The Loobenfeld Decay (24 Mar. 2008)

Leonard lies to Penny so that he and Sheldon can get out of watching her perform. However, Sheldon believes that the lie has too many loose ends, so he comes up with a new, unnecessarily complex one to replace it.

Director:

Mark Cendrowski

Writers:

Chuck Lorre (creator), Bill Prady (creator),

Stars:

Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Johnny Galecki	...	Leonard Hofstadter
Jim Parsons	...	Sheldon Cooper
Kaley Cuoco	...	Penny
Simon Helberg	...	Howard Wolowitz
Kunal Nayyar	...	Raj Koothrappali
DJ Qualls	...	Toby Loobenfeld (as D.J. Qualls)

Storyline

Penny has the role of Mimi in a one-day workshop stage production of Rent, and asks Leonard and Sheldon if they want to go see her perform. Based on hearing Penny sing badly, Leonard and Sheldon decline, with Leonard even lying to her to get out of it. Sheldon is feeling uncomfortable in being a part of Leonard's lie, so he takes proactive measures to get out of that lie. Sheldon's actions don't hurt Penny but rather confuse Leonard. But Sheldon takes his proactive measure to the extreme, utilizing the hidden talents of Toby Loobenfeld, a research assistant in the particle physics lab.

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Plot Keywords:

lying | bad singing | positronium

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 25, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chuck Lorre Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

21 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode is the first time that Sheldon's trademark knock turns up, when he knocks on Leonard's bedroom door. There are two previous episodes in which Sheldon knocks on a door (actually Penny's door): S01E02 The big bran hypothesis and S01E05 The hamburger postulate, but in both he knocks 'normally'.

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Goofs

When Sheldon drops the chicken in the trash, it's sitting on the edge of the can as he lets it go and the bag tips over on its side as it falls in. When he goes back to the trash can to get the chicken, the bag is sitting upright in the can allowing him to just grab the handles and pull the bag out.

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Quotes

Howard Wolowitz: It's your Millennium Falcon, you and Chewbacca can do whatever you want. Me and Princess Leia will find something else to do.

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Crazy Credits

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #198 Censored! Well, wouldn't ya' know it. Just two episodes back from the strike and I've already managed to write a vanity card that is completely unacceptable to the good folks at CBS. I wasn't trying to offend. Honest. I just saw an opportunity to poke some proverbial fun, to knosh on the hand that feeds, if you will. They were not amused. If you would like to read my latest exercise in poor judgment, I'm sure you can find it somewhere on that thing we writers were striking to claim dominion over. Just to be on the safe side, I apologize in advance. Please know that my aim was only to provoke a bit of gaiety through the judicious use of a little thing I like to call "the truth." Unfortunately, in the television business, the truth rarely sets anyone free. More often than not, it just pisses them off.

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Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Big Bang Theory Theme"
Composed and Performed by Barenaked Ladies

User Reviews

The Loobenfeld Decay was a mostly amusing episode of "The Big Bang Theory"

Sheldon and Leonard are arguing the logic of the Terminator movies and TV series when they hear some awful singing. It's Penny who tells them she's performing in a local production of "Rent" for one night only and invites them to see her on stage. Leonard mentions that he and Sheldon are going to a symposium that night though Sheldon almost ruins that lie by nearly mentioning the real night of that. After she's gone, Leonard mentions to his roommate why he lied to Penny and the necessities of doing so for social purposes. Sheldon decides to replace that fib for a more complicated one about a cousin who's in rehab. That "cousin" later appears in the form of a fellow colleague/aspiring actor who argues about characterization with Sheldon. Hardly matters since Penny taped her performance and gets Leonard to watch while he leaves Sheldon and the "actor" alone with their bickering...Pretty funny, if not hilarious episode of "The Big Bang Theory". As usual, Sheldon has much of the best lines though D. J. Qualls as the fake cousin steals the few scenes he's in with his constant embellishments. Penny herself has her moments when trying to explain to Howard and Raj the story that Sheldon told about his "cousin". Oh, and as a Filipino born in this country, I was not offended by Qualls "childhood abuse" from a chaplain from that Asian country. Though according to Chuck Lorre's censored vanity card, it was originally supposed to be a Catholic priest! (Again, while Catholic, not offended.) Very glad this show is back.