Precious Fragmentation

Precious Fragmentation
Writers	story by Lee Aronsohn, Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari, teleplay by Bill Prady, Steven Molaro & Richard Rosenstock
Director	Mark Cendrowski
Starring	Frank Maharajh as Venkatesh Koothrappali
Air Date	8 March 2010
Vanity	Card #279
Guide	Episode #317
Quotes	Episode #317
Forums	Discuss Episode

Season 3, Episode 17 (0317)

Excelsior Acquisition . . . << The Precious Fragmentation >> . . . Pants Alternative

Summary

When the guys find a ring from "The Lord of the Rings" at a garage sale, it threatens to tear them apart.

Episode Outline

I. Hallway in front of apartments

• The guys return home with Leonard carrying a large and heavy box.

II. Living room

• Penny expected the guys to bring home food, but they brought a box from a garage sale.

• The guys start unpacking the box.

Title and Opening Themes

III. Living room

• Bored by the guy's fascination with the box, Penny leaves.
• Sheldon discovers a ring that looks like "the one ring" from Lord of the Rings.

IV. Cheesecake Factory

• Howard has found out that the ring is a real prop from the movie Lord of the Rings.
• The guys start arguing what to do with the ring - and have four different points of view.
• Penny is asked to keep the ring until the guys found an agreement.

V. Leonard's bedroom

• Sheldon sneaks up to a sleeping Penny and tries to take it from her. Penny wakes up and in a reflex punches Sheldon.

VI. Cafeteria

• Howard mocks Sheldon about his black eye.
• Raj brought his cousin Venkatesh Koothrappali via webcam from Mumbai to argue his case.
• The guys start fighting again and decide the person who can hold onto the ring longest, will get it.

VII. Stairway

• The four guys walk up the stairs, holding onto the ring.

VIII. hallway in front of apartments

• Trying to open the door, the guys meet Penny.
• Penny shows Leonard a bag with underwear she just bought. Leonard lets go of the ring.

IX. Living room

• Howard tells his mom on the phone that he will be late, while Raj is mocking him.
• Howard, Raj and Sheldon try to make each other let go of the ring.

X. Living room

• The guys have fallen asleep. Howard and Raj let go of the ring. Sheldon wakes up and runs to the bathroom.

XI. Bathroom

• Sheldon washes the ring and talks to it in the same way the creature Gollum from the movie used to talk to the ring.
• When he looks up in the mirror, he looks like Gollum and starts to scream in horror.

XII. Living room

• Sheldon wakes up from a nightmare. The ring is gone. Leonard tells them he sent it back to Peter Jackson.

XIII. Leonard's bedroom

• Leonard opens a box that he stored under his bed. The ring is hidden inside.

XIV. Leonard's bedroom

• Sheldon tries to take the ring from Leonard. They start fighting.
• Penny leaves the room.

Resources

List of entries from this episode

David Salzberg's science blog about this episode

Notes and Trivia

Casting notices from this episode. The character of Larry Crispo was dropped as a guest star to become Eddie Crispo, who was mentioned only.

[LARRY CRISPO] Late 50s-Early 60s... This disheveled man, who still lives with his mother, helps Sheldon appraise a ring that he bought at a garage sale… GUEST STAR

Read more: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/The%20Big%20Bang%20Theory#ixzz0dlW98oiN

[VENKATESH KOOTHRAPPALI] Late 20s-30s... MALE. Raj’s (Kunal Nayyar) attorney cousin from India, Venkatesh is revealed on Raj’s laptop computer. Venkatesh assists Raj in a property claims case…GUEST STAR / ACTOR MUST BE EAST INDIAN AND BE COMFORTABLE SPEAKING WITH AN ACCENT

Read more: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/The%20Big%20Bang%20Theory#ixzz0eQShKh1R

Timeline

This episode starts on an evening when the guys were planning to get Chinese takeaway. The following day they have dinner in the Cheesecake Factory, which they usually do on Tuesday (see Schedule). Although they often have Thai takeaway on Mondays, they have had Chinese on Mondays in past (0216). Thus, we can assume that this episode starts on Monday, March 8. Sheldon, Raj and Howard spend the night from Wednesday to Thursday fighting about the ring. Thus we could assume that the episode ends with Sheldon trying to steal the ring from Leonard on Thursday night.

Title

The title refers to the "one ring" from Lord of the Rings to which the creature Gollum referred to as his "precious". Fighting over the ring almost destroyed, thus fragmented, the guys' friendship.[[