# The Big Bang Theory, Season Eleven, Episode Eight (November 16, 2017) -- "The Tesla Recoil" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787 "2017-11-16T17:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **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 16, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/1 "2017-11-16T17:34:23Z")
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:** [November 17, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/2 "2017-11-17T01:34:37Z")
OMG! People calling me during TBBT. I missed everything from When Sheldon erased Kripke’s white board until Penny said Leonard, Sheldon and Howard were more like Telsa. Why did Penny say that? How’d the three end up on a couch together after Sheldon ran away? What happened with Raj’s girlfriend and Bernie? He’s alone again, isn’t he? Shoulda let it go to voicemail. He should know better. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/3 "2017-11-17T02:16:10Z")
You didn’t DVR it? It was pretty good. It should be On Demand tomorrow. Watch it again. And for the whole thread, I liked it, although, another one bites the dust for Raj again. I thought he was less annoying when he was part of a couple, but now he’s alone again. It looks like now that “not talking to women” isn’t his shtik, they’re making “whining about being alone” his shtik. That’s one annoying shtik. It would be less annoying if he carried around an actual stick. Is Melissa Rauch wearing a wig? her hair looks weird. I know my hair got kinds funky when I was pregnant. Maybe hers did too. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/4 "2017-11-17T05:45:04Z")
They are really making Bernadette into a more and more awful person. She’s the only one on that show that I would not want to ever associate with, and I include Sheldon, Stuart, Leonard’s mother, Leonard’s belly (that is a character now, right?), and dead Mrs Wolowitz in that assessment. I got a couple of laughs from the episode, both of them, as usual, from Amy. She just kills in that role, and she seems to get better writing. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/5 "2017-11-17T11:45:14Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Is Melissa Rauch wearing a wig? her hair looks weird. I know my hair got kinds funky when I was pregnant. Maybe hers did too. I hadn’t considered a wig - they did point it out, so I thought perhaps pregnancy had made grow better (is that a thing?). I guess the other choice is it made it funky, she is wearing a wig/extensions, and they pointed it out in show before the fans made a deal about it. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2017, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/6 "2017-11-17T11:52:39Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I hadn’t considered a wig - they did point it out, so I thought perhaps pregnancy had made grow better (is that a thing?). I guess the other choice is it made it funky, she is wearing a wig/extensions, and they pointed it out in show before the fans made a deal about it. Pregnancy can do odd things to your hair. Mine got straighter, although it’s as curly as ever now. Maybe she has a partial wig or something. It just doesn’t look natural. I mean, I don’t think that was ever her natural color, but I think every strand was hers before. Now, I’m not so sure. FWIW, pregnancy can do awful things to your personality. If you met me for the first time when I was pregnant, you’d probably have thought I was bipolar. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/7 "2017-11-17T13:42:55Z")
For me, this was the least funny episode of the season so far. Comedy is subjective, so maybe others found it hilarious and even if not, every show has good and bad episodes. So I’ll just chalk it up as a miss. ---
**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 17, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/8 "2017-11-17T13:50:28Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > OMG! People calling me during TBBT. I missed everything from When Sheldon erased Kripke’s white board until Penny said Leonard, Sheldon and Howard were more like Telsa. Why did Penny say that? How’d the three end up on a couch together after Sheldon ran away? What happened with Raj’s girlfriend and Bernie? He’s alone again, isn’t he? > > Shoulda let it go to voicemail. He should know better. A plot: Howard & Leonard were in the cafeteria, discussing the presentation they were going to make to the Air Force, gleefully predicting that it would lead to the AF cancelling Sheldon’s project. Sheldon came in and told them congratulations, his project had just been cancelled. They were confused, since they hadn’t even pitched it. They walked over to confront Kripke and asked if he screwed them over, and he replied “Oooh, I can’t tell you that, it’s classified.” So when they were in the apartment commiserating, Penny pointed out that they were all Tesla, since they had all been cheated out of their discovery. Leading to the best joke of the episode “If we’re going to call Tesla insane for loving something small and unappealing we may as well put Penny in a padded cell right now.” B plot: Raj and Ruchi were in bed again, discussing the whole Ruchi/Bernadette thing. Raj said something like “The truth is, we’re in a relationship, and you’re going to have to figure out someway to deal with it.” Immediate cut to Raj & Bernie eating ice cream together, and Raj saying “I can’t believe she dumped me!” ---
**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 17, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/9 "2017-11-17T13:55:49Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > If you met me for the first time when I was pregnant, you’d probably have thought I was bipolar. Or that you were an Edison. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/10 "2017-11-17T14:33:33Z")
Bernadette has been established as a bully at work (Penny got hired by Bernie’s boss when they started comparing Mean Bernie stories), so it’s not surprising none of her colleagues have her back while she’s out. I’m getting tired of the Raj in a relationship for two seconds gig. It’s getting old. I found the whole episode rather sad. Everyone was out to screw everyone else. It makes you wonder why these people are friends at all. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/11 "2017-11-17T14:40:26Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Bernadette has been established as a bully at work (Penny got hired by Bernie’s boss when they started comparing Mean Bernie stories), so it’s not surprising none of her colleagues have her back while she’s out. > > I’m getting tired of the Raj in a relationship for two seconds gig. It’s getting old. > > I found the whole episode rather sad. Everyone was out to screw everyone else. It makes you wonder why these people are friends at all. Yeah, while I had a few laughs and yucks, I wasn’t really crazy about the overall mean-spirited tome of this episode. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/12 "2017-11-17T15:12:00Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > Or that you were an Edison. No. I was nuts. If I’d been really young, I might have been diagnosed as having my first psychotic break. Fortunately I was 38, and had a lot of years of not being crazy behind me, so they figured out I was just having pre-partum psychosis. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/13 "2017-11-17T16:14:36Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > They walked over to confront Kripke and asked if he screwed them over, and he replied “Oooh, I can’t tell you that, it’s classified.” Nitpick: Kripke actually said, “Oooh, I can’t tew you that, it’s cwassified.” ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/14 "2017-11-17T16:32:48Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > A plot: > > & > > B plot: Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/15 "2017-11-17T17:02:48Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Yeah, while I had a few laughs and yucks, I wasn’t really crazy about the overall mean-spirited tome of this episode. I’m with you on this. And Amy seems to be getting all the best lines/reaction shots. She cracks me up! ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/16 "2017-11-17T17:36:08Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’m with you on this. > > And Amy seems to be getting all the best lines/reaction shots. She cracks me up! Oh yeah, she is excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/17 "2017-11-17T21:50:32Z")
With next season being (probably) the last, I thought maybe they were setting up Ruchi to be the girl Raj ends up with. And who knows, she still might be. He has more chemistry with her than with Lucy, Claire, and Emily combined. And her rivalry with Bernadette could be good comedic fodder. I didn’t mind this episode, though I did find it weird that they kept talking about “The Military,” as in, “I can’t believe Sheldon’s working with The Military behind our backs” and “We should call The Military and pitch our own idea.” Not “Colonel So-and-so” or even “The Air Force.” (or Army or whatever.) It just hit my ear wrong; felt like clunky writing. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/18 "2017-11-17T22:02:20Z")
I was also disappointed that Ruchi didn’t stick around longer. I guess Stuart was right; Raj did find a way to screw it up! I agree that they seemed to have pretty good chemistry. I’m actually hoping this wasn’t the last we see of her, though it probably was. ☹ It was kind of surprising how easy it is to get “The Military” to talk about this top secret project, even allowing that Leonard and Raj had once worked on it. I’m particularly trying to imagine Kripke’s call to the Colonel: “Hi, you know your top secret, highly classified project that I absolutely should not know anything about? I have a few suggestions for you.” ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-eight-november-16-2017-the-tesla-recoil/801787/19 "2017-11-17T22:07:57Z")
If we’re going to pick nits about “The Military” - having worked for contractors for several years, I know that nothing in the contracting world happens that fast. Plus secure facilities don’t Skype - we weren’t even allowed to take our phones into the building when I worked for the Navy in a highly classified position. But it’s TV, so what’cha gonna do??