The Solder Excursion Diversion Season 9, Episode 19 -  Aired March 31, 2016

The Solder Excursion Diversion

Amy is shocked at a revelation from Sheldon after she buys him a new laptop. Also, Koothrappali sells out Leonard and Wolowitz after they lie to their wives in order to attend an early screening of a movie.

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Guest Stars: H. Micheal Croner as Andre

Writers: Bill Prady (Story), Eric Kaplan (Story), Maria Ferrari (Story), Steven Molaro (Teleplay), Steve Holland (Teleplay), Saladin K. Patterson (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Viewers: 14.24 million Households Rating: 9.6/16 Adults 18-49 Rating: 3.5/13

Available on iTunes

Episode Notes

  • The title references Howard and Leonard's trip to the cinema while they were supposed to be out buying solder, and the subsequent lie they told Bernadette and Penny.

Episode Quotes

Amy: I got here as quickly as I could.
Sheldon: You're too late.
*Sheldon plays "Taps" and drapes a cloth over his laptop."
Amy: Sheldon, this is silly.
Sheldon: You got emotional when that lab monkey died.
Amy: That lab monkey told me he loved me in sign language.

Sheldon: You look amazing. I mean, this resolution is remarkable.
Amy: (On Skype) I really had to go home for this?
Sheldon: Yes, but it's like you're right here in the room.
Amy: And yet, I'm not.
Sheldon: But I feel like I could reach out and touch you.
Amy: And yet, you can't.
Sheldon: I know.

Amy: Sheldon, why don't you get a new computer? You know that one's out-of-date.
Sheldon: Oh, but I like this computer.
Amy: The video is failing, and the sound is cutting out.
Sheldon: I'm sorry, I didn't get that.
Amy: The video is failing, and the sound is cutting out.
Sheldon: I'm sorry, one more time. The sound is cutting out. (Amy holds up a sign) I can't read that. The video is failing.
Amy: Get a new computer.
Sheldon: What?
Amy: Get a new computer.
Sheldon: What? (Answering phone) Hello?
Amy: Get a new computer!

Leonard: This is cool. When was the last time you and I built something together?
Howard: Scientifically? A little over a year ago. LEGOs? Last week in my room.
Leonard: If there was a Nobel Prize for Millennium Falcons that fall apart when you pick them up, we'd be set.

Amy: Well, the guy at the store said this one is great.
Sheldon: Oh. Oh, the guy. Oh, pardon me. I didn't realize you'd spoken to the guy. Yeah, tell me, did the guy choose one with a 4K display and a Thunderbolt port?
Amy: Yes.
Sheldon: Yeah? Did the guy make sure that this has a one terabyte solid-state drive?
Amy: Yes.
Sheldon: Yeah? Oh, well, was this guy Rick from Computer Solutions on Colorado?
Amy: Yes.
Sheldon: Yeah, well, he does know his stuff.

News Stories

Title Date Posted
919 'The Solder Excursion Diversion' Press Release March 21, 2016

CBS has released the synopsis for the next episode of The Big Bang Theory, "The Solder Excursion Diversion", which airs Thursday, March 31. The show will be pre-empted this Thursday, March 24 by NCAA Men's Basketball.  Full story

Recap

At his desk in the apartment, Sheldon is in a video chat with Amy, who tells him she didn’t understand his email. After Sheldon explains the “S, R and M” keys on his keyboard are broken, Amy tells him to get a new laptop as the sound is failing and the video is cutting out. He asks her to repeat that as the sound is cutting out. When she writes it down and holds it up, he can’t read it as the video is failing. Amy urges him to get a new computer, but Sheldon can’t understand what she’s saying. Amy calls him on the phone and shouts “Get a new computer!”

In Howard’s lab, Leonard wonders when they last built something together. When Penny and Bernadette arrive to see how they’re doing, Leonard and Howard say it’s going well but there’s a lot of tedious setup to go through first. After Penny asks if there’s anything they can do, Leonard says this part isn’t so technical so they actually could help. As Leonard and Howard solder boards, they ask Penny and Bernadette to wrap pipe fittings with Teflon tape.

When Sheldon’s laptop cuts out on him one last time, he closes the lid and stands up. After Amy arrives and says she got there as quickly as she could, Sheldon says she’s too late. He starts playing “Taps” and lays a black cloth over his laptop. Amy says she’s sorry for his loss, but she got him something that should make him feel better: a new computer. Sheldon is upset that she robbed him of weeks of agonising thought and tedious research. When Amy mentions the guy at the store said this one is great, Sheldon is doubtful until he learns the laptop meets all his exacting standards. Sheldon realizes Amy talked to Rick on Colorado Boulevard, who really knows his stuff.

Back at the lab, Leonard explains the procedure for wrapping pipes to Penny and Bernadette. After Howard tells Leonard he’s not sure they have enough solder to finish all the circuit boards, Leonard says they will have to make a run to the hardware store. He asks if Penny and Bernadette want to come with them, but the women say they are getting in the groove here.

In the apartment, Sheldon thanks her for the thoughtful gift as he turns on his impressive new laptop for the first time. When Amy mentions that Rick said he could bring his old laptop in for store credit, Sheldon says no thanks. When Amy questions why Sheldon wouldn’t want the credit, Sheldon asks her to change the subject. Amy wants to know why he’s being so weird about this. Sheldon insists he’s not being weird, but it’s hard to explain. After Amy asks him to just tell her, Sheldon says it might be easier to show her. Sheldon explains they’ll need to take her car and he will need her to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

As Howard and Leonard walk to the hardware store, Leonard says Penny texted him to say they’re having fun working on the prototype. When a guy stops them outside the movie theatre to ask if they’re interested in a free showing, Leonard says they can’t bu Howard is intrigued. The guy can’t tell them the name of the movie, but he mentions it stars Will Smith. Howard thinks it might be Suicide Squad and manages to talk Leonard into seeing the movie, saying it’s better than spending the afternoon wrapping tape around pipe fittings.

Back at the lab, Penny thinks it’s crazy how she, a former actress from Nebraska, is now sitting in a lab at Caltech working on a high-tech guidance system. Bernadette thinks it’s crazy how she’s made fourteen of the pipes and Penny’s made three. When Raj knocks on the door, he wonders where the guys are. Penny explains they went to the store to get solder. When Raj asks if they need any help, they girls say they’re good. After he leaves, Bernadette feels bad and wonders whether they should have asked him to stay.

As Amy drives Sheldon to the secret location, she demands to know where they’re going. Sheldon says she’s on a need-to-know basis. Amy points out she’s driving the car so she needs to know.

After Leonard and Howard take their seats in the theater, they wonder how to explain their absence to Penny and Bernadette. Back at the lab, Penny gets a text from Leonard to say they got a flat tire on their way to San Bernardino. At the theater, the audience learn they are indeed about to see Suicide Squad. Howard decides to text Raj to gloat about seeing the movie. Back in the lab, Raj reads Howard’s text and tells Penny and Bernadette that Howard and Leonard are at the movies. Raj wants to let them know they’re busted, but the girls say it would be more fun to let them think they’ve gotten away with it.

At a storage locker, Amy wonders why Sheldon has his own unit. Sheldon opens it up and reveals his “Fortress of Shame”. It’s packed with everything he has ever owned: every book, every t-shirt, every piece of broken electronics, all of it. Amy says she would like to tell him that there is nothing here to be ashamed of, so she’s going to need a minute.

In the lab, Penny wonders how they are going to play this when Leonard and Howard return. Bernadette points out that they don’t know Raj is there with them, so he should hide in the closet when the guys return. After the girls pretend to believe whatever dumb story the guys tell them, she suggests Raj should jump out.

In Sheldon’s storage unit, he shows Amy his extensive collection of old belongings. Amy wonders why Sheldon feels the need to save things. Sheldon says he’d like to think it’s nostalgia, but anytime he considers throwing anything away his ears start to ring and he gets butterflies in his stomach. Sheldon apologizes, saying he’s sorry if she thinks less of him. Amy says she doesn't, but Sheldon admits he thinks less of himself each time he comes in there. He explains it makes him feel like a fraud. He purports to be a man of the mind and a vocal champion of The Singularity, but how can he leave his body behind when he has never even thrown away a toothbrush. Amy says she has saved weird things too, including a microscope slide with a little bit of tissue from the first brain she ever dissected.

After Penny returns to the lab to say the guys are on the way, Raj climbs into the closet. When Leonard and Howard walk in, they are each carrying a bouquet of flowers. They tell their Penny and Bernadette that they did a stupid thing. The guys admit they went to a movie and lied about it, but they say they feel bad and want to make it up by taking them out to dinner. Bernadette thanks them for being honest and Penny concedes they did have fun working on the prototype. When Raj jumps out of the closet to bust them for lying, the girls insist it’s okay as the guys apologized. After the couples leave for dinner, Bernadette wonders whether they should invite Raj.

As they sit in the storage locker, Sheldon tells Amy she is the only one who knows about this. Amy thanks him for trusting her and tells Sheldon she’s there for him if he ever wants to do something about this. When Sheldon says he wouldn’t know how to begin, Amy proposes baby steps. Sheldon picks up the golf ball his brother threw at his head and says he could try getting rid of it. After they walk out of the locker, Sheldon throws the golf ball’s box into the trash. After Amy asks if he feels okay, Sheldon says he does. Amy tells Sheldon she’s proud of him. As Sheldon pulls down the door to the locker, he rolls the golf ball back inside.

Back in the apartment, Sheldon tells Amy he is glad he told her about the storage locker. They both agree they feel closer to each other now. After Sheldon tells her it’s a couple of hours until his bedtime, Amy wonders what he had in mind. Later, in his bed, Sheldon tells Amy she looks amazing as he looks at her video chat window on his new laptop. Sheldon is amazed by the picture quality, while Amy is grumpy at being made to go home for this.