# The Big Bang Theory 3/1/2010 "The Excelsior Acquisition"



## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Seriously, did no one else watch?

While a tad disappointed that Captain Sulu didn't appear, I thought that Stan Lee was hilarious.

And Raj's Law& Order "dunk dunk" had me on the floor.

Nice to see Penny trying to make it up to Sheldon.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

We watched...it was ok I guess....at least it wasn't OVERLY Sheldon heavy this time.


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## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

Never having heard of Stan Lee, the episode fell kind of flat for me.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

NEVER HAVE HEARD OF STAN LEE? OK, sorry for shouting. I read comics when I was a child, then in college and and off and on again as an adult then I have watched most of the movies based on Marvel comic books and even two seasons of that reality show about being a superhero that had Stan Lee on it. Stan the Man.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Ruth said:


> Never having heard of Stan Lee, the episode fell kind of flat for me.


He's the guy from those silly kung-fu movies, I believe.


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## vman41 (Jun 18, 2002)

Can Sheldon go to traffic school to get those points taken off?


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## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

I was also troubled by the traffic court judge's blatant and unconstitutional misuse of the contempt power, but I am assuming that's just me.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Ruth said:


> Never having heard of Stan Lee, the episode fell kind of flat for me.


What?!? Here's a list of the hundreds of characters he's created: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Characters_created_by_Stan_Lee

Among the most notable ones in pop culture:

The Fantastic Four
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man
The Silver Surfer
Spider-Man
The X-Men


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## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

nataylor said:


> What?!? Here's a list of the hundreds of characters he's created: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Characters_created_by_Stan_Lee
> 
> Among the most notable ones in pop culture:
> 
> ...


Well, I've heard of some of those _characters_ (the ones that have been made into mainstream movies, anyway). But I have no interest in or knowledge about comic books. I wouldn't in a million years be able to say who created the characters, or even that it was the same person responsible for all of them. Certainly not the guy's name, which I don't think I ever heard before watching this episode.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

That was amusing.

But Sheldon really no longer has any redeeming qualities whatsoever, does he?


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

MickeS said:


> He's the guy from those silly kung-fu movies, I believe.


No, that's his brother. 


Ruth said:


> I was also troubled by the traffic court judge's blatant and unconstitutional misuse of the contempt power, but I am assuming that's just me.


I have no idea what contempt powers a judge has, but Sheldon's attitude, especially his last remark as he was walking off, seemed pretty contemptible to me. I'd throw him in jail too.

It was a funny episode, with some great moments, but Sheldon has, as Rob noted, jumped off the deep end, social-wise. He appears to have no ability to connect, on any level, to other humans.


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## IJustLikeTivo (Oct 3, 2001)

Ruth said:


> Never having heard of Stan Lee, the episode fell kind of flat for me.


He was on star trek, wasn't he?


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

I like Raj bagging on Stan Lee's failures. It's a good contrast to the fandom that is expected from a Stan Lee guest appearance on BBT.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

IJustLikeTivo said:


> He was on star trek, wasn't he?


Star Wars?


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

JYoung said:


> And Raj's Law& Order "dunk dunk" had me on the floor.


That damn shirt got on my nerves as soon as Raj walked into the comic book store. When he did the law and order sound though I laughed harder than the guys on the show did. Perfect. :up:


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Yeah, the Law and Order sound was AWESOME.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

But I thought it was totally unrealistic how quickly he was always able to bring up the appropriate sounds.


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> But I thought it was totally unrealistic how quickly he was always able to bring up the appropriate sounds.


The shirt is real and you can program your own custom sounds (can't remember how many) so with some clever planning you can load up some good ones and be ready in a click of a button.

*Edit*: Here is the shirt http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/a5bf/
Looks like up to 20 customizable sounds. I always wanted this shirt and one of my custom sounds will be the Price is Right losing sound.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> That was amusing.
> 
> But Sheldon really no longer has any redeeming qualities whatsoever, does he?


Since the impetus of the show was because he drove penny to the hospital, I don't know?


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## ScubaCat (Jun 26, 2003)

Ruth said:


> Never having heard of Stan Lee, the episode fell kind of flat for me.


Same here. I'm not into comics or movies made from comics so any references are lost on me. I also didn't watch Law and Order so I didn't get that reference. But other than that the episode was OK.

Sheldon telling the big guy in the jail cell "That's my seat." was fun.


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## LifeIsABeach (Feb 28, 2001)

ScubaCat said:


> Sheldon telling the big guy in the jail cell "That's my seat." was fun.


Even better was that Sheldon was sitting there the next time they showed the cell. Since he obviously could not bully the guy into giving him the seat we can only assume he annoyed him into giving it to him.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

Sheldon is developing a "Michael Scott" problem, in that his character is becoming more and more absurd, unbelievable and unlikeable.


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## doom1701 (May 15, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Star Wars?


Same thing.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

The L&O sound was lost on me - never seen an episode.

The rest was all goooooood.


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## Waldorf (Oct 4, 2002)

Einselen said:


> The shirt is real and you can program your own custom sounds (can't remember how many) so with some clever planning you can load up some good ones and be ready in a click of a button.
> 
> *Edit*: Here is the shirt http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/a5bf/
> Looks like up to 20 customizable sounds. I always wanted this shirt and one of my custom sounds will be the Price is Right losing sound.


I named it "price_is_wrong.wav"


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

Einselen said:


> The shirt is real and you can program your own custom sounds (can't remember how many) so with some clever planning you can load up some good ones and be ready in a click of a button.
> 
> *Edit*: Here is the shirt http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/a5bf/
> Looks like up to 20 customizable sounds. I always wanted this shirt and one of my custom sounds will be the Price is Right losing sound.


Ha ha! I love how BBT brings in silly geek gear like this and the Cylon toaster. Imagine all the cool samples the set design and costume people at BBT get to try out.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Ruth said:


> Well, I've heard of some of those _characters_ (the ones that have been made into mainstream movies, anyway). But I have no interest in or knowledge about comic books. I wouldn't in a million years be able to say who created the characters, or even that it was the same person responsible for all of them. Certainly not the guy's name, which I don't think I ever heard before watching this episode.


Sooo, you're saying you're the Penny of this group?




scooterboy said:


> The L&O sound was lost on me - never seen an episode.
> 
> The rest was all goooooood.


Not even 15 minutes of one episode (or even a *gasp* commerical for one of them).

The sound is indelibly linked to the franchise.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

I've never seen a single scene of L&O either, so the sound was lost on me too. But it was still funny.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

It boggles my mind that somebody who has watched any amount of television in the past two decades wouldn't know the L&O sound...not only from the show itself and its commercials, but from the endless parodies (which probably started about a month after the show first aired in 1990).


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## stellie93 (Feb 25, 2006)

Ruth said:


> Never having heard of Stan Lee, the episode fell kind of flat for me.


I never heard of him either, but it was easy enough to get who he was and how they worship him. Still a good ep to me. He's right up there with Leonard Nimoy with the signed restraining order.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

I've been trying to restrain myself and give this show more of a chance, but I still CANNOT stand the Raj character. He serves no useful purpose in this show and is a sorry actor. The show itself has its moments, and I usually enjoy it. But earlier this season, I was castigated for criticizing the Raj character, so I've laid off. But he is just so horrible, I can't ignore it. The show would be SO much better without him.


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## hapdrastic (Mar 31, 2006)

Bierboy said:


> I've been trying to restrain myself and give this show more of a chance, but I still CANNOT stand the Raj character. He serves no useful purpose in this show and is a sorry actor. The show itself has its moments, and I usually enjoy it. But earlier this season, I was castigated for criticizing the Raj character, so I've laid off. But he is just so horrible, I can't ignore it. The show would be SO much better without him.


And I still completely disagree with you.


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## MapleLeaf (Oct 12, 2007)

JYoung said:


> Not even 15 minutes of one episode (or even a *gasp* commerical for one of them).


You don't even need that long. It's always at the end of the "In the criminal justice system..." opening monologue. So if at some point in the last two decades, you left the show that precedes a L&O episode running for an extra 30 seconds, you'd have heard it. I guess I watch too much TV, but I too echo Rob Helmerichs' surprise at the number of people who don't recognise the sound.

For me, the funniest part of the episode was when Penny said "I don't know who that is" when asked about Stan Lee, to which my wife, who adamantly claims she's not a geek, turned to me and meekly replied, "I know who that is".


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Bierboy said:


> I've been trying to restrain myself and give this show more of a chance, but I still CANNOT stand the Raj character. He serves no useful purpose in this show and is a sorry actor. The show itself has its moments, and I usually enjoy it. But earlier this season, I was castigated for criticizing the Raj character, so I've laid off. But he is just so horrible, I can't ignore it. The show would be SO much better without him.


If you're criticizing Raj's acting, you must REALLY hate Galecki's.

The only thing that saves a scene with Leonard is the fact that Penny is usually in it so I zone out and focus on her when he nerdifies his lines.

Kunal Nayyar is quite the decorated actor in Bollywood. (OK, not really!)

Frank


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

fmowry said:


> If you're criticizing Raj's acting, you must REALLY hate Galecki's.
> 
> The only thing that saves a scene with Leonard is the fact that Penny is usually in it so I zone out and focus on her when he nerdifies his lines.
> 
> ...


Yeah, it's certainly not top of the line, but Penny makes up for it (with eye candy).


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

I had no idea Stan Lee lives in Pasadena.


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## ScubaCat (Jun 26, 2003)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It boggles my mind that somebody who has watched any amount of television in the past two decades wouldn't know the L&O sound...not only from the show itself and its commercials, but from the endless parodies (which probably started about a month after the show first aired in 1990).


I'm surprised that anyone is surprised. I'm not into those kind of shows so there is no reason I would ever watch. And I have this thing called TiVo that lets me skip commercials.

As for the cast, I think it is very well done - including Raj. Most of the guest stars - other than that Stan 'what's his name' - are well chosen too. I can't wait to see the new episode with (evil) Wil Wheaton. It just finished filming so I don't know how long it will be before it airs.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

ScubaCat said:


> I'm surprised that anyone is surprised. I'm not into those kind of shows so there is no reason I would ever watch. And I have this thing called TiVo that lets me skip commercials.
> .


For 20 years?


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## ScubaCat (Jun 26, 2003)

Turtleboy said:


> For 20 years?


Law and Order has been on for 20 years?


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## Vendikarr (Feb 24, 2004)

ScubaCat said:


> Law and Order has been on for 20 years?


Yes. This season they broke Gunsmoke's record as longest running television drama.


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## StacieH (Jan 2, 2009)

I've never heard of "The Big Bang Theory." What is it?


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

StacieH said:


> I've never heard of "The Big Bang Theory." What is it?


The whole universe was in a hot, dense state...


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It boggles my mind that somebody who has watched any amount of television in the past two decades wouldn't know the L&O sound...not only from the show itself and its commercials, but from the endless parodies (which probably started about a month after the show first aired in 1990).


What can I tell you? I'm being totally honest when I say I did not recognize that sound. Maybe I have heard it in a commercial, but I certainly didn't remember it. And if I've heard it in a parody, it went right over my head, so I wouldn't have remembered that either.

I watch a lot of TV - I just have no interest in that show so I guess I retain nothing about it, including sound effects.

I'll take a polygraph if you like.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

scooterboy said:


> What can I tell you? I'm being totally honest when I say I did not recognize that sound. Maybe I have heard it in a commercial, but I certainly didn't remember it. And if I've heard it in a parody, it went right over my head, so I wouldn't have remembered that either.
> 
> I watch a lot of TV - I just have no interest in that show so I guess I retain nothing about it, including sound effects.
> 
> I'll take a polygraph if you like.


I watched it with my son, who's in his 20s, and he didn't recognize the sound either. I had to explain what the sound was. So appearently there ARE some adults who don't recognize the sound


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

scooterboy said:


> What can I tell you? I'm being totally honest when I say I did not recognize that sound. Maybe I have heard it in a commercial, but I certainly didn't remember it. And if I've heard it in a parody, it went right over my head, so I wouldn't have remembered that either.
> 
> I watch a lot of TV - I just have no interest in that show so I guess I retain nothing about it, including sound effects.
> 
> I'll take a polygraph if you like.


Same here.


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## Bai Shen (Dec 17, 2004)

ScubaCat said:


> I'm surprised that anyone is surprised. I'm not into those kind of shows so there is no reason I would ever watch. And I have this thing called TiVo that lets me skip commercials.


Same here, but I still recognized the sound.


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## The Spud (Aug 28, 2002)

Prior to last year when I started watching L&O:SVU & L&O:CI (tried L&O, but didn't like it as much), I'm not sure I would have recognized the sound.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

scooterboy said:


> The L&O sound was lost on me - never seen an episode.


^


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> The whole universe was in a hot, dense state...


Oh, well played, sir.

Jan


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

MickeS said:


> I had no idea Stan Lee lives in Pasadena.


He probably lives in San Marino.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

scooterboy said:


> What can I tell you? I'm being totally honest when I say I did not recognize that sound.


Oh, I wasn't saying "You're lying." I'm just saying it seems really, really strange to me that somebody reasonably hooked-in to mass media wouldn't know the L&O two-tone.

Obviously, my expectations took a little detour from reality.


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## wouldworker (Sep 7, 2004)

Count me as another who didn't recognize the Law & Order sound. I've never watched the show. My wife knew it from having seen the show over a decade ago.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

What is it supposed to mean anyway?


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## Tangent (Feb 25, 2005)

I haven't seen a moment of L&O but still knew the sound. I took it to be their version of the good ol' "dun-dun-duuuunnnnn" dramatic music cue...


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## Kablemodem (May 26, 2001)

I've heard the sound before, but having never seen Law & Order I don't associate it with that show. I still thought it was funny.


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## StanSimmons (Jun 10, 2000)

I loved the bit where after Sheldon says to Penny "Please try to wear something appropriate, it won't help my case if the Judge is busy trying to read the word 'juicy' scrawled across your buttocks" and then Raj gets caught trying to look.

And OMG, that suit was horrid.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

DUDE_NJX said:


> What is it supposed to mean anyway?


It's the sound of Dick Wolf's cash machine.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Penny's courtroom outfit was very nice. She cleans up good.


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## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

StanSimmons said:


> And OMG, that suit was horrid.


We've seen the suit before - I'm thinking the S2 episode where the guys took the train up to SF for a conference, and Summer Glau was on it?


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## Michael S (Jan 12, 2004)

I like it when Penny went and did third knock and Sheldon goes "Thats just wrong".


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## USAFSSO (Aug 24, 2005)

Michael S said:


> I like it when Penny went and did third knock and Sheldon goes "Thats just wrong".


And you can see she broke character big time.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

Great show, but please Bill Prady, Chuck Lorre, whoever else may be in charge, NO MORE LAUGH TRACKS! So not needed.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Did you guys read the vanity card for this episode? It was more relevant than usual. 

http://www.chucklorre.com/index-bbt.php?p=279



> I worked for Stan Lee twenty-five years ago at Marvel Animation in Los Angeles. My favorite memory is sitting in his office with the legendary Johnny Carson writer, Bob Smith. We were discussing an animated series featuring Rodney Dangerfield as a dog that got no respect. (Bob was the actual brains behind the project, I was just hanging around hoping to be included.) Anyway, the meeting was going along nicely, the idea of creating an unloved mutt modeled on Rodney seemed both poignant and hilarious. Then Stan rose from the throne-like seat behind his desk and said, what this project needs is a real comedy writer. I looked over at Bob, one of the whitest guys youve ever seen, and watched him get even whiter. I glanced down and saw his fists curl into bloodless mallets. A cold, eerie silence filled the room. It felt as if time had stopped. I remember thinking Im about to see a legendary Johnny Carson writer kill the guy who invented Spider- Man. And then the oddest thing happened. Bob smiled and said, Yeah, Stan, thats what it needs, a real comedy writer. Stan was happy to be agreed with. The clock started ticking again, the atmosphere returned to normal. Bob and I left the office. Stan never had a clue. When I told him this story on the set of The Big Bang Theory, he jokingly said, So? Youre still not a real comedy writer. We both laughed. It was funny. But Im still gonna sic Bob Smith on his wrinkled old ass.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

a) I've never seen one episode, commercial, intro to L&O, so I had no idea what that sound was. Count me as another who was lost on that sound.

b) I know who Stan Lee is, but that's mostly only because of Mallrats.

c) My feelings about the show aside, I think the Raj character and actor is one of the best on the show. I think Raj is the most "grounded" or normal character, and just says the hard truth when it needs to be said. I like him.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Why was Stan Lee signing the guys' stuff with "Excelsior" after his name? What's that supposed to mean?


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> Why was Stan Lee signing the guys' stuff with "Excelsior" after his name? What's that supposed to mean?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee



> Throughout the 1960s, Lee scripted, art-directed, and edited most of Marvel's series, moderated the letters pages, wrote a monthly column called "Stan's Soapbox," and wrote endless promotional copy, often signing off with his trademark phrase "Excelsior!" (which is also the New York state motto).


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

We should have had a poll.

My answers:
Not a big comics fan, but even I knew about Stan Lee and the signoff "Excelsior!"

Laughed like hell at the L&O 'dunk dunk' (I hate that sound so much, I can't watch the show).

It's amusing to me how some things seem to be 'common knowledge' and I know them anyhow, despite not actively paying attention to them. They are just in the air, like smog, inescapable. How did you all escape? I guess I am prone to cultural weather inversion and you are not. 

Could it be that some of us are more adept at remembering sound effects? I note that in Wall-E, a lot of people did not recognize some of the sound cues like the


Spoiler



Mac start-up


 sound, perhaps because it was so out of context.

Jan


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## Bob_Newhart (Jul 14, 2004)

I wonder if Stanley is that much of a jackass in real life?


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## Aniketos (Mar 6, 2006)

Bob_Newhart said:


> I wonder if Stanley is that much of a jackass in real life?


Stan Lee? From everything I've seen him do cameos in he seems like a really nice guy and a good sport.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

murgatroyd said:


> Could it be that some of us are more adept at remembering sound effects? I note that in Wall-E, a lot of people did not recognize some of the sound cues like the
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I wouldn't have gotten that one, I have no idea what sound it makes. But I got everyone of them in BBT this week.


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## Stormspace (Apr 13, 2004)

Turtleboy said:


> For 20 years?


Law and Order is NBC, right?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

zordude said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee


Ah, thanks for the explanation. I thought he was using it as a title (Stan Lee, Excelsior), not as a tagline.


Stormspace said:


> Law and Order is NBC, right?


It started on NBC. But it's been around so long that it's now in syndication on multiple cable networks as well.


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## SorenTodd (May 26, 2009)

I'm a loyal Law & Order viewer, so obviously I knew the doink-doink sound. But taken out of context, I can see how someone wouldn't recognize it right away.

And I love Sheldon's character just the way it is. We all thought that Chloe from '24' was anti-social, but Sheldon takes it to a whole new level.


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## [NG]Owner (Dec 19, 2006)

Bierboy said:


> Yeah, it's certainly not top of the line, but Penny makes up for it (with eye candy).


I may be the guy that pushes Humpty Dumpty off the wall with this, and I am as jonesed by eye candy as the next guy, but I'm really getting tired of Kaley's pursed lips syndrome everytime she's done with a line. It seems to be her "neutral" expression now. Look for it, you'll see it, too. Drives me nuts.

It's like recognizing a tick now for me. I look for it always and always see it, sadly thereby ignoring many of Kaley's other bodacious features. It's like watching a train wreck now. I'm off the Kaley bandwagon. Just like I'm off the Sophia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family) bandwagon. Smokin' curves, but if she'd just shut up.

[NG]Owner


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

[NG]Owner;7811458 said:


> It's like recognizing a tick now for me. I look for it always and always see it, sadly thereby ignoring many of Kaley's other bodacious features. It's like watching a train wreck now. I'm off the Kaley bandwagon. *Just like I'm off the Sophia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family) bandwagon. Smokin' curves, but if she'd just shut up. *
> 
> [NG]Owner


Dude, turn in your man card! That voice and accent just makes her even more sexy!!


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> Dude, turn in your man card! That voice and accent just makes her even more sexy!!


It's time to take the gun out of the footlocker and shoot him.


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

[NG]Owner;7811458 said:


> I may be the guy that pushes Humpty Dumpty off the wall with this, and I am as jonesed by eye candy as the next guy, but I'm really getting tired of Kaley's pursed lips syndrome everytime she's done with a line. It seems to be her "neutral" expression now. Look for it, you'll see it, too. Drives me nuts.
> 
> It's like recognizing a tick now for me. *I look for it always* and always see it, sadly thereby ignoring many of Kaley's other bodacious features. It's like watching a train wreck now. I'm off the Kaley bandwagon. Just like I'm off the Sophia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family) bandwagon. Smokin' curves, but if she'd just shut up.
> 
> [NG]Owner


I think you're obsessing on the wrong things to your detriment. Get the feeling you've dumped girlfriends for some quirk that bothered you but most thought endearing.  There's too many beautiful women on TV to want them to be generic.


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## [NG]Owner (Dec 19, 2006)

OK then. My comment has garnered me detesticulation, a bullet between the eyes, and a session on the psychiatric couch. A veritable hat trick one might say.



I've been cured! Lemme be the meat in a Kaley/Sophia sammich!

Move along, nothing to see here.

[NG]Owner


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## GoHalos (Aug 30, 2006)

I found this episode very funny.

I'm also another person that isn't a comic book fan. I think I only knew who Stan Lee was from a Simpsons episode that he was on, and I did know why they held him in such high esteem.

I also don't watch Law & Order, and I didn't recognize that sound as being from that series, but (as mentioned above) knew that the sound was the "duh, duh, duh" sound - and found it funny.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Haha I remember when some family made fun of me for never having seen law and order. I think it was in season 8 about that time. Then I was on a trip and I saw a bunch of episodes on whatever cable channel and got hooked and over the next few years caught up on probably 98&#37; of the old episodes and all of the ones going forward.

I would say I would find it suprising for someone say older than 20 or so who watches enough tv to be posting on a tivo forum to not be familar with that sound. It is probably one of the most familiar sounds in the history of tv.

But to be fair, you probably have heard it, just not enough to form a context form that brief playing of it. Though I thought it was funny in the show. Not as funny as BN refering to Stan Lee as Stanley but still funny. (by the way no comic book nerd here. I am not even sure how/why I know who Stan Lee is other than osmosis. I think he has been mentioned in enough pop culture nerd centric movies and tv shows that is the most likely source.)


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

For fun I looked up Stan Lee's acting resume on IMDB:



> Thor (2011) (filming) (uncredited)
> ... aka The Mighty Thor (International: English title: copyright title)
> Iron Man 2 (2010) (post-production) .... Larry King
> ... aka Iron Man 2: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)
> ...


Then Appearances as himself:



> With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010) (post-production) .... Himself
> 
> "The Big Bang Theory" .... Himself (1 episode, 2010)
> - The Excelsior Acquisition (2010) TV episode .... Himself
> ...


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Yeah, Stan Lee has always been a master of self-promotion...although I guess not as much of a master as I thought, since there are people in the face of the Earth who haven't heard of him.


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## ScubaCat (Jun 26, 2003)

Yea, but now thanks to Big Bang Theory - we have heard of him!


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Yeah, Stan Lee has always been a master of self-promotion...although I guess not as much of a master as I thought, since there are people in the face of the Earth who haven't heard of him.


There are also people who have never heard the Law and Order sound, even though it's been on NBC for 20 years, plus, there have been times when it seemed to be playing on A&E or USA 24 hours a day.


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## rondotcom (Feb 13, 2005)

StacieH said:


> I've never heard of "The Big Bang Theory." What is it?


Apprently the title of Tiger Wood's Autobiography


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I would say this... neither Stan Lee, nor the Law and Order sound are what one would consider obscure references.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Law and Order sound is like the Jeopardy final question tune. Even if you never watch Jeopardy you've heard it. The ones that don't know the L&O sound are the same ones that can name the extras in episode 18 of Buffy Star Galactica Trek. NTTAWWT

Frank


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

fmowry said:


> Law and Order sound is like the Jeopardy final question tune. Even if you never watch Jeopardy you've heard it. The ones that don't know the L&O sound are the same ones that can name the extras in episode 18 of Buffy Star Galactica Trek. NTTAWWT


Isn't that the episode where Amy Acker had her first speaking role?


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Isn't that the episode where Amy Acker had her first speaking role?


I think she said something to Stan Lee.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

fmowry said:


> Law and Order sound is like the Jeopardy final question tune. Even if you never watch Jeopardy you've heard it. The ones that don't know the L&O sound are the same ones that can name the extras in episode 18 of Buffy Star Galactica Trek. NTTAWWT
> 
> Frank


Not even close. I've never been interested in L&O, change the channel when it's on or I'm surfing through. I don't need another drama to get hooked on. So I actively avoided it, and because of that, I've never really heard that sound in the context of a show I've *NEVER* seen. Just because of that, you can't make a blanket generalization about people who haven't seen any particular show, even if it has been on for so many years.

Jeopardy, OTOH, has been on TV for alot longer than L&O. And even then, I'm sure you could find perfectly normally adjusted people that don't recognize that either.

Just because *you* think something is universally known does not mean that it actually is.

Case in point, just last week I responded to my g/f via text message: "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!" thinking of course she'll get the reference, even if she has never seen Star Trek -- since so many others have parodied it (like Jon Stewart, et al). But guess what -- she replied "????", so I had to explain it.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

You know, Hank, you were doing just fine. Up until the last paragraph, where you played RIGHT into fmowry's hands.


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## domat (Apr 16, 2007)

Hank said:


> Case in point, just last week I responded to my g/f via text message: "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!" thinking of course she'll get the reference, even if she has never seen Star Trek -- since so many others have parodied it (like Jon Stewart, et al). But guess what -- she replied "????", so I had to explain it.


I few months ago the cashier guy at a Dunkin Donuts was named Khan, I of course had to do the shatner Khaaaaaan only to find out that this guy has never seen the movie or heard about the scene.

what do they teach kids these days,


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

bobby123 said:


> Well, I've heard that this show is still airing successfully these days and its latest episodes had made a big opening blast in worldwide fans not even from USA but some other European countries are also in site..


Oooh.. The Big Spam Theory.


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## PeternJim (Sep 25, 2004)

Toss me in as someone else who didn't recognize the L&O sound. I suppose it's likely I've actually heard it before, but I had no idea what it was until everyone else stopped laughing and explained it.

Never seen a single episode, no interest in ever doing so. Is the sound really parodied in other contexts as much as people seem to assume? I understand it's a popular show, but hardly seems a automatic component of modern cultural literacy.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

PeternJim said:


> Toss me in as someone else who didn't recognize the L&O sound. I suppose it's likely I've actually heard it before, but I had no idea what it was until everyone else stopped laughing and explained it.
> 
> Never seen a single episode, no interest in ever doing so. Is the sound really parodied in other contexts as much as people seem to assume? I understand it's a popular show, but hardly seems a automatic component of modern cultural literacy.


Well I do that while watching an ep of Sesame Street with my little boy they did a L&O parody and used that sound quite often ..sort of in a joking manner.


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## NJChris (May 11, 2001)

USAFSSO said:


> And you can see she broke character big time.


 How so? She likes to make fun of him. She laughed at his reaction. I see that as part of her character.

I like when a sitcom can have the characters laugh at what the other says or does.


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## SeanC (Dec 30, 2003)

PeternJim said:


> Is the sound really parodied in other contexts as much as people seem to assume? I understand it's a popular show, but hardly seems a automatic component of modern cultural literacy.


I have heard it parodied in many different shows, but then I'm familiar with the sound. People unfamiliar with it may just ignore it and not realize they even heard it.


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## McGonigle (Nov 7, 2001)

I've never seen an episode of L&O but I recognized the sound because I don't live under a rock! 
All these people not recognizing it makes me laugh because at Denver Broncos football games, when there is a penalty flag, that sound is played over the PA. Just imagining all the fans looking around in confusion makes me chuckle.


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## Bob_Newhart (Jul 14, 2004)

Is there any way that I can re-create the L&O sound with my voice so that I can use it in social situations or do I have to buy the tee shirt?


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Bob_Newhart said:


> Is there any way that I can re-create the L&O sound with my voice so that I can use it in social situations or do I have to buy the tee shirt?


I just yell "CHONG CHONG!"


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

I like how this thread has devolved into a discussion of the Law and Order sound and who the Hell is Stan Lee. Meanwhile no one has started a new thread for this week's episode where I can hear everyone's reaction to Sheldon's dream.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

This week's ep doesn't deserve a thread.


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

DUDE_NJX said:


> This week's ep doesn't deserve a thread.


Exactly any nerdy show reference to the (prop spoiler)


Spoiler



one ring where they don't bother to sound out the inscription's Tengwar isn't worthy of discussion. Sure they'll do Klingon but not a transliteration of the Black Speech of Mordor? Bah.


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## Hunter Green (Feb 22, 2002)

marksman said:


> Since the impetus of the show was because he drove penny to the hospital, I don't know?


Which was a nice callback to loyal watchers, actually.



busyba said:


> Penny's courtroom outfit was very nice. She cleans up good.


+1



DevdogAZ said:


> Why was Stan Lee signing the guys' stuff with "Excelsior" after his name? What's that supposed to mean?


Wood shavings.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

Funny that Think Geek now has the sound shirt on sale for $30 and has "As seen on The Big Bang Theory" plastered over the page  

I knew who Stan Lee was mainly because he was the host of Who Wants to be a Superhero? It was so cheesy but still funny and entertaining. And once I saw him on there, I started to see him pop up in whole bunches of places. He's always showing up with cameos in superhero movies and such.


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## sburnside1 (Jan 28, 2009)

Hank said:


> Case in point, just last week I responded to my g/f via text message: "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!" thinking of course she'll get the reference, even if she has never seen Star Trek -- since so many others have parodied it (like Jon Stewart, et al). But guess what -- she replied "????", so I had to explain it.


http://www.khaaan.com/


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## Supfreak26 (Dec 12, 2003)

murgatroyd said:


> Could it be that some of us are more adept at remembering sound effects? I note that in Wall-E, a lot of people did not recognize some of the sound cues like the
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I have no idea what that sounds like. I don't have one and probably never will.

The Chong-chong, though, was only familiar because I had heard it on TV when L&O re-runs play late at night here. Sometimes I leave the TV on for background noise and I heard it there. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten the joke. My wife had no idea.



[NG]Owner;7811458 said:


> Just like I'm off the Sophia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family) bandwagon. Smokin' curves, but if she'd just shut up.
> 
> [NG]Owner


This is the most insane post I've ever seen on this forum. You sir, need to focus on what's most important!



[NG]Owner;7811678 said:


> I've been cured! Lemme be the meat in a Kaley/Sophia sammich!


That's better.


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