Recap / The Big Bang Theory S 4 E 8 The Twenty One Second Excitation

"The Twenty-One Second Excitation" is an episode from Season 4 of The Big Bang Theory.

Sheldon and the men try to get into a viewing of Raiders of the Lost Ark (an extended version with 21 additional seconds), but have to sit in an excessively long line. Meanwhile, the girls have a slumber party.

Tropes:

• Ambiguously Bi: Amy attempting to kiss Penny at the end.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Amy asks way too many personal "Truth or Dare" questions to Penny regarding her failed relationship with Leonard. It causes her to leave to her bedroom and slam the door shut.
  Amy: How will you react if, in the future, you become ready for it, and Leonard is unavailable, because another woman has realized that he is, to use your words, a great guy?
• Bolivian Army Ending: The result and consequences of what happened after Sheldon stole the movie from the theater is never mentioned, with the whole event never brought up after this episode.
• Bullying a Dragon: Sheldon steals the film for the Raiders movie (mirroring how Indiana Jones stole the golden idol from the indigenous Peru people) from the hundreds of moviegoers.
• The Cameo: Wil Wheaton, once again appearing as a fictional version of himself.
  • Eric André appears as the theater owner.
• Chased by Angry Natives: Or in this case, angry Indiana Jones fans.
• Chased Off into the Sunset: The boys get chased by a whole crowd of angry Indiana Jones fans who wanted to see the extended cut before Sheldon stole it.
  Sheldon: Why is there never a pontoon plane when you need one?
• Childish Pillow Fight: One of the slumber party activities Amy wants to try. She nails Penny in the face with her pillow.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • Amy, many times during the sleepover. From asking embarrassing questions during "Truth or Dare", to attempting to cheer up Penny with a experimental lesbian kiss. Much to Penny's discomfort.
    Penny: Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing?
    Amy: Don't worry, I'll avoid the nether-ye.
  • When sneaking into the theater, Sheldon refers to Leonard as "Short Round", to his confusion.
    Leonard: "Short Round"?
    Raj: Indy's young sidekick from Temple Of Doom
    Leonard: Yeah, I know who it is, but why is it me?
    Raj: You're right, it should be a cuddly Asian boy, like me.
• Famous, Famous, Fictional: When Sheldon talks about knowing "his enemy" by following Wil Wheaton's Twitter:
  Sheldon: Would Custer not follow the tweets of Sitting Bull? Would Lee not follow Grant? Would not Spy have followed Spy?
• Faux Yay: Amy suggests one of the many original sleepover activities, which involves harmless experimentation with lesbian kissing. Not long after, she attempts to kiss Penny to cheer her up. Bernadette rather prefers eating raw cookie dough.
• Foreshadowing: Amy mentions that a time may come when Penny is ready for a commitment with Leonard, but another girl has already discovered what a great guy he is. That actually occurs later in the episode "The Cohabitation Formulation".
• Greens Precede Sweets: Sheldon complains to Raj for ordering dessert, because it got them late for the movie preview. Raj defends that he ate all his broccoli.
• If I Can't Have You…: At the end of the episode, after the boys don't get in to see the movie, Sheldon breaks into the theater and steals it, citing if he can't see the extended 21 seconds, neither can anyone else.
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: Howard strapping a bag to his leg to pee into seemed like a clever (if disgusting) way to relieve himself without having to get out of line. Unfortunately, it ended up being a pain when he had to run from a bunch of angry Indy fans.
• I Warned You: Sheldon kept trying to get the others to hurry up so they could get to the theater in time, but they dismissed him as they still had time before the film started. Turns out that Sheldon had a point, as an entire line of Indiana Jones fans was camped out in front of the theater and they ended up at the far back of the line.
  Sheldon: I informed you thusly.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Sheldon continually said they needed to get to the theater as soon as possible to see the movie, but everyone else dismisses him because they had hours before the movie started and they wanted to finish their dinner. When they finally arrived at the theater, there is a huge line of Indiana Jones fans camped out in front, with Sheldon pointing out how much closer they would have been if they had left earlier or just skipped dinner entirely (or even order their dinners To-Go, which Cheesecake Factory provides). They end up just missing the holding capacity of the theater due to being too far back in the line and Wil Wheaton and his gang getting in early.
• "Metaphor" Is My Middle Name:
  Sheldon: Trouble is my middle name, Leonard. Actually, it's Lee, but I prefer trouble.
• Prank Call: The girls prank call Sheldon by doing a mock phone call quality test, getting him to repeat several "test phrases": "Ima tote", "El but", and "Twad". Sheldon is then told to say them all together. The result?
  Sheldon: I'm a total buttwad. Why are you laughing? Hello?
• Refuge in Audacity: Before running off with the stolen film reels, Sheldon shows off the cans to Wil Wheaton, then he hums the Raiders March while running.
• Revenge Before Reason: Sheldon steals the movie as payback against Wil Wheaton, but it might not be worth getting chased by an angry mob.
• Right on Queue: The whole episode is the guys waiting in line. Sheldon even falls asleep at one point. They don't make it due to Wil Wheaton and friends cutting in line.
• The Scrappy: Referenced In-Universe when Wil Wheaton shows up; Sheldon responds by calling him "the Jar-Jar Binks of the Star Trek universe". When Wil gets to cut the line, he responds with:
  Wil: Weesa go to the movie now, bye bye!
• Screw the Rules, I'm Famous!: Wil gets to cut the line because the theater owner is a fan of Wil's.
• Shout-Out:
  • When asked to tell a dirty story, Amy recites "The Miller's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer, in the original Middle English. She explains that it's the dirtiest story she knows.
    Bernadette: I thought it was pretty spicy. Especially the part where he kisses her "nether-ye".
  • The scene where Sheldon steals the film is, again, a reference to Indiana Jones stealing the Golden Idol in Raiders.
  • When Wil Wheaton and his friends cut in line, Sheldon quotes from Jean-Luc Picard's "The line must be drawn here" speech from Star Trek: First Contact.
• Slumber Party: The girls' plot is their girls night turning into one, with Amy being super into it.
• Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss: Off-screen. After Penny stormed off due to a question Amy asked earlier, Amy attempts to cheer Penny up with an experimental kiss... much to Penny's shock.