The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation

The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation
Information
Series	The Big Bang Theory
Airdate	September 21, 2009
Director	Mark Cendrowski

"The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation" is the first episode of the third season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, September 21, 2009.

Summary

Sheldon is humiliated by the guys tampering with the data they gathered at the North Pole, while Penny finally shows her feelings for Leonard.

Extended Plot

Leonard, you're back!

The gang in Texas fetching Sheldon.

Following his return from the North pole, Sheldon is very excited over the prospects that his research has yielded, whereas Raj, Howard, and Leonard are just glad to be home after spending three months at the in close quarters with Sheldon. Penny is happier than most that Leonard has returned and she passionately kisses him after he knocks on her door. Leonard gladly returns the affection while Penny drags him into her apartment.

They finally caught a break.

After they get into apartment 4A, Howard and Raj confess to Sheldon that the positive results that he received in the Arctic was really static from an electric can opener they kept turning on and off. Furious, especially at Leonard who thought up the idea, Sheldon confronts him at Penny's apartment, much to Leonard's  dismay. Leonard explains that he did it because Sheldon was being absolutely unbearable during the expedition when he wasn't getting the results he wanted. Plans to kill him were even brought up and discussed. To make matters worse, Sheldon already contacted everyone at the university that he had positive results. Crushed that his best friend has destroyed his dreams and humiliated him, Sheldon retreats to his bedroom. Penny goes to comfort him; however, she makes Sheldon realize he also missed both Comic Con and the new Star Trek movie.

The next day, Sheldon still refuses to forgive Leonard, and is suffering ridicule by everyone in the physics department, especially Kripke. As a result, he resigns and runs away home to Texas. Although reluctant to go and wait any longer to sex hook up with Penny, Leonard agrees to go. Penny insists that he go help Sheldon and that she will be back in California waiting for him. 

At his mother's home, Sheldon becomes increasingly annoyed by his mother's Christian lifestyle. The guys get to her home as Howard annoys her after he goes Texan on her. They want to bring him back, though he is reluctant. Sheldon says that he will stay in Texas to teach Evolution to creationist Creationists. Mary Cooper tells him that that is just his opinion. Quickly, he forgives the guys and they head back to Pasadena.

Back at home, Penny and Leonard finally hook up, but both of them now feel their relationship has gotten weird.

Critics

• "I don’t think this show is in terminal decline just yet. Of course my standards for it and desires for it are different to its producers. But I still think it will stay fresher for longer with a little more care and attention than it currently receives." - The TV Critic's Review
• IMDb user reviews

Notes

• Chuck Lorre's vanity card [1]
• This episode was watched by 12.96 million people with a rating of 4.7 (adults 18-49).
• This episode aired in Canada on September 21, 2009.
• Episode transcript [2]

Science

• Sheldon's experiment was to track slow moving magnetic monopoles at the magnetic North Pole.

Logic

• Sheldon accuses his mother of having resorted to post hoc, ergo propter hoc, an informal fallacy in the form of "X occurred, then Y occurred, therefore X has caused Y to occur". The error is one of mistaking CORRELATION with CAUSATION, such as those who equate drinking with the cause of domestic violence; yes, they frequently occur together, but, rather than drinking CAUSING domestic violence, BOTH actions are the product of OTHER factors; most commonly, an associated lack of better coping mechanisms. In simple language, he is saying "one cannot assert that I came home safely only and only because my mother prayed for my safety". However, Sheldon himself is committing an informal fallacy because there is no evidence that his mother has said "only and only". In fact he is famous for dismissing anything that he himself cannot quantify as "hokum".

Culture

• Sheldon believes his work on Magnetic Monopoles will gain him a Nobel Prize.
• Howard and Leonard make reference that Sheldon has "Vulcan hearing".
• Sheldon makes reference to emoticons (himself being :D, then Raj noting he became :O following the revelation).

Title

• The title refers to the appliance that Leonard, Howard and Raj used to give Sheldon false results in lieu of killing him.

Costume Notes

Celestial	Ames Bros Ray Gun	BDG stripes
Sheldon wears the green Goodnight celestial graphic shirt, his Ames Brothers Flash RayGun t-shirt, and his BDG multi-colored pin striped tee (discontinued from Urban Outfitters).
Turntable	Red Tiger	Unknown moon/pagota
Leonard wears the Turntable shirt by Heavy Rotation, his red tiger head shirt from Zazzle, and an unidentified olive colored shirt with a moon/pagoda design.

Set/Props Notes

New on the set:

The Incident by Eric Joyner	Lgd/Drk Knight #159	The Demon #32	JLA #92
The Incident by artist Eric Joyner Bookshelves behind couch	Batman/Dark Knight #159 November 2002 Issue Comic bins/Sheldon's room	The Demon #32 February 1993 issue Comic bins/Sheldon's room	Justice League #92 March 2004 issue Comic bins/Sheldon's room

Trivia

• First of six episodes to have a "Previously on The Big Bang Theory" review of past events. It summarizes "The Monopolar Expedition" and is narrated by Kaley Cuoco. The other three are "The Cohabitation Formulation", "The Skank Reflex Analysis", "The Countdown Reflection", "The Date Night Variable" and The Locomotion Interruption".
• Leonard says, "You can still publish the actual results." Since it was a Science Foundation|NSF expedition, it is not simply a decision to publish their results.
• Sheldon doesn't seem surprised that Leonard and Penny are beginning to date, as he was the one who correctly hypothesized that Penny wants him in the previous season finale, just before the gang's expedition.
• Penny described a scene from the new movie Star Trek in this episode, meaning she probably saw it even though the others didn't, which could indicate that she has begun to like their nerdy things. This time was the only time she knew something about Star Trek that Sheldon didn't.
• Sheldon's beard looks like the one Spock has in the "mirror universe" episode "Mirror, Mirror". Along with that, Howard and Leonard mention about his Vulcan earing.
• When Howard says to Mary Cooper he'll take a Diet Yoohoo in the DVD, she says he'll take a Coke, but on TV, she says "you'll take a cola".
• Raj suggests Howard's hat is reminiscent of Woody's in Toy Story. Laurie Metcalf (who plays Mary Cooper) is in all three Toy Story films as the voice of Mrs. Davis.
• Howard previously referred to cyanoacrylates in "The Work Song Nanocluster", as Leonard attempts to define them in this episode.
• The preserved snow flake from North Pole appears again in the later episode "The Toast Derivation".
• In the commentary for this episode on the DVD release, the actors actually grew real beards for filming, but they were told to shave them so that the make-up department could put fake ones on. It is never stated why this decision was made.
• This season premiere episode takes place three/four months after the last episode of the previous season.

Quotes

Penny: Leonard, you’re back.

Leonard: Yeah, I just stopped by to say… (She grabs him and kisses him passionately.) Yeah, so, hi!

Penny: Hi! (They stumble, kissing, into her apartment and slam the door shut.)

Howard: Dammit, I should have gone over and told her we were back.

Raj: (Sarcastically) Yeah, it was first come, first served.

---

Leonard: Hey. Listen, since we got, you know, interrupted last night, I didn't have a chance to give you this.

Penny: Oh, Leonard, you shouldn't have. Oh, boy! What is it?

Leonard: It’s a snowflake. From the North Pole.

Penny: Are you serious?

Leonard: Uh-huh. It’ll last forever. I preserved it in a one percent solution of polyvinyl acetyl resin.

Penny: Oh, my God. That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me that I didn't understand.

---

Penny: Well, wait a second, Leonard, come on, how can you not go? He’s your best friend.

Leonard: Yeah, but I already saw him naked. Just come here.

Penny: No. I promise I will be here when you get back. Just go help Sheldon.

Leonard: Really?

Penny: Yeah. We waited a few months. We can wait a few more days.

Leonard: Maybe you can.

---

(Leonard, Howard and Raj are at Sheldon's mother's place in Galveston, Texas, trying to get Sheldon to come home with them. Howard is wearing a goofy cowboy hat and a mustache. Leonard rings the doorbell.)

Leonard: Can you please take that stupid hat off?

Howard: No, I wanna blend in.

Raj: To what, Toy Story?

(Leonard chuckles at Raj's remark. Mary Cooper opens the door.)

Mary: Hi, boys.

Howard (with Texan accent): Howdy, Ma'am.

Mary: Howdy to you too, you got here quick.

Leonard: Ah, we took the Red Eye.

Mary: Well, come on in.

Howard (with Texan accent): Thank you kindly.

Mary: Can I, can I get you something to drink?

Leonard: Uh, no, thank you.

Howard (with Texan accent): Uh, if ya'll don't mind, I'm hankering for a Lone Star Beer.

Mary: There's no alcohol in this household, stop talking like that and lose the hat.

Howard (In normal voice): Sorry, I'll take a Diet Yoo-hoo if you have it.

Mary: You'll take a coke. (To Raj) What about you, Raj, is it? Oh you still having trouble talking to the ladies? (chuckles) Because you know at our church, we have a woman who's an amazing healer. Mostly she does, uh, crutch and wheelchair people, but I bet she'd be willing to take a shot at whatever third world demon is running around inside of you.

Leonard: Uh, if you don't mind, Mrs. Cooper there's a 3:05 non-stop back to Los Angeles and you have no idea how much I wanna be on it.

Mary: A girl?

Leonard: Uh, yes, ma'am.

Mary: Good, I've been praying for you.

(Sheldon walks into the room.)

Mary: Oh. Sheldon.

Sheldon: What are they doing here?

Leonard: Uh we came to apologize.

Howard: Again.

Leonard: And bring you home, so why don't you pack up your stuff and we'll head back.

Sheldon: No. This is my home now. Thanks to you, my career is over. And I will spend the rest of my life in Texas, trying to teach evolution to creationists.

Mary: You watch your mouth, Shelly. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Sheldon: Evolution isn't an opinion. It's fact.

Mary: And that is your opinion.

Sheldon (To the guys): I forgive you, let's go home.

(Goes to get his stuff.)

Mary: Don't tell me prayer doesn't work.

---

Sheldon: (Knock, knock, knock) Leonard. (Knock, knock, knock) Leonard. (Knock, knock, knock) Leonard.

Leonard: (whispering) Do not make a sound.

Sheldon: Whispering "do not make a sound" is a sound.

Leonard: Damn his Vulcan hearing. Not a good time, Sheldon.

Sheldon: (Knock, knock, knock) Penny. (Knock, knock, knock) Penny. (Knock, knock, knock) Penny.

Penny: Oh, this is ridiculous. (Opens door) What?

Sheldon: Hello, Penny. I realize you're currently at the mercy of your primitive biological urges, but as you have an entire lifetime of poor decisions ahead of you, may I interrupt this one?

Penny: It's great to see you too. Come on in.

Gallery

• A very hairy bunch of geeks.
• Sheldon returns home.
• Leonard. You're back.
• Penny tries to console Sheldon.
• Going to go fetch Sheldon, pardner.
• Sheldon praying at home with his mother.
• Leonard explaining to Sheldon why they gave him false data.
• Penny and Sheldon.
• Howard on his return.
• Did you doctor the data?
• Returning to apartment 4A.
• Right. It was first come, first serve.
• Penny kisses Leonard.
• Leonard kissing Penny.
• Penny and Leonard finally sleep together.
• Penny comforting Sheldon.
• Vanity 256.jpg
  Chuck Lorre Productions, #256.
• Wreck5.jpg
  Back after three months.
• Leonard's preserved snowflake.
• I missed you!
• Leonard is glad to see Penny.
• Penny attacking Leonard.
• Penny attacking Leonard.
• Hi!!
• Penny pulling Leonard into her apartment.
• Comforting Sheldon.
• It finally happened!
• Happy together after coitus.
• Happy after their first intimate time together.
• Come back, Sheldon.
• Your friends have come to see you.
• The gang came for Sheldon.
• Explaining things to her son.
• Mary Cooper.
• I forgive you. Let's go home.
• Comforting a humiliated Sheldon.

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