# The Big Bang Theory, Season Eleven, Episode Seventeen (March 8, 2018) -- "The Athenaeum Allocation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286 "2018-03-09T16:02:43Z")\ **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:** [March 9, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/1 "2018-03-09T16:02:43Z")
So, what did you guys think of last night’s episode? ---
**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:** [March 9, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/2 "2018-03-09T16:32:14Z")
It was all right. Shamy will never break up (I assume), but Amy is showing increasing signs of getting tired of Sheldon’s quirks. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/3 "2018-03-09T18:48:38Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > It was all right. Shamy will never break up (I assume), but Amy is showing increasing signs of getting tired of Sheldon’s quirks. Yeah, I noticed that, as well. Not the funniest episode, but it did provide a few laughs. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/4 "2018-03-09T18:49:03Z")
It was kind of a nothingburger episode, wasn’t it? I know Bernadette is conflicted about going to work, but with her education and level in the company I would think she and Howard could each work part time and still bring in enough money to support the family. As anal as Sheldon is, I’m surprised to see him procrastinate about picking a venue. Fun fact: My son is getting married the same day “Shamy” is! (May 12 is a Saturday this year.) ---
**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:** [March 9, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/5 "2018-03-09T19:19:52Z")
I was disappointed in Sheldon being so excited about the date. “The month squared is equal to the square of the sum of the members of the set of the prime factors of the day!” The square is completely unnecessary, and what’s so exciting about 6=2\*3, 2+3=5 ? “So get in the boat and row!” was funny though. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/6 "2018-03-09T20:20:11Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > It was kind of a nothingburger episode, wasn’t it? > > I know Bernadette is conflicted about going to work, but with her education and level in the company I would think she and Howard could each work part time and still bring in enough money to support the family. > > As anal as Sheldon is, I’m surprised to see him procrastinate about picking a venue. Fun fact: My son is getting married the same day “Shamy” is! (May 12 is a Saturday this year.) I would imagine that the house is paid for at this point, so no mortgage payments need to be made. So, both Howard and Bernadette working part-time would likely be the solution. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/7 "2018-03-10T14:06:39Z")
It was an okay episode: not bad, not great. I did like to see Bernadette actually expressing love for her babies. I don’t remember seeing any affection up until now. I mostly remember her talking about how much she hated kids and she seemed to get pregnant mostly to please Howard. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/8 "2018-03-10T15:27:49Z")
Howard and Bernadette inherited the house from his mother and never had a mortgage on it: > **[Wolowitz House](https://bigbangtheory.fandom.com/wiki/Wolowitz_House)** > > This house is where Howard was living with his mother and father until something happened to all 3 members: Mr. Wolowitz left his wife and son when Howard was 11 (Before the Pilot (S1E1)), Howard got married to Bernadette and he moved into her... ---
**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:** [March 10, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/9 "2018-03-10T16:26:13Z")
Even without a mortgage, there are property taxes and insurance. What are property taxes in Pasadena like? In 2008, they were 1.16% of the value of the porperty according to one site I saw. Then you’ve got utilities, groceries, auto expenses, medical expenses, diapers diapers diapers, college funds, clothing, household upkeep… Yeah, a mortgage is a big hunk of money, but so is everything else. Maybe 2 part-time incomes would do it. But do part-time employees get health insurance? Yeah, I’m over-thinking this fictional world. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/10 "2018-03-10T16:46:08Z")
The bits about being tired as parents hit home for me, who remembers (vaguely) the sleep deprivation with a newborn. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/11 "2018-03-10T18:30:17Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Even without a mortgage, there are property taxes and insurance. What are property taxes in Pasadena like? In 2008, they were 1.16% of the value of the property according to one site I saw. Remember Proposition 13. In California real estate isn’t reassessed for tax purposes until it’s transferred, and there’s an exception when someone inherits their primary residence. The tax assessment of the Wolowitz house should be its 1978 value (1978 being the year prop 13 passed). ---
**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:** [March 10, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/12 "2018-03-10T20:02:02Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Remember Proposition 13. In California real estate isn’t reassessed for tax purposes until it’s transferred, and there’s an exception when someone inherits their primary residence. The tax assessment of the Wolowitz house should be its 1978 value (1978 being the year prop 13 passed). Plus 2% annual inflation. Prop 13 doesn’t quite freeze taxes in place, it just sharply limits the rate of rise. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/13 "2018-03-10T23:35:01Z")
I’m still waiting for the kids to make an appearance, or at least see some toys strewn all over on the floor. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/14 "2018-03-10T23:43:50Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I did like to see Bernadette actually expressing love for her babies. I don’t remember seeing any affection up until now. I mostly remember her talking about how much she hated kids and she seemed to get pregnant mostly to please Howard. Maybe that stems from Melissa Rauch’s real life baby. She now knows what a new mother should be doing. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/15 "2018-03-11T01:18:08Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Maybe that stems from Melissa Rauch’s real life baby. She now knows what a new mother should be doing. Melissa Rauch reacts the way the writers tell her to. I can’t imagine her RL pregnancy have much if any impact on how her screen character behaves. That is unless she were deliberately overriding the writers, which happens but isn’t common on most shows. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/16 "2018-03-11T02:31:57Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Melissa Rauch reacts the way the writers tell her to. I can’t imagine her RL pregnancy have much if any impact on how her screen character behaves. That is unless she were deliberately overriding the writers, which happens but isn’t common on most shows. Well, she says what the writers tell her to say, and her expressions and movements are _influenced_ by what the directors tell her to do, but that leaves some room for her personal experiences to affect what she does on screen. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/17 "2018-03-11T04:22:53Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Melissa Rauch reacts the way the writers tell her to. I can’t imagine her RL pregnancy have much if any impact on how her screen character behaves. That is unless she were deliberately overriding the writers, which happens but isn’t common on most shows. It’s not unheard of for an actor to say to the showrunner how they feel something should be portrayed. Actors are not robots obeying commands. All she’d need to ask is that there might be more affection shown for the babies. Of course, they could override her if they wish, I’m sure she’d respect them if they did. But if I was her I’d at least suggest things from my area of expertise\*. \*Mayim Bialik is often consulted about Amy Farrah Fowler’s accurate portrayal of neuroscience, her own expertise in real life. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2018, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/18 "2018-03-11T07:10:33Z")
Bernadette originally didn’t want children, or even particularly like them. I don’t think the audience would have accepted it if she had maintained the same attitude once she became a parent. The writers really had to turn her into a loving mother. This is Big Bang Theory, not Two and a Half Men. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-eleven-episode-seventeen-march-8-2018-the-athenaeum-allocation/810286/19 "2018-03-31T12:17:59Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Even without a mortgage, there are property taxes and insurance. What are property taxes in Pasadena like? In 2008, they were 1.16% of the value of the porperty according to one site I saw. I owned a house in rural Indiana. My mortgage was $264 a month. The thing was still a damn money pit. It always needed some kind of repair, and we were DIYers, but materials are still expensive. Plus, the yard needed upkeep; a house takes _time_. When you are exhausted with a baby, you sometimes need to pay someone to help with the upkeep. I live in an apartment now, and I love it. It’s as big as my house was, and costs three times as much as my mortgage, but it’s a fixed cost, and renter’s insurance is WAY cheaper than what it costs to insure a house, I have no property taxes, and no yard to care for; most of all, if something breaks, the landlord sends someone to fix it within 24 hours, and it doesn’t cost me a thing. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > The bits about being tired as parents hit home for me, who remembers (vaguely) the sleep deprivation with a newborn. Oh, my GAWD. I was in USAR basic training, and I thought that was exhausting; it was nothing compared to having a newborn. I told my husband, any other time in my life I ever complained about being tired, I was lying. I had a 27 hour labor, which ended in a c-section, so I was trying to care for a newborn, while I recovered from surgery. DH was working, because he had taken a week off work when the baby was due, and the baby obliged by being a week late. He couldn’t afford another week off. At first. My mother’s gift to us was to pay all our bills for a month, and DH took two more weeks off work, so after my first week of hell, I finally got more than two hours of consecutive sleep. I was breastfeeding, and the baby was not latching well, so I was pumping and bottle-feeding breastmilk, mostly-- he finally got it all figured out when he was five weeks old, but for the first month, I couldn’t produce enough milk, and the baby needed a bottle of formula once a day. DH could give a bottle of pumped breastmilk, and then a bottle of formula, and I could sleep.