Star Wars References

Throughout the show the guys present their love for the Star Wars Movies.

Items

• Leonard uses Darth Vader shampoo and Luke Skywalker Conditioner (0101).

• Leonard owns a lightsaber that glows blue (0102).

• Leonard owns a Darth Vader Voice Changer (0114).

• Raj owns a "mint condition Millenium Falcon with lightspeed sound effects" made by Mattel (0114).

• Howard carries a picture of Princess Leia wearing a metal bikini (a scene from Star Wars VI) in his wallet (0221).

• Sheldon owns a Darth Vader helmet (0301).

• Raj owns a Personal Soundtrack Shirt that plays the "Imperial March" from Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back written by John Williams (0316).

• Howard owns two lightsaber that glow green which are hanging on the wall behind his bed (0404).

Quotes

• In 0112 when Sheldon feels deeply disturbed by the arrival of child progeny Dennis Kim he has the following dialogue with Leonard:

Sheldon: I sense a disturbance in the force.

Leonard: A bad feeling I have about this, hrrm.

Note: Sheldon's quote is a common saying by the Jedi Knights, who are the peace keepers in the Star Wars universe. The force is described as a universal, metaphysical power that runs through everything and gives the Jedi Knights several special skills. A disturbance in the force hints that things are out of balance.

Leonard's reply uses the style of speech of Jedi Master Yoda, who speaks in the "object-subject-verb-order". It should be noted that for "accurate Yoda style", he should have said "A bad feeling about this I have".

• Penny quotes Yoda (and even remembers that it's a quote from "The Empire Strikes Back",) at which time Leonard says that he loves her in the beginning of The Wheaton Recurrence:

Penny: Do or do not, there is no try.

Note: In the corresponding movie scene, Master Yoda is teaching young Luke Skywalker how to move objects just by using "the Force". Luke attempts to lift his crashed X-Wing Fighter from a swamp, saying he'll "give it a try." Yoda responds by saying "NO. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try."

• During a bowling match with Wil Wheaton, Sheldon says "I so loath you", to which Wheaton replies with a quote often used during the Star Wars movies "embrace the dark side". Sheldon highlights that the quote wasn't even from Wheaton's franchise (having played a character on Star Trek - The Next Generation) (0319).

• While driving from Pasadena to Big Sur in two cars (0413), Sheldon communicates with Howard via walkie-talkie using the call signs used by the various Rebel fighters at the end of Star Wars IV:

Sheldon: Red Leader to Red Five!

Howard grudgingly responds in Star Wars mode with "Red Five to Red Leader ... what do you want NOW?"

Dialogues

• When Howard and Rajesh falsely have the impression that Leonard and Sheldon secretly wanted to go to a symposium without them (0110), Howard refers to a similar conflict in Star Wars IV and V.

Howard: No it's okay. It's your Millenium Falcon. You and Chewbacca do whatever you want in it. Me and Princess Leia here will find another way to spend the evening.

Note: In the movie, character Han Solo, owner of the starship "Millenium Falcon", and his companion Chewbacca want to go their own way instead of staying with Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

• When Sheldon tries to learn how to drive using a simulator that Howard built he wants his car to have the "pale blue" colour of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber (0205).

• When the guys find out that Leonard's siblings are much more successful than he is, Howard calls Leonard the "Jar Jar Binks of the Hofstadter family"(0215).

Note: Jar Jar Binks is a comic character from Star Wars I-III that got banished from his family for his "clumsiness".

• Rajesh and Leonard think that Sheldon looks like android C-3PO . To the latter, Sheldon replies he was flattered but wouldn't see the resemblance, moving his head in the exact same classic way that C-3PO did (0221).

• In (0223) Sheldon tries to motivate his friends to perform their task in the freezing chamber of the Cheesecake Factory. Unfortunately, his intention is "misinterpreted" by Howard.

Sheldon: Did Han Solo let Luke Skywalker freeze to death on the ice planet of Hoth? No. He cut open a tauntaun and used its internal body heat to warm him up. Howard: You heard the man. Hold him down and I'll cut him open.

Note: He's referring to a famous scene from Star Wars V. Tauntauns are animals indigenous to the ice planet of Hoth and were used like as mounts.

• When Sheldon finds out that the guys have tampered with his data on the expedition to the North Pole, he is so upset that he wants to choke them with his hand using the force, just like Darth Vader. Raj feels sorry for him and pretends he is choking (0301).

Note: Darth Vader is the main villain in the Star Wars movies IV-VI. He has the skill to choke people over the distance and without touching them by making a choking gesture with his hand and using "the Force" (see above).

• During the Mystic Warlords of Ka'a tournament in the Comic book store, Sheldon refers to the cards Wil Wheaton is holding as "as useful as an air-conditioner on the ice planet of Hoth" (0305).

• When entering the Comic Center, Raj plays the Imperial March from his Personal Soundtrack Shirt, because he believes such a "dramatic entrance music" will make people realise that he is "awesome and to be feared" (0316).

Note: The Imperial March is the theme of Star Wars' evil villain Darth Vader.

• When Penny has to guess who Stan Lee was, her second guess is that he appeared on Star Wars. The first guess was that he appeared on Star Trek (0316).

• When Leonard refers to the four guys as the "Rebel Alliance", Sheldon disagrees (0403):

Sheldon: Oh I've never identified with the Rebel Alliance. Despite their tendency to build Death Stars, I've always been more of an Empire man.

Note: Since the full-stop between the two sentences cannot be heard, the reference of "their" is a bit confusing in this dialogue.

• When Sheldon blames Leonard for betraying all his friends, Leonard refers to himself as the "Darth Vader of Pasadena". Sheldon points out that Leonard was too short to be Darth Vader and that at best he could be a "turncoat Ewok". (0406)