The Big Bang Theory The Neonatal Nomenclature

This week ‘The Big Bang Theory’ returned after a one month hiatus and the big question was, when is Bernadette going to have that baby? The episode opens with her staring at the clock next to her bed, and awakening Howard demanding they go to the hospital, claiming that it is time despite the fact that she has no contractions and her water has yet to break. Howard tries to soothe her with jokes, which of course don’t work, and then heads back to bed, only to be awoken a second later when she points out that sex can often cause a woman to go into labor, and Howard is more than happy to oblige. Sadly for them, no baby though.

The next day at work, Howard shares what is going on at home with his friends, with Sheldon “bragging” that he and Amy have have intercourse 4 times already, which of course is when Amy shows up, asking for Howard’s help with a grant proposal they are working on. He wants to help but needs to be with Bernadette in case she goes into labor, so the gang offers to keep her company instead, thus instigating the plot for the night, everyone’s attempts to either induce Bernie’s labor or keep her company. First up is Penny, who tries doing some Yoga stances with Bernie, but first has to change as she is showing off her flat belly with her open shirt and Bernie cannot stand it. To get revenge, Penny waits for Bernie to be in an awkward pose and snaps a pic with her phone, which Bernie does not appreciate. Next up is Raj, who claims that there is an acupuncture point on the foot that can induce labor, though Bernie warns him that her feet are very swollen, which he does not believe until they are in his lap. Third we have Leonard, who goes the psychological route by claiming that many women do not give birth until they are not truly ready to have the child, which makes Bernie angry as she asks whether Leonard is suggesting this is her fault. Last up is Sheldon, who assures Bernie he is not there to try to induce labor, but rather to just keep her company, and pulls out what is apparently known as the longest board game ever, ‘The Campaign for North Africa,’ and gleefully starts setting it up for them to play, much to Bernadette’s chagrin.

Meanwhile, while working on the grant, Amy and Howard start talking about Bernie and the baby, and Amy lets slip the name Michael, claiming that it is the name that Bernadette has already given their child, which infuriates Howard as he did not want to name the baby after Bernadette’s father. He races home, Amy right behind, to confront Bernadette, who pretends to be really into Sheldon’s game to deflect Howard’s anger. They head to the kitchen to discuss, while Sheldon invites the gang over to join the game, claiming it is better with more players. Bernie admits she tried to steal naming the child from Howard, and the child name is back on the table, with everyone giving their opinions as they all sit around trying to play the massive game Sheldon has set up.

Eventually, Bernie finally feels like she needs to go to the hospital, and Howard takes her, the gang staying behind to watch little Hallie and keep playing Sheldon’s game, which they all fall asleep while playing, except for Sheldon, who realizes they set it up wrong nearly 5 hours previously and need to start over.

Raj realizes they have yet to hear from the couple and calls Howard, and they get the news that Bernie gave birth safely, and they named the baby Neil Michael Wolowitz, with Bernie screaming in the background that they are all going to call it Michael, and Howard reluctantly agreeing because the birth was tough on Bernadette as the kid had a head “like a melon” and she ended up getting 6 stitches.

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:

BERNADETTE: You know I hear that sex can induce labor.
HOWARD: Anything for my family!

SHELDON: Welcome to the next 5-8 weeks of your life!
BERNADETTE: Sheldon I said I didn’t want to play your game.
SHELDON: Don’t think of it as a game, think of a it as a source of information about one of the lessor known campaigns of World War II.

HOWARD: Is this the hormones, or have you always been a lunatic?
BERNADETTE: I don’t even know anymore.

RAJ: (holding up a bag of food) Hey I brought Chinese!
PENNY: (gesturing at Raj) And I brought Indian!

Not the strongest episode of the season, but I’m glad they finally got the Bernie pregnant stuff out of the way so she can be a more pro-active part of the group again and not have to stay in bed, though as always I did enjoy her alone time with Sheldon, his interactions with the various members of the cast continue to be the highlight of the series. Usually Amy can pull some comedy gold as well but she wasn’t given much to work with this week, so I hope to see her come back stronger next week with more to do and a better storyline. Oh, and I was intrigued to hear Leonard talk about naming kids and Penny not shoot him down immediately, could they be planting some seeds about Penny getting pregnant at some point? More than anyone else on the show she could be a hilarious pregnant storyline, though I worry they might have beat that particular horse to death with Bernadette already. We’ll just have to wait and see.