S06E13 - The Bakersfield Expedition

No: 124  |  Season: 6   Episode: 13  |  Air Date: 2013-01-10  |  Runtime: mins

Summary

The guys are stranded in the middle of nowhere when Leonard's car is stolen on the way to the Bakersfield Comic-Con. Back home, the girls try to figure out why the guys are so fascinated with comic books.

Director and Writers

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

Script

Script: S06E13 - The Bakersfield Expedition

Quotes

Penny: Ah, the best! You have booze with breakfast on a Tuesday you got a problem. You do it on a weekend you got brunch.

Amy: Sheldon doesn't believe in brunch. He can't stand being at a table where one person's having an omelet and another person's having a sandwich.

Amy: You can't pick something up in outer space. In space, there is no up.
Penny: Oh, yeah? Then how does the sun come up every day?
Amy: Hard to argue with those kind of street smarts.

(Mrs. Wolowitz is sending a rental car for Howard, Sheldon, Raj, and Leonard after their car gets stolen)
Raj: Did we at least rent the car from Enterprise?
(no one laughs)
Raj: Get it? Enterprise.
(still no one laughs)
Raj: Screw you, that's funny.

(Penny, Amy & Bernadette have just entered the Comic Store)
Bernadette: Why are they staring?
Amy: Who cares? Just soak it in.
(huskily, stroking her hair)
Amy: Hello, boys.
Stuart: Oh. Hey!
(looks around at the customers)
Stuart: Could we stop staring? They're just girls; nothing you haven't seen in movies or in drawings.

GPS with Sheldon's Voice: Fun fact. President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act from his hospital room.
Car Thief #1: Wow. That is interesting.
ar Thief #2: You learn something new every day.
GPS with Sheldon's Voice: Say, can you name the four state capitals that are not served by the Interstate system?
Car Thief #1: Ooh, another quiz.

Leonard: Hey, will you steam my uniform next?
Sheldon: Yeah, uh, interesting. Do you recall this conversation? "Leonard, want to go halvesies on a steamer?" "No, Sheldon we don't need a steamer." Looks like that rumpled chicken's come home to roost.
Penny: (Comes in) Hi, here are the makeup sponges you asked for.
Leonard: Oh, thanks. I thought I had more.
Penny: (Looks in his makeup case, which he had just opened) Damn, you've got more makeup than I do. You got better makeup than I do.
(Takes something)
Penny: Yeah, I'm borrowing this.
Leonard: (Gently takes it back from her) Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, this is my Comic-Con makeup. I love you, but there are some things a man doesn't share with his girlfriend.
Sheldon: That's a wise policy. I once borrowed my sister's makeup for a costume contest, got a terrible case of pinkeye. Yeah, but luckily I was going as a zombie; I won second place.
Penny: I feel like you guys just went to Comic-Con.
Leonard: That was San Diego Comic-Con; this is Bakersfield Comic-Con.
Penny: Is that better?
Leonard: Mm, it's a lot smaller. It's more about the comics books, the way these conventions used to be before they went all Hollywood.
Sheldon: So to answer your question, no, it's not better.
Penny: Well then why are you going?
Sheldon: It's a comic book convention. Like pizza or particle accelerators even the stinky ones, still pretty good.

Penny: (Referring to Amy and Bernadette's argument that if another superhero picks up Thor while he's picking up the hammer, then that superhero is picking up the hammer) Okay, wait. If I pick up a guy at a bar, and then he picks up another girl and we all leave together, did I pick up the girl?
Amy: (Hopefully) Did that actually happen?
Penny: (Avoiding the question) Hey, are we talking about me or are we talking about Thor?

(stranded in the hot desert with Leonard, Sheldon, and Raj)
Howard: I wish my mom was here. We could all hang out in her shadow.

Sheldon: What if we were to get in a car with a crazy person?
Leonard: Look at us, Sheldon. We're the crazy people!

Sheldon: Just because you're wearing a captain's uniform, you're in charge?
Leonard: Yes.
Sheldon: Alright.

Stuart: Let's see. Well, you got your basic clean good guys, Superman, Spiderman, Captain America. Then you have your darker anti-heroes, your Batman, your Wolverine, Punisher.
Amy: Oh, I do love a bad boy.
Penny: As evidence by your boyfriend and his fear of hamsters.

Amy: How can Red Hulk be worthy?
Bernadette: YOU DON'T KNOW HIS LIFE!

Bernadette: (Amy, Bernadette, and Penny enter the comic store the guys often go to, and every male stops what they're doing and stares at them in shock)
(Obviously uncomfortable)
Bernadette: Why are they staring?
Amy: Who cares? Just soak it in.
(Then starts walking around, moving her hair from over her ear, then says the next line as if she were a 1940s girl talking to sailors)
Amy: Hello boys.
Stuart: (Comes out of the back room and sees the girls) Oh, hey.
(Then notices all the guys looking at them)
Stuart: Would you please stop staring? They're just girls. It's nothing you haven't seen in movies or in drawings.
Penny: Hey Stuart.
Stuart: Well, what brings you girls here?
Bernadette: We were looking for a recommendation about comic books.
Stuart: Oh, well, I recommend you don't open a store and sell them.
Penny: No, we were wondering why the guys like the stuff so much, so we thought we'd give it a try.
Stuart: (as he speaks the next line, some of the customers start looking at the girls again) Oh ok, well what do you think you might be in to? Superheroes? Fantasy? Graphic novels? Manga?
(Turns on the others without taking a breath)
Stuart: I swear I will turn a hose on you!
(They scatter)
Bernadette: What kind of comics do the guys like?
Stuart: Um, a little bit of everything. Mostly superhero stuff.
Amy: Alright, well who's the best superhero?
Stuart: (Frantically) Shhhh! You can't ask a question like that in here? Are you trying to start a rumble?
Penny: Well, what do you recommend?
Stuart: Oh, well um, you got your basic clean-cut good guys, like Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, then you got your darker "anti-heroes", like Batman, Wolverine, Punisher.
Amy: Oooo, I do love a bad boy.
Penny: (Matter-of-factly) As evidenced by your boyfriend and his fear of hamsters.
Stuart: (Presenting a comic) If I were you, I'd go for Fables #1. The artwork is sophisticated, it's intelligently written, and it doesn't objectify or stereotype women.
Penny: (Distracted by another comic) Oooo, Thor! He's hot!
Stuart: Yeah, he kind of is.

Bernadette: What if the Hulk picked up Thor while Thor is holding the hammer?
Amy: Yeah?
Bernadette: Then by the transitive property of picking things up, Hulk picked up the hammer!
Amy: No, Hulk picked up Thor, *Thor* picked up the hammer.

Bernadette: What kind of comics do the guys like?
Stuart: Um... a little bit of everything. Mostly superhero stuff.
Amy: Okay, well who's the best superhero?
Stuart: Shhhh! You can't ask a question like that in here! You trying to start a rumble?

Amy: (arguing with Penny and Bernadette about a comic book) It says right here on the hammer "Whoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
Bernadette: Well, hold on. Who decides who's worthy? Does the hammer decide?
Amy: (simultaneously with Penny) No.
Penny: Yes.
Amy: It can't decide. It's a hammer.
Penny: You said it's a magic hammer.
Amy: Yeah, but it... it can't make decisions.
Penny: If Harry Potter's wand can make decisions, why can't Thor's hammer?
Amy: Okay, if you're gonna start comparing wands and hammers, I can't even take you seriously.

Officer Reynolds: (taking Leonard's police report) Do you need me to call anyone? I'm guessing your moms?
Leonard: Thanks, we've got it covered.
Howard: (entering) Okay, I just talked to my mom.

Notes and Trivia

Howard's Borg costume is specifically from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Budget restrictions on Next Generation forced the makers to settle for that particular design. When the Borg re-appeared in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995), the bigger budget allowed for a more elaborate re-design.

In this episode, we learn another animal Sheldon does not like: hamsters.

The comic Stuart presents as a suggestion to the girls, "Fables #1", is a real comic. It's actually called, "Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile". The artwork on the cover is the original artwork of the issue. Other reissuings have different artwork, making the original a collectors item.

The four state capitals not served by the interstate highway system are: Juneau, AK; Dover, DE; Jefferson City, MO; and Pierre, SD.

The label on the GPS in the car reads "AGELLA", which is "MAGELLAN" with the first and last letters removed.

Goofs

None

Cast

Johnny GaleckiLeonard Hofstadter
Jim ParsonsSheldon Cooper
Kaley CuocoPenny
Simon HelbergHoward Wolowitz
Kunal NayyarRaj Koothrappali
Mayim BialikAmy Farrah Fowler
Melissa RauchBernadette Rostenkowski
Kevin SussmanStuart Bloom
Matt BattagliaOfficer Reynolds
Angela SargeantLana
Craig GellisCar Thief #1
Frank AlvarezCar Thief #2
Rick GiffordGuy