The Locomotion Interruption

"The Locomotion Interruption" is the first episode of the eighth season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode first aired on September 22, 2014.

Summary
Amy and Leonard drive to Arizona to pick up Sheldon because he had been robbed while on his train trip. Penny has a job interview at Bernadette's copany as a pharmaceutical rep. Stuart isn't moving out of Howard's mother's house.

Extended Plot
Sheldon is at a train station wearing no pants looking quite disheveled after being robbed. He tries to tell random people that he is a physicist and that he is not crazy though everybody he meets acts like he is. Penny with her new short haircut is doing yoga in apartment 4A as Leonard says good morning to her. Leonard gets a call from Sheldon who is at an Arizona police station and asks Leonard to come and get him. Penny can't come with him because she has a job interview, so Leonard reluctantly takes Amy with him.

Howard is taking Raj to work explaining that Stuart is supposed to be moving out of his mother's house and complaining how chummy they had become. Amy and Leonard are en route to get Sheldon and she is peeved that Leonard was called instead of her. At the police station, Sheldon inquires about his stolen possessions and lectures the attending officer on Sherlock Holmes and his investigation techniques.

Penny is with Bernadette just prior to her interview who describes Penny's good points and can only come up that she is cute and funny. Penny is nervous since she hasn't had a job interview since applying to do a bikini car wash. Bernadette tells her to not mention that. She gets mad and says that the only thing she might be qualified to do is to work in a "sitting-around-in-your-yoga-pants-doing-nothing-factory.” (in her Mrs. Wolowitz voice).

Howard and Raj enter are at his mother's house and they learn that Stuart plans on living there even though his care taker job is completed since he has no other place to go. Stuart is acting like Howard's father. Note that Raj is still seeing Emily.

Sheldon is still grilling the officer about finding his stuff. Amy and Leonard show up. Sheldon hugs Leonard and wants to know why Amy came. Amy complains that she just drove six hours to help him out and asks if there is anything he wants to tell her. Sheldon says that he can't say it in front of the officer which causes her to smile. He whispers to her "shotgun" meaning he wants to ride in the front seat going back and he probably doesn't want to yell shotgun in a police station.

Penny is at her interview as a pharmaceutical rep and keeps explaining that she likes people. As to previous job experience, she convinced large customers to order cheesecake; one that even had an insulin pump. The interviewer uses an insulin pump. Penny tells her to stay away from cheesecake.

On the way back, Sheldon explains that he saw the whole country, but never left any of the train stations.

Howard says he's unhappy about a man of 30, though Raj thought he was 45 (he's actually 39), living with his mother. When he calls her, the answering machine has a message from both Stuart and his mother on it.

During the interview, Penny is asked how she would suggest to someone to switch from a competitor to their company. She tells her that she could offer them a bikini car wash. Penny realizes that she is wasting the interviewer's time, but doesn't want Bernadette to know she failed at the interview because she’s scared of her. So is the interviewer and they bond over this fear of her even mimicking her voice.

Driving back, Sheldon is explaining about the types of catsup he found at various hot dog stands, while Amy wants to know why he called Leonard instead of her. Sheldon wants to have a private moment with Leonard and asks Amy to cover her ears. He then claims to want to have coitus with her just to see if she can hear him. Sheldon didn't want to call Amy because he didn't want her to know that he couldn't make it on his own. (And Amy's alternative to that was to have them move in together.) Leonard tells Sheldon that he should tell Amy. He does and Amy replies that she knows he is not perfect and that she is fine with that. In another private moment, Sheldon tells Leonard that Amy just hurt his feelings and he wants to break up with her.

At Howard and Bernadette's, Howard is missing Sheldon. Bernadette also says that Penny got the job because her boss really likes her. Stuart shows up and they start arguing. Howard tells him that he is not his father and that Bernadette is his mother which he quickly corrects as his wife. Stuart wants him to apologize.

Walking up the stairs, Sheldon says that he can't tell people that he failed at his cross-country trip. Amy tells him to consider it as an adventure which appeases Sheldon. He feels recharged and that he can face any changes until he finds out that Penny had cut her hair. This change causes him to run off. Leonard sends Penny to fetch him since he had just driven six hours to do that. Penny looking exasperated runs after him.

Finally Sheldon is showing Leonard and Penny the pictures he had taken including those of a train bathroom he had visited and the Imodium he took so he wouldn’t have to use the toilet. Then he talks about how he almost died in a fire in Des Moines, but he stayed put, and that’s when the Imodium gave out.

Critics
Dhruv Rao of The DR Club gave the episode a C+, "I generally give the writers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to season premieres because no matter how much you try you can never nail them. However, if you try your best, it will be the perfect stepping-stone to a new arc in a new season. Amy's desperation throughout the premiere didn't feel natural, nor did it feel comfortable. The same thing can be said about the comedy tonight: it felt like Chuck Lorre was trying a little too hard to get his jokes working, and I, like the controlled live studio audience tonight, didn't laugh at overbaked jokes. Better luck next time..." 

Trivia

 * Kevin Sussman is billed as "Starring" for the first time since season 6.
 * Kaley, Jim and Johnny earn their first million dollar salary each.
 * Sheldon also had his stuff stolen in "The Bozeman Reaction".
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Penny with her new short pixie style haircut, which Kaley cut between filming of season 7 and 8.
 * When Sheldon cries "shotgun" he probably wanted to ride in the front seat. Shotgun refers to the second person sitting next to the driver of a old western stagecoach who rode with a weapon to defend the stage coach. It might also to refer to armored cars or police vehicles in the 20th century.As a child-like character, he pro "shot gun", but whispered it as to not yell out in a police station like someone had a fire arm. Shotgun refers to the second person sitting next to the driver of a old western stagecoach who rode with a weapon to defend the stage coach. It might also to refer to armored cars or police vehicles in the 20th century.
 * Originally to be taped the week before; however, delayed due to contract negotiations.

Quotes

 * Penny: Look who's back.
 * Sheldon: Your hair is different. You changed your hair? I can't take this, I'm out.