# The Big Bang Theory, October 24, 2013 -- "The Romance Resonance" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103 "2013-10-24T12:32:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/41 "2013-10-25T23:02:52Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > why would you say that? i’m sure bernadette got some dust in her eye when wash died. Everytime I think of that scene it reminds me of [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-yHSaP0Dyg). ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/42 "2013-10-26T02:01:47Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > My slip-up. It’s what they called them in grammar school, but I’ve learned that pretty much everywhere outside of KY they’re called recorders. It comes up because I’ve still got mine and people are always surprised to see one. I’ve also got a tin whistle (which people also seem to call a recorder), as well as my flute full-on grown-up flute, which is oddly the only one I don’t actually play anymore. Nope… unless I’m not remembering what it looked like… you nailed it. [http://www.beavercreek.k12.oh.us/Page/7702](http://www.beavercreek.k12.oh.us/Page/7702) I also played a Flutophone in 4th grade. Oops… just re-watched the scene… it is indeed a white recorder. Carry on. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/43 "2013-10-26T02:23:31Z")
> [@Tante\_Dillie](#): > > Loved the song, and Penny in the blue dress. I don’t think it was the dress- I think Penny would look good even if she wasn’t wearing a stitch. Best of the year so far. No bitchy Bernadette, Raj was less annoying, no Stewart. Great song for Howard. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/44 "2013-10-26T02:46:08Z")
Must say, I didn’t like the “B” story. (watched on demand today, stopped b4 they played the song for Bernie.) The “A” story was awesome BTW. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/45 "2013-10-26T03:01:00Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Must say, I didn’t like the “B” story. (watched on demand today, stopped b4 they played the song for Bernie.) The “A” story was awesome BTW. I’m a little confused… you liked the A story which I assume was Sheldon’s discovery… but you didn’t like the B story which I assume was the romantic gestures piece. BUT… you stopped watching before the song for Bernie… and what happens with Penny and Leonard. Knock Knock Who’s There Myron Myron who? Never mind… I don’t like this one. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/46 "2013-10-26T04:56:36Z")
Yes, the Bernie-Howie relationship didn’t “speak” to me this week. Let me know what I missed, and why it was so special. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/47 "2013-10-26T05:24:26Z")
Howard’s song was awesome. Written entirely in nerd-speak, even including a little Klingon, clearly a labor of love…and a callback to how he first won her over with a horribly corny over the top disaster of a song that appealed to no one…except Bernadette. The rest of the gang as “doo wop girls” worked nicely. Sadly, we did not get to see Raj shred it on his ukelaxe. No Penny in leather writhing with a tambourine, no Leonard as a hip blues-cellist, and no beat-nik Sheldon laying down the recorder groove…but it still rocked. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/48 "2013-10-26T05:30:51Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > In a slightly more serious show, Bernadette would have passed out mid-song and then died. I was actually cringing in expectation. I was expecting her to announce her pregnancy at the end. Speaking of pregnancy, Leonard should be double-wrapping his Whopper from now on. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/49 "2013-10-26T05:53:59Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > In a slightly more serious show, Bernadette would have passed out mid-song and then died. I was actually cringing in expectation. I was thinking she was going to vomit on the glass. > [@Kimballkid](#): > > That’s the weird part, she supposedly can’t sing but Sheldon always wants her to sing ‘Soft Kitty’ to him. Because Sheldon has never grown up and sees her and Leonard as surrogate parents. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I don’t know if there’s a trope for it but it seems to be a theme in TV when someone works with experimental or early phases of new drugs that they’ll mention what it does but then immediately mention some terrible side effect. “We’re working on a new drug that can cure the common cold, but it has the side effect of anal bleeding/growing an extra toe/hair growing inside your mouth etc” Bernie’s “I’d be throwing up from my eyes by know” was a new one though. I’m sure it comes from the little inserts from meds with all the bizarre side effects that they have to list and gained a lot of popularity when potato chips with Olestra contained the “May cause anal leakage” warning. She wasn’t commenting on the effects of the drug but of the virus. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/50 "2013-10-26T06:34:48Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > That’s the weird part, she supposedly can’t sing but Sheldon always wants her to sing ‘Soft Kitty’ to him. And she sang “Blow the man down” with Sheldon while making Penny Blossoms. Her voice is okay, but it has a fast vibrato that is a bit annoying. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/51 "2013-10-26T06:58:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Carryover? From cello to voice? I don’t think so. I used to play violin and viola pretty well. Now I’m singing, and my previous instrumental experience has definitely helped. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/52 "2013-10-26T09:27:48Z")
Many years ago, a choirmaster friend wanted to recruit me for his choir. When I protested that I had only ever played instruments (piano and flute, in my case), he told me that having learned those instruments, I was familiar with printed sheet music, that I could recognize intervals and harmonies, and that I knew what the music was saying. “I need another bass voice who can read and understand music; if you get worried, just follow along with the other guys in the bass section of our choir, and you’ll be fine,” he said. He was right, and I sang in his choir for many years; and (once I realized that I actually could sing) in other vocal ensembles subsequently. But I doubt that I could have done so, if I had not had instrumental training. It gave me what I needed to read vocal music confidently. As for the episode, I did like the way the gang came together to sing backup to Howard. And I loved Amy being “in the zone.” ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/53 "2013-10-26T14:06:42Z")
The song has been released on iTunes with the proceeds going to MusiCares. I read it in an interview with Kate Micucci. The interview also mentioned Lucy will be back. I hope she comes back to date Winkle. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/54 "2013-10-26T15:47:06Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It bugged me that of all the people around the world that looked at his paper no one else caught the mistake. Surely his ‘peers’ would have checked his work and found his mistake. I think you misunderstood what happened. Sheldon used the wrong number but the wrong number ended up being right. Had Sheldon done what he planned, he would have failed. He made a mistake that ended up being right. To him that is the same as being wrong. That’s why he was getting all the accolades: his discovery was real; he just doesn’t feel that he earned it because he was right by accident. For Sheldon, that’s unbearable. That’s why Amy calling him out on it was sweet by his point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/55 "2013-10-26T15:54:51Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I think you misunderstood what happened. Sheldon used the wrong number but the wrong number ended up being right. Had Sheldon done what he planned, he would have failed. He made a mistake that ended up being right. To him that is the same as being wrong. That’s why he was getting all the accolades: his discovery was real; he just doesn’t feel that he earned it because he was right by accident. For Sheldon, that’s unbearable. That’s why Amy calling him out on it was sweet by his point of view. Though Joey P is right that someone would notice the mistake soon enough - the experimentalists were apparently so eager to make the discovery that Sheldon’s paper promised (and/or happened to have experimental apparatus that could be turned to that task very easily), that they didn’t check the math before running the experiment. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/56 "2013-10-26T16:22:57Z")
i wouldn’t put much hard thought into the show. what ever linkage to to any joke or subplot is used. Sheldon has been repeatedly dismissive of any science that isn’t theoretical physics, including experimental physics. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/57 "2013-10-26T16:37:10Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I think you misunderstood what happened. Sheldon used the wrong number but the wrong number ended up being right. Had Sheldon done what he planned, he would have failed. He made a mistake that ended up being right. To him that is the same as being wrong. That’s why he was getting all the accolades: his discovery was real; he just doesn’t feel that he earned it because he was right by accident. For Sheldon, that’s unbearable. That’s why Amy calling him out on it was sweet by his point of view. I’m afraid you’re the one misunderstanding what Joey P is saying. In the real world, as soon as the paper was prepublished online - probably at a place like [arxiv.org](http://arxiv.org) - the mistake would be found and no one would take it any farther. Only in a sitcom world could it have gotten to the point where Sheldon realizes his own basic mistake. Yet another example of the way the show uses real science imagery simultaneously with a total disregard for how science works. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/58 "2013-10-26T17:49:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Yet another example of the way the show uses real science imagery simultaneously with a total disregard for how science works. They do the same thing with gaming. World of Warcraft does not work the way it has been portrayed in the show, and the fictional trading card game invented for the show, Mystic Warlords of Ka’a, has no discernible rules at all. They came reasonably close to a simulated version of D&D, but even that had problems. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/59 "2013-10-26T19:37:51Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > They do the same thing with gaming. World of Warcraft does not work the way it has been portrayed in the show, and the fictional trading card game invented for the show, Mystic Warlords of Ka’a, has no discernible rules at all. They came reasonably close to a simulated version of D&D, but even that had problems. As a made up game, Mystic Warlords of Ka’a can have any rules they want. As shown on screen, it’s basically a CCG version of Uno. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103/60 "2013-10-26T20:01:46Z")
Here’s the gist of the rules to Mystic Warriors of Ka’a. The game was briefly available at a convention (GenCon, IIRC) the year after its first appearance on the show. Each player begins the game with a deck of cards. The base game comes with eight pre-built decks of forty cards, although customizing decks for replayability and ultimate mischief is encouraged for experienced players. Every round, each player may play up to two creature cards and one spell card. These cards are played one at a time and are meant to be announced with a flourish. Next comes a “pugilistic scrum” in which the creatures battle one another at the behest of their warlord masters, supported by any spells that have been played. Every victory in combat allows the winner to knock cards off of her opponent’s deck. Then all cards in play are wiped and the next round begins. Once a player’s deck has run out, she must reshuffle her cards. If you can force your opponent to reshuffle her deck three times, you are declared the winner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-october-24-2013-the-romance-resonance/672103.md?page=4)