The Nerdvana Annihilation

The Nerdvana Annihilation is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. It aired on April 28th, 2008.

Plot Summary
Leonard accidentally buys a full size prop of the time machine from the movie The Time Machine. As the guys attempt to bring it up to their apartment they block the stairs and Penny ends up missing work. She scolds Leonard for having all these toys and so he tries to get rid of them all. But Sheldon points out Penny’s hypocrisy and she apologizes.

Extended Plot
Sheldon is complaining about his food to Howard and Raj. Leonard called their attention as he found a miniature time machine prop from the sci-fi film "The Time Machine" up for auction on the internet. Leonard accidentally bids $800 because he wanted to be a part of it and later explained that he doesn't have $800 to blow on a miniature time machine. Howard explains that Leonard doesn't need to worry as expert online bidders do something called Sniping which means they enter the winning bid at the last moment. But in the end, Leonard won the auction and since he doesn't have the money all four of them place $200 and share it. Soon, they found out the miniature time machine was actually an actual size time machine prop. They slowly get it up to their apartment by stairs when they bump into Penny who is running late for work. Since the huge time machine is obstructing the stairwell, Sheldon suggested that Penny go to the roof and jump over the small gap to the next building and use their stairwell. After successfully moving the time machine to the apartment, the gang is extremely excited. Suddenly, Penny barges in furiously, she is angered as Sheldon's suggestion failed. In her anger she criticized the gang's obsession for toys, comics, costumes, etc. Leonard is deeply affected by this, additionally he dreamed about bravely aiding Penny to work. The next day, Sheldon caught Leonard packing up all his toys to sell it away, soon Howard and Raj come by and along with Sheldon, they try to stop Leonard from selling it. Upon hearing the fuss the gang was making, Penny came to see what was going on. Sheldon immediately calls Penny a hypocrite and points out that she also collects toys such as Care Bears. Penny apologized to Leonard and tells him that his toys are what made him who he was. Leonard then decides not to sell his toys as he sees Penny leaving with her boyfriend, Mike. In the final scene, Sheldon suffered from Morlock infested dreams.

Quotes
(Upset by Penny's comments, Leonard sits in the time machine)

Sheldon Cooper: Leonard, it's two in the morning.

Leonard Hofstadter: So?

Sheldon Cooper: So, it's my turn.

Leonard Hofstadter: What if I knock you unconscious right now?

Sheldon Cooper: It won't change the past.

Leonard Hofstadter: But it'll make the present so much nicer.

(Leonard has just played with the time machine)

Leonard: That was fun! (Others laugh with excitement.)

Raj: My turn!

(Penny comes in and is upset with the guys.)

Penny: OK! First of all, what you call a gap, was nearly 3 feet wide; I slipped and skinned my knee.

Leonard: Are you OK?

Penny: Azzzzzz! Second of all, the door to the stairway of the other building was locked, so I had to go down the fire-scape which ended on the third floor, forcing me to crawl through the window of a lovely Armenian family, who insisted I stay for lunch.

Leonard: That doesn't sound too bad?

Penny: It was eight courses of lamb and they tried to fix me up with their son.

Leonard: Sorry.

Penny: Not Done! By the time I finally got to work, they'd given my shift away. Yeah, that's right, I lost an entire day's pay thanks to this, this...

Sheldon: Time Machine.

(Penny stares at Sheldon, giving him an evil glare.)

Leonard: The lights flash and the dish spins, you wanna try it?

Penny: No! I don't wanna try it; my god, you are grown men, how can you waste your lives with these, stupid toys and costumes and comic books?! And now that! That...

Sheldon: Again, Time Machine.

Penny: Oh Please! It's not a time machine, if anything, it looks like something that Elton John would drive through the Everglades.

Sheldon: It only moves in time. It would be worse than useless in a swamp.

Penny: Pathetic! ALL OF YOU! Completely Pathetic! (Penny leaves, others are in silence)

Raj: My turn! (Leonard stands there while others continue to play.)

(Sheldon, Raj and Howard are trying to stop Leonard from selling his stuff. Penny comes outside to see what the fuss is about.)

Penny: What the hell's going on?

Sheldon (to Penny): You hypocrite!

Penny: What?

Sheldon: Little Miss "grown-ups don't play with toys"! If I went into that apartment right now, would I not find Beanie Babies? Are you not an accumulator of Care Bears and My Little Ponies? And who is that Japanese feline frolicking on your shorts? Hello, Hello Kitty!

Penny (to Leonard): OK, OK, Look, if this is about yesterday, Leonard, I am really sorry about what I said, I was just upset.

Leonard: No, I needed to here it.

Penny: No you didn't, look, you are a great guy, and it is the things you love that make you who you are.

Howard (To Raj): I guess that makes me large breasts.

(The time machine arrives to the guys in which they find out it is life-size and not miniature.)

Leonard: How on earth are we gonna get it upstairs?

Howard: We could just take the dish off and put it in the elevator.

Leonard: Yes, but the elevator's been broken for two (actually five) years.

Sheldon: I've been meaning to ask you. Do you think we should make a call about that?

Howard: Not necessary. I have a Master's in Engineering. I remotely repair satellites on a regular basis. I troubleshoot space shuttle payloads. When the Mars Rover started pulling to the left, I performed a front-end alignment from 62 million miles away. (pushes the button of the broken elevator and then listens to see if it comes down.) No, that baby's broken.

Critics
"An excellent story which showcases the three main characters and their dichotomy perfectly. It also advances the overall story of Leonard trying to become the right man for Penny. With the time machine providing some laughs this is an excellent episode overall." - The TV Critic's Review

Trivia

 * Including shipping, Howard works out that purchasing a Time Machine is less than $4/pound, whereas cocktail shrimp are $12.50/pound
 * Leonard's first time trip he chooses to be March 10th, 1876, the date Alexander Graham Bell made the first call on his new invention, the telephone. Though to solve the technical issue of travelling across space as well as time, and explaining his presence to Mr. Bell, Sheldon suggests going forward in time to obtain a cloaking device. In the Star Trek series, Captain Kirk steals on stardate 5027.3, which converts to January 10, 2328. (This refers to the Star Trek episode "The Enterprise Incident", which was actually set in the 2260's).
 * Raj encourages Howard to "look up 'dibs' in Wikipedia" to validate his claim to Leonard's Golden-Age Flash action figure. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Dibs.
 * The mint-in-the-box action figure Leonard threatens to open if his friends don't let him pass is a "rare, mint condition, production era Star Trek: The Next Generation Geordi La Forge without his VISOR in the original packaging".
 * Raj said he will match the offer for Leonard's collectibles plus a 1000 Rupees and Sheldon asked "What's the exchange rate?". Raj replied "None of your business". 1000 Indian Rupees is approximately 22 USD.
 * Leonard says, "I’m selling it all to Larry down at the comic book store. He offered me a fair price for the whole collection." This might be "Lonely Larry" seen in The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary, The Wheaton Recurrence, and The 21-Second Excitation.
 * Sheldon mentions Penny is an accumulator of Care Bears, while, in The Dumpling Paradox, Howard said, "Ah, well then, we’ll probably need to talk about your stuffed bear collection."
 * Leonard states that the elevator had been broken for two years (it was 2008 when this episode aired, so it would be 2006) when in fact it's been out for since 2003 (5 years in 2008) years due to an explosion he caused with rocket fuel before after they suggest getting the time machine up through the elevator. Since he was the one responsible for the accident, it is most possible that he wanted to keep it secret from the general public.