Search results
Mar 24, 2008 · With Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg. Leonard lies to Penny so he and Sheldon can get out of watching her perform, but Sheldon believes that the lie has too many loose ends, so he comes up with a new, unnecessarily complex one to replace it.
- (4.9K)
- Comedy, Romance
- Mark Cendrowski
- 2008-03-24
- Overview
- Summary
- Extended Plot
- Credits
- Critics
- Notes
- Costume Notes
"The Loobenfeld Decay" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, March 24, 2008.
Leonard hears Penny singing poorly. When she asks them to come to a performance, showcase Leonard lies and says that he and Sheldon have plans. Sheldon is uncomfortable with the lie which Leonard gives and so he comes up with a new complicated one.
The episode opens with Sheldon and Leonard arriving home and arguing about "Terminators". They are debating the rationale of SkyNet's use of terminators; Sheldon grilling Leonard on why SkyNet would need to create a petite, hot, 17 year old killer robot, since artificial intelligence does not have teen fetishes. They suddenly hear terrible singing from the upper floors, they soon discover it was Penny, who announces that she has landed the role of Mimi in the musical show; "Rent". Although it is apparent that the boys are bringing home takeout food to consume, Leonard lies to Penny that they were just taking out some trash; forcing Sheldon to put the bag of takeout food in the trashcan in the lobby. As if one good lie deserves another, Leonard fibs that he and Sheldon will be attending a Symposium on Molecular Positronium given by Dr. Emil Farman-Farmaian to avoid attending Penny's show and hurting her feelings. When Penny leaves, Sheldon is deeply disturbed by how easy Leonard was able to lie convincingly, noting that this is a quality of sociopaths.
Sheldon wakes Leonard up in the middle of the night because he is concerned that Leonard's lie is full of holes and is easily seen through. He is concerned that Penny might go online to get information about the seminar they said they were attending, and then they'd be caught in the lie. Leonard tries to explain the social procotol that led him to lie to spare Penny's feelings.
The next morning, Sheldon confesses to Penny that Leonard lied about the symposium. He fills Leonard in, informing him that he has created a new, better lie; one where Penny will not be able to uncover evidence to bust them: he told her that Leonard was lying to protect Sheldon, because Sheldon was embarrassed that they were going to be participating in a drug intervention for Sheldon's cousin, Leo, in Long Beach. He tries to get Leonard to understand how important little details are in keeping the lie alive, believable, and "un-unravel-able". Sheldon has gone so far as to create a Facebook page for Leo, an online blog, and a listing on eHarmony.com, all of which will confirm Leo's issues and act as confirmation of their story. He was able to make Leonard part of the alibi for non-attendance by setting the fake intervention in Long Beach, as Sheldon doesn't drive, and would need Leonard to thus go along with him. All they have to do is leave the apartment Friday and return in the wee hours. Then they can claim that Leo went to rehab, AND, they will have set the stage to use Leo as a diversion for any other future things that they might want to get out of attending. Leonard is concerned that there is no way he'll be able to remember all of these details, and Sheldon proudly announces that he doesn't have to. He told Penny that Leonard was embarrassed about Leopold, and so Penny has already agreed to play along with the original lie.
On the day of her show, Penny stops by at apartment 4A to see Leonard and Sheldon before their intervention for "Leopold" at Long Beach, she acts as if they were attending the symposium. Upon hearing that Howard and Raj were been left out of the symposium, Howard starts getting angry. Penny then asks Sheldon to reveal that they are not going to the symposium, but rather an intervention, Penny then leaves for her show. After Penny leaves, Sheldon and Leonard tell Howard and Raj about the lie. After a discussion, they decide to go to Long Beach (where they were supposed to travel for the intervention) to see the RMS Queen Mary. Later that night, Sheldon confronts a cranky Leonard (because he was awakened in the middle of the night) about the lie, he tells Leonard that there is a slight flaw based upon the personality and motivation of his fictional cousin.
•Guest starring:
•DJ Qualls as Toby Loobenfeld
•Teleplay: Bill Prady & Lee Aronsohn
•Story:' Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady
•"The focus on one story gives the episode a clear structure and a memorable identity. It is both funny and plausible, but is not a classic episode of comedy. The humor just isn't strong enough to match the clever story." - The TV Critic's Review
•IMDb user reviews.
•Title Reference: Toby Loobenfeld is a research assistant who was cast to play Sheldon's drug addicted cousin.
•Chuck Lorre's vanity card
•This episode was watched by 8.63 million people with a rating of 3.4 (adults 18–49).
•Episode transcript .
Sheldon:
The episode opens to Sheldon in his orange Space Invaders shirt. When he goes to talk to Penny, he sports a green on green striped t-shirt. Trying to pass off their lie to Penny, Sheldon is seen in a red and gray fractal pattern shirt. After visiting the ship, he sports an appropriate Queen Mary shirt, presumably fromthe ship's gift shop]. The rest of the episode finds Sheldon in his Green Lantern athletic jersey t-shirt, until the last scene where he sports a blue t-shirt with horizontal stripes of small gray dots
Leonard:
Leonard starts the episode in an unknown tee with a global graphic, possibly related to weather or satellite tracks (hard to tell with his darn jacket on all the time). Then he wears his adrenaline molecule shirt and an olive drab shirt with the radioactive emblem. In the final scene he sports a red shirt with unknown design (due to the jacket, again).
I would suggest something to the effect of, singing is neither an appropriate vocation nor avocation for you, and if you disagree, I'd recommend you have a CAT scan, to look for a tumour pressing on the cognitive processing center of your brain.
After hearing Penny sing, Leonard lies to avoid seeing her perform. Sheldon goes one step further with a more elaborate lie, leading to the appearance of his...
The Big Bang Theory S 1 E 10 The Loobenfeld Decay. "The Loobenfeld Decay" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on March 24, 2008. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Bill Prady and Lee Aronsohn based on a story by Chuck Lorre.
Mar 25, 2008 · The Big Bang Theory succeeds where the others have failed. Sep 24, 2007. It all started with a simple lie. While going up to their apartment, they overheard a singing Penny making her way...
