The 43 Peculiarity

"The 43 Peculiarity" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Thursday, November 15, 2012.^[1]

Summary

Sheldon has a daily 20-minute time period between 2:45 and 3:05, during which he spends locked in a Caltech basement room. Howard and Raj are determined to find out what he is doing. Meanwhile, Leonard is jealous over Penny's (male) college class partner, forcing Penny to accidentally admit something very important.

Extended Plot

Sheldon mentions one day in the cafeteria that he could, in theory, build a containment field to open a wormhole to another dimension the size of a Frisbee. When Sheldon leaves, he hands the napkin, on which he has been doodling some thought on a wormhole generator, to Howard. Howard wants to know if he wants to build it. Sheldon says that he wants him to wipe his chin; he has food on it.

After Sheldon leaves, Howard notices that Sheldon's pristine schedule has a lapse of 20 minutes every afternoon where no one knows where he goes or what he does. Raj guesses that he heads to the men's room, while Leonard corrects him since that is not on Sheldon's pristine schedule.

Later, Penny and Leonard are hanging out in her apartment. Penny is texting a fellow English student named Cole, who's working with her on an oral class project. Jealous, Leonard asks if he and Penny are still dating and is convinced that Cole is flirting with Penny, but Penny denies it and says that he's just being nice.

At the university, Raj and Howard have followed Sheldon into the hallway by his office, and when the two ask Sheldon to visit the genetics lab for a glow-in-the-dark bunny, Sheldon declines and denies that there is anything unusual. After Sheldon leaves, the two then meet his assistant Alex and ask her if she knows. She reveals that she doesn't, though she does know that corduroy makes too much noise to Sheldon and she now needs to find new pants. Afterwards, Raj and Howard follow Sheldon from behind, and see him entering an old storage room with his key. They try to eavesdrop to figure out what he is doing, but can't hear anything. Raj absurdly suggests that Sheldon might have chained up some celebrities that Sheldon likes, such as Leonard Nimoy, Bill Gates, or Stephen Hawking.

In Apartment 4A, Leonard is now spying on Penny's classmate through the door's peephole. Sheldon at first points out that he didn't even notice Leonard's presence, and then starts stating reasons for Leonard to worry. This includes attractiveness, height, vision, athleticism, and the ability to digest dairy products. Leonard remarks that he has better emotional maturity, and Sheldon points out the irony that he is spying on his girlfriend. Sheldon then points out positive qualities of Leonard, such as his choice of friends, he is a good sleeper, and he has great taste in grapes (because he buys the grapes Sheldon likes). Sheldon then adds that the guy may be a skilled hypnotist and cause Penny to act while not being aware, which Leonard finds ridiculous.

At the hallway, Howard and Raj are sneaking around and disagree over what they will be between cat burglars and ninjas. They then try to break into the room and find it locked, which Raj opens by picking the lock. After Howard pushes Raj into the room first for fear of booby traps, they find an almost empty room with a blackboard that has the number 43 written on it. Given Sheldon's apparent obsession with order and numbers, Raj and Howard try to decipher what the number means, but can't figure it out.

In the apartment, Leonard is still spying on Penny. After Penny finishes the class project with Cole, he is seen walking down the stairs to leave as Leonard follows him. Leonard then meets up with him tells him to watch out for "Penny's boyfriend", saying that he was a gang member. When Cole says that Penny told him that her boyfriend was a scientist, Leonard makes the excuse that "The Scientists" was the name of his gang. Penny sees his stunt and is peeved by Leonard's jealousy.

At the Cafeteria, Leonard begins chatting with Alex about his issue with Penny and Cole, thinking that Cole is hitting on her. Alex thinks that it is probably harmless, and then coyly adds that Leonard might even be flirted with without really knowing it. She almost admits that she is purposely flirting with him. He the walks out with his coffee laughing hysterically while Alex looks disappointed.

In Raj's office, Howard and Raj are still guessing what "43" means on the blackboard. Howard jokingly suggests it is his mom's neck size, and Raj proposes that it's an atomic number, which would be Technetium. Since the element is radioactive, Raj briefly considered that Sheldon is building a bomb, but Howard is not worried since it took Sheldon two years to build the Lego Death Star. Raj then knows that a half a cup of fat-free yogurt has 43 calories since he eats it often. Eventually, the two run out of ideas and try to leave and get something to eat, but both can't let go figuring out what the number means.

Leonard and Penny meet at the staircase and have an argument over what happened. Penny can't believe that Leonard doesn't trust her and embarrassed her in front of Cole, even though Cole knew who Leonard was since his picture is on Penny's refrigerator. Penny criticizes Leonard for thinking all day at work but then doesn't when he gets home, and Leonard admits his insecurity with guys often hitting on Penny. He then relents that these problems are in his head, and Penny reassures him that he is the one she is with and that he knows she loves him. The accidental confession shocks the both of them since Penny has up to that time never confessed her love for Leonard. They agree to pretend it's not a big deal as they are both starting to cry. Penny rushes off to work to avoid crying in front of him, and also lets Leonard to run off and do the same. Leonard walks back into his apartment sniffling and says to himself that "she loves me". He then gets a text from Alex, inviting him for coffee sometime, and Leonard smiles, mentioning that she is such a friendly girl, ironically unaware that he himself is being hit on.

Unable to solve what 43 means, Howard installs a spare camera from the Mars rover project so they can spy on Sheldon in the storage room. The next day, Howard and Raj watch the video feed and are stunned when they see Sheldon use an unknown machine to create a small wormhole in the room. Sheldon mentions aloud into a recorder that he hasn't found life in 43 parallel universes, and thrusts his head through the wormhole. Sheldon backs out, screaming as a reptilian creature eats his face.

Raj and Howard scream as Sheldon's prop for the creature is dropped on their laptop from behind them and they scream again. Sheldon had found the camera and created a phoney video to cover up what he was really doing. Sheldon explains that what he did with his spare time was none of their business, but was centred around giving his mind a break from his struggles with understanding social behaviour and the mental bombardment caused by his work. Later, Sheldon is seen in the storeroom playing with a Hacky Sack, telling himself that he'll never reach 43 consecutive hits again.

Credits

• Guest starring:
  • Margo Harshman as Alex Jensen
  • Ryan Cartwright as Cole
• Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Jim Reynolds & Steve Holland
• Story: Chuck Lorre, Dave Goetsch & Anthony Del Broccolo

Critics

• The TV Critic: "The Leonard and Penny story had a very pleasant conclusion which rather justified yet another story about Leonard’s inadequacy. It wasn't just that she finally said I love you. It was also that he was able to admit the source of his jealousy (guys constantly hitting on her) in a way which made sense and then did the mature thing of admitting that it was all in his head and that it wasn't her fault...Sheldon having a secret room was always going to be a fun bit of intrigue. The success of that story was always going to be about how much you enjoy Howard and Raj bantering...This was pleasant but no more."^[2]
• The A.V. Club gave this episode a D+.^[3]
• IMDb user reviews

Notes

• Title Reference: The title refers to the number written on Sheldon's blackboard in his secret basement hiding spot.
• Chuck Lorre's vanity card.
• This episode was watched by 17.63 million people with a rating of 5.7 (adults 18–49).^[4]
• Total viewers including DVR users 21.54 million.
• This episode aired in Canada on November 15, 2012, with 3.86 million viewers and a weekly ranking of #1.^[5]
• In the United Kingdom, this episode aired on January 10, 2013, with 2.754 million total viewers.^[6]
• Episode transcript [1]

Costume Notes

• Sheldon wears his orange Space Invaders shirt and one of his DNA shirts.

Trivia

• Raj's murder mystery parties are mentioned in this episode, which the gang is forced to participate in during "The Mommy Observation" (S7E18)
• Leonard is growing isotopically pure crystals for neutrino detector|neutrino detection.
• Howard states, "Ah, it took him two years to put together that Death Star was previously seen in "The Isolation Permutation". LEGO Star Wars was also referenced in "The Weekend Vortex".
• First time Melissa Rauch has been absent from an episode since "The Rhinitis Revelation" (S5E6). There is also no mention of her character. This is also the last time that she is absent from an episode in the series.
• First time Mayim Bialik has been absent from an episode since the beginning of the sixth season. There is also no mention of her character. The only other such episode is "The Proton Resurgence" (S6E22).
• First episode since "The Prestidigitation Approximation" (S4E18) to feature just the five original cast members.
• Raj questions whether Sheldon chained up Leonard Nimoy, Bill Gates, or Stephen Hawking in an old storage room at Caltech. Howard then asks, "Why would he chain up Stephen Hawking?," with Raj responding, "Howard, please, you can’t treat the man differently just because he’s disabled. That’s not okay." Leonard Nimoy was also mentioned in "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis", "The Excelsior Acquisition", "The Recombination Hypothesis", and "The Hawking Excitation", while he provided the voice of Spock in "The Transporter Malfunction". Bill Gates was likewise referred to in "The Large Hadron Collision" and "The Toast Derivation". Stephen Hawking was also mentioned in the "Pilot", "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis", and "The Agreement Dissection", seen in "The Hawking Excitation", and heard in "The Extract Obliteration".
  • It's unclear why Raj would mention Sheldon having Leonard Nimoy chained up, especially considering that Nimoy placed a restraining order on him.
• Penny "accidentally" tells Leonard that she loves him while she is arguing with him which shocks both of them. This time is the first time she says "I love you". Leonard tells her he loves her the first time in "The Wheaton Recurrence" which was three seasons ago.
• This episode is the most-watched episode of the series to date, with an unprecedented 17.4 million people tuning in, for a 5.5 rating, in the United States, and the Canadian simulcast had 3.86 million, for a total audience of 21.26 million measured, sanctioned viewership of the November 15, 2012 world telecast premiere of this episode.
• The cast and crew got together and performed a flash mob dance for the audience during the live taping of this episode. It can be seen on YouTube.
• Kaley Cuoco admitted that during the scene where Penny told Leonard that she loved him, that that was the time she really felt like she was Penny and that it was like a real life moment in Leonard and Penny's world. Both Johnny Galecki and Kaley felt that they were alone doing the scene without noticing the production staff and the audience and did it in one take without ever looking back.
• Howard calls Raj 'dumbass', which was Leslie Winkle's nickname for Sheldon earlier in the series.
• Though this episode uses the number "43" as a plot device, "73" is Sheldon's favorite number per "The Alien Parasite Hypothesis" and has it emblazon on a T-shirt.
• In a number-letter code (where 1=A,2=B and so on), 43 can actually be translated to d(4)c(3). Since Sheldon likes DC Comics, this could be a coincidence or an intentional Easter Egg thrown in by the producers.
• When Howard and Raj are spying on Sheldon on their laptop using the camera they planted in the storage room, Raj spits up while saying "It's eating his face".

Quotes

Leonard: Hi.

Penny: Hey. Shouldn't you be out with your gang spray-painting equations on the side of buildings?

Leonard: Come on, I’m sorry.

Penny: I just can’t believe you don’t trust me.

Leonard: I do ... of course I do.

Penny: Then why did you embarrass me in front of my friend who, by the way, knew exactly who you were?

Leonard: Really?

Penny: Your picture’s on my refrigerator!

Leonard: Oh. You know, I’m really starting to not like this guy.

Penny: What is your problem? Do you use up all your thinking at work and then have none left over for when you get home?

Leonard: I don’t know. It-it-it’s hard sometimes. Everywhere you go guys hit on you, even if I’m standing right there. And they are all taller than me. Why is everyone always taller than me?! You know what, this is all in my head. It’s my problem, not yours.

Penny: Leonard. Why do you always do this? Listen to me. You are the one I’m with. You know I love you. So would you please relax because you are driving me crazy!

Leonard: You know that’s the first time you ever said that you love me.

Penny: Yeah...

Leonard: We’re just supposed to pretend it’s not a big deal?

Penny: That’s exactly what we’re going to do... because you’re about to make me cry and we both know that if I start crying, you’re going to start crying.

Leonard: (sniffling) You’re right, you should go.

Penny: (crying) All right! (runs downstairs)

Leonard: (enters apartment, sniffling) She loves me. (gets a text and reads it) "Hey, it's Alex. Nice having coffee with you. If you wanna talk more, I'm always available. Smiley face. Smiley face." (smiles) What a friendly girl.

---

Alex: Oh hi, Dr. Hofstadter.

Leonard: Oh, hey, Alex. And call me Leonard. Dr. Hofstadter is my father. And my mother. And my sister. And our cat. Although I’m pretty sure that Dr. “Boots” Hofstadter’s degree is honorary.

Alex: May I join you, Leonard?

Leonard: Sure. Um, let me ask you something. My girlfriend knows this guy at school. He’s got an English accent.

Alex: Ooh, I love English accents.

Leonard: Yeah, you all do. Anyway, I feel like he’s hitting on her. She says he’s just being nice and I should trust her.

Alex: It’s probably harmless. You know how it is. I’m sure you get hit on all the time.

Leonard: Right. Because girls are always like: Ooo, that guy owns two Star Trek uniforms and gets lots of ear infections. "I got to get me some of that."

Alex: You know, I bet it happens more than you realize.

Leonard: Trust me. It doesn't.

Alex: You sure? You’re cute. You’re funny. Maybe you’re getting hit on and you don’t even know it.

Leonard: Really?

Alex: Yep, pretty sure.

Leonard: (Laughs) I have to get back to work. Thanks for listening.

Alex: No problem.

Leonard: Hope no girls rip my clothes off along the way.

---

Alex: All I know is corduroy makes too much noise and I have to go find quieter pants.

---

Sheldon (On screen): This is Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Experimental log. Wormhole generator test forty-four.

Howard: Wormhole generator test? (On screen a wormhole appears)

Sheldon: The first forty-three parallel universes I've checked proved to be empty. I see no reason to suspect universe number forty-four will be any different. (Puts his head in the wormhole)

Howard: Oh, my God!

Raj: Holy crap!

Sheldon (With an alien creature stuck to his face): Oh! It’s eating my face!

Gallery

References

Episodes | Season 6

"The Date Night Variable" • "The Decoupling Fluctuation" • "The Higgs Boson Observation" • "The Re-Entry Minimization" • "The Holographic Excitation" • "The Extract Obliteration" • "The Habitation Configuration" • "The 43 Peculiarity" • "The Parking Lot Escalation" • "The Fish Guts Displacement" • "The Santa Simulation" • "The Egg Salad Equivalency" • "The Bakersfield Expedition" • "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion" • "The Spoiler Alert Segmentation" • "The Tangible Affection Proof" • "The Monster Isolation" • "The Contractual Obligation Implementation" • "The Closet Reconfiguration" • "The Tenure Turbulence" • "The Closure Alternative" • "The Proton Resurgence" • "The Love Spell Potential" • "The Bon Voyage Reaction"