# Young Sheldon - Season Four (2020/2021) *spoilers*



## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

*Young Sheldon*, season four. Usual rules, don't post spoilers before the episode airs. Individual threads are always welcome, but this gives us a place to discuss it as the season progresses.

I'm just glad it's back. I miss my sitcoms!


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Great start to the season. The very first scene, where George predicts he may hit the Trifecta with Missy & George Jr., was great.

And we have a name: Leonard Cooper!

'Young Sheldon' Reveals the Name of Sheldon & Amy's Baby Boy!


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Was this also his first use of a 'Fun Fact'? He may have done it earlier, but I couldn't remember.

Tam looked like he aged 10 years since last season. It was funny seeing him with Sheldon, who hasn't seemed to age at all.

Loved the reveal at the end.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Loved that Amy was also in voice over

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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Donbadabon said:


> Tam looked like he aged 10 years since last season. It was funny seeing him with Sheldon, who hasn't seemed to age at all.


Missy is looking older than her twin this season.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Yeah, both Missy & Tam clearly had a growth spurt. Whereas poor Ian seems to be stuck.

I will confess when Sheldon thanked his sister in his speech, the room got dusty.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Of course with Sheldon and Amy's baby named Leonard, there's all this speculation that Leonard Hoffstetter maybe died?


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

astrohip said:


> Yeah, both Missy & Tam clearly had a growth spurt. Whereas poor Ian seems to be stuck.
> 
> I will confess when Sheldon thanked his sister in his speech, the room got dusty.


Or just Miss(t)y?


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Steveknj said:


> Of course with Sheldon and Amy's baby named Leonard, there's all this speculation that Leonard Hoffstetter maybe died?


Well not till now!!!

Lolol

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## Hot4Bo (Apr 3, 2003)

That didn't occur to me because he specifically said he wanted to name the baby Leonard Nimoy Cooper but it was vetoed by Amy.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Also, the way the narration on that show goes, Sheldon would have said “after my best friend who died.”


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## Hot4Bo (Apr 3, 2003)

TonyD79 said:


> Also, the way the narration on that show goes, Sheldon would have said "after my best friend who died."


I agree with that.


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## Agatha Mystery (Feb 12, 2002)

Show made me cry during Sheldon’s speech. It was a good speech. It was nice to see him bond with Missy. 

It was a good start to the new season.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> Of course with Sheldon and Amy's baby named Leonard, there's all this speculation that Leonard Hoffstetter maybe died?


WTF? You can't name your kid after someone unless they're dead?


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> WTF? You can't name your kid after someone unless they're dead?


Right. Gotta go back in time and tell my parents who named all five kids after aunts, uncles and grandparents. All living.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

In TBBT, Sheldon did't have kind words for Dad, or his brother, so not surprising he did't name his son after them. It wouldn't be surprising if he named him Stephen, but Leonard was/is his closest friend.
He should have given his son the middle name Amy vetoed


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Tony_T said:


> In TBBT, Sheldon did't have kind words for Dad, or his brother, so not surprising he did't name his son after them. It wouldn't be surprising if he named him Stephen, but Leonard was/is his closest friend.
> He should have given his son the middle name Amy vetoed


I believe it was established last year that he and Amy have more than one child?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

astrohip said:


> Great start to the season. The very first scene, where George predicts he may hit the Trifecta with Missy & George Jr., was great.


I loved that line. So glad this show is back.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

I think they could drop Georgie out of the show and it would be so much better. 
These last few episodes , his stories were just bad, in my opinion.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

….or write him better stories and have him have more interaction with Sheldon and Missy.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I thought the Georgie storyline from last night was fine. Actually he's acting like a lot of rural teens. Bored, sex always on the mind, and what happened to him would be something that could happen to any kid his age. I did like mom and dad fighting, and knowing what we know, is it the beginning of the end? I loved Missy playing D&D. That was the best part of the show.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Never understood the opening with the cow? 

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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

TIVO_GUY_HERE said:


> Never understood the opening with the cow?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


Originally it was just Sheldon, who you could understand his fear of something like a big cow. Now it's the whole family which makes no sense. Of course Texas is cattle country so there's that.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Steveknj said:


> Originally it was just Sheldon, who you could understand his fear of something like a big cow. ...


&#8230;or a chicken, or a blue jay


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## getbak (Oct 8, 2004)

I wonder how much Chuck Lorre gets paid every time he can squeeze the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme into one of his shows?


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## Agatha Mystery (Feb 12, 2002)

Georgie's storyline makes sense and didn't seem out of character. Heck, even my husband said the roller coaster comment at the same time as Georgie. It's relatable.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Agatha Mystery said:


> Georgie's storyline makes sense and didn't seem out of character. Heck, even my husband said the roller coaster comment at the same time as Georgie. It's relatable.


Very much so. I also thought roller coaster.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Tony_T said:


> &#8230;or a chicken, or a blue jay


Yes. And it's not like they live near any cows, they live in suburbs. Just always thought it was dumb

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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

TIVO_GUY_HERE said:


> Yes. And it's not like they live near any cows, they live in suburbs. Just always thought it was dumb
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


Has that been clarified? I always thought they lived in rural East Texas, not necessarily a suburb. We know their neighbor raises chickens. Now that can happen in the 'burbs too (heck I live down the block from a farm and I'm in the burbs), so I always felt it was more small town Texas than suburban Houston for example.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

They live in or near Beaumont, which is far east Texas (LA border area), about an hour east of Houston. It's a small city in a rural area. But that's true of all Texas. Cities, large and small, surrounded by vast expanses of country.

I think the opening credits are just supposed to show how Sheldon is a very urban, very citi-fied, very professorial kid, in "cowboy" Texas. Stranger in a Strange Land type setting.


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## indyrobb (Feb 9, 2005)

On one of the earlier opening scenes rather than a cow they had a tumbleweed roll up.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

astrohip said:


> They live in or near Beaumont, which is far east Texas (LA border area), about an hour east of Houston. It's a small city in a rural area. But that's true of all Texas. Cities, large and small, surrounded by vast expanses of country.
> 
> I think the opening credits are just supposed to show how Sheldon is a very urban, very citi-fied, very professorial kid, in "cowboy" Texas. Stranger in a Strange Land type setting.


Exactly. Since when are opening credits supposed to be taken literally.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

I've never been to Texas, but the mountains in the background of the opening credits don't make me think of Texas.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Tony_T said:


> I've never been to Texas, but the mountains in the background of the opening credits don't make me think of Texas.


The credits are a hodge-podge of Texas. It's supposed to be iconic Texas, like the movies & westerns, since it has tumbleweeds & cows & deserts & mountains, but that's what west Texas is like. But the show is based in far southeast Texas, which is Gulf Coast--wet, green, flat (but has cattle).

West Texas has mountains.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Finally had a chance to watch this episode (I was caught in the DirecTV-Tegna battle, and lost CBS for 3 weeks). I thought the Georgie storyline was fine, and can remember that exact same scenario happening to me. My very first girlfriend. I was so stupid. Sixteen year old boys are not ruled by their brains (title character excepted). We didn't have test kits back then, we had to wait and wait and wait. I can literally remember the moment she walked up to me and said "I got my ******". It was like a 500lb weight lifted off me.

Sorry if this is too explicit for some of you, but this happens all the time. I was lucky. So many aren't. Sadly.



getbak said:


> I wonder how much Chuck Lorre gets paid every time he can squeeze the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme into one of his shows?


He rakes in about $100 million a year from syndication fees (2.5 Men, BBT, Mike & Molly, etc). So somewhere between zero and $100 million is the answer.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

Loved the whole D&D plot in this episode. So fun! Especially the ending and Missy's costume


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## gschrock (Dec 28, 2001)

TIVO_GUY_HERE said:


> Yes. And it's not like they live near any cows, they live in suburbs. Just always thought it was dumb
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


Suburbs doesn't exclude cows. I live in what would probably be called suburbs, and we have farm fields interspersed all throughout the area, many with cows. I get deer in my yard every now and then.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

gschrock said:


> Suburbs doesn't exclude cows. I live in what would probably be called suburbs, and we have farm fields interspersed all throughout the area, many with cows. I get deer in my yard every now and then.


Still think given the show, its a dumb opening

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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Why is everyone ignoring the elephant in the room? The cow is a Holstein, a cow associated with milk states like Wisconsin, not a beef state like Texas. IMO the cow should be a Longhorn, or at the very least a Hereford!


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

ej42137 said:


> Why is everyone ignoring the elephant cow in the room? The cow is a Holstein, a cow associated with milk states like Wisconsin, not a beef state like Texas. IMO the cow should be a Longhorn, or at the very least a Hereford!


FYP


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Bierboy said:


> FYP


Thanks!


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

ej42137 said:


> Thanks!


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## Philosofy (Feb 21, 2000)

I want to watch the latest episode, one we’re Sheldon goes to orientation, but the actual episode wasn’t a new one it was a repeat. Did anybody else have this problem??


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Philosofy said:


> I want to watch the latest episode, one where Sheldon goes to orientation, but the actual episode wasn't a new one it was a repeat. Did anybody else have this problem??


tl;dr Young Sheldon will return with new episodes next week, Thur Jan 21. That's the orientation one.

For some reason, the CBS Thursday night schedule keeps getting bumped. Originally it was going to be last week (Jan 7), but a couple days in advance, it got bumped to this week (Jan 14). Then this week was bumped to next week (Jan 21).

All the major guides are now showing next week. We'll see how long that lasts.


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## MarkofT (Jul 27, 2001)

My wife loves the show. I enjoy the characters, mostly. But I always try to avoid it because of that stupid opening. The visuals aren't horrible, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

MarkofT said:


> My wife loves the show. I enjoy the characters, mostly. But I always try to avoid it because of that stupid opening. The visuals aren't horrible, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.


You realize...ummm....you can record the show and skip the opening.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

MarkofT said:


> My wife loves the show. I enjoy the characters, mostly. But I always try to avoid it because of that stupid opening. The visuals aren't horrible, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.


Use bathroom during opening.

Small world problems

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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

MarkofT said:


> My wife loves the show. I enjoy the characters, mostly. But I always try to avoid it because of that stupid opening. The visuals aren't horrible, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.


Wow. If only you had a device that skipped the 30 seconds.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

MarkofT said:


> My wife loves the show. I enjoy the characters, mostly. But I always try to avoid it because of that stupid opening. The visuals aren't horrible, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.


Have you watched the opening for B Positive?
Now that's a terrible theme song (and graphics as well), as I recall, I watched the opening only once.


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## Grasshopper AZ (Apr 29, 2005)

Tony_T said:


> Have you watched the opening for B Positive?
> Now that's a terrible theme song (and graphics as well), as I recall, I watched the opening only once.


I agree with you but my daughter loves it for some reason.........


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Tony_T said:


> Have you watched the opening for B Positive?
> Now that's a terrible theme song (and graphics as well), as I recall, I watched the opening only once.


Totally agree. That's the most bizarre opening that seems to be totally out of place with the show.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

MarkofT said:


> My wife loves the show. I enjoy the characters, mostly. But I always try to avoid it because of that stupid opening. The visuals aren't horrible, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.


I guess I'm in the minority as I love the opening and the theme song. I think it's perfect for the show. 

Scott


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## MarkofT (Jul 27, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> You realize...ummm....you can record the show and skip the opening.





TIVO_GUY_HERE said:


> Use bathroom during opening.
> 
> Small world problems
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk





TonyD79 said:


> Wow. If only you had a device that skipped the 30 seconds.


It's like mayo on a burger. You can scrape it if, but you still know it was there.

Plus we have 4 dead peanuts and the universal remote doesn't have a skip button and the 4 colored buttons quit working.



Tony_T said:


> Have you watched the opening for B Positive?
> Now that's a terrible theme song (and graphics as well), as I recall, I watched the opening only once.


That one fits the show. It's annoyingly loud, but it's fast paced and slapstick, just like the show.

The YS theme/title doesn't match. It's a sitcom with a theme more suited to an evening soap. They live in suburban East Texas, but the setting is a West Texas cattle ranch. None of its existence makes any sense.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Mute 
_("*The visuals aren't horrible*, but the theme song sounds like someone let their 16 year old cousin have a go and no one was brave enough to speak up with a critique. It totally ruins the show for me.")_


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

MarkofT said:


> It's like mayo on a burger. You can scrape it if, but you still know it was there.
> 
> Plus we have 4 dead peanuts and the universal remote doesn't have a skip button and the 4 colored buttons quit working.
> 
> ...


Now you are just whining. LOL.


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## TKnight206 (Oct 20, 2016)

About three minutes into the episode when he's on the computer, it appears there's a February 2021 calender on the screen. The resolution isn't great as the channel is downgraded to 720p for me. (It's Comcastic!) If someone with a better picture, or perhaps Paramount+, could check, see if there is a day of the month highlighted. I do wonder if the computer was mistakenly set to real life time when filming.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Looks like Feb, with the 28th on a Sunday. But on a PC that age it should be trivial to set the system date arbitrarily.

I can't zoom or screenshot YTTV on my phone. I'll look on my laptop.

FWIW, February 1993 begins on a Monday and ends on a Sunday (I don't know what year YS is set in).


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

I can screenshot on my Chromebook in the browser.
Interesting...


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

pdhenry said:


> (I don't know what year YS is set in).


Season 1 took place in 1989, so I'd guess we're up to approximately fall of 1992, since Sheldon just started at East Texas Tech.

The commercial that gave Georgie his idea in this week's episode was "Sweatin' To The Oldies 2," which was released in 1990, so that's reasonably close. To be totally accurate to the timeframe, the commercial probably should have been for Sweatin' to the Oldies 3, which came out in 1991.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

I guess Billy's sister joined Opie Cunningham's brother and the youngest daughter on Family Matters in TV limbo.


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## TKnight206 (Oct 20, 2016)

Just to clarify, it appears that it specifically says, "February 2021" when pausing. I was wondering if a day of the month was highlighted.

My local CBS affiliate is 1080i, but Comcast converts it to 720p under a mpeg4 conversion. Then, my TiVo outputs it to my 1080 screen as 1080i. So, information is probably lost in there.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

TKnight206 said:


> About three minutes into the episode when he's on the computer, it appears there's a February 2021 calender on the screen. The resolution isn't great as the channel is downgraded to 720p for me. (It's Comcastic!) If someone with a better picture, or perhaps Paramount+, could check, see if there is a day of the month highlighted. I do wonder if the computer was mistakenly set to real life time when filming.


It doesn't look to me as if any date is highlighted. (I sure don't remember if Deskmate did that or not; I tried it out once back in the MSDOS era and really didn't like it.)










(This was from Paramount+ provided by Prime on an 82" Samsung TV captured with an iPhone 8 Plus cropped and de-skewed with Photoshop, and down-rezzed to satisfy the TCF size constraint.)


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

TKnight206 said:


> About three minutes into the episode when he's on the computer, it appears there's a February 2021 calender on the screen. The resolution isn't great as the channel is downgraded to 720p for me. (It's Comcastic!) If someone with a better picture, or perhaps Paramount+, could check, see if there is a day of the month highlighted. I do wonder if the computer was mistakenly set to real life time when filming.


I don't think they filmed that scene in February 2021.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Perhaps it's only to indicate that adult Sheldon is remembering it in February 2021, and like everyone Sheldon's memory is faulty.

Which may or may not go a long way toward explaining how adult Sheldon would speak of his father vs how he's depicted om YS.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

pdhenry said:


> like everyone Sheldon's memory is faulty.


Sheldon is said to have an eidetic memory.


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## TKnight206 (Oct 20, 2016)

To me, the most likely explanation is that someone set the actual date on the computer. But is it really that unlikely that the scene was filmed last month?


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

LoadStar said:


> Sheldon is said to have an eidetic memory.


Sheldon claims to have an eidetic memory.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> Sheldon is said to have an eidetic memory.


From scientific American:

You might expect that an individual who claims to still see a picture after it has been removed would be able to have a perfect memory of the original picture. After all, a perfect memory is what is usually implied by the commonly used phrase "photographic memory." As it turns out, however, the accuracy of many eidetic images is far from perfect. In fact, besides often being sketchy on some details, it is not unusual for eidetikers to alter visual details and even to invent some that were never in the original. This suggests that eidetic images are certainly not photographic in nature but instead are reconstructed from memory and can be influenced like other memories (both visual and nonvisual) by cognitive biases and expectations.


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## DVR_Dave (Apr 19, 2017)

"Son of a Mitch"


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

“Mother Clucker”


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

DVR_Dave said:


> "Son of a Mitch"


But you MEANT another word!


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

I'm a little behind, but from the end of last week's show, with Sheldon's elements car game I'm slightly surprised he'd want to play it, and that he'd keep winning. 
In a 2 person game the first player has a hard fail in the 9th round. (There's no element starting with 'Q' - and so it's impossible for them to successfully complete that round. And even if he finds an new element and gets it named starting with Q he'd just be postponing the hard fail to the 13th round as there's also no element starting with 'W')

You'd think at some point the game would annoy Lenard enough that he'd memorize 7 element names (b,d,f,h,j,l,n,p) needed for force Sheldon into that loss. (Okay, he'd also need to remember which 8 Sheldon picked this game; though 'K' is a gimme as it always has to be Krypton)

(And no, I didn't remember this. I in fact failed to come up with an element starting with D and so looked up an alphabetical list of all their names)


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

I don't have a donkey. But if I did, I'd take my ass out of here.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I was watching a rerun of The Big Bang Theory on TBS and it was the one where Sheldon and Leonard visit Georgie at his tire shop in Dallas. Soon after I watched the past week's episode of YS. What great casting to both. You can see where the actor who plays younger Georgie could grow up to be the actor who plays adult Georgie. The look, the voice, the mannerisms are all spot on.


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## rharmelink (Dec 1, 2015)

Missy could have really have made a double point with Ezekiel 23:20...


> She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a asses' and emissions like those of a horse.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> I was watching a rerun of The Big Bang Theory on TBS and it was the one where Sheldon and Leonard visit Georgie at his tire shop in Dallas. Soon after I watched the past week's episode of YS. What great casting to both. You can see where the actor who plays younger Georgie could grow up to be the actor who plays adult Georgie. The look, the voice, the mannerisms are all spot on.


Agreed, except for one thing. Montana Jordan is in the 5'6"-5'7" range, and Jerry O'Connell is 6'2". Since Montana Jordan is 18, it's unlikely he's going to grow much more. It could get pretty awkward if this show continues for a couple more years and Reagan Revord (Missy) grows taller than Montana.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

rharmelink said:


> Missy could have really have made a double point with Ezekiel 23:20...


LOL! Not sure that would have gotten past CBS' Standards and Practices.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

rharmelink said:


> Missy could have really have made a double point with Ezekiel 23:20...


Is there a disclaimer in the bible that says "not suitable for children?" Funny that those bible thumpers are actually touting an x-rated novel!!


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> Is there a disclaimer in the bible that says "not suitable for children?" Funny that those bible thumpers are actually touting an x-rated novel!!


That book is full of lust and sex and adulterous actions.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> the actor who plays younger Georgie could grow up to be the actor who plays adult Georgie. The look, the voice, the mannerisms are all spot on.


Funny, caught a old episode with a grown-up Missy. Same as noted with Georgie, I really could see young Missy in adult Missy. Was almost uncanny.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

I find it difficult to believe that Sheldon would approve of his tax audit/chess match being scored to the Stray Cats.

"They're a bunch of hooligans!"


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

I was really surprised of his “win”. Sheldon’s reasoning that as his father was a teacher, that his doing the taxes was an economics lesson (from a PE teacher?), and not work for hire was not “Sheldon like”.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

I'd think that George's listed occupation for tax and payroll purposes is "teacher".


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

But his having Sheldon do his taxes was not an economics lesson, and Sheldon knows this, yet he used it to “win”


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Tony_T said:


> But his having Sheldon do his taxes was not an economics lesson, and Sheldon knows this, yet he used it to "win"


Because "winning" or "being right" is more important to Sheldon.
Which was one of the points of the episode.
(See also: numerous episodes of The Big Bang Theory.)


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Jonathan_S said:


> I'm a little behind, but from the end of last week's show, with Sheldon's elements car game I'm slightly surprised he'd want to play it, and that he'd keep winning.
> In a 2 person game the first player has a hard fail in the 9th round. (There's no element starting with 'Q' - and so it's impossible for them to successfully complete that round. And even if he finds an new element and gets it named starting with Q he'd just be postponing the hard fail to the 13th round as there's also no element starting with 'W')
> 
> You'd think at some point the game would annoy Lenard enough that he'd memorize 7 element names (b,d,f,h,j,l,n,p) needed for force Sheldon into that loss. (Okay, he'd also need to remember which 8 Sheldon picked this game; though 'K' is a gimme as it always has to be Krypton)
> ...


Quicksilver.
Wolfram.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Aka mercury (Hg) and tungsten (W). 

The question is - will the game accept these alternate common names or only what's seen on the periodic table?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Worf said:


> Aka mercury (Hg) and tungsten (W).
> 
> The question is - will the game accept these alternate common names or only what's seen on the periodic table?


I would think the reason that it must is obvious; if they are not, the game is unplayable. Sheldon would not make such a mistake in logic.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Giving Sheldon more credit than he deserves. He beats his mother at the game every time, therefore he will always win. He is far from perfect and not always logical.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

If there is no element Q, the first player (Sheldon) would always lose a perfect game.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

But he never had to play a perfect game. He played against his mom, who never won. The only real time he lost was against Penny, and not because she actually played.

He won against Leonard, too.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

I would think Sheldon would accept "there is no answer" as an acceptable answer to Q because it is then considered a trick question, especially if it was his turn to answer.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Worf said:


> But he never had to play a perfect game. He played against his mom, who never won. The only real time he lost was against Penny, and not because she actually played.
> 
> He won against Leonard, too.


The "perfect game" reference was an argument that the game must allow squicksilver as mercury. Sheldon is too much of a narcissist to invent a game he could be forced to lose.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Or.... more time was spent on the game here than in the writers room


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

ej42137 said:


> The "perfect game" reference was an argument that the game must allow squicksilver as mercury. Sheldon is too much of a narcissist to invent a game he could be forced to lose.


Sheldon helped invent Rock Paper Scissors lizard Spock which he can lose. Why are we trying to assign perfect Bond villain status to him?

A true narcissist would miss ways he can lose because a true narcissist would think he can't.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

TonyD79 said:


> Sheldon helped invent Rock Paper Scissors lizard Spock which he can lose.


He didn't invent it. It was created by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla. I'm pretty sure that Sheldon credited the creators in dialogue on BBT.

Edit: he did indeed credit Sam Kass:
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock (Extended Cut) ~ The Big Bang Theory ~ - YouTube


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

LoadStar said:


> He didn't invent it. It was created by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla. I'm pretty sure that Sheldon credited the creators in dialogue on BBT.
> 
> Edit: he did indeed credit Sam Kass:
> Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock (Extended Cut) ~ The Big Bang Theory ~ - YouTube


Plus while he can lose RBSLS he can't be _forced_ to lose. If the other player's pick happens to beat his he loses. But there's no perfect strategy that can guarantee that outcome for the other play - they have to get lucky. (Well assuming Sheldon doesn't have tells or patterns in his play that can be exploited )

But the Elements game (assuming you do fail if there's no valid answer) all the other player had to do is not mess up for 8 rounds and Sheldon has to forfeit on Q. That's the difference.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

It's official....we've now completely moved over the geekyness of TBBT thread to this one


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Nah. This is worse. Somehow Sheldon has become omnipotent here. He never makes a mistake and never can lose and his logic is perfect. Despite well over a decade of shows proving none of that is true.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

TonyD79 said:


> Nah. This is worse. Somehow Sheldon has become omnipotent here. He never makes a mistake and never can lose and his logic is perfect. Despite well over a decade of shows proving none of that is true.


But he's a super smart kid who doesn't yet have the life experience and accompanying insight to realize that he's not always right and his parents and other leaders have done nothing to make him realize that. It makes sense this younger version of the character is more unwilling to accept his flaws.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

I was talking about the posters here acting like he is totally calculating and always right. He may not see the flaw in his element game or he assumes it doesn’t matter. He is playing against his mother here. She is going to lose and Sheldon would think it was because he is so smart. Not that she doesn’t know all the elements or even that she throws games so “Shelly” can win.


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

TonyD79 said:


> I was talking about the posters here acting like he is totally calculating and always right. He may not see the flaw in his element game or he assumes it doesn't matter. He is playing against his mother here. She is going to lose and Sheldon would think it was because he is so smart. Not that she doesn't know all the elements or even that she throws games so "Shelly" can win.


My (and it's very minor - despite sharing it here) issue isn't with young Sheldon playing the game with his mother. It's the adult Sheldon narrator saying he's still never lost a game playing against Leonard.

And even then, my surprise was with _Leonard_. That Sheldon's gloating never bothered him enough to do the couple minutes effort it takes to realize how little studying it should take for player 2 to win; and then actually do that...


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## Lady Honora (Oct 9, 2018)

rharmelink said:


> Missy could have really have made a double point with Ezekiel 23:20...


We must have gotten the abridged version of the Bible. Don't get me started with Lot's daughters.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Quite an episode tonight. Chuck Lorre is a master at turning heartbreak & angst into a sitcom episode.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Jonathan_S said:


> And even then, my surprise was with _Leonard_. That Sheldon's gloating never bothered him enough to do the couple minutes effort it takes to realize how little studying it should take for player 2 to win; and then actually do that...


To me this is proof that quicksilver is an acceptable answer for "Q".


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## samsauce29 (Nov 30, 2007)

astrohip said:


> Quite an episode tonight. Chuck Lorre is a master at turning heartbreak & angst into a sitcom episode.


Agreed. At the end, wife and I were like... What is this? Excellent work but so sad both in the moment and in the foreshadowing.

(Note that we had just finished a super intense Grey's Anatomy and were like... "time for some laughs"... Whoops!)


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

samsauce29 said:


> Agreed. At the end, wife and I were like... What is this? Excellent work but so sad both in the moment and in the foreshadowing.
> 
> (Note that we had just finished a super intense Grey's Anatomy and were like... "time for some laughs"... Whoops!)


Yeah, and after YS I watched "B Positive", which also had a poignant episode.

Where's 2 Broke Girls when you need 'em?


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Oh Sheldon, you didn't implement a grandfather-father-son backup strategy?

Did Herschel leave Brenda for a Nigerian nurse?

Mary: "I know how to have fun!"


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

JYoung said:


> Did Herschel leave Brenda for a Nigerian nurse?


Good catch!


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

The Sheldon voice-over this past week mentions his dad passing away. It's the first time I can recall in a long time it being brought up, in any fashion, on this show.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

I noticed that. Foreshadowing? (I’d rather it not occur during the run of YS)


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

I think there is no doubt it will happen during the run. He’s pretty close right now to the age when his dad died, if I recall correctly.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

According to lore, he was 14 when he went off to CalTech, and that was about the same time his dad died. He's currently 11. So we have some time. Whether it's "a year a season", or some different timeline, we have time.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Let me say that I'd be disappointed if the show didn't deal with it.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Heck of a season finale.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

And the start of the Dad drama.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

Missy looked very genuine in her teenage angst. Kinda glad I did not have a daughter, they seem to be wired very differently from my son, though he had his own set of challenges/adventures.


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## Win Joy Jr (Oct 1, 2001)

markp99 said:


> Missy looked very genuine in her teenage angst. Kinda glad I did not have a daughter, they seem to be wired very differently from my son, though he had his own set of challenges/adventures.


The actress who plays Missy (Raegan Revord) did a phenomenal job. Being the father of 2 daughters who are in their mid-20's, it almost triggered a flashback 

I keep seeing people (not here) speculate that the ending tonight is too early for Georges affair and appalled that it was with the neighbor and "friend" of Mary's? According to TBBT Canon Sheldon walked in on his father when he was 14 (Sheldon is 11 in the current season). What we did see is the family dynamic enter a toxicity that will last for years and scars that will last even longer. The parents are hiding from their failures and the toxicity of the relationship, Mary by hiding at the church and George by disengaging. It seems that Georgie is the only one with his act together which is a nice foreshadowing to his story and memories depicted on TBBT. Anyone notice he was standing between Mary and George during a portion of the argument?

What people need to remember when watching Young Sheldon is how Sheldon was at the start of TBBT, not how that character evolved during that run.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I thought it was odd how the promos for this episode were saying this was an episode we'd be talking about all summer. So I thought something shocking was going to happen. But it didn't seem like that big of a deal. I mean, I guess they implied that the neighbor lady was hitting on George at the bar, but from what we've been shown on the show, George isn't the type of guy to cheat on his wife just because they got in a fight. Until they explicitly tell us that's what happened, I'm not going to speculate that's what he did. So basically, this episode was just some family drama with Georgie showing some maturity and Sheldon getting closer with his sister.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

I don’t think George is going to jump in the sack with her right away but I’m betting on a slow infatuation over time. As Mary becomes more the Mary from BBT. It is not odd at all for it to be a neighbor. That happens a lot. Happened in my family, in fact. 

This was a game changing episode for me. They introduced a new depth to the family dynamic that they can’t easily go back on.

And the narration indicated it was more than just a single story.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

TonyD79 said:


> I don't think George is going to jump in the sack with her right away but I'm betting on a slow infatuation over time. As Mary becomes more the Mary from BBT. It is not odd at all for it to be a neighbor. That happens a lot. Happened in my family, in fact.
> 
> This was a game changing episode for me. They introduced a new depth to the family dynamic that they can't easily go back on.
> 
> And the narration indicated it was more than just a single story.


I'm certain they're setting the story up to go in that direction. We already know from Sheldon in TBBT what happens with his dad. I'm only saying that what they actually showed in this episode doesn't qualify as "the episode everyone will be talking about all summer" like the promos claimed.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Well, the network is the one that writes the promos.
Not anyone at Chuck Lorre's office.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Great job by Raegan (Missy)


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Young Sheldon: Wyatt McClure (aka Billy Sparks) Upped to Series Regular

BTW, YS returns Oct 7.


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## DVR_Dave (Apr 19, 2017)

astrohip said:


> Young Sheldon: Wyatt McClure (aka Billy Sparks) Upped to Series Regular


Hopefully Mathilda was part of the package.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

astrohip said:


> Young Sheldon: Wyatt McClure (aka Billy Sparks) Upped to Series Regular


Disappointing, unless they change something up big time. Right now, Billy Sparks is just a one note joke about how stupid he is. Hopefully, they find something more for him to do or be, but after 4 seasons of literally nothing but that, I have low hopes.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> Disappointing, unless they change something up big time. Right now, Billy Sparks is just a one note joke about how stupid he is. Hopefully, they find something more for him to do or be, but after 4 seasons of literally nothing but that, I have low hopes.


I guess the contrast between him and Sheldon is the use for the character, though I think Missy also serves that purpose. Since Billy's mom is the character that George "could" wind up having the affair with, maybe that's why they needed to add him more full time. That's my guess.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

YS starting in syndication on TBS.


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