Episode 1 – The Bad Fish Paradigm (201)
Penny and Leonard return from the restaurant while Howard and Rajesh spy on them, using a webcam on the corridor connected to a laptop. Out of obvious envy, they try to convince Leonard that the date didn’t go well, leading Leonard to question where he went wrong.
On the other hand, after Penny and Leonard’s date, Penny feels uncomfortable having not completed community college. She is afraid that Leonard would become bored with her. She lied to Leonard about completing her own college and makes Sheldon keep her secret. This request to deceive Leonard is very hard for Sheldon (and his nervous tics) and results in the drastic decision on Sheldon’s part to move out.
However, after moving from Raj’s and Howard’s homes (in the course of one night) and refusing to sleep, even after Howard gave him “a glass of warm milk with a handful of my mum’s Valium in it,” Sheldon is brought back home by Howard, where he admits Penny’s failure to complete community college. Leonard, in an attempt to help Penny, offers her some pamphlets regarding some local community colleges, claiming he’s okay with dating a girl “who isn’t smart.” She promptly slams the door in his face. Leonard remarks, “Okay, this time I know where I went wrong,” and he finds Wolowitz and Koothrappali eavesdropped on the whole incident via the webcam.
The title refers to Wolowitz calling Leonard a “bad fish” and Leonard later realizing it.
Directed by Mark Cendrowski.
Written by Bill Prady, Steven Molaro & David Goetsch.
Originally aired on September 22, 2008.
Processing your request, Please wait....