The Maternal Capacitance

The Maternal Capacitance is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. It aired on February 9th, 2009.

Plot Summary
Leonard’s mother (portrayed by Christine Baranski) comes to visit. She is a cold, analytical neuroscientist, with a personality very similar to Sheldon's. She drives Penny and Leonard to drink with her psychoanalysis while Sheldon adores her. Leonard ruins his chance to sleep with Penny because his mother is in her head. He claims that they were sleeping together due to lack of intimacy with their parents.

Quotes

 * (Penny has just come back from the basement after starting her laundry, when she notices a tall, boney woman with glasses, medium-length hair and a suitcase, staring at the elevator.)
 * Penny: It's out of order.
 * Woman: Yes I can read the sign, I'm just pondering the implications.
 * Penny: I think it implies that the elevator doesn't work.
 * Woman: Again, I can read the sign. But the sign and the tape are covered with a layer of dust which indicates that the elevator has been non-functional for a significant amount of time which suggests, either a remarkable passivity among the, I assume, 24 to 36 residents of this building based on the number of mailboxes and given typical, urban population density, or a shared delusion of functionality.
 * (Penny stares at her a short while, until she realises who she must be.)
 * Penny: (Breathes in) You must be Leonard's mother.
 * Leonard's mother: Oh I don't know if I must be, but yes.
 * Penny: Um, I'm Penny; I'm his neighbour.
 * Leonard's mother: Oh, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter.
 * Penny: Oh, nice to meet you.
 * (Penny puts her hand out for Beverly to shake.)
 * Beverly: Oh, you're a handshaker, interesting.
 * (She follows through with the gesture)
 * Penny: Oh, why don't come with me; I'll walk you to the apartment.
 * Beverly: Oh alright, would you like to exchange pleasantries on the way?
 * Penny: Yeah, sure, I guess. Beverlyandsheldonrock.jpg
 * Beverly: Alright, you start.
 * (They both walk up the stairs together.)
 * Penny: OK. You know I've always been curious, what was Leonard like when he was little?
 * Beverly: Oh, I think you mean young; he's always been little.
 * Penny: Right, OK, what was he like he was young?
 * Beverly: You'll have to be more specific.
 * Penny: Oh, Um..., Ok, like, 5 or 6.
 * (Beverly stares at her coldly.)
 * Penny: 5.
 * Beverly: Oh well, at that age, he was well in meshed in what Freud would call the phallic stage of psycho-sexual development. An outmoded theory of course, but the boy did spend most his waking hours with a tight grasp on his penis.
 * Penny: Oh yeah, Leonard mentioned you were a psychiatrist.
 * Beverly: Well that is one of my degrees; my primary field is neuroscience.
 * Penny: Oh. Well, I'm an actress.
 * (There is a short silence between the two.)
 * Beverly: Why?
 * Penny: Wha..., What do you mean why?
 * Beverly: Oh, well there are studies that suggest that many who go into the performing arts suffer from an external locus of identity.
 * Penny: Yeah, I don't know what that means.
 * Beverly: Well, it means you value youself only as others value you, which is often the result of unmet childhood emotional needs.
 * Penny: Oh, well I had a wonderful childhood.
 * Beverly: Tell me about it.
 * (By the time they get to Leonard's and Sheldon's apartment, Penny is in absolute tears, talking about her Dad.)
 * Penny (sobbing): I know my Dad wanted a boy! I, I just, I tried being good at sports, but I hated getting dirty!
 * Beverly: And then I'm assuming you entered adolescence.
 * Penny: Ah, he called me Slugger until I got my first training bra and then he just stopped playing catch with me! I wasn't Slugger anymore! (Penny knocks on Leonard's door, which he answers.) (To Leonard) Your mother's here!
 * (Penny goes to her apartment.)
 * Beverly (To Leonard): If you want to have intercourse with that girl, find out what kind of cologne her father wore.
 * Leonard: Good to see you mother.


 * (Leonard's mother, Beverly has just arrived at the apartment.)
 * Leonard: Here's your tea, mother.
 * Beverly: Oolong?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * Beverly: Loose, not bagged?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * Beverly: Steeped, 3 minutes?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * Beverly: 2% milk?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * Beverly: Warmed, separately?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * Beverly: One teaspoon of sugar?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * Beverly: Raw sugar?
 * Leonard: Yes.
 * (Beverly takes a sip.)
 * Beverly: It's cold.
 * Leonard: I'll start again.


 * (Beverly Hofstadter is just leaving, when Penny shows up.)
 * Leonard: Well, goodbye mother.
 * Beverly: Goodbye Leonard. (To Penny) So Slugger, shall we pick up where we left off last time?
 * (At the lobby, Penny is in tears again.)
 * Penny (sobbing): I mean, my mom could have just said, "Bob, get over it! She's a girl! Move on!" But she didn't, not one word!
 * Beverly: Interesting. Would you be willing to fly to New Jersey and discuss your relationship with your parents during a brain scan?
 * Penny: Would it help?
 * Beverly: Well it would help me.

Critics
"Yet another consistent episode of comedy. You can’t help but laugh at the carefully crafted dialogue and attention to detail. But I can’t help but wonder what this show would be capable of with more characterisation." - The TV Critic's Review

Trivia
In the final scene of the episode we see Beverly and Penny walking downstairs as Penny is leaving for work, and Beverly is going to the airport to go home. As they approach the first floor landing area, Penny says to Beverly (she's crying again and giving Beverly more information about her childhood and her issues), "My mom could have just said, 'Bob, get over it; she's a girl, move on'". This reveals that "Bob" is her Dad, but in The Boyfriend Complexity we are introduced to her father and his name is Wyatt.