This week, we're transporting ourselves back in time... to the far off land of the 1990s.
And not to get N Sync back together. Raj's planetarium show has been featured in the paper! Everyone looks through, in awe of the sections they haven't read in years with the transition to technology.
He just wants people to read his damn blurb! While they're looking for it, Amy announces that the Journal of Prosthetic Medicine has written up the project her and Howard have been working on. Leonard chimes in that him and Bert have been isolating zircons from meteorites for their Dark Matter research. Yup. I understood every word of that.
Sheldon's excited for everyone, but gets defensive when Leonard asks about any new and exciting work he's doing. Meanwhile...
Sailor Penny at your service!
Later, Sheldon confesses to Amy that the reason he got angry at Leonard was because he isn't working on anything exciting.
Really? We're shocked. Amy says this would be the perfect opportunity for Sheldon to have some alone time and refocus. Sheldon concurs, and thanks his fiancée for her suggestion.
He shows his gratitude towards his beloved by kicking her out. Not to worry - it's just so he can brainstorm in solitude. Penny and Leonard agree to let Amy stay.
Not sure they agreed to this, though.
The next day, Raj and Howard are putting on their own, two-man rock n' roll concert. In Howard's living room. They decide to perform a rendition of "Sherlock Around The Clock", but are Sher-Stopped when Bernie announces over the baby monitor that Hallie will wake up. They lower their volume, and rock out.
Lo and behold, Hallie starts crying her unique cry, and Howard heads upstairs. Before he can get there, Bernadette asks if he picked up diapers. Luckily, Raj is the most understanding friend.
He'll hold down the fort while his fellow rocker is on diaper duty.
Meanwhile, Sheldon's getting himself in the zone. He's just about ready to start working on his latest and greatest idea when...
Mother Mary has called! She wants to tell Sheldon who she bumped into at a festival. Sheldon doesn't have time for this, and ushers his mother off of the phone. Seconds later...
He HAS to know who it was. Mr. Watkins! The two hang up. He phones back to find out more. Either Sheldon is more socially aware than we thought, or he's desperately trying to distract himself from his work. My bet's on the latter.
At lunch, Leonard shares with Raj that him and Amy were up late having a spell-off. Leonard won expeditiously. There's your word of the day! Howard joins them, and Raj reminds him about their band rehearsal that evening. Turns out Howard's taking baby Hallie to Bernie's parents, and won't be able to make it; he's afraid he can't commit himself to the band right now, and says that Raj should consider a replacement. Without a second thought, Raj rushes off to find Bert who apparently plays guitar.
Howard will be deeply missed.
Back at home-school, Amy and Leonard are about to perform a science experiment when Penny walks in. They're recreating their school science fair project of making hot ice!
Look how happy they are. Amy asks Penny if she remembers any of her high school projects - she does, and it involved getting an A on a paper that wasn't hers, in exchange for helping the girl who did it learn how to flirt. The girl got pregnant, making for a memorable experience. The experiment's starting!
That is pretty cool. Or on fire. Perspective.
The two decide they want to do another experiment, when Penny shares her... joy. Leonard stops, and says they can do something everyone will enjoy. Penny doesn't want to bother them, and offers to grab dinner. To avoid bugging them, and to get away from them.
While Science Fun 101 is happening across the hall...
Sheldon has cracked the code! He's figured it out! He makes an important call.
Mary's as confused as we are. Sheldon's figured out the odds of her running into Mr. Watkins! What a useful way to spend his time! Mary shares that sadly, Mr. Watkins passed away this morning. What are the odds?
Guess we'll find out!
Penny's returned with pizza, but as she approaches the door she overhears Amy and Leonard being a little too excited about science.
You know she was desperate if this is where she ended up. Sheldon lets her in, and Penny asks about the different lists and drawings he's created. One is of how many parallelograms he created while holding his breath. Another is a list of natural disasters, including ones he made up. Sheldon admits that he's getting distracted, and that Penny's pizza delivery hasn't helped. She says she'll take her pizza downstairs. Sheldon allows her to stay, if she remains silent.
She proceeds to mime her enjoyment of the pizza. Penny may not be as mathematically and scientifically smart as Sheldon, but she's genius in a whole other kind of way.
Raj and Bert are having band practice, and Bert suggests a song he knows about Indiana Jones and the boulder. Raj is skeptical, but lets him play. The song (surprisingly) rocks... literally... and Raj joins in.
Awwe! While Howard's busy with Hallie, Bert has become Raj's rock. I wonder if they'll play any music by... The Stones?!
... Too much?
Oh look, Amy and Leonard have built something!
Amy notes that it's just like preschool all over again. I don't know about them, but my preschool involved laying on a mat on the ground and sleeping - while eating the occasional cracker, and somehow getting marker on my forehead.
Amy asks Leonard if married life differs from non-married life. He answers bluntly, saying it doesn't. Amy's relieved, as her and Sheldon are in a good place... despite him kicking her out. Amy reveals that Sheldon's work ethic is what she finds so sexually appealing. That and... *cue entire project completely falling apart*...
His butt.
Back at Sheldon's lab of non-scientific findings, Penny is in awe of cheese-filled crust.
Sheldon is still struggling, and Penny tries to open him up. He says he liked the allure of Dark Matter, which is why he left String Theory for it. Penny believes Dark Matter is Sheldon's "rebound science". After she explains it to his brilliant mind, Sheldon agrees that this could be the case - although he's never stopped thinking about String Theory. Perhaps Sheldon has been distracted by the shiny, new thing, and is in a slump because it's not all it was hyped up to be. Who knew this would be discovered over some cheesy crust pizza?!
Later that night...
Howard's working on an astronaut musical.
And now he's back in the band! Thanks to Bernadette, and her altruistic heart.
Penny and Sheldon are now working on String Theory, which Penny is sort of understanding. Except for when an Einstein equation comes into play.
She thinks they've solved String Theory, which Sheldon quickly corrects, saying it's taken people decades to figure out. Penny's confused, as all it is is a string with knots. Sheldon gets scientific, talks about something 4D related and how there can't be knots, unless... and gets back to work.
Teamwork makes the dream work! Although, this is one pairing none of us ever saw coming.
Penny gets home, sharing she was at Sheldon's helping him solve String Theory.
Turns out there can be knots if you consider the four dimensions to be sheets. Queen Penny! #Penny2020!
Finally, Footprints on the Moon is performing at a Bar Mitzvah!
Oh goodie, they're singing the Indiana Jones boulder song.
Bar Mitzvah boy needs a nap, seconds in. Hey, at least the attendees can say they knew about this band before they were coal! Wow, my puns are as rocky as this song. My apologies.
Another episode I really enjoyed watching! I love how Penny was who Sheldon needed to realize why he wasn't accomplishing much in Dark Matter - she deserves way more credit than she gets. The juxtaposition of Amy and Leonard working on children's science projects across the hall from this big discovery was humorous to see, especially given Penny's lack of scientific interest. I'm looking forward to seeing Sheldon return to String Theory; getting back to his roots and doing what truly makes him happy sounds awesome.
Down below, let me know how you feel about Sheldon returning to String Theory, if you'd buy Footprints on the Moon's debut CD, and what you did for your science fair project growing up! I remember experimenting on corrosion - something to do with copper rusting in salt water. It involved lots of sitting around and staring at a glass... for days on end. My foray into science was riveting.
Catch The Big Bang Theory Thursday Nights on CBS.
