The Pants Alternative 

Sheldon seeks help from the rest of the gang in overcoming his fear of public speaking when he receives an award.

Director:

Mark Cendrowski

Writers:

Chuck Lorre (created by), Bill Prady (created by)

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

Storyline

Sheldon is this year's recipient of the college's Chancellor's Award for Science. He is surprised at being named the winner, but he believes he has been the deserving recipient every year he's been there. He changes his mind about accepting the award when he learns he has to make a speech at the awards dinner. Unbeknown to the others, Sheldon has stage fright. His four friends vow to help him overcome this fear, each playing a different but what they see as an integral part, so that he can accept the award. But Sheldon instead stumbles across a more old fashioned technique at the awards dinner to be able to make the speech.

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Plot Keywords:

fainting man | award | awards dinner | speech | stage fright | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

22 March 2010 (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:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9

Did You Know?

Trivia

Embarrassing YouTube videos also factor into several other episodes: Sheldon (Jim Parsons) & Leonard (Johnny Galecki) fighting in episode 1.9, The Big Bang Theory: The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization (2008); Raj (Kunal Nayyar)'s way-too-revealing toast at Howard (Simon Helberg)'s stag party in episode 5.22, The Big Bang Theory: The Stag Convergence (2012); and Howard's screaming for nine minutes aboard the ISS in episode 6.2,. The Big Bang Theory: The Decoupling Fluctuation (2012).

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Goofs

Sheldon claims that the X-Men were named after Professor Xavier, but the group was actually named because they had mutations. In the X-Men #1 comic book, Xavier says they "...possess an extra power...one which ordinary humans do not!! That is why I call my students...X-Men, for EX-tra power". Though technically a character mistake, it could also be considered deliberate on the part of the writers to set up Sheldon's "C-Men" punchline.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Raj Koothrappali: OK, in Avatar when they have sex on Pandora they hook up their ponytails, so we know their ponytails are like their junk.
Howard Wolowitz: Yeah, so?
Raj Koothrappali: So, when they ride horses and fly on their birds, they also use their ponytails.
Howard Wolowitz: What's your point?
Raj Koothrappali: My point is if I were a horse or a bird I'd be very nervous around James Cameron.

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Crazy Credits

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #282 We are often accused of using a 'laugh machine' on The Big Bang Theory. [Image of audience members] This is our laugh machine.

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Connections

References Avatar (2009)

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Soundtracks

History of Everything
(uncredited)
Written by Barenaked Ladies
Performed by Barenaked Ladies
[Series theme song played during the opening titles]

User Reviews

Tom Lehrer Rocks

I hope people don't overlook this man's genius (Tom Lehrer) in writing the lyrics to "the Elements Song", basically singing the entire periodic table to the tune of "Gilbert & Sullivans" "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General." I believe any true geek who enjoys this sitcom and does not know about Tom Lehrer should familiarize themselves with him and especially his songs about mathematics! Just saying. He's very old now and will probably not be with with us much longer. Also, people in my age group (40-50) will remember him on the Electric Company television program ... he wrote "Silent E" and other classics.