The Tangerine Factor

"The Tangerine Factor" is the seventeenth and final episode of the first season of the  The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, May 19, 2008.

Summary
After a bad breakup, Penny finally agrees to go out on a date with Leonard, but the two of them both develop doubts and turn to Sheldon, of all people, for advice.

Extended Plot
Howard is tutoring Sheldon in Mandarin so he can confront the Szechuan Palace; since he suspects that the restaurant is passing off as  Chicken (oranges are cheaper than tangerines). Suddenly, Penny barges in, yells at someone on the street, and throws an 80 Gig White Classic out the window. In her anger she explains that the person who she was yelling at, and whose iPod she threw, wrote about their sex life on his blog. Leonard goes to Penny's to find out what's happening but she furiously commands him to leave.

After a small talk with the boys, Leonard musters the courage to try again, Penny's anger has transformed into and she explains that her boyfriend, Mike, has posted intimate details about their personal life  and her close contacts have found it. Leonard tries to comfort her, unfortunately in his attempt he convinces Penny to get back with her boyfriend. Later, Leonard is bemoaning his screw-up, when Penny comes back and has a go at him for his "stupid advice", Leonard again goes over there to ask what the problem is and Penny explains that Mike was already with a different lady that she saw who had her legs wrapped around his neck. After Penny rants about how she goes out with the wrong guys, she then proceeds to explain the type of guys she should be going out with, those who are nice, kind and really care about her. The description fitted Leonard, so he promptly asks Penny out. Penny is a bit shocked, but then accepts because she has nothing to lose. "That's the spirit," concludes Leonard.

Sheldon is practicing his Mandarin, when Penny asks to talk to him while he's getting his mail about advice on Leonard. After many minutes, Sheldon proposes that they draw upon Schrödinger's Cat as an analogy-after explaining it. Penny can only know for certain whether her potential relationship with Leonard is good or bad by "opening the box".

Later at the cafeteria, Leonard also seeks Sheldon's advice on dating Penny. He merely says "Schrödinger's Cat" and Leonard understands. Penny and Leonard meet the next night for their date, but Penny wants to talk first. Leonard then asks her if she ever heard of Schrödinger's Cat, to which she says that she's heard far too much about it. Satisfied, he kisses her. Finally understanding what Sheldon tried to tell her, Penny proclaims that "the cat's alive" (she feels a connection with Leonard) and they rush off to dinner.

Sheldon is at Szechuan Palace, arguing with the manager about the Tangerine Chicken, however his incredibly flawed Mandarin leads the manager to think Sheldon is, and he threatens to call the police. Sheldon doesn't realize that he's speaking the language incorrectly and thinks that their annoyed behavior and their refusal to answer his questions prove that he's right about the Tangerine Chicken. Leonard and Penny avoid entering the place and running into Sheldon in the last moment.

Critics

 * "I believe that this final episode is the season's best. It is not the funniest but it does engage the emotions of the viewer more than any previous effort." - The TV Critic's Review
 * IMDb user reviews

Costume Notes

 * S01e17_recordplayer.jpgon wears his Riddler: Bat Question shirt, as well as "Triple Threat", a blue large plaid patterned t-shirt by Kirra (discontinued).
 * Leonard wears his light blue shirt featuring a record player, and his red "shards" t-shirt.

Set Notes

 * Seen on the cream-colored Ektorp chair in the living room: 20x20 Ikea throw pillow, Gurli Solid Orange.

Trivia

 * The 'little crush' that had on  was enough to launch the  when  stole her away.
 * The Schrödinger's cat analogy recurrent through the episode is mentioned again in "The Codpiece Topology", wherein Penny mentions it to a guy she goes out with, as well as in "The Russian Rocket Reaction", wherein Sheldon refers to "Schrödinger's Friendship".
 * Sheldon is correct in stating that are a measure of distance, not time.
 * The food restaurant is not seen again until the third season's episode "The Bozeman Reaction".
 * The board game that Howard, Sheldon, Leonard and Rajesh are playing in the scene where they are eating Chinese food is: Talisman: The Magical Quest Game, 4th Edition. It also appears in the previous episode, "The Peanut Reaction".
 * Sheldon says, "You also made a common grammatical mistake, you said when you meant ". According to Merriam Webster Usage Discussion of NAUSEOUS, such an insistence is a mistake.
 * First episode where Leonard and Penny were shown to be in an relationship.
 * In the cafeteria scene with Leonard and Sheldon, Sheldon picks up a salt grinder and "shakes" salt onto his food then does the same with a.
 * Penny agrees to the date Leonard partly because she has nothing else to lose.

Quotes
Sheldon: (Quoting incorrect Mandarin) "Show me your mucus, your mucus."

Chen: (In Mandarin) "Blow your own nose and go away."

Sheldon: "This is not tangerine bicycle."

Chen: (In English) "Crazy man. Call the police!"

Sheldon: "No, don't call the library, show me your mucus. Oxen are in my bed. Many, many, oxen."

Chen: (Shoos him away.)

Sheldon: "Oy vey!"

Howard: You know, I’m really glad you decided to learn Mandarin.

Sheldon: Why?

Howard: Once you’re fluent, you’ll have a billion more people to annoy instead of me.

Leonard: Okay, well, you know, this isn't that bad. It just paints the picture of a very affectionate woman who’s open to expressing her affection in nontraditional locales.

Penny: Oh, God!

Leonard: Elevators, parks, movie theaters, out of curiosity, is this subway the transportation system or Subway the sandwich shop?

Penny: Sandwich shop.