The Big Bang Theory: The Misinterpretation Agitation (8x07)

Every once in a while an episode of this show comes along that makes me think maybe there's potential for it to get better. Maybe this show will talk about real issues like sexism and the difficulties of being a woman in the scientific community. Or about how men don't take no for an answer and how that can be really uncomfortable and even dangerous for women. This episode seemed to set up a lot of interesting issues about sexism and gender roles. How did they ultimately handle it? Well... let's take a look.

Bernadette tells Penny and Amy that she's been asked to participate in a magazine about the top sexy female scientists. Amy thinks it's a bad idea, because she doesn't think women should be noticed for their looks, but rather for their accomplishments. Bernadette says why not both? But Amy is deeply skeptical. Bernadette starts to feel bad. Later, Bernadette tells Amy that the article has been pulled, and Amy reveals that she wrote a letter to the magazine to explain how sexist the whole thing was. Bernadette gets angry - she thinks Amy was just jealous that nobody wanted her to express her sexuality. Amy leaves, hurt by Bernadette's words. Later, Bernadette apologizes for what she said.

Meanwhile, one of the doctors that Penny sells products to, Dr. Lorvis, shows up outside her apartment with flowers. He misinterpreted Penny's flirting in order to get a sale for real desire to start a relationship. Sheldon finds Dr. Lorvis and learns what's happening. When Sheldon tells Leonard, Leonard goes out into the hall to tell Lorvis that Penny is engaged. Dr. Lorvis seems upset - this is not the first time he has misinterpreted a girl's behavior. Sheldon invites Lorvis in for a hot beverage. Turns out, Lorvis is a doctor to a lot of really famous people, and he has a lot of memorabilia and collector's items from a lot of the guys' favorite shows. They all go over to Lorvis' house to look at it all.

Sheldon then makes a joke about how Leonard and Penny's relationship won't last. Lorvis hears this and has hope again for himself and Penny. He locks the guys in his basement with all the cool memorabilia, and rushes back to the apartment to try for another chance with Penny. He meets Amy before he can get up the stairs to Penny, and he decides to pursue her, instead. Later, after Penny and Amy learn that Lorvis has locked the guys up in the basement, they all run into Bernadette, and Lorvis looks like he's going to start hitting on her next. They all go back to the basement, where of course the guys are having too much fun playing Donkey Kong to care that they were locked up. Penny makes Lorvis apologize.

So... what do I think of this episode? I'm torn.

A lot of good ideas were presented here. We had a fairly interesting debate between Amy and Bernadette. Bernadette points out that she should be able to express her sexuality, and that it's her decision about whether or not to do the article. Amy says that what Bernadette does reflects on all female scientists, and that the idea of the article is wrong and sexist. I think ultimately Amy is right - Bernadette should be asked to talk about her career, not pose for pictures. However, Bernadette has a valid point. There should be nothing shameful or dishonorable about expressing her sexuality, and ultimately it should be her choice.

Interesting, right? But what do they do with it? Nothing! Bernadette says something horrible to Amy, which also could have led to interesting development, but instead they just make up and apparently that's that. I would have liked to see more of the ethical implications in play, here. Would Bernadette have participated in the article if Amy hadn't interfered? Would the article deal fairly with the science involved, or would it just be sexy pictures? We'll never know!

Then there's the stuff with Dr. Lorvis. He's inappropriate and vaguely stalker-y, and he clearly likes the idea of having a girl more than the actual women themselves. Several of the characters call him out on his behavior and tell him it's not okay. This could have been a cool way to address the inappropriate behavior of men when they do not respect a woman's boundaries.

What do we get instead? Lots of stupid jokes about how Leonard managed to get Penny, and no real resolution. Again, so frustrating! Why have these interesting setups if nothing will come of them?

Setting that aside for a moment, there were some funny jokes. I liked the list of celebrity patients and their ailments, and I loved the collection that Lorvis has acquired over the years. A toupee/tribble from William Shatner? I want it!

Also, Dr. Lorvis lives with his mother, and Howard makes a couple of comments about how it's pathetic. Raj is bemused by this, but Howard doesn't seem to see the irony. That was pretty great. I also loved Dr. Lorvis' "Mississippi" thing - he counted how long Penny touched his arm, and that's how he determined that she was interested.

It's nice that Leonard didn't try to tell Penny to stop flirting. He was upset to learn that she was flirting for her job, but he didn't say anything possessive or controlling, which shows us that Leonard is different from Lorvis, who doesn't seem to respect women as individuals.

I think I'll stop there. I feel pretty conflicted, because the setup for some of this stuff was actually oddly insightful for this show. But the payoff just wasn't there.

7/10