"The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on December 15, 2008. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Stephen Engel and Eric Kaplan, based on a story by Bill Prady and Richard Rosenstock.
Penny has a Christmas gift for Sheldon. Now that he knows about the gift, he feels an obligation to give her "a gift of commensurate value and representing the same perceived level of friendship as that represented by the gift you've given me."
Sheldon orders Howard and Raj to take him to the mall. At a bath item gift shop, Sheldon pesters the cashier, Charlotte (Michael Hyatt), with a series of questions she doesn't understand and which make her uncomfortable. Since Sheldon has that same effect on Penny, according to Howard, Sheldon should buy Penny the basket he was asking Charlotte about.
Sheldon does buy that basket, and four others that are bigger, and which he makes Howard and Raj carry back up to Apartment 4A. Once Sheldon knows what Penny's gift for him is, he will determine which basket is commensurate in value, give that one to Penny and return the rest.
David Underhill (Michael Trucco), a 2007 recipient of the MacArthur "genius grant," shows up at the university's cafeteria. According to Sheldon, David's research on high energy positrons has rendered Leonard's research useless. Leonard is envious of David, but when David asks Leonard for help setting up an experiment in a photomultiplier lab, Leonard eagerly agrees.
Later, Leonard has a small accident with David's motorcycle, and so David brings Leonard to Apartment 4A. Penny helps David help Leonard go up the stairs (since the elevator is broken). Penny's impressed by how handsome David looks. After dropping Leonard off, David and Penny go hang out.
David and Penny really hit it off, until Penny discovers that David is married. Unaware of this development, Leonard goes to Apartment 4B to confront Penny, but when she explains what happened, he gives her a shoulder to cry on.
Penny and Sheldon exchange gifts. Penny got Sheldon a napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy. That is to Sheldon way more valuable than the five gift baskets put together, so he gives them all to her, and, to her surprise, awkwardly hugs her.
Tropes
- Always Someone Better: Dave Underhill to Leonard. Not only is he smarter and more accomplished, he's also tall and handsome. Subverted when Leonard finds out from Penny that he tried to take nude photos of her, and is married on top of that.
- Armor-Piercing Question:
- Played for laughs. Leonard finally vents his frustrations and goes on at length to Penny about her dating Dave. In response, Penny (who, as we would then learn, is dealing with the aftermath of breaking up with Dave) meekly whimpers, "Why are you yelling at me?" Leonard immediately caves.
- Also played straight in the same scene when Penny asks Leonard why he's so jealous, despite claiming to be fine with just being friends. Leonard won't answer the question, preferring to focus on Dave cheating on his wife with Penny.
- Blatant Lies: Leonard saying he's absolutely fine with the way things currently are with Penny.
- Christmas Episode: The first in the series. It establishes that Sheldon doesn't celebrate Christmas.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Leonard is clearly jealous of Prof. Underhill for dating Penny.
- Hypocrite:
- Leonard is dismissive of Dave, but gushes at him asking to work with him, even giving him all the phone numbers he needs to reach him like a lovestruck girl. Lampshaded immediately afterwards.
- When finally venting his frustrations about Penny going out with Dave, Leonard accuses her of this. As Leonard notes, she says she wouldn't date him because she felt intimidated by how smart he is, only to start dating a guy substantially smarter than he is. For her part, Penny argues that if Dave was actually that smart, he would have done a better job of hiding the fact that he was two-timing her with his wife.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Sheldon is so excited at getting a napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy that he gives Penny a hug (albeit a very awkward one).
- Serious Business: Sheldon hates getting gifts because then he feels obligated to give one of equal value in return, which he finds difficult and time consuming.
- Skewed Priorities: In a roundabout way, Penny says she learned Dave was already married because he had nude photos of the woman on his cellphone while trying to take nude photos of her.Leonard: He tried to take nude photos of you?
Penny: That's what you took from that?! The guy is married! - Tempting Fate: When Sheldon explains to an increasingly irritated and confused Penny how he now has to get her a gift of equal value in return, Raj whispers to Howard. They both think it's Actually Pretty Funny when this kind of thing happens to someone else. Then Sheldon tells them he'll need a ride to the mall, at which point Howard realizes it's now happening to them, too.
- Title Drop: At the bath item gift shop, Sheldon says the episode's title exactly.Howard: Come on, bath stuff, it's perfect! You got a scented candle, a cleansing buff, spearmint and green tea scented bath oil, it promotes relaxation.Sheldon: That presupposes Penny is tense.Raj: She knows you. She's tense. We all are. Buy a basket!Howard: Excuse me, we're ready.Sheldon: No, we're not. Let's say for a moment that I accept the bath item gift hypothesis, I now lay the following conundrum at your feet, which size?Howard: This one. Let's go.
