# Big Bang Season Premiere 9/22--The Skank Reflex Analysis **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196 "2011-09-22T14:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [September 23, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/21 "2011-09-23T14:09:12Z")
I did find it odd that someone as sexual active as Penny wouldn’t be on the pill as well as condomizing. But her panicked look says otherwise. **Annie** - The way he and Howard were working the interface, I’d say it was a closet built for two. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/22 "2011-09-23T14:14:19Z")
Maybe Penny is also concerned about STD’s. The pill does not give any protection against them, and who knows who Raj has had sex with? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/23 "2011-09-23T15:24:09Z")
I wondered if the Penny:Raj:Bernadette thing was done so that Raj will be able to talk around them now. It has to be irritating to the actor that he can’t get many lines if they’re in the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/24 "2011-09-23T15:45:04Z")
The geek in me was disappointed they had Amy give the old rumor about Catherine the Great and the horse though. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/25 "2011-09-23T15:57:48Z")
Yeah, I was yelling at the screen about that one. But then, AFF is a micro-biologist, so how many Humanities classes could she have taken? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/26 "2011-09-23T16:40:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yeah, I was yelling at the screen about that one. But then, AFF is a micro-biologist, so how many Humanities classes could she have taken? How dare you!? AFF is a neurobiologist. As she says: > [@](#): > > I study the brain, the organ reponsible for Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Bernadette studies yeast, the organism responsible for Michelob Light. BTW, in real life Mayim Bialik really has a PhD in neuroscience. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayim\_Bialik](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayim_Bialik) Did any else look at their computer when the Skype incoming call came in for Leonard? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/27 "2011-09-23T16:44:24Z")
“What’s the gist, physicist?” ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/28 "2011-09-23T16:59:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I did find it odd that someone as sexual active as Penny wouldn’t be on the pill as well as condomizing. But her panicked look says otherwise. I think it’s safe to say that her horrified look was NOT borne out of any fears of pregnancy. Rather, she was appalled at the notion that she had sex with _Raj_ – someone with whom she had no desire for coitus. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/29 "2011-09-23T17:01:27Z")
They really need to solve the Raj talking to women (other than being drunk) issue. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/30 "2011-09-23T17:04:35Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > I think it’s safe to say that her horrified look was NOT borne out of any fears of pregnancy. Rather, she was appalled at the notion that she had sex with _Raj_ – someone with whom she had no desire for coitus. There was obviously (drunken) desire, otherwise she wouldn’t have been helping him install the condom with her manly Nebraska hands, causing him to AD. The horrified look came when she realized that they might have had _unprotected_ sex. **Joel** - Since most people’s brains exist on the micro-level, I claim at least partial credit for my answer. (scrambling for points wherever possible). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/31 "2011-09-23T17:17:10Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > He never made a move on Bernadette. Penny and Leonard broke up a while ago, and Leonard has clearly, obviously moved on. > > So Penny used her corn-fed Nebraska man-hands on Raj? Yikes. I beg to differ- when he thought that Bernadette and Howard were going to break up, he went to the Cheesecake Factory to hit on Bernadette, which ticked Penny off. And the night of the “quick draw”, Penny confided to Raj that she wished she hadn’t broken up with Leonard. So a girl tells you that she wishes that she hadn’t broken up with one of your friends, and the logical course of action is to get her drunk and sleep with her? It’s hard to be a comic figure if the audience doesn’t like you, and right now I don’t like Raj. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/32 "2011-09-23T18:25:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There was obviously (drunken) desire, otherwise she wouldn’t have been helping him install the condom with her manly Nebraska hands, causing him to AD. The horrified look came when she realized that they might have had _unprotected_ sex. I see no reason to accept that claim. Note that she didn’t express relief even after Raj mentioned using a condom. Rather, she only expressed relief upon learning that her participation was limited to applying the condom in a sensual manner. Besides, there’s obviously a huge difference between drunken desire and her normal desire. She may have wanted to have sex with Raj while under the influence, but it was pretty obvious that this was not something she would normally do. In fact, let’s look back to the final episode from last season. Upon discovering herself in bed with Raj, did she ask, “Did we use protection?” No, her look was one of undiluted horror, with no reference to any sort of prophylactic devices or other forms of birth control. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/33 "2011-09-23T19:04:25Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > I think it’s safe to say that her horrified look was NOT borne out of any fears of pregnancy. Rather, she was appalled at the notion that she had sex with _Raj_ – someone with whom she had no desire for coitus. Plus, pregnancy is not the only reason to be appalled at the thunk of unprotected sex (though unprotected sex with Raj is probably at the safer end of the spectrum). I’d say it was layers of self-revulsion. First, she’d had sex with him, she’d kind of come to accept she did that then the possible revelation that it was unprotected sex. Then the possible revelation that it was kinky kama sutra sex. The episodes were ok, but mostly I’m just happy to see that they really amped up the in-episode prodcut placement. That’s really what I watch TV for. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/34 "2011-09-23T19:32:50Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The geek in me was disappointed they had Amy give the old rumor about Catherine the Great and the horse though. I was disappointed they played the reference so straight. After Amy’s line about everyone calling her “Great”, Amy should say under her breath: although perhaps they were referring to her diameter. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/35 "2011-09-23T19:46:39Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Since Raj has such trouble talking with females, I guess his friend’s friends are the only ones he can hit on. > > My guess is that Raj is so far back in the closet he can see Narnia from there. No, he’s definitely not gay (from the episode where he keeps fantasizing about Bernadette; at one point he comes to and says that to himself). Sheldon; “For the record, I do have genitals. They’re functional and aesthetically pleasing.” 😃 I love watching Leonard when the people around him are being weird; his expressions just kill me. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/36 "2011-09-23T20:42:31Z")
Am I the only one who thought, when Penny announced that her epiphany, that it was going to be that she realized that she had a problem with alcohol and needs to address it? ---
**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:** [September 23, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/37 "2011-09-23T21:44:20Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Kaley Cuoco has to be a damn good actress to act so badly in that commercial. The more I watch the show, the more I am impressed by her chops. She is a hugely talented comic actress. I still think she delivered the best line of the series in last season’s finale: “Really? You _still_ can’t talk to me?” > [@panache45](#): > > I seriously want one of those interfaces. When Howard broke those out and told Leonard that they would help his long-distance love affair, was I the only one who thought they were for … well, not _kissing_…? > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I beg to differ- when he thought that Bernadette and Howard were going to break up, he went to the Cheesecake Factory to hit on Bernadette, which ticked Penny off. And the night of the “quick draw”, Penny confided to Raj that she wished she hadn’t broken up with Leonard. So a girl tells you that she wishes that she hadn’t broken up with one of your friends, and the logical course of action is to get her drunk and sleep with her? > > It’s hard to be a comic figure if the audience doesn’t like you, and right now I don’t like Raj. Nah. The key to Raj’s character is that, emotionally, he is still a 14-year-old nerd. He’s perpetually horny, natch, and he’s desperately lonely as well. He mistook Bernadette’s kindness for interest, and when a hot blonde gets drunk and amorous with him, well, it would take more emotional maturity than a randy teenager could summon, to not take advantage of the situation. (Hell, if _I_ was with a drunk and amorous Kaley Cuoco, I’m not sure I could resi… hmm, better stop. Mrs. SMV might be reading this…) Anyway, between lust and loneliness, Raj didn’t stand a chance. Neither did Penny, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/38 "2011-09-24T02:20:13Z")
Sometimes, Kaley will do something just the way a female John Ritter would. She learned a lot from him, and you can see it. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/39 "2011-09-24T06:22:53Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Am I the only one who thought, when Penny announced that her epiphany, that it was going to be that she realized that she had a problem with alcohol and needs to address it? No, because she doesn’t have a problem with alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196/40 "2011-09-24T07:04:29Z")
The brief moment of Sheldon in his tighty whities was interesting. It looks like Jim Parsons has a cute little butt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-season-premiere-9-22-the-skank-reflex-analysis/597196.md?page=3)