"The Big Bran Hypothesis" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on October 1, 2007. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Robert Cohen and David Goetsch, based on a story by the show's creators, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.
Howard, Leonard, Raj and Sheldon are about to watch a Superman movie marathon when Penny asks Leonard if he can bring up a package of furniture that she's expecting if she's not home. Leonard says yes before Penny can finish saying her request. Penny gives Leonard her key.
The next day, Leonard and Sheldon bring the package up to her apartment, where Sheldon is aghast to see how messily Penny lives, throwing things just anywhere. That night, Sheldon sneaks into Penny's apartment and starts cleaning and organizing everything as Penny sleeps.
Leonard goes over and tries to get Sheldon out, but Sheldon insists and so Leonard pitches in. The next morning Penny's of course upset, and demands her key back. Sheldon explains that the cleaning was his idea and Leonard reluctantly went along with it. Penny's understandably still furious.
Leonard writes a letter of apology to Penny and reads it to her. Penny forgives Leonard.
Tropes
- Artistic License – Physics: As a physicist, Sheldon should know that how fast he and Leonard push Penny's package up the stairs makes an important difference, so his assertion to the contrary is wrong.
- Ass Shove: The retribution Penny plans on Sheldon for cleaning up her room without her consent is to kick him in the ass and keep her shoe stuck inside it.
- Comically Missing the Point: Leonard tells Sheldon that him breaking into Penny's apartment in the middle of the night to clean it may lead to him being tried by "a jury of your peers." Sheldon claims that's ridiculous - he has no peers!
- Complexity Addiction: During the post-credits, the guys are supposed to help Penny put together her IKEA piece. However, they get so disgusted by its inefficient design that they run off on a ridiculously ambitious mission to re-engineer it completely, leaving Penny alone to just assemble it from the instructions.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Sheldon knocks on Penny's door just once without doing his compulsive multiple knock ritual.
- This episode introduces the familiar Idiosyncratic Wipes between scenes with graphics of atoms bouncing around, but it's accompanied by a bell tree sound rather than the more familiar "whoosh" sound.
- Furniture Assembly Gag: Penny's neighbors attempt to help her put together an IKEA piece. Howard states the instruction is why Sweden doesn't have a space program (it does now).
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming, instituted: From this episode forward, every episode of this show has a mock scientific concept for a title, and each title starts with "The."
- No Social Skills: When Sheldon sees how messy Penny's apartment is, he breaks in in the middle of the night and refuses to leave until he is done cleaning. He is promptly confused the next morning why Penny is so mad at him for doing this favor or why he needs to apologize.
- In the stinger she belatedly admits in an Aside Comment that it did improve the apartment's appearance
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: Penny tries, "Guys, it’s hot in here, I think I’ll just take off all my clothes." They don't even look up.
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: One of these prompts the famous "sarcasm sign."Penny: And what kind of doctor removes shoes from asses?
Sheldon: Depending on the depth, that's either a proctologist or a general surgeon. - Sarcasm-Blind: Yes, this is the episode with the famous "sarcasm sign" scene.
- Shout-Out:
- To Benoît Mandelbrot: Sheldon says the Mandelbrot set is "a little messy," while Penny's apartment is chaos.
- To J. Robert Oppenheimer: Leonard's letter of apology to Penny quickly gets into a tangent about the
- Talking with Signs: Invoked by Leonard when he asks Sheldon if he has to hold up a "sarcasm" sign for him to understand when someone is being sarcastic. Later on, he actually makes one.
