SPOILERS: 9.01 The Matrimonial Momentum

[Idle Miscreant]

Huzzah! Now I don't have to brave the scantily-clad nudey torrent sites!

Shenny Tea Party (as PJ calls it)  

[Toad]

Not having watched the episode I gather that this scene is virtually an oasis of calm in the midst of a maelstrom of relationship crises. I say "virtually" because even ensconced within 4B the noxiousness without begins seeping in. Of course.

Sigh.

Apparently Sheldon and Penny are now intended to be each other's sounding board when it comes to their respective disast, er, relationships. Gone are the days when Sheldon stepped into Penny Blossom Inc. in full swing or when Sheldon needed help deciphering some aspect of the outside world. It has apparently been decreed that they can only be paired together in a scene if they make constant references to their SOs and the beleaguered state of their hearts.

All that said though...

The magic is still faintly glimmering. Props to the writers for managing to weave yet another funny *knock knock knock* Penny bit. And there's a definite comedic payoff to Sheldon having his hands full with the tea tray, above and beyond the scene itself. If Sheldon had shot up off the couch and slammed his way out of her apartment the lightly jousty quality of that moment would have dissolved. Throwing in the physical humor though means there's nothing irrevocable or over-the-line about their "testiness" with each other.

Because he still depends on Penny, albeit grumpily, and she still helps him.

They will live to fight (and love) another day.

[FlyingSolo]

The characters are literally always talking about relationships! How irritating does it get? Even Shenny scenes are marred with them. Well, thank god that there even is one scene at all with these two poor people. They seriously need to run away and start life afresh. Preferably, find find themselves a TARDIS and get the hell out.

Btw I recently just got into Dr.Who. Where was this show my entire life?! I freaking love Nine/Rose!!!

[Nutz]

The characters are literally always talking about relationships! How irritating does it get? Even Shenny scenes are marred with them. Well, thank god that there even is one scene at all with these two poor people. They seriously need to run away and start life afresh. Preferably, find find themselves a TARDIS and get the hell out.

Btw I recently just got into Dr.Who. Where was this show my entire life?! I freaking love Nine/Rose!!!

Funny you mention Doctor Who. I think I originally fell for Sheldon/Penny because I could see a lot of the Doctor/Rose in them. Ultra-smart guy who has (he thinks) all the answers and the girl who left school for a boy, but her life skills are desperately needed

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Thought I'd post these topside.

Taken from Cris on Twitter:


SHENNY TEA PARTY

[FlyingSolo]

Funny you mention Doctor Who. I think I originally fell for Sheldon/Penny because I could see a lot of the Doctor/Rose in them. Ultra-smart guy who has (he thinks) all the answers and the girl who left school for a boy, but her life skills are desperately needed

They do share a lot of similarities, don't they? Even slightly in appearance! Too bad Penny never got into it. It's a shame that she doesn't like the show, considering her resemblance to Rose and her life before and after meeting The Doctor. 

[Idle Miscreant]

I very much enjoyed that Tea Party scene. There is, as others have said, an easy comfortableness about their interactions. It's like watching a conversation drift from a stilted, unnatural English back into the speakers' native language. Parsons and Cuoco speak "Shenny" fluently.
 

It also had traces of Vintage Sheldon in it, but only traces. This will continue to be my sticking point.

It is perhaps a seemingly fickle thing to object to, but the thing which separates Vintage Sheldon from New!Sheldon for me most "visibly" (ie, character aside), is his VOICE. I know back in Season 5 Jim was asked to blend in more of his own mannerisms and personality into Sheldon (and thus we mark the beginning of the end of Sheldon), but it means that however well he's acting, and however clever the dialogue, if I can only hear Jim Parsons talking, when Sheldon speaks, then the illusion of Sheldon is shattered.

Sheldon had a very specific voice and tone, and speech pattern. It was largely accentless, highly modulated, fluting and curlicued, and very very PRECISE. It was deeper in the first season, but still kept the same pattern throughout S1-4.

I just hear Jim now, when Sheldon speaks. So I can't believe in Sheldon anymore...

As for the rest of the episode, I still haven't watched it, but I'm not particular keen to see AFF treated as the long-suffering saint and victim, so I might skip it. I enjoyed the Tea Party, as said.

I do wonder whether, given the widespread dislike of this episode, they will alter their course at all. I'd be rather impressed if they didn't.
 
I'm banking on them understanding that this is the one time where change IS necessary. After a season and a half of concentrated Shamyville, (and 4 years of only slightly more diluted Shamyville) the ratings were dropping faster than the level of hope around this joint. The reviews were vicious.

The sticky issue is, people are objecting for ostensibly similar, but at heart wildly different reasons. So one would hope if they ARE listening, they will be able to discern the various motivations of their critics.

Some are objecting that the wedding was a letdown. "Disappointing" is the preferred word here. That after 8 years of stringing along, there should at least have been some emotionally satisfying payoff. I don't understand where these people have been for the past 8 years. Outside of shippers' forums, I've never seen anyone interested in the Leonard/Penny relationship. In fact the most common comments I see about them is that their relationship is dull or irritating. I don't give a damn about it myself, either, so this lack of oomph to their wedding doesn't irk me.
 
They never should have gotten married in the first place, but we know that...

Some are objecting to the break-up between Sheldon and AFF, wanting a return to the "quirky" couple of Season 8. Thing is, we HAD that, and it was considered the worst season in TBBT history.

"Quirky couple happy time" isn't necessarily funny. Or bearable to anyone not infatuated by or heavily invested in the couple. It's like those matching t-shirts that newlyweds sometimes think are adorable, and expect everyone to agree. This showed in the fact that the critics and casual viewers took several shades of piss out of Season 8, as the parlance goes. It was, barring a few brilliantly inspired scenes that the writers managed to slip in past whatever the moneybags demanded, faintly twee and mawkish. All thanks to Shamy the "quirky couple".

So it's actually very sensible to break up the schmoop of Season 8. I just hope to god they STICK TO THEIR GUNS.   (glass of wine there because I don't actually like guns. Except Ray Guns)




They don't appear to be showing the Shenny kiss in the promo for 9.2 (other than in Canada) , so there goes the concept that that was a ratings bid. So they must have put it in just because they wanted to. Either that or they have a rather naive promo department.

[Nutz]

[Nutz]

I very much enjoyed that Tea Party scene. There is, as others have said, an easy comfortableness about their interactions. It's like watching a conversation drift from a stilted, unnatural English back into the speakers' native language. Parsons and Cuoco speak "Shenny" fluently.
 

It also had traces of Vintage Sheldon in it, but only traces. This will continue to be my sticking point.

It is perhaps a seemingly fickle thing to object to, but the thing which separates Vintage Sheldon from New!Sheldon for me most "visibly" (ie, character aside), is his VOICE. I know back in Season 5 Jim was asked to blend in more of his own mannerisms and personality into Sheldon (and thus we mark the beginning of the end of Sheldon), but it means that however well he's acting, and however clever the dialogue, if I can only hear Jim Parsons talking, when Sheldon speaks, then the illusion of Sheldon is shattered.

Sheldon had a very specific voice and tone, and speech pattern. It was largely accentless, highly modulated, fluting and curlicued, and very very PRECISE. It was deeper in the first season, but still kept the same pattern throughout S1-4.

I just hear Jim now, when Sheldon speaks. So I can't believe in Sheldon anymore...

As for the rest of the episode, I still haven't watched it, but I'm not particular keen to see AFF treated as the long-suffering saint and victim, so I might skip it. I enjoyed the Tea Party, as said.

I do wonder whether, given the widespread dislike of this episode, they will alter their course at all. I'd be rather impressed if they didn't.
 
I'm banking on them understanding that this is the one time where change IS necessary. After a season and a half of concentrated Shamyville, (and 4 years of only slightly more diluted Shamyville) the ratings were dropping faster than the level of hope around this joint. The reviews were vicious.

The sticky issue is, people are objecting for ostensibly similar, but at heart wildly different reasons. So one would hope if they ARE listening, they will be able to discern the various motivations of their critics.

Some are objecting that the wedding was a letdown. "Disappointing" is the preferred word here. That after 8 years of stringing along, there should at least have been some emotionally satisfying payoff. I don't understand where these people have been for the past 8 years. Outside of shippers' forums, I've never seen anyone interested in the Leonard/Penny relationship. In fact the most common comments I see about them is that their relationship is dull or irritating. I don't give a damn about it myself, either, so this lack of oomph to their wedding doesn't irk me.
 
They never should have gotten married in the first place, but we know that...

Some are objecting to the break-up between Sheldon and AFF, wanting a return to the "quirky" couple of Season 8. Thing is, we HAD that, and it was considered the worst season in TBBT history.

"Quirky couple happy time" isn't necessarily funny. Or bearable to anyone not infatuated by or heavily invested in the couple. It's like those matching t-shirts that newlyweds sometimes think are adorable, and expect everyone to agree. This showed in the fact that the critics and casual viewers took several shades of piss out of Season 8, as the parlance goes. It was, barring a few brilliantly inspired scenes that the writers managed to slip in past whatever the moneybags demanded, faintly twee and mawkish. All thanks to Shamy the "quirky couple".

So it's actually very sensible to break up the schmoop of Season 8. I just hope to god they STICK TO THEIR GUNS.   (glass of wine there because I don't actually like guns. Except Ray Guns)




They don't appear to be showing the Shenny kiss in the promo for 9.2 (other than in Canada) , so there goes the concept that that was a ratings bid. So they must have put it in just because they wanted to. Either that or they have a rather naive promo department.

Or they're trying to be clever and when the ratings go down they can say, see we showed Sheldon/Penny together and it tanked the ratings. Of course that only really works if they promote the Damn thing (of course when has logic been part of TPTB) SO the ratings will go down next week and everyone will blame it on the Sheldon/Penny kiss/scenes even though in America it's being PR'd to death as the BREAK up of the century. aka - Poor, Poor Amy take 100 or whatever the hell number we're on now.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Nutz - where did this come from?