The Friendship Contraction

The Friendship Contraction is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. It aired on February 2nd, 2012.

Summary
Tired of The Roommate Agreement, Leonard activates Clause 209, which reduces his relationship with Sheldon to mere acquaintances after Sheldon reminds him of the clause. Meanwhile, Howard tries to get his astronaut nickname for when he joins NASA's upcoming spring mission.

Plot
Sheldon sneaks into Leonard's room early in the morning, all dressed up for an emergency. He sets off a siren on his phone, waking Leonard up for the emergency prepared-ness drill. Leonard is not at all in the mood for Sheldon's antics, and wants to go back to sleep. Sheldon persists on, saying he tried to make the drill fun that night. Leonard chooses a "catastrophe card", turning out to be a 8.2 earthquake that hits Pasadena, which Sheldon sees as an "excellent choice". Leonard groggily puts on his hard hat, and afterwards, Sheldon pushes him into the wall, saying there's a hypothetical aftershock.

In the Caltech cafeteria, Howard shows Raj and Leonard the press release from NASA for the space expedition. Raj reads off the list of astronauts, and Howard's name is at the end. Raj suggests that Howard should get himself a cool nickname, as all the other astronauts have one. Howard points out to Raj that the other astronauts have to pick it for him. Raj says that if he had to have a nickname, it should be "Brown Dynamite", seeing as he is really brown dynamite (reference to skin color). The guys notice that Leonard puts in six sugars into his coffee, and Howard figures out they must have had an emergency drill night. Sheldon enters the room, remarking on how bad Leonard did on the test, saying that if it were a real situation, he would be dead.

Leonard can't deal with Sheldon's incessant whining, and says that he's going home, asking one of the other guys to drive Sheldon back home later. Sheldon interjects, saying that he needs someone to take him to the dentist, and as per the rules of the Roommate Agreement, he has to comply. Being fed up being told what to do, Leonard says that he is sick of the roommate agreement, as he is a roommate and not a chauffeur. Sheldon asks whether or not he wants to activate Clause 209, whcih will nullify their friendship. Leonard immediately signs, and heads home to sleep. At Apartment 4A, Howard announces that he has some interesting news: The following week, he will be going to a NASA orientation and zero-gravity elimination drills (as Bernadette calls it, "he's gonna learn how to poop in space"). Sheldon enters, greeting everyone as his "friend", except for Leonard, who he addresses as Dr. Hofstadter. They both exchange their greeting, which is a chin jerk and "Sup!". Sheldon apologizes for being late, and goes to sit next to Amy, saying that she will be the one to take him to the dentist the next day. Amy explains that she can't, as they're in the middle of an experiment in her lab. Sheldon struggles to find someone to take him to various places, and in the end, no one wants to give him a lift to his destination.

Desperate for a friend and transport, Sheldon heads to Stuart at the comic book store. As a smokescreen before dropping the big question on him, he asks Stuart out about his family, who confirms that his mom and dad are alive, but his grandparents are not. Sheldon gives his condolences, and then moves on to a "cheerier note", telling Stuart about the teeth cleaning, and asks for a lift. Stuart declines, saying that he can't and that he really doesn't want to. In a hurt attitude, Sheldon leaves the store.

Back at the guys' apartment, Raj continues to try and get Howard to think of a nickname for himself. Howard declines most of Raj's suggestions, like "Buzz" and "Crash", and they finally find a suitable name: 'Rocketman". Leonard comments that it sounds pretty cool, but Howard persists that he can't choose his own nickname. They devise a plan to suggest the name to the astronauts. Howard has a Skype chat scheduled with astronaut Mike Massimino the following day, and during the chat, Raj will call Howard, who will set his ringtone to 'Rocketman', by Elton John, to plant the seed. Sheldon enters, and out of courtesy, Leonard asks him if he went to the dentist. Sheldon replies 'non', but says he found someone who can come over to his house to do it for him. Leonard stands up from his chair, addressing Sheldon that he would be happy to take him to different places, but he wants to do it as a friend, not because some agreement said so. Sheldon says that is not possible, and it would only work if the full roommate agreement is restored. He then exits the room, saying he has to call his dentist.

Still in the apartment, Leonard is watching television, when the power suddenly goes off. Penny enters their apartment to see if their power also went out, worrying that it might just be her apartment. Sheldon enters, implementing the power outage drill, fetching some equipment from the cupboard. Penny suggests that Leonard come to her apartment because she has candles, as Sheldon does not want to share his light with Leonard. Sheldon comments that that is a fire hazard, and that glow sticks are more appropriate. Leonard fetches his lightsaber, mocking Sheldon with it. Leonard chooses to go to Penny's apartment, and Sheldon tries one last time to persuade him to reinstate the agreement. Penny easily convinces him otherwise, and they leave.

In Penny's apartment, they share wine and pop bubblewrap over the lightsaber's light. Penny suggests they make-out, and Leonard quickly agrees, though remarks that he thought they were going slow. As they start, Sheldon bursts informing them that he'll be making s'mores, and that they should not be alerted if they smell marshmallows burning. Sheldon says that Leonard can join him, but only if he reinstates the roommate agreement. Leonard once again declines, and Sheldon leaves. Penny feels bad that Sheldon looks so sad, commenting that Sheldon misses his buddy, and suggests that Leonard go talk to him.

Over a Bunsen burner, Sheldon is cooking himself some s'mores. Leonard enters the room, commenting that he thought Sheldon believed that candles were dangerous. Sheldon disagrees, saying that it's a Bunsen burner, and he knows how to use it; subsequently, the marshmallow he's toasting is set on fire, and he's forced to put it out. Leonard goes on to say that he would be happy to help Sheldon, but at least wants some recognition and a "thank you". Sheldon counter-offers, saying that there could be a "Leonard's Day", where they celebrate him. And so, the agreement is restored. Penny enters, and explains how the power went out: Someone went down to the basement and pulled the main breaker switch. All eyes are on Sheldon since they know who probably did it.

At the Wolowitz house, Howard and Raj test out to make sure his ringtone is set to "Rocketman". Mrs Wolowitz yells and asks when Howard will eat his breakfast. Howard yells back, saying he doesn't have time for that, and that he has a video chat with NASA. The sound of a Skype call incoming is heard, and Howard answers. Mike Massimino appears on the screen, and they greet. Mike says the guys on the base calls him 'Mass', which Howard confuses for a scientific equation, when it turns out to be the shortened version of his surname. Howard's phone goes off, and plays his ringtone. Mike recognizes the tune, and asks out about it. Howard says that it's his favorite song. A second after this, Mrs Wolowitz yells to Howard that his Fruit Loops are getting soggy. Howard apologizes, and Mike then dubs his nickname to be "Fruit Loops".

Title Reference
Leonard and Sheldon, after a slight dispute over the safety drills and other rules Sheldon has in place, signs off on their friendship, using Clause 209 in The Roommate Agreement to do so.

Trivia

 * The Han Solo and Chewbacca figures are still on Leonard's nightstand (see The Roommate Transmogrification Trivia).
 * Leonard's Star Wars: Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi Luke Skywalker Force FX Green Lightsaber originally appeared in the second episode of the series, The Big Bran Hypothesis.
 * Stuart appears in this episode. His last appearance was during the episode The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition.
 * Mike Massimino, a NASA astronaut, makes his first cameo appearance. He is the first real-life astronaut to make a cameo on the show, and appears again in The Countdown Reflection.
 * In a NASA press release read aloud by Raj, it is revealed that Expedition 31 will launch this spring to the International Space Station and crew members will include Commander Tom "Tombo" Johnson, astronaut Mike "Supernova" Novachelic, and payload specialist Howard Wolowitz.
 * Howard's astronaut nickname is Fruit Loops. "Fruit loop/frootloop" is a colloquialism for "a crazy or stupid person" and a pun on the breakfast cereal Fruit Loops, which is the double entendre Massimino was going for, as an obnoxious exchange with Howard's mom about the cereal occurs while Massimino is on Skype with Howard (Cassell's Dictionary of Slang). As dramatic irony, the nom de guerre additionally refers to a "fruit" (slang for a homosexual person), in regards to his and Raj's odd and often commented-on relationship.
 * Sheldon's safety vest has the words "Apartment 4A Warden" on it.
 * Leonard's Day is established in this episode.
 * Stuart had a psychiatrist who committed suicide.
 * The Emergency Preparedness Drill occurs quarterly, or four times a year.
 * This episode is similar to The Large Hadron Collision, as Leonard and Sheldon are temporarily not friends over an argument regarding the roommate agreement. Both episodes are also indicative of Leonard's extreme rudeness at times aside from his all too casual sarcasm (e.g., "Sheldon, at this point, I would go by myself before I would take you"). Sheldon characterized him as a "cornucopia of social awkwardness" in The Desperation Emanation and commented that "Sometimes, your lack of social skills astonishes me" in The Spaghetti Catalyst, after Leonard says, "Tell me why you woke me up or I swear to God I will kill you". This can also be seen in The Pilot, The Loobenfeld Decay, and The Nerdvana Annihilation (e.g., Leonard: "I don't care;" "Get out;" "No, a time machine from Sophie’s Choice").
 * This episode became the most watched episode to date, surpassing The Precious Fragmentation from Season 3.
 * Leonard's Day is celebrated by Sheldon giving him a cheap greeting card.
 * Sheldon doesn't have a problem riding the bus, aside from the anesthesia problem, but doesn't appear to have his bus pants (The Bus Pants Utilization). He only complained about not being able to lash himself to the seat with bungee cords in The Euclid Alternative.
 * Leonard puts a volume of the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity in his bag while in the cafeteria.

Goofs

 * In The Russian Rocket Reaction, Sheldon revealed that he started his list of mortal enemies in the year 1989, when he was 9 years old. This means that he was born in 1980, between April and May according to The Peanut Reaction, which would mean that in February 2012, he would be 31 years old. However, in this episode, Leonard described Sheldon as a "30-year-old man who can't survive on his own". Yet, this can be overlooked, as it appears that Leonard was just being imprecise.
 * Sheldon tries to persuade Leonard to stay with him during the power cut with "all 61 episodes of the BBC series "Red Dwarf"", even though the DVD pack he is holding only contains the original 52 episodes. Of the other nine episodes, three are from a 2009 special that is not featured in the collection, and the other six are due to be broadcast later on in 2012.

Quotes
Leonard: I am sick of The Roommate Agreement!

Sheldon: ''Are you saying that you want to invoke Clause 209? Clause 209 suspends our friendship.''

Leonard: If it means I can go home and sleep, where do I sign?

Raj: ''Are you not looking at me? I am Brown Dynamite!''

Sheldon: ''Uh oh! Hypothetical aftershock! (Pushes Leonard on purpose). ''

Sheldon: That's why we wear hard hats.

Sheldon: ''We are now merely acquaintances. To amend the words of Toy Story: You have not got a friend in me!''

Penny: Sheldon, that's not what girlfriends are for... Although, you don't use them for what they're for, so what do I know?

Sheldon: Put on your hard hat and safety vest.

Leonard:'' Oh, fun! I get to spend another night in front of our apartment dressed like one of The Village people.''

Sheldon: After 3 months, you still make that joke, and I still don't get it.

Howard: This is going straight in my synagogue's newsletter.

Raj: Why did you put six sugars in your coffee?

Leonard: Because the cafetaria doesn't offer little packets of methamphetamine.

Howard: Emergency Drill Night last night, huh?

Leonard: Uh-huh!

Raj: Well, how did you do?

Sheldon: (coming in and sitting down at the table) ''I'll tell you exactly how he did. Readiness; unsatisfatory, Follows direction; barely, Attitude; a little too much, Overall; not only will he probably die in a fiery inferno, his incessant whining would most certainly spoil everyone else's day.''

Sheldon: Dr. Hofstadter.

Leonard: 'Sup!

Sheldon: 'Sup!

Sheldon:'' Now, rise and shine, sleepyhead! Half the town is probably dead! (In a sing-song voice)''

Leonard: I have to get a lock for that door.

Leonard: Sheldon, Canada is not going to invade California.

Sheldon: ''Yeah, really? You think those hippies in Washington and Oregon can stop them?''

Sheldon: ''Alright. An 8.2 magnitude earthquake devastates Pasedena, reducing minor edifices to dust, engulfing the city in flames, the streets flow with blood and echo with the cries of the wounded. Oh, excellent choice!''

Sheldon: Two years ago, after a deep gum cleaning, I thought I got on a bus, but somehow wound up on a booze cruise to Mexico.

Leonard: ''You call that a glow stick? (Pulls out his lightsaber) THAT is a glow stick.''

Video
thumb|left|351px|TBBT S5EP15 Promo

thumb|351px|left|TBBT S5E15 Sneak Peek

thumb|left|351px| TBBT S5x15 Canadian Promo

Source

 * Taping report from fanforum.com, generously provided by the user ennaxor.