The Vacation Solution

"The Vacation Solution" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory. ''This episode first aired on Thursday, February 9, 2012.

Summary
When Sheldon has to take a vacation, he ends up testing his relationship with Amy when he goes to work in her lab. Howard is being forced to sign a by Bernadette's father.

Extended Plot
To get kids excited about, Sheldon invents s which are very funny to him since they sound ridiculous to a , but as usual misses the point on how the rest of the  sees it. President Siebert comes by in a bad mood looking for Sheldon. Sheldon has to take his required even though Sheldon doesn't see the need for them. Siebert tells him to take a and suggests.

The next day, Leonard enjoys the Sheldon-free ride to work where he can listen to until he finds him hiding in the back seat almost causing an. Leonard drives him right back.

Penny and Amy gave Bernadette a hand with her. Penny was glad that they weren't in Klingon though Howard managed to get it printed on the back. Bernadette hopes her think it's Hebrew. Her father is pressuring her to have Howard sign a since she makes more  than him. Amy had the same problem with her mother forcing her to her  which she let her do last year. Penny tells her to break the news to him in. Bernadette doesn't want to manipulate him, but Penny chuckles that that is was is for. Talking about the wife’s in earlier times, Amy believes that Bernadette would easily go for two  and a  while Penny would fetch a.

They try to come up with a idea for the finicky Sheldon. ? A former built on a  where the disappointing ending to "" was filmed. ? Sheldon once went there and got his taken by a. Richard Feynman, a brilliant who worked on the, once took his vacation in a biology lab. Bingo, so does Amy.

In the, Penny tells Leonard about Bernadette needing a pre-nup. Then Penny asks Leonard if he would sign one if she became a famous. Absolutely not. If he’s at home with the while she’s on location  on him with, Leonard gets paid.

Sheldon is excited to be working in Amy's lab, and Amy's glad to have her with her since its. Amy thinks of it like and her husband working together under the glow of the  that eventually  her. Sheldon's first assignment is to clean some for her which Sheldon thinks is beneath him. Amy explains that he has no experience in biology.

Leonard talks to Raj about breaking the about the pre-nup to Howard. Howard is sort of cool with it he has his, some vintage , and the double-plot at. The plot is next to the guy who played on "". Raj gasps, “Mr. Roper's dead?”

Sheldon cleans the beakers, only they have spots and has to do them over again. His next task of counting seemed much more up his  though Amy makes him lose count. Finally he asks for a challenge and has to cut the hair-thin from a sample. He cuts his instead and faints. Amy remarks, “Sure, you're a biologist.”

Howard and Sheldon go to drown their sorrows at the Cheesecake Factory bar, which Penny is manning. Penny asks them what they're doing there in the middle of the day, which they claim they have no particular reason for. She informs them that their girls text her about pretty much everything that happens to them and therefore is completely aware of both their situations, and they quickly confess. She decides to set both of them straight. “All right, Howard Wolowitz. Listen up. You will anything she puts in front of you because you are the  man alive. If you let her go, there is no way you'll find anyone else. Speaking on behalf of all women, it's not going to happen. We had a meeting.” Turning to Sheldon, “And you fainted at the sight of a little, haha!” Sheldon shows her his substantial and faints again.

Sheldon apologizes to Amy and still has to finish cleaning the beakers.

Howard decides he would talk to Bernadette's dad. Although she did warn him he was a retired who still wore a  and avoid topics like, , , , , , the , , or that he's. Then Howard changes his mind and that he’ll call him from the International Space Station.

Critics

 * The TV Critic: "In terms of story I didn't think much was done to flesh out Sheldon's arrogance. We know that he thinks he is a genius but he should have enough logic to know some basic facts. Of course he wouldn't be able to dissect a brain without first studying what each tiny part of it was called or practicing with easier tasks first...This was a flat episode which continued themes we've seen many times before."
 * The A.V. Club gave this episode an A
 * IMDb user reviews

Costume Notes

 * Sheldon wears his Reddit Alien t-shirt from Zazzle.com and his TV Test Pattern t-shirt.

Trivia

 * Joshua Malina, who plays President Siebert, last appeared during Season 4's "The Benefactor Factor". This is his second appearance on the show.
 * Sheldon sees no practical need for taking vacations.
 * Amy does not come to the bar of the Cheesecake Factory with Sheldon. She is carrying on with her work in the laboratory.
 * Bernadette is not sitting next to Howard at the bar of the Cheesecake Factory before Sheldon arrives. She might be doing something different that day.
 * Leonard and Raj do not appear at the bar of The Cheesecake Factory with Howard before Sheldon turns up. Both these guys might be doing something different that day
 * In "The Peanut Reaction", Howard gets Leonard an autographed copy of  as Sheldon partly complains about gift giving on hearing this fact, so Sheldon's assertion of Howard's complete ignorance regarding Feynman in "The Vacation Solution" is inconsistent. Yet, the matter can be attributed to "Sheldon’s patented blend of condescension" (as Howard mused in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition"), for Sheldon ignores Howard's claim that every scientist in the world knows of Feynman.
 * In "The Luminous Fish Effect", based on the work of ese scientists, Sheldon inserts  from into a, successfully creating a . He also reveals his idea of what DNA would look like in a  (see silicon-based lifeforms in Star Trek). In "The Bad Fish Paradigm", Sheldon refers to the  of an   in . In "The Griffin Equivalency", Sheldon references his childhood studies in . In "The Alien Parasite Hypothesis", he participates in a . Hence, it isn't the field of biology in general that he lacks skill in, but it is the physical practice of biology in a lab that seems to give him difficulty.
 * Sheldon visited Amy's lab previously in "The Alien Parasite Hypothesis".
 * Sheldon says, "Maybe, that's because I'm not being challenged. It's the same reason failed math." Einstein actually obtained exceptional grades in mathematics.
 * Bernadette's father still has his gun, as a fashion statement, even though he is retired as a . She also says that he is racist,, , and hates , gardeners, , the , , , the , and.
 * The Wolowitzs have adjoining plots in the, next to the grave of (who is actually buried above ground in a vault).
 * Sheldon won't go to, as it was the place of the finale of , has active es, and is a former . He also won't go to because he went there on a family vacation and a  took his hot dog (see "The Ornithophobia Diffusion" for other bird incidents) though at the end of the episode he must have changed his mind because he says that he may go to  next year.
 * Penny sees sex as a valuable tool for manipulation.
 * First time we hear Sheldon laugh properly, which is over a game of Physics . The only other time he has laughed like that is when Leonard made a multiplication error. Leonard says that isn't funny as it was published.
 * Amy is one of the few characters in the show who has shown little toleration for Sheldon's narcissism and condescension, seeing how she makes him apologize for his rude behavior.
 * The, which Amy is working on removing from a brain in her lab, is found in the , which is located in the , and is involved responses to  and . Amy compares the width of the locus coeruleus to that of a single human hair, the diameter of which ranges from 17 to 181 µm (millionths of a meter).
 * Howard explains that he has an Aunt Ida who lives in Florida.
 * After all of Sheldon's troubles in Amy's lab, he tells himself next year he will go to in, Florida, which has exhibits honoring various branches of the sciences.
 * Second episode which revolves around one main character working for another main character. The first was "The Pirate Solution", which also has a scene where Sheldon has trouble at doing something practical where another main character can do easily. The second episode where Sheldon decides to work for another main character after someone meddles with his work. The first was "The Jerusalem Duality".
 * Second episode where a character cuts themselves in an accident and are disturbed by their own blood. First was "The White Asparagus Triangulation". Both these characters disgust for blood were revisited in "The Re-Entry Minimization".

Quotes

 * Sheldon: They tried to make Richard Feynman take a vacation, but he chose instead to expand his mind and learn something new. He went to work in his friend's biology lab. (aside to Howard) Richard Feynman was a famous American physicist — part of the Manhattan Project.
 * Howard: Everyone in the world of science knows who Richard Feynman was.
 * Sheldon: Now you do, too.


 * Howard: Isn't that just Feynman's idea?
 * Sheldon: Ten seconds ago you never heard of him - now you're an expert.


 * Raj: Mr. Roper is dead? You can't just spring that on a guy!


 * Sheldon: (Carrying a tray of beakers) Here you go! This is now the only lab with glassware washed by a man with two doctorates and a restraining order signed by Carl Sagan.
 * Amy: (Inspects a beaker) Soap spots! Wash 'em again.
 * Sheldon: You're being ridiculous! Those are perfectly clean.
 * Amy: (Picks up a large beaker) Sheldon, this beaker used to contain cerebral spinal fluid from an elephant that died of syphilis. If it's, in fact, perfectly clean, (holds it out to him) drink from it.
 * Sheldon: (Long pause, then picks up the tray of beakers again) Biologists are mean.


 * Penny: Ha ha, you cut your thumb and fainted!


 * Sheldon: What do we start with? Slicing some genes? Clone a sheep? Perhaps grow a human ear on a mouse's back? Haha, I'm a freak! (laughs)


 * Amy: I'm excited to work with my boyfriend, it's gonna be romantic.
 * Sheldon: Way to kill the mood.


 * Amy: Are we nervous, Dr. Cooper?
 * Sheldon: No. What you see is a man trembling with confidence... Does the locus coeruleus usually bleed that much?
 * Amy: No, but your thumb does.
 * Sheldon: Oh dear! (faints)
 * Amy: Yeah, YOU'RE a biologist. (goes for first-aid kit on the wall)


 * Sheldon: I have plenty of experience in biology. I bought a Tamagotchi in 1998... And.... it's still alive.


 * Sheldon: Excuse me, but you have Doctor Cooper in your lab! Are you gonna make him do the dishes? That's like asking The Incredible Hulk to open a pickle jar.


 * Raj: No 'Hi, Raj!', no 'How are you, Raj?', just straight to 'Where's the other white guy?'


 * Penny: I’m so glad you talked Howard out of having your wedding invitations in Klingon.
 * Bernadette: Turn it over. I’m hoping my relatives think it’s Hebrew.


 * Leonard: What the hell are you doing?
 * Sheldon: Bleeding from my ears.
 * Leonard: What are you doing hiding back there?
 * Sheldon: I’m sneaking into work. Now, if the guard at the university asks what’s under the blanket, you tell him it’s some lobster traps.
 * Leonard: Lobster traps?
 * Sheldon: Yes. That’s how Velma and Scooby smuggled Shaggy into the old lighthouse.
 * Leonard: What are you going to do when you get to the university? People are going to recognize you.
 * Sheldon: Will they, Leonard? (Puts on cap and long-hair wig)
 * Leonard: Fine. Just get back under your blanket, and I’ll drive you there.
 * Sheldon: And no more singing.
 * Leonard: Fine.
 * Sheldon: I have GPS on my phone. I know you turned around.