The Terminator Decoupling
Encyclopedia
"The Terminator Decoupling" is an episode of the television series The Big Bang Theory
that first aired on CBS
on March 9, 2009. It is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the series and the thirty-fourth episode overall. The episode features guest appearances by actress Summer Glau
and cosmologist George Smoot
.
(Johnny Galecki
), Sheldon
(Jim Parsons
), Howard
(Simon Helberg
) and Raj
(Kunal Nayyar
) are heading to San Francisco to attend a conference, where cosmologist George Smoot
is giving a keynote address. On Sheldon's insistence the gang decides to travel to San Francisco on the Coast Starlight
train. On board the train, they find out that Summer Glau
(played by herself) is riding the same train. Raj and Howard debate on who should approach her first. With Raj unable to talk to women except when under the influence of alcohol, he departs to find alcohol on the train. As Howard is trying to figure out the best opening line, Raj swoops in and starts talking with Summer. Their conversation is going very well until Howard points out that Raj is drinking non-alcoholic beer. Realizing he was under a sort of placebo
effect, Raj quickly departs the scene, unable to talk anymore. Howard tries to strike a conversation but is unable to create an impression; instead it just comes off as annoying, his attempt ends with his phone being broken by Summer after he tries to take photos of him and her. With the failure of both Raj and Howard, Leonard musters the courage to approach Summer, but she gets off the train just as he is about to introduce himself.
During the train ride, Sheldon realizes that he has forgotten the flash drive containing the paper he wanted George Smoot to read. Reluctantly, he resorts to Penny (Kaley Cuoco
) to locate his flash drive so she can email him the paper. When Sheldon eventually presents the paper to Smoot (appearing as himself) and proposes joint research on the subject, Smoot rejects his idea.
had written to the producers of the show and requested to be featured on the series. Smoot, who received Nobel Prize in Physics
in 2006 for his work which cemented the Big Bang
theory, is an admitted fan of the series. The scene involving Smoot was shot at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California
on February 18, 2009. Summer Glau
also appeared as herself in the episode. Glau is part of the cast of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which along with The Big Bang Theory is produced by Warner Bros. Television
. Bill Prady
, one of the creators of The Big Bang Theory, presented the script of the episode to Josh Friedman
, creator of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles with the plan of casting Glau as herself. Friedman, impressed with the story, suggested it to Glau.
. The episode received a 3.6 rating/10 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, and a 2.4 rating/8 share among viewers between 18 and 34.
The episode received modestly positive reviews. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club
praised the writers for evenly including all the main characters in the episode. IGN
s James Chamberlain found Glau's acting lacking emotion, remarking "it felt as though Cameron were on the show and not Summer". Alan Sepinwall from The Star-Ledger
also remarked this episode as a balanced one for the cast ensemble.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
that first aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on March 9, 2009. It is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the series and the thirty-fourth episode overall. The episode features guest appearances by actress Summer Glau
Summer Glau
Summer Lyn Glau is an American actress, known for playing River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and follow-up film Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.-Early life:...
and cosmologist George Smoot
George Smoot
George Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and $1 million TV quiz show prize winner . He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on COBE with John C...
.
Plot
LeonardLeonard Hofstadter
Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, Ph.D., is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Johnny Galecki. Leonard is an experimental physicist from New Jersey who shares an apartment with colleague and best friend Sheldon Cooper...
(Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki
John Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
), Sheldon
Sheldon Cooper
Sheldon Lee Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D. is a fictional character from Texas on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Jim Parsons...
(Jim Parsons
Jim Parsons
James Joseph "Jim" Parsons is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success...
), Howard
Howard Wolowitz
Howard Joel Wolowitz, M.Eng is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Simon Helberg.Among the main male characters in the show, Howard is distinguished for lacking a doctoral degree, for still living with his mother, and for believing himself to...
(Simon Helberg
Simon Helberg
Simon Maxwell Helberg is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Howard Wolowitz in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. In its fourth season, he also appeared on the sketch comedy series MADtv for five episodes...
) and Raj
Rajesh Koothrappali
Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Kunal Nayyar....
(Kunal Nayyar
Kunal Nayyar
Kunal Nayyar is an Indian actor born in London, England, and raised in New Delhi, India. He is known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Education:...
) are heading to San Francisco to attend a conference, where cosmologist George Smoot
George Smoot
George Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and $1 million TV quiz show prize winner . He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on COBE with John C...
is giving a keynote address. On Sheldon's insistence the gang decides to travel to San Francisco on the Coast Starlight
Coast Starlight
The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...
train. On board the train, they find out that Summer Glau
Summer Glau
Summer Lyn Glau is an American actress, known for playing River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and follow-up film Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.-Early life:...
(played by herself) is riding the same train. Raj and Howard debate on who should approach her first. With Raj unable to talk to women except when under the influence of alcohol, he departs to find alcohol on the train. As Howard is trying to figure out the best opening line, Raj swoops in and starts talking with Summer. Their conversation is going very well until Howard points out that Raj is drinking non-alcoholic beer. Realizing he was under a sort of placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
effect, Raj quickly departs the scene, unable to talk anymore. Howard tries to strike a conversation but is unable to create an impression; instead it just comes off as annoying, his attempt ends with his phone being broken by Summer after he tries to take photos of him and her. With the failure of both Raj and Howard, Leonard musters the courage to approach Summer, but she gets off the train just as he is about to introduce himself.
During the train ride, Sheldon realizes that he has forgotten the flash drive containing the paper he wanted George Smoot to read. Reluctantly, he resorts to Penny (Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American film and television actress. She first came to attention for her role as Bridget Hennessy on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules. She later starred as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the supernatural drama series Charmed...
) to locate his flash drive so she can email him the paper. When Sheldon eventually presents the paper to Smoot (appearing as himself) and proposes joint research on the subject, Smoot rejects his idea.
Production
George SmootGeorge Smoot
George Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and $1 million TV quiz show prize winner . He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on COBE with John C...
had written to the producers of the show and requested to be featured on the series. Smoot, who received Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
in 2006 for his work which cemented the Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
theory, is an admitted fan of the series. The scene involving Smoot was shot at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
on February 18, 2009. Summer Glau
Summer Glau
Summer Lyn Glau is an American actress, known for playing River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and follow-up film Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.-Early life:...
also appeared as herself in the episode. Glau is part of the cast of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which along with The Big Bang Theory is produced by Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
. Bill Prady
Bill Prady
Bill Prady is a television writer and producer who has worked on American sitcoms and variety programs, including Married... with Children, Dream On, Star Trek: Voyager, Dharma & Greg, and The Gilmore Girls.-Career:...
, one of the creators of The Big Bang Theory, presented the script of the episode to Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman is an American screenwriter best known as screenwriter of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and as the writer of the 2005 film adaptation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds....
, creator of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles with the plan of casting Glau as herself. Friedman, impressed with the story, suggested it to Glau.
Reception
On the night of its first broadcast on March 9, 2009, the episode was watched by 9.46 million households, according to Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. The episode received a 3.6 rating/10 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, and a 2.4 rating/8 share among viewers between 18 and 34.
The episode received modestly positive reviews. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
praised the writers for evenly including all the main characters in the episode. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
s James Chamberlain found Glau's acting lacking emotion, remarking "it felt as though Cameron were on the show and not Summer". Alan Sepinwall from The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
also remarked this episode as a balanced one for the cast ensemble.