The Bakersfield Expedition Season 6, Episode 13 -  Aired January 10, 2013

The Bakersfield Expedition

The guys are attending Bakersfield Comic-Con dressed as "Star Trek: The Next Generation" characters, but after their trip goes off course they lose faith in their geeky interests. Meanwhile, the girls try to show more an interest in comic books.

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Guest Stars: Angela Sargeant as Lana, Matt Battaglia as Officer Reynolds, Craig Gellis as Car Thief #1, Frank Alvarez as Car Thief #2, Rick Gifford as Guy O.S.

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

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Viewers: 20 million Households Rating: 11.8/19 Adults 18-49 Rating: 6.4/19

Available on iTunes

Episode Notes

  • The title simply refers to the guys' trip to Bakersfield Comic-Con.

Episode Quotes

Raj: Are they actually arguing about comic books?
Leonard: No, that can't be right.
Howard: Maybe "Thor's Hammer" is a new color of nail polish.

Bernadette: Why are they staring?
Amy: Who cares? Just soak it in. Hello, boys.
Stuart: Oh, hey. (To the other customers) Could you please stop staring? They're just girls. It's nothing you haven't seen in movies or in drawings.
Penny: Hey, Stuart.
Stuart: What brings you guys here?
Bernadette: We were looking for a recommendation about comic books.
Stuart: Oh, well, I recommend you don't open a store and sell them.
Penny: No, we were just wondering why the guys like this stuff so much, so we thought wed give it a try.
Stuart: Oh, okay. What do you think you might be into? Superhero, fantasy, graphic novels, manga? (To the customers) I swear I will turn a hose on you.

Raj: Insurance will replace your car, it won't defunk my junk.

Raj: Can we at least rent the car from Enterprise? (nobody reacts) Oh, screw you! That's funny!

Leonard: What kind of a person steals another person's car in broad daylight?
Sheldon: What kind of person leaves his keys in the car?
Leonard: I thought we agreed this was all Koothrappali's fault.
Sheldon: You're right. (To Raj) Nice going.

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Recap

Sheldon and Leonard are readying their costumes ahead of their trip to Bakersfield Comic-Con. Penny comes over with make-up sponges for Leonard and is surprised to see he has more make-up than she does. Later, as the guys head off for the convention, Penny joins Amy and Bernadette for brunch at a restaurant. When girls realize they have never shown an interest in comic books, even though it's a big part of the guys' lives, they decide to visit the comic book store.

In Leonard's car on the drive to the convention, Sheldon has reprogrammed the GPS with his voice. As the guys pass Vasquez Rocks, the location for a lot of Star Trek filming, they decide to stop and put on their costumes for a photo shoot. As the guys pose for pictures, they notice somebody stealing Leonard's car. Meanwhile, the girls visit the comic book store and settle on reading a Thor comic. When they get back to Penny's apartment, they read through the comic and all agree it's stupid. Pretty soon, however, the girls are arguing over comic book minutiae and decide to read the story again.

After the guys try and fail to hitch a ride, they have to walk through the desert in their Star Trek costumes, even as passing vehicles throw garbage at them. They eventually reach a diner and ask to use their phone to call for assistance. After Howard calls his mom and she agrees to rent them a car, Raj is excited that they can finally make it to Comic-Con. Leonard and Howard are dejected and humiliated and would rather just go home, and surprisingly even Sheldon has no interest in going to the convention. Meanwhile, the girls are still debating Thor and head over to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment to look at more comics to help settle their argument.

As the guys return home from their failed trip, they hear the girls inside their apartment debating vigorously about Thor. Sheldon thinks the only logical explanation is that somewhere in the desert they crossed into an alternate dimension. The guys reform their landing party to investigate their strange surroundings.