The Long Distance Dissonance Season 10, Episode 24 -  Aired May 11, 2017

The Long Distance Dissonance

When Sheldon's old admirer, Dr. Ramona Nowitzki, returns to the university while Amy is away at Princeton, Sheldon's friends try to protect his relationship with Amy.

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Guest Stars: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Riki Lindhome as Ramona Nowitzki

Writers: Steven Molaro (Story), Eric Kaplan (Story), Jim Reynolds (Story), Chuck Lorre (Teleplay), Steve Holland (Teleplay), Tara Hernandez (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Viewers: 12.99 million Households Rating: 8.4/15 Adults 18-49 Rating: 2.7/12

Available on iTunes

Episode Lists

  • Sheldon & Amy: Key Episodes Sheldon & Amy: Key Episodes

    The key moments in Sheldon & Amy's relationship including Howard & Raj setting them up, the signing of the relationship agreement, the first time they said "I love you", them breaking up and subsequently getting back together, the proposal, the wedding and winning the Nobel Prize together.

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to the difficulties in Sheldon and Amy's relationship as Amy spends the summer across the country.
  • This episode features the painting that Amy bought for Penny in The Friendship Contraction. Penny and Bernadette look at the painting as they worry about Amy's relationship with Sheldon, given Ramona Nowitzki's interest in him. The painting was seen earlier in the season when Penny and Leonard tried to return it to Amy in Apartment 4A in The Property Division Collision.

> Sheldon's Knock

Sheldon knocks on Amy's apartment door in Princeton, New Jersey after he flies across the country to ask her an important question.

Episode Quotes

Amy: I gave you one job! Keep an eye on him. How hard is that?

Amy: Why didn't you tell me?
Bernadette: We didn't want you to worry.
Amy: Should I worry?
Penny: No, come on, it's Sheldon. Nothing is gonna happen.
Amy: That's what you said to me when I started dating him. And then five years later, bingo-bango, something happened.

Sheldon: Because there's only one of me, I'm more valuable.
Penny: Right.
Sheldon: Although, Amy's already taken me out of my package and played with me.

Sheldon: *knock knock knock* Amy. *knock knock knock* Amy. *knock knock knock* Amy.
[Amy opens the door. Sheldon is on one knee, holding out an engagement ring]
Sheldon: Will you marry me?

Amy: I've been smacking that ketchup bottle for a long time. All she has to do is tip it over and point it at her fries.

News Stories

Title Date Posted
Season 10 Episode Tournament: Result June 23, 2017

Voting has now closed in our The Big Bang Theory Season 10 episode tournament to find fans' favorite episode from the latest season. In the final round, The Long Distance Dissonance received 58.2% of the votes to beat runner-up The Birthday Synchronicity with a 41.8% share.  Full story

CBS Announces Tenth Season Finale April 25, 2017

CBS has released the synopsis for the tenth season finale of The Big Bang Theory, "The Long Distance Dissonance", which airs Thursday, May 11. Riki Lindhome reprises her role as Ramona Nowitzki, last seen in the Season 2 episode "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem".  Full story

Episode Tournaments

WinnerThis episode won our Season 10 episode tournament in June 2017.

Recap

When Sheldon video chats with Amy in New Jersey, he asks her how she’s settling in at Princeton. Amy says she’s settling in pretty well and wants to hear how things are at home. They both miss each other. Amy mentions that it felt weird when she ended a sentence with a preposition earlier that day and Sheldon wasn’t there to correct her grammar. After Amy splits an infinitive, Sheldon says he’s going to vigorously admonish her.

As Howard, Leonard and Raj eat lunch in the university cafeteria, Howard wonders how Sheldon is doing without Amy. After Leonard explains the things he’s had to do for Sheldon, Howard says they can help him out with Sheldon. Well, not Howard, because he’s got a wife and child, but as he says, Raj has plenty of free time.

When Sheldon shows up at the guys’ table with his lunch, he introduces the guys to his companion, Dr. Ramona Nowitzki, who is back at the university doing her post-doc. After Sheldon and Ramona find a table to sit together, Leonard remembers that she was the grad student who used to follow Sheldon around. As the guys watch, Sheldon and Dr. Nowitzki talk about his work, Sheldon makes her laugh. When they notice how she is looking at him and touching his hands, they are worried she’s into him.

In Apartment 4A, Penny tells Bernadette about Sheldon’s lunch with Dr. Nowitzki. When Bernadette wonders if they should call Amy, Penny says they don’t want to worry her if it’s nothing. Bernadette agrees they should wait until they have more information. Meanwhile, in his apartment, Sheldon is on the couch with his laptop, chatting to Amy about ladders. When Amy asks Sheldon if he’s keeping busy and not lonely, Sheldon mentions he had lunch with Dr. Nowitzki. Amy is uncomfortable when Sheldon mentions Dr. Nowitzki is a woman and a huge fan of his work. After Amy tells Sheldon she will call him right back, Bernadette and Penny go over to her laptop to answer an incoming video call. Amy wants to know why they didn’t tell her about Dr. Nowitzki. Penny and Bernadette say they didn’t want to worry her, but Amy is visibly concerned. Penny and Bernadette try calm her by saying Sheldon wouldn’t be interested in another woman, but Amy isn’t calmed.

As Leonard, Howard and Raj shop at the comic book store, Howard can’t believe that Bernadette was yelling at him because Sheldon had lunch with another woman. Leonard mentions that Penny laid into him, too. When Howard wonders if they should do something about Nowitzki, Raj says they know Nowitzki’s single so if somebody asked her out and she said yes, they would know she wasn’t into Sheldon. Stuart offers himself up for the job, but the guys don’t think Nowitzki would go for him, so Raj suggests himself.

At the university cafeteria, Raj walks over to Dr. Nowitzki’s table and asks if he can join her. She says no. After sitting down with the guys, Raj insists she obviously just wanted to lunch alone, but when Sheldon shows up she immediately invites him to sit down.

In the apartment, as they unbox dinner, Penny asks Leonard if he really thinks there’s reason to worry about Sheldon and Dr. Nowitzki. Leonard believes she is definitely going after Sheldon. After Penny tells the gang they could be overreacting and it might be nothing, Sheldon arrives with Ramona. After he introduces her to the gang, he explains that they just went swimming together.

When Sheldon and Ramona sit down with the gang for dinner, Leonard can’t believe Sheldon actually got in a pool. Bernadette comes over to the couch and squeezes in between Sheldon and Ramona. After Penny asks Sheldon if he’s talked to Amy, he explains he Skyped her earlier in the day and will check in again before bedtime. When Ramona says she can’t wait to meet Amy, Sheldon agrees and mentions that she keeps asking how long Amy is going to be gone. After Leonard asks Ramona to tell them about herself, she mentions her work didn’t allow a lot of time for relationships. After Sheldon mentions her work at CERN, he gets up to go to Apartment 4B to get the letters he wrote to Peter Higgs. When Ramona gets up and goes with him across the hall, the gang wonders if it’s time to call Amy.

In Apartment 4B, Sheldon and Ramona sit on the couch as he shows her a binder of his correspondence with famous people. After they are interrupted by a video call from Amy, Sheldon tells Amy that Ramona Nowitzki is right there and introduces her. In New Jersey, Amy gets a call from Leonard, which she thinks is a little late.

Back in the apartment, Penny thinks somebody has got to go over there. Before anybody decides to go confront them, Sheldon returns with Ramona, saying Amy told him he’s tired and has to go to bed. When Ramona wants Sheldon to walk her to her car, Penny says they’ll all go. As everybody streams out of the apartment, they start overtaking Ramona on the stairs to come between her and Sheldon.

Outside the building, Sheldon says bye as Ramona drives away, while Penny tells him they need to talk. In his apartment, Penny sits on the couch with Sheldon and warns him that Ramona seems to have a romantic interest in him. Sheldon appreciates Penny’s concern, but he insists Dr. Nowitzki is just a friend.

As he works at his desk, Ramona knocks on Sheldon’s office door and enters, telling him she made sandwiches for them. After she says she enjoys spending time with him, he asks her if she is seeking a romantic relationship with him. When Ramona suggests that she might be, Sheldon starts to list all the problems that would pose. After Ramona moves in and kisses him on the lips, Sheldon excuses himself.

Sheldon walks away from his office, leaves the university building, gets in a taxi, goes to LAX Airport, gets a flight ticket, boards a plane, watches Spongebob Squarepants on his phone, lands, gets a taxi from the airport, arrives at Princeton, and knocks on Amy’s door. Inside, Amy is in her dressing gown on her laptop, and is surprised to hear Sheldon’s voice and his memorable knock. When Amy opens the door to her apartment, Sheldon is down on one knee, holding an engagement ring out. Sheldon asks Amy if she will marry him.