# The Big Bang Theory, Season 8, Episode 10 (November 20, 2014) -- "The Champagne Reflection" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179 "2014-11-20T17:28:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/21 "2014-11-21T16:48:38Z")
That champagne is garbage. They found it in a university office, and after they had been digging around for hours. It had the very definition of “improper storage.” Also, unless Sheldon is a magician, he didn’t have the time to unwrap the cork, remove the cage and pop the cork in the time Leonard’s back was turned. I also doubt Sheldon has the thumb strength to push out the cork that way. Stupid writing all around. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/22 "2014-11-21T16:48:46Z")
The Fun with Flags stuff was funny, the rest so so. They are making Bernie more and more shrewish. BTW way back when Fun with Flags first appeared on the show they took the time to create a YouTube account for “Sheldon Cooper” and uploaded episode 1. Never noticed until I searched after watching this episode. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/23 "2014-11-21T17:21:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That champagne is garbage. They found it in a university office, and after they had been digging around for hours. It had the very definition of “improper storage.” Also, unless Sheldon is a magician, he didn’t have the time to unwrap the cork, remove the cage and pop the cork in the time Leonard’s back was turned. I also doubt Sheldon has the thumb strength to push out the cork that way. Stupid writing all around. Not to mention it didn’t foam up at all. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/24 "2014-11-21T22:19:01Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > They are making Bernie more and more shrewish. I hope they take this as an opportunity to dial back this aspect of her character. It was funny when sweet little Bernadette occasionally let flashes of anger show through. It’s not funny when she’s nasty all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/25 "2014-11-21T23:32:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That champagne is garbage. They found it in a university office, and after they had been digging around for hours. It had the very definition of “improper storage.” Also, unless Sheldon is a magician, he didn’t have the time to unwrap the cork, remove the cage and pop the cork in the time Leonard’s back was turned. I also doubt Sheldon has the thumb strength to push out the cork that way. Stupid writing all around. Those are the remarks of a serious drinker. I salute you, sir! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/26 "2014-11-22T15:04:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. It did seem weird for Howard to reference his father. I didn’t think the professor would turn out to be his father but I thought they would go somewhere with it. I agree with the consensus that the fun with flags was the only worthwhile part which is a shame because the other two story lines were good premises for comedy or even character development but were blah. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/27 "2014-11-22T15:15:59Z")
After all that angst over the deceased professor and his lack of a legacy, perhaps one of the guys will consider having a child? For some people, leaving a legacy means leaving children, grandchildren, etc. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/28 "2014-11-22T17:47:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. How do you mean? His father’s identity is known to everyone, he just isn’t around. There’s no way he could be a professor at the same school for years with no one realizing it. Since Debbie is still Mrs. Wolowitz it’s a safe bet the guy has the same last name. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/29 "2014-11-22T21:39:50Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I thought she was quoting her father rather than stating a personal opinion. Maybe I heard it wrong. “ **Like my dad said** ‘Nobody likes a crybaby except for their mommies and Democrats.’” Which is exactly the kind of thing I could see her Dad saying. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/30 "2014-11-22T22:35:41Z")
I remember a certain type of episode that _Seinfeld_ did really well a few seasons in when they hit their stride. Each of the Gang of Four had their own little problem/activity that seemed unrelated, but by the end of the show all of them got tied in a really funny way. This wasn’t that type of episode. Except for the champagne bottle, there was no crossover. This was 3 not very good story fragments thrown together. Really, really bad episode. How on Earth do 3 faculty members get stuck cleaning out someone else’s office? None of them seem to be inheriting it. Just absurd. Wiping out LeVar Burton’s contact info on Sheldon’s phone would have no effect. Eidetic memory and all that. Burton might not known this, but Sheldon and/or Amy would be unable to resist blabbing at some point. (And no callback to LeVar getting lunch? Tsk.) And where did the Amy and Sheldon get a giant green screen to do the beach scene? This is a low budget, shot in a living room with a white board, web video. Sheldon rarely drinks and has to be fooled, depressed or persuaded to do so. Him spontaneously opening a champagne bottle (let alone being able to do it) goes against the nature of his character. On and on, it was just a craptastic episode. The vanity [card](http://www.chucklorre.com/index-bbt.php?p=472) was in typical format. Lot’s of reflection on life/death. Perhaps inspired by Carol Ann Susi’s death. The part “… being publicly ridiculed by a former friend” is notable. 3 guesses who this is and the last 2 don’t count. (The one honoring Carol isn’t on the _TBBT_ list. I guess it doesn’t count as a standard vanity card.) The one for last week’s _Mom_ is meta: he really isn’t [writing](http://www.chucklorre.com/index.php?p=471) vanity cards. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/31 "2014-11-22T23:21:36Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > How do you mean? His father’s identity is known to everyone, he just isn’t around. There’s no way he could be a professor at the same school for years with no one realizing it. Since Debbie is still Mrs. Wolowitz it’s a safe bet the guy has the same last name. Last season, it was suggested that Mr Wolowitz might have assumed a new identity in _[The Closet Refiguration](http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/Howard%27s_Father)_. > [@](#): > > Penny told Howard that his dad had a secret life that eventually caught up to him and the only way to keep his family safe was to leave. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/32 "2014-11-22T23:26:23Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Last season, it was suggested that Mr Wolowitz might have assumed a new identity in _[The Closet Refiguration](http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/Howard%27s_Father)_. Which would be a terrible secret if it included being a professor in the same school his son worked in. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/33 "2014-11-22T23:44:51Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > And where did the Amy and Sheldon get a giant green screen to do the beach scene? This is a low budget, shot in a living room with a white board, web video. That kind of thing is easily done with CGI these days. Amy has tried to amuse Sheldon by making it seem she was swimming underwater during one of their web chats, for example. Not a stretch that she could kluge up a beach background. I’m liking Penny’s hair more and more with each episode. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/34 "2014-11-23T00:00:51Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > And where did the Amy and Sheldon get a giant green screen to do the beach scene? This is a low budget, shot in a living room with a white board, web video. Greenscreens are easy to get. A friend of mine has two, one small and portable, the other big and unwieldy. All it needs to be is a dropsheet, it doesn’t have to be evenly lit or even be green or blue, it could be purple or orange, just so long as it doesn’t match their clothes or skin-tone. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/35 "2014-11-23T00:02:17Z")
I just looked on Amazon; you can get green screen fabric starting at twenty bucks or so. So it hardly requires much of an investment. And if you’re really cheap, perhaps you can use a bed sheet that you already own. And both Windows Movie Maker and iMovie can do Chromakey. (Note that I haven’t actually tried it, but two minutes of web searching indicates that it’s quite feasible for anyone.) ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/36 "2014-11-23T00:05:37Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Which would be a terrible secret if it included being a professor in the same school his son worked in. The dead professor started working at the University well before Howard started working there. Upon getting a new identity he could have had plastic surgery, died hair, grown a beard, etc. so Howard (after 10-15 yrs) would not have recognized him. I agree that this episode wasn’t very good, but it could have been planting a seed for episode to resolve Howard’s Daddy issues. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/37 "2014-11-23T01:52:09Z")
Completely forgettable and barely funny. What happened to the TBBT that used to make me literally laugh out loud? I keep watching and hoping, but every week, I just care less and less. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/38 "2014-11-24T14:34:18Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > “ **Like my dad said** ‘Nobody likes a crybaby except for their mommies and Democrats.’” > > Which is exactly the kind of thing I could see her Dad saying. Yeah, that was a great line! ---
**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:** [November 24, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/39 "2014-11-24T16:33:53Z")
Greenscreen used to be bluescreen. There’s a knob on the video switcher you can turn to change the background color to be rendered transparent in chromakey. I think the change from blue to green had a LOT to do with the growing popularity of blue shirts being worn by tv weathermen. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179/40 "2014-11-24T19:59:28Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Greenscreen used to be bluescreen. There’s a knob on the video switcher you can turn to change the background color to be rendered transparent in chromakey. I think the change from blue to green had a LOT to do with the growing popularity of blue shirts being worn by tv weathermen. From what I’ve read, green became more popular because cameras have the highest sensitivity to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-10-november-20-2014-the-champagne-reflection/705179.md?page=3)