# The Big Bang Theory, Season 8, Episode 9 (November 13, 2014) -- "The Septum Deviation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538 "2014-11-13T16:47:51Z")\ **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:** [November 13, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/1 "2014-11-13T16:47:51Z")
I am starting this thread in anticipation of tonight’s episode. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/2 "2014-11-14T04:56:18Z")
Nice to see a tribute to Debbie in the Vanity Card (and it stayed on the screen for more than a fraction of a second) But I think it said “Mrs Wolowitz”. It should have been “Debbie Wolowitz” IMO. I set the over/under on the number of comments before someone mentioned Penny’s Hair at one reply. Looks like I was right. 😃 ---
**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 14, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/3 "2014-11-14T08:57:50Z")
Frankly, I was so annoyed at Sheldon’s behavior I was glad at what happened to him. Before I saw tonight’s episode, I was watching “The Benefactor Factor” episode. And before that, I watched a couple episodes of The West Wing. I was surprised to see President Siebert was played by the same actor who played Will Bailey, Joshua Malina. Is anyone else surprised at the all the very successful actors who are willing to appear on TBBT for a guest shot? Come to think of it, on The West Wing also. Who’d ever think of Dan Connor as POTUS, huh? ---
**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 14, 2014, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/4 "2014-11-14T11:34:55Z")
Well, I thought Sheldon was annoying but sweet - in a I-would-kill-him-if-he-were-my-friend kind of way. The Howard/Bernadette sarcasathon was sad and not funny. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/5 "2014-11-14T14:19:57Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Well, I thought Sheldon was annoying but sweet - in a I-would-kill-him-if-he-were-my-friend kind of way. The Howard/Bernadette sarcasathon was sad and not funny. Yeah, he does care for Leonard in a very annoying, Sheldon-esque manner. I didn’t care for Howard’s and Bernie’s interaction, either. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/6 "2014-11-14T15:00:17Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Before I saw tonight’s episode, I was watching “The Benefactor Factor” episode. And before that, I watched a couple episodes of The West Wing. I was surprised to see President Siebert was played by the same actor who played Will Bailey, Joshua Malina. Is anyone else surprised at the all the very successful actors who are willing to appear on TBBT for a guest shot? Come to think of it, on The West Wing also. Who’d ever think of Dan Connor as POTUS, huh? No, I’m not surprised at all. TBBT is consistently one of the most viewed shows on TV. So they get exposure, and get paid. Why wouldn’t a successful actor make a guest appearance? ---
**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 14, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/7 "2014-11-14T15:10:04Z")
And The West Wing was both successful and critically acclaimed (26 Emmy Awards, including four consecutive awards for Outstanding Drama Series). What actor would turn that down? For that matter actors are actors. They like to act. Few of them would claim that television is beneath them. ---
**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 14, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/8 "2014-11-14T15:24:18Z")
Actors who are “artists” are a pain. The vast majority are working stiffs like the rest of us who go where the jobs and money are. Why wouldn’t an actor jump at a guest role on the most popular show on TV? Loved Raj’s description of his parents’ breakup. On the one hand, maybe Howard and Bernadette’s problems will put the kibosh on any children showing up. On the other hand, the writers would love to whipsaw the viewers: I envision an episode where Bernadette is all set to separate from Howard when she discovers she’s pregnant. On the gripping hand, it is a comedy, and the writers would still be playing it for laughs rather than pathos, so I don’t think we’ll get any “Special Episodes” in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/9 "2014-11-14T15:30:36Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Before I saw tonight’s episode, I was watching “The Benefactor Factor” episode. And before that, I watched a couple episodes of The West Wing. I was surprised to see President Siebert was played by the same actor who played Will Bailey, Joshua Malina. Joshua Malina was successful before being on _The West Wing_ as he was on _Sports Night_, which was a critically-acclaimed show, before that. _Sports Night_ was another Aaron Sorkin show. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/10 "2014-11-14T15:40:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Actors who are “artists” are a pain. The vast majority are working stiffs like the rest of us who go where the jobs and money are. Why wouldn’t an actor jump at a guest role on the most popular show on TV? > > Loved Raj’s description of his parents’ breakup. > > On the one hand, maybe Howard and Bernadette’s problems will put the kibosh on any children showing up. > > On the other hand, the writers would love to whipsaw the viewers: I envision an episode where Bernadette is all set to separate from Howard when she discovers she’s pregnant. > > On the gripping hand, it is a comedy, and the writers would still be playing it for laughs rather than pathos, so I don’t think we’ll get any “Special Episodes” in the future. “Gripping Hand,” huh? You’re clearly in the target audience for this show. Although I haven’t seen a Niven/Pournelle reference yet. Their SF references seem to be more media-based rather than literary. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/11 "2014-11-14T15:40:27Z")
Joshua Malina pops up all over the place. I remember him on \*House \*(as Wilson’s annoying friend) and on the first season of _American Horror Story_ (as a dentist who worked in the murder house). And of course he was a regular on _In Plane Sight_. Staying on topic, I \*knew \*that the couples therapy they referred to was going to have been with Raj. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/12 "2014-11-14T16:31:14Z")
I thought Sheldon wasn’t very credible in his concern over a minor elective surgery. One chance in 700,000 doesn’t seem enough to frighten a mind as rational as his. Howie and Bernadette seem to be together just for the sex. Maybe they should move on. Yes, the Raj-Howie couples therapy gag was pretty obvious. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/13 "2014-11-14T17:18:56Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I thought Sheldon wasn’t very credible in his concern over a minor elective surgery. One chance in 700,000 doesn’t seem enough to frighten a mind as rational as his. Sheldon isn’t all that rational. He’s scared to drive, he learned to swim on the Internet (and to the best of my knowledge, has never been in the water), his germophobia has been a plot point in more than one episode, and he faints at the sight of his own blood. Besides, Leonard is taking an unnecessary risk, which could lead to great inconvenience for Sheldon. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/14 "2014-11-14T17:47:39Z")
I was just thinking, since Laurie Metcalf is now on a different sitcom on the same network (and the same night), I wonder if we’ve seen the last of Mary Cooper. ---
**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 14, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/15 "2014-11-14T18:21:43Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Staying on topic, I \*knew \*that the couples therapy they referred to was going to have been with Raj. I thought it was with his mother. :smack: As for the Howie/Bernie couples therapy thing, they should have limited it to 2 or 3 “compliments” each. Going open-ended like that is just asking for trouble. I’m surprised Raj didn’t skype his sister to talk out his parents’ situation. Though he’d still need to seek commiseration from his friends. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/16 "2014-11-14T18:59:45Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I’m surprised Raj didn’t skype his sister to talk out his parents’ situation. Though he’d still need to seek commiseration from his friends. Was probably a cost-cutting measure… his parents don’t show up either, and you think that’d be natural for an episode about their separation. Instead, it’s just Raj talking about them second-hand. I wish Howard and Bernadette would just get a divorce already. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/17 "2014-11-14T19:32:55Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Joshua Malina was successful before being on _The West Wing_ as he was on _Sports Night_, which was a critically-acclaimed show, before that. _Sports Night_ was another Aaron Sorkin show. Malina and Sorkin apparently go way back. I knew Malina was (very briefly) in _A Few Good Men_, which was written by Sorkin (IMDb shows it as Malina’s first acting credit). According to Wikipedia, he was in the play even before the movie, and moved from a smaller to a larger role over the course of the show’s run. I don’t know how unusual it is for writers to have input during the casting process of a movie, but Sorkin must have some. Sorkin wrote _The American President_ and Malina’s in that. (_A Few Good Men_ and _The American President_ were both directed by Rob Reiner, so there was a bit of a collaboration there, too.) ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/18 "2014-11-14T22:57:21Z")
From a nice article in [EW- ‘Sports Night’: an Oral History](http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/06/sports-night-oral-history/): > [@](#): > > SORKIN: Josh Malina came in for Dan Rydell, but Josh Charles got the part, and I really wanted Josh in the show. I’d worked with him before [on A Few Good Men], and I knew what he could do. and > [@](#): > > MALINA: It felt like it went great. This great writer had created the part for me. They told me to wait in the hall, and then Aaron came bounding out and picked me up, held me aloft, and I remember saying to him, “If this is your way of telling me I didn’t get the role, I’m going to be very upset.” As for being on TBBT, it was a network show on during prime time. No one is saying no to that. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/19 "2014-11-14T23:19:54Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > Was probably a cost-cutting measure… his parents don’t show up either, and you think that’d be natural for an episode about their separation. Instead, it’s just Raj talking about them second-hand. Good point. I wonder if we can expect more of the same now that Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco are pulling down their rumored one mil per episode. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538/20 "2014-11-14T23:27:28Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Sheldon isn’t all that rational. He’s scared to drive, he learned to swim on the Internet (and to the best of my knowledge, has never been in the water), his germophobia has been a plot point in more than one episode, and he faints at the sight of his own blood. Yeah, his paranoia over Leonard’s surgery wasn’t the weird part of the episode, it was his sticky hands after eating the french toast sticks. You’d think he’d have wet-wipes to clean his hand off after every bite… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-9-november-13-2014-the-septum-deviation/704538.md?page=2)