The Monopolar Expedition

"The Monopolar Expedition" is the twenty-third episode of the second season of the  sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, May 11, 2009.

Summary
The guys are going to the to assist Sheldon looking for data to prove String Theory making both Penny and Leonard upset about being apart for three.

Extended Plot
Leonard is working on his trying to find an error that Sheldon insists is there, but will not help him with. As suddenly as bazinga, Leonard finds out that he has fallen for one of Sheldon’s classic pranks. Sheldon finds that Caltech President Siebert wants to meet with him at eight tomorrow morning, which gives Sheldon eighteen hours to think about it.

Early the next Sheldon is knocking on Leonard’s  to tell him about his uninvited visit to the ’s house. His grant from the to go the  to look for evidence of slow moving monopoles has been approved. Leonard perked up that the president offered to send him. Sheldon replied, "In fact, he was quite enthusiastic. He said "quite frankly, if I could send you tonight, I would." Sheldon’s interest in going is incredible since he has to leave the if he gets a  from his.

Leonard, Raj, and Howard are excited about being Sheldon-free for three months and all the small victories they will have like sitting in his spot. On the contrary, Sheldon proposes that they accompany him as his support for the project. At first they decline to spend three months in a hut with an "anal nut bag," as Howard puts it, but the idea begins to grow on Leonard and Raj. Howard is concerned that being put in a situation like that would make him snap and cause him to become "the who builds the  that  Sheldon". Finally they decide to go along to be part of the team that make such shifting discoveries. Raj figures that due to his suffering it will result in a payback of becoming a "well-hung  with "in the next life. Howard agrees to go due to peer pressure.

Sometime later, Sheldon goes over to ask Penny a by knocking on her door. Before he can perform his second set of knocks, Penny echoes him with “Knock..knock..knock...Sheldon”. A starts as they start going faster and faster. (Penny..Sheldon..Penny..Sheldon). A very stressed out Sheldon then asks if he can have access to the Cheesecake Factory. Penny reminds him that she had already told him that the freezer is cold enough and safe enough to keep his fresh. He really wants to borrow it so they may practice acclimating themselves to the for their  to the North Pole for three months. Penny is surprised and goes to confront Leonard asking why he hadn't told her. Leonard replies that they were spending their time getting physicals, buying and studying .Penny declares that it is no big deal and that she’ll check on the ice box thingie. Leonard wonders if she is upset and Sheldon correctly guesses that she is.

Sheldon gets his time in the Cheesecake Factory freezer. His crew must practice using tools in the extreme cold which Sheldon had to improvise. Leonard is using an old. Raj paints sideburns and a on a six inch high. Howard must operate using a vintage game. None of the guys is accomplishing his task in the cold, when they realize that they could assemble the equipment in the warm cabin then taking it outside. This thought never occurred to Sheldon who remarks, "I guess we're done here."

While enjoying a with a stick of  or a stick of "" for the  Leonard, Raj is in an argument with his parents about going on the North Pole. Howard had convinced his mother to let him go so he puts them on the together. Then she cries, “? I thought you were going to !” Penny asks to see Leonard to is happy to removed himself from the arguments. Penny then presents him with a blue with, a  that she saw on an  to keep him warm while he does his  stuff. Penny hugs him, which Leonard returns. Her hug lasts so long that he hugs her twice. She leaves and Leonard returns to 4A looking confused. Meanwhile Mrs. Wolowitz is exclaiming that she can’t understand why there’s not a single in all of India. That night Leonard is wondering whether he should go because of Penny. Sheldon test him that he shouldn't go which also turns into one of his classic pranks. Bazinga!

Early the next morning Leonard knocks on Penny’s door holding his Snuggie. He asks about the “I’ll miss you,” and she replies that he'll be gone and she'll miss him. Then he asks about the blanket and Penny quips that, and late-night TV is a bad combination. Finally he wonders about the long hug that lasts at least five ’s. Penny tells him that it was just a hug and she wishes him a safe. She closes the door and leaning on it sighs to herself, “It means I wish you weren't going."

At the magnetic North Pole, as usual they are preparing Thai food, though reconstituted. The hut is set up with the same arrangement as Apartment 4A. After considering that they are at the they decide on a movie marathon of “” and “”. Howard whispers to Raj to forget the crossbow, and find him an.

Critics

 * "The Leonard and Penny relationship has been on the back burner all season and so this low key acknowledgment of her feelings felt appropriate. The show is probably going to be around for years to come so the producers are in no hurry to change the dynamics of the group yet...Instead of that scene we could have been exploring how Leonard and Penny feel about each other and why. Again there are so many simple things which the show could do to help build their relationship up as a more realistic entity...This episode sums up the whole of season two of the show. It’s too reliant on Sheldon, not focused on character development and too static for my tastes. On the flip side it is also funny, consistent and showcases a genuinely strong comic character." - The TV Critic's Review
 * IMDb user reviews

Set/Props Notes
New on the set:

In Sheldon's bedroom; two comics in the bins and 4 books on the shelves:

Trivia

 * First season in which main characters go on a trip.
 * Sheldon is upset at knowing that something important is on the horizon, but having no clue as to what it might be; comparing himself to a . German physicist found that just the act of observing a particle can have an effect on the behavior of that particle. To know how fast something is going, you have to measure it, and measuring it impacts it's . So you can know WHERE something is, OR how fast it's going, but not both; not without impacting the thing. Or, in considering location and motion, the more you know about ONE element, the LESS you know about the other (ie: )
 * Sheldon tells Raj to paint and a Van Dyke beard on a six-inch figurine of Legolas. Sheldon incorrectly defines a Van Dyke beard as a goatee without a, when in fact a Van Dyke is a with a mustache.
 * When Sheldon says "logic dictates," he mimics Spock's words, memorably stated in  and the Star Trek episode "The Savage Curtain". Similarly, in "The Bat Jar Conjecture", he purports, "No man should be forced to emblazon his chest with the, when common sense dictates it should be an ."
 * Howard, annoyed with Sheldon, pretends to take an from a  on his back, puts in an imaginary crossbow and fires at Sheldon's back, but he does a  sound with his mouth.
 * Penny again can't tell Leonard how she feels about him and it is the first time she even mentions her feeling for him.
 * First time Sheldon uses his catchphrase "Bazinga".
 * In "The Bad Fish Paradigm", several ways are stated regarding how to annoy Sheldon. One of them was "Talk to him through the "; however, in this episode it is shown that Sheldon talks to Leonard while he (Leonard) was in the bathroom. It may mean that Sheldon doesn't mind talking through the bathroom door as long as he is outside the bathroom.
 * In the final scene in the hut, Leonard remarks that "This is literally the top of the ". This is an error by the scriptwriters, in that the  is not vertical and so the  is not "literally the top of the world". There have actually been scenes when our lovable  have themselves made an issue of such misuse of the word 'literally'. Yet here the production team has Leonard sounding like . Also, the guys were at the  which not at latitude 90 degrees. Magnetic north changes from year to year. Still they are further North than 99.9999% of the people on Earth.
 * They refer to the magnetic North Pole as the North Pole, but the North pole is actually the magnetic South Pole, for opposite charges attract, and a compass's north point points to the North Pole, indicating that it is really pointing at the magnetic South Pole.

Quotes

 * Penny: Sheldon says you’re going to the North Pole.
 * Leonard: Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?
 * Penny: Yeah. I’m just a little surprised you didn't tell me.
 * Leonard: Oh, well, it all happened kind of fast, and we had to get physicals and buy thermal underwear and study up on, you know, snow and stuff. Sorry, I was gonna tell you.
 * Penny: Oh, hey, no, you don’t have to apologize. There’s no reason you have to tell me. I was just, you know, surprised.


 * Penny: Well, I got you a little going away present.
 * Leonard: Oh, a blanket.
 * Penny: Oh, no, no, no, not just a blanket. See, it has sleeves. Yeah! So, you can, you know, be all snoodled up while you do your science stuff.
 * Leonard: Oh, wow, cool.
 * Penny: Oh, I’m gonna miss you. (She hugs him for a long time) See you later.


 * Penny: Oh, Leonard, what time is it?
 * Leonard: Its 7 a.m. I’m sorry it’s early, but we’re leaving soon, and I needed to talk to you.
 * Penny: Okay.
 * Leonard: What did you mean when you said you’re going to miss me?
 * Penny: Um, I don’t know. You’ll be gone and I’ll notice.
 * Leonard: (indicating the blanket) Okay, well, um, what about this? What does this mean?
 * Penny: Wine, credit card and late night television are a bad combination.
 * Leonard: All right, fine. What about that really long hug? What did that mean?
 * Penny: That wasn't a long hug.
 * Leonard: It was at least five Mississippi’s. A standard hug is two Mississippi’s tops.
 * Penny: Leonard, I don’t know what to tell you. It was just a hug.
 * Leonard: Glad we cleared that up.
 * Penny: Yeah.
 * Leonard: I guess I’ll see you.
 * Penny: Okay, have a safe trip.
 * Leonard: Thank you. Bye.
 * Penny: Okay, bye. (Penny closes door. To herself) It means I wish you weren’t going.


 * Mrs. Koothrappali: Why do you believe me?
 * Mrs. Wolowitz: 'cause doesn't make sense to me!