History TheBigBangTheory / TropesAToE

-->'''Prof Proton:''' ''[to Leonar]'' Is he dangerous?\\

** Inverted in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition" with Sheldon, Amy, and Stuart. Stuart asks Leonard about Sheldon and Amy and, after being told that they're not dating, asks Amy out. Stuart and Amy go on two dates before Sheldon charges back and asks Amy point-blank (after Amy insists on him removing his weasely quadruple-negative) to be his girlfriend.

** Inverted in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition" with Sheldon, Amy, and Stuart. Stuart asks Leonard about Sheldon and Amy and, after being told that they're not dating, asks Amy out. Stuart and Amy go on two dates before Sheldon charges back and asks Amy point-blank to be his girlfriend.

'''Penny:''' It... might. ''(sigh)'' Wow, you are really smart!\\
'''Leonard:''' [[SarcasmMode Yeah, I'm a FREAKING genius]].\\

* AbsentAnimalCompanion: Amy Farrah Fowler has a smoking pet monkey in one episode that is never mentioned again afterwards. Fowler is actually forced by her academic superiors to relinquish the monkeys she keeps at home. Not because of the smoking or the unauthorised taking her work home with her, but for "unprofessional behaviour": when monkeys crazed by nicotine deprivation started flinging excrement at her in protest, she ''threw it right back''.

** "The Champagne Reflection" has Bernadette realizing how much of a jerk she is and feeling awful about it. After this episode she goes right back to being a jerk.
** "The Maternal Combustion" has Beverly realising that there is more than one way to raise a child and she promises that from now on she will shower Leonard with unconditional love. After this episode, she is back to being a jerk in most appearances until "The Maternal Conclusion" where she and Leonard make amends when he forgives her.

--->'''Sheldon:''' It stands for "Text Bau Steine."
--->''(Scene switches to episode clip)''
--->'''Sheldon:''' The Germans have always been a very comforting people.
--->''(Ad cuts to Howard giving the camera a "'''Really?!'''" sort of look)''

-->'''Raj:''' A space probe might be destroyed, my parents are going through an awful divorce, the guy who cuts my dog’s hair just gave her bangs! ''(to Howard)'' You saw her. She looks like Jim Carrey from ''Dumb and Dumber''.

---> ''({{Beat}})''

--> '''Sheldon''': ''(wearing an all-white, long tailed, frilly collared tuxedo) [when Penny says "no"]'' Okay, but anything I put on now is only going to suffer in comparison. ''[next shot of Sheldon wearing a classy, sharp black-on-black suit]'' This is absurd, I look like a clown.

'''Leonard:''' ''(pretending to sneeze)'' 25 cats!\\

-->'''Amy''': ''(singing sadly while fighting tears)'' Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me... There's tears in the frosting... Happy birthday to me.

[[spoiler:'''Raj''': ''(sniffing)'' Oh God, I’m crying already.]]

** Penny, as she gradually became the NerdNanny. This trait seems to [[InTheBlood run in the family]]
* DeathGlare: Penny has one for Sheldon almost OnceAnEpisode, though he rarely notices.

---> '''Amy:''' ''(all in one breath)'' "Sheldon and I engaged in sexual intercourse. In other news, I'm thinking of starting an herb garden. Mum's the word. Gotta go."

-->'''Prof Proton''' (to Leonard) "Is he dangerous?"
-->'''Leonard''' "Actually, he's a genius"
-->'''Sheldon''' "I am!"
-->'''Prof Proton''' (to Leonard) "That doesn't answer my question...."

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Sheldon almost never laughs out loud, usually managing an idiosyncratic snicker at something that might amuse him or maybe a guffaw at one of his own jokes. But one of the more silly jokes on the show involved an extended scene with Penny mocking Leonard with a "stupid" voice (for thinking her history paper was going to fail when she actually got a B-) and then we cut to Sheldon, laughing hysterically because "[[InsufferableGenius That's exactly what you sound like!]]"

* ButThouMust:
-->'''Amy''': Are you familiar with meme theory?\\
'''Sheldon''': I'm familiar with everything... but go on.
** Whenever someone is feeling bad, Sheldon will make them a hot beverage, the beverage flavor depending on the seriousness.
---> Sheldon: "I'll make you some tea."
---> Leonard: "I don't really want any."
---> Sheldon: "It's not optional."

* CompetitionFreak: Bernadette is ''extremely'' competitive. As Leonard discovers in the scavenger hunt.

** "I have no difficulty believing you're not butter."

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Amy's ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' FanFic exaggerates the lower life expectancy of 19th century people. The protagonist Amelia converses with Cooper, a time traveler from the 21st century. She finds "strange" and "incredible" the concept of people living past thirty. But this was not an unusual occasion in this century. There is a paper called ''[[http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/Eng/Docs/DEIP_Gallop.pdf Mortality improvements and evolution of life expectancies]]'' written by demographer Adrian Gallop, examining the life expectancy changes in the [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} United Kingdom]]. According to it: "Period life expectancy at birth in the mid-19th century was around 40 years for males and 42 years for females." And naturally there were individuals who lived to a ripe old age. For example there are [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidents the Presidents of the United States]]. Lets see the ages of 19th century Presidents at death: UsefulNotes/JohnAdams (90 years), UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson (83 years), UsefulNotes/JamesMadison (85 years), UsefulNotes/JamesMonroe (73 years), UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams (80 years), UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson (78 years), UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren (79 years), UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison (68 years), UsefulNotes/JohnTyler (71 years), UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk (53 years), UsefulNotes/ZacharyTaylor (65 years), UsefulNotes/MillardFillmore (74 years), UsefulNotes/FranklinPierce (64 years), UsefulNotes/JamesBuchanan (77 years), UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln (56 years), UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson (66 years), UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant (63 years), UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes (70 years), UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield (49 years), UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur (57 years), UsefulNotes/GroverCleveland (71 years), UsefulNotes/BenjaminHarrison (67 years), and UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley (58 years). All well above 30[[note]]The statistics on life expectancy for earlier time periods are often skewed by high infant mortality rates - when this is compensated for, life expectancy is a lot closer to modern levels than most people would think[[/note]].

* CornyNebraska: Averted. Penny comes from Nebraska, but her family farm is to do with livestock, not corn.

* {{Asexuality}}: This is Sheldon's "deal." He's familiar with the concepts of physical or romantic attraction, but doesn't apparently experience those things himself. Any time he "clicks" with someone in a romantic way, it is always juxtaposed with a common scientific enthusiasm. While the possibility of sexual attraction has appeared from time to time (when Amy kisses him in Season 4, he says "Fascinating", which ''could'' indicate that he found the experience pleasurable or at least interesting), he is written largely as someone who puts intellect and science first and mocks his friends for not doing the same.
--> '''Leonard:''' I can't believe you're going to have Howard choose between sex and ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}!''\\
'''Sheldon:''' No, I'm asking him to choose between sex and ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}''. As far as I know sex hadn't been upgraded to include hi-def graphics and advanced weapon systems.\\
'''Leonard:''' Right, all sex has is nudity, orgasms, and human contact.\\
'''Sheldon:''' [[SarcasmBlind My point.]]
** In the Season 3 episode ''The Adhesive Duck Deficiency'', Penny falls in the shower and dislocates her shoulder. Sheldon spends more time whining about the possibility of getting injured driving than appreciating the fact that he got to enjoy Kaley Cuoco "in the altogether."
** Similarly, his [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Not-Girlfriend]] / DistaffCounterpart Amy Fowler refuses to touch or have sex with him. But as she hangs out with Penny, she displays more signs of sexual repression rather than straight asexuality, along with hints towards seeing the appeal of either side. Further realized when Amy gets roaring drunk and demands to know what or how much it would take for Sheldon to "take her to that skeezy motel and have his way with her" and later, when asked if Sheldon's knocking annoys here, says that she "plans to put his love of repetition to good use."
** Joked about in Season 9, when Sheldon is contemplating what to give Amy for her birthday, he consults Penny and Bernadette for help, since they might know better what Amy might want. The first two suggestions don't really seem very interesting in Penny's view, and she asks what the third option is, to which Sheldon answers: "I was thinking of having coitus with her." Cue Penny snapping the wineglass in her hand in half.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Whenever a new pretty girl shows up. [[{{Asexuality}} Sheldon]] is immune, and, [[DependingOnTheWriter on occasion]], so is [[DoggedNiceGuy Leonard]]. Howard is ''always'' the first to lose focus. In fact, one time just hearing that Penny's visiting "friend" from Nebraska was [[ReallyGetsAround easy]] meant that between shots, Howard somehow managed to literally ''[[StealthHiBye disappear]]'' from the room!

* AbsentAnimalCompanion: Amy Farrah Fowler has a smoking pet [[EverythingIsBetterWithMonkeys monkey]] in one episode that is never mentioned again afterwards. Fowler is actually forced by her academic superiors to relinquish the monkeys she keeps at home. Not because of the smoking or the unauthorised taking her work home with her, but for "unprofessional behaviour": when monkeys crazed by nicotine deprivation started flinging excrement at her in protest, she ''threw it right back''.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Amy is shown owning a cigar-smoking capuchin monkey in the episode ''"The Agreement Dissection"''. Although, to quote her, he's a bit of an ass.

* AdoredByTheNetwork: Canada's CTV Comedy Channel has, as recently as 2020, broadcast marathons of The Big Bang Theory that have lasted for the entirety of the holiday season in December-early January, where the show is the only thing to be seen on the channel for as long as 17 straight days.

* DefiniteArticleTitle: With the exception of the pilot, all episode titles are in this form. In general mimicking the names of scientific principles and making a reference to the events or dialogue of the episode. Starting with ''The Big Bran Hypothesis'' (episode 2), and continuing with ''The Fuzzy Boots Corollary'' (episode 3), etc.

* AuthenticationByNewspaper: When Leonard is getting ready to go to the Bakersfield ComicCon, he takes a picture of him kissing Penny's cheek while she holds the day's paper to prove to the other attendees that he not only has a girlfriend but that she is also hot.

** Howard meets Bernadette through a blind date, after Leonard convinces Penny to have one of her friends go on a double date. It goes poorly until [[NotSoDifferent they bond over their overbearing mothers]].

** In an interesting case of RealityEnsues, Raj finds that he can't talk to woman without a little bit of a buzz (it has sometimes just required one sip or at least the PlaceboEffect). Initially, while capable of talking to women he also very quickly became drunk and obnoxious. As he continued, his ability to hold his liquor improves drastically, and that trailed into his success with women.

** With Creator/WilWheaton playing AsHimself, Sheldon once made a direct reference to ''Film/StandByMe''. Creator/JerryOConnell ends up playing Sheldon's brother George. Both him and Wheaton end up at Sheldon's wedding, some fans were hoping for some sort of in-joke on the matter as they cross paths.

** PlayedForLaughs In "The Cooper Extraction", where the gang explore WhatIf scenarios with the premise that Sheldon isn't in their lives. Leonard and Sheldon aren't roommates, and Leonard and Penny are not neighbours. In Penny scenario, Leonard meets Penny at the Cheesecake Factory and wants to ask her out. He fails to say anything other than asking for directions to the restroom. Preventing any relationship from occuring.

** "The Guitarist Amplification" is an episode where Leonard and Penny fight. Sheldon wants to play a car game called Scientists, but Leonard copletely ignores Sheldon and keeps talking about his fight with Penny.