# The Big Bang Theory, Season 12, Episode 15 (February 7, 2019) -- "The Donation Oscillation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117 "2019-02-07T14:42:07Z")\ **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:** [February 7, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/1 "2019-02-07T14:42:07Z")
I am starting this thread in anticipation of tonight’s episode. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/2 "2019-02-08T01:16:10Z")
Prediction before the show finishes. It’s Zack’s wife that’s infertile and they’re both too dumb to see the problem and Penny ends up pregnant instead. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/3 "2019-02-08T01:33:48Z")
My ending was better. Best line of the night– “These are definitely your weirdest friends.” “If only that were true.” ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/4 "2019-02-08T06:17:40Z")
Is this the series finale or what? ---
**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 8, 2019, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/5 "2019-02-08T06:24:00Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Is this the series finale or what? IMDB has placeholders for 9 more episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/6 "2019-02-08T06:28:07Z")
Funny isn’t it? Actors are famously unemployed waiting tables trying to make it big. Some get very lucky and land a role of a lifetime. They make millions. Somehow even that becomes a burden. Further, the actors got luck through they own hard work, along with the writers and other creative types. But the show can be made by any number of writers who work for pennies. People on the Internet write credible scripts for fun. But the actors they are indispensable. They can demand the big bucks. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2019, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/7 "2019-02-08T06:57:19Z")
Blimey! Penny looked… impressive. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/8 "2019-02-08T12:06:52Z")
I didn’t care for Penny in this episode. She had established that she and Leonard get to make unilateral decisions in their marriage. When SHE decided they weren’t having children she realized she didn’t have a leg to stand on when Leonard decided to be a sperm donor. Her efforts to sabotage him were underhanded. It was nice to see Wyatt though. I liked the Howard/Bernie storyline better. For quite some time Bernie has had the upper hand, poking fun at his deficiencies (in a light-hearted way, she still thinks he’s hot) and it was nice to see that Howard knows her just as well and that she wouldn’t enjoy a zero-grav excursion. Not a lot of Sheldon and Amy in this episode. The scene with the cereal was way long in an odd sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/9 "2019-02-08T14:12:05Z")
A writer on _The Big Bang Theory_ probably makes more than $350,000 per year, assuming that they write at least part of each episode: > **[How much do writers for top TV shows like The Big Bang Theory, Suits, and...](https://www.quora.com/How-much-do-writers-for-top-TV-shows-like-The-Big-Bang-Theory-Suits-and-Game-of-Thrones-make)** > > Answer: The short answer (excluding the crazy high-end outliers of people like Sorkin or Abrams, only counting your "typical tv writer") is at the very low-end about $75,000.00 and the high-end about a $1M per season. With the vast majority of them... ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/10 "2019-02-08T14:44:29Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Blimey! Penny looked… impressive. Oh, she certainly did! ---
**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 8, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/11 "2019-02-08T14:57:30Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Funny isn’t it? Actors are famously unemployed waiting tables trying to make it big. Some get very lucky and land a role of a lifetime. They make millions. Somehow even that becomes a burden. Further, the actors got luck through they own hard work, along with the writers and other creative types. But the show can be made by any number of writers who work for pennies. People on the Internet write credible scripts for fun. But the actors they are indispensable. They can demand the big bucks. I realize this is a tangent from a discussion of this episode, but I don’t think it’s true that the writers are disposable. Just from watching crappy sitcoms versus respected ones like this or Frasier or Seinfeld or Modern Family, it takes skill to write an episode well. And you have to write the characters in a consistent manner. And you say “people on the internet write credible scripts for fun” but, sure, perhaps you’re some guy out there who came up with a plausible idea for an episode of a sitcom. But can you write that into a tight 22 minutes of dialog and action, with the three acts and multiple plots going on simultaneously? And can you do so twenty or more times a year? Good TV writers are rare and deserve to be paid appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/12 "2019-02-08T15:09:32Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I liked the Howard/Bernie storyline better. For quite some time Bernie has had the upper hand, poking fun at his deficiencies (in a light-hearted way, she still thinks he’s hot) and it was nice to see that Howard knows her just as well and that she wouldn’t enjoy a zero-grav excursion. I hated Bernadette in this episode. She ruined Howard’s excursion for a very petty reason. That was a pretty shitty thing to do to your spouse, and they both ended up having a bad time. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/13 "2019-02-08T15:13:50Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I didn’t care for Penny in this episode. She had established that she and Leonard get to make unilateral decisions in their marriage. When SHE decided they weren’t having children she realized she didn’t have a leg to stand on when Leonard decided to be a sperm donor. Her efforts to sabotage him were underhanded. It was nice to see Wyatt though. > > I liked the Howard/Bernie storyline better. For quite some time Bernie has had the upper hand, poking fun at his deficiencies (in a light-hearted way, she still thinks he’s hot) and it was nice to see that Howard knows her just as well and that she wouldn’t enjoy a zero-grav excursion. I know, although the entire show seems to have been punctuated throughout with various members of the cast dealing with each other in underhanded ways that IMO, would tend to end friendships in real life. I’ve also thought that they either needed to tone Bernadette down a bit w.r.t. the way she treats everyone (she went from very sweet to very much not). I do like the way they tend to show Howard as being considerably more aware of Bernadette than the other way around; the bit with the kid house and this episode are examples where Howard knew what was up well before Bernie did. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/14 "2019-02-08T22:08:25Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > I hated Bernadette in this episode. She ruined Howard’s excursion for a very petty reason. That was a pretty shitty thing to do to your spouse, and they both ended up having a bad time. Yeah, it seems that they have established that her character is capable of petty bitchery, for sure! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/15 "2019-02-09T01:04:44Z")
FYI, a zero gravity excursion is $5400, from the one I found in my area. So Howard dropped about $20k (I don’t know how much the discount was.) ---
**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:** [February 9, 2019, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/16 "2019-02-09T03:48:57Z")
All the companies that do this, and there are only a couple, hate the name “Vomit Comet”. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/17 "2019-02-09T08:03:16Z")
I was really hoping we’d seen the last of Anu. Well, she’s back, and looking really disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/18 "2019-02-10T11:25:57Z")
Did I miss something? What happened to the whole sub plot with the two twerps trying to take Amy’s Nobel prize? I saw the episode where Sheldon refused to join their scheme, but there’s been no follow up since - has there? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/19 "2019-02-11T14:20:19Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Did I miss something? What happened to the whole sub plot with the two twerps trying to take Amy’s Nobel prize? I saw the episode where Sheldon refused to join their scheme, but there’s been no follow up since - has there? No. Sheldon told President Siebert he wanted CalTech to send in their own nomination letter that included Amy, and it was left there, and Siebert told Sheldon that he and Dr. Fowler have his full support. But that was only 2 episodes ago - there was a brief mention at the beginning of the Jan 31 episode - Sheldon said he’s dealing with a Nobel prize crisis, Raj told him that since nothing has changed and there’s nothing he can do about it, he should shut up or go wait in the car. It actually makes sense to let the Nobel plot sit for a while - CalTech sent in their nomination, Fermilab will send in their own nomination, it will be a while before the Nobel committee responds. So they might just leave it at “Sheldon stayed loyal to his bride”, it might come up again in a later episode. ---
**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 11, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117/20 "2019-02-11T14:48:20Z")
It’s not clear what time of year it is on the show, but in the real world, right about now is when nominations are due for the Nobel Prizes for this year, although the awards aren’t until the autumn. I don’t know if they’ll mention who gets the Nobel Prize before the show ends, but I doubt that it will be mentioned. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-episode-15-february-7-2019-the-donation-oscillation/829117.md?page=2)