Hello everyone! This week I’ll be filling in for Ben who has major finals coming up, so I’m in charge of reviewing (and grading) this episode. I’ve seen every single episode of the show and it’s one of my favorite comedies on the air, right there with Community (which I also review) and Parks and Recreation, because of its great cast and the great timing with the jokes. So how do I feel about this particular episode? Well, while not the best one, I consider it to be a great one as it had a scene that was moving as hell.
So the boys are preparing for the Star Wars day, May 4th (“May the 4th be with you!”), but things get complicated when Leonard finds out that Professor Proton (played by Bob Newhart) has passed away. This affects both him and Sheldon quite a lot since they were their childhood hero.
Sheldon doesn’t want to admit he’s upset; instead he tries to focus all his energy in Star Wars since he can’t change the fact that professor Proton is dead. Everyone can tell he is affected by it, and it is even obvious for as the viewers; I’m amazed by how the show has established such a deep relationship between the characters and their viewers, while seeing Sheldon denying he was upset I could just see through his grief and it was great that I found myself connecting with Sheldon as, more often than not, it’s really hard to create this kind of bond with him.
There is plenty of funny stuff thrown in the middle of the episode. While not the biggest Star Wars fans out there (I just saw the 6 movies, I ignore the whole expanded universe) I had plenty of fun with Raj’s Star Wars puns and I loved Professor Proton’s reaction through coming back to life in Sheldon’s dream as a Jedi, an Obi-Wan kind of persona. Even while the show will throw joke after joke to make you laugh there and there the core of the episode is obviously dealing with grief and appreciating what you have now.
Sheldon, meanwhile, takes a trip to his own mind while sleeping and Professor Proton is there to guide him. The first advice “always have a pre-nup” is just Sheldon’s mind telling him he is actually there with Arthur, but the most important one comes when Sheldon tells him that he lost his grandfather and his father and now him, and how it feels like every man he looked up to is now gone. That moment is so powerful that a tears came down my cheek; it’s hard for Sheldon to deal with emotions, but they are there and he doesn’t know how to deal with it, which makes Proton’s second advice all the more affecting: “appreciate the people you have now.”
We get a subplot with Bernadette and Amy preparing a Star Wars’ theme Death Star cake to cheer up Sheldon, which is a nice touch and it is filled with very funny lines to light up the humor of an episode which is mostly about grieving and appreciating the present, so it’s a welcome change of pace for me. We also get to know why Bernadette and Amy got into science, but I have to say I wasn’t really impressed or amused with their reasons.
Howard and Raj spend most of the episode in the sidelines, getting to watch Star Wars in the order they like without Sheldon, but as he wakes up they realize it was all for nothing as they are forced to start over (and as Bernadette and Amy get with the cake, hoping to get in the moment everything is over, they get trapped when it’s starting over. “Son of a bitch”, Bernadette cracked me right there!).
It’s nice that we finally get an episode where there is actual growth for Sheldon; for most of season 6 he was some kind of villain, and while I loved him and had fun with him as such I’m really glad that this season decided to humanize him. Amy has played a key role there, but I’m sure that everyone else also had that impact with him every day, and now that he knows that he has to appreciate better what he has now, I expect to see him stay same with his quirks and whims, but a lot more considerate, and that’s the best character development I could ask for his character.
Grade: A
Stray Observations:
- I think Penny should just accept the influence the guys had on her: there is nothing wrong with knowing some Star Wars facts.
-Sheldon: “I have a window build in after Phantom Menace for complaining. But I’m worried an hour won’t be enough time!”
How many shows have complained about Phantom Menace? I remember Nolan did it on Revenge, Leslie said it on Parks and Recreation, and was just a matter of time for TBBT to do it too. I’m sure many others have done it too, you know any others?
-Howard: “You’ve been so quiet. Are you upset or are you just rebooting?”
-Leonard: “I’m not a cry baby!”
Penny: “Toy Story 3?”
Leonard: “The toys were holding hands in a furnace!”
Yeah, I cried at that moment too, so no shame in that Leonard.
-Bernadette while making the cake: “Howie doesn’t think I take his interests seriously so hopefully this will keep him full for a while.”
Bernadette goes big time to time to avoid daily maintenance on his husband!
-Bernadette: “This is pretty cool, you don’t see a lot of spherical cakes.”
*Cakes falls*
Amy: “I wonder why that is.”
Remember what I said about timing at the beginning? Yep, right there.
-Professor Proton: "Is this the first time you've lost someone close to you?"
Sheldon: "No. I've already had to say goodbye to 11 Doctor Whos."
Professor Proton: "Yeah, I've outlived a few of my doctors too."
Epic lines!
-Professor Proton: “You fell sleep watching Star Wars, and now you’re dreaming you are watching Star Wars.”
Sheldon: “So?”
Professor Proton: “Don’t you see a problem there? Spending your limited time on Earth?”
Sheldon: “Not at all.”
Yeah, Sheldon may have grown a lot in this episode, but something will never change. Still funny though.
