# The Big Bang Theory, Season 11, Episode 2 (October 2, 2017) -- "The Retraction Reaction" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 2, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817 "2017-10-02T18:04:23Z")\ **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:** [October 2, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/1 "2017-10-02T18:04:23Z")
I am starting this thread in anticipation of tonight’s episode. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/2 "2017-10-02T20:52:49Z")
I don’t like the title one bit! This better not be a season all about somebody getting/overcoming cold feet. 'Cause if it is, I will very seriously threaten to quit watching the show, but then watch it anyway because I am a total wuss. But I’ll be mad about it. :mad: ---
**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:** [October 2, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/3 "2017-10-02T22:42:08Z")
Tell me about it. I vowed to never watch again if anybody got pregnant. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/4 "2017-10-03T00:52:25Z")
Leonard’s email made it all worthwhile! ---
**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 3, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/5 "2017-10-03T01:03:36Z")
I was mad at it all the way through! The LHC very quickly did (one of the things) it was built for, discover Higgs boson and has detected hadrons. Stupid show making me angry. I’ll watch it later to see if it was funny because I spent the whole show complaining to my husband and yelling at my TV. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/6 "2017-10-03T01:08:38Z")
3.5 months pregnant? :dubious: Just realized how similar hadrons and hard-ons are spelled. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/7 "2017-10-03T01:10:27Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I was mad at it all the way through! The LHC very quickly did (one of the things) it was built for, discover Higgs boson and has detected hadrons. Stupid show making me angry. I’ll watch it later to see if it was funny because I spent the whole show complaining to my husband and yelling at my TV. I _can’t_ be the only person on this message board who turns their brain off when they watch TV… can I? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/8 "2017-10-03T01:39:30Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > 3.5 months pregnant? :dubious: Yeah, she’s showing a lot for 3.5 months. However, women who are breastfeeding have absent or irregular periods, so it’s possible that Bernie has had no period, and it was an expanding waistline that clued her into the fact that she was pregnant. I breastfed for 2.5 years (and he’d still be at it if I hadn’t made him stop), and didn’t have a period for 18 months of it, even though he started eating some foods four months in, and by a year, was getting more calories from food than breastmilk. By 18 months, I’d cut him down to three times a day, and by two, twice a day. Anyway, Sheldon is certainly right that unless a woman is wearing one of those T-shirts with “BABY” and an arrow pointing down, or has told you _herself_ that she is pregnant, you DO NOT PRESUME. So how many people think Penny will at least be pregnant by the end of the series? I think she and Leonard will have a baby, and it will do something, so that the closing line of the series finale is **Leonard** : “Our baby is smart and beautiful!” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/9 "2017-10-03T03:04:20Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So how many people think Penny will at least be pregnant by the end of the series? I think she and Leonard will have a baby, and it will do something, so that the closing line of the series finale is **Leonard** : “Our baby is smart and beautiful!” Babies. The line was “Our babies will be smart and beautiful.” Penny will have twins or triplets, giving Sheldon a chance to spout all sorts of multiple birth trivia and comparisons to him and his sister. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/10 "2017-10-03T04:17:29Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Penny will have twins or triplets, giving Sheldon a chance to spout all sorts of multiple birth trivia and comparisons to him and his sister. She’ll have quadruplets that are dead ringers for Sheldon, Howard, Raj, and Stuart. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/11 "2017-10-03T10:11:27Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > 3.5 months pregnant? :dubious: In reality Melissa Rauch is probably six months. According to [this article she wrote](https://www.glamour.com/story/actress-melissa-rauch-announces-pregnancy-and-reflects-on-miscarriage) it’s due in the fall, and this episode would’ve been filmed a month ago, so a November birth is likely for her, probably just in time for the show’s hiatus. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/12 "2017-10-03T12:57:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > She’ll have quadruplets that are dead ringers for Sheldon, Howard, Raj, and Stuart. That would be hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/13 "2017-10-03T13:20:15Z")
Great to see Janine Davis again. I love her and the emergency room nurse. They have to be sisters! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/14 "2017-10-03T14:05:32Z")
I didn’t find this episode particularly funny. I wonder if the Physics Being Dead is Chuck Lorre’s subtle acknowledgement that the show may be running its course? Now that Janine is back, maybe she and Raj can finally hook up. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/15 "2017-10-03T14:24:31Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Now that Janine is back, maybe she and Raj can finally hook up. Did she get promoted from HR to dean? ---
**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:** [October 3, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/16 "2017-10-03T14:42:56Z")
Yes, that was a little weird. In the real world, people don’t usually move from a staff position like HR to an academic position like dean. It seems to be sloppy writing. They could instead have made her something like a VP of public relations or media relations or some such thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/17 "2017-10-03T14:50:28Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Did she get promoted from HR to dean? Leonard did seem to call her a dean in this episode, which is unlikely for an HR administrator. It’s possible she was promoted, but she appears to be in the same office. The actual explanation, I suspect, is that Mrs. Davis has taken the place of President Siebert (and Dr. Gablehouser before him) as University-Higher-Up-That-The-Guys-Occasionally-Interact-With. So now, whenever the gang has to butt heads with some hardassed University official, we’re likely to see Mrs. Davis in that role, no matter what her nominal job title might be. There are frequent indications that the writers of this show don’t really understand how universities work (see the whole tenure episode), and this is likely one of them. [QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Great to see Janine Davis again. I love her and the emergency room nurse. They have to be sisters! [/QUOTE] They are both named Davis! ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/18 "2017-10-03T15:03:37Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Leonard did seem to call her a dean in this episode, which is unlikely for an HR administrator. It’s possible she was promoted, but she appears to be in the same office. > > The actual explanation, I suspect, is that Mrs. Davis has taken the place of President Siebert (and Dr. Gablehouser before him) as University-Higher-Up-That-The-Guys-Occasionally-Interact-With. So now, whenever the gang has to butt heads with some hardassed University official, we’re likely to see Mrs. Davis in that role, no matter what her nominal job title might be. > > There are frequent indications that the writers of this show don’t really understand how universities work (see the whole tenure episode), and this is likely one of them. > > They are both named Davis! No, at times the writers just don’t seem to have a very good grasp of what working at a university is like. I do enjoy watching the guys interact with Mrs. Davis, though, so I don’t worry too much about it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/19 "2017-10-03T16:36:41Z")
Is Bernie supposed to be having twins? I missed some episodes, I think. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817/20 "2017-10-03T17:01:26Z")
No, she’s just very big. Melissa is pregnant in real life and is farther along. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-11-episode-2-october-2-2017-the-retraction-reaction/797817.md?page=2)