The Bakersfield Expedition is the thirteenth episode from Season 6 of The Big Bang Theory.
Howard, Leonard, Raj and Sheldon dress up as Star Trek: The Next Generation characters to go to Bakersfield, California, to attend a Comic Con there, but before that can happen, they get their car stolen in the middle of a desert.
Soon the men are sweating under their heavy costumes and cosmetic make-up as they cross the hot desert looking for a phone. Howard calls his mother, she'll help them rent a car so they can get back home.
Meanwhile, Amy, Bernadette and Amy try to figure out why men are so intrigued by comic books. When the guys get back to Apartment 4A, the three women are still in there, arguing about Thor. Sheldon is so puzzled by this development that he suggests going into the apartment with phasers set on stun.
Tropes
- All for Nothing: The guys put in a considerable amount of effort into their extensive costumes and make-up (which must have cost at least hundreds of dollars) into cosplaying characters for Bakersfield Comic Con. And it all goes to waste.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When the guys had their car stolen, they mention that the car thief got away with Leonard's car, their wallets, their phones and Raj's cosmetic make-up.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Leonard never recollects his car from the thieves, although he mentions in the desert that his insurance will likely payout so his car will get replaced.
- Brick Joke: Sheldon's pre-recorded trivia track for their GPS. In The Stinger, the thieves are listening to it... and enjoying it.
- Captain Obvious: Sheldon screams "STEALING IS AGAINST THE LAW!" when Leonard's car is being stolen.
- "Cavemen vs. Astronauts" Debate: Despite the girls agreeing that comic books are stupid, they then get into a long argument over the nature of Thor's hammer and how only he can pick it up.
- Crossing the Desert: What the guys are reduced to while wearing heavy make-up and sweaty Star Trek costumes.
- Didn't Think This Through: For a CalTech physicist, Leonard's not too bright when it comes to securing his car. He left his doors unlocked AND left the keys inside. Even children would know that's unwise.
- Downer Ending: Well, it could've been worse, but all four men have their hearts broken, their dreams crushed, and their finances damaged (especially Leonard's) because of the car thief. They're lucky they weren't left to die of thirst and heatstroke out in the desert.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Howard's mom rents them a car to get back to Pasadena. When the guys decide to go home, Raj asks them if they rented the car from Enterprise. The guys respond with dirty looks, and Raj says, "Screw you, that's funny!".
- Hostile Hitchhiker: The guys worry that they could be perceived as this by oncoming drivers who are warding off their hand signs and pleas for a ride. They also ruminate over the fact that the driver who might pick them up could be a killer psychopath, so they all agree to forgo hitchhiking.
- Humiliation Conga: The guys suffer a huge one: not only is it embarrassing to get your car stolen and left abandoned without any food, water or communication out in a hot scorching desert, but the guys are wearing Star Trek costumes (Star Trek is centered around technology that eliminates such problems) and the nearest rest area they come to is a restaurant servicing roadgoers, bewildered over why 4 men dressed as Enterprise crewmen are filing a report of larceny to the police. The restaurant waitress even mocks them for it ("Why don't you ask Scotty to beam you up?") when Leonard (dressed as Picard) asks for the phone. Although the police officer (Reynolds) assures them he'll start searching for their car, the guys have NO money to buy any food or drinks from the restaurant. Howard arranges for his mother to get them a rental car to drive home.
- Hypocritical Humor: The girls don't understand why the guys argue about superheroes, only to devolve into doing the same thing they do, when they argue at length about Thor's hammer over what is implied to be several hours.
- Insane Troll Logic: Sheldon criticizes Leonard for not taking his car keys out of the ignition lock. However, Sheldon also invokes this trope himself by shifting blame onto Raj for the car theft instead of Leonard.
- Insult Backfire: Invoked (poorly) by Sheldon when the gang arrives at the restaurant. A waitress makes fun of Leonard's request to use the phone by replying, "Why don't you ask Scotty to beam you up?" Sheldon replies that Scotty was from The Original Series, while they're all dressed as Next Generation characters, "so... joke's on you".
- Kirk's Rock: The boys drive near Vasquez Rocks and decide to pose for a few photos in front of them. And that's when their car gets stolen.
- Momma's Boy: Officer Reynolds offers to call the men's mothers to come pick them up. Leonard says "we got it covered". Immediately afterwards, Howard comes back and says "I just talked to my mom".
- Mr. Fanservice: Penny notices the Thor comic in the store and the girls start reading it, primarily because of this trope, which even Stuart admits to.
- Never My Fault: Leonard concurs with Sheldon that the car theft was all Raj's fault, even though Leonard left his keys in the car and the doors unlocked.
- Noodle Incident: Bernadette mentions that another superhero lifted Thor and Thor lifted his hammer, and wonders if that means the other superhero lifted the hammer by the transfer principle. Penny retorts that if she walked into a bar, picked up a guy and then the guy picked up another girl and asks if she picked up the girl. Bernadette asks if that really happened. Penny mildly uncomfortably changes the subject by asking if they're talking about her or Thor despite bringing it up.
- Oh, Crap!: The looks on all the faces of the people in the comic book store when Penny, Bernadette and Amy stroll in give off this vibe.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Stuart, surprisingly. When guiding the girls through which comics to buy, he repeatedly tells the other patrons to stop staring at them, and tries to find a comic series the girls would like to start off with so they wouldn't get insulted, and chooses Fables on the basis that it doesn't objectify women.
- Rousing Speech: Sheldon attempts to motivate his group after being stranded on the highway with one, which gets interrupted when some passerby driver pelts a drink at him.
- Serious Business: The episode is all about how the characters take comic books seriously; the boys get stranded in the desert and have a massive Humiliation Conga with everyone making fun of them, while the girls argue over the nature of people picking up Thor's hammer, a very common debate among comic book readers. When the boys get home, they find the girls still arguing in a very heated debate.
- Shout-Out:
- To Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sheldon is dressed as Data, Leonard is dressed as Picard, Howard is dressed as a Borg drone, and Raj is dressed as Worf.
- One of the poses the guys do at their photoshoot at Kirk's rock is the Charlies Angels pose, one that Raj literally shouts out so they'd get into position.
- Skewed Priorities: Although they don't have any money or food, Raj keeps insisting that the men attend Bakersfield's Comic Con anyways before returning home. After all the stupid, desert-crossing crap they went through, Leonard and Howard immediately shoot down that idea. Raj thinks that Sheldon is on his side, but Sheldon states "Actually it's 3 against 1", explaining that he feels like an idiot and wants to go home. Raj reluctantly concedes, and everyone returns to Pasadena.
