# Big Bang 11/3--The Isolation Permutation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747 "2011-11-03T15:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/21 "2011-11-04T19:58:39Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Wow…again in the minority on a BBT episode…I LOVED it. > > I thought it was one of the funniest ones in the whole series. I love love love AFF and her character to death so that’s probably a reason for it. I think everything she says is just Gold. I understand wanting to dial back her lesibanocity towards Penny, but 20 internet points to **Oy!** for explaining it the way she did, I think she’s right. > > I also loved how Howard used the “Raj can’t talk in front of girls” thing against him by lying about what Raj whispered…funny funny stuff. > > edit about my AFF love: I think she is what Sheldon’s character _should_ be (and maybe even was intended to be): Really smart, very socially awkward, but not a 100% in-my-own-world complete and total waste of common sense. Thank you, **Sir**! I love AFF too, but I find her very sad these days. When we first met her, she was as satisfied in her isolation as Sheldon is, but she was shaken by her contact with real people. Bernadette, though, with her delight in the recreational mixing of Ebola and the common cold, and her occasional lycanthropic Mrs. Wollowitz moments, is a bit scary. She does pretty well as a [Bollywood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeU0ZXJZfoE) leading lady, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/22 "2011-11-04T21:12:13Z")
Not as funny as last week, but I loved Sheldon telling Howard and Leonard to “Keep your wimmen in line!” You _know_ he was stressed to revert to Texas like that. Also, more kudos to **Oy** for her spot-on analysis of Amy’s girl-crush. I get it, too - I could totally squee for for David Tennant and Neil Patrick Harris. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/23 "2011-11-04T21:13:21Z")
I thought it was one of the better episodes this season. I LOLed several times during the show. I love watching Leonard’s reactions. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/24 "2011-11-04T21:19:42Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I thought it was one of the better episodes this season. I LOLed several times during the show. I love watching Leonard’s reactions. OK, now that you’ve mentioned Leonard’s reactions, that is another thing they overdo. His eyebrows get a better workout than my right arm. mmm ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/25 "2011-11-04T21:50:47Z")
Notice Leonard said “I’m single now, I don’t have to deal with this.” So does that mean last week was the complete resolution of Priya? ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/26 "2011-11-05T00:53:16Z")
Jesus wept! That was one of the funniest half-hours I’ve seen in ages. I started busting a gut right around Amy playing “Everybody Hurts” on the harp, and didn’t stop. The scene with Sheldon where she negotiated him into cuddles, and then they tried to navigate their way into each other, was just perfect. Loads of great one liners throughout the show too. I’m loving the expanded ensemble and really love what those characters add to the show. I especially liked the way Sheldon has been drawn into being a more sociable creature. Having a genuine, if stilted, affection for Amy has meant that he has to step into the role of an actual human being at times. I loved it that when drunk Amy called, he leaped into action to go get her, rather than just demanding Leonard do it. And speaking as a former loner nerd whose air-quote “friends” decided not to tell him that they weren’t going to go and see Police Academy 5 after all, resulting in him sitting in that cinema alone and despondent, I found a surprising amount of pathos in this episode. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/27 "2011-11-05T04:33:29Z")
Count me in as one who thought this was one of the best BBTs in recent memory. I mean, most of the complaints lately have been that the characters were getting stale. So I’m glad that the women get to take the lead role and it lets the writers explore some different material! Sure, a lot of the driving force behind Amy Farrah Fowler makes you go “awwww, poor thing” but it’s still funny as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/28 "2011-11-05T06:38:07Z")
I’m going to start answering the phone with “ahoy” now. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/29 "2011-11-05T10:05:33Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I’m going to start answering the phone with “ahoy” now. So does [Mr Burns](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWleZY-8evw). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/30 "2011-11-05T13:57:17Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I’m going to start answering the phone with “ahoy” now. > [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So does [Mr Burns](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWleZY-8evw). "Simpsons did it! Simpsons did it! SIMPSONS DID IT! ": Dougie. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/31 "2011-11-05T14:40:04Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I also loved how Howard used the “Raj can’t talk in front of girls” thing against him by lying about what Raj whispered…funny funny stuff. They’ve done that bit before (Howard telling Penny about “Raj” watching her jog every morning, Raj getting increasingly agitated, etc. in that one where Sheldon was a teleprescence robot) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/32 "2011-11-06T13:50:29Z")
A couple comments so far about “overdoing it” on this show. Plus a comment in the last episode thread. Folks, this is Chuck Lorre here. Overdoing it is what he does. Raj’s inability to talk around women, Raj and Howard’s bromance. Howard’s mother being heard but not seen. Sheldon knocking three times. (Good grief, how many of these could one list?) Lorre just sticks to a few things and does them over and over and over. Complaining about him overdoing it is like complaining about Scorsese doing too many gangster movies. It’s his thing. And networks love people who stick to a motif that gets ratings. He isn’t going to muck with it. Sure, being original and constantly coming up with new stuff would be better, but look at _Community_’s ratings by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/33 "2011-11-06T14:29:43Z")
It’s a sitcom so they have to show the funny where they find it, but am I the only one thinking that Sheldon and AFF are turning into normal people? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/34 "2011-11-06T15:16:52Z")
AFF while socially disconnected has mentioned her loins for quite some time. she has also made many comments about attraction to females. there is normalcy caused by hormones (she is looking to sync with the others) hidden there. events in this episodes were a big jump for AFF and Sheldon, though that isn’t disconnected from the upcoming marriage event. also gradual may not fit for them. socially repressed nerds and religious can sometime wildly let loose when something new socially is tried. also from a science perspective there are nerve thresholds, activation energy and quantum levels so abrupt changes are normal and expected, though that might be too intellectual about a tv comedy even one about nerds and scientists (and that one enginer) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/35 "2011-11-06T16:01:19Z")
AFF’s loins have seen lots of action, only not with a partner (other than Gérard.) In one of her first appearances she mentions taking part in a scientific study of the female orgasm. She knows what she is missing, and the upcoming wedding, Leonard/Priya and her bonding with Penny are just making her wonder about what she has been missing. The others are unintentionally dragging both her and Sheldon towards normalcy, at least in one area. A little bit. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/36 "2011-11-06T18:24:21Z")
I am certainly glad that some other people thought this episode was a laugh riot. My favoite part was AFF dissecting the brain, and Penny puking in the sink at the end of it. I don’t think Amy really has a girl crush on Penny. She is just desperate to relate to her peer group, and that is her misguided way of showing it. It’s in stark contrast to Sheldon, who could be happy as a hermit. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/37 "2011-11-06T20:13:00Z")
It’s only a sitcom. Sometimes you all seem take them way too seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747/38 "2011-11-06T22:43:39Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > It’s a sitcom so they have to show the funny where they find it, but am I the only one thinking that Sheldon and AFF are turning into normal people? Totally disagree on the Sheldon half of that I think they are making him more of a completely unreal person, there is nobody in the entire world who acts like he does or would act like that and continue to function. This change in character (he was more normal in earlier seasons) is what got me thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to ditching the show at times last year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-11-3-the-isolation-permutation/601747.md?page=1)