The Bad Fish Paradigm

"The Bad Fish Paradigm" is the first episode of the second season of the  sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, September 22, 2008.

Summary
Leonard returns from his date with Penny. Penny then asks Leonard to take it slow. She confesses to Sheldon that it is because she thinks she isn't smart enough to keep his interest. The stress of keeping this secret gets to Sheldon, causing him to give in and tell Leonard. Unfortunately, Penny is not happy with Leonard’s suggested resolution.

Extended Plot
Returning from their first date, Leonard explains that what Penny was eating is not frozen. All Penny had asked him was if he wanted a bite. Leonard is allergic to it. After a goodnight kiss, Leonard notices they are being watched by a set up by Raj and Howard. Unable to get away from the camera, he finishes the kiss and they say goodnight. In his apartment, he immediately confronts Raj and Howard about the camera. They wanted to document how Leonard will ruin their relationship. Leonard feels as Penny suggested that they slow down and not rush into intimacy. Sadly, even Sheldon knows that’s lame. Howard calls it, "this fish tastes bad and will slow down and spit it out." Leonard remains optimistic even though he and Penny haven’t set a second date. The video recording shows that Penny was not as aroused as they others thought she should be.

In the laundry room Sheldon is doing his clothes using a shirt-folding board. Penny comes in and talks to Sheldon about Leonard. She asks if Leonard ever dated someone who wasn’t a “brainiac”. Penny had lied about graduating so she could not be embarrassed his level of education. She doesn’t want Leonard to know and asks him to keep it a secret. Sheldon says that he is very poor at secret keeping. He develops "more nervous ticks than a Research Facility." She asks him to keep the secret since they are friends, which is news to Sheldon.

Later, Leonard and Sheldon run into Penny in the hall and he wants to set up a second date, but she is evasive. Afterwards he wonders if he the "bad fish" and asks Sheldon about it. Sheldon start acting quirky and then runs like hell to the Cheesecake Factory and begs Penny to release him from the secret. He's so bad at keeping secrets that he describes a top secret military project to her. She won’t release him so he decides to move out of the.

He tells Leonard of is impending move with no explanation whatsoever. The myriad of possible reasons (including adjusting the brightness or contrast on the TV, take off a, or make fun of ) don't seem to apply. Sheldon pushes Raj into letting him stay at his little apartment. In a very short time Sheldon wears out his welcome by insulting n actress. Raj dumps Sheldon as Howard’s house. Sheldon doesn't like sleeping on the floor and then starts to count his favorite actresses annoying Howard. is Sheldon's 5th-favorite Catwoman.

Howard returns Sheldon to his apartment doped up on his mother's. Sheldon rattles on about keeping secrets and confesses Penny's secret to Leonard. Leonard is shocked that Penny thinks he's too smart for her. Leonard goes to Penny to talk to her about it giving her a Pasadena Community College brochure. Penny gets angry and jumps to the conclusion that Leonard doesn't want to date a woman without a. She slams the door on him though at least Leonard knows where he went wrong this time.

Critics

 * "This isn't a bad episode out of context. But as the season opener I think the producers have missed a big trick. I think they have learned the wrong lessons from season one and I hope they can refocus on the main story soon." - The TV Critic's Review
 * IMDb user reviews

Costume Notes

 * ManBot-1-.jpgon starts the episode with blue, black, and pink "Triple Threat" tee  by Kirra (discontinued). Then spends the rest of the episode in his most frequently worn t-shirt: yellow ManBot on a green shirt.


 * This episode crosses two days, but Sheldon wears the shirt, then pajamas, and then we don't see what he's wearing the next day.
 * Leonard wears hisadrenaline molecule t-shirt and his red Cassette Tapes shirt (originally sold at Target, but now only available from RedBubble ).

Set Notes

 * In season 1, the boys used a blue XOX Good Grips tea kettle .  You can see it on the stove in just about every episode, including episode 17, the final one for the first season. As season 2 opens, the kettle is now a deep orange color. 41DDSE8HKSL-1-.jpg


 * This episode is also the first episode where we see Sheldon using his Flip-Fold in the laundry room.

Trivia

 * Season 1-2 and Season 4-5 are the only time in which the ending of one season and start of the another season start on the same day, as Season 1 ended with Leonard and Penny going out on a date, while Season 2 started with them coming back. Season 4 ended with Penny and Raj in the same day, while Season 5 started the same day with the guys at work.
 * As noted, this is the only time in which ending of one season and beginning of other are in the same day. Season 2 ending and Season 3 beginning are 3 months apart, Season 3 ending and Season 4 opening are 4 months apart, Season 4 ending and Season 5 opening are also on the same day, with Season 4 ending with Penny and Raj in bed together while Season 5 begins just a few hours after that. Season 5 ends with Howard in space while Season 6 starts a week after his launch. Season 6 ends with Leonard going to an expedition while Season 7 starts 4 months after his departure. Season 8 starts 45 days after Sheldon departs on his soul-serching train trip.
 * The opening sequence may have been filmed at the same time as season 1; as Penny's hair changes drastically the next scene she is seen.
 * The fourth wall of the hallway can be seen via Howard and Raj's webcam.
 * First episode in the series that Penny acknowledges that she is friends with Sheldon. At that same moment she does this admission, it emerges that Sheldon only thought of Penny as an acquaintance and neighbor up to this point, although their friendship eventually becomes stronger as the seasons progress.
 * "Why don't we just figure out where we're going, and when we want to get there? And then rate of speed equals distance over time (r = d/t). Solve for r." Leonard was clearly flustered when he tried to use physics to solve a relationship problem. In his last statement, Leonard does not mean to isolate "r," but is suggesting to determine the distance and time in order to calculate the rate, provided his definition aforementioned.
 * Unusually, Sheldon does not seem to mind that at the start of the episode Raj is in 'his spot'.
 * are integral to the mating habits of, as Sheldon implies.
 * Sheldon's shirt folder is sold at Amazon.com.
 * First episode that we see Sheldon attempt to make a joke. A research facility would have many  (ticks being the primary carrier of that disease), whereas Sheldon has many nervous (facial) tics. When explaining the joke to Penny, Sheldon says the joke works on the homonymic relationship between tics and ticks. However, the relationship between the two words in question is merely homophonic.
 * An energy-based in conformational space folds rather readily and frequently, as does a ; like Sheldon trying to keep a secret.
 * Assuming Sheldon's slip about being denied clearance to a secret research facility is true, there's a secret government-funded military hidden beneath a fake agricultural station near here (12.5 miles southeast of ); in the Traverse City Forest Area.
 * Sheldon stopped breast feeding on a drizzly Tuesday. Sheldon is discovered to have an in this episode, and his first memory is stated by him to remember the weather on the day that his mother stopped breast feeding him.
 * A is a reasoning that no Truth can be proven, since any proof will ultimately fall into one of three unsatisfactory reasonings. In Sheldon's case: he's moving out, because he's moving out.
 * Howard's greeting of qu'est-ce que c'up? is a grammatically incorrect word-for-word translation of "What's up?" in French.
 * Sheldon claims he never forgets in this episode, but he states he forget Lee Meriwether portrayed Catwoman.
 * When drugged, Sheldon sits in a different seat than his spot.
 * Several ways to annoy Sheldon are laid out in this episode, including:
 * Change the brightness/contrast settings of the television
 * Take a band-aid off in front of him
 * Buy generic ketchup
 * Forget to rinse the sink
 * Talk to him through the bathroom door
 * Adjust the
 * Cook with
 * Pronounce the 't' in 'often'
 * Make fun of
 * The does recommend having a pre-packed disaster evacuation bag (it's tip #12 of their top 30 tips), containing necessary supplies for three days. While  may not officially recommend one, she'd likely not be opposed since she spent a fair portion of her life trying to warn people that  was fast approaching.
 * Manushya yajna (homage to men) is one of the five central sacrifices/duties of the, and it does indeed include taking in needy guests to your home, as Sheldon leverages.
 * Raj is discovered that his apartment in an old watch factory. Sheldon expresses concern about the residual to make their numerals glow in the dark, first alerting us to his obsession with health and cleanliness.
 * Watches indeed used to be painted with radium to make their numerals glow in the dark, but that practice has been abandoned, since radium is and has been found to be.
 * The song Raj is watching when Sheldon comments whether the actress is Aishwarya Rai, is actually filmed on in the movie "".
 * Sheldon doesn't seem to be as big a fan of Aishwarya Rai as Raj is. Sheldon prefers.
 * Sheldon's list of actresses, from most favorite to least:, , , , .PCC.jpg
 * Sheldon's list of favorite characters, from most favorite to least:, , , , , , , , etc.
 * does exist (and offers )
 * When Leonard first realizes that he may be the "bad fish" and Sheldon is getting flustered, he says "Good day, Leonard". Leonard says "What?" and Sheldon says "I said good day", which may be a reference to Fez's "catchphrase" from "".


 * This season premiere episode takes place immediately after the last episode of the previous season.
 * The only episode to be rated BBFC 15.
 * Penny eventually did take Leonard's advice and enrolled in Pasadena City College in the sixth season, but did not complete a degree.

Quotes
Howard: (To Sheldon) Just get in the bed!

Mrs. Wolowitz: WHAT'S GOING ON? ARE YOU BOYS ROUGHHOUSING?!

Howard: Just talking, Ma!

Mrs. Wolowitz: IF YOU DON'T SETTLE DOWN RIGHT NOW, I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU HAVE ANYMORE SLEEPOVERS!

Howard: For god's sake Ma, I'm 27 years old! IT'S NOT EVEN A SCHOOL NIGHT!

Leonard: Well, good night. (They kiss. Camera cuts away to a wall mounted security cam above the lift. Leonard spots its movement and shuffles Penny away.)

Penny: What are you doing?

Leonard: There was a draft.

Penny: I didn't feel a draft.

Leonard: Why don’t we just go into your….

Penny: Oh, yeah, you know what; maybe we should just slow things down a little.

Leonard: No, no, I didn't mean to go into your apartment to… go fast.

Penny: No, I know, I… I know what you meant, it’s just… it’s only our first date.

Leonard: Yeah, okay, sure, no problem, why don’t we just figure out where we’re going, and when we want to get there, and then rate of speed equals distance over time. Solve for R.

Penny: Or we could just wing it.

Leonard: That might work too.

Penny: Goodnight, Leonard.

Leonard: Goodnight. (He throws the camera a dirty look.)

Penny (opening door): Hi.

Leonard: Yeah, hi, listen, I know what’s been bothering you about us, and I have the answer.

Penny: What are you talking about?

Leonard: First I want to say that it’s not Sheldon’s fault, he tried very hard to keep your secret, if Howard hadn't drugged him he would have taken it to his grave.

Penny: He told you?

Leonard: Yes, but it's okay. Now that we know what the problem is, there’s a simple solution. (Hands her a brochure.)

Penny: Pasadena City College?

Leonard: A place for fun, a place for knowledge. See, this man here’s playing hacky sack, and this girl’s going to be a paralegal.

Penny: Wow, I get it, because Dr. Leonard Hofstadter can’t date a girl without a fancy college degree.

Leonard: Well, it’s really not that fancy, it’s just a city college.

Penny: Right, but I have to have some sort of degree to date you?

Leonard: That doesn't matter to me at all.

Penny: So, it’s fine with you if I’m not smart.

Leonard: Absolutely. (She slams the door in his face.) Okay, this time I know where I went wrong. (Looking up and seeing the camera) Oh, bite me!

Video
500px|center|A short, funny clip from the episode.