Howard accidentally gets the Mars rover stuck in a ditch while trying to impress Stephanie Barnett. Stephanie finds herself more interested in Leonard than Howard and dates Leonard instead.
Sheldon, Raj and Leonard are arguing about what to watch when Howard shows up with aneye patch on. Howard explains that this costume along with his negs (Negative Compliments meant to throw a woman off their game) are all a part of his plan to pick up women. He then tries it on Penny, but miserably fails.
Later, Leonard and Sheldon are debating on what to watch when Howard calls with an emergency, the gang heads over to the university. Howard then explains he got the Mars rover stuck in a crevasse while trying to impress Stephanie Barnett, a girl he picked up at the bar. Howard appoints Leonard to drive her home as she doesn't have permission to be there. On the way home, Stephanie passionately kisses Leonard. He felt guilty about it, but after confirming that Howard didn't have a shot with her Leonard makes out with Stephanie. After they determine they can't fix the situation, Howard has them steal all the security recording and wipe the information discs.
A news broadcast informs the gang that because of the loss of data, NASA is unlikely to determine the cause of the Mars rover's "malfunction." Leonard heads out to meet Stephanie at her place, Leonard and Stephanie make out and proceed to initiate sexual intercourse, while Howard continually calls about having dinner at his mother's house.
At the Laundry room, Penny notices Leonard's new clothes and asks who's the girl he's dating. Leonard then fills her in and she assures him that he is not a bad person for stealing Stephanie from Howard. Leonard tries to inform Howard that he is dating Stephanie, but before he is able to do so, Stephanie calls Howard to inform him about it. Howard then says Leonard is dead to him.
Later, Leonard tries to talk to Howard, but he continues to pretend Leonard is dead to him. Stephanie stops by and tries to speak with Howard, he acknowledges her but doesn't speak to her. Stephanie then mentions that her roommate Lisa would be disappointed to not meet Howard. She had just gotten out of a relationship. Upon hearing this statement Howard is overjoyed and acknowledges both their existences.
In the final scene, Howard is seen sending a voice message to Lisa on the phone, when the boys call his attention to the news announcement which told that the Mars rover, which had fallen into the crevasse, had found conclusive data that there may have been life on Mars, but they will never know who to credit for this discovery. The episode ends with Howard saying, "Son of a bitch."
Critics
"I really want to like this episode, the comedy is good, the focus is on Leonard for once but unfortunately I canāt. The writers lack of thought it annoying and again they limit the show. There seems to be a desire from the producers to keep the show from evolving. Thatās a loss for the viewers because this show has the potential to be so much more." - The TV Critic's Review
Title Reference: When Raj wanted to play Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine what program they will watch, Sheldon proposes they play Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, which is an expansion to Rock-Paper-Scissors.
Leonard wears a red tee from an unknown chess tournament, his blue shirt featuring a record player, a dark tee with a squirrel from an unknown wildlife sanctuary, and ends with a dark colored tee with unknown design (jacket problems, again).
Quotes
Sheldon: Oh, look! Saturn 3 is on.
Raj: I don't want to watch Saturn 3. Deep Space 9 is better.
Sheldon: How is Deep Space 9 better than Saturn 3?
Raj: Simple subtraction will tell you it's six better.
Leonard: Compromise. Watch Babylon 5.
Sheldon: In what sense is that a compromise?
Leonard: Well, 5 is partway between 3 andā¦never mind.
Raj: I'll tell you what. How about we go 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'?
Sheldon: Ooh, I don't think so. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of 'Rock-Paper-Scissors', players familiar with each other will tie 75-80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest 'Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock'.
Raj: What?
Sheldon: It's very simple. Look -- Scissors cuts Paper, Paper covers Rock. Rock crushes Lizard, Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes Scissors, Scissors decapitates Lizard. Lizard eats Paper, Paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, Rock crushes Scissors.
Stephanie: Iām sorry. I totally interrupted you. What, what, what were you saying?
Leonard: Just said Howardās a terrific guy. Heās got a great sense of humor, he loves his mother, a lot, some people say too much.
Stephanie: I really like that youāre such a loyal friend.
Leonard: Yeah, I am loyal. You know, if you look at the big picture. Just, out of curiosity, did he ever have a shot with you?
Stephanie: Are you insane? The guy was wearing an eye patch.
Leonard: Then why did you?
Stephanie: He said that I could drive a car on Mars.
Leonard: Got it. So, can I see you again?
Announcer: A NASA spokesman states that due to the loss of data, they will most likely be unable to determine the cause of the Mars Roverās malfunction. This is not the first time an exploratory mission to Mars has ended in disappointment.
Howard: Thank God for Plan B.
Penny: Howard, didnāt you say you worked on the Mars Rover?
Howard: No, youāre mistaken.
Penny: Yeah, when we first met, you said that if I went out with you, I could drive a car on Mars.
Howard: I donāt know what youāre talking about.
Trivia
Sheldon is a fan of Saturn 3, Raj likes Deep Space 9, and Leonard proposes watching Babylon 5, since numerically, it's between the two. This devolves into arguing over which is better, and only resolves to somewhat agree that Star Trek 5 is worse than the others (see the Note).
"Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock" is an expansion of the classic Rock-paper-scissors game by Sam Kass, which turns the classic three-way game into five-way, while keeping the original associations in the three way game, as so:
The DEFCON (Defense Readiness Condition) numbers do indeed count down, with a lower number indicating a higher-level of emergency than a larger number.
On the series My Babysitter's a Vampire (episode: Flushed [2012]), the protagonists Ethan, Benny and Rory draw lots by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock.
In the season 1 episode, "The Grasshopper Experiment," Leonard lightly scolds Sheldon for having left with Raj's date, saying friends should not do such things. However, he himself practically does the same thing in this episode, the major difference being that he intended to date Stephanie, while Sheldon had no romantic intentions.
The ringtone on Howard's cellphone (which is heard occasionally in future episodes as well) is "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby, which was used as the theme music for the unaired pilot episode. Also Sheldon refers to "hind quarters", which he also mentioned in the unaired pilot.
