# The Big Bang Theory, December 12, 2013 -- "The Cooper Extraction" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200 "2013-12-12T22:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/1 "2013-12-12T22:29:19Z")
I’m starting this thread in anticipation of tonight’s episode. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/2 "2013-12-13T01:45:39Z")
Thought it was one of the best episodes in a long time. Several times my wife and I laughed out loud… does anyone laugh internally? ---
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/3 "2013-12-13T01:51:05Z")
Loved it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/4 "2013-12-13T02:18:23Z")
Well we finally got to see Mrs Wolowitz. 😉 I liked how the vignettes kept getting more & more absurd. To bad we didn’t get to see what Sheldon would be doing if he hadn’t met any of them. Something along the line’s of Sheldon inventing cold fusion or FTL travel, followed by a quick reveal of him as a jabbering mental patient at Camarillo State Mental Hospital. Or angry townspeople burning him at the stake. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/5 "2013-12-13T04:44:09Z")
I liked it. They pegged everybody very well. “I’ve seen things. Lady things.” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/6 "2013-12-13T04:47:53Z")
For the first time Stuart being pathetic was funny instead of pathetic. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/7 "2013-12-13T04:50:29Z")
More of Amy’s speculation, please. Semi-naked Penny…drool. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/8 "2013-12-13T05:10:20Z")
Hated it. The whole show was premised on laughing at the misery of others. Distasteful. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/9 "2013-12-13T06:23:07Z")
I didn’t care for it either. I like the “what if?” concept so I don’t know why it didn’t work for me. Maybe it was the misery, like **Oakminster** said. I really didn’t like the bit with Howard and his mother. That was ugly. Why did no one ask to see the baby? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/10 "2013-12-13T07:46:05Z")
Wasn’t wild on this variation of It’s A Wonderful Life. Claiming Sheldon is the glue that brought them together is a bit of a stretch - for that matter, they could claim getting jobs at the same university brought them together, or moving to the same town, or being born within the same generation. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/11 "2013-12-13T13:53:24Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I really didn’t like the bit with Howard and his mother. That was ugly. Howard as Norman Bates? That worked for me and I felt it was very in character. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/12 "2013-12-13T14:17:43Z")
It ran hot and cold for me. The bit with Howard and Raj in the restaurant was pretty good as were Amy’s fantasies. The fat suit Leonard and Raj were pretty lame. Penny in her bra was nice, though they could have chosen one that didn’t look like her mother’s bikini top. Sheldon’s quesiness at the birth was great (amniotic slip and slide) was a great line, well delivered. I’m still trying to figure out what Stuart adds to the show- he really doesn’t interact with any of the others particularly well, doesn’t seem to have any affection for any of them nor do they seem to care about having him around them. Time for his character to step in front of a speeding truck. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/13 "2013-12-13T14:25:43Z")
Better than average episode. When the writer’s stop hammer the point that all the guys are pathetic losers it will get funnier. A single roll of Amy’s eyes beats 3 sad moans from Stuart, and I like the Stuart character. Howard as Norman Bates was perfect, except that we could all see it coming. The fact that Howard was acknowledging how he would have ended up without his friends made it even better. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/14 "2013-12-13T16:12:57Z")
I enjoyed this episode. I’ve noticed my enjoyment of BBT corresponds with how much Zack is involved. And I laughed and laughed when Penny and Zack peed on themselves because it was just sooooo stupid. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/15 "2013-12-13T16:35:12Z")
Well, I managed to miss the first ten minutes of the show! I enjoyed the remainder of it, especially the segment with Penny attempting to seduce Sheldon. Hilarious! So, what happened in the first ten minutes? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/16 "2013-12-13T17:27:35Z")
more of the same just earlier. Sheldon goes to Texas. They have a christmas tree decorating party without the Sheldon rules. They dis Sheldon for a bit. AFF then starts the “where would we be without Sheldon” theme. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/17 "2013-12-13T17:46:30Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Sheldon goes to Texas. They have a christmas tree decorating party without the Sheldon rules. They dis Sheldon for a bit. AFF then starts the “where would we be without Sheldon” theme. Penny: Do you ever think of how life would be if somebody weren’t born? Leonard: [knock, knock, knock]What do you think? [knock, knock, knock]What do you think? [knock, knock, knock]What do you think? I also thought Sheldon saying “I’d rather you’d been there than not” when Amy asked if he had missed her was a GIANT Sheldon step. Nobody else seemed to notice. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/18 "2013-12-13T17:57:27Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I also thought Sheldon saying “I’d rather you’d been there than not” when Amy asked if he had missed her was a GIANT Sheldon step. Nobody else seemed to notice. Or that Sheldon didn’t want to inconvenience her for a ride to the airport… I think I was in a good mood already, so I laughed more than I have for this season’s BBT. It wasn’t awful and had good moments. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/19 "2013-12-13T18:00:06Z")
So how did Sheldon get out to buy towels? He doesn’t drive, and surely his mom or sister wouldn’t at that point. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200/20 "2013-12-13T18:03:33Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > So how did Sheldon get out to buy towels? He doesn’t drive, and surely his mom or sister wouldn’t at that point. Sheldon knows the Bus Routes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-december-12-2013-the-cooper-extraction/676200.md?page=2)