I am starting this thread in anticipation of tonight’s episode.
Our satellite service is out, so I’m not going to be able to record tonight’s episode. I’m going to have to buy it from Apple TV. Drat!
No you don’t. It will be available for free at cbs.com tomorrow morning.
It was fine. I laughed a bit. But it seemed a very inconsequential episode, even though it involved what would normally be a big deal.
Well, at least I learned something about a little-known aspect of World War II!
By the way, Campaign for North Africa is a real game, and is indeed long and complicated
(There is some rule about Italians and boiling water for pasta)
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Brian
I don’t recall this one in particular, but I do remember similar WWII games of the Avalon Hill era that came packed in those huge brick-like boxes In that just-pre-D&D era, Strategy and Tactics games were the big thing. The S&T games group at our college had a room dedicated to one of these games that they locked between sessions so that no one would disturb the placing of the gazillion cardboard pieces, or mess up the Production Spirals
That it is hot in the Sahara desert? 
I think this was the first episode w/o a scene in Leonard’s apartment.
I really like Melissa Rauch as a comedic actress.
Ivylad was laughing that Campaign sounded just as complicated as Warhammer 40K, which he plays.
I thought it was a little presumptuous of Bernadette to pick a name for the baby without consulting Howard. Playing the “I had a tough pregnancy so I get to make all the decisions” card was a low blow. But I did find the line about how hard she squeezed Howard’s fingers funny.
I wished Stuart had come over to keep Bernadette company too. And Halley must be an easy baby to take care of, because we didn’t hear Peep One out of her (and weren’t the parents supposed to come over and the gang was just waiting for them? I know, scheduling conflicts for the actors.)
I thought it ended a bit abruptly, but I liked it. The girls had some funny lines.
Halley should be about 14 months old now. She should be running around the house, being loud and making a mess. The stairs and floors should be littered with toys, and she should be putting all the pieces from “Campaign for North Africa” in her mouth, and/or diaper. They’re definitely treating her as an “only exists when the plot requires it” character.
I predicted this would be the worst episode ever. I was wrong, it’s just tied for last place with another episode.
I’m actually fine with this tactic!
All in all, a pretty good episode.
I think Howard said that the name Neil was in honor of Armstrong, ??? and Diamond. Who was the third name?
Gaiman, I think.
I appreciate that both birth episodes have been somewhat unconventional, skipping the cliched scene of the mother screaming in pain while being urged to “push!”
Which was…?
Most of them, according to many comments on these threads.
I liked the part about mucus plugs and how Sheldon had to go through a bit of game play to figure out that the desert was indeed hot for their simulation. Also- “Big night for canals, Suez and birth!”
I laughed at Bernadette’s line “Sorry I used up so many good ones in college, I was very competitive with my roommate”
It was an average Big Bang episode, nothing special.
I like that it has been establishing that Howard’s a big Neil Diamond fan, which explains the name.
Best line: Like Walla Walls Wolowirtz?
So-so episode, though I did enjoy Kaley Cuoco’s yoga scene.