The Big Bang Theory: Difference between revisions

{{quote| '''Leonard:''' Okay, well, I'm an experimental physicist at Caltech. Most of my research involves high powered lasers. Oh, and I just got a government grant to see if they can be used to knock out incoming ballistic missiles.<br />

'''Penny:''' Wow! Can they?<br />

 

''[[The Big Bang Theory (TV)|The Big Bang Theory]]'' is a [[CBS]] [[Sit Com]], which debuted in 2007, with four [[TV Genius|genius level]] friends (ranging from theoretical physics to engineering) and [[Token Girl|a pretty girl]] who shakes up their normally scientific method-filled life.

View [[The Big Bang Theory (TV)/Characters|character sheet]].

 

 

== 0-E ==

* [[All Women Love Shoes]]: Penny, many examples.

* [[Almighty Janitor]]: The janitor in "The Bat Jar Conjecture".

* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: Sheldon. Leonard's mother Beverly. Amy. They all have something going on, being exaggerated versions of every geek and aloof-genius stereotype you've ever heard of. This leads to a good amount of fan speculation that one or all have [[Useful Notes/Asperger Syndrome|Asperger Syndrome]] in some form. [[Jim Parsons]] has also stated that Sheldon "could not have more symptoms of Asperger's" but also stated the writers have not done it intentionally and he hasn't played Sheldon that way.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Raj. His sister even admitted that his family was wondering that about him. But besides some awkward moments both in the show and [[Noodle Incident|spoken of in passing]], it's made pretty clear that he isn't gay... through a series of daydreams about his attraction to Bernadette. "Dance number aside, I am SO not gay." so he may be more [[Camp Straight]].

** There was that time Leonard's psychiatrist mother described Raj and Howard as being in "an ersatz homosexual relationship".

** In the episode before he daydreams about Bernadette, however...

'''Howard''': It means next time we play handball I'm showering at home. }}

** Amy has all but stated she has a big crush on Penny (and has admited Bernadette as well), but could be interpreted as a [[Stupid Sexy Flanders]] in that she appreciates her own gender but is otherwise straight.

* [[Amusing Alien]]: Sheldon Cooper is an ''Earthling'' example.

* [[Anachronism Stew]]: In-universe at a Renaissance Faire the main characters attend, with historical inaccuracies discussed by Sheldon. Later, Sheldon invents Three Person Chess and adds several new pieces and rules to the game, the result being that the medieval-styled classical chess pieces can now move using golf carts, time machines, transporter pads and jetpacks.

* [[The Art of Bra Removal]]: Howard is making out with Bernadette and fumbling with her bra, only for her to tell him it unhooks at the front.

* [[Ascended Extra]]/[[Demoted to Extra]]: Leslie Winkle showed up three times in the first season, and her character was liked enough that the production team announced her as becoming a regular early in the second season. After about 4 episodes in they quickly realized that she worked largely because she was a staunch, stubborn [[Arch Enemy]] to Sheldon with no real room for her own stories or even [[Character Development]]. They quietly put her character aside and she shows up more sporadically since.

* [[Basement Dweller]]: Howard, only without the basement apartment. He essentially lives like he's still 15 for American standards, though he and his family are Jewish, which is one of the cultures where adults living with one's parents before getting married is considered normal.

* [[The Beard]]: Penny asked Leonard to pretend that they are still together when her father came to visit, because Leonard is "the first guy he ever approved of. [[Long List|You're a scientist, you went to college, you don't have a neck tattoo or outstanding warrants... or a baby.]]" Leonard, delighting in the irony, proceeds to make out with her at every opportunity.

** Raj is set up by his parents with an Indian girl who admits she is a lesbian and wants to marry him to dispell suspicion. A twist is that she (and others, including his friends and parents) think that Raj is in the closet as well so it would be a mutual beard relationship.

* [[The Bechdel Test]]: Narrowly succeeds. Penny being the sole prominent female character, it was to be expected but the later addition of Bernadette and Amy to the cast, gives the girls more opportunities to occasionally speak about something else than men. Relationship issues usually comes up with their various get-togethers, as each have a romantic counterpart on the guys side, but on the whole they aren't always just talking about men (they actually had a "Truth or Dare" game where Penny ended it when they asked some uncomfortable questions about her feelings for Leonard).

* [[Big Brother Instinct]]: Sheldon briefly becomes [[Knight Templar Big Brother|very protective]] of who his twin sister dates, though subverted as its only because he comes to the conclusion that residing in her loins possibly lies the potential building blocks for her to have an offspring who is ''another'' remarkable individual like himself; Sheldon 2.0, if you will.

** Cue one [[Groin Attack]] from Missy.

{{quote| Like the supporting character in a movie where they disappear for much of the second reel, only to return in the third act coming to the rescue, I have a solution... (complete silence) Odd, they usually cheer.}}

* [[Big No]]:

{{quote| '''Leonard''': Are you even listening to me?<br />

'''Sheldon''': Of course I'm listening. Blah, blah, hopeless Penny delusion, blah, blah, blah. }}

** "I have no difficulty believing you're not butter."

** Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon watch an episode of ''Oshikuru Demon Samurai''. The actual dialogue heard played is from real series ''[[Boogiepop Phantom]]''. ''Oshikuru'' is a fictional anime series also mentioned in ''[[Two and A Half Men]]''.

{{quote| '''Amy''': Are you familiar with meme theory?<br />

'''Sheldon''': I'm familiar with everything... but go on. }}

{{quote| '''Raj''': I'm telling you dude, the only way to make you feel better about Penny going out with other guys, is for you to get back on the whores.<br />

'''Howard''': ... "horse".<br />

** This also somewhat crosses over with [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff]] in the dubbed Latin American version of the show constantly has Sheldon (through spanish dub voice actor) constantly say the phrase "Vacilon!" almost endlessly [[Hong Kong Dub|even when he appears to mouth something else completely different in English]].

** "Here we go...." whenever someone causes Sheldon to go into an explanation he has apparently said previously numerous times.

** Somewhat lampshaded by Wolowitz:

{{quote| '''Howard''': Oh, my God... GIRLFIGHT! [''pins Leonard's arms behind his back'']<br />

** The episode "The Hawking Excitation" mentions Sheldon's restraining orders from Leonard Nimoy and Stan Lee.

** After buying a replica of ''[[A Game of Thrones|Longclaw]]'' in "The Russian Rocket Reaction" its shown from thereafter to be hung up on the wall of the apartment.

* [[Cool Big Sis]]: Penny ends up being like this to the others, a normal person who helps them with fashion and relationship issues, lampshaded with a discussion with Sheldon where this is played more literally when she talks him into letting her cut his hair.

* [[Costume Test Montage]]: Penny takes Sheldon to get a new suit that should give him confidence for his awards banquet.

* [[Crazy Cat Lady|Crazy Cat Man]]: Briefly. After a falling out with Amy in which he terminated his relationship with her, Sheldon buys 25 cats.

* [[Crazy Prepared]]:

'''Sheldon:''' I have a pre-packed emergency 48 hour survival kit recommended by the Department of Homeland Security... [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles|and Sarah Connor]]. }}

* [[Creature of Habit]]: Sheldon, to the point where he views the most minor of changes in his life as [[The End of the World As We Know It]].

** Subverted when they are focused on something else and the Sexy is verbal. Once, Penny and three friends stop by while they are playing ''[[Halo (Video Game)|Halo]]'' and ask if they want to have an orgy. After no response, Penny tells her friends "I told you so," and they leave. Shortly after, Leonard pauses the game and says he thought he heard something, but he shrugs it off. On another occasion the four guys are trying to come up with a better way to set up her entertainment system than the way suggested in the instructions and Penny attempts to get their attention by announcing that she was going to take all her clothes off, to no response.

* [[The Ditz]]: Many of the female characters. Penny on occasion, especially in the first few episodes.

** When Leonard and Penny are together several episodes deal with them as if they were a married couple with Sheldon as their child. It is heart-breaking.

** In reference to the ordeal of becoming Sheldon's roommate in "The Staircase Implementation":

'''Sheldon''': Remind me to compliment Wolowitz on the software. The detail is remarkable. }}

* [[Drop in Character]]: Penny embodies this the most, as she has a tendency to stop by the guys' apartment for random reasons like coffee or tech support (Raj and Howard are usually over there for an actual activity like ''Halo'' night). On the other hand, Leonard often visits Penny in ''her'' apartment in not too dissimilar a manner, although often expressly because Penny needs someone to talk to. Penny does this so much that she will casually drop by the apartment in her sleep clothes, much to the displeasure of one of Leonard's girlfriends.

* [[Dumb Blonde]]: Penny can be flighty at times, but overall she isn't stupid. The first couple of episodes she was more [[The Ditz]] but this was replaced with her generally being more [[Closer to Earth]].

** In one episode Penny takes some physics lessons from Sheldon so she could better understand Leonard and what he does. Although Sheldon is a horrible teacher, she does seem to learn a little, at least enough for a [[Techno Babble]] gag.

* [[Dumb Is Good]]: Averted by the majority of Penny's boyfriends, who are dim and often rather obnoxious. Though played straight for Zach, who ends up befriending the guys and even enjoys their hobbies.

* [[Early Installment Weirdness]]: Sheldon is a lot more relaxed in the [[Pilot]] episode, and while droll he seemed mostly social capable. Compare to the [[Flash Back]] to when Leonard moved in from season 3, where Sheldon is much ''more'' socially awkward.

** Many early episodes display Sheldon without traits that later become trademark actions, such as knocking on Penny's door once instead of thrice, and without stopping to say her name.

{{quote| '''Amy:''' ''(all in one breath)'' "Sheldon and I engaged in sexual intercourse. In other news, I'm thinking of starting an herb garden. Mum's the word. Gotta go."}}

* [[Cute Kitten]]: Sheldon's favorite childhood lullaby "Soft Kitty" proves you don't even need an actual kitten for this trope.

* [[Establishing Character Moment]]: The pilot gives a good moment to everyone;

** Leonard's distracted look when seeing Penny in her apartment and subsequently trying to talk to her

'''Cell phone:''' Calling... Rajesh Koothrappali.<br />

'''Rajesh:''' Impressive! ...and a little racist. }}

* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Late in the second season a new neighbor moved in above Leonard and Sheldon, Alicia. She is pretty, blonde, an actress and very quickly acquires the attention of the guys, much like when Penny moved in. The main difference is that Alicia was a shameless flirt and manipulated the guys to do everything for her. While Penny did many similar things, she generally treated them with respect and didn't abuse them. Partially out of jealousy and partially out of concern for her guys, Penny eventually [[Cat Fight|clashes]] with Alicia.

* [[Evil Genius]]: Sheldon occasionally invokes this on purpose (see [[Evil Gloating]] and [[Evil Laugh]] below). Leonard has already noted that Sheldon's "one lab accident away from becoming a supervillain".

* [[Face Book]]: The others are surpised Sheldon uses the website.

{{quote| '''Sheldon''': I'm in favor of anything that tries to replace actual human contact.}}

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: In a purely silly sense, it's taking care of Sheldon when he's sick, or if someone aside from Leonard drives him to work.

** Or sits in his spot or changes his schedule...

** Also subverted in "The Recombination Hypothesis" Leonard ended up having to explain to Sheldon why he was returning to the apartment at 3 in the morning, when Sheldon was getting out of the bathroom. The real reason was {{spoiler|Penny dragged Leonard over to her apartment to have sex and start seeing each other again}} but Leonard didn't want to tell Sheldon about it. So it slowly got more and more implausible as Sheldon poked holes into the explanation, until Leonard actually had some evidence to back up his claim (an [[Chekhov's Gun|asthma inhaler brought up in the previous scene]]).

* [[Fake Buzz]]: In one episode Raj starts hitting on [[Summer Glau]] (and skillfully at that), until Howard points out the beer was non-alcoholic, and he can't continue.

{{quote| '''Sheldon:''' It was a humorous conceit on the violation of the fourth wall and I did NOT care for it.}}

* [[First Kiss]]: Sheldon gets one from a drunken Amy. It's mostly awkward for both of them.

** Sheldon received one earlier from a drunk Mrs. Hoffstader. No one really wants to talk about it after the fact.

{{quote| '''Sheldon''': If you fail at this relationship, and history suggests you will, then we risk losing the medical officer our landing party has always needed.<br />

'''Leonard''': What landing party?<br />

*** Although a point is often made about how many shoes she buys, she never actually seems to wear them.

** The episode explaining how Leonard and Sheldon met had this in the present day sequences.

{{quote| '''Leonard''': You put ground-up moth in my food?!<br />

* [[Freeze Frame Bonus]]: Howard's mother, never actually seen before on the show, can be seen from above in the zoom out from Howard's wedding in the Season 5 Finale.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: Averted by Raj, when he decides to be a douche for no apparent reason on the penultimate episode of season 4.

'''Sheldon:''' Leonard said nothing, but who knows what goes on over here when he pretends your mail was misdelivered.<br />

'''Penny:''' What? Just mail, no benefits. [[hottip:*:In a [[Hilarious Outtakes]] moment, Kaley Cuoco accidentally switched the phrase, saying "Just benefits, no mail... [[That Came Out Wrong|wait?]] }}

* [[Fun With Acronyms]]: In "The Bat Jar Conjecture" the guys decide to enter the university's Physics Bowl and have a debate on what to name their team. Sheldon prefers the Army Ants while Howard suggests Perpetual Motion Squad. Later, Sheldon has a fallout with the others and actually enters the Physics Bowl against them... so it's AA vs. PMS.

** Sheldon's suggestion for the name of Leonard's iPhone app.

** One episode featured a dream of Sheldon's where Wolowitz and Raj [[It Makes Sense in Context|had stopped holding desperately to the Ring of Power]], [[Sleep Cute|and were instead holding each other.]]

** How about this gem?

'''Howard''': It means next time we play squash I'm showering at home. }}

** Leonard's mother has never been wrong about anything in her psychiatric evaluations of the cast, therefore her ideas about Howard and Raj must be correct as well.

'''Howard:''' And that's exactly the answer we gave to the question, "What is your attitude towards online dating?"<br />

'''Raj:''' Howard wanted to write mumbo jumbo, but I said no, our Sheldon would say hokum. }}

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: Raj is full of them.

{{quote| (''to Penny'') Welcome to the Raj Mahal!}}

* [[It Got Worse]]: see [[Evil Gloating]].

* [[It Will Never Catch On]]: "I assure you, you'll be sorry you wasted your money on an iPod when Microsoft comes out with theirs."

{{quote| '''Leonard''': Did I tell you that you'd have to make arrangements to get to work for the next few weeks?<br />

'''Sheldon''': You did.<br />

* [[Killer Robot]]: "MONT-E" whom the guys built for a robot fighting competition.

* [[Kissing Cousins]]: Howard and his cousin Jeannie, aparently.

{{quote| '''Raj''': Leonard pretends to be a friend to Stuart, but instead is a two-faced bitch. Thus, he is reincarnated as a banana slug!}}

* [[Late Arrival Spoiler]]: In trying to comfort Sheldon over a deception the others pulled on him while they spent three months at the North Pole, Penny referred to the '09 ''[[Star Trek (Film)|Star Trek]]'' film and explained a spoiler-heavy plot point as a comparison. Sheldon had not seen the movie yet. "I missed Comic-Con ''and'' the new ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' movie!"

** Sometimes though, when they want to show Sheldon sympathetic in episodes like "The Guitarist Amplification" or "The Bozeman Reaction" the laugh track pretty much hinders this.

** It also leads to no end of people complaining about the laugh track and how [[Reality Is Unrealistic|fake it is]].

{{quote| '''Penny''': That means... Sheldon, you're a doctor. Leonard's a doctor. Amy's a doctor. Raj is a doctor. Bernadette is a doctor. And... Howard, you know a lot of doctors!}}

** Sheldon actually sees himself as this to Wolowitz. He refers to Raj as Wolowitz's best friend, Leonard as his secondary friend and himself as his tertiary friend.

* [[My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels]]: Sheldon's attempts to learn Mandarin.

{{quote| '''Sheldon''': <There are oxen in my bed! Many, many oxen!><br />

* [[New Powers As the Plot Demands]]: Howard was never seen demonstrating his ability to communicate American Sign Language until Season 5's "The Wiggly Finger Catalyst," although several times (including the pilot) he likes to make himself out as being a linguist (including knowing Klingon). [[It Makes Sense in Context]] because Howard acts as an interpreter between Raj and Raj's deaf girlfriend Emily in the episode, and as an in-joke that even with a woman Raj actually can date comfortably, [[Heterosexual Life Partners|Howard still has to be there]].

* [[Nice Guy]]: Leonard Hofstadter. And there is Zack, one of Penny's exes. He is [[The Ditz|conspicuously thick]] but in refreshing contrast to [[Jerk Jock|the rest of Penny's exes]] doesn't seem to have a bad bone in his body.

* [[No Ending]]: "The Twenty-One Second Excitation" almost has a [[Bolivian Army Ending]]. In the final scene before [[The Tag]], {{spoiler|Sheldon and the guys make off with a print of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark (Film)|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', a horde of other nerds (including Evil [[Wil Wheaton]] and Captain Sweatpants) [[Torches and Pitchforks|hot on their heels]] as the movie’s theme music plays.}} How is this resolved? Did they get away? Did they get trampled? Did Sheldon wind up in the hospital, or jail, or the loony bin? The Tag just cuts back to Penny, Bernadette, and Amy Farrah in Penny’s apartment. The episode ends there, and the plot is never revisited.

** Several other episodes don't really resolve the story and just continue on with the next episode. In the second season premiere Leonard accidently insulted Penny when discussing their relationship and the episode ended with her closing the door in his face. It was some 5 episodes later we even learn that they had an uneasy agreement to stay friends and ignore their attempts at a romantic relationship, but the exact details of which are never seen.

'''Police Officer''' (looks over at Leonard incredulously)''':''' ...Seriously?<br />

'''Leonard:''' Not the kind with access to drugs. }}

* [[Object Ceiling Cling]]: Howard's faulty space toilet malfunctions, and during their attempt to fix it, he launches a piece of meatloaf onto the apartment ceiling. It falls down some time later when Penny is there.

* [[Odd Name Out]]: Given in-universe to one of his "clowder or glaring" of cats by Sheldon. While he named most of them after scientists in the Manhattan Project like Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, one was named Zazzles because, according to Sheldon, "he's just so zazzy".

* [[Once a Season]]: A couple of recurring gags you can expect every season: "Soft Kitty" being sung to or by Sheldon, Leonard and Sheldon's parents visit (although somewhat sporadically), everyone appears in costume for some event (Halloween party, Renaissance fair, the punishment for losing a game...) and from the third season on, at least one appearance by [[Wil Wheaton]].

* [[One Head Taller]]: Penny is generally about the same height as Leonard (whose short stature is frequently commented upon) but when she wears heels she suddenly towers over him.

** In another episode, Sheldon runs away from home after Leonard and Penny get into a fight. The two manage to coax Sheldon into returning after promising not to fight anymore and Penny forces Leonard to buy him a toy. However, in this case, Sheldon was more than just the typical [[Man Child]] he usually is, he had literally become like an upset grade school aged child, possibly due to [[Freudian Excuse|childhood regression due to his parents constantly fighting]], for that time he actually once again became the young boy in Texas dealing with his mother and father fighting which they took [[Up to Eleven]] once again. Speaking of his mother, although he displays [[Man Child]] tendencies around his friends, he literally becomes an eight year old all over again when his mother is around.

** On the other hand, Howard's [[My Beloved Smother|overbearing]] [[Jewish Mother]] still treats him as if he's a child, which he loathes. Not that he always argues against it, or is even completely aware of it. Despite that, he has moments where he wants Bernadette to be a mother figure, such as when he asks her to drive him to the dentist and lets slip "mothers take their kids to the dentist all the time".

* [[Ordered Apology]]

* [[Outdated Outfit]]: Leonard's collection of ugly suits, including a felt maroon-ish one. Sheldon also has a suit more appropriate for the 1930's.

{{quote| '''Penny:''' You know, in ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' when they go into battle they put their shields up... ''(realizes what she just said)'' ...Where the hell did THAT come from?}}

** This fuels the comedy when Sheldon is the only one to help Penny when she dislocates her shoulder in the shower. Penny asked him to try to be "comforting" and Sheldon's attempt to be comforting is so alien that Penny is visibly disturbed by it.

 

== P-T ==

** In one episode, Sheldon sits out in the hall playing ''[[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|Super Mario 64]]'' on his laptop via [[Emulation]] as he can't use the console in the apartment. The sound effects are entirely correct. However, he also mentions the his mother sent the memory card along with the console. The N64 did have memory cards, but they were only compatible with certain games. ''Mario 64'' was one that saved directly to the cartridge.

*** For what it's worth, [http://www.videogameobsession.com/videogame/snes-boxes/snes-mspacman.jpg Ms. Pac-Man was available on Super Nintendo.]

* [[Paintball Episode]]: The guys play on their own time and there is some company activities there with teams divided by department (apparently the pharmacology department were hyped up on experimental steroids). They are generally accurate to the game, using masks that reasonably cover the face and body armor, although they do remove their masks when in a bunker. As common for the trope, they are strategizing and constantly worrying about when their "time" will come.

* [[Parental Substitute]]: Penny is often forced to mother Sheldon. This sometimes includes Leonard acting as a father, including Sheldon being frightened when they fight and after the break-up where they act like ''divorced'' parents. Sadly, this partially comes from Sheldon having bad memories of his parents fighting.

* [[Perma Shave]]

* [[Personality Swap]]: A very mild version, but Penny once dislocated her shoulder and was taken to the hospital by Sheldon. Returning home ''high'' on painkillers, she convinced Sheldon to sing "[[Running Gag|Soft Kitty]]" to her. Usually the roles are reversed.

* [[Poor Predictable Rock|Poor Predictable Spock]]: Aside from being the only thing anyone picks in Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, Sheldon is always thinking of Spock when playing 20 Questions.

** He also considers himself the Spock of their "away team". (Leonard is Kirk, Howard is Scotty, and Rajesh is [[Red Shirt|"that guy who always gets killed."]])

** Sheldon rarely swears, so when he does it comes as a surprise. He swears more often when quoting someone than of his own accord: "He was very understanding; he said, 'Got you back jack, bitches be crazy'".

** Amy invited Leonard to be her date to a wedding and made a conscious effort to be social and engaging, with Leonard not really being good company. Eventually she calls him out on his moping around and said, "I have a kinda-sorta boyfriend who is playing with model trains tonight and you don't hear me bitching about it."

* [[Real Song Theme Tune]]: [[Barenaked Ladies (Music)|Barenaked Ladies]]' "The History of Everything".

* [[Rearrange the Song]]: As ''Theory'' entered 5 night a week syndication in 2011, [[Barenaked Ladies (Music)|Barenaked Ladies]]' wrote and preformed a number of different versions of the lyrics to the [[Real Song Theme Tune]] "The History of Everything" mentioning the cast by name, which aired in short ads shown after the first commercial break.

* [[Reckless Gun Usage]]: An interesting case is that Penny is shown using proper procedure in clearing the chamber before loading the clip with the safety on. Doesn't stop Leonard from [[Visual Pun|shooting himself in the foot]].

* [[Red Alert]]: Sheldon getting a cold is serious enough to cause Leonard to run out of the apartment in the early hours of the morning, frantically calling ''everyone'' so they can bunker down and avoid looking after him.

* [[Robosexual]]: Raj gets a little too attached to his iPhone.

** Howard has a bit of trouble with the robot arm he built in the season four opener.

* [[Romantic False Lead]]: Some for Penny, some for Leonard -- although his are more Little False Leads, in that he'd always prefer to be with Penny.

* [[Rooting for The Empire]]: Some in-universe examples.

* [[Self Induced Allergic Reaction]]: Howard eats a nut bar to stall Leonard so they could set up Leonard's surprise birthday party. And because Penny was going to hook him up with her easy girlfriends.

** This is ''after'' he fakes an allergic reaction to the same thing for the same cause, only to realize the group wouldn't have enough time. And well...

* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]: Sheldon talks like this a lot. [[No Social Skills|Even to Penny]].

** All the episode titles.

'''Sheldon''': "Well we might as well settle it now, it's gonna be on for years." }}

** Sheldon's journal in "The Bozeman Reaction" is a shout-out to Rorschach's Journal in [[Watchmen]].

** Strangely enough, there is no mention in that episode that ''Bozeman, Montana'' where Sheldon decides to move to was also the location in ''[[Star Trek First Contact]]'' where humanity made first contact with the Vulcans. You'd think ''Sheldon'' of all people, would have brought that up.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: The show goes well out of its way to get the details of the science and tech stuff right, as well as generally listing actual things that geeks are into like ''[[Halo (Video Game)|Halo]]'' and ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]''. Not only that, they have an actual physicist, Dr. David Salzberg, on hand to fill in the correct dialogue and write appropriate diagrams and formulas on the white boards. All of this leads to [[Genius Bonus]]. This includes:

** In "The Thespian Catalyst" Penny tries to teach Sheldon about acting and eventually gets to [[Improv]]. Sheldon kept going off on tangents (asking for frozen yogurt at a shoe store) and Penny was rolling with it, which only confused Sheldon because (obviously) there is no such thing as a shoe warehouse/frozen yogurt hybrid store. Penny then explained the number one rule of improv, you say "Yes" and accept all scenarios given.

* [[Shut Up Kiss]]: Leonard has a habit of [[Poor Communication Kills|rambling on topics irrelevant to what he is trying to get at]] (going on about how Indian food helps clean out your colon when inviting Penny to lunch in the Pilot). As him and Penny grow closer romantically Leonard will still ramble on and Penny will quiet him down with a kiss, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AcJ31lx_0I like so].

* [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis]]: Barry Kripke, [[Wil Wheaton]] and Leslie Winkle at different points, all for Sheldon.

** More specifically, while Sheldon is a theoretical physicist, his twin sister Missy is a hostess at Fuddruckers.

* [[Significant Reference Date]]: In the episode entitled "The Excelsior Acquisition", Sheldon finds a traffic summons conserning an traffic incident that occured on 11/16, the airdate of "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency" in which the violation happenend.

* [[Sleep Cute]]: Howard and Raj.

* [[Sleeps With Everyone but You]]: Poor Leonard, pining after Penny while listening to her complaints about sleeping with her jerkass boyfriends on every extreme way.

* [[Smart People Know Latin]]: Howard and Sheldon try to use this against each other.

* [[Smug Snake]]: Sheldon and his sister.

* [[The Smurfette Principle]]: Penny, so very much. Averted in later seasons with the addition of Bernadette, Amy, and Priya.

* [[Snark Knight]]:

** Prime example in "The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization" where Sheldon tries to make [[Your Head Asplode|Leonard's head explode]] a la ''[[Scanners (Film)|Scanners]]''. Later, Penny finds a picture of herself on Wolowitz's website (listing her as his girlfriend) and [[Call Back|does it to him]].

* [[Spit Take]]

{{quote| '''Penny''': Okay, well, what do you communicate about?<br />

* [[Spock Speak]]: Sheldon.

* [[Spoiled Brat]]: Sheldon.

* [[Stealth Pun]]: Cylon toast. Even better: [http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/16/battlestar-galactica-cylon-toaster-produces-fanboy-approved-brea/ that's a real toaster.]

* [[Stoners Are Funny]]: Leonard, Raj, and Howard in "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency".

{{quote| '''Leonard''': What happened to your new friends?<br />

'''Sheldon''': I had to leave. They were having fun wrong. }}

** There are many jokes referencing Leonard's lactose intolerance too, which makes him flatulent; although, this is never shown on-screen.

* [[Toilet Seat Divorce]]: During Leonard's brief "official" relationship with Leslie, she broke up with him over the fact he had a preference towards String Theory (which Sheldon brought up) while she is on the Loop Quantum Gravity. To the average viewer this is ridiculous, but to these super-geniuses it is [[Serious Business]].

{{quote| '''Leslie:''' How can we have a relationship if we don't believe the same thing? How are we going to raise the children?<br />

'''Leonard:''' I guess we'll wait until they're old enough and let them decide what theory they would like for themselves.<br />

*** It's also very sweet, in its way, since the Sheldon we know and love usually does not hesitate to force his own preferences on other people.

* [[Training Montage]]: Parodied when Sheldon and Raj intently study a whiteboard... complete with fast cuts and "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background. ''Twice.''

* [[TV Genius]]: Parodied in one episode, where Sheldon and Raj have a [[Hard Work Montage]] to ''Eye of the Tiger''. It's literally just them staring at a whiteboard of equations.

 

* [[Unlimited Wardrobe]]: Partially averted. While the characters have a very extensive wardrobe, they do repeat outfits from time to time, mostly the guys.

* [[Unrequited Love Switcheroo]]: Leonard/Penny/Priya

** Sheldon provides the current page image in the episode "The Griffin Equivalency":

{{quote| "We're here to see Koothrappali, not kill Batman!"}}

{{quote| '''Sheldon'''(knocking on the door): [[Rule of Three|"All my friends." "All my friends." "All my friends."]]<br />

'''Howard''': I think its like ''[[Beetlejuice (Film)|Beetlejuice]]''...we mentioned his name too many times! }}

** When talking about the horrible things that would happen at his birthday parties, Sheldon confessed to Penny with great anguish that he got a motorized dirtbike instead of a titanium centrifuge. Sheldon simply could not understand what child would like such a gift, and was genuinely perplexed when Penny said that most kids would love it.

** This was also played with in an episode where Penny decides to stay in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment for the night. Raj walks out of the shot right before she walks into the room and asks to stay. Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon all have the whole argument about her staying there and then, once that's all over and it's decided that Penny stays, they turn out the lights and all go to bed. Cut to Raj, who was in the middle of eating a sandwich in the kitchen. He quietly leaves the room, looking like he has no idea what just happened.

** In "The Psychic Vortex" Raj and Sheldon managed to acquire dates with two very hot, intelligent and slightly geeky girls (one of whom played by [[The Wonder Years|Danica McKeller]]) named Abby and Martha, and even got a second date shortly after. What made these girls really unique was that the ice-breaker was Sheldon carrying [[Green Lantern]]'s power battery at a party and ''they [[Geeky Turn On|fully knew what it was]];'' they ended up playing ''[[Rock Band]]'' back at Sheldon's apartment. Not to mention that Sheldon even appeared to enjoy talking with Martha (discussing ''[[Flatland]]'' among other things) with Raj and Abby making out on the chair. It can be assumed that Sheldon's [[Asexual]] nature really disappointed Martha, and that took Abby away from Raj. But these were girls who could relate to them in interests, intelligence and were attracted to them ''because'' of it (not even Penny can really claim that with Leonard), with no follow up episode it almost seems to be a waste.

* [[Wimp Fight]]: Leonard and Sheldon get into a fight at a seminar in the first season, which is largely a push, shove and slap fight. They are subsequently shown on [[YouTube]] and are clearly embarassed over how silly they look:

{{quote| '''Leonard''': Oh geez. Does this suit really look that bad?<br />

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[[Category:The Big Bang Theory]]