The Big Bang Theory (2007–…): Season 7, Episode 12 - The Hesitation Ramification - full transcript

After Leonard tries to help Penny following a failed role on a TV show, she makes an important decision. Meanwhile, Raj and Stuart try to practice their social skills, and Sheldon navigates the intricacies of being funny.

This is nice,
that we all get to eat together.

Absolutely.

Can we maybe put the phones down and
have an actual human conversation?

We can, but thanks to Steve Jobs,
we don't have to.

Guys. Guys,
you're never gonna believe this.

- What happened?
- I just got a part on a TV show!

- That's great!
Congratulations!

- Guys!
- Oh, yeah!

- Yay, Penny!
- What's the show?

NCII, or, you know, NCSTD...

I don't know, it's...



It's the one with all the letters
and I'm gonna be on it!

- That's amazing!
- Yeah.

- What's your part?
- I play a customer in a diner

and I flirt with Mark Harmon.

Ooh, Mark Harmon,
he's a dreamboat.

- So it's just flirting?
- Well, yeah. Why?

No reason. I just think it's sexier

when things are left
to the imagination.

He's wrong.

♪ (THEME SONG) ♪

So I read a study that
says a man with a dog

is three times more likely
to get a woman's phone number.

Is it true even when
the man lets his dog

lick peanut butter off his tongue?



I don't see why not.

If you're really desperate
to meet women

and like having food
eaten out of your mouth,

I could set you up with my mom.

Why is that funny?

That's just unhygienic.

- It's a joke.
- I don't think so.

I believe that a joke
is a brief oral narrative

with a climactic humorous twist.

For example,
Wolowitz's mother is so fat

that she decided
to go on a diet,

or exercise, or both.

See? The twist is that people
don't usually change.

Well, they don't.

Hey, guys, don't forget,
my episode's on TV tomorrow night.

- We'll be there.
- Can we bring anything?

Oh, that's so sweet of you,
but I was gonna steal food from here.

You know, my treat.

Wait, if Howard's mother is coming,
then you should also steal marbles.

Because she's obese,
and hippos are obese,

and in the popular board game Hungry
Hungry Hippos, they eat marbles.

Maybe I need to dumb
these down for you.

- Leonard, do you think I'm funny?
- No.

- Do you?
- I think I'm hysterical.

I take it back.
That was funny.

The philosopher Henri Bergson
says it's funny

when a human being
behaves like an object.

I bet that bit killed
at The Chuckle Hut.

Oh, he didn't perform stand-up
comedy, he was a philosopher.

You know, I think
we're zeroing in on your problem.

Perhaps I'll spend some time

developing a unified
theory of comedy,

which will allow me to elicit
laughter from anyone at any time.

Unless they're German,
'cause that's a tough crowd.

Are you set on people
laughing with you?

'Cause if you're cool with at you...

I don't get it.

Raj, when you said you
were gonna bring a date

to watch Penny's thing tonight,
I didn't think you meant Stuart.

Really? I never for a second
thought it'd be anything else.

I almost met someone last night,
but I blew it.

I was walking Cinnamon
and this girl introduced herself,

but she was so cute I panicked
and said,

"Wouldn't it be easier
if instead of talking

we could just sniff
each other's butts?"

Well, Stuart's cute in his own way.

When I was a baby, my mother
called me her little possum.

- Are possums cute?
- Not at all.

If you're so intimidated
by talking to attractive girls,

maybe you should practice
by talking to regular people.

You mean like fatties and uggos?

Or maybe just stop talking.

I'm serious. Go to the mall,
talk to anybody, practice.

That way, when you eventually
do talk to a cute girl,

- it won't be so scary.
- Or just keep dating the possum.

MAN ON TV: Parsa doesn't have
those kind of resources.

No, and that's why he had
Erin Pace rewire it...

I'm so proud of you.

We haven't even
gotten to my scene yet.

I know, but you're going to be a TV
star and you haven't left me yet.

That takes guts.

I don't know about you, but I'm
very uncomfortable with all this.

- Why?
- I've never seen this show before

and now I'm starting
with episode 246?

It's unnatural.

Just think of the first 245
as the prequel.

All right.

Okay, shh.
Guys, guys, this is it.

I guess it's you and me, kid.

- What are you doing?
- I'm trying to make peace.

- We're good.
- Good.

- Are you kidding me?
- What's wrong?

Well, the diner scene.
Where's my diner scene?

Don't ask me. Until I see
the prequel, I'm lost.

No, there was supposed to be
a big scene with me and Mark Harmon,

but it's... gone.

- What happened?
- They must've cut it.

Oh, Penny.

I'm... I'm sorry.

- That stinks.
- I'm sure you were great.

This doesn't make any sense.
I mean, I...

I thought I did
a really good job, I...

Excuse me.

I've been studying how
to make people laugh.

They say that comedy
is tragedy plus time.

- Let's tickle some ribs.
- No!

No, Dad, I don't think they
cut me out of the show

because I was too pretty.

No, I don't need you to come out
and kick Mark Harmon's ass.

Daddy, I gotta go.
I love you. Bye.

- How you doing?
- (GROANS) This is such a disaster.

My parents had all my relatives over.

They got one of those
six-foot sandwiches,

and got my brother
a day pass out of rehab and...

now he's missing
and the sandwich is missing, and...

They're probably in Mexico by now.
So humiliating.

You still got the part.
That's a huge accomplishment.

But this was supposed
to be my break, okay?

People were gonna
see me in this show

and it was gonna
lead to bigger things.

More auditions, more parts.
Now none of that's gonna happen.

Honey, you only had three lines.
That wasn't gonna happen anyway.

Unbelievable.
- Oh, come on.

- That's not what I meant.
- Then what did you mean?

I don't... You know, words don't
always have to mean things.

I think you meant
that you don't believe in me.

Nope. Uh-uh. I might not
know what I meant,

but I know that
I didn't mean that.

Not this guy. Oh, no way.

I want you, right now, to give me
your 100 percent honest opinion.

Do you think I have what it takes
to really make it as an actress?

- Yes.
- So you think I'll be on TV

and in movies and win awards.

- Honestly?
- Yes, honestly.

- I don't.
- How could you say that?

I don't know... I got all confused
when you said "honestly."

Oh!

Look, do I think
that you are talented

and that you are beautiful?
Of course I do.

But isn't Los Angeles
full of actresses

who are just as talented,
just as beautiful?

Look, we'll come back to that.

No, please. Don't stop, go on.

Tell me how I'm gonna be a waitress
for the rest of my life.

That is not what I said.
Look, I think you're really good.

I truly do.

But this is an incredibly hard thing
that you're shooting for.

I mean, the odds of anyone
becoming a successful actor

- are like a million to one.
- Wow, thank you.

Should've let Sheldon come.

This is interesting.

Apparently, a key component
in some forms of humor

- is the element of surprise.
- Well, that makes sense.

The prefrontal cortex
is responsible

for planning and anticipation,

- and patients with brain lesions...
- Brain lesions!

Sheldon, you scared me.
That wasn't funny.

Or maybe you have a stick
up your prefrontal cortex.

Okay, the notion that you can
read a few books and come up

with a definitive theory
of comedy is absurd.

I mean, humor is
a complex neurological...

- Okay, that's pretty good.
- Excellent.

- How about her?
- No! No pretty girls!

The point is to talk
to regular people

and work our way up
to pretty girls.

Fine.

How about that old lady
with the walker?

That depends. On any level,
do you think she's hot?

We'll find somebody else.

Kumquat?

I guess.

Ointment?

Sure.

Now, would you say ointment

is more, equal to,
or less funny than kumquat?

I don't think I want
to go out with you anymore.

Would you please stop joking around?
I'm trying to figure this out.

Sheldon, how many words
are you gonna go through?

All of them.

You didn't get your part cut.

And you didn't get your part cut.

Yep, bunch of old guys
rocking out in a band,

all with erectile dysfunction,
you didn't get your part out!

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Hey. Can we talk?

We can, but the part
of Penny might get cut.

That was really crappy of me.

What you're trying to do is hard,
but people do make it,

and I really do believe
you could be one of them.

Thank you.

And... to show you how much
I believe in you,

I kind of got you an audition.

Are you serious? For what?

- The new Star Wars movie.
- What?!

- How did you manage that?
- There's this thing online,

you put yourself on tape and just
send it in, anyone can do it.

Come on, Leonard,
this is just a PR stunt.

So? Even if it is,
you have a huge advantage

because you're an actual actress.

Most of the people doing this
are just weirdoes and nerds.

Wolowitz sent his in two days ago.

- Really, let it go.
- Look, maybe it is a long shot,

but sometimes long shots happen.

Luke Skywalker was only given one
chance to destroy the Death Star.

He had to get a torpedo
into an exhaust port

that was only two meters wide,
but with the help of The Force, he...

Wow, I can feel you
hating me right now.

How about that lady
in the sweat suit, speed-walking?

Yeah, she seems friendly
and easy to...

Never mind, she's gone.

Maybe talking
to people is too hard.

We could go over to that department
store, practice on the mannequins.

I don't know.
They're dressed very stylishly.

They're probably stuck-up.

This is ridiculous.

The next person that walks by,
no matter who it is, they're the one.

We're gonna die here.

- Hello.
- Hey.

- Where's Sheldon?
- He's home trying to use science

to determine the basis of humor.

- That's interesting.
- It's exhausting.

Do you have any idea how hard it is

to laugh at a knock-knock
joke that starts with,

"Knock-knock-knock, Amy,
knock-knock-knock, Amy,

knock-knock-knock, Amy"?

If you want him to stop,

sometimes the easiest thing
to do is just fake a laugh.

Fake a laugh?

- Do you ever do that with me?
- No, of course not.

Well, I'd be able to tell anyway.

I don't think you would.

Please, I've made
plenty of girls laugh,

sometimes just by
asking them out.

Yeah? Well, I fake my orgasms.

Yes, how much for a hundred
long-stemmed, red roses?

Really?

How much for three?

- Hey.
- Yeah, I'll call you back.

Look, I know you were
just trying to help

with your Star Wars thing.
I didn't mean to call it idiotic.

Well, I don't think
you called it idiotic.

Oh. Sorry, I meant to.

Anyway... I was just upset
with myself. I wasn't mad at you.

I just feel like everything
is falling apart.

- Come on. It's okay.
- No, it's not okay!

Look at me, okay? I took a temp job
as a waitress forever ago,

and I'm still doing it.
I can't quit, because guess what?

I can't do anything else.

And I finally get my big break,
and it goes away! I'm such a mess.

- No, you're not.
- Really?

'Cause this morning at Starbucks,

a pair of old underwear
fell out of my pant leg!

And it wasn't the only
one in there.

Okay, listen to me,
this is just a minor setback.

No, it's not, okay? I've been out
here for, like, ten years!

- I've nothing to show for it!
- Well, you have me.

You're right.

I do have you.

Mmm.

Let's get married.

What?

Whoo.

Leonard Hofstadter,
will you marry me?

Um...

Did you seriously
just say, "Um"?

Look, you know I love you,

but you're... you're drunk
and sad and feeling lost...

Okay, so you don't
want to marry me?!

- That is not what I said.
- No, forget it! I take it back!

- Offer's off the table!
- Who's in the mood to laugh?!

Really not a good time.

But I used science
to construct the perfect joke.

- I'm gonna go.
- Penny, don't.

No, no, I just need to be alone.

So, a sandwich, a rabbi
and yo mama walk into a bar.

- Where are you going?
- To my room.

- Should I follow you?
- No.

- Leonard, wait.
- What?

I forgot to tell you
the sandwich is promiscuous.

How about those guys on that bench
over there? They look pathetic.

I bet we could talk to them.

That's a mirror.

Oh, yeah.

Hey, fellas, mall's closing.

- Sorry.
- Yeah. Good night.

- Excuse me.
- Yeah?

Do you like being
a mall security guard?

- It's all right.
- Okay, nice talking to you.

Smooth!

- Can't sleep?
- No.

Would you like to talk about it?

Penny proposed,
and I didn't say yes.

- Why not?
- That's a good question.

Does that mean the
relationship is over?

I don't know.

Why don't you ask her?

Because I'm afraid
to know the answer.

Well... I'm sorry.

That's it? You're not
gonna make some dumb joke

or some inappropriate comment?

No.

You're my friend, and... I'm sorry.

Did you just put
a "kick me" sign on my back?

No.

That wouldn't be funny at all.

Star Wars audition, take one.

Starring Howard Joel Wolowitz,
real-life astronaut.

Vader is here,

now, on this moon.

I felt his presence.

He's come for me.
He can feel when I'm near...

BERNADETTE: How many times
do I have to tell you

to replace the toilet paper
when it's empty?!

- I'm in the middle of something!
- So am I!

♪ (THEME MUSIC) ♪

(English - US SDH)