TV Review: TBBT Season 9 Episode 9

Title: The Platonic Permutation

The Gist: Leonard-Penny spend Thanksgiving the way it's supposed to be- a total disaster. Howard-Bernadette and Raj-Emily volunteer at the Soup Kitchen, which Howard will really be thankful for. Amy-Sheldon visit the aquarium as 'friends'.

-ve points:
In the very first season, Penny had found out Leonard's birth-date, and in-fact went all out to throw him a surprise party. In this episode, she seems not to know the date. Is this continuity lapse in episodes or has she forgotten? Either way, it's a writers' inconsistency.

+ve points:

1. Penny seems not to know her husband's birthday whereas Leonard reads his wife's journal. Reminds one of another beloved friends-lovers-married couple Monica and Chandler.
2. Howard is shown to journey from hating to volunteer at the Soup Kitchen to loving to do dishes with his hero, the innovator and business magnate Elon Musk.
3. Amy (as I had noted in my previous post) still has feelings for Sheldon. (Of course, she does!) Whereas, Sheldon is struggling hard not to hurt himself again and finally finds some solace in restoring friendship with Amy. This is real life stuff. 

Best Line:

" 

Amy, I excel at many things... but getting over you isn't one of them. I think, I need to just be your friend.

"

 - Sheldon, to which Amy is shown welling up.

My Say: One of the readers was disappointed last time as I captioned the previous post as "Is Sheldon's new girlfriend the ultimate crazy Jennifer Lawrence?" He had considered this as the truth, while what I had done was use Sheldon's line to write a catchy title. What newspapers and internet did with the latest episode was spread a spoiler that ShAmy finally do it. What ShAmy really do is Sheldon asking if Amy had coitus with any of her dates. Discussing it is not doing it.

Overall, an episode with the classic geek stuff (aquarium game + Elon Musk) and adorable ShAmy track.

TV Review: TBBT Season 9 Episode 8

Title: The Mystery Date Observation

The Gist: Amy goes on her third date with Dave. Sheldon tries to turn over a new leaf too.

+ve points:

Man on a prowl!

1. Sheldon asks Howard and Raj to find him a new girlfriend, for which the three brainies do not turn to dating websites or apps, but set up a series of puzzles whose prize would be Sheldon. So classic TBBT style. 
2. Marriage hasn't changed Leonard a bit. He still watches documentaries, this once about aluminium cans.
3. Marriage hasn't changed Penny either. She joins Bernadette to spy on Amy's date. 
4. Amy is dating a guy who's her type. (Really!) Tall, intelligent, nerdy and geeky and so irritating! 
5. Sheldon post-breakup remains Sheldon (our type :D) Any girl who's up for the challenge and smart enough to solve the puzzles must take note: being on-time and respect for Atomic Spectroscopy are of utter importance. He's convinced the girl would be Jennifer Lawrence.

Best liners:

Third Date=Dressing up out of comfort zone

1. Sheldon: That's a lot of carbohydrates for a man on prowl! 
2. Amy: This outfit is a little out of my comfort zone!
3. Amy: He's British.... (Penny and Bernie squeak)....Okay yes, that was juicy :D
4. Sheldon: (last few seconds left for the girl, who's solved his puzzles,to arrive) Oh, she's such a drama queen... oh my god! It is Jennifer Lawrence then.

My Say:

1. This episode shows how the writers and makers remain true to TBBT's core. Sheldon hasn't changed and in real life, however great you are, it's not easy to find a new/different love (like Amy finds out the hard way).
2. Venessa Bennet should come again into picture. As a ShAmy fan, I want to see how a new boyfriend and a new girlfriend affect these two broken lovers.

Diwali

Festival of Lights. Third-standard essay bookish start :P

Diwali is my favourite festival. It involves cleaning, which brings certain discipline that I lack otherwise. It involves lights, which everybody loves. It signifies home-coming, which for a family of four living in 4 different cities means a lot.

This festival either comes in October or November, i.e either around Bhaiya, my or mummy's birthday. In Delhi, it meant Diwali mela in my school, which basically was pot-luck. Every kid brought some food from home, put up stalls in the school ground and played games. It also meant Diwali mela in our neighbourhood. Swings, rides, lights, dilli-chaat...

In Ahmedabad, Diwali is a festival of 5 days, marking New Year. It gives Gujaratis yet another reason to rejoice, travel and eat out. Majjani life! :D

This year, Diwali meant a bit of everything. As someone who avoids grooming and generally prefers pajamas, even for special occasions (That's right :P), I decided to dress up. Like always, (since last 11 years), we did not burst crackers. It hurts the Earth and closer to heart, sickens my papa. We light our home and pray to Gods, meet and greet people and watch TV and go to bed.

Mummy and I performed havan on Diwali morning. It felt really good. :)

It was my mummy's birthday too. :)

She loves gardening. So she spent her day painting the pots and pruning the plants. It made her happy, and call me crazy, but it looked like the plants were happy too. She loves South-Indian cuisine so we ate out. Her usual: onion uttapam. Dad and I experimented and had Spring Dosa, where the filling was vegetables. We ordered filter coffee too, to which dad added sugar! To end with, we chewed meetha paan on our way back :D

TV Review: TBBT Season 9 Episode 7

Title: The Spock Resonance

The Gist: Sheldon has been approached for a documentary on the character Spock and his cultural influence, where while trying to show how he has always emulated his Vulcan hero, Sheldon announces on-camera about his intention of proposing to Amy. In a parallel track, Bernie-Howie work on some husband-wife stuff.

-ve points: The show starts with Leonard telling Penny and Raj about a study on popular kids at the age of 13 years and impact on their adult lives. The discussion of-course is funny (that's given). But the discussion is nowhere related to the rest of the show. No direct or indirect reference.

+ve points: 

1. TBBT makers are doing great by giving importance to Bernadette-Howard's married life track. This is what they deserve, specially being as good as everyone else in the ensemble cast. 
2. In the climax, Sheldon decides to take a chance in his romantic life. That was a bold move for Sheldon, and a wise one. The scene draws a lot of awws for Shelly.

My Say: After waiting from Mondays to Thursdays (the new airing time) and after waiting for a few more days (being away from television and internet on a personal front), I finally watched an episode that was worth the wait. Eager to watch both the tracks- Sheldon-Amy's and Howard-Bernadette's. In-fact for the first time, TBBT is more than just being about Leonard-Penny.