# Big Bang Theory, March 29, 2012 -- "The Transporter Malfunction" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269 "2012-03-30T13:18:41Z")\ **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:** [March 30, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/21 "2012-03-30T19:36:39Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > If Sheldon has all the money he really wants, why didn’t he ever buy his own transporter? Which reinforces my idea that the toys were either special order or new arrivals. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/22 "2012-03-30T19:44:33Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > Nimoy voicing Tiny Spock automatically qualifies this episode as awesome, even without any of the other funny bits. 🙂 agree ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/23 "2012-03-30T20:28:37Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > will Raj do a sham wedding to take the pressure off and have an open marriage? > > will there be a double wedding? > > with Raj being able to talk to females while sober (didn’t notice the bottle mentioned in message 11), will he find out he is unsuccessful with them for love and try males? > > if Raj is in a sham open marriage then will he pressure Howard to step outside of his marriage? Confused? You won’t be after this episode of Sodium Stearate! ---
**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:** [March 30, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/24 "2012-03-30T20:37:21Z")
I got a friend who is a Star Trek geek but had never seen The Big Bang Theory to watch this one after telling him Leonard Nimoy was going to be in it. We also watched the syndicated rerun before it, which had Sheldon’s drunken speech–one of the best episodes ever. We now have another BBT geek! I read somewhere that Jim Parsons and his partner Todd Spiewak raise Yorkshire Terriers. I wonder if Raj’s new dog is one of theirs? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/25 "2012-03-30T21:06:56Z")
Biggest problem this season (and maybe last season too) is too much Raj and Howard and whatshername—Howard’s fiancee…um…Bernadette. The show at it’s best is Sheldon/Amy/Howard with small doses of Howard/Raj/Bernadette. The last two seasons have had way too many Howard and Raj-centric episodes. IMO, Howard and Raj are just brilliant supporting characters but to me, they can’t support many episodes. (That said, the Penny/Bernadette/Amy Farah-Fowler interaction is great) ---
**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:** [March 30, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/26 "2012-03-30T21:14:24Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Biggest problem this season (and maybe last season too) is too much Raj and Howard and whatshername—Howard’s fiancee…um…Bernadette. The show at it’s best is Sheldon/Amy/Howard with small doses of Howard/Raj/Bernadette. The last two seasons have had way too many Howard and Raj-centric episodes. IMO, Howard and Raj are just brilliant supporting characters but to me, they can’t support many episodes. Howard and Raj, maybe; too much Bernadette, never! ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/27 "2012-03-30T21:44:51Z")
No–there’s too much Howard/Raj/Bernadette as a unit. There’s not enough Penny/Bernadette/Amy Farah-Folwer (as a unit). I love having Bernadette, but without that anchor Howard. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/28 "2012-03-30T23:01:47Z")
But Raj spoke a couple of words to Penny in the sequence before the opening credits, and he wasn’t drinking _then_?? (had me confused) Loved how the Gorn was less cheesy looking than in ST:TOS! ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/29 "2012-03-31T00:17:19Z")
> [@](#): > > But Raj spoke a couple of words to Penny in the sequence before the opening credits, and he wasn’t drinking _then_?? (had me confused) I’m pretty sure Raj was drinking a beer in that scene. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/30 "2012-03-31T00:22:27Z")
He was. You could see the top of the bottle in the bottom of the frame. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/31 "2012-03-31T14:46:29Z")
So Raj … He is clearly sexually attracted to women. E.g., his huge crush on Bernadette, various interesting scenes with Penny, etc. He has a very strong feminine side. Very strong. (“Metrosexual” my foot.) Maybe Raj is a lesbian trapped in a man’s body? Upcoming episode title: “The Transgender Transformation”? Raj and Howard’s bromance becomes a … gay woman and her straight friend thing. That’s so 2000. Could “Raji” talk to women without being drunk? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/32 "2012-03-31T22:46:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Metro-sexual, my ass.” Definitely the best line of the ep. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/33 "2012-03-31T23:06:15Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Could “Raji” talk to women without being drunk? Technically yes. He talked to Summer Glau while drinking N/A beer which means it’s an ‘all in his head’ thing as well as the fact that he can approach a woman 3 seconds after taking a sip of anything alcoholic. If he needed to drink an entire beer or be to the point where he was slurring his words, that would be different. But given what I said above I’m sure he could be taught to speak to women while ‘sober’ with some therapy. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/34 "2012-04-01T00:36:58Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Maybe Raj is a lesbian trapped in a man’s body? Upcoming episode title: “The Transgender Transformation”? The Reassignment Surgery. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/35 "2012-04-02T01:42:58Z")
Just rewatching the ep, and I noticed something that bugs me: When Lakshmi joins Raj, Bernadette and Howard at the restaurant, Howard and Bernadette don’t stand up. My mother would say they weren’t raised right - Howard, at least, should stand up. I thought the “interrupting physicist” joke was funny, though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/36 "2012-04-02T03:17:22Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > So Raj … > > He is clearly sexually attracted to women. E.g., his huge crush on Bernadette, various interesting scenes with Penny, etc. I know from my own experience that it’s perfectly possible for a teenager to have emotional crushes on girls, but be sexually attracted to boys. And Raj is in many ways not that removed from a teenager. Anyway . . . I LOVED the Leonard Nimoy bits, especially the poses. Even went back and watched them again. Great episode, just based on that. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/37 "2012-04-02T12:17:28Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Just rewatching the ep, and I noticed something that bugs me: When Lakshmi joins Raj, Bernadette and Howard at the restaurant, Howard and Bernadette don’t stand up. My mother would say they weren’t raised right - Howard, at least, should stand up. Howard should stand, Bernadette should remain seated. I noticed that too. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/38 "2012-04-02T12:36:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Howard should stand, Bernadette should remain seated. > > I noticed that too. Especially since the whole reason Howard was there was to make Raj look tall. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/39 "2012-04-02T13:37:49Z")
I wonder if what we saw was the 14th take or so, and Simon Helberg had just gotten tired of standing up every 5 minutes or so. Either way, very bad form for Howard. His mother is going to yell at him for that. She raised him better, per **SMV**. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269/40 "2012-04-04T14:29:26Z")
And Raj should have pulled out a chair for Lakshmi. For some reason that bugged us too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-march-29-2012-the-transporter-malfunction/617269.md?page=3)