8.02 The Junior Professor Solution (September 22)

[Louise]

I notice Howard is now the one who makes the moralistic statements, as if we didn't already know that Ye Olde Howard was Creepy and Nu!Howard is Moral.
As if Vintage Howard would be *in favor* of this idea. Uh-huh , right

[Toad]

Parsons' delivery is still bothering the hell out of me...You know there's something wrong when your favourite character speaks and your brain starts up an internal monologue of "shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup"...

Ack! You're right. Take it down a few decibels, Parsons!

Also, and admittedly this is a peculiar question given who we're talking about, but when did he become so blatantly dictatorial? Between the shouting and the kiboshing my hackles got a workout.

Again, it's the total lack of subtlety. I prefer it when Sheldon worms his way into a conversation with an off the wall aside, and the others have to start shifting gears to get into his headspace. Wow, that's really specific. But something like this...

Sheldon: You know, this situation with Koothrapali brings to mind a story from my childhood.
Howard: Oh goody, more tales from the panhandle.
Sheldon: That’s Northwest Texas, I’m from East Texas, the Gulf region, home to many Vietnamese shrimpers.
Leonard: Do the shrimpers feature in your story?
Sheldon: (pause) No.

[devilbk]

I thought someone ought to say something about this ep. Reusing the Newton joke was lame. And Amy's behavior clearly showed that she wants everything and everyone to be about her. She hasn't got the tools or the ability to be a friend or a girlfriend. She's a self-centered creep of a girl.

[Nutz]

On the plus side, I liked the tag. The boys sitting around offering candy for proving how smart they are just made me laugh. Sorry the rest of the episode was a paint by numbers BBT.

[Berliner]

Slightly better than 8x01, Amy of course was creeping me out. Again, the writers had to question Sheldon's intelligence. It's never enough is it? How about Sheldon spending some time alone and developing something unique? Could be a small surprise for the gang and the audience. But wait, Amy won't be satisfied with the idea.

I'm sorry, but I'm in a bad mood. My expectations for S8 were too high, I know ...

[wellplayedpenny]

I actually liked Howard questioning Sheldon about engineering and how easily Sheldon answered the questions. It tied into his earlier comment with the Hawking episode that he thought Howard was good at what he did--it's just that engineering wasn't particularly noteworthy. And Leonard's right, what Sheldon said to Howard was better than anything said to him. I haven't heard Sheldon suggest to Howard that he should retire to do something else.

As for this episode, it is encouraging that the university opened the professorship to Sheldon so as to keep him there. They have to know, given his various guest lecturer jobs, that he 'sucks the big one' when it comes to teaching. What I didn't like was Sheldon's reaction to there being no students in his class. If anything, I'd expect him with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up working on dark matter on the board. If a student did come into his class he'd assign an impossible question and tell her not to come back until it's solved so he could return his attention to his research. It's another case where 'grown up Sheldon' has overshadowed his true personality and pursuit of knowledge.

As for the 'besties' plot line I have to admit that I tuned it out for the most part. Having Amy play off of her friends and find it titillating her high school imagination is beyond sad. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really recall people who've been bullied in high school wanting to relive it, even if for more 'positive' results. However, playing one 'friend' off another isn't exactly positive, is it? If this is how 'adult Amy' treats her other adult friends I'd hate to see how she would have been if she'd been a teenager with friends. Or wait, am I supposed to believe that 'all teenage girls act like this' and therefore this is acceptable behavior? Again, as someone who liked s4 Amy, I wish I could say that I can't believe what new lows the writers go to when it comes to her but I'd have to have my head examined given the state of everyone else on the show.

I think what Amy did was horrible--something that on any other show but this one would be done by the villain/bitch/rival to the detriment of the protagonists. But like the Arctic, there is no reprimand for the dastardly deed. Amy gets away with treating her friends the way she does and all goes back to status quo.

Yes, this is a 'comedy' and so things are done for laughs. The only thing is that I'm trying to buy the underlying premise that these are people that genuinely love each other but it's continually undermined by how they treat each other.

[Idle Miscreant]

In order to avoid things like the "besties" plotline I am merely watching little snippets on youtube rather than the whole episode.
This approach will continue until they, a) boot Amy off the show, b) give Sheldon some more Sheldonic plotlines that do not revolve around his relationship status, c) Sheldon is returned to being written and played as a quirky, endearing, slightly deranged alien and not merely an insufferable human pillock.

So...I'll probably be watching youtube for three years.

That said, I quite liked the teaching scene, and found it very S1-4 (Parsons even uses Vintage Sheldon's double-take and some of the old high-level posturing) though I agree with WPP that Sheldon should have been getting the hell on with his own work, rather than moping. Yet he was quite disappointed with the students' disregard in the Thespian Catalyst, so...
It's one of the problems of characters written by conglomerate rather than by a single writer; occasionally there's contradictory traits and behaviours.

Helberg is brilliant in this;




That deathly NO reminds me of Withnail refusing a cup of tea...

[Gamma]

As for the 'besties' plot line I have to admit that I tuned it out for the most part. Having Amy play off of her friends and find it titillating her high school imagination is beyond sad. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really recall people who've been bullied in high school wanting to relive it, even if for more 'positive' results. However, playing one 'friend' off another isn't exactly positive, is it? If this is how 'adult Amy' treats her other adult friends I'd hate to see how she would have been if she'd been a teenager with friends. Or wait, am I supposed to believe that 'all teenage girls act like this' and therefore this is acceptable behavior? Again, as someone who liked s4 Amy, I wish I could say that I can't believe what new lows the writers go to when it comes to her but I'd have to have my head examined given the state of everyone else on the show.

I think what Amy did was horrible--something that on any other show but this one would be done by the villain/bitch/rival to the detriment of the protagonists. But like the Arctic, there is no reprimand for the dastardly deed. Amy gets away with treating her friends the way she does and all goes back to status quo.

Yes I watched the "bestie" B plot and wondered again why people like the Amy character. Its one thing to be stuck between 2 feuding friends and listen and sympathize with each, but as friend to both you would think she would try to calm the situation down and maybe help each understand the others motivations. Or just listen to each and otherwise stay out of it. Not Amy though. No she tries to actively fan the flames because it made her feel more important. That certainly shows the kind of friend she is. She really gave no thought to anything other than now she was "the popular one". Of course in the end she wasn't that important- Penny and Bernadette didn't let Amy's machinations push them further apart, and she played no role in their reconciliation.

This could be an amusing subplot if Amy had some sort of comeuppance. But as you said there is no consequence to her actions. She gets off without any kind of justice for the self-absorbed game she was playing. This is a real problem I have with Amy. She has become like Leonard, no matter what they do it never comes back to bite them. All the other characters have consequences(maybe not Bernadette?) but not these two. On top of that the writers throw out these little tidbits about their childhood and adolescence that make it clear you are suppose to sympathize with them, and that what they suffered through makes the characters current douchiness okay. Yeah, that really doesn't work for me.

I didn't mind the guys A plot. It was amusing in spots. I could have done without the spitball in the mouth, but hey. I did like the tag scene with the guys answering questions for candy. That was amusing.

[Louise]

All the other characters have consequences(maybe not Bernadette?)

All I know is, it's totally unacceptable to me that she says things like "You're an idiot" and "Zip it, pervert!" to someone she supposedly loves.
And we're sort of meant to believe that Howard deserves this, because he used to be creepy, or something...

I do not recall Creepy Howard saying *anything* as offensive as that. I wouldn't be thrilled if someone called me "doable", but it's better than idiot or pervert.

IDK, this whole narrative where Howard is "becoming a better person", but at the same time he's sort of being punished, is icky, icky, icky. The idea that he deserves or even *benefits from* this type of drill-sergeant treatment because there are still aspects of his personality that need to be quelled...so sad. That he "needs" someone like Bernadette to whip him into shape...the whole thing is such a twisted view of the character, and such a twisted view of what relationships are about. Your wife is not your parole officer, making sure that you behave...

I cannot fathom Bernadette. She's not even mean in a funny way, like Carla from "Cheers", or whatever...

That ship just toggles between syrupy-sweet and verbally abusive. I can't handle it.

---

Again, as someone who liked s4 Amy, I wish I could say that I can't believe what new lows the writers go to when it comes to her but I'd have to have my head examined given the state of everyone else on the show.

I agree that S4 Amy could've been okay as a minor character.

I love how these characters have grown and matured so much...like when they're spitting at each other.

[Louise]

Helberg is brilliant in this

Hmm. It's a good scene, and I could easily see it taking place in the early seasons. I still think there's something slightly "off" about S and H, but that should come as no surprise.

I don't know, maybe it needed to be a bit *faster*, to give more of that "snappy dialogue" feeling.

I think what I miss is the sense of the characters being very young, and excited/mystified by everything they encounter. Yes, they were always kind of cynical/sarcastic, but they seem a bit world-weary, now, even in acceptably-good scenes like this one, and that doesn't jibe with the notion that their lives are better and happier, now...