In Pasadena, but does his part of West Texas even have city buses? And presumably this was in the evening, so there probably weren’t frequent enough for him to get to the mall and back while his friends were still at the party.
Until very recently I lived across the street from a Bed, Bath and Beyond. Presumably that happens to other people as well.
If it must be fanwanked.
You do realize this is fiction, don’t you?
“It would have been nice if you had been there with me” was immediately followed and undercut by “or that you were there instead of me.” So not that huge a step IMO.
I did not enjoy this episode all that much, much of it seemed very mean-spirited. I was interested in the premise, but it seemed to end up with everyone being not much different without Sheldon as with him.
Roddy
But did he bring his bus pants to Texas?
Interesting you say that about Stuart. I think this is the best episode he’s ever done. He was great in this episode. And I say that as someone who is not normally a fan of Stuart’s.
Sheldon is from the Houston area, not West Texas. I am sure he has prepared for every possible situation that might come up, like having to take the bus and packing his bus pants (or having bus pants in his Mom’s house)
Stuart is the stereo typical fringe friend. Some guy that desperately wants to be part of group, any group of friends. I can see him wanting to be part of this group. He is a character like Cliff Clavin, Ted Baxter.
I think the pants that you’re wearing when exposed to the amniotic Slip 'n Slide earn a battlefield promotion to Bus Pants.
I feel bad for Stuart. Not because of his life, or how he fits with the group, but for how he’s treated by the writers. One of the pieces made fun of how Leonard wouldn’t have been able to get a date with Penny, being so terrified he wet himself. Raj couldn’t talk to girls until recently and Howard was pretty much a creep, so they’re out as well.
Stuart asked Penny out the day he met her and was charming enough to get a date. Even though things didn’t work out, that puts him way ahead of those guys. Now they’ve got him as this sad sack?
There is no doubt that Stuart is written extremely unevenly - but in this case, Penny had already been exposed to nerd cooties, and I think that Stuart knew that she had dated Leonard, so he probably figured he had a chance.
And on the unevenness bit - I wonder if he isn’t a bit like Raj. When he stays out of his own way, he’s fairly smooth. When he starts to think of what he’s doing - he’s a nerd who owns a comic book store. What hot girl is going to date him?
Stuart’s self-esteem is connected to the fortunes of his comic book store. It was doing well when we first met him and he got dates with Penny. When it tanked and he was forced to starting living in the shop, Stuart likewise sunk into a despair hole and hasn’t recovered.
Fanwanking aside, it would be nice to see him cheer up a little bit and have a modicum of success. Right now he’s like a guy about to conduct science experiments on the least effective suicide methods.
Glad you posted this. I was going to post that I didn’t find anything funny in the episode. But this was a good line.
Much like the wish of Penny having some success in her acting career. So I say they should combine both.
Stuart should do a Kickstarter campaign to make a short film starring Penny. It gets noticed by the Syfy Channel guys who made Sharknado (The Asylum) and they get funding to do a feature length version. There’s your background B-plot for half a season at least.
Heh. I think Sheldon would promote them to,“Burn immediately.” 
I loved this episode - I laughed from start to finish.
or have penny make a commercial for the store that brings in the customers.
Just another generic filler episode to me. The only joke worth anything was the Psycho bit. And that wasn’t as good as it could have been.
Just about all of the alternate universe bits were pathetic. Peeing ones pants jokes? Fat suits? Come on.
No actual appearance by Sheldon’s sister. They didn’t even mention her name. Was this Missy? Does he have another sister? His sibling count is unclear. Apparently he does have a brother. Mentioned recently as well as inferred from his father’s name being George Cooper, Sr.
Sheldon was born and presumably raised in Galveston. The Houston reference in the show was that his mother regretted not taking him to that specialist in Houston. Galveston has a fairly limited bus and trolley system. Sheldon would know enough to take a cab. Assuming that Mary still lives there.
I thought at first the voice of Sheldon’s mom was Laurie Metcalf. Then it sounded less and less like her as the episode continued. So I decided it wasn’t her. But the credits say it was her. (Note that she has her own HBO show now: Getting On. The US version of a award winning British show. I tried it. It had Dr. Gablehauser in it. But it wasn’t funny or … anything.)
As noted in previous threads, Mrs. FtG is now a fan and watches with me. I pointed out a familiar blue book behind AFF’s sofa. She really lit up. It is Clinical Diagnosis by Laboratory Methods, 15th edition. A must-have for any home.
This is becoming a very sad season. Season 6 was a big let down. This is even worse.
I LOL’ed at that. Thanks!
On a side note: has there ever been a TV sitcom that *didn’t *do a “It’s a Wonderful Life” episode? It’s almost like a requirement.
Either that or a Dickens parody. (or both)
It seems that opinions are mixed about this particular episode (personally I thought it had some good moments but that there was so much they could have done with the premise) but that overall most here agree that the show is past its prime … yes?
Personally I track its decline to the Season 4 finale (and stated then that it was a sign of decline to come, i.e. jumped the shark) when Raj and Penny sort of slept together.
If you think it has declined what would you trace back as its jump the shark moment?
Don’t forget the Wizard of Oz episode! “And you were there and you were there …”
Next thing you know they’ll do a “someone got drunk and married in Vegas” episode. Oops.
As to the decline curve of the show …
No specific Jump the Shark episode. But the regular addition of AFF and Bernadette coincides with the beginning of the slide. Having them appear and then go away for a while (or forever) might have preserved the show as we knew it. But with both appearing regularly, the space for the old regulars is more cramped as well as limiting story possibilities. It’s become more of a relationship show than a Science-nerd show. So a decline in season 5, getting a lot worse in 6 and now 7.
I like the Seinfeld/Simpsons model for a sitcom. Nothing ever changes (among the main cast), nobody ever learns.
I suspect Raj speaking regularly will also go down as a critical moment. But that is well into the decline.