also them shoving the Bully out would'nt have been believable.......

All characters were brilliantly characterized in that episode, as all the nerds were able to relate to being bullied

Penny like Jimmy did'nt even know that she was actually a bully back in school... Perfect characterization

And again we got Sheldon admitting his love for Leonard....which was nice turn from the usual story of Sheldon not caring for Leonard


I guess episodes like this are not everyone's cup of tea..but I certainly liked it and laughed many times

IMO , the worst episode of the series EVER is The Bus Pants Utilization

lancer1993

I like The Bus Pants Utilization

GeekSoul

I fully agree on everything here. Including your opinion about the Bus Pants.

vasu

Well, Thank you

Sursonica

IMO, the worst episode ever is Cruciferous Vegetable, I have never rewatched that and when it is on a rerun is the only episode I change the channel to.

Now, regarding the spanking scene, from Fish Guts I was talking to Krys about the taping of The Launch Acceleration and my mind made the connection with Fish Guts...

Do you guys think there could be a possibility of Jim's buttslap to Mayim that day could have influenced the writers?. I remember that the report said that everyone bursted into laughter and that they had to even stop for a few minutes to get a hold of themselves to resume the taping. It was like totally unexpected for everyone, included Mayim, specially (I guess) since Jim is always so professional, serious and polite on set. Nobody was expecting that from Jim, the same way nobody would expect that from Sheldon... and yet, it happenned...

or am I just overthinking this too much and really need a vacation?

kirubreezy

A) We all need a vacation...

B) Maybe so...they have a comfort level which permitted the writers to script this.

notyoda

I think you could be on to something there. It would have certainly planted a seed if the writers were never considering it before... Also, if they had been lurking around certain corners of the internet at the right times, there were plenty comments from those who read the taping reports, and were just dying to see it.