Recap / The Big Bang Theory S 3 E 1 The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation

"The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on September 21, 2009. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Written by Steven Molaro.

Howard, Leonard, Raj and Sheldon return from their expedition to search for long-theorized magnetic monopoles at the magnetic North Pole. Penny greets Leonard with a kiss and an unspoken but clear invitation to sex.

Sheldon believes he has found the evidence to confirm Paul Dirac's 1931 theory and is excited about sharing his findings with the scientific community. However, he soon learns that Howard, Leonard and Raj tampered with his results with interference from an electric can opener.

This means that Sheldon's evidence of magnetic monopoles is false and worthless. Worse, Kripke (John Ross Bowie) savagely mocks Sheldon's failure, prompting Sheldon to resign from his position at the university and go back to Texas.

Howard and Raj go see Leonard at Penny's apartment, but Leonard just wants to keep making out with Penny, who insists Leonard go deal with Sheldon and that she'll be waiting for him afterwards.

Leonard reluctantly goes to Sheldon's childhood home in Texas, where Mary (Laurie Metcalf), Sheldon's mother, has exhausted Sheldon's patience with her insistent religiosity.

Tropes

• Batman Gambit: It's implied that Sheldon's mom pulls one on him to make him go back to California with the guys.
• Break the Haughty: Sheldon when he discovers that the guys messed with his experiment to keep him from driving them crazy.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Upon hearing that the others wanted to lock him out of the cabin and let him freeze to death, Sheldon thought that was a bit of an overreaction. Leonard disagreed; overreacting would be their plan to tie his limbs to four different sled dog teams and yelling "Mush!".
• Everything Is Big in Texas: Discussed when the guys go there to get Sheldon back and Raj mentions that Texas is nothing like the Western movies he saw as a kid. Also, Howard wears a red cowboy hat to "blend in", which is mocked by Leonard and Sheldon's mother Mary.
• Noodle Incident: Combined with Let Us Never Speak of This Again, apparently at one point of the expedition, the heat in the cabin went out. All the guys were then forced to huddle and sleep together naked to maintain warmth. Howard and Leonard don't like to bring it up, Sheldon merely thinks of it as a survival method they were forced to apply and Raj instead thinks of it as a fond "bonding moment" between the four of them (much to Howard's disgust).
• Not Hyperbole: Leonard says they messed with Sheldon's results to make him happy, because when he wasn't happy they wanted to kill him. He then says they actually had a plan ready to kill him before they messed with his results, two in fact.
  Leonard: We were going to throw his Kindle outside, and when he went to get it, lock the door and let him freeze to death.
  Sheldon: (gasps) That seems like a bit of an overreaction.
  Leonard: No, the overreaction was the plan to tie your limbs to four different sled dog teams and yell "mush"!
• Polar Madness: Three months cooped up on the North Pole with Sheldon made the other guys consider murder; they settled for falsifying his test results.
• Previously on…: The episode begins with a very quick overview of the previous episode, focusing on Penny's feelings about Leonard going to the North Pole.
• Running Gag: Poor Leonard just can't catch a break with Penny until the end of the episode. Raj's complete inability to talk to women is also referenced briefly.
• Shout-Out:
  • Penny mentions Star Trek (2009).
    Penny: Remember that scene in the new Star Trek movie when Kirk has to take over the ship, so he tells Spock all that stuff he knew wasn't true, like saying Spock didn't care that his [Spock's] mom died?
    Sheldon: I missed Comic-Con and the new Star Trek movie!
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is brought up while driving through Texas.
  • Toy Story is mentioned in regard to Howard's cowboy hat.
• Their First Time: After two seasons of UST, Penny finally makes a move on Leonard. And it's weird.
• Time-Passage Beard: After three months in the North Pole, the guys sport long, shaggy beards. The only exception is Sheldon, whose beard is neatly trimmed. Howard later shaves his down to a mustache.
• Wasn't That Fun?: While the guys complain about the conditions on the Arctic expedition, Sheldon thinks it was "a hoot-and-a-half."