Support NeoGAF

[Watch Da Birdie]

During the "Stinger" of Season 1, Episode 13 "The Bat Jar Conjecture", Penny quizzes the guys on various Pop-Culture, as a way to showcase how, despite previously winning the University's Physics Bowl, they are lacking in knowledge of more casual, everyday topics. Take note of the final question Penny asks the guys:

Penny: Alright, singer who sang “Oops I Did It Again.” (Sheldon starts involuntarily twitching again.) Okay, Tweetie Bird, taught he taw a what?

Sheldon (after they pass a smug look between each other): Romulan.

Penny: Yes. He taught he taw a Romulan.

(Sheldon and Leonard do a victory hand slide.)

This hilarious scene, oddly enough, displays the fact that even the more down-to-Earth Leonard is unaware of one of Looney Tunes' major player's catchphrase. Now, in and of itself, the fact that the nerds are unaware of classic cartoons is a bit of a stretch, but a later episode contradicts this fact. I present to you an excerpt from Season 5, Episode 19 "The Weekend Vortex":

Penny: Whu… the entire weekend? You mean I wouldn’t see you at all? But I ju… No, no, I knew what I was getting into. You can’t put a saddle on Leonard Hofstadter. Oh, my, is it getting hot in here? Ay, papi.

Leonard: Ay papi? What is that?

Penny: An acting choice.

Leonard: Oh. So you chose that when you become turned on, you turn into Speedy Gonzalez?

Although an unspecified amount of time has passed, and Leonard has since hooked up with Penny and become immersed in her "culture", I find it quite odd that he is now the one displaying familiarity with a Looney Tunes character, and one of the B-tier characters at that, when previously he seemed completely oblivious to even the most basic aspects of Looney Tune culture.

Now I'm wondering what other contradictions that are evident in the Big Bang Theory canon. For a show that is made to appeal to "nerds", or those that self-label themselves as such, not paying attention to the sacred cow that is a series' canon, which is more important than ever in scripted television, seems like a major oversight, and one that I'm worried will ultimately come back and bite the writers in the butt.

I'd like to thank the Big Bang Theory Transcripts for providing the above quotes from the show.

 

[terrisus]

Bazinga!

 

[Celegus]

That's not science.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Nice catch. My enjoyment of the show has been greatly diminished.

 

[bud]

COWABUNGA

 

[Az]

Damn. BBT will never be the same.

 

[GK86]

Take away all of their awards.

 

[DrForester]

Sheldon once called a Star Trek Voyager Phaser a Star Trek TNG Phaser..

 

[corn_fest]

 

[Mr. Blonde]

 

[Rentahamster]

This show is dead to me now.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Came for AstrophysicistGAF, left disappointed.

 

[John Kowalski]

Kimochi warui.

 

[vicissitudes]

Although an unspecified amount of time has passed, and Leonard has since hooked up with Penny and become immersed in her "culture",

So, you already answered your own question.

 

[Makonero]

Clearly, Penny made them watch Looney Tunes sometime in the five years between episodes, off-screen.

 

[Trojita]

Blizzaga!

 

[ChrisD]

Bluhzoopshky

Thought this was going to be about the actual Big Bang Theory.

 

[pompidu]

Legit Shook

 

[slider]

Zimbabwe.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Nice catch. My enjoyment of the show has been greatly diminished.

Nope, don't congratulate me. I feel a bit guilty at bringing this issue to light, as I greatly respect the work that Mr. Galecki, Mr. Parsons, Mr. Helberg, Ms. Cuoco, and Mr. Nayyar have done, but I feel the need, no, the responsibility to inform them that the ship they're on has narratively sprung a leak, and it'd be in their best interest to abandon it before this continuity error ultimately causes a mass exodus of fans, such as myself.

Clearly, Penny made them watch Looney Tunes sometime in the five years between episodes, off-screen.

Impossible. I searched throughout the episode transcripts, and there is not one mention of such an event being mentioned to have occurred. If I entertain the notion that "so-and-so can happen off-screen without any evidence", then that would open up a world of complete chaos where any bizarre claim could have occurred. Unless it was shown, or mentioned, that they had done so, it has not happened in the canon as far as I am concerned.

 

[Anoregon]

BENGHAZI

 

[Coldnoodle]

A wizard did it.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Nope, don't congratulate me. I feel a bit guilty at bringing this issue to light, as I greatly respect the work that Mr. Galecki, Mr. Parsons, Mr. Helberg, Ms. Cuoco, and Mr. Nayyar have done, but I feel the need, no, the responsibility to inform them that the ship they're on has narratively sprung a leak, and it'd be in their best interest to abandon it before this continuity error ultimately causes a mass exodus of fans, such as myself.

Maybe they watched it in between seasons 1 and 5, man.

 

[Joni]

Yes, because not knowing Tweety's catchphrase and not knowing Speedy are the same thing.

 

[Tamanon]

I don't think Speedy Gonzalez says "Ay papi". Just seems like a racist statement.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Go to a convention where the cast is assembled and bring up this point.

 

[terrisus]

Bluhzoopshky

Thought this was going to be about the actual Big Bang Theory.

NeoGAF poster inadvertently stumbles across flaw in well-renown theory. Scientists hate him!

 

[braves01]

So, you already answered your own question.

Basically. Move along people, BBT remains immaculate.

 

[Gully State]

Hi. A question for Miss Bellamy. In episode 2F09 when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.

 

[akira28]

speedy > tweety

 

[CreeperBlocks]

BAHBOOPIEZ

 

[No Love]

 

[RyanDG]

Speedy Gonzales... B-Tier?

What are you? Racist?

 

[Ceres]

The only thing worse than seeing a joke on BBT commercials may be reading one of the jokes from the show.

 

[kulapik]

 

[UncleSporky]

You assume that one could not later ask Leonard who Speedy Gonzales is, only to see him hang his head and say "I have no idea."

People can understand references to things without knowing anything about that thing.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

I don't think Speedy Gonzalez says "Ay papi". Just seems like a racist statement.

lol..he really doesn't.

 

[Menome]

I think the greatest scandal here is Speedy Gonzalez being referred to as a "B-Tier" character.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I think the greatest scandal here is Speedy Gonzalez being referred to as a "B-Tier" character.

Truth hurts, don't it.

 

[xxracerxx]

Maybe he watched Looney Toons clips in the 4 years between your examples?

 

[Sobriquet]

 

[plasmawave]

There are a lot of stuff like that in the show.

In one of the episodes Sheldon mentions how he can't dance, but in later episodes you see Sheldon doing the chacha.

 

[Skiptastic]

There's an episode of the Simpsons where the kids quiz Marge on things about them because "a mother knows everything about her children" or something like that. She notes that Bart's allergies are butterscotch, imitation butterscotch and something else.

In a later episode, where Homer re-proposes to Marge after Milhouse's parents divorce, Marge is entering the house after a trip to the dentist and Bart has something like five cavities, which is his best yet, so he gets "butterscotch chicken" as a reward.

Marge is trying to kill Bart.

Zoomanji.

 

[thesuperfunk]

Speedy Gonzales... B-Tier?

My first thought too.

 

[jesu]

So why we still got monkeys?

 

[Menome]

Truth hurts, don't it.

You take that back. Speedy Gonzalez is a good friend of me and my sister.

Spoiler

And everybody else's sister.

 

[nullref]

Maybe Leonard actually knew the answer, but just wanted to see what Sheldon would say.

 

[daveo42]

You're trying too hard OP. It's a sitcom where the studio audience is a tape player and the at-home audience only cares about moment to moment pop culture references and laughing at the socially awkward situations.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Do they still show Speedy Gonzalez when they are showing it to kids? I thought they stopped airing it outside of "Adult blocks" with the World War II propaganda?

 

[Angry Grimace]

Do they still show Speedy Gonzalez when they are showing it to kids? I thought they stopped airing it outside of "Adult blocks" with the World War II propaganda?

I have no clue where you would even go to find Looney Tunes. I mean, there's racist shit everywhere, insane violence, a rapist skunk, etc.