Young Sheldon (2017–…): Season 4, Episode 12 - A Box of Treasure and the Meemaw of Science - full transcript

Previously on Young Sheldon...

You can't be my lab assistant.

There's a wait-list of students,

and I just can't give
you special treatment.

Not with that attitude.

- Hello?
- Can I be your lab assistant?

If I say "yes," will you
please stop hounding me?

- Absolutely.
- Fine. You win.

I understand my role here.

In fact, I noticed a flaw
in your reaction rate,

but I kept it to myself
because I know my place.

- What is it?
- Nice try.

Fire! Fire!

Was it too much
oxygen in the reagent?

See? You didn't
need my help after all.

My role as Dr. Linkletter's
lab assistant

was progressing nicely.

I had mastered operating
the manual particle collector,

aka a broom.

I may not always recognize
sarcasm, but I sure know how to use it.

Sheldon, I've hit a bit of a roadblock
with the solar neutrino detector.

Why don't you come have a look?

Are you saying you would like
me to take part in your experiment?

Well, I figure a fresh set
of eyes might be helpful.

Because my previous
observations proved correct?

Yes.

And had you listened to me,
the lab wouldn't have caught fire?

Yes.

So just to be clear, at
the tender age of 11,

I'll be officially participating
in an academic study?

Will you do it or not?

Absolutely. Here you go.

What am I supposed
to do with this?

Well, if you can't figure that
out, no wonder you need my help.

Do we have another
hairdryer? This one broke.

You... just use a towel.

So my hair can look like yours?

I don't think so.

Go look in the garage.

Thank you.

I like my hair.

I may have been part
of an academic study,

but I wasn't the only Cooper on the
verge of making a great discovery.

Sheldon's tests?

I'm gonna be rich.

Missy, ten minutes.

Okay.

What you looking at?

Uh... just Pastor
Jeff and Mrs. Sparks.

They were out there
the other day, too.

Oh!

How come you
didn't go with them?

Uh... they didn't invite me.

Ouch. Rough start to your day.

So the problem that
I'm running into is

I can't get the inner sphere to
remain suspended in the buffer liquid.

Have you tried wrapping
the sphere in copper wire?

I did, but it just slips out.

Perhaps we could suspend
it in some sort of sleeve.

That would prevent
light from getting through.

Hmm.

I wonder if my thinking
would be more effective

if I had a beard to stroke.

It's one of the few aspects of
puberty I'm looking forward to.

- Hey, Tam.
- Hey.

What if I told you you
didn't have to study

for your chemistry test tonight?

Why?

Because I found this.

Cool.

But how do you know we're
going to get the same test?

I checked. We've been
taking the same ones all year.

And teachers call us lazy?

I know!

Well, thank you.

Hold on, now.

I ain't just giving it away.

How much?

Five bucks.

It's worth it.

If I get another B,
my mom will kill me.

Hey, I don't just sell tests,

I bring families together.

Sing for the Lord,
praise the Lord

Get this.

I drove past the
Methodist Church,

and you know what
the sign out front said?

What?

"Friendship, pirate
ship, try the best ship...

worship."

- Clever.
- That was our sign last year.

I wrote that!

Isn't the most important thing

that it might get more
people to go to church?

But whoever did it has the
sin of stealing on their soul now,

so at least there's that.

There you go.

Oh, um...

I saw you and Brenda Sparks
out for a walk this morning.

- That's fun.
- Yeah.

- Nice way to start the day.
- Yeah. Um...

I'd go with George,
but he's a gym teacher,

and as a group, they're
not much for walking.

Well, you keep asking.
Maybe he'll come around.

Good idea. Thank you.

It's not just witty
church signs up here.

I never thought a sphere suspended
in mineral oil could be so exciting.

Eight minutes and
it hasn't moved.

So far, so good.

Oh, boy, my heart is pounding.

I hope I don't turn into
an adrenaline junkie.

What's going on in there?

This is a prototype of a
solar neutrino detector.

We need to keep the sphere
suspended precisely in the scintillator.

- Speaking of scintillating...
- No.

Sorry.

Darn it!

Oh, the oil must have
dissolved the adhesive.

Well, ready to hit the road?

Please, not yet. We're
so close to cracking this.

Just ten more minutes?

Fine.

- Okay.
- Yes!

I wasn't even at that school,

and I was still boosting
its grade point average.

You got biology?

Depends. You got money?

- Yeah.
- Then I got biology.

Perhaps we could create some
sort of a cocoon to suspend it.

Out of wire?

Or nylon.

But I wouldn't know how
to weave it around a sphere.

I'm not a genius,

but it sounds to me like
what y'all are talking about

is, uh, crochet.

I suppose we are.

Because with crochet, you
can make all kinds of shapes.

Intriguing.

Hell, I even crocheted
a cover for Jolene.

I'm sorry?

Oh, that's my bowling ball.

She likes to name
inanimate objects. It's odd.

Or whimsically charming.

Connie, would you help
us detect solar neutrinos?

Really? You... you... you want me
to be a part of your science thing?

Indeed.

Well...

Sure. Why not?

Excellent!

And just like that,

my Meemaw had been seduced
by the siren call of science.

But before we unravel
the secrets of the universe,

I'm gonna hit the john.

Oh.

Of course.

And bless the hands
that prepared it. Amen.

- Amen.
- Amen.

Where is everyone?

Georgie's out, Sheldon's at
the university with Meemaw.

A lot of pressure on
me to keep things fun.

Hey, I was thinking after dinner,
maybe you and I could go out for a walk.

Why?

Pastor Jeff and Brenda have
been doing it. It might be nice.

So? Go with them.

They didn't invite her.
She was all upset about it.

Really? You get left
out and I get punished?

A walk with your
wife is punishment?

You're up. Say something fun.

I think Pastor Jeff and Mrs.
Sparks might be talking about Billy.

What's going on with Billy?

He's been getting
in trouble at school.

How is that fun?

It's gossip. Gossip is fun.

Poor thing.

Brenda did say he was
having trouble adjusting.

Maybe I should see if
she's doing okay later.

Great idea. Not
walking, good job.

So what am I making
this thing out of?

We were using wire,

but that might be
difficult to crochet with.

Oh, please. I could crochet barbed
wire with a chopstick if I had to.

I admire your bravado.

In this case, isn't it
the feminine "bravada"?

I've never heard the term
"bravada." Let's just go with chutzpah.

- What's "chutzpah"?
- It's like moxie.

Oh, I do like moxie.

I admire your moxie.

However, I believe that nylon
thread would be the best choice.

True, it's chemically inert,

and would allow more
light to pass through.

Nylon thread. Done!

Brava!

That one I know is a word.

Can I ask,

why exactly are we
looking for solar neutrinos?

Other experiments have only seen about
half the neutrinos coming from the sun.

And we'd like to figure out why.

And what happens if we do?

They will tell us what kind of
nuclear actions are going on there.

- In the sun?
- Yes.

That's so far. How?

Neutrinos are made deep
within the core of the sun.

They have to go over a hundred
times the radius of Earth just to get out.

Mm. Kind of like how you can
drive all day and still be in Texas.

Exactly. Then
they have to travel

another 93 million
miles just to get here.

Neutrinos are essentially direct
messengers from the center of the sun.

That's why we're
building the prototype.

And I get to be a part of it?

- You do.
- Damn.

- Is there any money in it?
- No.

Damn.

Hello?

Hey, Brenda, it's Mary.

Oh.

- Hey.
- Hi.

I was just checking in,
seeing how you're doing.

How am I doing about what?

Well, I heard that Billy might
be having a tough time at school.

Well, you know what? He'll
be fine. So thanks for calling.

Okay. Um...

If there's anything I can do,
or if you ever want to talk...

Good to know. Anything else?

No. That was it.

'Kay, bye.

That night, my
Meemaw was so inspired

to be part of our
science experiment,

she began working on it
as soon as she got home.

Fight till the end 'Cause
your life will depend

On the strength that
you have inside you

She was in the zone.

Ah, you gotta be proud
Starin' out in the cloud

She was focused.

She was determined.

She was also 68 and
had eaten a lot of pizza.

And the Nobel Prize
for science goes to...

Connie Tucker!

Oh, my goodness,
y'all are so sweet!

I want to thank my brilliant grandson,
Sheldon, and his pal, Dr. Linkletter,

for bringing me in
on the experiment.

I'd like to thank my Aunt
Linda for teaching me to crochet

when I was knee-high
to a june bug.

And everyone for making
me the Meemaw of science.

You're the best! Around!

Meemaw, Meemaw, Meemaw...

Nothing's gonna
ever keep you down

Being a good entrepreneur,

my brother realized his supply
of my old tests was limited,

so he did something
else he was good at...

lie to my father.

Dad, do you ever use
the copy room at school?

Maybe sometimes. Why?

I need to make some copies for
a school project I'm working on.

It's not really for students.
You know, they keep it locked.

So, you have a key?

I'm not giving you my key.

Why not?

Why? Because I know you,
and therefore don't trust you.

- I told you, it's for school.
- Great.

Well, bring 'em by my office
tomorrow and I'll make copies.

Never mind.

It's not on my keychain.

Dang it.

It was, however, in my
dad's drawer at work,

leading my brother to do something
he had never done before...

get to school early.

Sucker.

It's like printing money.

You look beautiful.

Shut up and kiss me.

Oh.

- Mm. Oh, Cheryl!
- Oh, Hubert!

John Sturgis.

Hey, John!

Connie! So nice
to hear from you.

You'll never guess
what I'm doing.

Tell me.

I'm working on a
solar neutrino detector.

Wow!

I was going to guess
making soft-boiled eggs.

Yeah.

Sheldon and Linkletter
asked me to help 'em out.

Oh.

Linkletter's involved.

Oh, he's not so bad.

You and he aren't...

Oh, no, no, no.
I'm still seeing Dale.

Okay, good.

I can handle you with a
guy who sells volleyballs,

but you with another scientist,

it would be like a
dagger in the heart.

No daggers here.

Ha! So tell me
about this experiment.

Well, I don't know
if you know this,

but solar neutrinos are
like little messengers

from the center of the sun.

I did know that,

but it's delightful
to hear you say it.

Well, enjoy, 'cause that's
about all I remember.

So what's new by you?

Well, let's see, uh...

Oh!

Yesterday I had my
first breakfast burrito.

Mmm!

Good for you. How was it?

Confusing.

I ordinarily have burritos
for lunch or dinner.

I don't know how
to respond to that.

You're working on an experiment,
and I'm eating dinner for breakfast.

It's a crazy world!

I've got to get
back to the library.

But this is so much
more fun than books.

Will I be seeing you tonight?

Oh...

you'll be seeing all of me.

I think this might
be my finest work.

And she made my dinner
mittens, so that means a lot.

Oh...

I can't thank you enough.

Shall we apply the
empirical method?

Yes, the empirical method.

Let's apply that.

What now?

I feel like I might have
overstepped my bounds last night,

so I just wanted to bring
you these and apologize.

- Thank you.
- Hmm.

And I did mean it.

If you ever need
to talk, I'm here.

- I appreciate it.
- Okay.

It's more than Billy.

Herschel moved out.

Oh, Brenda, I'm so sorry.

Do you want to come in?

Of course.

So what's with the box?

The experiment needs to be
in complete darkness to work.

We watch these
monitors for the results.

Okay, all that's left is
to turn on the cameras.

Sheldon, will
you get the lights?

Yes, sir.

Was that to make
it more dramatic?

It's so that we can better
see the flashes on the monitor.

- But a little drama never hurts.
- Yeah.

All right, here we go.

Commencement of the solar neutrino
detector prototype in three, two, one.

- I don't see anything.
- Give it a moment.

Is that it?

That's it.

We did it.

Phase one is a success.

Congratulations.

Wow.

Look at those
beautiful neutrinos.

Those aren't neutrinos.

What you talking about?
That's what we're looking for.

That's just radioactivity.

Well, then when do
we find the neutrinos?

We don't. This is
just a prototype.

Are you kidding me?

The actual device needed
would be the size of a building.

And that's 20 to 30 years away.

Well, I could be dead by then.

You still may have
helped advance science.

- Unless another team beats us to it.
- Yeah.

I'm gonna wait in the car.

If it helps, in 30 years
I should still be alive.

Boy, you'd think she'd
be happy about that?

Remember, the smart cheater
gets some answers wrong.

I heard I might find you here.

Oh. Hi, Mr. Givens.

Would you like to explain why
this was on the copy machine?

Anyone could
have left that there.

It's your brother's, and
Tam said it was you.

Fine. But I only left it there

because you came in the
copy room and I had to hide.

What? When? What?

This morning before school.

Ha.

What exactly did you see?

I don't want to talk about it.

Well, I don't want
you talking about it.

Well, I don't want
you talking about this.

I don't even know what this is.

I don't even know what I saw.

All right, then.

All right.