S04E10 - The Alien Parasite Hypothesis

No: 73  |  Season: 4   Episode: 10  |  Air Date: 2010-12-09  |  Runtime: mins

Are you suggesting we live our lives guided by the philosophies found in cheap science fiction?

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Summary

Amy discovers some unusual feelings and urges when she meets Penny's ex-boyfriend, Zack. Meanwhile, Howard and Raj argue over who would be a superhero and who would be their sidekick.

Director and Writers

Director: Mark Cendrowski
Writers: Story by: Chuck Lorre & Steven Molaro & Steve Holland / Teleplay by: Lee Aronsohn & Jim Reynolds & Maria Ferrari

Script

Script: S04E10 - The Alien Parasite Hypothesis

Quotes

Amy: Zack, I am Amy Farrah Fowler. We met the other night. I have spent my life in pursuit of pure knowledge. Until I met you, my decisions were founded in logic and reason. And yet here I stand before you, 130 pounds of raging estrogen, longing to grab hold of your gluteus maximus, and make Shakespeare's metaphorical beast with two backs.
Zack: My gluteus what?
Amy: On the other hand, as I look at the blank, ape-like expression on your face, I have decided to adopt the Vulcan practice of Kolinahr. Goodbye, Zack.
Zack: Bye.
(They shake hands)
Amy: Hoo-ooh!
(Amy turns and limps away)
Amy: That should hold me for awhile.

Sheldon: Aren't you slicing that man's brain a little too thin?
Amy: It's too thin if I were making a foot-long brain sandwich at Quizno's. For examination under a two photon microscope, it's fine.
Sheldon: Well, you're the expert. If the correct way to do it is the wrong way, then I yield.
Amy: Very well. If you die and donate your body to science, I promise to slice your brain like Canadian bacon.

Sheldon: What were the symptoms?
Amy: Elevated heart rate, moist palms, dry mouth, and localized vascular throbbing.
Sheldon: Localized to what region?
Amy: Ears and genitalia.
Sheldon: Interesting. Not body parts that usually team up.

Penny: (about Zack) He just didn't really challenge me on an intellectual level.
Bernadette: Couldn't you just fool around with him and then listen to NPR?
Penny: Wouldn't help. Zack can't even spell NPR.

Howard: Who'd want to become Ratman?
Raj: Who wouldn't. You could zip through a maze in nothing flat, squeeze through really small holes, and shut down restaurants in a single bound. And the best part of it is, if I were Ratman, you could be my sidekick, Mouse Boy.
Howard: Mouse Boy?
Raj: Oh, you don't like Mouse Boy? How about Kid Vermin?

Sheldon: What is the best number? By the way, there's only one correct answer.
Raj: Five million, three hundred eighteen thousand and eight?
Sheldon: Wrong. The best number is 73. You're probably wondering why.
Howard: No.
Raj: We're good.
Sheldon: 73 is the 21st prime number. Its mirror, 37, is the 12th, and its mirror, 21, is the product of multiplying - hang on to your hats - seven and three. Heh? Heh? Did I lie?
Leonard: We get it. 73 is the Chuck Norris of numbers.
Sheldon: Chuck Norris wishes. In binary, 73 is a palindrome: 1001001, which backwards is 1001001. Exactly the same. All Chuck Norris backwards gets you is "sirron kcuhc."
Raj: Just for the record, when you enter 5,318,008 in a calculator, upside down, it spells "boobies."

Penny: I'm suggesting there might be something you could do about Amy's... urges.
Sheldon: It's illegal to spay a human being.

Bernadette: How do you know him?
Penny: Oh, we went out a couple times.
Amy: I'm often flummoxed by current slang. Does 'went out' mean 'had intercourse'?
Bernadette: Yes,
Penny: No, no. But in this case yes.

Amy: Did you know that the iconic Valentine's heart shape is not actually based on the shape of a human heart, but rather on the shape of the buttocks of a female bending over?
Penny: So I spent seventh grade dotting my I's with little asses?
(Amy nods)
Penny: Cool.

Sheldon: Possible explanations for your symptoms are, in descending order of likelihood: hyperthyroidism, premature menopause, hosting an alien parasite, or, and I only include it for the sake of covering absolutely all bases... sexual arousal.
Amy: Where would I have picked up an alien parasite?

Penny: Are you saying that Amy is... oh, what's the scientific word...
Sheldon: Forget science. She's horny.

Amy: I think we need to face the cold hard truth. I was sexually aroused by Penny's friend, Zack.
Sheldon: Hang on, I don't know that we've given the alien parasite hypothesis a fair shake.

Raj: You realize you can't win.
Howard: I prefer to think that I can't lose.
Raj: You're wrong. It's only a matter of time before you fall into Rat Man's Rat Trap.
Howard: You pathetic fool, if there were a rat catcher wouldn't it catch Rat Man?
Raj: Just because I didn't express myself well doesn't mean my underlying point wasn't valid, you bloviating buffoon.
Howard: You narcissistic nincompoop.
Raj: You crimson coward. Oh, Leonard, wake up; you're missing some very excellent superhero quips.

Sheldon: Clarify something for me. Isn't the point of a communal meal the exchange of ideas and opinions? An opportunity to consider important issues of the day?
Leonard: It is. You just kind of put a damper on things when you said, "The next person I see talking with food in their mouth will be put to death."

Amy: Sheldon, I am not going through menopause!
Sheldon: Are you sure? You said that with the testy bark of an old biddy.

Notes and Trivia

Amy tells Zack that she wants to grab hold of his gluteus maximus and make Shakespeare's metaphorical beast with two backs. She is telling him that she wants to grab his backside (the gluteus maximus is the main muscle in the buttock) and have sex with him. The "beast with two backs" is a quotation from Shakespeare's Othello (Act 1, Scene 1).

Amy's and Sheldon's dialogue during the differential diagnosis is reminiscent of the classic Abbott & Costello comedy routine "Who's on First?"

As a solution to Amy's problem, Sheldon mentions the Vulcan technique of 'Kolinahr' from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), where Vulcans learn to repress all their emotions including sexual desire (though he neglects to mention that even Vulcans go through a process called 'pon farr' every seven years, where they experience an overpowering drive to mate). After Amy tells Zack that she will try Kolinahr, Sheldon gives Zack the Vulcan hand greeting.

Not only is the number 73 important marking the year actor Jim Parsons was born, this is also the 73rd episode of the show.

Raj's guess of 5,318,008 for the "best number" spells "BOOBIES" if you type it into a calculator and turn it upside down.

The whiteboard behind Sheldon as he tries to do a differential diagnosis on Amy's symptoms shows a schematic for the metabolism of glucose.

While Sheldon and Penny are talking in the laundry room, there's a sign behind Penny on the wall that reads: "Please Keep Your Clothes On While Doing Laundry"

Goofs

None

Cast

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