"The Justice League Recombination" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Thursday, December 16, 2010.[1]
Summary
The guys get Zack and Penny to join the guys' DC Comic Justice League of America costume group for a New Year's Eve party at the comic book store to win the best group costume prize. Penny is going as Wonder Woman, while Zack dresses as Superman.
Extended Plot
Penny and Zack gives Leonard the magazine back
The guys are playing Mystic Warlords of Ka'a, with Sheldon playing the "Infinite Sheldon" card to avoid losing. Penny and Zack then come into the apartment with Leonard's copy of Science magazine, which was sent to the wrong apartment. After finding out that the two are dating again, the guys take advantage of Zack's lack of intelligence and make fun of him. Zack talks about Science having no one right answer, and then says that he saw a documentary about how a starfish will just come back to life if you kill it. Sheldon then mocks him saying that he might have been watching Nickelodeon (referring to Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants). After Zack realizes that the guys are mocking his stupidity, he and Penny storms out, with Penny saying that for a group of guys who claim to have been bullied most of their lives, they can be real jerks, and that they should be ashamed.
After a debate between the guys over whether or not their behavior should be considered bullying, they decide to apologize to him. Leonard apologized for the group and claimed that making fun of each other is what friends do. Zack forgave the guys after Leonard offered a Milk Dud to him. He then asked to join when Leonard revealed the group would be going to the comic book store, leaving a peeved Penny behind.
At the store, Zack starts talking about Archie comics, and how the new ones are much more sophisticated than the old. This includes two universes where Archie dates Betty in one and Veronica in the other, and also one where Midge breaks up with Moose. Stuart comes in thinking that Zack is the guys' new bodyguard. Zack thinks Stuart is lucky to own the store, which he responds with the fact that he works 70 hours a week at $1.65 an hour. Zack finds this "sweet" and doesn't understand the implication that Stuart is struggling financially, which Howard suggests is an indictment on the American education system. Stuart then invites the guys for the costume contest at the store during New Year's Eve, which they accept and reveal that they will be going as Justice League like last year. The difference is that they will win the contest this time because Leonard will no longer be Superman, so there won't be a height problem. Sheldon then suggests that Zack be Superman instead, with Howard noting that he is the only person they know with actual muscles. Leonard is unamused that he is being replaced by Zack, with Howard thinking that since Penny seems happier after replacing Leonard with Zack, the guys would also be the same. After being offered to be Superman, Zack is unsure about it as it sounds like a lot of responsibility.
Walking up the stairs, the guys are arguing over the characters that each person will go as. Leonard agrees as long as he goes as Green Lantern, leaving Raj to be Aquaman, much to his distress. Zack breaks the news to Penny that he will be Superman and offers the role of Wonder Woman to her. Penny is clearly unhappy, but finds out that none of the girls will be willing to take the role, since Bernadette is under quarantine for doing Jell-O shots with Yellow Fever petri dishes and Amy doesn't believe in wearing costumes. Penny still rejects the request, even after Raj offers to switch and be Wonder Woman if Penny will be Aquaman.
Zack dressed as Superman and Penny as Wonder Woman.
Back at the apartment, Sheldon is dressed as The Flash pacing around the apartment, while Leonard is Green Lantern reading the Science magazine. Howard then walks in as Batman, though Sheldon immediately points out his tardiness. Raj then walks in as Aquaman, still believing that Aquaman sucks. Zack then comes in as Superman, followed by Penny as Wonder Woman, though the guys want her to put on a black wig since Wonder Woman isn't blonde. Howard also made a snide comment about Penny's cleavage in costume, which earns a punch from her. When Zack pressures Penny to wear the wig, not wanting to embarass himself in front of his friends, Penny changes her mind and goes back to her apartment.
Sheldon tries to get Penny to wear a black wig as Wonder Woman
Afterwards, the guys try to talk Penny back into joining the contest. Zack goes first, though when Penny tell him "I'm not talking to you!", Zack gets confused and asks "then who are you talking to?". Next is Sheldon, who knocks way too many times on the door, thinking he is the Flash and has knocked 30,000 times. Sheldon tells Penny that he understands why she is upset, though he gets it wrong thinking that Penny won't go because she thinks the costume would make her look fat. Penny rejects this thought, but then starts wondering if it does make her look fat. Penny ends the conversation after Sheldon again asks her to put on the black wig.
At the apartment, the guys are discussing what to do about Penny. Leonard tried to console Zack, telling him that Penny used to flip out on him all the time when they dated. Zack didn't even know that Leonard dated Penny, thinking that the "Leonard" she talks about could be anyone. Zack also states that he won't go to the contest if Penny doesn't, causing to guys to consider going as Muppets characters instead. Howard and Sheldon pressure Leonard to talk to Penny, and he relents.
Penny talking to Leonard about her mixed feelings
Leonard knocks on Penny's door, with her rejecting at first, but then she lets him in after he pleads to just let him talk to her. Leonard tells Penny that she doesn't need to wear the wig, and that the group will win simply by going with a girl. Penny acknowledge that the true problem isn't the wig, but rather her mixed-up feelings. She admits that she isn't planning on a long-term relationship with Zack, but only went out with him so that she won't be lonely during New Year. Leonard replies that it is not as pathetic as dressing up and going to a comic book store for the holiday. Penny complements Leonard saying that he does make a cute Green Arrow, which Leonard immediately corrects as Green Lantern. Penny then reveals that if she and Zack had gone to a club or party as she had planned, things would have been fine, but that her seeing Leonard again really complicates matters. It is implied that she still hasn't fully gotten over her relationship with Leonard, though she doesn't answer when he asks for more information to avoid dealing with the "Leonard" question. She promptly wears the wig and the group heads off to the comic book store.
The group in Justice League costumes
Leonard seeing Penny and Zack kiss
Penny looking at Leonard while being kissed by Zack
At the comic book store, the group does in fact win first place for their costumes. Sheldon tries to give an acceptance speech, though Stuart interrupts him with the New Year countdown. At midnight, Penny and Zack kiss, though Penny looks at Leonard regretfully for the entire kiss, and Leonard gazes back at her. Sheldon is still trying to give his speech and is waiting for everyone to calm down, though no one pays attention.
As the group leaves the party, they witness a car theft while walking home. Despite wearing Justice League costumes, they comically scurry off. None of them, not even Zack, are brave enough to stop the car theft.
Sheldon screaming at the Grand Canyon.
That New Year's Day evening, Leonard warns Sheldon that he wants to change the thermostat temperature. Sheldon then imagines himself as The Flash, speeding to the Grand Canyon to scream "Good lord, how you frustrate me, Leonard Hofstadter!" in frustration, to the tune of "Flight of the Bumblebee". Once he is 'back', Sheldon tells Leonard, "Fine".
Credits
- Guest starring:
- Teleplay: Bill Prady, Steven Molaro & Steve Holland
- Story: Chuck Lorre, Lee Aronsohn & Maria Ferrari
Critics
- The TV Critic: "This failed on pretty much every level which was a shame. In theory I applaud the idea of focusing on Penny and Leonard's relationship, but there is no authenticity to it anymore. The writers have made less and less effort to demonstrate any actual bond between them. Leonard still treats her like she is too good for him and her feelings for him have returned out of nowhere. The result is that her emotions seem fabricated and the story falls flat...What often saves The Big Bang Theory from being a lame duck is the sharpness of its writing. In this case the writing was lazy and the result was a lousy episode which felt as phoned in as Penny's feelings for Leonard." [2]
- The A.V. Club gave this episode an A-.[3]
- IMDb user reviews
Notes
- Title Reference: The title refers to Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj inviting Penny and Zack to be Wonder Woman and Superman, respectively, in their Justice League team and Zack replacing Leonard for Penny.
- Chuck Lorre's vanity card.
- This episode was watched by 13.24 million people with a rating of 4.0 (adults 18–49).[4]
- This episode aired in Canada on December 16, 2010, with 3.021 million viewers and a weekly ranking of #1.[5]
- In the United Kingdom, this episode aired on January 13, 2011, with 1/038 million total viewers and a weekly ranking of #19.[6]
- Episode transcript [1]
Trivia
Penny as a blonde Wonder Woman.
In the 1974 TV Movie "Wonder Woman", Wonder Woman was portrayed by a blonde Cathy Lee Crosby.
Cassie Sandsmark, who was shown as Wonder Woman's successor.
- Bernadette and Amy are mentioned by name, but neither are seen in this episode. They are both absent in the next episode (S4E12) as well.
- Although Bernadette and Amy do not appear dressed as superheroes in this episode, they will in the Halloween episode "The Holographic Excitation".
- The TBBT Justice League consists of:
- Sheldon asks in what universe is Wonder Woman blonde. In fact Cathy Lee Crosby starred as a blonde Wonder Woman in the 1974 TV movie "Wonder Woman." Also in a Teen Titans storyline "Titans Tomorrow" Cassandra Sandsmark aka Wonder Girl, who was a blonde, was shown as Wonder Woman's successor.
- Raj once went to a cricket (game) camp, and had a penis drawn on his face by bullies there. Refer to "The Speckerman Recurrence" for more on bullies and "Ten Things I Hate About You".
- Stuart reveals that he earns around $1.65 an hour, $6.35 below the minimum wage in Pasadena, California. This is likely not a legal breach, as Stuart owns his own business and therefore is not entitled to a minimum wage. Nonetheless, this suggests he has low profits, and would probably be significantly better off working for pay even in a menial job.
- Raj hates Aquaman in this episode. In "The Spaghetti Catalyst" (S3E20), Raj stated, "Oh, please, we all know I’m the friend you call when you have no other options. If we were the Justice League, I’d be Aquaman." He also mentioned Aquaman in "The Precious Fragmentation" (S3E17) and "The Robotic Manipulation" (S4E1). He also posed in his Aquaman costume on the street promoting Stuarts's store in "The Comic-Con Conundrum".
- Some species of sea star have the ability to regenerate lost arms and can regrow an entire new arm in time. Sea stars can grow an entire sea star from a single ray.
- Coaches use the expression, "There's no "I" in team", which is probably where Zack got his response to Penny from. "There's no "I" in Justice League."
- Bernadette is under quarantine for this episode, as at her lab Christmas party she took Jell-O shots from a petri dish that used to contain Yellow Fever. This fact was revealed by Howard when the guys asked why she couldn't be Wonder Woman. That is why Bernadette is not featured in this episode. In other episodes she joked about various lab accidents.
- Sheldon says that Amy does not wear costumes, but she did in later episodes though she has been more willing to change than Sheldon. That is why Amy is not featured in this episode. She did want to wear couples' costumes in "The Holographic Excitation" and was dressed as Raggedy Ann.
- The characters dressed up as the following superheroes are:
- Howard as Batman - Howard is an engineer and has built a lot of high-tech gadgets, such as an engineer might make.
- Raj as Aquaman - In comic books Aquaman is the King Of Atlantis and spends a lot of time being classified as an outsider. Raj as a foreigner who sometimes doesn't understand American culture and is an outsider in other ways.
- Penny as Wonder Woman - Fairly self-explanatory. She is Leonard's Wonder Woman.
- Leonard as Green Lantern - Green Lantern is a character who uses a ring to create constructs using their will. Green Lantern users therefore must have a lot of will to be successful. Obviously Leonard has the will to work hard in his studies to become a Doctor. What is relevant though is that Leonard must have great will to put up with Sheldon.
- Zack as Superman - He is the only one out of the group to have actual muscles.
- Stuart's costume is that of the Fourth Doctor (originally played by Tom Baker) from British cult sci-fi TV series Doctor Who. Stuart's DJ's costume is "Master Chief Petty Officer John-117", a "SPARTAN Programme supersoldier" and the main protagonist of the Halo video game franchise.
- Other costumes at the party (not counting duplicate Justice Leagues) include a woman dressed as a Hogwarts student (likely Hermione) from the Harry Potter book/movie franchise, an Imperial Stormtrooper and a Jedi (possibly Ben Kenobi as he appears in Star Wars: A New Hope) from the Star Wars franchise, a Joker from the Batman franchise, a woman dressed as a sciences crewman (or possibly a nurse) from Star Trek the original series, and what appears to possibly be Hagrid the groundskeeper, again from Harry Potter.
- The distance from Pasadena to the Grand Canyon is approximately 500 miles by road, some 375 miles straight-line.
- When Leonard knocks on Penny's door to talk to her, Penny does not recognize that it's not Sheldon's Knock being knocked on her door and she responds "Go away, Sheldon." until Leonard says it's actually him. Though she may have been thrown off because of the way Sheldon knocked his door earlier in the episode: rapidly and repeatedly without stopping as opposed to his usual knock.
- Raj wears his Aquaman costume again in "The Comic-Con Conundrum".
- The second time that Penny tells the guys "shame on you". The first was when they wouldn't go to Raj's People Magazine reception when he was being arrogant in "The Griffin Equivalency".
Quotes
- Penny: No. I'm not wearing it. It looks stupid.
- Penny: Forget it. I'm not wearing the wig
- Zack: Oh, no, you’re thinking old-school Archie. It’s much more sophisticated now. Like, there’s two universes, and Archie’s married to Betty in one and Veronica in the other. Midge is even breaking up with Moose.
- Raj: No!
- Leonard: Look, I know our winter thermostat setting is 72 degrees, but I'm a little warmer, so I'm going to turn it down.
- Sheldon: (as The Flash, runs to the Grand Canyon) Good lord, how you frustrate me, Leonard Hofstadter! (runs back) Fine.
- Zack: Look up in the sky. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! (appears from the landing) I forget the rest.
- Penny: All right. Let’s get this thing over with.
- Sheldon: I’m sorry. But in what universe is Wonder Woman blonde?
- Howard: Relax. No one’s going to be looking at her hair. (Penny punches him) Ow! I mean, "OW!"
- Sheldon: (knocking door loads of times) Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny.
- Penny: (opens door) What the hell is wrong with you?
- Sheldon: I'm the Flash. I just knocked 30,000 times.
- Penny: Are you high?
- Raj: What the hell did I do?
- Penny: You laughed.
- Zack: Milk dud?
[Penny's apartment. Knocking.]
- Penny: Go away, Sheldon.
- Leonard: It’s Leonard.
- Penny: Oh. Go away, Leonard.
- Leonard: Come on, let me just talk to you.
- Penny: It’s open.
- Leonard: Hey.
- Penny: I’m not going to that party, Leonard.
- Leonard: Okay, listen. You don’t have to wear the wig. At this party, we’re gonna win first prize just by showing up with a girl.
- Penny: It’s not the wig.
- Leonard: Did I do something? I mean, I tried to be friends with Zack, like you said, which believe me, was difficult, given how you and me used to be, you know, you and me, and now you and him are you and him.
- Penny: Okay, look. We’re not really me and him.
- Leonard: Then what are you?
- Penny: I don’t know. I only started seeing Zack again so I wouldn’t be alone on New Year’s Eve. How pathetic is that?
- Leonard: Not as pathetic as dressing up like this and going to a comic book store on New Year’s Eve.
- Penny: You make a cute Green Arrow.
- Leonard: Green Lantern.
- Penny: Like there’s a difference.
- Leonard: There’s a big difference. (poses) Arrow. (poses) Lantern.
- Penny: Whatever. Look, if Zack and I had just gone to a regular club or a party, it would have been fine, but this, with the costumes, and you...
- Leonard: What about me?
- Penny: ...Nothing. Let’s go to the party. (Puts on wig) How do I look?
- Leonard: Um... I guarantee you’ll be the prettiest girl there.
[outside the door]
- Howard: Okay, the good news is, we have a Wonder Woman.
- Sheldon: Oh.
- Zack: Yes.
- Sheldon: What’s the bad news?
- Howard: Superman probably isn’t getting laid tonight.
- Zack: Aw, damn.
Gallery
References
- ↑ The Big Bang Theory - The Justice League Recombination (TV Episode 2010) - IMDb
- ↑ The TV Critic's Review
- ↑ The Big Bang Theory: "The Justice League Recombination" - TV Club - The A.V. Club
- ↑ Thursday Final Ratings: Big Bang Theory, $#*! My Dad Says Adjusted Down - Zap2it
- ↑ Top Programs – Total Canada (English) December 13 – December 19, 2010 - BBM Canada
- ↑ BARB via Wikipedia
| Episodes | Season 4 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|