S08E22 - The Graduation Transmission

No: 181  |  Season: 8   Episode: 22  |  Air Date: 2015-04-23  |  Runtime: mins

Summary

Howard questions his engineering abilities when he and Sheldon can't get a toy drone to fly. A cancelled flight nearly prevents Leonard from giving the commencement address at his former high school. Raj pits his parents against each other when his father cuts him off financially.

Director and Writers

Director: Anthony Rich
Writers: Story by: Chuck Lorre & Dave Goetsch & Anthony Del Broccolo / Teleplay by: Steven Molaro & Steve Holland & Eric Kaplan

Script

Script: S08E22 - The Graduation Transmission

Quotes

Howard: What happened to me? When did I become an old man baffled by modern technology? Next thing you know, I'll be hitching my pants up to my armpits and complaining about the awful music the kids are listening to.
Sheldon: It is awful, isn't it? Listen to that noise.

Leonard: How'd you get ready so fast?
Penny: Oh, I pack light. Once I got through an entire spring break with nothing but a long t-shirt and a belt.
Leonard: Why'd you need a belt?
Penny: It's called an evening look.

Mrs. Koothrappali: Hello, Rajesh. What a nice surprise.
Raj: Well, I've been thinking about you. How you doing? Are you happy, mommy?
Mrs. Koothrappali: Such a sweet boy for asking. I can't believe you come from the poison seed of your father.

Sheldon: So, can you get it working?
Howard: I'm an MIT-trained engineer. I've built components for the space station.
Sheldon: I thought the zero-gravity toilet didn't work.
Howard: It worked fine. It just wasn't designed for Russian cosmonauts and their potato-based diet.

Sheldon: Aren't you afraid of being blinded?
Leonard: How would I be blinded?
Sheldon: At the end of the ceremony, all the students throw those pointy hats in the air. It's all pomp and circumstance until someone loses an eye.
Leonard: I'll take my chances.
Sheldon: Fine. I wonder if they make "I told you so" cards in Braille.

Leonard: I thought it'd be fun to show her my old stomping grounds. I even know the exact spot where they used to stomp me.

Penny: Think we'll have time to visit your mom while we're there?
Leonard: Yes. We'll also have time to put my junk in a garlic press, but I'm not doing that either.

Sheldon: Won't that void the warranty?
Howard: Sheldon, I have a masters degree in engineering. I wipe my bottom with warranties. Except for AppleCare; that pays for itself in the long run.

Bernadette: Ready to call tech support?
Howard: Give me the number. Probably wind up talking to some foreign guy who's reading from the same manual I have.
(Raj's phone rings. Sheldon, Howard, and Bernadette stare at him in shock)
Raj: It's my father, you jerks.

Penny: Never been to New Jersey before.
Leonard: Ah, it gets a bad rap from shows like Jersey Shore and Real Housewives.
Penny: So it's not really like that?
Leonard: No, it's like that.

Dr. Koothrappali: Are you still dating that dermatologist?
Raj: If you could feel how soft my skin is, you wouldn't have to ask.

Raj: It's like the best one they make. I just can't get it to work.
Howard: I'll figure it out.
Raj: it streams HD video straight to your phone while it's flying.
Howard: Nice. Where were you when I was single?
Leonard: Okay, we should leave in about an hour. You all packed?
Penny: Uh, yeah, I just need to throw in a few last-minute things. You know, makeup, underwear, clothes.
Sheldon: If your bathroom floor counts as a carry-on, you're packed.

Leonard: So you really think they liked it?
Penny: Oh,sweetie, it was the best speech ev-
(they duck and scream as the drone flies out of Sheldon's apartment)
Sheldon: Don't worry, everyone in here is safe.

Notes and Trivia

Sheldon again mentions the failure of Howard's space toilet, the Wolowitz Zero-Gravity Waste Disposal System seen in The Classified Materials Turbulence (2009). At the time, Howard blamed its failure on a small mistake he made with the diverter valve, but now he claims it was due to "Russian cosmonauts and their potato-based diet".

The on-hold music, "Feels So Good" by Chuck Mangione, is the same tune Sheldon plays on a flugelhorn in his dream in The Relaxation Integration (2017).

Goofs

None

Cast

Johnny GaleckiLeonard Hofstadter
Jim ParsonsSheldon Cooper
Kaley CuocoPenny
Simon HelbergHoward Wolowitz
Kunal NayyarRaj Koothrappali
Mayim BialikAmy Farrah Fowler
Melissa RauchBernadette Rostenkowski
Brian GeorgeDr. V.M. Koothrappali
Alice AmterMrs. Koothrappali
Max MittelmanTech Support
Katie Von TillTech Support Recording