LostInTime

Got home late so I watched it on my dVR, I can't really comment on Bernadette/Howard because I FFd them but what I did see I LOVED!
Sheldon and Leonard at the comic book store, AWESOME!!!
and OMG Sheldon hugged Wil Wheaton !!! I am in shock! but I loved how happy he was when he said "look everbody, Wil Wheaton is my friend" he was so adorable..
and loved Leonard barganing down prices on stuff so great when he said to Brent Spiner "2 for $30 and you come to my birthday party" I swear I spit out my tea
Great episode, even though I didn't watch the Howard/Bernadette arc

Fercita

This was...excellent! It was so fun and sweet and this past episodes don't mean nothing against this one because it was so good. All the themes were good and the jokes too :O

I liked Leonard uhh, I don't know that word in English, and Roxanne told me what it was after reading the report but I forgot what it was!! :CC Well the thing he did to lower the price of the sword.

It was quite contrasting to know how Sheldon is with Leonard when they are friends and when they aren't. He got possessive of him then and reacted in a childish, mean way. I always said that out of all of them, Sheldon is the most emotional, I mean, Will Wheaton, his mortal enemy!! D I liked the way they all toasted for Howard. That was really sweet and well managed.

The Howard/Bernadette sub-plot was subtle but very clear and meaningful. The contrast between the jokes and the serious moments I felt weren't crass at all (which is something I found within the sitcom, the transition from somberness to laughing moment usually make me cringe). That Howard, the "not a doctor" gets to go to space before all of them is remarkable and very...deep? A hidden meaning maybe?

It struck me as curious and funny (and sad after thinking about it) how the roles change with the Penny/Amy/Sheldon interactions. Before it was Penny who was asking all the question. Even if season four she still did ask the questions, but now she learned to avoid them and that certain mini role of the outsider is taken by Amy. NOW, finally, do I feel Penny is "one of us, one of us, one of us". Also, because Penny knows Sheldon, now she doesn't even blink with what Amy says. I noticed that in the Penny/Amy/Bernadette scene, which was awesome.

It makes me sad because it does emphasize the fact that Amy is replacing Penny and Sheldon to each other (sneaky, sneaky really) and happy because it also emphasizes what role Penny used to have in that regard (if anyone cares, or is open enough to want to see it that way).

I never get excited about the PAB scenes. I liked them but people fawned over their scenes and I was like "what's the big deal", but I must say, this scene they had together was fantastic.

Ironic how Sheldon's mortal enemies get voluntary physical touch from him. That action figure Will gave to Sheldon really was meaningful for him (it was one of Sheldon's childhood dreams and he went quite a way to get it).

It reminded me about what Jim said about the hug Sheldon gave to Penny. That even though he (Sheldon) is very controlled and wary of his own body, the things that he is so grateful and moved for, he has to show in terms of physicality.

Sheldon/Will is now canon =PPP xDD Joke :O

ETA: Just read Lorre's vanity card for this episode and it reminded me so acutely of Sheldon. THAT he is. That he is.

GeekSoul

@Fercita : the word is haggling, I guess.

Seen it ! (finally). Really good episode, probably among the finest of S4-5 overall (so far ). Everybody had strong lines, the actors were good... this is TBBT at its best. Nice, cool fun with lovable characters, nerdism, science and everything.

I especially liked the H/B storyline. As I've said before, I was (and am still) afraid of losing the "Horny Engineer" to the settled Howard. Well, he's back, stronger than ever, ready to rocket up the moon and still clearly obsessed ! And Bernadette + Howard's mother teaming up to keep him "on the ground" is a welcome change from the (already, IMO) overused "Howard wants to stay home with his mum and still be with Bernie" they've done in three or four episodes so far.

A trip into space is a really imaginative, typical TBBT thing of a roadblock for the H/B wedding. I hope the writers will keep on with this, the comic potential is huge (as previous episodes have shown, back in S2, Howard's technical mishaps are great comedic stuff).

By the way, thanks to the writers for the "continuity stuff" they put in this episode. It's always welcome :
- Raj (RAJ ! dude, don't go this way again!) asks Howard about breaking up with Bernie
- Penny and the Shroedinger's cat
- The list of mortal enemies (and Penny on it... I'm still laughing)

Last, pure awesomeness : Howard preparing for sex. I can't find my words. Really. The sabers... Gosh. Someone needs to do a vid with proper music !

Lewisa

I love Wil Wheaton, I don't think I can say it enough! I really hope this isn't the last we will see of him, especially as he's now Sheldon's friend!

I do wonder how long that will last.. how long can Wheaton play nice?

WeBuiltThePyramids

I really don't think Amy is replacing Sheldon when it comes to Penny. Penny and Sheldon's hilarity have always been them at odds with each other or not understanding something about why one or the other does something. Penny and Amy don't fight, and they may not understand stuff but Amy is eager to learn. Now that Amy is the one asking questions maybe she's taken over the role of "what's that?" in Sheldon's life, but aside from the inevitable "I'm used to it by now", I don't think Penny and Sheldon's dynamic has changed in the slightest.

He asked if they were going to have sex about ten times in as many minutes, so even with Bernie, I don't think we have to worry about that.

Lee, why didn't you watch the Howard/Bernadette stuff?

MrღMrsStinsbatskys

I forgot about Howard & Bernadette in my last post so I just want to say that they were so sweet and cute and I just love their relationship. I'm also starting to rreally like them a lot and they are one of my favorite ships now.

Lewisa

I actually thought Howard looked really cute, sitting on his bed playing with that rocket. Just me....? OK

But wow, who would have thought, Howard in season 1 would be at this stage in life..
as Ray best put it 'You're like a Rockstar'

WeBuiltThePyramids

Yeah, for a long time I was in the "they're cute" stage that most people that watch shows are in in terms of shipping. But they're starting to give me warm fuzzies now.

Pomita

Rewatched it again today (sitting in office) and I'm still in the seventh heaven of delight, what a fabulous episode in every way. And some people actually DARE to say that this show is going downhill!
I strongly feel that this level of complexity, spontaneous group interactions among the whole cast and such a great mix of hilarity and pathos was very rarely - if ever - seen in the much-nostalgized seasons 1 and 2.

It's interesting that you say that, because in my case, some of the scenes yesterday gave a lovely happy feeling of how much Penny has PROGRESSED as an insider of the group as well as Sheldon's 'old friend'. I see it in an entirely positive way - Amy, in spite of being so similar to Sheldon, is new to the group, while Penny is (as you say) 'one of us' - the one who knows about Sheldon's mortal enemies and groans with Leonard and Raj and remembers what happened in the library and even knows all about Schrodinger's cat. She really has come a long way, even since season 2, and has a special and permanent place in their life - Sheldon's life - which no-one else can replace.. the 'outsider moving in'. The dynamics between Sheldon and Amy is entirely different - it's a 'same-species interaction' to begin with - so it's not a conflict at all, for me.

Did I say that I LOVED Sheldon's expression of begrudging admiration when Penny spouted back Schrodinger's cat at him? It was such a nod to the past, and a tribute to how much both Sheldon and Leonard mean to Penny (because the concept was related to both of them, in different ways, in Penny's mind).

WeBuiltThePyramids

So very well said, Pomita! I completely agree with you.

Pomita

Thanks.

You bet. I didn't even need to be tested to know that I'm BBT-crazy, it's axiomatic.

topherkraz78

I watched again this morning getting ready for work and I cant wait to get home to watch it again!

Fercita

sorry dp

Fercita

I know very well that Penny and Amy are not the same. But the some of the components that made SP interactions are going to be absent. Hence what I said about the "mini-role" Penny represented, there will be sub-plot Penny will not longer represent because Amy is now the one taking them over, just as there will be scenes Sheldon will not be part of because Amy will be there instead. I'm not saying they are completely replacing each other, but the dynamic is changing. Long story short, I don't expect to see and SP interaction in a long, long, long while. In fact I really wouldn't be surprised if they don't explore certain dynamics. They did it before because people liked it, now they like another thing more (this forum is clear example)

Pomita

I know what you mean.. but I have a feeling that while Amy can partly take Sheldon's place as a close but quirky friend in Penny's life (because Amy and Sheldon are similar enough), Amy can never take Penny's place in Sheldon's life - simple because there's no correlation between Penny and Amy at all, in terms of their personality. And neither, of course, can Penny take Amy's place in Sheldon's life.

What I mean to say is that S/P interactions and P/A interactions are somewhat similar (though also different because Amy clearly tries much harder to be close to Penny), but S/P interactions are completely different in nature from S/A interactions and will always be different.

Regarding Raj, somehow I've never really thought much about him, I just enjoy him as a minor comedic character. You're right that he's the one who has hardly changed, in all these 4 years, but I'm okay with that - in every group of friends there can be these individuals who sort of stay put and be the observer to everyone else's lives. And I've always found him rather cute in a clueless way, even when he's saying or doing supposedly 'despicable' things.

If they decide to evolve his character at some point, that's fine too.