Awesome / The Big Bang Theory

I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy?!

—Dr Sheldon Cooper

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

The High-Achievement Amazement Experiment.

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Season One

• One-Scene Wonder Lalita giving Raj a What the Hell, Hero? "The Reason You Suck" Speech for being a boor on their date, calling her both fat and his "future wife". Raj was being a boor, and as she points out, she hears enough of the Indian traditional stuff from her parents and she doesn't need to hear it from a guy that she only saw to get her family off her back.
• Following that up, Sheldon apologizing to Raj for stealing his date by accident, but pointing out to his parents that Lalita called Raj "boring" and drunk. Leonard is annoyed, but Sheldon is completely right.
• Leonard finally getting the courage to ask Penny out in the Season 1 finale. It's done as such an offhand thing, but it's one of the most victorious moments in the show.
• Penny blackmailing Sheldon into throwing Leonard a surprise birthday party. It was the first time she was "one of the guys" and not just the cute neighbor who had take-out with them once a week.
• In "The Nerdvanna Annihilation" after Penny's comments about his toys depresses Leonard into giving them away, Sheldon gives her one of her few well-deserved "The Reason You Suck" Speeches throughout the series:
  Penny: What the hell's going on?
  Sheldon: (With genuine anger) You hypocrite!
  Penny: What?
  Sheldon: Little Miss "grown-ups don't play with toys"! If I went into that apartment right now, would I not find Beanie Babies? Are you not an accumulator of Care Bears and My Little Ponies? And who is that Japanese feline frolicking on your shorts? Hello, Hello Kitty!
• When Penny kisses Leonard in the Halloween episode while she's drunk, Leonard makes sure it doesn't go any further, Penny kisses him good night at his door while he's still dressed as Frodo. When Penny's ex-boyfriend Kurt sees this after him and Leonard were arguing, Leonard delivers this gem right before he shuts the door.
  Leonard: That's right, you saw what you saw, that's how we roll in the Shire.
• Sheldon taking on Leonard, Howard, Raj and Leslie Winkle in the physics bowl and fighting them to a draw. Although he was portrayed as the villain of the episode, it's one of the few times he shows that he is every bit as intelligent as he's made out to be.
  • Even more impressive is the Russian janitor who wasn't really paying attention figuring out the answer to the question that left all five of them speechless after a simple glance.
• In "The Luminous Fish Effect", Sheldon gets fired from his job by insulting their new boss on ther very first meeting at a office party. After everyone fails to get Sheldon to go say sorry, Leonard calls Sheldon's mom who forces Sheldon to leave his room and go say sorry to his boss. Right away, Sheldon's mom, Mary Cooper, shows she doesn't take his crap when Sheldon refuses, even saying in a flat tone "Did I say if it pleases your highness" when Sheldon says no to the idea of seeing his boss. When Mary Cooper starts to flirt with Sheldon's new boss, and he askes Sheldon if he should be working, she gives him a dead angry look that makes him leave the room confused. She's the first character we ever see who Sheldon doesn't have the power to refute. The look on her face of "get out" that is only directed towards Sheldon when she wants to flirt with his boss makes it all the more awesome.

Season Two

• In the "Panty Piñata Polarization", Sheldon "bans" Penny from their apartment for getting "three strikes." Leonard, Raj, and Howard are too chicken to speak up for her, and the thing soon escalates into a full blown war between Sheldon and Penny, which is when this awesome exchange takes place.
  Sheldon: Woman, you're playing with forces beyond your ken.
  Penny: Yeah, well, your Ken can kiss my Barbie.
  • The resulting war leads to a few moments for both sides. And then Penny uncovers his ultimate weakness...
• In "The White Asparagus Triangulation", after his failed attempt to show Leonard's physical prowess, Sheldon hacked his Facebook account formalizing his relationship with Stephanie. At first Leonard yells at Sheldon that Sheldon is going to ruin their relationship. All of a sudden, Stephanie has updated her own status to mirror Leonard's. Helping his roommate with just his Control Freak tendencies is pretty impressive after all.
• Penny giving Sheldon Leonard Nimoy's Napkin. It's autographed, but she apologized because Leonard (Nimoy, that is) "wiped his mouth with it", prompting Sheldon to give her about 20 different baskets of fancy toiletries. When she says "SHELDON...!", he can only say, "I know, it's not enough is it?"
• Penny's scathing verbal comeback at Howard (after he's being his perverted and shallow self) is awesome despite looking bad by episode standards, she is standing up for herself. She also then later tells him that he has his charms but needs to stop overcompensating, which leads to some Character Development for Howard.
  Penny: I know you think you’re some sort of smooth-talking ladies' man, but the truth is, you are just pathetic and creepy.
  Howard: Um, so what are you saying?
  Penny: I am saying it is not a compliment to call me doable. It's not sexy to stare at my ass and say, "Ooh, it must be jelly 'cause jam don't shake like that." And most important, we are not dancing a tango, we're not to-ing and fro-ing. Nothing is ever going to happen between us. Ever.
  Howard: Wait a minute. This isn't flirting, you're serious.
  Penny: Flirting? You think I'm flirting with you? I am not flirting with you, no woman is ever gonna flirt with you, you're just gonna grow old and die alone.
• Remember the episode where the university student Ramona becomes obsessed with Sheldon?
  Leslie Winkle (to Sheldon): Preparing your papers for the International Museum of Dumbassery?
  Ramona: There won't be any room until they get rid of the permanent Leslie Winkle Exhibit.
• Despite the others abandoning him, Leonard goes to convince Penny's ex Kurt to pay back the money he owes her. At first, it seems that he was only humiliated for his trouble, but later it turns out he actually succeeded. Sheldon actually praises Leonard for his actions, as even though Penny did not know Leonard's role in getting her the money, he refused to take credit.
  Sheldon: "Well done Leonard. The true hero doesn't seek adulation, he fights for right and justice because it's his nature."
  Leonard: "Penny's hooking up with her jerk of an ex boyfriend and I have indelible ink on my forehead!"
  Sheldon: "That is your badge of honor, your 'warrior's wound' if you will. I was wrong, minstrels will write songs about YOU."
• In "The Griffin Equivalency" after Raj makes a complete ass of himself the night before because of Acquired Situational Narcissism he tries to apologize to Penny, with understandable difficulties. Penny refuses to accept any second hand methods of talking to her and forces Raj to speak to her directly, making him barely squeak out one "Sorry".

Season Three

• When Leonard miscalculates some rocket fuel about to explode and tries to take it outside via elevator, Sheldon, quickly deducing that it was about to explode, walks briskly to the elevator, grabs the container out of Leonard's hands and sets it on the floor, pushes Leonard out and closes the elevator door behind him in one efficient movement. The rocket fuel destroys the elevator two seconds later.
• Raj and Sheldon have a montage of doing physics with 'Eye of the Tiger' as the background music.
• In "The Bozeman Reaction" after finding out the guys apartment was robbed Penny realizes she missed the robbers because of work. Leonard thinks she's worried about the possibility she could have run into criminals but actually she brings out a baseball bat and laments that she couldn't "go Nebraska on their asses."

Season Four

• Raj buying himself a large desk for Sheldon's office.
  • A Brobdignagian desk no less!
• Pryia beating Sheldon at his own game by finding loopholes in the Roommate Agreement.
  Leonard: Top of her class in Cambridge University. Licensed to practice law in three countries and your face!
  • SCHOOLED! SUPERSEDED!
  • Sheldon's final retort was just as good.
  Sheldon: You may have gone to Cambridge, but I'm an honorary graduate of Starfleet Academy!
  • Not to mention how he beat her. At Amy's suggestion, Sheldon showed he was willing to cross the Moral Event Horizon (and he would've blown up the apartment, too) and made her sign another agreement. How? By threatening to send an email to her parents, revealing that she's dating Leonard and not an Indian fellow. This man is unstoppable!
• The majority of The 21-Second Excitation has the guys trying to see an extended cut of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but by the time they get there, the tickets are sold out. How does Sheldon react? He sneaks into the movie theater through the back door, steals the film cans from the unguarded projection booth, shows off the cans to Wil Wheaton, (who got into the theater earlier because the doorman was a fan,) and runs off while humming the Raider's March!
  • While it was an invasion of Penny's privacy, Amy gets one for pointing out Penny jumped the gun on dumping Leonard and warning her if she becomes ready to go to the next level with him, he might've already found someone else who saw what she saw in him. Pretty impressive for someone who before Sheldon had only dated once a year to appease her mother.
• Leonard was having a really fun time pretending to be with Penny while her dad was in town, a situation she requested because he was the only guy her dad approved of her dating. Once her dad was asleep, she snuck over to Leonard's apartment to try and chew him out, but using basic logic, Leonard managed to turn the entire conversation around.
  Penny: Why are you making this so difficult!?
  Leonard: It's not difficult for me, I'm having fun.
  Penny: (pleading) Leonard...
  Leonard: What do you want me to do? You started this, you want to tell him we're broken up?
  Penny: No...
  Leonard: Well what do you want?
  Penny: I don't know!
  Leonard: Don't you think that is something you should have thought about BEFORE you stomped over here?
  Penny: Maybe!
• Penny calling Sheldon out on his refusing to go to the hospital to support Howard after his mother suffers a suspected heart attack, pointing out that he constantly wears superhero t-shirts, but refuses to go to the hospital to support a friend.
• The entire cast dressing up as the Justice League for a New Year's party. It summarizes everything that makes this show awesome in one episode.
  • The same episode gives a great one to Penny. She's started dating Zack again, and when he comes over, he wants to "talk science with the science dudes." Keep in mind that Zack is a Nice Guy who genuinely wants to be friends with the group and is interested in their work—but Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj all pull an Insufferable Genius act and insult Zack's intelligence with snide comments. Zack is deeply hurt and leaves, giving Penny the opportunity to call out the group's Double Standard and hypocrisy in a brief but compelling "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    Penny: You know, for a group of guys who claim they spent most of their lives being bullied, you can be real jerks. Shame on all of you.
• In "The Zarnecki Incursion" the guys fail to retrieve Sheldon's stolen Warcraft items despite finding the guy responsible (He easily towered over them the way Kurt did). When Penny finds out she decides to show them how to finish a quest Nebraska style.
  Penny: Today's the day a girl's finally going to touch you in your special little place.

Season Five

• In "The Skank Reflex Hypothesis", Sheldon runs out and pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to inspire Leonard, Howard, and Raj while dramatic music plays. They actually run out and butcher the geology department, winning them the paintball trophy.
  • Also a Funny Moment, as Sheldon, who is more or less agnostic, pulls out a parody of the Crucified Hero Shot and after he "dies" says, "If there is ever going to be a Church of Sheldon, this is where it started".
• Bernadette realizing she was in the wrong and trying to make it up to Howard.
  • Howard himself deserves a lot of credit for actually kicking her out of the house when she "tattled" to his mom about the issue because she had crossed the line, and freely admitted to the others they might break up over the whole thing. Coming from a guy who normally lets women walk all over him so long as they have sex with him, that showed a great deal of personal integrity.
  • Even his friends are suitably impressed.
    Raj: Not only are you the first one of us to get married, you're also the only one of us to kick a woman out of bed. You're like a rock star!
• Sheldon successfully pranking Leonard in such a awesome and hilarious way after getting pranked by Howard, Raj, and Leonard repeatedly throughout the Halloween episode.
  Sheldon: Bazinga, punk. Now we're even.
  • Of course, Leonard's, Bernadette and Howard's, and Raj's pranks were pretty awesome throughout the episode. Especially Leonard's.
    Leonard: You may be from Texas, but I'm from New Jersey.
• In "The Ornithophobia Diffusion", Leonard hanging out with Penny and showing a spine by: making her pay her fair share and choosing the movie and not backing down. When tensions heighten and the two get into a fight, Leonard is actually the one who gets the last laugh when he points out she can't even spell asthma. Penny tries to prove him wrong, only to give up on the third letter.
• Amy coerces Leonard to be her date to a wedding, which he agrees to but is clearly not enthusiastic about it. Amy actually ends up being quite a charming conversationalist and Leonard is the wet blanket cause the wedding reminds him that he "has a kinda-sorta girlfriend 9,000 miles away." Amy calls him out on it by saying "I have a kinda-sorta boyfriend who is at home playing with model trains and you don't hear me bitching about it." Surprising enough, that actually works and they have a nice time dancing the rest of the night.
• Leonard finally standing up to his high school bully after letting him sleep the night at his place out of misguided good intentions.
  • Earlier, Sheldon named the bully's sins to Leonard to the Man's face in his Sheldon like manner.
• Leonard: "You call that a glow stick?" Even Penny looks proud.
• Stephen Hawking.
  • Stephen Hawking giving Sheldon a derisive smirk.
    Hawking: Are you saying I make mathematical errors?
• "The Recombination Hypothesis" is about Leonard trying to figure out his feelings for Penny and whether or not they were just too different to have a future together. The entire episode is an extended Imagine Spot where he asks her out again but they start bickering and covering up their problems with sex. Just before being snapped out of his head, dream!Penny told him that he always overthinks things, and the first thing he does exiting the dream is ask her out despite the "Bad Ending" he conceived. Penny even asks if he thought this through and he replies with an exasperated nod "Yes, and I think we should go, anyways."
  • Relatedly, one of the ideas brought up in his daydream was that he and Penny try a "Relationship Beta Test" where they actively communicate their frustrations with each other. He later suggests the same thing to the real Penny and she is intrigued. After a rocky start with the reporting system, they actually do end up communicating better and it working almost exactly as intended.
  • Leonard's opening lines in his imagined date with Penny are awesome in their own way - he's confident, charming, and even flirts a little, showing just how much of an impact Penny has made on his social skills:
    Leonard: So, Polly, tell me about yourself.
    Penny: It's Penny.
    Leonard: Oh sorry, yeah, awkward...
    Penny: Okay, uh, let's see, I'm from Nebraska, and ever since I was little girl I dreamed of moving to L.A. and becoming a movie star. Anyway, after four years of acting lessons and waiting tables, I've done a hemorrhoid commercial and a production of Anne Frank above a bowling alley. So, you know, dreams do come true! Your turn!
    Leonard: Ah, let's see. I am an experimental physicist at Caltech. Most of my research is with high-powered lasers and, oh, I've just gotten a big government grant to see if they can be used to knock out incoming ballistic missiles.
    Penny: Wow! Can they?
    Leonard: Oh, God no! The money's pretty good. And I use the equipment to make my own Bat Signal.
    Penny: Bat Signal? What are you, some kind of nerd?
    Leonard: Not "some kind of nerd." I am the king of nerds!
    Penny: What does that mean?
    Leonard: Well, it means if anyone displeases me, I don't help them set up their printer.
    Penny: [laughs] You are so funny!
    Leonard: [grins] Good! Remember that when I take my shirt off.
• "The Good Guy Fluctuation" has the guys successfully pulling a Halloween prank on Sheldon and they spend the rest of the episode tidily sidestepping the pranks he tries to pull on them and turning them back around on him. Given how much grief Sheldon has caused them for years up to this point, it is oh so karmic.
  • What's truly impressive is that they neatly spend the whole episode straight up outsmarting Sheldon with such ease that he looks like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner. Getting one over on Sheldon is not easy but the guys pull it off with almost contemptuous ease.
  • One particular moment is Sheldon's attempted joy buzzer on Howard. It's an extra strength one, because Sheldon really is just one lab accident away from being a supervillain, and it seems to work on Howard too well; sending him into cardiac arrest. Health paranoid Sheldon has to deliver a Shot to the Heart to save Howard's life but when he does Howard just casually gets up with a cheerful "Trick or treat bubele", showing that he faked the whole thing. Sheldon is so embarrassed at being tricked that he Face Palms... while still wearing the buzzer.
  • One not related to any pranks is when Leonard calls Priya after successfully resisting the temptation to cheat on her... only for her to admit she cheated on him weeks ago. She tries to play it off but Leonard firmly averts any double standards and calls her out for it. Given Leonard's usually an Extreme Doormat it's impressive to see him firmly stand up and call out someone who's just hurt him in a very personal manner.

Season Six

• Amy standing up to Sheldon and telling him that his behavior on date night — inviting Raj and generally being a Jerkass, is "Not okay."
• Sheldon telling off Howard and Raj, who were trying to find out what Sheldon does for an unscheduled twenty minutes each day behind Sheldon's back.
  • He pranks them by using CGI to fake owning an interdimensional portal in a storage cupboard, pretends to be attacked by a tentacled monster, then sneaks up behind them while they're watching a CCTV recording of this on a laptop and throwing said monster puppet at them.
  • Made even more awesome that Sheldon correctly surmised that the two would actually believe he could pull off the "wormhole generator" he was discussing at the beginning of the episode. Basically, in order for them to believe the CGI thing, they would have to think Sheldon might actually be capable of creating a device that teleports people to other universes! That they did shows how much stock they put in his skills.
• Game night that turned into a battle of the sexes, one in which the girls handily trounce the guys. Not only does Penny waste Sheldon in a wrestling match (with a "Take That!" Kiss leaving heavy lipstick on his nose), but it also may be the only time Penny could beat Sheldon in a math-based game.
• Sheldon, in "The Bakersfield Expedition", agreeing to go back home after the whole ordeal he and his friends went through. He showed remarkable self-awareness and maturity for his standards.
• A little throwaway line in "The Closet Reconfiguration", but when Howard says that he's in no mood for sex that night, it really hammers home that the guy Wolowitz used to be is really gone for good.
• For once, Leonard shows some spine and calls out Penny for ruining their Valentine dinner. His final joke at her expense was a great turnaround from their typical roles.
  Penny: Will you be my Valentine?
  Leonard: Sorry. Maybe next year. (gets up to leave with Penny shocked, after a moment he turns around) I'm just kidding! Romance ninja!
• Howard calling out Lucy on causing Raj to have a Heroic BSoD.
• In "The Contractual Obligation Implementation", Sheldon answers Leonard's challenge to spend five seconds thinking of an idea for their project, to get more women into science. Sheldon spends less than two seconds and, instead of offering an idea, points out the fundamental flaw in everything Leonard's suggestion so far — all Leonard's ideas target women who are at university level (specifically) and by then, it's already too late to get them into science. For once, it's nice to see Sheldon showing that yes, he really is that smart.
  • Another where he points out it's actually helpful for girls to hear from actual women scientists.
  • Not only that, but it also shows his interpersonal development as well.
  • Leonard pointing out to Sheldon about the flaws in his "People should help themselves" philosophy (the man that needed a ride from Leonard) and that Star Trek wasn't a gender-blind society due to "the black lady answering the space phone".
  • Amy and Bernadette's on-phone lecture to middle school girls about how the world of science needs more women but unfortunately certain girls are more encouraged to worry about their looks rather than cultivate their minds and that everyone of them has the capacity to be anything they want to be. One can call this Narm, but sadly it's something still too many girls need to be told.
• Raj finally overcoming his selective mutism, as soon as Lucy broke up with him.
  Raj: What is wrong with me? I'm unlovable!
  Penny: Oh, sweetie, that's just the booze talking.
  Raj: No, it's not. I haven't had a drink since last night!

Season Seven

• Leonard having fun ''on his own'' in the season premiere.
• Stuart casually manipulating Sheldon into paying $1200 for an Aquaman statuette, and then starting up the same con again with a Batman squirt gun.
  • It should be noted that at first, Sheldon didn't even want the statuette!
• Sheldon figuring out the riddle in the comic store first, despite being the last one to arrive and read it. To make clear the scale of this, he figured out the correct answer in ten seconds flat, getting it long before every one else, even Amy. Once again, it's nice to see him showing, that yes, he really is that smart. Compounded when he reads the map coordinates for a few moments, says "got it", and then actually GETS TO USE the bowling ball he had brought along.
• Amy telling off Sheldon for embarrassing her in front of her colleagues. Then, Leonard and Penny explicitly saying that Amy is right and Sheldon is wrong.
• In "The Romance Resonance", Howard plans out an event to celebrate the anniversary of his and Bernadette's first date, recruiting everyone to help out with an elaborate musical number he wrote himself. When their plans went sideways because Bernadette was quarantined over a mishap at work (exposure to a raccoon virus), he didn't miss a beat and they migrated over to the hospital, with him singing to her playing a keyboard and the rest providing back-up as she watched and listened through a window. The song ends up being awesome, heartwarming, and hilarious all at the same time.
• Penny gives Lucy her long overdue "The Reason You Suck" Speech, calling her out for treating Raj like dirt.
  Penny: Okay. Um, you’re Lucy, right? I’m a friend of Raj Koothrappali’s. Actually Amy recognized you.
  Lucy: Wow. How’s he doing?
  Penny: Oh, you know, he’s good.
  Lucy: Great.
  Penny: This is none of my business, but why did you break up with him in an e-mail?
  Lucy: Oh, I don’t know. I guess I thought it would be easier.
  Penny: Yeah, I get that. I’ll go get you your water. (Penny heads off and comes back) When you say easier, you mean easier for you, right? ‘Cause it certainly didn’t make it easier for him.
  Lucy: Any chance I can get a different waitress?
  Penny: I’m sorry, this is rude of me. I will go get that water. (She heads off and comes back) See, just now you expressed your feelings to my face. How come you could do that with me, but not Raj?
  Lucy: I don’t know your e-mail.
  Penny: You know what the worst part is? You’re sitting here, perfectly happy and he’s at home, a blubbering mess.
  Lucy: Oh, I thought you said he was okay.
  Penny: Well, I also said I was getting you water, but look at me still standing here. You know, I may be a bad waitress, but you are a bad person.

• Regardless of how cruel he was, Sheldon's plan to teach Leonard a lesson in what its like to have OCD was awesome. He managed to manipulate his best friend into torturing himself and drove him to brink of the edge, all while barely lifting a finger. For a guy whose villainous roles are generally somewhere between a petty prankster and Egomaniac control freak, watching him play a Magnificent Bastard was awesome, and finally proved Leonard was right when he claimed he was just one "Lab Accident away from becoming a supervillain."
• Leonard for disapproving Sheldon's new element, not only does he unintentionally get payback for Sheldon earlier torture using the sweater, but proves he's just as capable in science as Sheldon is.
• Leonard outsmarting Sheldon and forcing him to admit that change is good by pointing out that the only reason Sheldon has his spot, which he loves, is because Leonard bought the couch and changed the apartment. Sheldon had no come back for that.
  • Sheldon also gets one at the end of the same episode by managing to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. After they've already bought the table and are sitting around it about to eat (except him and Amy, who are still in their regular places), he manages to successfully get them to all come back, simply by playing on the girls' sympathy and subtly guilt tripping them by reminiscing over happy memories that they will never have again.
• When Sheldon is being completely unreasonable about Leonard and Penny 'betraying' him by hiding the fact that Leonard came home early from his expedition to the North Sea, Amy points out that Penny is not at fault. Sheldon then smugly tries to demand that Amy see his point of view, only for her to stand her ground despite him trying to manipulate her into agreeing with him.
  Amy: Sheldon. Your fight's with Leonard. Penny’s got nothing to do…
  Sheldon: Careful, Amy. The friend of my enemy’s girlfriend is my enemy.
  Amy: Really? Is that so?
  Sheldon: Yes. You’re either with me or against me.
  Amy: You want to take the bus to work?
  Sheldon: ...maybe there’s a third option.

Season Eight

• Howard proves, finally proves, that he's just as smart as any one of the guys despite not having a doctorate.
  • Him trolling Sheldon in the classroom was pretty amazing. As was his one-in-a-million shot. That was almost Luke's proton torpedo going in the exhaust port good.
  • Sheldon also gets one for his response to Howard's challenge that he doesn't know anything about engineering. When the dynamic is reversed, he easily manages to answer Howards questions to him, proving that yes he really is that smart. The guy maybe a snobbish Jerkass, but he does live up to his own standards... but then again the questions where pretty basic (except the last one). Young's modulus is actually junior high physics class level in some Eastern European countries.
    • Not the last one, mind you, about Poiseuille’s law equation, proving that Sheldon doesn't know everything. Then again, he may have been coughing up the spitball instead of actually answering.
• In "The Space Probe Disintegration" we have Sheldon finally calling out Leonard for how horrible he is to him and his hypocrisy regarding Sheldon's behavior.
  "You think you're so tolerant, but the truth is you're mean to me a lot. Yeah, you think that I don't notice all those sarcastic comments and eye rolls, but I do."
• Raj chews out Sheldon for abandoning him in the steam tunnel, calling Sheldon a physical and moral coward. Notably Sheldon doesn't disagree with him.
• The same episode, the girls decide to take a trip to Vegas. While you'd expect Penny to get drunk (as usual), she refuses to take one sip of booze. Even when the girls go to a strip club, Penny just spends the time studying. For the resident party girl, that's impressive.
• In "The Intimacy Acceleration," Leonard, Amy, Raj, and Emily buy tickets to a "real escape game" (an actual type of entertainment that are basically real-life versions of online room escape games). The quartet is locked in a faux-scientific laboratory (complete with a zombie!) and told that they must solve challenging puzzles to find the key and escape. They proceed to do this in six minutes flat. It just goes to show that as nerdy as these characters are, they're all extremely smart.
  • It's also notable for being one of the first episodes where Emily gets to join the group in an activity that shows off her own intelligence, proving that she fits right in with them.
  • The zombie's desperation really corks it. He's never seen anyone escape so quickly, and throughout the puzzle is begging them to slow down, trying to deceive them into thinking they're wrong, and as they leave is reduced to pleading that they remember their advanced degrees before they write a negative critique of the game.
• The first (and probably last) meeting of Mary Cooper and Beverly Hoffstadter. Leonard's mother has ever been a source of dread to the core group, save Sheldon, and can, at will, reduce most individuals to a blubbering mess of emotion. By contrast, Mary Cooper, though Innocently Insensitive at times, is much beloved by the group, and was not only able to hold her own in an argument with Beverly Hoffstadter, but caused the career psychologist to reevaluate her approach to parenting, while all she managed to do to Mrs. Cooper in return was cause her to lament that she hadn't been a better Christian.
  • It should be noted that Mary, despite her reputation as being dumb and narrow-minded, has actually read Beverly's books well enough to be able to make some scathing points.
• Though very sad, Amy's decision to take a break from her and Sheldon's relationship can count as one total for her growth. It's been mostly all take and no give on the part of Sheldon and Amy makes it clear that his actions and behavior really hurt her and that she's not letting him get away with that.
• In "The Troll Acceleration", Leonard and Sheldon's theory has been released online to general acclaim, bar a single Troll who ridicules them on a personal level as well as academically. They work up the courage to confront the troll, who calls them up on Skype... turns out it's Stephen Hawking, in his second onscreen appearance in the show after appearing only in "voiceover" on a few occasions, who was just messing with them and thinks their theory is great. The greatest mind on the planet thinks that Leonard and Sheldon are onto something—it doesn't get more awesome than that.

Season Nine

• The first episode has Amy deliver "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Sheldon before breaking up with him after he asserts she shouldn't keep being single and childless at her age. This is enough to upset him and shock him.
• Wil's audacity in dressing up like Spock at opening night of The Force Awakens. On another level, the fact that he sees it as just a movie, reminding the guys that the world will keep on turning whether the movie is good or bad.
• In the end, the awesomeness of the movie reduces Leonard, Howard, and Raj to puddles.
• Let us not forget the massive and epic Shout-Out to Star Wars with THIS opening.
• For a first-timer, Sheldon is apparently very, very proficient in bed, as Amy's expression can only be described as grinning ear to ear in stunned silence.
  • Well he did have Penny tell him what girls like. And "that book" they bought him...
  • Furthermore in season 10 he states it took them hours.

Season Ten

• While it's completely Played for Laughs, when Raj visits Howard and Bernadette late at night by sneaking into their bedroom and waking them up, they understandably scream. Stuart bursts through the door with a barbed wire-covered baseball bat in case they're in danger.
  Stuart: NOT ON MY WATCH!!!
• In "The Locomotion Reverberation", after Leonard and Howard need to get Sheldon back to help them work on the guidance system prototype, Leonard decides to play on Sheldon's well known neurosis and deliberately writes an incorrect solution to the equation on the work Sheldon started, figuring that when Sheldon saw it, he would have no choice but to work on it. He even proudly tells Howard that one of the squiggles on the board isn't even a legitimate scientific notation, just a doodle of Charlie Brown's hair. When Sheldon does see the equation, he chastises Howard and Leonard for their incorrect work. The duo ask him to help them, and he seemingly agrees, telling them it will be the last time. He walks over to the board, does some erasing, and begins to work...on drawing the rest of Charlie Brown around the area where his hair had been drawn. Doubles as a Funny Moment.
  Sheldon: Nice try, blockheads.
• What does Sheldon do when Ramona Nowitzki kisses him? Leaves the building, grabs a cab, catches a red-eye to New Jersey and proposes on the spot to Amy.
  • Also he called a cab himself and took a plane (not a train) without relying on his friends to transport him. He has come a long way.

Season 11

• While also sad, it's nice to see Raj standing up to Howard for the latter's constant put downs and ending their friendship until Howard learns to be a better friend.
• Howard's reaction: It's MARK FREAKING HAMILL!
  • Penny gets one at the wedding where Amy's overbearing and emotionally abusive mother threatens to stop the wedding and tells her to "Park it!" and she gets another when she tells Mary Cooper to stop clapping and antagonizing and sit down.
    • Amy's father had to cheer Penny.

Season 12

• Howard trolling Sheldon dressing as him for Halloween is impressive on its own, but Sheldon and Amy dressing as Howard and Bernadette to get back at them is also impressive.

  Thank you!

• Leonard being decisive when distributing grant money. His strong and determined persona turns Penny on. Even better, after being constantly pestered by his fellow employees, he ultimately decided to give the grant money to his own department, realizing that no matter what decision he made, someone would be mad at him, so he might as well get himself a new laser.
• Leonard deciding to forgive his mother for being a terrible mother because he knows she won't change, and his resentment of her has only ever hurt him, not her. Even better? Forgiving himself for taking so long to forgive her.
• Leonard slapping the ever-loving crap out of Sheldon. Sooooo satisfying.
  • Um... And Sheldon and Amy winning a Nobel Prize!
  • Leonard telling Sheldon like it is, after the latter learns that Penny is pregnant, and is indifferent: "You are a selfish jerk. To hell with you and your Nobel prize."
• Amy giving Sheldon a much deserved "The Reason You Suck" Speech after he hurts the gang due to his selfishness.
  Sheldon: (angry) Well, I hate to say it, but I think everyone is being incredibly selfish.
  Amy: (bitterly) Well, you would be the authority on the subject.
  Sheldon: What does that mean?
  Amy: Sheldon, no one is happier than I am to win the Nobel. But, it’s not more important than our friends.
  Sheldon: (furious) How can you call them friends when they’re abandoning us?
  Amy: (angry) They’re abandoning us because you broke their hearts.
  Sheldon: I didn’t mean to.
  Amy: I know! You never mean to! That’s the only reason people tolerate you.
  Sheldon: Does that include you?
  Amy: (sadly) Sometimes, yeah.
• The most awesome part is that this is the speech that finally breaks Sheldon and forces him to acknowledge his faults and make a full Heel–Face Turn for good.
• Sheldon finally acknowledging his friend with the title he deserves: Astronaut Howard Wolowitz.

General

• Anytime Penny takes a bad role seriously it's brilliant to watch notably her and Sheldon doing a dramatic reading of Sheldon's Star Trek fan-fiction or her scene in the "Serial Apeist" with Wil Wheaton.
• Cuoco actually getting the cast and crew to do a freaking Flash Mob, twice. Jim Parsons doing his "Bazinga" at the end sells it for the first one.
• Leonard for being an Iron Butt Monkey and being able to put up with Sheldon and help Penny become a better person.
• All hail Almighty Mom Mary Cooper, who can make Sheldon sit down, shut up, and behave with just a few words. She may not be nearly as academically intelligent as her son, but you have got to respect someone who can do that (and as various episodes show, even if she is rather narrow-minded she's definitely no dummy either).
• At one point, there existed a ripoff version of the show in Belarus called "The Theorists". When the Belarusian main cast found out that they were on an unauthorized copy of a show, they all immediately quit.

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Now all I need is a healthy ovum and I can grow my own Leonard Nimoy!