# The Big Bang Theory, January 30, 2014 -- "The Convention Conundrum" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158 "2014-01-30T19:50:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/61 "2014-02-01T17:58:40Z")
Who knows, Penny could be sitting pretty because the Hemorrhoid commercial might pay a lot of residuals. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/62 "2014-02-01T18:10:03Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > I agree. Penny has gotten to the point of just being a horrible character, IMO. She has no job but spends hundreds of dollars on a dress. She suggests they go to the bar and then lets Amy and Bernadette pay her tab without even so much as, “Uh, I’ll pay you back later.” Her story about laughing at an elderly handicapped person having an accident and being knocked unconscious was awful. It’s almost to the point where I cringe at every scene she’s in. The character just isn’t funny, amusing or likeable to me anymore. Not to mention, hitting parked cars and not leaving a note. “Anyone could have knocked your mirror off… or whatever happened.” She used to be nice and at least somewhat concerned with others’ feelings. Now she’s just plain mean. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/63 "2014-02-01T18:21:02Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Not to mention, hitting parked cars and not leaving a note. “Anyone could have knocked your mirror off… or whatever happened.” > She used to be nice and at least somewhat concerned with others’ feelings. Now she’s just plain mean. They’ve been making the two anchors of the show worse people since the beginning. Penny and Sheldon have both, in different ways, been getting more and more horrible. Penny gets harder, coarser and more cynical every episode and Sheldon gets more insufferable, less mature and more disconnected from humanity every episode. Sheldon used to do things anti-social because he didn’t understand social interaction. Lately, he’s been doing things anti-social because to do it the way he’s expected to would inconvenience him. I think one of the best examples of this is the Valentine’s Day(?) episode from last year, when his intern got a lot of very thoughtful and carefully selected gifts for him to choose from to give to Amy, and the best one (the drawing by a famous scientist whose name I don’t recall) he took for himself. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/64 "2014-02-01T22:18:01Z")
Making JEJ over the top friendly and cool was inspired and very funny. Having him be a hard ass or making it all a dream would have been obvious and cliche. I hope he comes back again. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/65 "2014-02-01T23:30:13Z")
I thought the episode ended on a cliff-hanger. How do we know that it won’t be revealed to be a dream sequence in the next episode? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/66 "2014-02-01T23:56:21Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > They REALLY need to give Penny something to do. Her character has been stagnant for years. There is plenty of comic material available for her as a working actress, and they shouldn’t wait for the inevitable inter-season character travel to do it. Well, isn’t that what they’re doing with her quitting the Cheese Cake Factory and devoting herself to her acting career? It’s going to be one of the story arcs, not just a one episode thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/67 "2014-02-02T08:22:27Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Having him be a hard ass or making it all a dream would have been obvious and cliche. I hope he comes back again. I was wondering if he’ll return for a Comic Con episode. And I’m as gay as Jim Parsons but I would totally go to a Tijuana strip club with James Earl Jones. I’m glad that Carrie Fisher has enough of a sense of humor to poke fun at her own mental illness. “She’s a little crazy…”. The only thing I disliked about JEJ’s appearance was seeing his 80 something he-hooters. Otherwise, great use of a great guess star. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/68 "2014-02-02T17:13:18Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Can you actually be charged with petty theft for using someone else’s badge at ComicCon? I didn’t buy that. Do the ComicCon people detain you and call the police to come arrest you? It’s not theft if you buy someone else’s ticket/badge or they give it to you. IANAL or a cop but that plot point sounded absurd to me. As I understand it, the badge is tied to the name of the person who bought it so you essentially pretending to be a different person when you use a scalped badge but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/69 "2014-02-02T17:35:11Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > As I understand it, the badge is tied to the name of the person who bought it so you essentially pretending to be a different person when you use a scalped badge but I could be wrong. I’m sure they can ban you from the event, but how can it be theft when the original owner sold you the badge? ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/70 "2014-02-02T19:51:30Z")
Because the T&C’s specify that transfer is not allowed. If the original owner isn’t going to use the badge rights revert to Comic Con. Therefore by illegally buying it from someone who doesn’t have the right to sell it you’re stealing from Comic Con. I applaud them for trying to stop scalping. As long as they’re willing to offer refunds for those who have a change in plans it’s an excellent system for all conference attendees. There is nothing worse than having the only option for an event be scalpers because they stalk the opening and buy all the tickets to be sold for a profit. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/71 "2014-02-02T20:43:19Z")
NM. Sorry, wrong thread. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/72 "2014-02-02T21:49:05Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Because the T&C’s specify that transfer is not allowed. If the original owner isn’t going to use the badge rights revert to Comic Con. Therefore by illegally buying it from someone who doesn’t have the right to sell it you’re stealing from Comic Con. IANAL, but even if the terms and conditions of the ticket don’t allow resale, how is it “illegal” to do so? And given that I’m buying a ticket that was sold by Comic-Con to someone, how am I “stealing” from them? The organizers have gotten paid for the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/73 "2014-02-02T21:52:16Z")
WAG: Maybe the petty theft charges are for scalpers / buyers of counterfeit tickets. Per their website, it’s deliberately a major pain in the ass to scalp a Comic Con ticket because the seller has to stand in line for a very long time, show ID, and then transfer it outside, so I would guess that they are far more expensive than most scalped concert tickets. As a result, there is a problem with counterfeiting. Does anybody have any idea what a scalped ticket to CC goes for? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/74 "2014-02-02T22:17:09Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > WAG: Maybe the petty theft charges are for scalpers / buyers of counterfeit tickets. > > Per their website, it’s deliberately a major pain in the ass to scalp a Comic Con ticket because the seller has to stand in line for a very long time, show ID, and then transfer it outside, so I would guess that they are far more expensive than most scalped concert tickets. As a result, there is a problem with counterfeiting. > > Does anybody have any idea what a scalped ticket to CC goes for? I found this: > **[Murah4d - Link Slot Gacor Pusat Gaming Online Terpercaya Gampang Maxwin...](https://myebcard.com/)** > > Murah4d adalah salah satu link slot gacor yang telah diakui sebagai pusat gaming online terpercaya gampang maxwin slot88 setiap hari serta memiliki rtp slot mencapai 98% berkat inovasi terbaik dari provider ternama seperti pragmatic play dan pg soft. > [@](#): > > More often ticket scalping is done via Craigslist (if you’re local) or eBay. Ticket prices often far exceed the standard values established by Comic-Con. On eBay tickets often range between $600 and $900 in the weeks leading up to the show. Also: > [@](#): > > A parting word of caution: If you use this tactic to get into the show on someone else’s badge, and you get caught, you’re going to get banned from the show and you could find yourself getting charged with petty theft. (I don’t know of anyone this has happened to personally, but I have heard rumors of it and think that caution is the better part of valor when it comes to trying to sneak into the show.) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/75 "2014-02-03T07:19:41Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Who knows, Penny could be sitting pretty because the Hemorrhoid commercial might pay a lot of residuals. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/76 "2014-02-03T14:31:17Z")
Penny got paid for that NCIS gig even through it ended up on the cutting room floor. I don’t think she’d get residuals for it, though. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/77 "2014-02-03T15:18:14Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Penny got paid for that NCIS gig even through it ended up on the cutting room floor. I don’t think she’d get residuals for it, though. She wasn’t supposed to be on the cutting room floor. She wasn’t even supposed to be in the cutting room. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/78 "2014-02-04T17:13:19Z")
JEJ is a national treasure. But he did a really poor acting job in this one. Very hammy. There have been other cases of good actors doing a bad job on the show lately. E.g., Kate Micucci. So I think it’s the directions they’re given, not the actors. Yet Another Weak Episode. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/79 "2014-02-04T17:21:47Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > JEJ is a national treasure. But he did a really poor acting job in this one. Very hammy. There have been other cases of good actors doing a bad job on the show lately. E.g., Kate Micucci. So I think it’s the directions they’re given, not the actors. > > Yet Another Weak Episode. I agree that his delivery sounded hammy but I’m sure there’s a component of it being that the only roles we’ve ever seen JEJ in has him speaking in a slow, serious, and deliberate manner and the one time we see him converse at a faster, colloquial, palling around way, it’s jarring and resultingly incongruous. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158/80 "2014-02-05T03:37:08Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > I agree that his delivery sounded hammy but I’m sure there’s a component of it being that the only roles we’ve ever seen JEJ in has him speaking in a slow, serious, and deliberate manner and the one time we see him converse at a faster, colloquial, palling around way, it’s jarring and resultingly incongruous. And refreshing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-january-30-2014-the-convention-conundrum/680158.md?page=5)