9.15 The Valentino Submergence

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Very late with this thread but if anyone watched and wants to comment... I was so bored my the topic.



"Sheldon and Amy host a live Valentine's "Fun with Flags" podcast. There is trouble between Emily and Raj. Leonard and Penny go out on a teen date. Howard and Bernadette find an unexpected guest in their new hot tub."

[A.D.A.]

I forgot there was an episode, lol. Anyway, we open on the Caltech cafeteria, much to my surprise. Apparently these people still work! Sheldons dampens my enthusiasm as he notes there will be FWF livestream on Valentine's day (just to give a little context, I think FWF is possibly the most unfunny running gag this show has ever produced).

Raj has doubts about Emily. Leonard and Howard tell him to break up already, Penny tells him how to do it later. Emily and Claire both criticise Raj for the timing of his break-up, not sure why. Is it an American thing that you shouldn't do it on Valentine's? Wouldn't it suck just as much to pretend everything's fine and then break up the week after?

Anyway, it's basically a couples episode. Leonard and Penny in the restaurant where they have to wait an hour, Bernadette and Howard trying to deal with a dead rat in the hot tub, FWF with Sheldon and Amy who get Agony Aunt calls from Raj and Kripke.

Lenny was your basical nineties sketch comedy hijinks ("How will we get a table") until they leave. Penny freaks out because she was called "Ma'am" and they talk about getting older and try to make a young, fun night. I think this could have been a lot funnier if this plot was given more room and they actually were shown trying to fit in at places because they did have a funny moment where they both were like "let's go to this midnight show!" and then relieved when it was sold out (because, well, that's late!).

Howardette realise the thing in the hottub is a rabbit and care about it. When Bernadette isn't treating Howard like a five year old, I actually don't mind this couple. They were inoffensively cute and funny enough. The audience gasped like a Maury show crowd at the pregnant line, though, which was just... tacky.

FWF happens. I ate some gummi bears. I'm reading this book series right now, called "The Bureau" by Voskuil, a Dutch author. Apparently there were like almost Harry Potter popular in their country which is crazy because it's really just about the 40 year career about a guy in university who... okay, okay. I'm watching the show again. Amy resumes her role as Agony Aunt for broken nerds, which is another theme I'm very fucking fond of. She then later berates Sheldon as well, because he's her favourite nerd to fix and he dared to be angry because she took over his show and talked about break-ups instead of flags, like Sheldon wanted. Okay, so about Voskuil, he actually worked for 40 years in a university himself... alright, I'll stop. Sheldon believes after the break-up that their relationship is stronger than ever because he learned how important she is to him. Still no word on what the hell changed that made Amy want to go back. They get cut off by Leonard and Penny in... costumes throwing hearts dancing around because that's young and fun? Beginning to look like carnival in Cologne, which, no, is not like in Rio.

There was this line which I giggled at because I'm mentally twelve and Kripke has great line delivery: Sheldon: "All questions should be flag-related." Kripke: "Okay, is my pole flag-related?"

Reviewing the episode as a whole, I actually think all plots could have used more time to develop humour. When you only have about 18-19 minutes, 5 of which are a lead-in, three separate settings are just a little too much.

[devilbk]

Personally, I despise Valentine's Day. However, here in the U.S. you are required to worship romance and couple-dom. Therefore, one does not break up with someone just before V-Day because then you will be alone and being alone on V-Day is worse than being a leper. Or so I'm told.

[A.D.A.]

Personally, I despise Valentine's Day. However, here in the U.S. you are required to worship romance and couple-dom. Therefore, one does not break up with someone just before V-Day because then you will be alone and being alone on V-Day is worse than being a leper. Or so I'm told.

Ah, I see. Well, Germany is trying to import Valentine's day and the guilt that comes along with it, but so far it's more the chocolate industry that cares (and clubs who do "single nights" on Valentine's) and really, I see very few displays in regular shops even. Hope it stays that way.

[Gamma]

I saw this episode too ( though somehow I missed Lenny.parading in with costume and confetti). Your book sounds a lot ore interesting than the episode. You are so right, there is way to much going on for a half hour time slot. They.don't give you enough time to care about any storyline before they move on to something else.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

Thanks guys for swimming in the murky depths for us. Sounds like a jumble of incomplete plots with two many couples.

[Moonbase]

I'd like to know which one of the writing team thought of Fun with Flags and then I'd like to slap them!! It's unbelievably dumb and far too different to Sheldon's nerd and science interests. Anyone could memorise all those flags. It's beneath him.

[Nutz]

So once again Miss Amy has taken something Sheldon enjoys and made it all about her... I'm completely shocked, shocked I tell you.    BTW, did anyone else find it weird that Raj and Kripke are all of a sudden FWF followers? Wow, they really missed an opportunity not having Stuart call in to have the trifecta of sad, pathetic, creepy (single) people.

Personally I think Fun with Flags needs to be burned and stomped on. It's a gag that lost what little appeal it had years ago.

The Howard/Bernadette was cute in a Strawberry Shortcake way (if you like that kind of thing) I have to say saccharine isn't my thing, but I prefer this couple to the mother-shrieking shrew/child couple, although by the end of their 5 minutes I was tired of how hard they were hitting the audience over the head with "these two will make great parents" I also could have done away with the live audience' awwww every 20 seconds. 

The Lenny was pretty much a predictable by the numbers comedy bit starting with Penny being freaked out being called Ma'am (maybe if she stops dressing dressing like a 38 year old soccer mom and dressing as a young, hip, life loving person she used to be, that wouldn't happen), Lenny trying to prove they're "still young", and ended in a scene that had them prancing around throwing confetti and dressed as Valentine slutty cupids. Seriously, I haven't been this embarrassed for actors since Ishtar. They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but be happy this was the only pic I could find on this travesty. I don't think anyone really wanted to see Leonard in all his Cupid glory anyway (shivers)


There was also a lame story about Raj breaking up with Emily (yawn)
I wouldn't throw this one in Mordor, it was mostly just predicable... and boring

[FlyingMonkey]

I'd like to know which one of the writing team thought of Fun with Flags and then I'd like to slap them!! It's unbelievably dumb and far too different to Sheldon's nerd and science interests. Anyone could memorise all those flags. It's beneath him.

I never liked FWF even before they added Amy to it.

[Moonbase]

I never liked FWF even before they added Amy to it.

I don't think I ever got over how s**t Fun with Flags was. It was a real departure from the quality games they've invented before.