Changes: The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary

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"The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, October 19, 2009.

Summary

Sheldon goes up against his arch-enemy Wil Wheaton in a Mystic Warlords of Ka'a tournament. Penny sets up Howard on a blind date Bernadette.

Extended Plot

Penny is playing "Mystic Warlords of Ka'a" with Leonard, Howard and Raj and not getting into the game. Sheldon explains all the cards that she can play due to his eidetic memory. The game is over which first excites Penny, who then leaves because the last time she didn't leave, she ended up playing Mystic Warlords of Ka. Howard corrects her that it's Ka-AH!" Penny says “By-ee!”

Leonard still can't believe Penny is going out with him, nor can the other guys. Howard then brings up their "Girlfriend Pact" that if either one dated a hot girlfriend; they would have her find a date for the other. Leonard can't remember making the pact, though Sheldon announces that date (June 30th, 2004) place (Opening Day of "Spider-Man II", AMC Theaters, Pasadena) and what they had. Leonard only agreed to the pact because he never thought he'd have a hot girlfriend, and he was positive Howard never would.

At lunch, Sheldon won't give Leonard a napkin out of his 4-napkin system and Howard won't leave Leonard alone about having Penny find a date for him. Raj announces that there will be a "Mystic Warlords of Ka'a" tournament at the comic book store, with $500 going as first prize and wants Sheldon to enter with him, but Sheldon isn't interested.

After sex, Penny tells him that he really is a genius, though Leonard admitted that he had Googled his technique. He starts to talk about pacts. Penny had made one in the first grade with a friend about marrying Bert and Ernie. He mentioned his pact with Howard which involves her killing the mood and Penny saying that he should watch his next statement or she may never speak to him again. Next Penny tells him that she is not fixing up one of her friends with Howard. Leonard points out that deep down inside Howard's a really good guy. Penny then complains about his creepy candy coating and that she’ll think about it.

At the comic book store, Raj discovers that Wil Wheaton--as in Star Trek's Wil Wheaton--is signed up for the Mystic Warlords tournament playing with Stuart. Apparently he lives nearby and is a big gamer. Sheldon idolized Ensign Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" because they both had an eidetic memory. As a youth, he rode 10 hours on a bus, twice violating his personal rule of relieving himself in a moving vehicle, to have Wil sign his mint, in-package, Wesley Crusher action figure at a convention in Jackson, Mississippi. However, Wil didn't show, and Sheldon pledged eternal hatred for him. He signs up quoting Khan Noonian Singh from "Wrath of Khan," "FROM HELL'S HEART, I STAB AT THEE!!!”

Leonard, Penny, and Howard head out to pick up his blind date. Penny told her friend that Howard was an aerospace engineer and spoke 5 languages and that he had an unhealthy attachment to his mother. She was kidding about his mother.

The tournament is set up at the comic book store as Sheldon stares at Wil Wheaton still quoting Khan. “Wil Wheaton, my old friend. I've chased you 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round Perdition's Flames!” Raj remarks that Wesley Crusher was in the “next Generation” franchise, but this does not deter Sheldon.

Howard tries to make small talk in the car with Penny's friend, Bernadette. She doesn't get his jokes nor is she interested in science-fiction, role playing games (fantasy or bedroom), magic, or she doesn't even like puppies.

Sheldon and Raj easily beats everyone as Sheldon stares at their final their semi-final opponents, Wil Wheaton and Stuart. “bortaS bIr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay'!” exclaims Sheldon within the hearing range of Wil Wheaton. He asks, “Did that guy just say "Revenge is a dish that is best served cold" in Klingon?” Stuart agrees. Wil wants to know what is wrong with him and Stuart replies that everyone has a theory.

At dinner, Howard continues trying to find common ground with Bernadette, while Leonard and Penny quietly lament how long the night is going to be. Howard's mother calls and Bernadette is sympathetic, as her mother drives her nuts as well. They start telling stories on how bad their mothers are. Their mothers still call each of them over trivial things, Bernadette’s still lays out her clothes and "wouldn't let me ride a bicycle because she thought I'd hit a bump and lose my virginity." She did lose it in a Toyota Camry while Howard lost his in a Corolla (to his second cousin). They then invite each other to meet their parents. That is, if Bernadette will wear her Catholic cross to a Shabazz dinner to possibly give his mom the big brain aneurysm he wants, and he has to come to Sunday dinner at her house wearing a yarmulke. Penny is happy that she is great at matchmaking.

Sheldon and Raj are playing Wil Wheaton and Stuart and Sheldon ends up going head to head with Wil Wheaton. At what seems to be the last card, Sheldon decides to tell the story of Wil Wheaton blowing off the convention when he was a kid. Wil's grandmother had just died, and Wil apologizes completely to Sheldon who becomes overcome with guilt since he just lost his Meemaw. Sheldon throws the game as Raj yells at him. Wil calls his grandmother Nana who will be happy to hear that he won. After Sheldon realizes that he’s been tricked he yells in Khan-like fashion, “WHEEEEAAAAAATTTTTTOOOOOONNNNNNNN!!!!!!!”

Critics

"Now this is more like it. Since Penny and Leonard got together the plots are starting to flow more naturally with great results. The idea of a pact between Howard and Leonard makes perfect sense. Sitcoms thrive on new situations and developments. The guys were all lonely and now Leonard is with Penny. So this new development brings all sorts of benefits to the show...Sheldon delights of course in linking himself to "The Wrath of Khan" and taking great pleasure in living out that particular fantasy as his revenge draws near. The use of Wheaton’s grandmother as his excuse is perfect too...A terrific episode for Sheldon, the writers find a tone and purpose for him which suits him like no other. The details were all good, the B plot was good, the jokes were good. I can ask for no more, for now." - The TV Critic's Review
IMDb user reviews

Notes

Title Reference: The episode gets its name from how Penny describes Howard.
Chuck Lorre's vanity card [1]
This episode was watched by 13.47 million people with a rating of 5.3 (adults 18-49).
This episode aired in Canada on October 19, 2009.
Episode transcript [2]

Costume Notes

Trivia

First appearance of the card game Mystic Warlords of Ka'a. According to this episode, Sheldon doesn't play Mystic Warlords of Ka'a due to a lack of challenge, but does not complain about this fact in other episodes wherein the game appears ("The Justice League Recombination", "The Engagement Reaction", "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition", "The Decoupling Fluctuation").
As Sheldon browses the comic books, he says, "Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it." In The Guitarist Amplification, when Howard mentions Amazing Spider-Man 183, Sheldon says "Got it." In "The Hofstadter Isotope", both Sheldon and Howard repeat this statement as they look through a rack of comic books.
Sheldon says, "Wesley Crusher had an eidetic memory just like me." The December 10, 1986 casting call featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion cites a "photographic memory", while the March 23, 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers/Directors Guide cites "his superior memory".
Sheldon has no qualms admitting that his grandmother "Meemaw" calls him "Moonpie," unlike in "The Terminator Decoupling". It is possible he didn't want Penny to know this fact, knowing she would inevitably mock him.
Bernadette's first appearance, though her name is only revealed to be "Bernadette" during the end credits.
Howard and Bernadette bond over their controlling mothers. Amy and Sheldon connect on the same topic, their mothers.
Howard wears an owl belt buckle in this episode.
Captain Sweatpants and Lonely Larry are a team and Raj and Sheldon beat them.
On some TV channels showing reruns, after the camera zooms out to show the Earth, the credits appear at the same time.
The camera is centered on the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA when the camera zooms out to show the Earth.
Sheldon quotes or imitates several lines from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (as stated by himself and Raj). These includes:
- - He tasks me, he tasks me and I shall have him.
- - From hell's heart I stab at thee! (Khan's last words in The Wrath of Khan)
- - I have chased you 'round the moons of Nibia, and 'round the Antares Maelstrom, and 'round perdition's flames!
- - bortaS bIr jablu'DI'reH QaQqu' nay ! - The English version of this Klingon proverb first appeared in The Wrath of Khan: "Revenge is a dish best served cold".
- Sheldon's cry "Wheaton! Wheaton! Wheaton!" at the end of this episode is a salute to Kirk's cry "Khan! Khan!" when Khan claimed to leave him buried alive. Also, after Sheldon's cry, the camera zooms out from the earth surface to show the spherical Earth - an exact imitation to the camera zooming from the surface of planetoid Regula 1 in The Wrath of Khan.

Quotes

(Penny, Leonard, Howard and Bernadette are at the restaurant. Howard and Bernadette aren't getting along, until Howard checks his ringing phone.)

Howard: Excuse me, (sigh) damn, it's my mother.
Bernadette: Are you going to answer it?

Howard: I'm torn. She might be dying, you know, I wouldn't want to miss that.

On the other hand, if I let it go to voice mail, I could play it over and over.

Bernadette: I know how you feel. My mother makes me crazy.

Howard: (chuckles a bit) Not as crazy as my mother makes me.

Bernadette: Oh, yeah, does your mother call you every day at work to see if you've had a healthy lunch?

Howard: My mother calls me at work to see if I had a healthy bowel movement.

(Penny and Leonard get a little disgusted at this.)

Bernadette: OK, well, does she lay out your clothes for you in the morning like you're nine years old.

Howard: You live with your mother?

Bernadette: No. That's the sad part.

Howard: OK, well check this out. My mother made me wear rubber gloves to kindergarten so I wouldn't pick up a disease from the other children.

Bernadette: That's nothing. I couldn't ride a bicycle 'cause my mother was afraid I would hit a bump and lose my virginity.

Howard: Oh wow, you didn't, did you?

Bernadette: Not on a bicycle; in a Camry.

Howard: Corolla!

Howard: Leonard, a pact is a pact. You have to get Penny to fix me up.

Leonard: It's not that simple. What am I supposed to say? Penny, do you have any friends you'd like to never hear from again?

Sheldon: Now fetch me Wil Wheaton! bortaS bIr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay

Wil Wheaton: Did that guy just say "revenge is a dish best served cold" in Klingon?

Stuart: I believe so.

Wil Wheaton: What is wrong with him?

Stuart: Everyone has a different theory.

Leonard: The deal was that if either of us got a girlfriend, we'd have her fix the other one up with one of her friends.

Penny: And you thought a good time to bring this up would be right after sex?

Leonard: Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up before sex.

Sheldon: WHEATON!!! (A play on Adm. Kirk's "KHAAAAN" in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan)

Penny: [after sex glow] Wow. You really are a genius.

Leonard: Not really. I Googled how to do that.

Leonard: You know, deep down inside, Howard's a really nice guy.

Penny: The problem isn't what's on the inside. It's the creepy candy coating.

Video

The_Big_Bang_Theory_Sheldon_Vs_Will_Wheaton — The Big Bang Theory Sheldon Vs Will Wheaton

Gallery

You really are a genius.
Sheldon vs. Captain Sweatpants.
Sheldon vs. Wheaton.
He tasks me.
"Wheaton!"
Can you get Howard a date?
Candycoating.jpg
Sheldon vs. Wheaton.
Leonard and Penny.
Penny playing Mystic Warlords of Ka'a.
Howard and Bernadette.
Playing cards with the gang.
Howard meets Bernadette.
Sheldon taunting Will Wheaton.
Seem to have nothing in common.
Howard meets Bernadette.
Vanity 263.jpg
Chuck Lorre Productions, #263.
Wheaton vs. Cooper.

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