# Big Bang Theory 11/4--The Apology Insufficency **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458 "2010-11-04T14:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 5, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/21 "2010-11-05T14:07:39Z")
They mised a great scene–having the FBI agent interviewing Howard’s _mother_. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/22 "2010-11-05T15:32:58Z")
IMO, Sheldon had nothing to apologize for. If you need security clearance, don’t take women into top-secret areas and crash a million dollar vehicle. I would not have hidden that incident for any of my friends. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/23 "2010-11-05T15:43:07Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I was also impressed that Penny knew Kirk had cheated. A nice bit of continuity there. Didn’t Penny spoil the new Star Trek movie for Sheldon when the boys came back from the Arctic? ---
**Author:** ![JimmyFlair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@JimmyFlair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyFlair)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/24 "2010-11-05T15:46:14Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > They mised a great scene–having the FBI agent interviewing Howard’s _mother_. I know! I kept waiting for this, but, alas… ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/25 "2010-11-05T17:38:59Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > IMO, Sheldon had nothing to apologize for. If you need security clearance, don’t take women into top-secret areas and crash a million dollar vehicle. I would not have hidden that incident for any of my friends. Wolowitz also illicitly borrowed a robot arm and ended up going to the emergency room with the arm attached. That seems like the kind of thing an FBI background check might uncover. I had a little bit of a problem with the story line too. Wolowitz knows he’s committed security breaches. He knows Sheldon isn’t a good liar. But he doesn’t specifically raise this issue in asking his friends to vouch for him. For his part, Sheldon is actively trying to torpedo Wolowitz in his own weird way until he accidentally hits on something damaging–then he immediately back-pedals. So is Sheldon’s disconnection with reality as others see it just an act? The whole thing didn’t really add up. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/26 "2010-11-05T18:27:10Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > For his part, Sheldon is actively trying to torpedo Wolowitz in his own weird way until he accidentally hits on something damaging–then he immediately back-pedals. So is Sheldon’s disconnection with reality as others see it just an act? The whole thing didn’t really add up. Sheldon wants Howard to be denied clearance as punishment for things like scratching his Blu-Ray DVD’s. You’ll notice, after he mentioned the Mars Rover he said (paraphrased) “Oh, I shouldn’t have mentioned that, it doesn’t involve ME at all”. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/27 "2010-11-05T18:46:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Sheldon wants Howard to be denied clearance as punishment for things like scratching his Blu-Ray DVD’s. You’ll notice, after he mentioned the Mars Rover he said (paraphrased) “Oh, I shouldn’t have mentioned that, it doesn’t involve ME at all”. I didn’t think Sheldon specifically wanted him punished for it. He was responding to the question about whether Howard was responsible in his own, very literal way. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/28 "2010-11-05T18:49:56Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > IMO, Sheldon had nothing to apologize for. If you need security clearance, don’t take women into top-secret areas and crash a million dollar vehicle. I would not have hidden that incident for any of my friends. That’s what I was thinking. Why expect your friends to hide/lie about an incident like that? Highly irresponsible behavior! I know, it is just a silly sitcom, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/29 "2010-11-05T18:51:18Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > A nice bit of continuity there. Didn’t Penny spoil the new Star Trek movie for Sheldon when the boys came back from the Arctic? I disagree, I think she was making it up. She just effectively said that the only way to beat the unbeatable is to cheat. Thus here line, “Kirk cheated.” I believe I am backed up by her saying “I can’t believe [we’re having this conversation] either”. I also thought that her commenting on the Star Trek movie was a shot at the movie in that it was a “pop culture” movie and not a “die hard” science fiction fanbase movie. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/30 "2010-11-05T20:17:03Z")
I thought Howard’s misadventures with the Mars rover didn’t destroy the million dollar equipment, it was simply stuck. And the payoff was it led to a new discovery for which Howard could not claim credit. If it comes to light that Howard caused the incident, one would think he’d be happy to be credited with the discovery. ---
**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 5, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/31 "2010-11-05T20:28:44Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > If it comes to light that Howard caused the incident, one would think he’d be happy to be credited with the discovery. Which wouldn’t buy him a cup of coffee, and would result in his immediate dismissal from the University. Not really a good trade-off. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/32 "2010-11-05T20:55:53Z")
> [@Disheavel](#): > > I disagree, I think she was making it up. She just effectively said that the only way to beat the unbeatable is to cheat. Thus here line, “Kirk cheated.” I believe I am backed up by her saying “I can’t believe [we’re having this conversation] either”. huh? She was right. Kirk _did_ cheat. It’s in both the new movie, and Wrath of Khan. If she made it up, it’s a darn good guess. I took her line to mean that she couldn’t believe that hanging out with the geeks for 3 years had rubbed off enough geekage on her that she knew that Trek factoid and was actually having a conversation that included it. > [@](#): > > I also thought that her commenting on the Star Trek movie was a shot at the movie in that it was a “pop culture” movie and not a “die hard” science fiction fanbase movie. On the contrary, I think she’s shown a willingness to sample geeky things as a result of her time with guys. (the one that comes to mind is playing Halo with them, but I know there were others…) Just because she saw it doesn’t mean it’s mainstream. (one might even argue that she deliberately sought out a geeky movie because she missed the guys). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/33 "2010-11-05T22:11:48Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > Wolowitz also illicitly borrowed a robot arm and ended up going to the emergency room with the arm attached. I’ve got a dozen witnesses who will tell you I was nowhere near that emergency room. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/34 "2010-11-06T02:22:27Z")
I liked this episode. However Jim Parson is acting more and more flamboyant. He’s just ready to fly right on out of there 🙂 I mean Parson’s not Sheldon Anyway I thought the episode was well paced. It had nice interaction between the guys and it shows how integrated Penny is. I missed her. The Penny character is much needed to balance Sheldon. I just got season one on DVD and who would’ve thought Penny would be the “sensible one” of the series. I also liked the ending 'cause it shows Sheldon actually likes his friends despite all the claims to the contrary. Remember way back in the show when Sheldon said he only had room for four friends and had to give one up. Howard, jumped up, “Please let it be me.” It shows that the four have actually come to love each other like brothers. I expected Sheldon to support the expulsion of Pluto from “Planetthood” so that was a nice change from the expected. Leonard tried a new technique to get a date and got blown out of the water. This is good. Leonard is a loser. Loser is funny, pathetic is not funny. Recently he was portrayed as pathetic, you root for loosers (Such as Rhoda) but pathetic people come across like they deserved what they got. Raj was funny as usual, and Howard actually acted like a human caring about a career instead of just his libido ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/35 "2010-11-06T02:33:20Z")
I am pissed about the fact that my DVR brain-farted and failed to record it. For some reason, though, it _did_ record Fringe, Bones, and Hell’s Kitchen (none of which I watch). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/36 "2010-11-06T02:56:20Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Which thing? Each episode I find some new Easter Egg in the background to notice. First it was in Leonard’s apartment. Then it was in the hallway outside Sheldon’s office. This time, it was on the walls of the cafeteria (3D sculptures that looked vaguely like yin-yangs or curvy dragons). [This is it](http://yfrog.com/4ei7zuj), apparently an _antique fuse holder_. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/37 "2010-11-06T08:54:56Z")
I think first season had too much Leonard Loves Penny, and second season was too much The Sheldon Show. But this season is just right. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/38 "2010-11-06T12:16:29Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It had nice interaction between the guys and it shows how integrated Penny is. I missed her. The Penny character is much needed to balance Sheldon. I just got season one on DVD and who would’ve thought Penny would be the “sensible one” of the series. That reminds me of something I heard Jane Leeves say on a talk show regarding ‘Frasier’, that her character started off all kooky and psychic, but over the first few months/years, the writers realized that the Crane brothers were at their best being zany and outrageous in their own unique way (while thinking that they were being better than normal,) and it forced the women characters (Daphne and Roz) into the role of straight-girls. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/39 "2010-11-06T16:32:59Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > huh? She was right. Kirk _did_ cheat. It’s in both the new movie, and Wrath of Khan. If she made it up, it’s a darn good guess. > > I took her line to mean that she couldn’t believe that hanging out with the geeks for 3 years had rubbed off enough geekage on her that she knew that Trek factoid and was actually having a conversation that included it.\ That’s how I took it, too. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve got a dozen witnesses who will tell you I was nowhere near that emergency room. So, what kind of Robot Arm **are** you, John? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458/40 "2010-11-07T01:51:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It was never an ‘episode.’ It’s been referenced to\* a handful of times and there was a flashback to it in the episode where Leonard was telling Penny how much worse Sheldon was when he first moved in. > > \*In fact, it was referenced to in this episode. Sheldon mentioned it when he went back to the FBI office to try to clear Howard’s name. The North Korean spy is shown in the flashback episode that ended the last season (“The Staircase Implementation”). She was played by Ally Maki, and indeed, Leonard came close to giving her TS information [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-11-4-the-apology-insufficency/559458.md?page=3)