The Big Bang Theory: Season 1, Episode 7

The Dumpling Paradox (5 Nov. 2007)

TV Episode  -   -  Comedy
8.2
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.2/10 from 958 users  
Reviews: 1 user

When Howard hooks up with Penny's old friend, it ruins the nights on which all of the guys play the game "Halo."

Director:

Writers:

(creator), (creator), 4 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 45 titles created 16 Sep 2011
 
a list of 17 titles created 09 Mar 2011
 
a list of 9319 titles created 10 months ago
 
a list of 220 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 68 titles created 8 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Dumpling Paradox (05 Nov 2007)

The Dumpling Paradox (05 Nov 2007) on IMDb 8.2/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Big Bang Theory.
« Previous Episode | 8 of  136 Episodes | Next Episode »

Videos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Two and a Half Men (TV Series 2003)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

A hedonistic jingle writer's free-wheeling life comes to an abrupt halt when his brother and 10-year-old nephew move into his beach-front house.

Stars: Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones, Charlie Sheen
Modern Family (TV Series 2009)
Comedy

Three different, but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.

Stars: Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen
Raising Hope (TV Series 2010)
Comedy | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Jimmy becomes a single parent to an infant after the mother he had a one-night stand with ends up on death row.

Stars: Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt
Coupling (2000–2004)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X  

On average, men and women think about sex every six seconds. Shorten that to every second, and you've got Coupling. It's more than just a one night stand! When a couple gets together, it's ... See full summary »

Stars: Jack Davenport, Gina Bellman, Sarah Alexander
The IT Crowd (TV Series 2006)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X  

The comedic adventures of a ragtag group of tech support workers at a large corporation.

Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson
Franklin & Bash (TV Series 2011)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Lawyers and lifelong friends Jared Franklin and Peter Bash are recruited by a large firm's major partner after winning a high-profile case.

Stars: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Breckin Meyer, Kumail Nanjiani
My Name Is Earl (2005–2009)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A ne'er do well wins $100,000 in the lottery and decides to right all the wrongs from his past with his newfound realization.

Stars: Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly
Rules of Engagement (TV Series 2007)
Comedy | Romance

Two couples and their single friend, all at different stages in their relationships, deal with the complications of dating, commitment and marriage.

Stars: Megyn Price, Patrick Warburton, Oliver Hudson
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Three twenty-somethings share a Boston apartment and hang around (and work) at a pizza place.

Stars: Traylor Howard, Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo
The Middle (TV Series 2009)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

The daily mishaps of a married woman and her semi-dysfunctional family and their attempts to survive life in general in the city of Orson, Indiana.

Stars: Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Charlie McDermott
Royal Pains (TV Series 2009)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

ROYAL PAINS centers on a young E.R. doctor who, after being wrongly blamed for a patient's death, moves to the Hamptons and becomes the reluctant "doctor for hire" to the rich and famous. ... See full summary »

Stars: Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Reshma Shetty
The Inbetweeners (2008–2010)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

The exploits of four friends, who are socially only marginally above what one of them calls "the freaks", are presented as they grow from their late teen years into adults and as they go on... See full summary »

Stars: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison
Edit

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Mrs. Wolowitz (voice)
...
Automated Cell Phone Voice (voice) (as Kimberly D. Brooks)
Edit

Storyline

Penny receives an unwanted visitor from Nebraska named Christy. In Penny's eyes, Christy is a loose woman with no morals. Hence, Christy is ripe for the picking by Howard. As Howard and Christy have a spontaneous get together using Penny's bedroom, Penny decides to ask Leonard and Sheldon if she can sleep overnight at their place, which elicits different responses from Leonard and Sheldon. Beyond Penny's sleeping problem, Howard hooking up with Christy causes more issues. First, Leonard, Sheldon and Raj are now missing a fourth in their regular activities. And second, they can all see that Christy is only using Howard. They have to figure out how to get Howard back. Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Comedy

Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

| | |

Release Date:

5 November 2007 (USA)  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sheldon keeps his red toothbrush in a Plexiglas under UV light. See more »

Goofs

The sounds heard and actions described by Penny ("I just blew off your head!") do not match Halo's game play. See more »

Quotes

Penny: I know how she is. She'll keep having sex with you as long as you buy her stuff.
Howard Wolowitz: Really?
Penny: Yeah.
Howard Wolowitz: YAY.
See more »

Crazy Credits

In the opening scroll of the time line when it gets to 91,000 there is a mistake the dates read 93,000BC 92,000BC 91,0009C 90,000BC for some reason 91,000 is a 9c not a BC. See more »

Connections

References Doctor Who (1963) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
The Dumpling Paradox is the first excellent episode of "The Big Bang Theory"
8 November 2007 | by (Baton Rouge, La.) – See all my reviews

As Leonard, Sheldon, Howard Wolowitz, and Raj Koothrappali play the TV video game Halo, Penny barges in and asks if she could stay for awhile as her cousin from Nebraska, Christi (Brooke D'Orsay), makes herself at home in her apartment there. Turns out she can't stand her as Christi has a slutty reputation, especially with members of Penny's immediate family! Hearing this, Howard goes to Penny's apartment and charms the socks off Christi so much they spend the night there. So Penny not only defeats Sheldon on Halo, she begs to stay overnight at his and Leonard's place to Sheldon's consternation! Next day, Christi agrees to live with Howard who lives with his mother! This upsets Sheldon's sense of equality later at a Chinese restaurant since instead of splitting for four, they have to split for three. When the following week, Penny gets asked to be a fourth partner on Halo again, she declines having already dressed up for dancing. So they all go to Howard's house where they overhear arguments between his mom and Christi. Not wanting to stay for that, Howard goes back for another round of the game...This is the funniest episode yet of "The Big Band Theory". I must also mention how nice to see James Hong again as the restaurant owner here after seeing him as the wheelchair crime boss on "Chuck" a few weeks earlier. As always, most of the best lines came from Sheldon though Simon Helberg also has his share. So glad this is doing so well on Monday night on CBS! Now let's hope the writer's strike ends soon so we'll see new episodes through the end of the season and not just til January...


6 of 10 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Lucy (Kate Micucci) got to stay! jasperdegroot-491-274721
Tenure? Renny085
MORGAN FAIRCHILD as 'Penny's' Mom! racine84
Johnny Galecki/Leonard needs to lose weight TheNippleConspiracy
How does Leonard get all those women that are way WAY out of his league? curieux16
Did anybody else thing more would happen such as... tmramgrl2000
Discuss The Dumpling Paradox (2007) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?