Okay, I’ll admit I have a bit of a bias here. I’ve blogged with and have been around Wil Wheaton email circles for some time now. With that as a disclaimer, I so enjoy his visits on The Big Bang Theory as the Evil Wil Wheaton, nemesis of Sheldon Cooper. Sure, there’s no way he could be worked into every episode and he definitely wouldn’t fit in with the bunch socially. But to keep the recurring theme every now and again is fun. Tonight wasn’t a disappointment.
The boys and, at first, Amy Farrah Fowler, have these grand plans to catch a midnight screening of Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark. What? An old movie they just watched at home? Not quite. This screening has … wait for it … 21 seconds of never-seen-before footage! Oh, still my beating heart!
While wasting time eating at 5 PM as Sheldon freaked about getting a place in line, Amy Farrah Fowler decided she’s indeed a girl. She told us it several times. I personally think she might be a female android, but she’s a girl. Being said girl, she wanted to spend a girls’ night with Penny and Bernadette instead of going with the boys.
Although I so like Evil Wil Wheaton, the girls’ night provided me with the most chuckles of the night as Amy tried to assimilate and imbibed alcohol. Yes, they seem to use alcohol as a plot device quite a bit in the series. I don’t personally recommend large quantities. But when Sheldon, Leonard’s mother or, now, Amy, get drunk-ish, it’s still funny.
Deadpan Amy with her pillow fights and internet guides to slumber parties was a hoot until she upset Penny. Well, she actually had a good point. Penny said Leonard was getting too serious, that’s why they broke up. With logic at her side, Amy simply asked what will happen if she’s interested in him later and he’s already snapped up because he’s such a nice guy.
Penny exiled herself to her bedroom until the lesbian strike. That was my biggest guffaw — Amy read on her internet guide that slumber parties were the time for lesbian experimentation. Heh. Like Bernadette said, opting for eating the cookie dough might have been a bit better under the circumstances.
Ah, the boys got in their line much too late. As Sheldon decided to say instead of “I told you so,” — “I informed you thusly.” Then came Evil Wil Wheaton. Due to his fame and the geek ratio of the crowd involved at a special screening with 21 SECONDS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, the clipboard dude let him and his buddies in right away.
Fury from Sheldon! Fire in his eyes! What made things even worse was that the boys ended up being the first people turned away as the theater was filled. Yikes! It was enough to make Sheldon resort back to “I told you so!” But seeing a side door open, they sneaked on in.
Was it good enough for Sheldon to just get into the theater? Nope. He had to steal the two huge boxes of the film! (Do movies still really come on those big reels these days? I would think it would be all computerized. But what do I know?) Evil Wil Wheaton led the chase of the boys along with the maybe 50 people who had been in the theater. Perhaps more extras could have been used, I guess.
My verdict? A nice little romp of an episode. Give me more Wil a bit more often, but keep up the war with Sheldon and keep him evil. And, Mayim Bialik was hilarious tonight in her Amy Farrah Fowler role. I’m happy to see she’s continuing to appear. Your thoughts?
Clacked by Jackie Schnoop 
on Nov 11, 2010 @ 21:31 EST5EDT
HIMYM films just as close. Jorge Garcia filmed his part for the 22nd Nov. episode last week. I think Ken Levine hinted at that while talking about when writers are writing the shows. Some of them come back as early as May to outline stories and during this time of year they are doing very VERY long hours only to get home a very short time over Christmas and New Year’s to regain energy and then power through another couple of scripts to start filming again right afterwards.
Oh and did you notice that it was an episode starring Wil in which Penny and Leonard broke up and this one here also had more development for those two in it?
There will be some kind of bigger story bit before the holiday break, I bet on it :-)
Oh and I think that nerds would want the movie to be displayed in all its original glory – from a film roll.
I don’t even think that there’s a cinema version of the Indiana Jones Movies available. And they were at a non-multiplex venue, do you think they would computerize that one? If it were computerized, they would’ve had to show it from the DVD I guess and there’s no way to paste in 21 additional seconds there :-) All very mich in-character :-)
Aw damn not another comment. Ok 3rd time’s the charm.
Bernadette was the one who asked Penny about Leonard. And I DO think that the movie was an extra 21 seconds and that they didn’t show just 21 seconds at that movie theater. Or would’ve. Nobody needs 2 rolls of film for 21 seconds ^^;
Yay… nitpicking FTW! ;-)
Fantastic ep – and coincidentally I just rewatched Raiders last weekend and am planning to rewatch the rest of the trilogy this weekend. I always feel like more of a nerd after TBBT.
Amy is a great addition to the show, and I am so glad that Bernadette is back.
Also I loved that while they were waiting in the line, Leonard was reading Eat, Pray, Love. He still cares about Penny enough to read the book that she likes (even though he joked about it at the beginning of the show).