Ouch. As if bringing up Firefly didn't hurt enough, they had to go and mention Alphas too.

TenTonParasol | April 26, 02:40 CET

I hadn't watched the show in a year but I watched this one when I heard about the Buffy references. It was pretty cool, Sheldon and Leonard are obviously fans, and the Buffy references were very positive (although Penny wasn't very excited), it's nice to know that about 16 million people saw the episode on tv tonight.

Nico-Angel | April 26, 02:44 CET

I couldn't believe they even mentioned the comic books! That was awesome!

Angel&Faith | April 26, 02:49 CET

Penny was interested, and wanting to watch more, so I can forgive her for not being really excited (it takes some people longer! LOL). The Big Bang Theory is such a popular show, I love seeing them promoting the things I love!

embers | April 26, 02:50 CET

@TenTonParasol and Ryan Cartwright, Penny's english friend that made Leonard jealous, was Gary in that show. And he was the best part of it.

symbiotics | April 26, 03:30 CET

That was so much fun! It would've been great if Penny got hooked on BtVS but I guess not hating it is a good thing for her.

I couldn't help but laugh when Sheldon mentioned Heroes too - 'cause that was my exact thought about it's ending! LOL

I really hope since the writers/producers are such Whedon fans they can write in more guest spots for whedonesque actors...

Mirage | April 26, 11:00 CET

I had a smile on my face for the entire episode, even if it wasn't a good one. But usually I can't relate and this time it was like "been there, done that", not just with Buffy.
Penny's reaction was actually really nice. I tend to get overexcited about the things I love and that does make people cautious. Maybe they think, they'll become crazy persons if they get into it, too (can't blame them. I'm just glad, I get to keep them as friends). And Penny honestly did try to understand, not in a "what IS he even talking about"-way.

[ edited by veraishq on 2013-04-26 12:03 ]

veraishq | April 26, 12:02 CET

As I was watching the episode I just kept thinking that she just needs to get past season one to be hooked. Everyone I've gotten (forced) to watch Buffy has been unexcited about it until sometime in season 2. I mean, I am passionate about Buffy, but I wouldn't expect anyone to be in love with it after watching Welcome to the Hellmouth.

I know that wasn't really the point of the episode. I'm just saying Leonard had unrealistic expectations.

[ edited by LadyJay on 2013-04-26 12:32 ]

LadyJay | April 26, 12:19 CET

I think the point was that Penny doesn't get excited about things. She still liked Buffy. I know people that love Firefly and don't even like Buffy.

I'm afraid I'm a little more Leonard.

redeem147 | April 26, 12:25 CET

this just proves why Big Bang Theory Writers People get my vote and i keep watching!

lecter | April 26, 12:45 CET

Yeah, unrealistic expectations is what I thought. You can't really show someone Welcome to the Hellmouth and The Harvest and expect any reaction bigger than "cute". The show started getting strong in season 2 (with stand-alone episodes like Reptile Boy being slight lulls), and finally got more or less consistently great in season 3. I'd say "Innocence" is the big "Oh, I get it now" moment.

GreatMuppetyOdin | April 26, 13:11 CET

I think maybe you are all filtering your thoughts here through your own knowledge and experience of Buffy. So let me do it through mine. :-) I think it would be easy to hook someone with the opening episode alone- Alyson Hannigan's Willow steals the entire show and I wanted to see what happened to her. She was my entree into Buffy, not SMG/Buffy herself. I was hooked at "Sears."

[ edited by Dana5140 on 2013-04-26 16:05 ]

Dana5140 | April 26, 16:05 CET

We also saw Bernadette put through the Buffy test, and she passed with flying colors. I've always felt that Howard has the better girlfriend and this episode didn't change my opinion.

Leonard's relationship with Penny is so odd. I can't think of a single thing they have in common. I would be so bored with a girl like her. You can't base an entire relationship around just the sex.

I like Sheldon's line about Heroes. I wrote the show off after the season 1 finale, which I thought was a huge let down after all the build up that season had. Everything I have heard from others about subsequent seasons makes me feel like I made the right choice

Sheldon's orgasmic reaction at the end of the episode was funny and I laughed out loud during the scene where Amy "wish blocked" Sheldon with the paper plate.

Angel&Faith | April 26, 16:46 CET

For those keeping track, this was the 5th verbal reference to Firefly since TBBT began. (And of course we have Summer's cameo.)

mutt999 | April 26, 17:00 CET

Dana, I think the Buffy pilot's production values alone make it difficult for new viewers to get into today. It's just so far below what we've come to expect, even on the CW or cable, that I think a lot of people have trouble seeing past that to the story.

That's not to say there's not a lot about season one to love. But expectations are very different now and people expect greatness on every level right out of the gate.

sumogrip | April 26, 17:47 CET

Dana, I agree with you about getting hooked from the get-go, but the funny thing is that, while for you Willow was the one that snagged you, for me it was Buffy. From the beginning until the very end, she was the one that kept me coming back episode after episode. I love that character more than I can really express. She might claim to be unattainable, but for me, Buffy was the one I actually related to the most.

All that being said, I love Willow, too. She's sweet.

[ edited by johanna on 2013-04-26 18:30 ]

johanna | April 26, 18:28 CET

I was hooked from the get go (watching them as they first aired--having enjoyed but not *loved* the movie). The episode that made me really sit up and go "hang on, this is more than just cute/fun/silly" was Prophecy Girl. And I've known others get hooked from S1 onwards too.

Yoink | April 26, 18:50 CET

Dana, I agree with you about getting hooked from the get-go, but the funny thing is that, while for you Willow was the one that snagged you, for me it was Buffy. From the beginning until the very end, she was the one that kept me coming back episode after episode. I love that character more than I can really express. She might claim to be unattainable, but for me, Buffy was the one I actually related to the most.

Yeah, me too. It's interesting; I can remember someone saying to me once--back around the time S4 or S5 was airing: "but, of course, we all agree who the most important character in the show is, don't we?" I knew that they couldn't mean Buffy (because, well, duh) but I didn't have a clue who they could mean if not Buffy. They, too, were "Willow" people--but when they said that I felt it to be no more inherently probable than any of the secondary characters. If anything, Zander had--in the early seasons--struck me as the secondary character with the most interesting arc; and Giles was probably the secondary character with the most interesting backstory and the most interestingly complex relationship to Buffy. But as for who the emotional center of the story was: well, for me it was never any contest--Buffy every time.

Not that I think anyone who holds a different opinion is wrong, of course. It's not the sort of thing one can be right or wrong about. It's just fascinating how two different people can both love a show and yet obviously be seeing in some ways very different stories unfolding.

Yoink | April 26, 18:57 CET

Were they feeling cheeky enough to mention "Charmed", I wonder?

KingofCretins | April 26, 20:04 CET

I think showing Buffy to people creates a completely new dynamic. If there's expectation and pressure, you're always thinking critically about what you're watching, and I don't think certain episodes/shows benefit from that too much. Been interesting if the show explored that.

Jaymii | April 26, 21:14 CET

Not that I think anyone who holds a different opinion is wrong, of course. It's not the sort of thing one can be right or wrong about. It's just fascinating how two different people can both love a show and yet obviously be seeing in some ways very different stories unfolding.

Yes, exactly!

johanna | April 27, 07:35 CET

Angel&Faith: First, my fvaorite sport, nit-picking; Bernadette is Howard's wife *grin.) I find Penny, quite intelligent, depsite her limted formal education, and she and Leonard seem able to converse in a satisfactory manner. Long term being able to both enjoy talking to each other and to reach mutually satisfactory conclusions. I think for long-term that trumps "shared leisure-time interests as much as shared itnerests trump "just the sex." Plus, while enither is visibly religious, they were both probably raised Lutheran :-).

LAdyDay, Dana5140, johanna, Yoink: Mine was an odd situation. I like horror and fantasy, which was generally off-limts on the TV with my ex, so just to get my fix Istarted wathcing all sorts of stuff with my duaghter (Hercules, Xena, Gargoyles) once she got a TV. So when BtVS rpeiered I just figured I wouldn't be able to watch it but my "Kit-kat" discovered it and just got used to watching and enjoying it with her, and missed that as she lost interest late in S4 (plus I liked watching the groovy chicks, age differences be darned.) I only became a super-fanatic halfway thru S-5 after my marriage broke up which is a more complicated and emotional story

DaddyCatALSO | April 27, 18:02 CET

Penny is intelligent? Are we watching the same show? She's consistently shown as the dumbest character on the show. That's pretty much her gimmick.

Anyway, her and Leonard have satisfactory conversations, but it's TV. I can't see two people like that in real life being able to enjoy a conversation for more than two minutes, which conveniently seems to be how long their scenes on the show actually last.

Just my opinion though, for what it's worth. I just feel like their relationship feels very forced. A more natural girlfriend for Leonard would be that comic book artist we saw in one episode, who Leonard turned down because he was still hung up on Priya, or Sheldon's assistant Alex. I find both of them far more interesting than Penny, but then again, I'm not Leonard. And he's just a sitcom character, so much of his actions aren't very realistic anyway. I can't imagine a real life guy like Leonard who has almost every single female who appears on the show attracted to him settling for a dumb girl with no future (Oh but wait, Penny is going to be a famous actress - riiiight, I really see that happening)

Angel&Faith | April 27, 21:02 CET

Okay, given i don't hear very well maybe I'm missing something about Penny's lack of intelligence.

But I thought the ep. where she appeared in Streetcar.... was intended to show her acting ability was legit.

DaddyCatALSO | April 27, 21:14 CET

I think there's a difference in being unintelligent and not caring. Penny doesn't care about maths and sciences, or science fiction. But look at who her best buddies are - Amy and Bernadette, who are both scientists, and both love hanging out with her.

BTW, I'm crap in math. That's the way my brain is wired - I'm not stupid.

redeem147 | April 27, 22:39 CET

We've seen episodes where Penny tries to learn what her friends know, and it usually doesn't work out. She has smart friends, but she's not smart herself, as Sheldon loves pointing out to hilarious effect. She's a good person though and very nice, which is why she has friends. I just feel like her and Leonard are the only couple on the show with no common ground though. Pretty much every fun thing Leonard suggests doing she shoots down. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't be happy in a relationship like that. I would just be bored whenever I'm with her and would probably spend far more time with friends than I do with her.

Angel&Faith | April 28, 06:01 CET

Personally, I miss Leslie Winkle (spelling?).

nyrk | April 28, 06:11 CET

I miss Leslie too. She was fun. She was a good foil for Sheldon. Her nonchalant attitude towards sex was fun too. I would have liked to see some interaction between her and Amy.

Angel&Faith | April 28, 15:55 CET

You know another thing I don't get about Penny? We've seen time and time again that she has absolutely horrible taste in entertainment. She has no concept of what makes a great film or TV show. To me, someone like that doesn't have the instincts to become a great actor. You could show Penny a classic scene between two top tier actors in one of the greatest movies of all time, a scene that is moving and emotional because of the writing and performances, and her reaction to it would likely be the equivalent of "meh". I've known people who do acting seriously, and they are nothing at all like Penny. Again, it's a TV sitcom, so I don't expect realistic characters, but it's just something I thought worth pointing out.

Angel&Faith | April 28, 16:09 CET

Angel&Faith : Good point. Relaly , the only shows and movies they mention much of are either genre fare or lowest-brow popular stuff (like the Brady Bunch.)

Neither the Geek "Guartet" (except maybe Leonard) nor Penny give any indication that they'd get much out of a DVD of Casablance, Citizen Kane, etc. Amy and Bernadette probably would , given the very, very rare times they've mentioned the kinds of fiction they read.

DaddyCatALSO | April 30, 17:43 CET