Episode 8 - The Lizard-Spock Expansion
13 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: Howard picks up a girl at a club and takes her to the Mars Rover lab at the university. When they crash the Rover they have to wipe all the data and hope they don’t get in trouble. Leonard takes Stephanie home and ends up dating her. When Howard finds out he is mad. But when they offer him a date with Stephanie’s roommate he forgives them.
The Good: Finally an episode not about Sheldon. The really positive part of this episode is the long term story arc gets pushed forward a little. Leonard and Penny have a conversation where they acknowledge that they dated and they talk maturely about Leonard’s new relationship. Penny kissing him on the cheek is a nice moment, showing the affection in their friendship and reminding you that the show is really about them.
Sheldon meanwhile can play the supporting role supremely well. We have seen his discomfort with lying many times now and he manages to make a scene about lying to the group really funny with but a wave of his awkward arm. The writers inventive use of the science fiction universe is at work again as Sheldon effortlessly reels off the permutations of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock in amusingly serious fashion. Then follows up with an equally involved argument with Raj about the Star Trek movies.
Howard plays the comedy well and always has. He steals some good laughs (see Comic Highlight) during the show and it is nice to see a story focussed on him for a change.
The Bad: If you don’t think about it at all, this is a nice episode of comedy. Nerdy guys dating, making silly jokes, all is back to normal at the end of the episode. Unfortunately I hold shows to a higher standard and this is full of disappointing flaws.
The biggest gaping hole is the inclusion of the Mars Rover in the story. It has never been established thoroughly where the guys work or in what capacity. If you aren’t familiar with UCLA and all the research that goes on there, then the workplace of our characters is pretty vaguely defined. That has been a weakness of the show for a long time. Why? Because if you have a job it takes up over 50% of your waking hours and in a television show exploring characters lives it ought to appear to be a real, living, functioning place which the characters interact with. Too often in The Big Bang Theory the university appears as empty corridors where the guys sit around not doing a lot. We never really learn the specifics of what they are working on or more importantly what deadlines or pressures they are under or how their work affects their career, status, hopes or dreams.
Even with a passing knowledge of UCLA though, I know that the Mars Rover project would not be left unattended at night like this. Nor is it explained why they all have access to it or know how to operate it. While Raj works in astronomy and Howard is an engineer, Sheldon ought not to be in there (he is a theoretical physicist). Then there is the plan to wipe the hard drive and run away. It’s completely unbelievable to think that the lap wouldn’t have CCTV nearby or other security measures. It’s ludicrous that the university wouldn’t then have a thorough investigation and uncover the culprits. That whole story is an example of the worst kind of lazy and thoughtless writing.
That story also doesn’t make sense for Sheldon’s character. Within this episode, let alone two other episodes specifically (110 and 201), it has been established that Sheldon is very uncomfortable lying. He physically can’t cope with the strains of it, so lying about the Mars Rover lab would have sent his system into near trauma.
The Howard and Leonard tension isn’t written very well either. Stephanie comes onto Leonard so strongly in the car when they first meet that it doesn’t feel like a real relationship. At that stage the show makes it look like she is a weird person and only later do we realise she is not. It’s poor direction which misleads the viewer. Then we have Howard becoming clingy and committed to Stephanie without any reason to believe that she likes him. Obviously it makes him look pathetic but it also makes him look inauthentic. We are still waiting to get a character definition for Howard beyond sex obsessed, Jewish and living with his annoying mother. This episode reinforces that thin description without adding to it.
Comic Highlight: Howard once more delivers his lines with aplomb. He starts off with his negative compliment to Penny “not many women could look as hot as you with such greasy hair.” Then later admits that there “were three other guys there with eye patches, it was a fiasco!” But for subtlety I liked his phone message to Stephanie’s roommate at the end of the episode: “I just wanted to tell you again how much I enjoyed the other night and again, I’m sorry for how it ended.” The sheer amount of possibilities is enough to make you smile.
In Conclusion: I really want to like this episode, the comedy is good, the focus is on Leonard for once but unfortunately I can’t. The writers lack of thought it annoying and again they limit the show. There seems to be a desire from the producers to keep the show from evolving. That’s a loss for the viewers because this show has the potential to be so much more.
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