Work Song Nanocluster
| Work Song Nanocluster | |
| Writers | Bill Prady (Story), Lee Aronsohn (Story), Dave Goetsch (Teleplay), Richard Rosenstock (Teleplay) |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Chakos |
| Air Date | 16 March 2009 |
| Vanity | Card #245 |
| Guide | Episode #218 |
| Quotes | Episode #218 |
| Forums | Discuss Episode |
| Season 2, Episode 18 (0218) |
|---|
| Terminator Decoupling . . . << Work Song Nanocluster >> . . . Dead Hooker Juxtaposition |
|---|
Contents |
Summary
Penny's home hair products business becomes a complete nightmare when a caffeine-addled Sheldon takes over.
(Full summary edited from Wikipedia:)
Penny creates a flower-shaped barrette which she calls a Pennyblossom and is delighted to discover that some of the other waitresses at The Cheesecake Factory want to buy them. She has visions of quitting her job and selling her own line of hair accessories, but Sheldon brings her back down to earth by telling her how little she's actually making. With some cajoling from her, Sheldon offers his advice of how Penny can make more money, and then Leonard, Howard, and Raj add their own ideas to mass-produce and sell Pennyblossoms.
Leonard makes a website to market and sell the products, and puts in a one-day rush shipping option because "Amazon has one-day rush." Right away, they get an order for a thousand Pennyblossoms from the "East Rutherford, New Jersey Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Alliance." Penny and the boys work all night to finish, only to see the same group had ordered a thousand more, leading everyone to quit because they are tired. All except Sheldon, that is, who is now wide awake and hyper because he was given coffee by Penny. At the end of the episode, Sheldon in his The Flash costume runs out to get more coffee.
Episode Outline
I. Living room, Saturday morning
- Leonard, Howard and Rajesh play secret agent laser obstacle chess.
II. hallway in front of apartments, Saturday, 11am
III. Penny's apartment
- Penny tells Sheldon about her idea to start a business by making Pennyblossoms. After he points out flaws in the plan, she asks him for help.
Titles and opening theme
- Sheldon suggests that Penny starts producing her Pennyblossoms using an assembly line.
V. Living room and hallway in front of apartments
VI. Living room
- Leonard has designed a website for Penny's business. They receive the first order - one thousand Pennyblossoms to be sent the next day.
VII. Living room, Saturday evening
- Everyone is making Pennyblossoms using an assembly line. Rajesh complains.
IX. Living room, Saturday night
X. Living room, Saturday night, even later
- A coffee-crazed Sheldon is hyper active.
XI. Living room, Sunday morning around sunrise
XII. Living room
- The guys play secret agent laser obstacle lunch.
Resources
List of entries from this episode
Timeline
The events of this episode start on a Saturday at 11 am in the morning (Rajesh: "if I wanted to spend my Saturdays like this...") and finish the next morning.
Title
As they make Pennyblossoms, Sheldon and Penny sing work songs, in particular “Blow the Man Down”. A "nanocluster" is a substance made up a small particles which have unique properties when clumped together in small clusters. In the context of this title, the term refers to the guys and Penny functioning as a group when working together. It also obliquely refers to the problem Penny had with glitter clumping, since one of the earliest examples of nanoclusters was in creating a glittering effect on pottery:
"Although nanoparticles are generally considered an invention of modern science, they actually have a very long history. Nanoparticles were used by artisans as far back as the 9th century in Mesopotamia for generating a glittering effect on the surface of pots" (Wikipedia).
