# The Big Bang Theory, Season 9, Episode 14 -- "The Meemaw Materialization" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174 "2016-02-04T20:53:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/101 "2016-02-06T21:24:41Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > _Meemaw_? I give up. Why the question mark and why italicize Meemaw? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/102 "2016-02-06T22:25:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > What about Loni Anderson for Penny’s Meemaw? She _is_ from Minnesota, i.e., a Midwestern type. This occurred to me as well. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/103 "2016-02-06T22:27:05Z")
Jennifer Aniston would be Penny’s older sister (if she has one). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/104 "2016-02-06T22:29:13Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > _Meemaw_? Hey, let’s face it: Loni ain’t no spring chicken anymore! ☹ ---
**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:** [February 7, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/105 "2016-02-07T02:56:27Z")
I just didn’t know when we jumped to discussing Penny’s grandmother, and that Penny also calls her grandmother “Meemaw.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/106 "2016-02-07T03:38:41Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I just didn’t know when we jumped to discussing Penny’s grandmother, and that Penny also calls her grandmother “Meemaw.” Didn’t mean to confuse. I just borrowed the word. Loni Anderson is 40 years older than Kaley Cuoco so I thought it would be obvious that I was extending the speculation past Penny’s mother to her grandmother. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/107 "2016-02-08T17:23:19Z")
I just rewatched the ep. On Demand, because of this thread, and it’s really clear that Penny and Leonard knew about the ring from the way they react. Leonard immediately wants to leave them alone, and Penny not only doesn’t, but looks like she wants to make popcorn. It’s obvious that they know about the ring, and they know Amy doesn’t know. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/108 "2016-02-08T18:16:29Z")
C’mon folks, June Squibb was great in _Nebraska_ just a couple years ago. She was nominated for a [huge number](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0820053/awards) of best supporting actor awards, including an Oscar, and won a few of them. This type of show just isn’t for her. The timing of the dialogue didn’t work. Not a bad actress, only a bad match-up. There’s something “off” about Cuoco lately. She doesn’t seem to enjoy doing the show. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/109 "2016-02-08T18:44:14Z")
I’ve had a bad cold, and thanks Meemaw for cluing me in on where I should carry a spare Kleenex or two. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/110 "2016-02-08T19:26:44Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Darlene Gilbert, Sara Gilbert. Darlene was her character’s name on _Rosanne_. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/111 "2016-02-08T20:33:24Z")
I was hoping they’d get that little old lady from Airplane to play Sheldon’s Meemaw, but then realized that actress is obviously not with us anymore. ☹ I also figured they’d get Betty White. Maybe she was too busy with Hot in Cleveland. I’d get Stiffler’s Mom to play Penny’s Mom. I’m going to be so upset if that rumour about Bernadette being pregnant is true. As a child-free person it was refreshing to see someone like me on TV. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/112 "2016-02-08T20:57:22Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I was hoping they’d get that little old lady from Airplane to play Sheldon’s Meemaw, but then realized that actress is obviously not with us anymore. ☹ You mean the one billed as “Jive Lady”? that was Barbara Billingsley, aka, June Cleaver. She did just six years ago, at the age of 95. If she were still with she’d be 101 this year. She was pretty sharp. After being June Cleaver in the 1950s, she did some pretty daring stuff in the 80s and 90s. I’ll bet she would have done Meemaw if she’d been around. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/113 "2016-02-08T21:30:54Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I also figured they’d get Betty White. Maybe she was too busy with Hot in Cleveland. You’re a little bit behind. _Hot In Cleveland_ went out of production last June. > [@](#): > > I’d get Stiffler’s Mom to play Penny’s Mom. Jennifer Coolidge, who has been mentioned a few times in this thread already. ---
**Author:** ![Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waltzes_with_Cacti)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/114 "2016-02-08T23:57:53Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > I really wanted MeeMaw to be played by Cloris Leachman. She would have been a great foil for Sheldon. She wasn’t written well either. There was no spark in her interactions with Sheldon. She struck me as one of those old ladies that extends all of her energy just getting home around and has nothing left for social interactions, not a good sitcom character. She could have been great, but, as written, she was better left unseen. Cloris Leachman would have made a fine and feisty Meemaw, except that she already played the grannie from hell on _Malcolm in the Middle_ so it wouldn’t have been highly original casting. Ms. Squibb was adequate. How about Cybill Shepard for Penny’s mom? Or Candice Bergen? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/115 "2016-02-09T00:03:15Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > You mean the one billed as “Jive Lady”? that was Barbara Billingsley, aka, June Cleaver. She did just six years ago, at the age of 95. If she were still with she’d be 101 this year. She was pretty sharp. After being June Cleaver in the 1950s, she did some pretty daring stuff in the 80s and 90s. I’ll bet she would have done Meemaw if she’d been around. Sheldon would be related to Wally and The Beav? The thought boggles the mind! :eek: ---
**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:** [February 9, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/116 "2016-02-09T01:25:54Z")
> [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](#): > > How about Cybill Shepard for Penny’s mom? Or Candice Bergen? Cybill Shepard. That would be good-- especially with Christine Baranski as Leonard’s mother. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/117 "2016-02-09T02:37:57Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Cybill Shepard. That would be good-- especially with Christine Baranski as Leonard’s mother. Why doesn’t anyone ever show reruns of _Cybill_? That show had lots of high points. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/118 "2016-02-09T02:38:27Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Cybill Shepard. That would be good-- especially with Christine Baranski as Leonard’s mother. Hah! What a great idea - though I hear when they were working together Baranski and Shepard weren’t exactly buds. CS can purportedly be rather _difficult_ to work with. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/119 "2016-02-09T02:44:14Z")
> [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](#): > > Cloris Leachman would have made a fine and feisty Meemaw, except that she already played the grannie from hell on _Malcolm in the Middle_ so it wouldn’t have been highly original casting. Ms. Squibb was adequate. > > How about Cybill Shepard for Penny’s mom? Or Candice Bergen? Cybill Shepard for the win. Toss in Florence Henderson as HER mom, and it would be the episode to end all episodes. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174/120 "2016-02-09T03:00:11Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > Cybill Shepard for the win. Toss in Florence Henderson as HER mom, and it would be the episode to end all episodes. I had the same thought. Any nominees for Penny’s sister, should we ever meet her? How about anyone else’s siblings, especially Sheldon’s brother who is “dumb as soup”? Oh, and if there’s ever a flashback, since Sheldon’s father was supposed to be fat, I nominate John Goodman. Is Paul Reiser (b. 1957, and gone gray since _Mad about You_) too young to play Leonard’s father? Johnny Galecki is about 6 or 7 years older than Leonard is supposed to be (Galecki is 41 this year, but Leonard is supposed to be in his early 30s, and I think Galecki pulls it off). If they dressed Paul Reiser in a hoodie and nerd glasses, I think he’d be great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-9-episode-14-the-meemaw-materialization/745174.md?page=7)