"The Fortification Implementation" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on April 9, 2015. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Steven Molaro, Steve Holland and Maria Ferrari, based on a story by Jim Reynolds, Saladin K. Patterson and Tara Hernandez.
Sheldon is in a bad mood after being excluded from a scientific event. Amy tries to cheer him up during their date night, which they extend to a sleepover after making a fort in the living room of the apartment.
A guy named Josh (Matt Bennett) shows up at Howard's and claims to be his half-brother. Bernadette and Raj are skeptical. Raj tries to ferret out an ulterior motive for Josh to claim to be Howard's half-brother. Howard is ultimately convinced that Josh is telling the truth.
Penny and Leonard join Wil Wheaton (As Himself) for a podcast about Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill, which both Penny and Wil were in before getting fired. Penny's impressed that "a few thousand" listen to Wil's podcast live, but most listeners listen later.
A caller (Rena Strober) tells Penny she's seen Serial Ape-ist 2 ten times. The original and the sequel actually have quite a cult following. Kevin Smith calls and offers Penny a rôle in one of his movies, and mentions Clerks III.
Tropes
- Blanket Fort: Amy helps Sheldon build one to cheer him up.
- Call-Back: Howard recounts the time he got his penis stuck on a robot hand, from "The Robotic Manipulation", to Josh. Josh then repeats a line from that episode.Josh: So, I have to ask: was the robot sexy?
Howard: It was actually just a mechanical hand.
Josh: 'Cause that's all you need, right?
Howard: You are my brother!- Howard also brings up the time he had a robot throw the first pitch at an Angels game, which happened earlier in the season in "The First Pitch Insufficiency".
- Crazy-Prepared: Amy has a sleepaway bag in Sheldon's living room just in case he lets her stay over. When Sheldon asks how she'd know they would be in the living room, she admits to hiding more than one.
- Jerkass: Kevin Smith is one to Wil Wheaton during his call on his podcast. He repeatedly belittles Wheaton and insults him while buttering up Penny.
- Secret Other Family: Howard learns from Josh that after his father left him and his mother he got remarried and had another family.
- Shout-Out: When Josh says that he's a wannabe oceanographer, Bernadette says that she likes Finding Nemo.
