8.03 The First Pitch Insufficiency (Sept 29)

[Louise]

The husband messes up and the wife cleans it up has been a trope of sitcoms since radio.

Yes, the H/B consists of absolutely *ancient* stereotypes/tropes that can be seen in countless other sitcoms. I can only imagine that the viewership is too young to be aware of this, or that they have no sense of pop-culture history.

That's not who Howard really is, at all

The whole thing is a Rodney Dangerfield routine...

For some reason, male characters being tricked/defeated/dominated by females is a major personal squick of mine. I find it disturbing. Maybe because it's so commonplace, like you said.

[Louise]

And what do we call a character who is suddenly better and more capable at everything???

[Toad]

[Nutz]

Here's the The Relationship Closeness Inventory Paper if anyone wants to read it (test starts on page 15)
https://dtreboux.files.wordpress.com/201...erence.pdf

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Well done Nutz for digging that out. There's no way Sheldon would think this was worth his time, let alone answer these lovey-dovey questions well enough to get a high score. An extreme jump the shark moment...



________________________________________________

As Gripe doesn't have powerpoint: http://www.drmillslmu.com/testing/summer...entory.ppt

Here's the text...

To develop a test of interpersonal closeness using operational definitions that can be assessed by self-report.

Frequency:
Number of hours and minutes spent alone with another person during waking hours (range: 0-1,200 min.)
Diversity:
Number of activities from a list of 38 that the pair spends together.
Strength:
The amount of impact (little to very much) one person has on the other’s plans.

____________________________

Identification of person:
Work: Which of the following best describes your relationship with this person? (Check only one)__ co-worker __ your boss/supervisor __ your subordinate.

Frequency:
DURING THE PAST WEEK, what is the average amount of time, per day, that you spent alone with X in the MORNING?

Diversity:
IN the past week, I did the following activities alone with X: (Check all that apply)
__ did laundry
__ prepared a meal
__ watched TV

Strength:
Using the 7-point scale below, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree by writing the appropriate number in the space corresponding to each item
__ X will influence my future financial security
__ X does not influence everyday things in my life.

It was a very basis outline of whats in it but can anyone see the flaw in this episode right away:

Laundry (Sheldon does this alone, except he runs into Penny a lot)
Preparing a meal (Amy has made food for him, but he has only ever had takeaways with everyone. Penny had also cooked for him. He has never prepared a meal for Amy)
Watched TV (maybe.... but not alone. Amy doesn't like Sheldon choice of shows and he does ALL his hobbies without her)

And can anyone see him admitting to any influence?? And future. He said he was uncomfortable because she wanted to move in to see him swimwear parts... so NO. Sheldon would not answer these questions in a way to get him a high score. It doesn't make sense, no wonder they didn't go into detail.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Also:

From Panty Pinata Polarization

Sheldon: "Wait. Excuse me. You forgot my barbecue bacon cheeseburger, barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese on the side."

There was never any avocado...He put that in to keep her at bay

[lewstonewar]

[quote='Tuesday Pajamas' pid='7834' dateline='1412079369']
Well done Nutz for digging that out. There's no way Sheldon would think this was worth his time, let alone answer these lovey-dovey questions well enough to get a high score. An extreme jump the shark moment...



________________________________________________

As Gripe doesn't have powerpoint: http://www.drmillslmu.com/testing/summer...entory.ppt


When I roleplayed the test Amy/Sheldon I got a 3

[devilbk]

Also:

From Panty Pinata Polarization

Sheldon: "Wait. Excuse me. You forgot my barbecue bacon cheeseburger, barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese on the side."

There was never any avocado...He put that in to keep her at bay

I absolutely agree. There's a bit of the real Sheldon fighting the forces of change for change's sake. And a subversive writer. Kaplan?

[Idle Miscreant]

If anyone wants to watch this hi-LARIOUS clip.
Featuring Penny, Leonard, Amy and Some Bloke.

I liked it when Sheldon was on the show myself...




And yes, everything said in the grumblebox. It's a bizarre test, based more on 'how much does this person control your life and opinions' than anything.

As for activities, well indeed, he does most of them either alone or with Leonard/Penny. Even late last season, he was assuming he'd live with Leonard and Penny forever, and was quite happy about it.

We see none of these "important decisions" being made with Amy. The last significant life decision he made was to run the fuck away. Don't recall him consulting her about that. He didn't follow her advice on his career either, he took Penny's advice.

S/A in S4 I would consider plausible as friends who understood each other, but as a romance, the entire plot device of the S/A relationship is "Sheldon is oblivious/contrary, Amy is frustrated/disappointed/angry/sad". It's where the show derives what (little) humour it can from that pairing.

We've been shown that for two years. Don't pull an arbitrary 8.2 out of your arse and expect us to buy it. (what a disturbing image...)

(And Sheldon Cooper would never eat a bacteria-ridden hotdog from a stadium. If I bloody wouldn't there's no chance in hell someone with the slightest germ phobia would even get near one. But don't worry about keeping his character consistent or anything...)

[devilbk]

I suggest we stop referring to Sheldon Cooper as a character currently appearing on TBBT. That character is dead and gone. Jim Parsons is currently appearing as himself, but passing as a heterosexual. Amy Farrah Fowler is his beard.