The Rothman Disintegration (16 Feb. 2012)

Sheldon battles Barry Kripke for a coveted office at the university. Penny receives a very unusual gift from Amy.

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
Joshua Malina	...	President Siebert
John Ross Bowie	...	Kripke
Lynn Philip Seibel	...	Professor Rothman (as Lynn Phillip Seibel)

Storyline

With Professor Rothman's retirement - or what could be considered him being forced out due to mental instability - there is a battle in the physics department between Sheldon and Barry Kripke for his lucrative office space. Each feels entitled to the office, Sheldon because he has a longer tenure and is smarter, Kripke because he said dibs and was actually in the office first. Their department head will not deal with the matter and President Siebert wants them to figure it out themselves, he who doesn't really care who gets it. So Leonard, Howard and Raj try to determine a fair "duel" to see who should get the office, the activity not one that they are equally adept at, but rather one that they are equally bad at. Meanwhile, Amy gives her bestie Penny a gift to show her how much she appreciates Penny in her life. Unfortunately for Penny, she hates it and doesn't know what to do with it, especially due to its large size and Amy noticing if it went missing.

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Plot Keywords:

basketball | mini trampoline | stick | rock paper scissors | bare chested male | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 2012 (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:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" game appears again, which is a game that was last seen in season two.

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Goofs

When Kripke says "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" he doesn't have a lisp.

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Quotes

Sheldon Cooper: This is a university, not a playground. Offices are not assigned because someone called dibs.
Leonard Hofstadter: You just called dibs.
Sheldon Cooper: Shut it.

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Crazy Credits

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #378 I do not interact with Facebook, Twitter or any of the other social networking platforms. My reasoning is simple. Why in the world would I want to share my private thoughts and feelings with the world at large? What good could possibly come from me having a convenient outlet to express myself to millions of people? The more likely outcome is that in a misguided attempt to be funny or cute, I'd say something stupid and wind up getting publicly raked over the proverbial coals. Which is why I think the wiser path is to keep my opinions to myself. For example, if I were to feel moral outrage over an organization riddled with pedophiles expressing their moral outrage over contraception, I certainly wouldn't tweet about it. And the photographs I've taken of myself wearing nothing but oven mitts and a tiara will never be shared on a Facebook page.

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Connections

Features Grease (1978)

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Soundtracks

"We Go Together"
(uncredited)
Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

User Reviews

"The Rothman Disintegration" was another great ep of "The Big Bang Theory"

With Professor Rothman (Lynn Phillip Seibel) forced to retire because of his mental health, both Sheldon and Kripke call dibs on his office. Since university president Siebert won't take sides, however, they both have to battle it out in a sports duel since neither are good at that. Basketball is chosen. Neanwhile, Amy gives Penny a giant painting of the two of them together as a "bestie" gift which Penny doesn't like (especially since her expression in it is obviously pained) but does her best to hide her real feelings to Amy. I'll stop there and just say that the writers have done it again in crafting an excellent ep of "The Big Bang Theory"! So on that note, I highly recommend "The Rothman Disintegration".