The Weekend Vortex

The Weekend Vortex is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on March 8, 2012.

Summary
The guys have an all weekend gaming marathon that interferes with Amy's plans for her and Sheldon to visit her family.

Extended Plot
Raj suggests the guys spend an entire weekend together with a marathon of Star Wars online gaming; however, Sheldon already promised Amy that he will attend her aunt's 93rd birthday party and meet her family. He tries to buy Amy 's aunt a gift at the Comic Book Store. Later Sheldon unsuccessfully asks Penny to get Amy to change her mind. Sheldon agrees to go with Amy, but shows up with his laptop to play along remotely. Amy is peeved and tells him that if the game means more than his commitment to her, he should go. Sheldon says "thanks" and leaves not realizing that Amy was being sarcastic. Howard on the other hand invites Bernadette to join their marathon. After the party she returns, Amy confides in Penny that she wanted to prove to her family that she had a real boyfriend and not a pretend one like she had done in the past. Penny suggests a couple of female responses (including withholding sex that wouldn't work with Sheldon ) and they decide to go over to Sheldon's apartment and make a scene. Amy starts on a rant, but soon proves unable to continue. Penny then stands up for her and berates Sheldon for being a bad boyfriend. However, they are all then silenced by Raj, who gets angry and complains that none of them are taking him into account. He had hoped to have the guys get together like they used to before everyone else had girlfriends and he still had none. He also rants that if he ever does get a girlfriend, he'll still be the guy who got one after Sheldon Cooper .'Penny tells Amy that is the way to make a scene. All the women leave and the guys get back to their games. The next morning, Howard's mother is outside yelling at them wondering where her son is and Howard heads home ending their marathon.

Critics
"This was very simple and perfectly watchable. It would be harder to find a more believable plot than four geeks wanting to play video games. It was especially pleasant to see Sheldon excited by someone else's plan for once....Sheldon didn't really learn his lesson but maybe he took a step toward understanding Amy 's position. Otherwise this was pretty basic." - The TV Critic's Review

Quotes
Raj: Hey, wanna spend some time playing the new Star Wars game this weekend?

Leonard: ''Uh, I don't know. I kind of promised myself I'd get off the computer, be more physically active, get some exercise.''

Howard: You're about to walk up three flights of stairs.

Leonard: ''Good point. I'm in!''

Raj: ''You know what would be great? Let's do it like the old days.''

Leonard: You're talking gaming marathon?

Raj: ''Yeah! Starts Saturday morning, go 48 hours, sleeping bags, junk food...''

Howard: Turn off our phones so our moms can't call...

Leonard: It'd be like that World of Warcraft party from a few years ago when the neighbors called the cops on us.

Howard: They called the cops because of the smell--they thought we were dead.

Raj: We were bad-ass back in the day.

Leonard: ''Alright, let's do it! ''

Howard: 48 hours of Star Wars gaming.

Raj: It's on, like Alderaan!

Sheldon:'' Movies or video games? Or board games, or trading card games, or dress up, or comic books, or dramatic readings of novelizations? Yes to all!''

Amy: (About Sheldon) ''He and I have other plans. We are attending my Aunt Flora's 93rd birthday party.''

Howard: ''You're a grown man! Act like one. Tell Amy you wanna spend the weekend having a sleepover and playing video games with your friends. ''

Amy: ''All the food is incredibly soft. It's like a vacation for your teeth.''

Sheldon: ''I always thought if I were enslaved, it would be by an advanced species from another planet. Not some hotsie-totsie from Glendale.''

Sheldon: (Knocking) Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny: (To Leonard) Sorry Stallion, your weird friend Giraffe is here!

Raj: ''None of you may realize it, but I was very much looking forward to this weekend. It was gonna be like the old days, the four of us hanging out, playing video games, before you guys all got girlfriends. Do you have any idea what its like to be the only one without a girlfriend? Even if I get one some day, I'll still be the guy who got a girl after Sheldon Cooper!''

Mrs. Wolowitz: (Bangs on door) ''HOWARD JOEL WOLOWITZ! I'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK FOR TWO DAYS AND I KNOW YOU'VE TURNED OFF YOUR PHONE! YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE! I'VE BEEN TO THE MORGUE AND THE HOSPITAL AND I'VE SPENT THE LAST HALF-HOUR WALKING UP THESE FERKAKTA STAIRS!''

Howard: ''That's my ride. Gotta go!''

Trivia

 * This is the first episode to air after the show's mini-hiatus. The previous episode, The Werewolf Transformation, aired on February 23, 2012.
 * The online game referenced in this episode is Star Wars: The Old Republic. (Refer to this article.)
 * Bernadette 's character class can be determined. Sheldon informs the players, "the game offers us a choice between playing for the Republic and the light side, or the Sith Empire and the dark side." Leonard declares, "Well, we’re always the good guys." Among the group, Bernadette is the healer. Further, the purple robes worn by her character are the same as those worn by the Master of Questions in the Noetikon of Secrets during the Shadows mission on Coruscant (refer to time index 20:52 in this video and compare to this image). Thus, she is a Jedi Consular.
 * Leonard declares they play as "the good guys." Yet, in The Zazzy Substitution, Sheldon said, "Oh, I never identified with the Rebel Alliance. Despite their tendency to build Death Stars, I’ve always been more of an Empire man."
 * Penny doesn't see a difference between Star Trek and Star Wars, despite knowing that the guys get mad when the two are mixed up. She will invariably guess Star Wars for anything, as seen in The Vegas Renormalization, The Bozeman Reaction, and The Excelsior Acquisition. Yet, she quoted Yoda from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in The Wheaton Recurrence. Also, Penny has mentioned, "in Star Trek, when you’re in battle and you raise theshields ," in The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition as well as in The Love Car Displacement, recalled a scene from Star Trek in The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation, and knew Kirk cheated in The Apology Insufficiency.
 * Howard has a print of Sith Apprentice Darth Maul that originally appeared in The Art of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
 * A couple years ago, the boys had a World of Warcraft party, and the neighbors called the cops on them because of the smell and they thought they were dead.
 * In The Russian Rocket Reaction, Leonard asked Sheldon, "Well, they don’t have an Excalibur here, so what do you want to do?" Since then, Stuart has Excalibur at the Comic Book Store.
 * Leonard states he got a nosebleed overthinking Leonard and Penny's Relationship . In The Speckerman Recurrence, Penny revealed that when Leonard jogs blood pours out of his nose.
 * Penny compares Sheldon to a giraffe. She said he looked like a giant praying mantis in The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem when she first meets Ramona Nowitzki.
 * Amy referred to Sheldon' s pale skin, just as Penny said the physicists she knows are indoorsy and pale in The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis.
 * Howard's mom uses the Yiddish word ferkakta for the second time, with the first being in The Cohabitation Formulation.
 * It is revealed that Amy is from Glendale.
 * The male [Raj ] makes a better scene then the female [Amy ], another of his feminine characteristics.
 * Raj may complain about getting a girlfriend after Sheldon Cooper, however he was the one who originally suggested that they sign him up for on-line dating and found Amy Farah Fowler.

Continuity

 * Leonard mentions "yogurt that helps women poop". This may be a callback to The Plimpton Stimulation, where Sheldon purchased a supply of said comestible for his guest Elizabeth Plimpton.

Video
354px|left|The Weekend Vortex Sneak Peek 354px|left|The Weekend Vortex Promo