The Ornithophobia Diffusion (10 Nov. 2011)

Sheldon must overcome his fear of birds while Leonard and Penny attempt to hang out together strictly as friends.

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
Mayim Bialik	...	Amy Farrah Fowler
Melissa Rauch	...	Bernadette Rostenkowski
Blake Berris	...	Kevin
Ashley Austin Morris	...	Laura

Storyline

A blue jay perched on his apartment window ledge is too much for ornithophobic Sheldon to handle. As no one - even the authorities (gasp) - seems to want to help him shoo away the bird, a scared Sheldon does whatever he can to get rid of the bird in any way he can. He turns to his two biologist friends, Amy and Bernadette, who try to help him get him over his fear. Their attempts have unexpected results. Meanwhile, Penny asks Leonard if he wants to go see a movie with her. He realizes that Penny's invitation is not a date, despite he deep down wanting it to be. But once he gets over the notion that this event is not a date, Leonard is able to relax and enjoy his time out, even more than when they were actually dating. As Leonard makes it abundantly clear to Penny that it not being a date has its own consequences, Penny decides to take her own actions to prove to Leonard that it is indeed not a date.

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Plot Keywords:

bird | blue jay | ledge | movie theater | reference to jennifer aniston | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2011 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chuck Lorre Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

21 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sheldon first reveals birds scare him.

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Goofs

When Bernadette takes the photo of Sheldon and his bird, the bird looks to the left (on the phone's screen, you can clearly see when the photo is being taken). On the posters in the staircase, the bird faces the camera almost directly. According to the bird's viewing direction, the photo must have been taken about two seconds later.

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Quotes

Penny: Oh, hey. If we hurry, we can make the new Jennifer Aniston movie.
Leonard Hofstadter: Oh, yeah, sure. There's also an amazing documentary about building a dam on a river in South America.
Penny: OK, but the Jennifer Aniston movie has Jennifer Aniston, and she's not building a dam.
Leonard Hofstadter: Can't argue with that. I'll get the tickets.

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Crazy Credits

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #366 [Image of a cluttered desk containing a Mac SE, a glass of bourbon, dirty ashtrays, pencils, erasers, etc.] This photograph was my vanity card when I was working on Grace Under Fire and Cybill. I remember deciding on its composition by asking myself what were some of my favorite things. The answer, as you can see in the picture, was tobacco, bourbon and an old Mac computer. Eighteen years later, I still love my Mac. The other two items, despite my eternal affection, have been replaced with a bronchial inhaler and a metal folding chair in a church basement.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Bang Theory: The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition (2011)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

See Leonard and Penny go out as friends in "The Ornithophobia Diffusion" ep of "The Big Bang Theory"

Penny asks Leonard to a movie but since they've broken up, it's only as friends. Leonard agrees since Sheldon is too busy trying to get rid of a bird he's afraid of. Since Leonard knows he's not going to have sex afterward, he picks the movie and makes Penny pay her share. Oh, and since Sheldon has failed to get rid of the bird, he enlists Amy and Bernadette to help him...This was another quite funny ep of "The Big Bang Theory" with some new behaviors on the Leonard and Penny front. It's interesting to see them trying to change personalities to impress new potential dates. And then there's the way Sheldon changes his attitude when it comes to a potential pet. All in all, "The Ornithophobia Diffustion" was another worthy episode of this still-funny enough series.