The Convention Conundrum

"The Convention Conundrum" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on January 30, 2014.

Summary
With the boys acting like "teenagers" about Comic-Con tickets and Sheldon having the best day ever with James Earl Jones, the girls decide they're going to have a more grown up afternoon and go out for tea, but then they end up realizing they don't feel very grown up either.

Extended Plot
Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj are in apartment 4A waiting to the Comic-Con ticket site to open. As they get more excited counting down the seconds, Penny enters wondering what is going on. She finds this a lot of weird behavior to take before she has had her morning coffee. As the clock ticks down to zero, Raj needs to pee and Leonard whips out his inhaler. When the site opens, the guys keep hitting their “refresh” keys to get in and Penny decides she needs more coffee to endure their geekiness.

Ten minutes later, the guys are getting tired of hitting their refresh keys when Leonard gets online. Leonard is number 50,211 in line and only Tuesday and Sunday tickets are left. THen Tuesday tickets are sold out. Sheldon complains that Sunday is the worst day, no good panels and the only T-shirt sizes  left are small and XXXXL. Then Tuesday fills up followed by Sunday. Sheldon complains that he loves Sunday.Everything is sold out and the guys can’t believe they’re not going to Comic-Con. Sheldon tells them that they can always attend WonderCom in Anaheim which he says is just as good and then runs off in tears. Penny feels that everything looks so sad, but not the kind of sad when she first arrived. They can’t even use their Hulks costumes, each dressed up as a different version of the live Hulk. Penny quips that they are back to the first kind of sad.

At the Caltech cafeteria, Sheldon announces that he is going to start up his own comic convention. Howard, Raj and Leonard are just going to get tickets from scalpers. Sheldon will have nothing to do with it because not only is it wrong, but you get banned form ComicCon for life. According to Sheldon their scalper contact could be part of a sting operation by the ComicCon police. Even ComicCon was started by one lone dreamer like Sheldon whose idea he plans to rip off.

Sheldon is at his computer speaking with Robert Downey Junior’s representative to get him to be on a panel at the Sheldon comic convention. Sheldon tells him that since he sat through Iron Man 2, Robert Downey Jr. owes him two hours of his time. Sheldon gets hung up on and then crosses out another possible name off his whiteboard. Even Wil Wheaton turned Sheldon down because he had to wash his beard that day. Leonard doesn’t think that his project is going to happen. Sheldon needs Leonard to call Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy and Bill Nye since legally he can’t contact them due to his restraining orders. He adds Carrie Fisher to that list because she can be somewhat nuts.

Penny’s Posse is hanging out at in apartment 4B. Penny can’t believe that he’s spending hundreds to get into ComicCon. Amy mentions the little black dress that Penny spent hundreds on. The difference is that the tickets will only get Leonard into ComicCon while the dress can get Penny into anywhere. Howard is getting a big advance on his allowance. Amy first claims that Sheldon starting his own convention sounded more sensible until she realizes how silly that sounded. The girls want to do something grown-up. Penny is against going to a museum, while Bernadette suggests a local hotel that serves afternoon tea.

Since Sheldon is not going with them, the remaining nerds need a three person group costume idea. One idea is The Fantastic Four with Susan Storm, the Invisible Girl staying invisible. Sheldon enters saying that he is planning to ask James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, to appear at his convention. Through his Twitter and some Internet research, he knows that James Earl Jones will be having sushi at his favorite restaurant. Leonard begs Sheldon not to stalk him because he is going to get into trouble. (Darth Vader is going to pour soy sauce on your head.) Sheldon insists that they are going to get into trouble being banned from ComicCon and charged with petty theft. He is also going to warn Mr. Jones about posting his location on Twitter since there are a lot of weirdoes out there. Sheldon then storms out of the apartment singing The Imperial March from Star Wars.

Later at the apartment, Howard tells them that his scalper is on the way over. Raj is worried if he sounded like a criminal, but he’s expecting him to use phrases like " You'z Guyz" or " Listen up, Sheyy" from a 1940’s movie gangster. Then Raj wonders if this guy wants to steal their money, their kidneys or their very skin, backing up this reasoning by saying that dark doesn't show stains. Leonard says that they should have met him at a neutral place. Howard figures that Leonard's apartment is a neutral place. At their afternoon tea, the girls are dressed up, Amy in her tiara, and are surrounded by mothers with their young daughters all having tea. They are not feeling very grown up especially since the waiter thought Bernadette was Penny’s daughter. Amy relates a story about when she had a tea party with her stuff animals and her hamsters. They then decide to go to the bar and have a drink instead. As James Earl Jones looks over his menu, he sees Sheldon smiling down at him. He asks if Sheldon likes the Star War movies and Sheldon nods. He has made other movies, but James figures that Sheldon doesn’t like them. Finally Mr. Jones admits that he likes Star Wars too and invites Sheldon to join him. While waiting for the scalper, Raj verifies that what Sheldon said about being charged with petty theft. First Leonard thinks that it might be a bad idea and then decides that they should try and be bad asses.

At dinner, Mr. Jones was telling how when he thought Darth Vader was lying about him being Luke’s father when he first read the script. Sheldon agrees with him. Then JEJ wants them to make a night of it since he has a Lion King residual check burning a hole in his pocket and his wife is out of town. The girls are at the hotel bar lamenting how their afternoon tea was a bust though the little girls were jealous of Amy’s tiara. Then they start to question when they first really felt grownup. Even though Bernadette is married, she still feels like she is pretending. Amy doesn’t feel that way since she has never had sex. Penny replies that just having sex doesn’t make one feel older. Bernie then quips that if that were true, Penny would be the oldest one there. Penny then asks Bernadette if that is the way she talks to her mother.

Howard notified Leonard and Raj that their contact is on the way up. They wonder what the worst thing that could happen to them, but then mention getting research grants and Raj possibly trying to get American citizenship. They would have to disclose any criminal convictions. Howard then agrees to handle it; he shuts off the lights and tells everybody to be quiet.

Sheldon and James are having ice cream and Sheldon keeps asking him questions beginning with “Is it true…” JEJ keeps acknowledging Sheldon’s trivia and Sheldon tells him that he could listen to his stories all night. While adding up the check, Penny wants to know what is so great about being grown up. Car insurance, mortgages, leaving notes when you hit a parked car. The ladies found that trying to be mature was boring. Though they think the guys are having more fun, they are all huddled in the kitchen while their scalper bangs on the apartment door.

Sheldon and James are on top of a Ferris Wheel at a carnival, Sheldon holding a big stuffed bear. Sheldon calls out that he is with James Earl Jones who is nicer than one would ever think. Mr. Jones adds, “I am!” Next, they are seen doing karaoke to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which was used in “The Lion King”, one of Mr. Jones’ movies. Then, they are approaching Carrie Fisher's house, Princess Leia from the Star Wars movies. They ring her door bell and run because she is a little crazy. Carrie Fisher runs out with a baseball bat yelling that it is not funny anymore and that she knows it is James Earl Jones. Finally, they are in a sauna talking about their trip to a strip club. Sheldon wanted to know how much it would cost to get the girl off his lap. When Sheldon mentions his comic convention, James Earl Jones offers to take all the guys as his guests to ComicCon. And every night, James Earl Jones plans on taking Sheldon over the border to Tijuana, which doesn’t thrill Sheldon. In the end, he is telling a story involving Beau Bridges, Jeff Bridges, Marlon Brando and Angie Dickinson. Sheldon wakes up wondering who Angie Dickinson was.

Critics
Jesse Schedeen from IGN - As far as Big Bang Theory episodes go, this was about as light and free-wheeling as they come. There was little in the way of drama this week; just Sheldon and his new friend having fun while everyone else learned a valuable lesson about not being so uptight. The non-Sheldon material was a little underdeveloped, and I would just as soon have had the girls' roles cut in favor of giving more screen time to Leonard and the guys. But it's hard to hate on an episode of any show with James Earl Jones singing karaoke.

Dhruv Rao of The DR Club said that the Penny-Bernadette snaps were fun while the guys' plots made the show a little nostalgic. He graded the episode as a "B". 

Trivia

 * and from the Star Wars franchise will appear in it.
 * James Earl Jones is seen eating at "Kaiju Sushi", a clear reference to the Kaiju movies, popular in Japan. The most famous among them is Godzilla.
 * James Earl Jones was previously mentioned by Raj in The Wiggly Finger Catalyst (S5E04)
 * In the show James Earl Jones says when he originally read the script for "The Empire Strikes Back" he was shocked to find out Darth Vader was Luke's father. This isn't possible in reality, as the original script famously does not have this line in it to maintain the surprise. Mark Hamill didn't even find out until the day of shooting the scene and the line was dubbed in later. James Earl Jones did not find out about this line until the recording session where he dubbed it.
 * Sheldon finally finds a beloved celebrity that enjoys his company and wants him around instead of getting a restraining order against him.
 * Bernadette is mistaken for Penny's daughter.
 * Penny mentioned, "Anyone could have knocked your mirror off or whatever happened." This is a probabe reference to her missing passenger side mirror that was mentioned in The Adhesive Duck Deficiency (S3E08) - which she explained to be "in a parking lot in Hollywood" in that episode.
 * Amy is seen wearing the Tiara she has received form Sheldon in The Shiny Trinket Maneuver (S5E12).
 * Amy mentions Raggedy Ann, which she loved and dressed as in The Holographic Excitation  (S6E05).
 * This is the first episode where Cuoco is credited as Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, due to her marriage to tennis player Ryan Sweeting.
 * This episode aired only nine days after it was taped.
 * The potential celebrities for Sheldon's convention shown on his whiteboard are: Zachary Quinto (Heroes and Star Trek), Patrick Stewart (Star Trek and X-Men), William Shatner (Star Trek), Harrison Ford (Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films), George Lucas (creator of Star Wars), Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars), Simon Pegg (Star Trek), Jon Favreau (director and producer of various Marvel Comics superhero films), Ian McKellen (althogh it is spelled wrong as "Ian McKellan", from X-Men, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit), Stan Lee (Marvel Comics), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek), Ahmed Best (voice of Jar-Jar Binks in Star Wars), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Bill Nye (TV scientist), Carrie Fisher (Star Wars), Adam West (Batman TV series), Anyone Who Played Uncle Ben and Anyone Who Shot Uncle Ben (both from the various Spider-Man films). The ones that were crossed out because Sheldon was unsuccessful in recruiting them are Quinto, Stewart, Shatner, Ford, Hamill, Williams, Favreau, McKellen, Serkis, Freeman, Wheaton, Downey Jr., and West.
 * Sheldon states that Comic-Con was started by "one lone dreamer." Coincidentally, that "dreamer" was also named Sheldon -- Sheldon Dorf.

Quotes

 * Sheldon: Hey, Los Angeles! I'm on a Ferris wheel with Darth Vader, and he's nicer than you think!
 * James Earl Jones: I am!


 * James Earl Jones: What were you trying to ask me at the strip club?
 * Sheldon: How much does it cost to get them off my lap?


 * Sheldon: My friends and I couldn't get into Comic-Con this year, and I was trying to start my own convention, and I was going to ask if you'd be a panelist.
 * James Earl Jones: Why don't you and your friends come to Comic-Con with me?
 * Sheldon: Really?
 * James Earl Jones: Of course. And San Diego is straight across the border from my favorite city on earth, TIJUANA! Where I'm taking you every night!
 * Sheldon: Ay-ay-ay.
 * James Earl Jones: Ay-ay-ay bang bang!


 * Penny: Let me ask you a question. When did you guys start feeling grown up? Because I'm not sure I do.
 * Bernadette: Honestly, I thought when I got married I would, but I still feel like I'm pretending. It doesn't help that most of my clothes come from Gap Kids.


 * Amy: On the bright side, every six year old there was jealous of my tiara. Not gonna lie, it felt good.


 * Sheldon: My friend Leonard said if I bothered you while you were eating, you'd think I was a creepy stalker.
 * James Earl Jones: Well, your friend Leonard sounds like a real weeny.
 * Sheldon: He is, Mr. Earl Jones. He is!