The Friendship Turbulence

"The Friendship Turbulence" is the seventeenth episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode first aired on March 6, 2014.

Summary
Bernadette tries to decrease the amount of friction in Howard and Sheldon's friendship, while Penny's car breaks down and she is afraid she has to go back to work at The Cheesecake Factory.

Extended Plot
While having  in Apartment 4A, Bernadette tucks Raj’s into the back of his. This action is the closest that Raj has had to in two years. Raj's comment makes Howard very uncomfortable. Raj wants to talk about something other than his depressing life, so Sheldon brings up the topic of Penny's depressing. Penny did turn down a part in the to Serial Apist, her earlier  where she appeared. She would have been the cross of her previous character and the, running around the film with huge gorilla  and. Per Penny, "total crap". Leonard wants to know why she won't take this part since a lot of successful start out in bad movies. Also Penny must know what she is doing turning down paid work and burning through her savings. The gang looks up expecting a. Discussing failed careers, Sheldon brings up Howard's work as just an. Bernie then wants to know why Sheldon is also so mean to her husband. Leonard then adds that he is excited that Penny got offered a part and only surprised that she would rather stay and do nothing. Penny now leaves. Sheldon then gives Bernadette details of ten of his  by Howard. When they first met, he said that Sheldon looked like a cross between and, See Three Pee Wee Herman. Since then he has messed up his slide presentations and subscribed Sheldon to inappropriate.

Amy has Raj walk her to her. Amy wonders about his  site which Raj has given up checking. Amy had also lost heart over her web profile, but eventually she did find Sheldon even though they have only ed once in three years as points out by Raj.

Howard visits Sheldon's office and wants them to be better s. Sheldon thinks what they have now is too much. Howard really wants to move their friendship forward and first suggests that they stop each other. Also, is flying Howard down to  to give a talk and he has two. Since Bernadette can't go, he is asking Sheldon and will give him a tour of NASA and take him to see his mother. Sheldon agrees to go as long as it's not a that might get him  to.

Raj visits Amy and shows him a 's profile who had responded to Raj's dating site. Emily is both and  and has no large  according to Raj. Raj runs his fancy ic response by Amy who thinks that he should just simply ask her out for and not sound desperate and creepy. Raj then asks Amy to be his and talk to her for him.

Penny returning with Sheldon from the with some  for his trip. Penny's starts to make rattling  and smoking. Sheldon reminds her of the again. He wonders if the problem is minor and then the car stops producing a lot of smoke. The check engine light finally goes off.

In the the guys are playing a  and Sheldon keeps referring to "his good friend Howard". Raj is and tries to show everyone that they are such good friends that they finish each other's. Raj wonders if he can go too, however is a little late to get planes tickets.

Penny reports that her car is not worth ing. She tries to get the role in Serial Apist 2, but it was given to someone else. Penny says that now someone is going to go on and tell how she got her break in a dumb gorilla movie because of an actress who thought it was beneath her. She has to get her old job back at The Cheesecake Factory though Leonard does offer to take her to.

Amy responds to Emily who doesn't think she is right for Raj since he is too to  to her directly. Amy is going to try and talk him up again when she meets her for coffee because she has a lot in common with Amy.

Bernadette and Howard pick Sheldon up. He won't come down until Howard proves that Bernadette doesn't have an air fresher hanging from her rear view. Sheldon shows up and is excited about the trip. Howard remarks that it isn't everyday he gets to tour NASA with a real. Sheldon wonders who that astronaut is forgetting that Howard went into. On the plane Sheldon needs to visit the little s' room. Howard gets a bit because despite his attempts to be a better friend, Sheldon still constantly says irritating things. Howard mentions that he is an astronaut, but Sheldon didn't acknowledge it. When Sheldon was a astronauts were his es and Howard going into space was hard for him. Then he adds that it made him realize that they will send anyone up there which causes Howard not to let him out of his seat. They start to feel some which Sheldon first denies it bothers him. Howard experienced worse returning from space. As the bumping gets worse, they both acknowledged their.

Leonard is picking up Penny so she can get her old back. She is thrilled since she left telling the es and that she'll see them at the. Leonard tries to make Penny feel better by lightening the mood, however he is treading a thin line between her liking it because she feels better and her hating him for making her feel worse. He opens the of a strange car that Penny mentions is not his. He tells her that he thought they would take her car. The car is nothing fancy, but she can use it to go to auditions and doesn't have to return to her old job. Penny is shocked and hugs Leonard.

Emily and Amy are having coffee and she still tries to match the two of them together. She calls Raj a and regular guy who then shows up uninvited. Raj tells her that a guy would not barge in, however he still comes across creepy. She calls him a weird guy with no and leaves. She also ditches Amy for a something they were going to do. Raj ruined any chance for for either of them.

On the, the turbulence is very bad as both Howard and Sheldon apologize for everything they ever did to each other. Sheldon feels that if Howard wasn't in his life, he would have a big in it. Finally the plane settles down and they are still holding hands together. Sheldon doesn't want to let go.

Critics

 * Jesse Schedeen of IGN:"...while "The Friendship Turbulence" did have one subplot focused on Leonard and Penny, it balanced that out with others that paired Sheldon with Wolowitz and Amy with Raj. The end result was a nice mix of the familiar and the new. Unfortunately, the decision to focus equal attention on all three plotlines ensured that none really received the attention it deserved...Sheldon and Wolowitz did their best to bury the hatchet this week and try and build a friendship around something more substantial than trading insults...And it was funny to learn that their decade-long feud started when Wolowitz called Sheldon "C-3Pee Wee Herman." Harsh, maybe, but pretty darned accurate...Finally, we got more of the always enjoyable Raj/Amy pairing. I like seeing these two bond over their mutual social awkwardness and loneliness...the decision to focus equally on all three subplots robbed the episode of a lot of its potential. The end result was still entertaining, just not the gem it could have been."
 * Dhruv Rao of The DR Club criticized the use of drama, and gave the episode a C.

Trivia

 * Penny's car finally breaks down due to her "check engine" light which Sheldon, Amy and Beverly Hofstadter all have been mentioning to her for years.
 * Penny is offered a part in the sequel to her first movie "Serial Apist" previously mentioned in the "The Hofstadter Insufficiency" (S7E1).
 * Raj previously dated a girl called Emily in "The Wiggly Finger Catalyst" (S5E4).
 * First time that Bernadette has worn her hair in a ponytail.
 * The dining table Leonard bought in the previous episode is now gone, after Sheldon got his way.
 * First episode where characters are on an.
 * Laura Spencer is the third actress interested in Raj that has appeared on the TV series "Switched at Birth". Also Tania Raymonde as Yvette in "The Locomotive Manipulation" and Katie Leclerc as Emily in "The Wiggly Finger Catalyst".
 * Sheldon feels that the character Penny would have played in the film (a half gorilla with larger hands and feet) was perfect for her; Penny's large farm hands and her father's large feet have been previously referred to by him.
 * First episode where Sheldon and Howard appear to be friends.

Quotes
Raj: Can we please talk about something other than my depressing love life?

Sheldon: How about Penny’s depressing acting career?

Leonard: Hey. I mean, it’s been a little tough, but Penny’s following her dreams and in my book that is not depressing.

Penny: Aw, thank you.

Penny: Well, I’ll have you guys know I turned down a part in a movie last week.

Leonard: Why would you do that?

Penny: Because it was crap. It was the sequel to that awful killer gorilla I was in.

Bernadette: Serial Ape-ist? I thought you died in that?

Sheldon: She does. Forty-two minutes in.

Raj: While showering topless, sixteen minutes after a brief side butt during a pillow fight with her sorority sisters.

Sheldon: I have an eidetic memory. I don’t know what his problem is.

Penny: Okay. Well there are no shower scenes in this one. They just try to clone me from my corpse, but my DNA gets mixed with the ape’s DNA and I end up running around with giant gorilla hands and feet.

Sheldon: Am I missing something or isn’t that the part she was born to play?

Bernadette: Can I ask you something? Why do you constantly feel the need to put down my husband?

Sheldon: Ten years ago, upon first seeing me, your husband claim that I looked like C3PO and Pee Wee Herman. And he called me C-3-PeeWee Herman.

Penny: [Car clanking] Uh, that doesn't sound good.

Sheldon: Remember the old days when I used to point out that your check engine light was on?

Penny: Yes.

Sheldon: Well, get ready to stroll down memory lane. Penny, your check engine....

Penny: Yeah, I know it’s on, Sheldon! Oh, no, no, no, no. I cannot afford this right now.

Sheldon: Maybe it’s just something minor. [Engine clanks] [Steam hissing] Ooh, good news,the light just went out.

Leonard: Are we playing individual or teams?

Raj: Teams are fun.

Sheldon: Oh, in that case I’d like to be partnered with my good friend Howard.

Penny: Now that girl’s gonna get discovered and become famous and go on Letterman and talk about how she got her big break on some cheap monkey movie all because some dumb girl thought it was beneath her. Leonard: At least they talked about you on Letterman.

Bernadette: This is gonna be a long weekend for you.

Howard: You’re the reason I’m doing it.

Bernadette: I said to stop insulting each other. I didn't tell you to take him on a romantic getaway.

Howard: How do I know what you said? Damn you and your noise canceling breasts.

Penny: This isn't your car.

Leonard: I know. I thought we’d take yours.

Penny: I don’t understand.

Leonard: It’s nothing fancy but it’ll get you to auditions and at least for now you don’t have to go back to waitressing.

Penny: I don’t know what to say.

Leonard: Don’t say anything.

Penny: Oh my God.

Leonard: I mean you could say thank you, I did just buy you a car.

Sheldon: [Tap-tap-tap], Howard [Tap-tap-tap], Howard [Tap-tap-tap], Howard.

Howard: What now?

Sheldon: I have to go to the bathroom.

Howard: You just went to the bathroom.

Sheldon: I didn't use it because it didn't seem safe. Despite all my emails, the toilet didn't have a seat belt.

Howard: Well, it still doesn't.

Sheldon: I realize that, but safety concerns went out the window two apple juices ago.

Howard: How about in the car? I’m an astronaut and you know it. You just don’t like admitting it because you’re jealous.

Sheldon: Well, truth be told, as a child I did dream of going to space. Those astronauts were my heroes and when you got to go it was hard for me. Because it made me realize they'll just send anyone up there.

Leonard: You sure you want to do this?

Penny: Yeah. Why wouldn't I want to get my old job back? It’ll be fun to see everyone. I haven’t talk to them since I said, “I quit! See you at the Oscars, bitches.”

Sheldon: I’m sorry for every mean thing I ever did or said to you.

Howard: I’m sorry too. It’s all my fault.

Sheldon: If you weren't my friend, there’d be a hole in my life.

Howard: Thank you, Sheldon.

Sheldon: Kind of like when Firefly was cancelled. But not as big.