# The Big Bang Theory, Episode 618: "The Contractual Obligation Implementation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353 "2013-03-08T06:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/41 "2013-03-10T11:00:17Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I could understand it if there was a skimpy outfit involved, like Pocahontas, or Kida from _Atlantis_. And I’ve always liked Belle, because she’s the nerdiest of the bunch. Otherwise I can’t see what they were getting so excited about. Frankly it was a little bit creepy as they were each dressed like tween girls. Dressed LIKE tween girls, perhaps, but obviously not ACTUAL tween girls. THAT’s the power therein. It’s like if they were wearing Catholic schoolgirl uniforms or Cheerleader outfits. To Sampiro’s Q if Disney Princess fantasies was a real thing. Well, in my teen years, not to me. But then later on as the Disney artists started putting good sized racks on 'em- oh yeah. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine(!), not so much Pocahontas except for those legs, Esmerelda(!!!), Rapunzel (!)… ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/42 "2013-03-10T12:53:53Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Dressed LIKE tween girls, perhaps, but obviously not ACTUAL tween girls. THAT’s the power therein. > > It’s like if they were wearing Catholic schoolgirl uniforms or Cheerleader outfits. …_also_ kinda creepy. Coming from a Friar does not diminish the creepy… ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/43 "2013-03-10T13:33:28Z")
that reaction could be just a one off joke; a situation (a result of a subplot) is set up (straight line) and a joke (punch line) is made for it. also the guys all have active fantasy roles in costumes both multiples for parties/events and ones that are their fantasy favorites; so a reaction to fantasy costumes is not unexpected for them. i think this is the first time the girls did it without being put up to it by the guys. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/44 "2013-03-10T16:53:36Z")
Yeah, the guys have had numerous sexual fantasies and interactions with costumes involved, so there’s a precedent. But really it was a setup as contrast to Snow White and her absent minded Prince. Speaking of which, can anybody else totally see Jim Parsons in a remake of The Absent Minded Professor? ---
**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:** [March 10, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/45 "2013-03-10T18:55:19Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > . . . Amy needs to go all Tasha Yar on him and make him prove it. Of _ **course** _! That’s the answer. If only we had some way to tell her. . . 😉😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/46 "2013-03-11T12:18:14Z")
> [@stegon66](#): > > I would think a full time (assuming Penny works that much) server at a Cheesecake Factory (they’re not cheap) in the L.A. area would make some pretty decent coin (though I’ll agree that a Disney Princess makeover would be a major expense). Any CF servers here that can verify? This has always sorta bugged me about this show. I’ve been to 2 CFs in the Chicago area, and neither was anything like the way they present Penny’s workplace - in terms of food served, waitress attire, or overall decor. The 2 I’ve been at seem to strive for a sort of hipster glam - in an emasculated mall-sorta fashion. Are CFs elsewhere anything like the one on the show? I wonder why they chose to use a wellknown name, if the portrayal is so little like the real deal. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/47 "2013-03-11T13:06:53Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > . . . I wonder why they chose to use a wellknown name, if the portrayal is so little like the real deal. It’s called product placement. It went to the highest bidder. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/48 "2013-03-11T13:25:02Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It’s called product placement. It went to the highest bidder. I guess, but is the mere mention of their name enough for the portrayal of their brand to be so unflattering? ---
**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:** [March 11, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/49 "2013-03-11T13:53:32Z")
It’s establishing them as the cool place to hang out. I can’t help thinking the whole move to bartending was more about showing they are also a bar than anything it really added to the plotline. . . ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/50 "2013-03-11T14:05:37Z")
It’s the cool place to hang out for _a bunch of nerds from Caltech_. Hardly a ringing endorsement. ---
**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 11, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/51 "2013-03-11T14:44:02Z")
It is in Pasadena! ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/52 "2013-03-11T14:54:36Z")
This will up the creep factor for all the Disney Princess fetishees (Is that a word?) out there: > **[Actual list of Disney Princess ages will make you feel like a monster](https://gizmodo.com/actual-list-of-disney-princess-ages-will-make-you-feel-5989177)** > > Everyone loves a Disney Princess! We love to cheer on these gorgeous ladies as they fight evil, journey through hidden lands and even fall in love. But then we found out their ages, and now we feel gross. Jasmine is 15. Snow White, 14. What sort of... ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/53 "2013-03-11T15:17:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It’s establishing them as the cool place to hang out. I can’t help thinking the whole move to bartending was more about showing they are also a bar than anything it really added to the plotline. . . It also gave them a way for Raj and Penny to talk. She praciced making drinks for the guys and they discovered he could talk to her when drunk. Now he can hang at the bar and talk to her while she works and he gets hammered if they need the two caracters to interact. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/54 "2013-03-11T16:08:50Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > So is banging a Disney princess really a fetish for a significant number of straight guys? I’m sure it exists (Rule 34) but my interpretation was that the guys (two of them, anyway) were seeing it as an invitation to plain ol’ sexual cosplay. I’m pretty sure that they would have had the same reaction had they come home and found their wife/gf dressed as Wonder Woman, Lara Croft or an Orion Slave Girl ---
**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:** [March 11, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/55 "2013-03-11T17:23:39Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It’s establishing them as the cool place to hang out. I can’t help thinking the whole move to bartending was more about showing they are also a bar than anything it really added to the plotline. . . I thought it was originally so they could hide Cuoco’s cast behind the bar after she broke her leg. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/56 "2013-03-11T17:28:13Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It’s establishing them as the cool place to hang out. I can’t help thinking the whole move to bartending was more about showing they are also a bar than anything it really added to the plotline. . . The bar was added so Penny could hide her cast behind it after she had her (I think) horseriding accident. ETA: Dammit, ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/57 "2013-03-11T17:36:00Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I thought it was originally so they could hide Cuoco’s cast behind the bar after she broke her leg. The bar came back after the horseriding accident, but she was practicing her bartending skills in Season 1 which is how it was discovered that Raj could talk to women when he was drunk. Episode 1:8 ends with Penny tending bar at the CF, while Sheldon plays the piano. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/58 "2013-03-11T21:30:28Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I thought it was pretty clever. Also liked his line about the big dude climbing back up a beanstalk. I liked it in that it seems to be heading towards getting Raj to talk but for me the funny wasn’t there. > [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > I personally think Raj and Lucy’s date is part of the writer’s trying to rehabilitate Raj. I really really hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/59 "2013-03-11T22:31:10Z")
I have been to the Cheesecake Factory on Pasadena and it is nothing like the one on the show (not surprising). it is on a very busy street corner in Old Town, which is kind of THE place to visit in Pasadena. It has lots of glass windows onto the street and it is not drab at all. Plus the waiters/waitresses do not wear outfits that look more suited for a German Rathskeller. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353/60 "2013-03-11T23:05:22Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Ariel, Belle, Jasmine(!), not so much Pocahontas except for those legs, Esmerelda(!!!), Rapunzel (!)… Ariel, mmmmmmmmmm! What man wouldn’t fantasize about finding a 16-year-old mute, naked, redheaded amnesiac washed up on a beach? 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-episode-618-the-contractual-obligation-implementation/652353.md?page=4)