"The Hook-up Reverberation" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired Monday, October 6, 2014.
Summary[]
After Emily meets everyone, she is not cool with Penny because Penny hooked up with Raj. The guys think about investing in Stuart's comic book store to help him get restarted after the insurance settlement was not enough.
Extended Plot[]
The guys are in the Caltech cafeteria talking about a project to mutated chicken DNA and create a chicken dinosaur which Sheldon finds fascinating. Howard tells him that he is afraid of both. Sheldon countered that a chicken dinosaur salad sandwich would be totally Mesozoic. Raj reminds them that Leonard and Penny finally get to meet his girlfriend Emily. Sheldon then adds that a study finds that when one gets into a romantic relationship he usually loses two close friends. What about him and Amy? Sheldon denies that there is nothing romantic between them in which Leonard heartily concurs.
Howard is still complaining about his mother and Stuart living together especially since she got him cable TV. Raj and Emily enter Apartment 4A and meet Leonard and Penny. She is a resident at Huntington Hospital and Sheldon immediately makes an appointment with Emily to have some freckles checked out on his butt, which baffles Amy. Emily also agrees to take a sales call from Penny to help her practice with a real doctor.
The posse is at Penny's place discussing Emily and Penny doesn't think that she likes her. No one ever says they don't like you to your face according to Penny though Amy lived a completely different life from her. Penny had a P.E. teacher that she didn't think liked her and it turned out she liked her too much and she got an "A" after attending a Melissa Etheridge concert. Amy can't believe Penny went through her entire life without anyone saying they didn't like her to her face; she would say it if Penny didn't have such nice cheekbones.
The guys are visiting Capitol Comics Store since Stuart's place is still closed wishing he would reopen. Raj tells them that he may not reopen since the insurance company settlement wasn't enough he hasn't begun to rebuild. Leonard suggests that they put up the money Stuart needs becoming part-owners. The idea sounds appealing as long as they can think of a way to compete with Capitol Comics Store. Sheldon wants to purchase the comic book store, spread a rumor that coming there will give you genital warts, and then buy a large sack to contain all the money. The other three casually remark on how brilliant that plan sounds.
Penny shows up at Emily's office with coffee and Chai tea. Emily says that she is busy and wants her to start. Penny starts describing her company's birth control pills and Emily pays no attention to her. Penny stops and asks if there is a problem between them. Emily reluctantly tells Penny that she knows that the two of them casual hooked-up. Penny denies that that was what is really was, though they did kiss and get naked together. Penny then admits that it was a hook-up.
In Apartment 4A, the guys discuss how to set their retail store|store apart from the competition. Leonard says that kids like them so maybe they should find a way to get them into their store. Howard had problems getting to the comic book store as a child, so Raj's idea is to get a van and drive around the neighborhood picking up children. Leonard asks sarcastically if they are going to use candy to lure them into the van. Raj thinks that that is another good idea. Penny storms in complaining to Raj about what he told Emily. Raj says that he tells everyone what happened to them. Penny states categorically that they only fooled around. She sarcastically thanks him that now Emily hates her and she leaves slamming the door. Sheldon says that that is one friend down and one to go. Raj snaps that Sheldon is next, which he denies since he thinks that Raj is crazy about him.
The posse is again talking about Emily. Penny doesn't care that she slept with Raj, because all girls have a past. Amy clears her throat to indicate that she doesn't have any. Penny changes it to almost everyone has a past. Penny doesn't know how you can just get someone to like you. Amy suggests hanging around her and acting like she is her friend until you wear her down. Before you know it, you're in her house, eating her food and drinking her wine. [Just like Amy]. Penny dismisses the idea. Bernadette tells her to use her sales training to sell "Penny". After Penny dismisses that idea, Bernadette cracks that maybe more people would like her if she didn't crap all over their ideas. Amy sides with Penny since they go way back, though she was friends with Bernie longer. Penny realizes that at one time she didn't like Amy. Amy shushes her, strokes her cheek and says that Amy is here now. Still has that girl crush on Penny.
At Capitol Comics Store, Sheldon and Howard are thinking over the great times they could have if they owned a comic book store. Leonard wonders out loud whether Penny ever left anyone off of her list of former lovers. Sheldon says that she must have or she would still be reciting the list. Howard reassures him that he is the one that Penny wants to marry and he thinks that complete honesty is not the best thing in relationships. After telling them about when he was too honest with Amy, Leonard wondered why he was in the conversation since he knew nothing about women. Sheldon reacts that he knows enough to ask his better halves about their potential investment in the comic book store.
First, Leonard talks to Penny who wonders why they should even be talking about finances. They are getting married. Then Penny wonders if mounds of credit card debt will affect them financially.
Next, Howard mentions an investment opportunity to Bernadette who immediately says "nope". They are saving up for a house and it sounds "risky." Howard then mentions that he used to go to the comic book store with his Dad and Bernie changes her mind even though she knows he made up the story.
Finally, Sheldon talks to Amy saying that he is very excited about this project and if she isn't also excited, it could throw their relationship into jeopardy. Amy asks Sheldon if a grown man and an accomplished scientist would be wasting his time and intellect on a store that sells picture books of men flying around in their underwear. Sheldon says "no", so Amy agrees that it is a great idea.
At Penny's apartment, Raj and Emily enter. Emily apologizes for being so rude in her office the other day. Raj loves both of them friend-wise and hopes that they can get along. Penny tells her that their fling was a long time ago and that she is engaged now. Emily tells her that they're fine. She had thought she could live with it until she saw how pretty Penny was. Penny returns the compliment. Raj then adds that it says something about the man who could bed you both. He adds that Raj makes it saying that comments like that is why he was alone most of his life.
Howard and Bernadette are visiting Stuart at his mother's house. Howard proposes that his friends invest in his store so he can open up. Stuart thanks him, but Howard's mother gave him the money to rebuild his business. She'll do anything to help her little bubala. Howard charges up the stairs telling his mother that she is cancelling that check and that he's her bubala; however, she is out buying Stuart shirts at Target.
Raj and Emily are getting ready to leave saying that they are glad that they worked everything out between them. The two couples plan to have dinner together soon. Right between Penny's door, both women say, "I hate her."
The guys are disappointed that their comic book store dream did not come true. They wish that they could have had a place where they could sit down and read their comic books in peace in big comfy chairs. They don't realize that that is exactly what they are doing in Apartment 4A.
Credits[]
- Guest starring:
- Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Eric Kaplan & Jim Reynolds
- Story: Steve Holland, Maria Ferrari & Tara Hernandez
Notes[]
- Title Reference: Emily's reaction to Penny and Raj having spent the night together three years ago.
- Taping date: September 9, 2014.
- Chuck Lorre's vanity card. [1]
- This episode was watched by 15.94 million people with a rating of 4.8 (adults 18–49).
- Total viewers including DVR users 20.85 million.
- The Big Bang Theory was ranked #x for the week ending xx October 2014.
- This episode aired in Canada on October 6, 2014, with 3.301 million viewers with a weekly ranking of #1.
- In Australia, it aired on November 3, 2014, with a weekly ranking of #1 and 1.123 million viewers.
- Episode transcript [2]
Critics[]
- Jesse Schedeen for IGN - It seems this season of The Big Bang Theory is following a pattern. One mediocre or average episode is followed up by a much more entertaining installment...It was nice to see actress Laura Spencer actually put in some face time as Emily, rather than Raj simply referring to his girlfriend offhand once again...(T)he bulk...actually focused on the guys as they debated pooling their money and investing in Stuart's comic shop. This proved to be a consistently amusing little conflict...This episode succeeded in building on several running plot threads...Hopefully the writers will manage to keep both Emily and Stuart in the mix as Season 8 moves forward. [3]
- Dhruv Rao of The DR Club gave the episode a B, stating that "Chuck Lorre reprized the season four finale idea to add depth to Raj's new relationship", but criticized the resolution of the episode. [4]
- IMDb user reviews [5]
Trivia[]
- The guys visit Capitol Comics Store, the comic book store that Stuart and Bernadette previously visited in "The Occupation Recalibration" (S7E13).
- Interestingly, the owner is absent in both scenes of this episode.
- With this episode, all of the gang has now met Emily.
- Emily appears to not like Penny since she has a past with Raj.
- Raj will tell anyone that he slept with Penny since she is so beautiful..
- Raj and Penny's hook up took place at the end of season 4 in "The Roommate Transmogrification" (S4E24).
- Raj and Penny didn't actually sleep together and instead just fell asleep, however, Penny promised she wouldn't tell anybody this and allows Raj to tell people they slept together.
- Chuck Lorre has announced that he has written his last vanity card though it proved not to be true.
- Bernadette mentioned that she and Howard were saving up for a house, though they'd wind up inheriting Mrs. Wolowitz's house after her death.
- Sheldon fears dinosaurs and chickens. The latter somewhat references his fear of birds in "The Ornithophobia Diffusion" and the chicken that chased him when he was a kid.
- First use of the set edge to show characters on both sides of door simultaneously, instead of inter-cutting between them.
- This is the first episode in which Penny drops a hint that she may have been bi-curious. She casually admits her high school PE coach turned out to have a close personal interest in her, which amounted to an unwise teacher-pupil crush. She took the young Penny to see a Melissa Etheridge gig, and Penny played along with the idea to ensure she got A-grades. Penny does not disclose how far she had to go to get those A's but casually says "it all worked out just fine". Penny does this again in the Season 9 episode "The Big Bear Precipitation", when this time she trades uses of a colleague's forest cabin against having to go to an Indigo Girls concert with her.
Quotes[]
- Sheldon: Yes, but you tell me a dinosaur chicken salad sandwich wouldn't hit the Mesozoic spot.
- Amy: So, Howard, is Stuart still living with your mom?
- Howard: I don’t want to talk about it.
- Bernadette: But he’s going to.
- Howard: My mom got him cable. In my whole life, growing up in that house, no cable. Do you know how many HBOs that leech had my mother get him? Seven. Seven HBOs. Seven.
- Bernadette: Long story short, they have seven HBOs.
- Raj: Hey, guys.
- Sheldon: Hello.
- Raj: Emily, you know almost everybody here.
- Emily: Hi.
- Raj: And this is Leonard, this is Penny.
- Emily: Oh, it’s so nice to meet you.
- Leonard: Nice to finally meet you, too.
- Penny: Hi.
- Emily: Hello.
- Leonard: Wow, Raj, you were not lying about her.
- Raj: I told you she exists.
- Penny: I hear you’re a dermatologist.
- Emily: Uh, yeah. I’m a resident at Huntington Hospital.
- Sheldon: Oh I like their emergency room. Even if it turns out you don’t have dengue fever, they still let you take home a lollipop.
- Bernadette: You know, Penny just started training to be a pharmaceutical sales rep. Maybe she can practice on you some time.
- Penny: Oh, it would be great to practice on a real doctor.
- Emily: Yeah. I’m sure that’d be fine.
- Sheldon: I have some odd freckles on my buttocks. Can I make an an appointment for you to look at them?
- Emily: Um, OK. I guess.
- Amy: I’m with him three years, nothing. She’s with him two minutes and he’s taking his pants off.
- Sheldon: I miss Stuart’s place. All this loud music and exposed brick. What, is this a comic book store or a rave at the third little pig’s house.
- Penny: Hey.
- Emily: Hi.
- Penny: Thank you so much for letting me practice my sales pitch on you. I really appreciate it.
- Emily: Sure.
- Penny: Um, I brought coffee. I wasn’t sure what you like, so I got a regular, a cappuccino and a Chai tea. Since you like Raj, I thought you might be into that.
- Emily: Thanks. If we could get started. I’m a little busy.
- Penny: Oh, yeah, sure. Let me just get out my materials. Leonard gave me this briefcase. He used to carry it around in high school. You can still see the dent where they whacked him with it. Okay, I would like to talk to you about our new birth control pill, Femevra.
- Emily: Great.
- Penny: So, Femevra’s triphasic design provides balanced hormonal exposure.
- Emily: All right.
- Penny: It has also been shown to cause significantly fewer side effects than other oral contraceptives. Although it can cause acne, which, if you ask me, kind of increases its effectiveness as a contraceptive.
- Emily: Funny.
- Penny: Okay, I’m sorry. Did we get off on the wrong foot? Because since like the other night, I kind of feel like you might have a problem with me.
- Emily: No, it’s fine.
- Penny: Are you sure because it doesn't feel fine?
- Emily: Are you sure you want to talk about this? Okay. If you really want to talk about this, I do have a problem.
- Penny: Oh my God. Tell me, what did I do?
- Emily: Look it’s nothing. It’s just…Raj told me a while ago you two hooked up.
- Penny: What? (crossly) Oh, why would he say that?
- Emily: Did it not happen?
- Penny: Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a hook-up.
- Emily: Did you kiss?
- Penny: Yeah.
- Emily: Were you naked?
- Penny: Yeah.
- Emily: So it was a hook-up.
- Penny: No. Yeah.
- Penny: You told Emily we hooked up?
- Raj: Um, well. In my defence, I tell everyone.
- Penny: Why would you say that?
- Raj: We were having a conversation about past lovers.
- Penny: What? We weren't lovers. Come on. Everybody knows we didn't sleep together. We got drunk and fooled around. Why couldn't you just leave me out of this?
- Raj: We were being honest. You would leave me out of the conversation with the next guy if you dumped Leonard?
- Leonard: (annoyed) Why say that?
- Penny: Yes!
- Raj: Well, I would never leave you off my list. And not just because without you, we're playing fast and loose with the word "list".
- Penny: (angry) Well, good job. Now she hates me!
- Raj: (dejected) Great.
- Sheldon: On the bright side, that Oxford study was right. One friend down (Raj glares at Sheldon) I wonder who you're going to lose next.
- Raj: You! OK, it's you! Y-you're next.
- Sheldon: (smiles) No! You're crazy about me.
- (Raj continues to glare at Sheldon)
- Penny: I don’t know what Emily’s so upset about anyway. Even if I had slept with him, so what? Everybody has a past.
- (Amy clears her throat)
- Penny: Almost everybody has a past.
- Bernadette: (she's informing Penny crossly) Come on, look how pretty you are. I’m sure this isn’t the first girl to hate you.
- Penny: (flattered) It’s not.
- Bernadette: And I’m sure you can turn it around.
- Penny: How? You can’t force someone to like you.
- Amy: What if you just hang around and act like her friend until you wear her down? I mean, next thing you know, you’re in her home, you’re eating her food, drinking her wine.
- Penny: No, that won’t work.
- Amy: You’re right. Cheers.
- Bernadette: Oh, I know. Why don’t you use your sales training to go back down there and sell yourself?
- Penny: What?
- Bernadette: Yeah. But instead of selling a drug, you’d be selling Penny. it’s cute.
- Penny: It’s stupid.
- Bernadette: (she's finally very cross) Well, maybe people would like you more if you didn’t crap all over their ideas.
- Amy: I’m gonna go with Penny on this one. Then again, why wouldn’t I? I mean, we go way back.
- Penny: Oh, my God. I didn’t use to like you.
- Amy: Shh. Amy’s here now.
- Amy: Can you see how a grown man, an accomplished scientist, who invests in a store that sells picture books about flying men in colorful underwear might be wasting both his financial and intellectual resources?
- Raj: Excuse me. Can I say something? I just love both you guys and I want you to get along. And when I said “love” I meant as a friend. And, ah, way too soon. Right?
- Raj: It’s true. You’re both gorgeous. Kind of says something about the man who could bed you both. {Laughs.} You get why I’ve been alone most of my adult life.
- Penny: OK, good night guys.
- Emily: Bye.
- Penny/Emily: I hate her.
- Bernadette: Last night was fun. What did you think of Emily?
- Penny: (grumbling) I don’t know. I kind of got the sense she didn’t like me.
- Bernadette: Did she say she didn’t like you?
- Penny: Of course not. No one ever says they don’t like you straight to your face.
- Amy: (laughing) We have led different lives.
- Bernadette: You guys just met. Why would she feel that way?
- Penny: It’s just this vibe I got.
- Bernadette: I’m sure you’re worried about nothing.
- Penny: Yeah. You’re probably right. I used to think my high school P.E. teacher didn’t like me, but it turned out, she liked me a little too much.
- Bernadette: Really?
- Penny: Yeah. It was fine. We went to a Melissa Etheridge concert, I got an A, it all worked out.
- Bernadette: When you go to Emily’s office to practice, you’ll see. It’s fine.
- Penny: Yeah, I hope you’re right.
- Amy: You really went your entire life without anyone saying I hate you to your face?
- Penny: Yeah.
- Amy: I’d say it now, but look at those cheekbones.
- (Penny smiles at Amy's comment)
- Howard: Mm. So, me and the guys were talking about this great investment opportunity.
- Bernadette: Nope.
- Howard: But you didn’t hear what it was.
- Bernadette: I know.
- Howard: Oh, come on.
- Bernadette: Fine. What is it?
- Howard: It’s to help reopen the comic book store.
- Bernadette: Nope.
- Howard: Well, hear me out.
- Bernadette: Howard, you know we’re saving up for a house.
- Howard: I know, but all the guys are doing it. We’re splitting it four ways, so it’s really not that much money.
- Bernadette: It just seems like a risky investment.
- Howard: I get that. I, okay, look, the real reason this is important is, before my dad left me and my mom, he used to take me to the comic book store. It was one of the few things we did together.
- Bernadette: Oh. Howie, I had no idea.
- Howard: Well, I don’t like to talk about it.
- Bernadette: Oh, baby. That story’s made up, isn’t it?
- Howard: That’s how much buying a comic book store means to me.
- Stuart: So, what brings you by?
- Howard: Well, I don’t need a reason, it’s my house.
- Stuart: Technically, it’s your mom’s house, but we certainly want you to feel welcome.
- Howard: I’m always welcome.
- Stuart: Mm, just try and call first.
- Bernadette: Okay, let’s get down to business. Howie was thinking about putting up some money to help you reopen the store, but before that happens, I have a few questions.
- Stuart: Oh. I appreciate the offer, but actually your mother already gave me the money.
- Howard: What?
- Stuart: Yeah. I told her it was too much, but she said she was happy to help out her bubala.
- Howard: Excuse me. (walks up the stairs, now angry) Ma, you are cancelling that check, and Stuart is not your bubala, I’m your bubala! You can’t have more than one bubala!
- Stuart: I don’t know who he’s talking to. She’s at Target, buying me shirts.
Gallery[]
References[]
- [6] Taping Report by Kazzie