The Hofstadter Insufficiency

"The Hofstadter Insufficiency" is the first episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode will air on September 26, 2013.

Summary
Penny and Sheldon bond further over missing Leonard, though Sheldon doesn't admit that he misses him. Amy and Bernadette are away together at a biology convention.

Extended Plot
Leonard and Sheldon are on the while Leonard is still on the research  from last season. As the research team is in some rough seas, Leonard tells Sheldon that he is going back inside, Sheldon remarks that over the terrible phone connection, it sounded like someone had released a. Leonard disagrees saying that there is no such thing as a kraken when a giant reaches over the side of the, picks him up and drags him into the raging. Sheldon wakes up in his own bed screaming since he is having a. Over to apartment 4B he runs.

"(knock..knock..knock)Penny. (knock..knock..knock)Penny. (knock..knock..knock)Penny"

Penny opens the door and asks him what's wrong without any whatsoever. Sheldon replies that he is concerned that she might be missing Leonard resulting in having bad like the time she watched. He mentioned that in the dream Leonard had switched the 's around. Penny says good-night. Sheldon suggests that he sleep in her place so that she won't miss Leonard as much. Penny agrees that that would make her feel better to appease him. Sheldon walks passed her to her, says goodnight and closes her door. She no longer even flinches at his actions, shakes her head and closes her door indicating that their  has changed quite a bit.

Raj, Sheldon, and Howard are having in the cafeteria. Raj is heartbroken about losing Lucy and compares her to a  he saw in the. Sheldon tells Raj the astronomer to get his back on the  like the. Raj asks if that is true, while Sheldon counters that everything he says is true. Howard tries to cheer Raj up by pointing out that since he can talk to, he can meet someone else. After Raj tells Howard that he sees Lucy's smile in his chicken, Howard chops of the destroying the  and make him stop. Then Howard suggests that Raj attend the social for welcoming new post-doctorates to meet some women. Howard agrees to go with him because he wants him to be happy. Sheldon isn't coming because even though he wants Raj to be happy, it isn't enough for him to want to help him.

Amy and Bernadette are attending a and saying good night to their guys. Bernadette tells Howard that she him and really misses him. Amy must convince Sheldon that she won't bring back any because she did check the bed and refuses to sleep in her.

The next night, Penny and Sheldon are hanging out in apartment 4A. Sheldon asks Penny if she ever wondered if s... to which she immediately cuts him off with a "No" while she flips through a. Sheldon then welcomes her to the world of Star Trek . Penny remarks that he should admit that he only wants to play that because he misses Leonard. Sheldon replies that she over the significance of Leonard in his life and gives some examples of things he doesn't miss. Penny then calls him an emotionless. Sheldon says that he does try. Penny wants to get his stupid game over with. He then wants to know if she would help him with his fly which was one of the things he "doesn't" miss about Leonard.

Raj and Howard are at the post-doctorate social. Raj meets one boring grad student who is talking about her. He tells Howard that if you like dry factual statements interspersed with painful moments of silence, it went. Howard then notices Mrs.Janine Davis from the Department whose husband has just left her for a young gorgeous  student. She approaches and greets them. Raj brings up the subject of among. He tells her not to feel unattractive since her left her, because it happens among penguins and they are. She just looks at him and walks away. Howard comments that it was better when he couldn't talk to women.

Amy and Bernadette are lounging in the  looking over the  for the convention events. Commenting on the seminar, Amy says that brain are fascinating unless they are yours which would make you sad. Bernadette then the advancement of  to which Amy adds to the  and  who make it possible. They find it nice to talk shop for once since all they talk about around Penny is boys. The brings over two  from a pair of  at the bar which gets Amy very excited. Amy waves to the fellows, while Bernadette tells her to be cool. Amy asks why should they do that since these guys aren't just sending over drinks to get to Penny. Bernie agrees and also calls over a cheery "thank-you".

Penny makes a move in their chess game which Sheldon disapproves of and can win. Penny gets excited that the game is over. Sheldon doesn't make the winning move because "we" are having too much fun. Penny stands up and wants to take a break. Sheldon tells her that they are all out of {{w|alcohol}. Penny denies that she wanted a drink, moans and then sits back down. Penny wonders what Leonard is doing and that she misses him so much. Sheldon suggests that we...he means she...could call him. The absence of Sheldon's does not cause him pain. Like bad boy  wrote, "I am a rock, an i...i...i...." Penny decides to call Leonard which gets Sheldon suddenly very excited as he pleads with her to put it on.

Leonard now sporting a is  in a room full of fellow  at a rocking. His phone rings and he tells the woman next to him that his are buzzing. Penny tells Leonard that it's her and he gets the whole room to shout "Hi, Penny!" Penny next says that it sounds like he is having a good time. Leonard shouts back that he is having the best time of his life. This shocks Penny as Sheldon tells him that it is 5:30 in the there. Leonard tells his the time and they all cheer. Penny explains that they were missing him. Someone on the ship yells out "". This worries Sheldon, however Leonard tells him that it's just part of a and everyone has to take a  and they all cheers again. After the connection goes dead, a peeved Penny says that she can't believe that they were missing that. Sheldon denies that he was missing him, only she was.

Bernadette returns to their table in the lounge after telling the guys that bought them drinks that they were both unavailable. Amy then concludes that she can drink the free drink without "having to give up the goodies". Bernadette agrees and then comments to Amy that no one would blame her if she takes it further. Amy wonders if she means that she can do better than Sheldon. Bernadette remarks on how strong their drinks are. Amy wants her to explain herself. Bernadette tells Amy that she isn't and that her  in kind of "Sheldon". Amy shoots back that her is extremely "Howard" and what is her point. Bernadette replied that what she said was, wants to forget it and go back to having a nice time. Amy tells her that her is lesion-free and she can still remember the rotten thing she said about her. Bernadette then apologizes and asks if they can just let the subject go. Amy says, "Sure." Then as she takes another drink she says that her husband is and his  are ridiculous.

Penny is upset. She can't believe that she has been sitting around missing Leonard. She asks Sheldon if he knows what the worst part of the is and he replies that she has to deal with it without. Penny gives a definite "no" and then retreats to "yea". Her second worst part is that he doesn't appear to be missing her at all. Sheldon comforts her with the fact that she still has her. Penny asks him if that is supposed to be comforting. Sheldon then replies that in a hundred years they'll both be and it won't matter. Penny insists that he should be saying that the only reason he is partying is to cover up the pain of missing her. Sheldon disagrees and doesn't think that that is true. Penny wonders why she is upset at all. Sheldon then thinks that she might be worried that he is having drunken with another woman. Penny tells him to stop trying to make her feel better. Sheldon says that he can't because Leonard made him to take care of her. Penny calls Leonard's action sweet and it changes her. Sheldon also gets a hat when Leonard returns if he does a good job. Penny now misses him even more. Uncharacteristically, Sheldon replies with he feels that Leonard is tormented every minute he is away from her loving embraces and sweet cherry.

Back at work Raj approaches Janine Davis in the cafeteria to for hurting her feelings and insulting penguins. He then tells her that they both are experiencing the throws of and that he is going to tell her about his.

Sheldon has made Penny a hot to comfort her contained in a "to go" cup which includes a veiled hint. Penny says that its early and still wants to do something. Sheldon has been toying around with the idea of chess. Penny just wants to talk, but stops Sheldon when he starts to describe 4-D chess. Penny asks him to tell her something about him that she doesn't know. Sheldon says that owns nine pairs of pants. Penny asks for something a little more personal. Sheldon says that he owns nine pairs of. Penny decides to take a turn and tells him that when she first came to she made a  about a   in which she did a  scene. She was so ashamed and glad that the movie was never released. Sheldon says that he's seen it, "Serial Apist" which shocks Penny. Howard found the  the day they first met Penny. Sheldon then says that he sees what kind of personal revelations she is talking about. He says that he doesn't like the new rating system. He feels ten lighter after getting that off his chest. Penny gives up and decides to go to. Then Sheldon tells her another thing she doesn't know, that she just hurt his feelings. He opened up to her about something very upsetting and she treats it like it's nothing. Penny tells him that she is sorry and that she should have known better. She offers a and he puts out his hand for a hearty. Penny ignores him and hugs him anyway. He puts one hand on her back in return and tells her that he now knows how she felt when she was mauled by that sex crazed gorilla.

Bernadette and Amy are getting ready for in silence. Bernadette says "Good-night" while Amy just says "Uh-huh." After the are out, Amy mentions that it was  to have those guys send drinks over to their table. Bernadette agrees. The next morning Amy suggests that they put on and try to score some free. Bernadette asks hypothetically which guy did Amy like. Amy snaps the light back on for some. Amy likes the short one with the goofy. Bernie likes the tall inexperienced-looking. Amy found her guy staring at her. For the record, underneath her is another cardigan. Bernadette says her guy sounds like Howard. Bernadette's brainy virgin sounds like Sheldon. They give each other a weird look and then say good night again.

Back at Caltech, Raj is still talking to Janine Davies who has to leave since she has {{w|kids at home. Raj says that he knows what its like to be a {{w|single parent}} since he has a {{w|dog}}. Sarcastically she says that that is just like having kids. Raj admits that he was there to pick up a woman and instead got to sit down and talk to her on a human level. He also called her a lovely person. She wonders if he was now hitting on her which Raj denies. She calls him sweet and then again says good night. Howard comes over and remarks that she must have accepted his apology. Raj replies that they had connected and that they may have had a moment together. Howard concludes that it wasn't a moment and that even if it was, what would he do about it? After a littler {{w|bravado}}, he agrees that nothing will come of it.

Penny is seen in the {{w|shower}} glad that the {{w|police}} had caught that sex crazed {{w|genetically altered}} ape. A {{w|shadow}} appears on the shower curtain of a man or ape carrying an ax. Leonard is watching her movie on his {{w|computer}} surrounded by his {{w|shipmates}}. He tells everyone that they are watching his girlfriend. The gang starts chanting "Leonard! Leonard!" The curtain is pulled opened and Penny screams!!!

Critical Reception

 * Oliver Sava of The AV Club gave the double-premiere a B+.


 * Dhruv Rao from The DR Club gave both the episodes a B.


 * Jesse Schedeen of IGN:*…the focus was on breaking the rest of the group into pairs and sending them on different misadventures together. I enjoyed that these pairings were slightly less traditional. We rarely see Amy and Bernadette interact without Penny completing the trio…And yes, we've seen episodes focused on Sheldon pestering Penny before, but the dynamic shifted slightly as Sheldon became the one desperate for companionship…All three stories held their own, though I enjoyed the Bernie/Amy portion the most. It was nice to see these two off on their own for a change and outside the shadows of their significant other…The fact that Sheldon reciprocated Penny's hug at all is a sign of how close the two have become over the course of six seasons…. this wasn't a bad start by any means.

Trivia

 * Amy and Bernadette attract the attention of two other guys without the gorgeous Penny around.
 * Each girlfriend finds themselves liking the guy which is closer in appearance to to the other friend's fellow. Bernadette likes Sheldon?
 * When Sheldon says that watching Clash of the Titans was causing Penny nightmares, he had probably watched it himself since the Kraken that attacked Leonard in his nightmare is seen in that movie. Also, Sheldon previously mentioned Kraken in episode The Date Night Variable (S6E01) by citing the line "release the Kraken!" from  Clash of the Titans.
 * Amy calls Sheldon her "Sweet Baboo" which was also 's pet name for in the.
 * The sailor hat that Leonard promised to give Sheldon is fulfilled in the next episode The Deception Verification (S7E02).

Quotes
Sheldon: Welcome to the exciting world of 3-D chess.

Penny: Why don’t you admit you only want to play this game because you always play with Leonard and you miss him?

Sheldon: You over estimate his significance in my life.

Penny: Mmm.

Sheldon: Do I miss how makes a face on my toaster waffle with syrup. No. Do I miss the way he fixes the zipper on my jacket when it gets stuck? I don’t think so. Do I miss how we say good night to each other through the walls of our bedroom using Morse code? {Knocks his answer in Morse Code].

Penny: OK, I get it. I get it. You’re an emotionless robot.

Sheldon: Well, I try.

Raj: Do you know I recently read a fascinating article on infidelity among penguins.

Mrs. Janine Davis: OK.

Raj: So if the fact that your husband left your husband makes you feel unattractive, just remember penguins get cheated on and they’re still adorable.

Howard: It was better when you couldn’t talk to women.

Bernadette: [Toasting] To the advancement of science.

Amy: And to the sick and dying who make it possible.