The Transporter Malfunction (29 Mar. 2012)

Raj gets quite a surprise when he asks his parents to set him up on a date. Penny buys Leonard and Sheldon a pair of Star Trek keepsake collectibles, not knowing the effect it would have on Sheldon.

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
Melissa Rauch	...	Bernadette Rostenkowski
Brian George	...	Dr. Koothrappali
Alice Amter	...	Mrs. Koothrappali
Chriselle Almeida	...	Lakshmi

Storyline

To show her appreciation for all the free meals she's had at their apartment, Penny, using money from an acting residual check, gives Leonard and Sheldon each a gift: a vintage, mint, in-the-box, 1975 Mego Star Trek Transporter, with real transporter action - apiece. They both love their gift. It has additional special meaning for Leonard since it was given to him from Penny with love. And it has additional special meaning for Sheldon since his Leonard Nimoy Spock miniature action figure would fit in the toy. However, Penny is dismayed to learn that neither Leonard or Sheldon plan on opening their respective gift to play with it since doing so would diminish its value. Later, Sheldon, hearing the voice of his Spock miniature action figure in his dreams telling him to do so, decides to open his gift to play with it. The result makes him contemplate secretly switching his now useless toy with Leonard's mint condition, still-in-the-box toy. Meanwhile, on the question of whether he will ...

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Plot Keywords:

gift | action figure | dream | knock knock joke | matchmaking | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 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

One reason that Leonard Nimoy did not appear live as himself is that on the show he has a restraining order against Sheldon Cooper.

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Goofs

Sheldon identifies the transporter toy as made by Mego. However, in close-ups of the box, the PaliToy logo is clearly visible. While PaliToy made toys in the UK based on the Mego molds, and are virtually identical to the US-made versions, the difference is considered significant to collectors.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Penny: Oh my God, I love this chicken!
Sheldon Cooper: Oh, you know what they say, 'Best things in life are free'.
Penny: Okay, you're right, I eat your food a lot. Now, how 'bout this: you can raid my fridge any time you want.
Sheldon Cooper: Oh, that's very kind of you. Next time I have a hankering to wash down a D-cell battery with a jar of old pickle juice, I'll come a-knocking.

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Crazy Credits

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #382 Country Songs I Hope to Write Someday But Probably Never Will The pink and green are making me blue Last Night I dreamed you came back (and I woke up screaming) Lord, make me the man my dog thinks I am I love you, I'm stupid If two of us are the same, one of us is unnecessary My momma always told me to do what I love (so I joined the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) The problem with gettin' older, is I can't remember which lie I told her Your wife don't love me no more I came to on you A good excuse for bad behavior The tattoo I regret

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Connections

References Star Trek (1966)

User Reviews

Leonard Nimoy makes an appearance, sort of, on "The Transporter Malfunction" ep of "The Big Bang Theory"

In this ep of "The Big Bang Theory": Penny, since she's always eating at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, uses her commercial residual check to pay for two vintage 1975 Mego-Spock-transporter toys for Sheldon and Leonard. Neither wants to play with them since opening them would make them lose selling value. But then Sheldon dreams of you-know-who (Leonard Nimoy's voice) who tells how illogical it would be to not play with it. Meanwhile, after Howard demands Raj to tell him if he's bringing someone to his wedding, Raj tells his parents online about being ready for their matchmaking skills. So the woman they chose comes and she and Raj seem to hit it off but she has a surprise for him...Not as funny as the last few but still funny enough especially with the voice of the original Spock finally on the show! Love all the positions the Spock toy is positioned in with each camera cut and/or edit. And all of Raj's sexual vibes are also good for laughs. So on that note, "The Transporter Malfunction" was another good ep of "The Big Bang Theory".