The Big Bang Theory, Season 8, Episode 10 (November 20, 2014) -- "The Champagne Reflection"

I’m starting this thread in anticipation of tonight’s episode.

Looks like the president is taking over the time slot tonight.

funniest episode ever.

TBBT preempted Obama here in Missouri.

Does champagne age like wine? Would a 50 year old bottle still be good?

Is there a prize for being the first one to start a thread? Seven and a half hours before? Really?

Pretty sure Bernadette just earned herself a shower of Haterade here for her shot at Democrats. Kinda surprised they went there, but it is consistent with her character and background.

I wasn’t aware they had a guest appearance lined up for this episode. Seems like they would have publicized it–maybe they did and I missed it.

Don’t think Sheldon would have popped the cork on the champagne without asking like that. Seems a little close to the whole “new in box/package” thing for nerd toys to me.

Overall, another mediocre episode. Watchable, but nothing special. Still hate Penny’s hair.

Yeah, if I was Leonard I’d have really read him the riot act for that. And I saw it coming as soon as Leonard set the bottle down next to Sheldon.

I don’t know, I thought the best of Fun With Flags highlights were hysterical.

I liked the episode. I’m getting a little tired, though, of Bernadette, with her high-pitched voice, large breasts, small stature and good looks, being presented as some sort of bitch on wheels to over-compensate. It seems trite and, frankly, lazy writing.

Two Office Space actors in this episode. Paul Willson and Stephen Root.

I thought she was quoting her father rather than stating a personal opinion. Maybe I heard it wrong.

I found the popped champagne bottle to be mostly contrived and yet another way of making Sheldon nasty rather than just clueless. I haven’t like the way he or Bernadette have evolved. Maybe I’m just tired of the show…

I enjoyed the show. There were 3 separate plots, which seems to be a challenge when you’ve got an ensemble show with 7 actors and only 21 minutes to tell 3 stories.

I can’t think of any role that Steven Root has played that I haven’t enjoyed.

I’m glad Sheldon isn’t stopping “Fun With Flags”. I think they should release all 263 episodes on a DVD set. I’m sure that’d be a best seller, or whatever it is that you call a very popular DVD set.

I wonder if the “Don’t be so frightening, Bernadette” thing will be just a one episode throwaway or if they’ll continue it throughout the season. I think she needed something to counter Howard’s Mother, but that’s not an issue anymore, sadly enough. I guess all TBBT fans are wondering how the writers will deal with that.

Yeah, I’m not all that fond of Penny’s new hair style, but I didn’t care for it all that much before she got it cut either. I think she does look more businesslike with it short, though, and it’s appropriate for her new job in pharmaceutical sales. I think her hair looked best in season 1.

It depends on how it was stored over the 50 years. I saw an episode of one of those pawn shop shows where someone brought in a bottle of 1921 Dom Pérignon to sell and they called in an expert. It turned out the bottle had spent many years stored upright and not in a cool temperature. So, the cork had over that time gotten dry, shrunk, and the airtight integrity was gone, so it was flat, much had evaporated, and there was a LOT of sediment. The final verdict was the unopened bottle with the label had some value, but the contents were undrinkable; you’d do better off drinking a bottle of Heinz red vinegar.

I think this was the product of a script-o-matic. Three stories, only one of which was funny. Cleaning out the office was about as unfunny as it gets. So Roger Abbott was the punchline? Really? The Bernadette arc was lame. We’re getting character regression with Bernie, she’s becoming cartoonish. Fun with flags is always a hoot, love Sheldon as Betsy Ross and the two in the early 1900s swimsuits.

I was kinda hopin’ for one.

The “fun with flags” story was by far the most entertaining one for me, as well!
Wasn’t crazy about the office cleanup, either.

When Howard found the novelty pen and mentioned that his father had one like it, I thought they were going to find that the deceased professor was Howard’s father.

I like Penny’s hair. It goes with her new maturity, which I also like. I like that they are addressing Bernadette’s meanness head on. And I was saddened by the guys story line and was glad-- glad, I tell you!-- that Sheldon popped that cork and to hell with the sad, sad lives of old scientists.

This episode hit home for me. I recently got moved into a new office. The previous occupant was an old professor who died about 13 years ago, and nobody had bothered to move his stuff out. So every day on my way out, I take an armload of his shit out to the dumpster. But not before looking it over and wondering about his life.

Oh, and I like Penny’s new hairdo!

This thought crossed my mind, too.