# The Big Bang Theory- The Killer Robot Instability **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106 "2009-01-13T16:27:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/21 "2009-01-14T13:54:00Z")
For the record, Howard has asked girls out successfully & had sex. Remember Penny’s friend from the first season? Howard: You mean she’s just having sex with me because I buy her things? Penny: Yes. Howard: Yay. ---
**Author:** ![Diz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Diz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diz)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/22 "2009-01-14T15:02:29Z")
> [@Leiko](#): > > I don’t understand Wolowitz. If he’s so confident that his stupid pick-up techniques will work, why can’t he channel that confidence into just asking a girl out? I think they addressed this in his discussion with Penny. He’s not at all confident that his techniques will work, but he believes that trying way too hard is the only way he’ll have a chance with anybody. Which is kind of sad and pathetic, but one can see his point… It would have made sense for him to tone it down after Penny told him he should just be himself, but I can see why the writers wouldn’t want to give up the comedic value of his cluelessness and creepiness. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/23 "2009-01-17T17:45:09Z")
One of the weaker episodes this year. The guy with the speech impediment was annoying - did they think that would be funny? After being told no repeatedly, if a man doesn’t get it and continues to harass a woman, he deserves anything he gets. I feel no pity for the character of Howard. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/24 "2009-01-17T18:40:56Z")
On a different note – I was hoping for a lecture from Sheldon on how the remote-controlled gadgets you see in those competitions are not, in fact, robots. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/25 "2009-01-17T18:54:46Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > On a different note – I was hoping for a lecture from Sheldon on how the remote-controlled gadgets you see in those competitions are not, in fact, robots. That’s because a remote-controlled gadget can be considered a robot. > **[Robot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot#Defining_characteristics)** > > A robot is a machine, especially one programmable via a computer, capable of automatically carrying out a complex series of actions. A robot can be guided by an external or internal control device. Robots may be humanoid, but most are task-performing machines prioritizing functionality over aesthetics. > Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial r... ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/26 "2009-01-17T22:42:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That’s because a remote-controlled gadget can be considered a robot. > > [Robot - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot#Defining_characteristics) Not by me. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/27 "2009-01-17T23:56:54Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Not by me. I heard that in Sheldon’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/28 "2009-01-18T00:21:58Z")
All this raises a larger question- how much do we want characters to learn & grow, especially in sitcoms? Do we want Penny to get intellectually curious enough to start reading & taking classes & discussing what the guys are into? Do we want Sheldon to a more socially aware, perhaps even romantically? Do we want Wolowitz to get his own place & be more sensitive & less creepy? AND get a different haircut? Do we want Raj to be able to talk to pretty women while sober & non-medicated? Do we want Leonard & Penny to have those smart & beautiful non-imaginary babies? Or do we just want episodes where maybe each of these things might be touched on, but none make a permanent change in the characters? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/29 "2009-01-18T01:18:58Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > All this raises a larger question- how much do we want characters to learn & grow, especially in sitcoms? > > Do we want Penny to get intellectually curious enough to start reading & taking classes & discussing what the guys are into? > > Do we want Sheldon to a more socially aware, perhaps even romantically? > > Do we want Wolowitz to get his own place & be more sensitive & less creepy? AND get a different haircut? > > Do we want Raj to be able to talk to pretty women while sober & non-medicated? > > Do we want Leonard & Penny to have those smart & beautiful non-imaginary babies? > > Or do we just want episodes where maybe each of these things might be touched on, but none make a permanent change in the characters? Very good questions. I would say that there should be changes, but that they should be small, not always ‘positive’ in simplistic terms… and of course, above all, they should be made keeping in mind that the goal of the show is to remain funny. Without that sort of development, I think that you end up making the same jokes over and over again, but even a small shift in the personalities of the characters can open up new humerous possibilities in their interaction. Some of the developments that I think would be good for the show, in those terms: Penny - having her be inspired to challenge herself makes sense, but I don’t really see her plunging into the same sort of studies and entertainments that they guys share - she _is_ too different from them and too independent. She might take classes in a ‘softer’ subject like psychology or history… which Sheldon wouldn’t see the point of, and might be inclined to tell her so… Sheldon - As funny as it can be to see him TRYING to acquire social awareness and failing, I think that he could even go further out of touch and it’d still be a laugh riot. 🙂 Raj and girls - yes, I think that the selective mute routine is starting to become old hack by now. What might work is if the gang work on a crazy plan, spurred on by internet research, to ‘cure’ him once and for all - and the cure works on the symptom but not the inner anxiety that motivated it, so he ends up with new quirky behaviours to compensate. 😉 Wolowitz - oh, the possibilities here are endless. Apartment hunting with Howard. Some kind of family drama with his mother not really wanting an empty nest, but not saying so straight out. (And us still never seeing her.) With women, I think that he can get less creepy, (or sometimes swing back to more creepy,) but never fundamentally get more sensitive - he should always stay a player, (until the moment when he finally catches a girl and realizes that she’s more than just a toy prize to play with,) but his strategies can vary from time to time. It’d be interesting to have Penny try and ‘fix’ Howard to keep him from always annoying her friends, say, and then realize that something she said turns him from an annoying guy you can always say ‘no’ to into a don juan actually capable of breaking hearts. Leonard - Not quite so sure here… you only brought him up in relation to Penny, and I’d say that while babies might be more than we want to get into, (kissie-face of death for most sitcoms,) I would like to see them in a romantic arc that lasts for a little while, especially since it seemed so badly truncated around the S1 finale/S2 premiere. And does anybody still find the dairy/fart jokes funny?? ---
**Author:** ![Mislav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/30 "2013-10-22T19:47:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No, Howard’s a creep. Nerd or not, he deserved the stomping he got. Sometimes people need to get hit with a clue-by-four before they get a grip on reality. Howard still needs another application, obviously. 😛 > Maybe someday they’ll have a plot-line about Howard getting relentlessly hit on by an unwanted suitor. I don’t care what you say. Penny was, is and will be jerk and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/31 "2013-10-22T20:34:24Z")
4 years and 9 months to be zombified. What a nice Halloween gift. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/32 "2013-10-22T21:09:26Z")
I predict a fast exit for our resurrector. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/33 "2013-10-22T21:24:56Z")
did this thread get mislaid? ---
**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:** [October 22, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/34 "2013-10-22T21:37:48Z")
Ah, I could see maybe a meta discussion of the characters in the series, but reanimating a zombie about a 4 year old episode seems a bit beyond the line or something. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/35 "2013-10-22T21:38:22Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > All this raises a larger question- how much do we want characters to learn & grow, especially in sitcoms? > > Do we want Penny to get intellectually curious enough to start reading & taking classes & discussing what the guys are into? > > Do we want Sheldon to a more socially aware, perhaps even romantically? > > Do we want Wolowitz to get his own place & be more sensitive & less creepy? AND get a different haircut? > > Do we want Raj to be able to talk to pretty women while sober & non-medicated? > > Do we want Leonard & Penny to have those smart & beautiful non-imaginary babies? > > Or do we just want episodes where maybe each of these things might be touched on, but none make a permanent change in the characters? …actually this bump may well have been a good thing. We can actually answer these questions, because most of these things have actually happened! So thoughts everyone? ---
**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:** [October 22, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/36 "2013-10-22T23:53:33Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …actually this bump may well have been a good thing. We can actually answer these questions, because most of these things have actually happened! So thoughts everyone? I’d be interested. I only got interested in the series last month and I’m working my way through them. I’m on season 5 now where Howard is going through training with NASA Should we hijack this zombie or create thread. I’m still kinda new here and don’t care to step on any toes or somfin’ ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/37 "2013-10-23T00:08:31Z")
I believe this was revived due to the network running it this past Monday night in prime time. It was advertised at the end of last weeks’ episode. “Dont miss a very special Monday night episode of The BBT!”. We were surprised but when we saw it was a rerun we disregarded it. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106/38 "2013-10-23T01:09:46Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …actually this bump may well have been a good thing. We can actually answer these questions, because most of these things have actually happened! So thoughts everyone? The powers that be at TBBT still haven’t paid me! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-the-killer-robot-instability/481106.md?page=1)