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The Big Bang Theory Season 3 Episode 11

The Maternal Congruence

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AIRED: Dec 14, 2009

7.8

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Episode Summary

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A Christmas visit from his mother has Leonard discovering she's kept a lot of news from him that she shares with Sheldon and worrying if she'll approve of his romance with Penny.

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

311

8.0

By Canogaparkcindy, Jan 23, 2011

Great Big Bang tonight, last year's Christmas special was better, but I liked that Leonard's mom came back. She was hilarious in her first appearance, and I'm glad the writers were able to bring her back, especially know that Leonard & Penny are dating. Penny getting Leonard's mom drunk was absolutely hysterical. She reminded me of Sheldon in every sense, and that kiss at the end really was unexpected.

We rarely ever see Sheldon interact with a woman, so it was nice seeing it here again for the second time. The Howard & Raj stuff, I don't like how much this show focuses on the bromance now this season. It was used again here when Beverly thought that they were gay but that's just my opinion.

Overall, a great Christmas episode for Big Bang Theory.moreless
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Christmas episode.

8.2

By thefanof, Dec 14, 2010

A surprisingly enjoyable installment of The Big Bang Theory tonight, that featured Christine Baranski reprising her role as Leonard's mother Beverly. Baranski has recently been doing an excellent job as Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife, and while I did not enjoy her first appearance on Bang, I found her to be very funny tonight. The dialogue with Sheldon was great as it was enjoyable to see him connect with a female, for the first time since Season 1. I also found Penny to be tolerable tonight, and I loved the return of the "Check Engine Light" bit on this show. I don't want to see episodes like this every week, but I very much enjoyed tonight's Big Bang Theory.moreless
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Leonard's Mother comes for a holiday visit and the sparks fly. Leonard finds out that Sheldon and his Mother correspond regularly. Not only that, his parents are separating, his dog is dead, and nobody has bothered to tell him anything!moreless

10

By jyarrter, Apr 27, 2010

I especially enjoyed the dinner with Leonard's Mother getting digs in on Howard about his "latent" homosexual urges. Then when he tries to prove Bernadette exists everyone including Leonard does not come to his aide.

The scene with Penny and Leonard's Mother was great as well. Penny is actually pretty smart bringing things into perspective and it is actually touching when Leonard's Mom tells him to take care of her because of her "poor prospects for a job" at the end.

One of the more touching moments was when Sheldon in his own warped way admitted to Leonard that they were a surrogate family. That's a lot of sentiment to come from Sheldon if you really think about it. It shows he does have compassion somewhere deep down. The kiss with Leonard's Mother was funny as well.

Overall a very well written, acted, and produced episode of The Big Bang Theory. Monday nights at 9/8C certainly are turning into the finest hour of television ever with Two and a Half Men/The Big Bang Theory and with the recent improvement of Accidentally on Purpose the two hour CBS comedy block is really sizzling. Now if they can figure out how to get Rules of Engagement a slot as well they'll be all set! Thanks for reading...moreless
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Leonard's Mother comes for a holiday visit and the sparks fly. Leonard finds out that Sheldon and his Mother correspond regularly. Not only that, his parents are separating, his dog is dead, and nobody has bothered to tell him anything!moreless

9.5

By jyarter, Apr 27, 2010

A smartly written and acted episode of The Big Bang Theory.

I especially enjoyed the dinner with Leonard's Mother getting digs in on Howard about his "latent" homosexual urges. Then when he tries to prove Bernadette exists everyone including Leonard does not come to his aide.

The scene with Penny and Leonard's Mother was great as well. Penny is actually pretty smart bringing things into perspective and it is actually touching when Leonard's Mom tells him to take care of her because of her "poor prospects for a job" at the end.

One of the more touching moments was when Sheldon in his own warped way admitted to Leonard that they were a surrogate family. That's a lot of sentiment to come from Sheldon if you really think about it. It shows he does have compassion somewhere deep down. The kiss with Leonard's Mother was funny as well.

Overall a very well written, acted, and produced episode of The Big Bang Theory. Monday nights at 9/8C certainly are turning into the finest hour of television ever with Two and a Half Men/The Big Bang Theory and with the recent improvement of Accidentally on Purpose the two hour CBS comedy block is really sizzling. Now if they can figure out how to get Rules of Engagement a slot as well they'll be all set! Thanks for reading...moreless
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Leonard's mother visits and brings surprises

10

By addict666, Apr 27, 2010

Leonard's mother is one of the greatest minor character ever. Everything she says is quote worthy and she only got better when she's drunk. The similarities she has with Sheldon help explain the roommates friendship so well. Their interactions in the back seat of the car was priceless and their weird relationship is great. The way she called out Howard and Raj had me dying of laughter. Then when the two ladies go out for drinks at the Cheesecake factory, things only get better. The busboy, and questioning Leonard's anatomy...hilarious. Then she comes back to the apartment and lays one on Sheldon which should forever be forgotten. Episode was very good.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Johnny Galecki	Leonard Hofstadter
Jim Parsons	Sheldon Cooper
Kaley Cuoco	Penny
Simon Helberg	Howard Wolowitz
Kunal Nayyar	Rajesh Koothrappali

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Christine Baranski

Beverly Hofstadter

Guest Star

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Episode Photos

Leonard's mother (Christine Baranski) an...

© 2009 CBS Corporation
Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny G...

© 2009 CBS Corporation
Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny G...

© 2009 CBS Corporation
Leonard's mother (Christine Baranski) an...

© 2009 CBS Corporation

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- In the scene where Penny and Beverly are drinking, the level of Beverly's drink changes twice even though she hadn't drank any.
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- Beverly said she and her husband hadn't had sex in eight years. However, in "The Maternal Capacitance", she stated that she and her husband only had sex to have children and that Leonard is her youngest child.
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QUOTES (5)
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- Beverly: Your "Check Engine" light is on.
  Penny: Yeah, I gotta put a sticker over that.
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- Penny: Sheldon, what about you, did you have a Christmas tree?
  Sheldon: Oh, yes. We had a tree, we had a manger, we had an inflatable Santa Claus and plastic reindeer on the front lawn. And to make things even more jolly, there were so many blinking lights on the house, they induced neighborhood-wide seizures.
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- Sheldon: I found the Grinch to be a relatable and engaging character, and I was really with him right up the point that he succumbed to social convention and returned the presents and saved Christmas. What a buzzkill that was.
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- Leonard: When we watch Frosty the Snowman, he roots for the sun.
  Sheldon: Excuse me, but the sun is essential for all life on Earth. Frosty is merely a bit of frozen supernatural ephemera and a stolen hat—a crime, by the way, for which he is never brought to account.
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- Sheldon: I made tea.
  Leonard: I don't want tea.
  Sheldon: I didn't make tea for you; this is my tea.
  Leonard: Then why are you telling me?
  Sheldon: It's a conversation starter.
  Leonard: That's a lousy conversation starter.
  Sheldon: Oh, is it? We're conversing. Checkmate.
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NOTES (3)
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- This episode's end titles has Chuck Lorre's Vanity Card #272.
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- The Italian episode title is "La coerenza materna", meaning "The Maternal Coherence". The French title is "La Congruence maternelle". The German title is "Mädels an der Bar", meaning "Girls at the Bar".
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- International Airdates: Latin America: February 9, 2010 on Warner Channel; Australia: March 15, 2010 on Channel 9; United Kingdom: May 6, 2010 on E4; Finland: November 29, 2010 on Sub; Turkey: December 13, 2010 on CNBC-e; Czech Republic: December 20, 2010 on Prima COOL; Slovakia: October 31, 2011 on Markiza
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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