# The Big Bang Theory 12/13--The Santa Simulation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961 "2012-12-13T21:21:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/41 "2012-12-15T05:27:38Z")
Double post. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/42 "2012-12-15T05:30:12Z")
Amy: one time I passed out at a frat party and woke up with more clothes on. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/43 "2012-12-15T15:14:28Z")
The Episode seemed unfinished. Like there was one last act cut at he end to wrap the stories up more. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/44 "2012-12-15T16:30:03Z")
It seems like Raj has had some success with relationships when he pays for things (i.e. deaf girl, Stuart). But the writers have been inconsistent with the portrayal of the Raj character – he can buy expensive jewelry for the deaf girl, he can buy a huge fancy desk for a prank, he apparently cannot afford a jet ski. So I have to conclude the writers are more concerned with hitting their joke-points (Raj is ambiguously gay, nerds can’t afford things, Raj is surprisingly wealthy) than they are concerned with developing a believable character. So we end up with a ridiculous, but flimsy character. I can just imagine the writer’s room: Hey, let’s have Raj pay for female companionship! Oh, but Raj is only funny when he’s ambiguously gay… let’s make it a male companion. Okay, what male side characters do we have? Wil Wheaton? Nah, he doesn’t need the money. Stuart? Perfect! ---
**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:** [December 15, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/45 "2012-12-15T16:35:55Z")
Sorry I can’t nail it down more specifically, but at around the midpoint Stewart says something like “…uck it, …”. I rewound and listened to it several times. It sounded really, really close to the f-bomb. Anyone else notice it? Too bad they made Stewart totally pathetic again. He has skills, he draws for example. They are also fully acknowledging that his business is dying due to online competition. (As opposed to him being a poor businessman with limited clientèle.) Seconded, thirded or whatever about Penny’s hair. Good grief. One thing that bothers me is the laugh track vs. the supposed live audience response. This episode displayed a common issue. They show Raj talking to someone about playing D&D. The camera pulls back and it’s Stewart, big yuks. But this wouldn’t be a surprise to a live audience. It’s clearly “sweetened” laughter. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/46 "2012-12-15T16:53:44Z")
Raj is the Pepino and Fez of the show. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/47 "2012-12-15T18:04:07Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Raj is the Pepino and Fez of the show. Who’s Pepino? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/48 "2012-12-15T18:07:55Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Raj is the Pepino and Fez of the show. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Who’s Pepino? The Real McCoys, 1957 to 1963, a farm hand to the family. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/49 "2012-12-15T19:18:30Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > [li]He didn’t used to be such a jerk in the first seasons[/li] Although I’ll agree the character has been written somewhat inconsistently, he pretty much has _always_ been shown to be a little bit of a jerk when he drinks. Which is most of the time now, since with more female characters on the show it becomes harder to write scenes unless he interacts with them more. I guess you can argue that there is some consistency in a weird way, because an uninhibited Raj is apparently a bit of an asshole :). But I’m in agreement with those who think that little plot line, slightly amusing at first, has long since passed its expiration date. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/50 "2012-12-15T19:32:39Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Sorry I can’t nail it down more specifically, but at around the midpoint Stewart says something like “…uck it, …”. Just rewatched with Closed Captioning. The only thing that seems to come close is when Leonard explains that he likes shopping at Amazon because he can do it while sitting on the toilet. Stuart says “Have you seen my place, the whole place is a toilet” ---
**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:** [December 15, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/51 "2012-12-15T21:42:59Z")
Penny’s hair resembles Annie Edison from the first seasons of Community. It’s sort of anti-bangs. The front just goes straight up and over the top of the head like when guys slick their hair back. But it’s only done on the bangs. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961/52 "2012-12-16T00:21:42Z")
It looked like she’s been bathing with a toaster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-12-13-the-santa-simulation/643961.md?page=2)