History Recap / TheBigBangTheoryS2E8TheLizardSpockExpansion

-->'''Sheldon:''' What's Plan B?\\

** Bonus comedy points if you knew that Olive Garden and Red Lobster were both owned by the same company, Darden Restaurants, at the time of this episode's airing.

Sheldon adds Lizard and Spock to the rock-paper-scissors game in order to settle out his many disagreements with Raj, but they both want to be Spock because he's far cooler than all other options including lizard. Meanwhile, Leonard wins the heart of Howard's newest crush Stephanie Barrett as while Howard thinks he and Stephanie are dating.

* DoubleDate: In the end, it's [[spoiler: Leonard and Stephanie along with Howard and Lisa, as Lisa just recently went through a break-up]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Howard [[spoiler: thought that he invoked this trope]] by driving the Rover on MARS into a crevasse and so he orders Sheldon and Raj to help him delete all evidence that he was responsible. But then NASA realizes that the Rover falling into that crevasse captured photo evidence that life may have existed on Mars in the past, and they don't know who to credit for this scientific discovery. That discoverer would have surely received a financial reward plus notoriety and fame. Guess how Howard reacts.

* BackhandedCompliment: Howard calls them "negs" and uses them to catch women aback when hitting on them. He tries one on Penny; it doesn't work.
-->'''Howard:''' May I say, Penny, not a lot of women could look as hot as you do with such greasy hair.\\
'''Penny:''' [pulls on his eyepatch and snaps it back] Yeah, just move your stupid scooter before I pick it up and throw it in the dumpster.\\
'''Howard:''' [after she leaves] Ow!

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Leonard admits this (in the trope's exact words) when he tried to instruct Sheldon not to say anything about him leaving, when really all he had to do was leave to go see Stephanie as nobody really cared what reason he had to leave at night.

** Sheldon could have easily beaten Raj at any Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock game by just picking lizard since Raj will always choose Spock. That way he could get anything he wants it his way without Raj's interference. But because Sheldon has no self-control, he also is predisposed to only picking Spock.

!!Tropes

** Bonus comedy points if you knew that Olive Garden and Red Lobster were both owned by the same company Darden Restaurants at the time of this episode's airing.

* TakeThatAudience: Sheldon and Raj's bickering and childish arguing over which ''Star Trek'' movie is better is definitely nothing less than {{Satire}}.

* TakeThatAudience: Sheldon and Raj's bickering and childish arguing over which ''Star Trek'' movie or sci-fi work is better is definitely nothing less than {{Satire}}.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Mrs. Wolowitz (Howard's mother) wants Howard and Stephanie to go on their date at Olive Garden, because she has a coupon for that place and wants to eat there. Howard sternly refuses Olive Garden because it's too casual, to which she (sarcastically) replies [[HypocriticalHumor "Mr. Big-Shot with his Red Lobster"]].

* ExpospeakGag: Sheldon, as usual, with a touch of GettingCrapPastTheRadar. The below statement is Sheldon telling Howard that he's "up shit creek without a paddle".

'''Sheldon:''' Why wasn't that Plan A?
* YourCheatingHeart: Leonard worries over whether he is cheating on Penny by dating and passionately kissing Stephanie, trying to keep telling himself that his dates with Penny are in the past.

* FatGirl: Stephanie and Howard's mother.

%%* CashCowFranchise: The purpose of the "Star Trek" sequels was to make money, not build improvement over the predecessors.

-->'''Sheldon:''' It's very simple. Scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock. Rock crushes lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Paper disproves Spock. Spock vaporizes rock. And, as it always has, rock crushes scissors.

** Sheldon doesn't seem to add any rules for what the lizard does to rock, paper and scissors or what Spock does to scissors.