The Lizard-Spock Expansion

"The Lizard-Spock Expansion" is the eighth episode of the second season of the  sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, November 17, 2008.

Summary
Howard accidentally gets the Mars rover stuck in a ditch while trying to impress Stephanie Barnett. Stephanie finds herself more interested in Leonard than Howard and dates Leonard instead.

Extended Plot
Sheldon, Raj and Leonard are arguing about what to watch when Howard shows up with an on. Howard explains that this costume along with his negs (Negative Compliments meant to throw a woman off their game) are all a part of his plan to pick up women. He then tries it on Penny, but miserably fails.

Later, Leonard and Sheldon are debating on what to watch when Howard calls with an emergency, the gang heads over to the university. Howard then explains he got the Mars rover stuck in a crevasse while trying to impress Stephanie Barnett, a girl he picked up at the bar. Howard appoints Leonard to drive her home as she doesn't have permission to be there. On the way home, Stephanie passionately kisses Leonard. He felt guilty about it, but after confirming that Howard didn't have a shot with her Leonard makes out with Stephanie. After they determine they can't fix the situation, Howard has them steal all the security recording and wipe the information discs.

A informs the gang that because of the loss of data,  is unlikely to determine the cause of the Mars rover's "malfunction." Leonard heads out to meet Stephanie at her place, Leonard and Stephanie make out and proceed to initiate sexual intercourse, while Howard continually calls about having dinner at his mother's house.

At the Laundry room, Penny notices Leonard's new clothes and asks who's the girl he's dating. Leonard then fills her in and she assures him that he is not a bad person for stealing Stephanie from Howard. Leonard tries to inform Howard that he is dating Stephanie, but before he is able to do so, Stephanie calls Howard to inform him about it. Howard then says Leonard is dead to him.

Later, Leonard tries to talk to Howard, but he continues to pretend Leonard is dead to him. Stephanie stops by and tries to speak with Howard; he acknowledges her but doesn't speak to her. Stephanie then mentions that her roommate Lisa would be disappointed to not meet Howard. She had just gotten out of a relationship. Upon hearing this statement Howard is overjoyed and acknowledges both their existences.

In the final scene, Howard is seen sending a to Lisa on the phone, when the boys call his attention to the news announcement which told that the Mars rover, which had fallen into the crevasse, had found conclusive data that there may have been life on Mars, but they will never know who to credit for this discovery. The episode ends with Howard saying, "Son of a bitch."

Critics

 * "I really want to like this episode, the comedy is good, the focus is on Leonard for once but unfortunately I can’t. The writers lack of thought it annoying and again they limit the show. There seems to be a desire from the producers to keep the show from evolving. That’s a loss for the viewers because this show has the potential to be so much more." - The TV Critic's Review
 * IMDb user reviews

Costume Notes

 * Sheldon starts with his red Robot Evolution tee, then wears his Ames Brothers "Destroyer" t-shirt, then his light blue Robots tee  and finally his light gray "Life on Mars" shirt.
 * Leonard wears a red tee from an unknown chess tournament, his blue shirt featuring a record player, a dark tee with a squirrel from an unknown wildlife sanctuary,  and ends with a dark colored tee with unknown design (jacket problems, again).

Quotes

 * Sheldon: Oh, look! Saturn 3 is on.
 * Raj: I don't want to watch Saturn 3. Deep Space 9 is better.
 * Sheldon: How is Deep Space 9 better than Saturn 3?
 * Raj: Simple subtraction will tell you it's six better.
 * Leonard: Compromise. Watch Babylon 5.
 * Sheldon: In what sense is that a compromise?
 * Leonard: Well, 5 is partway between 3 and…never mind.
 * Raj: I'll tell you what. How about we go 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'?
 * Sheldon: Ooh, I don't think so. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of 'Rock-Paper-Scissors', players familiar with each other will tie 75-80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest 'Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock'.
 * Raj: What?
 * Sheldon: It's very simple. Look -- Scissors cuts Paper, Paper covers Rock. Rock crushes Lizard, Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes Scissors, Scissors decapitates Lizard. Lizard eats Paper, Paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, Rock crushes Scissors.


 * Stephanie: I’m sorry. I totally interrupted you. What, what, what were you saying?
 * Leonard: Just said Howard’s a terrific guy. He’s got a great sense of humor, he loves his mother, a lot, some people say too much.
 * Stephanie: I really like that you’re such a loyal friend.
 * Leonard: Yeah, I am loyal. You know, if you look at the big picture. Just, out of curiosity, did he ever have a shot with you?
 * Stephanie: Are you insane? The guy was wearing an eye patch.
 * Leonard: Then why did you?
 * Stephanie: He said that I could drive a car on Mars.
 * Leonard: Got it. So, can I see you again?


 * Announcer: A NASA spokesman states that due to the loss of data, they will most likely be unable to determine the cause of the Mars Rover’s malfunction. This is not the first time an exploratory mission to Mars has ended in disappointment.
 * Howard: Thank God for Plan B.
 * Penny: Howard, didn’t you say you worked on the Mars Rover?
 * Howard: No, you’re mistaken.
 * Penny: Yeah, when we first met, you said that if I went out with you, I could drive a car on Mars.
 * Howard: I don’t know what you’re talking about.


 * Mrs. Wolowitz: (to Howard) Who is it?!
 * Howard: Leonard!

Trivia

 * Sheldon is a fan of, Raj likes ', and Leonard proposes watching , since numerically, it's between the two. This devolves into arguing over which is better, and only resolves to somewhat agree that ' is worse than the others (see the Note).
 * "Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock" is an expansion of the classic Rock-paper-scissors game by, which turns the classic three-way game into five-way, while keeping the original associations in the three way game, as so:
 * SCISSORS cuts PAPER
 * PAPER covers ROCK
 * ROCK crushes LIZARD
 * LIZARD poisons SPOCK
 * SPOCK smashes SCISSORS
 * SCISSORS decapitates LIZARD
 * LIZARD eats PAPER
 * PAPER disproves SPOCK
 * SPOCK vaporizes ROCK
 * ROCK crushes SCISSORS
 * The (Defense Readiness Condition) numbers do indeed count down, with a lower number indicating a higher-level of emergency than a larger number.
 * On the series  (episode: Flushed [2012]), the protagonists Ethan, Benny and Rory draw lots by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock.
 * In the season 1 episode, "The Grasshopper Experiment," Leonard lightly scolds Sheldon for having left with Raj's date, saying friends should not do such things. However, he himself practically does the same thing in this episode, the major difference being that he intended to date Stephanie, while Sheldon had no romantic intentions.
 * The ringtone on Howard's cellphone (which is heard occasionally in future episodes as well) is "She Blinded Me With Science" by, which was used as the theme music for the unaired pilot episode. Also Sheldon refers to "hind quarters", which he also mentioned in the unaired pilot.
 * Goofs: Reality shows are filmed, edited na dhten broadcast. Those models would no longer be at the same location when Howard and Raj watched them on TV.