# The Big Bang Theory 9/23 8:00 CBS--"The Robotic Manipulation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765 "2010-09-23T13:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/61 "2010-09-25T12:18:32Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > In addition to the masturbation references in the pilot episode (which also had Vernee Watson as the receptionist at the sperm bank) Sheldon flirted with Penny as much as Leonard did. “I have charts too… these are my charts… see!” Sheldon as written today would be irritated that she entered the apartment without showing ID, answering random questions about Nebraska to verify her ID, and then being timed until she left. Yes, pilot Sheldon was actually somewhat interested in pleasing others, although I was happy to see his unapologetic self-interest surface in his explanation as to why he wanted his seat on the sofa, and much of the time he seemed to view Penny (properly) as a speciman/potential threat rather than as a pretty woman. But clearly the writers had not fully developed his character at that time. It happens not infrequently in long-running series. You’ll find characters in Season One doing things that they would find utterly repugnant in Season Five. As written in the pilot, Sheldon was possibly more realistic (because he was inconsistent, and people really are inconsistent), but I prefer the current Sheldon. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/62 "2010-09-25T12:58:40Z")
Speaking of the early episodes, I just started the show after seeing (and somewhat liking) last season’s finale and this episode. I’m going through them in roughly chronological sequence, but are there any particularly awesome episodes I should be watching? ---
**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 25, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/63 "2010-09-25T13:07:33Z")
My two favorites are The Bath Ite Gift Hypotesis and The Elevator Implementation. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/64 "2010-09-25T14:07:09Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > You’ll find characters in Season One doing things that they would find utterly repugnant in Season Five. A good example of that is on Seinfeld. Season One Kramer is practically a normal human being. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/65 "2010-09-25T15:04:10Z")
I do like Amy and I think Mayim Bialik is doing a good job, but the problem is she is EXACTLY like Sheldon. The first rule of TV writing is don’t use two characters to do what one could do. This is why they removed John from _Taxi_, too much like Tony. Or they removed Leslie from\* Newhart\*, too much like Joanna. I wasn’t a fan of Bialik but I think she does OK here. The point is if they want to keep her around fine, but let’s give her somthing to DO. Maybe it’s too early and she’ll develop a personality later. Like Leslie Winkle was the only person to be able to tear Sheldon’s intellectual superiority apart. Conflict is the basis of comedy. I just hope the writers have a plan for Amy if they keep her around. Actually it may do some good, in humanizing and making Sheldon real. The same way Georgette was introduced on _the Mary Tyler Moore Show_. This gave Ted Baxter a reason to act human and not simply be a one dimensional character. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/66 "2010-09-25T15:51:39Z")
I don’t want Sheldon to be humanized and made real. He started out in the pilot being more humanized and real. He has now become perfectly Sheldon. ---
**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 25, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/67 "2010-09-25T18:43:49Z")
Sheldon as an asexual is perfectly fine with me. ---
**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 25, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/68 "2010-09-25T19:12:41Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > My two favorites are > > The Bath Ite Gift Hypothesis and The Elevator Implementation. These. Both are excellent, for different reasons. Also recommended is “The Sticky Duck Whatever.” ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/69 "2010-09-25T21:05:05Z")
“I could grow my own Leonard Nimoy! !” It is Leonard, right? The perfect scene I’m waiting for is when Sheldon finds his own traits utterly intolerable in AFF. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/70 "2010-09-25T21:17:24Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > I don’t want Sheldon to be humanized and made real. He started out in the pilot being more humanized and real. He has now become perfectly Sheldon. I can see your point, but it’s too easy to fall back on cheap easy laughs by using Sheldon. This would be OK except the rest of the cast IS OUTSTANDING. It’s rare to get an ensamble cast that are all capable of delivering comedy and do an excellent job doing it. As much as I like Sheldon, I also like the other guys (and Penny) and would hate to see it become “The Sheldon Show” the way “Happy Days” became “Fonzie and Friends” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/71 "2010-09-25T21:29:49Z")
If Sheldon started “developing” and “humanizing” it would become the Sheldon show in a much worse way. I’m OK with their using Sheldon less, although the best moments of the show for me are Sheldon, but I love the fact that Sheldon strikes me as the one character on TV who is completely content to be who and what he is. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/72 "2010-09-25T21:57:07Z")
I like watching Sheldon now, but starting Big Bang Theory in the middle was an interesting experience: my first real exposure was a few episodes dubbed or subbed in hindi while I was working in India. They were all from the third (I think) season, when Sheldon was already in full swing, and my first reaction was “Who is this horrible little sociopath and why aren’t the others moving to another apartment?” Then I gave it a few episodes and realized how entertaining he was when you stopped empathizing with his roommates. ^^ ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/73 "2010-09-25T23:25:33Z")
I had never seen an episode of the show but had heard it was good, so I gave the season premier a try. It reminded me of how much I hate shows with phony laugh tracks and it didn’t make me laugh at all. But I didn’t come here to thread shit, but to clear up something I didn’t understand. Is the Sheldon character supposed to be gay? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/74 "2010-09-25T23:46:13Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] Is the Sheldon character supposed to be gay? [/QUOTE] Penny asked that once on the show. [Clip that includes the guys’ answer.](http://fliiby.com/file/381148/ks1ey5m6jb.html) The actor (Jim Parsons) is generally assumed to be gay- I don’t think he’s either out or closeted but just doesn’t discuss his personal life. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/75 "2010-09-26T12:50:15Z")
Sheldon is not gay. Sheldon is not straight. Sheldon is uninterested. He is uninterested in most physical pleasures (he does actively seek to avoid physical unpleasantness), and completely uninterested in emotional pleasures (well, actually that phrase wouldn’t carry any meaning for him, although, again, he seeks to avoid unpleasantness). His primary motivations in life are to avoid any change he himself does not instigate and to exercise his intellect and demonstrate its superiority to himself and others around him. Throw in a touch of OCD and you have Sheldon. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/76 "2010-09-26T14:29:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > In addition to the masturbation references in the pilot episode (which also had Vernee Watson as the receptionist at the sperm bank) Sheldon flirted with Penny as much as Leonard did. “I have charts too… these are my charts… see!” Sheldon as written today would be irritated that she entered the apartment without showing ID, answering random questions about Nebraska to verify her ID, and then being timed until she left. People seem to be remembering the pilot different then it really was. Sheldon (aside from the masturbation references and being a little looser/more emotional) is pretty much the same. Sheldon openly states they shouldn’t invite Penny over and prefers friends online he never has to meet. Penny is the one that comments on Sheldon’s board and he merely brags about it like he would for anyone looking at his work. It is Leonard who jumps in trying to get her attention. He tries to kick her out of his spot and doesn’t accept her offer of sitting next to her. He warns Leonard that Penny isn’t going to sleep with him (without any hints of jealousy that he wants to sleep with Penny). There’s no indication he’s sexually interested in Penny in the pilot or that he has any history of being sexually interested in anyone. Why yes I did just get Big Bang series 1 on DVD why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/77 "2010-09-26T18:32:26Z")
Any Sheldon and Penny shippers out there? 🙂 ---
**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 26, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/78 "2010-09-26T20:05:18Z")
Pretty much everybody? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/79 "2010-09-26T22:16:07Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > The whole robot arm thing didn’t do much for me, surely 3 geek geniuses could figure out how to get robotic fingers to release without going to the hospital. I was expecting Raj and Sheldon to admit that they’d already thought of simply switching it off, and just wanted to see if they could get Howard to go to the emergency room while robo-gripped. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765/80 "2010-09-26T23:40:51Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > I was expecting Raj and Sheldon to admit that they’d already thought of simply switching it off, and just wanted to see if they could get Howard to go to the emergency room while robo-gripped. nitpick: Raj and Leonard [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-9-23-8-00-cbs-the-robotic-manipulation/554765.md?page=5)