It had nothing to do with astrology--the pseudo-science that the position of the planets and stars at your birth says something about your personality. Instead it was more like a story-telling device that ancient civilizations used to engage in.

And the panties go back on.

It's a fictional tv show. They can make 'Wil Wheaton' into whatever character they want. Do you think the real WW is staring in Serial Apeist 2? Of course, it's hard to go that route now if he's starring in the same crap that Penny is.

I thought this was one of the weakest eps in the entire history of the show. I usually love the show, but the whole shameless plug for Sony and Microsoft was almost enough to make this gadget loving guy throw up a little in my mouth (this is coming from someone who uses a Microsoft OS laptop, Android phone/tablet, iPad, and Sony brand blu ray...so I am not a cheerleader for one firm vs the other).

At least when Modern Family had Phil lust over an iPad the device was 1st gen, and the novelty of a tablet done right had not worn off (and yes, I agree with others that the Modern Family ep. also acted as a free commercial for Apple). Product placement does not bother me one bit (heck, Chuck practically incorporated Subway into their storylines, but if Subway money is what helped keep the show on as long as it lasted...it is all good). The problem with TBBT is that MS or Sony money is not necessary to keep this ratings juggernaut on the air for the next 10 years.

Anyway, I let this ep. run in the background while fiddling with my tablet, and I usually pay closer attention to Big Bang when it is a first run episode. Hope this weeks episode is a step up from last weeks.

Uh, they're uber nerds and gamers. They've shown them playing Wii, 360 and PC games. It's been clearly defined that these guys are gamers. It's absolutely within the reality that these characters would be discussing/debating the console wars. It's no different than the guys going to some comic or sci-fi convention. It's who the characters are.

Now if the Sheldon was debating between a Roomba or Dyson vacuum you might be on to something.

Amy's 'enthusiasm' at dinner and meltdown was phenomenal. Also Bernadette championing the Wii was hilarious.

That was my thought as well.. Heck, early in the shows run, there used to be an episode here and there where they declared it was Halo night.

I think there would be a bigger issue if he picked one console over the other as far as sponsorship goes, but other then that Sheldon's debate is pretty typical and realistic so I don't see the issue either.

Yeah, they (Sony and Microsoft) definitively didn't pay for this.

And good research from the writers, as mentioned before.

Folks...my first job was as a video game counselor (lots of gamers needed advice on how to kill Lamia in Battle Of Olympus, this was back in 1989 by the way, when I was fresh out of high school, and the game counselor portion of this job last several years, and I was almost hired by THQ...not being able to drive in L.A. put the kibosh on that though), and I have seen every single ep. of this show, so I know they are gamers, but the insertion of Sony and MS into this ep. just felt very crass to me.

I listen to the entertainment weekly satellite radio show, and something they said about The Mindy Project caught my attention, it was pointed out that TMP integrates guest stars well into their episodes, and I guess I should have said this to begin with, as I feel that the integration of the two hot new iterations of long running consoles just rubbed me the wrong way. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

Anyway...I had been looking for a tv forum other than a long running site I hit a few times a week, and it amazes me how long it took for me to realize that there are all these great threads on this very site talking about many shows that I season pass on my TiVo. Looking forward to adding my occasional .02 cents to the various discussions.

Plenty of gamers here that frequent the video game forum on this site too, so I don't think your background has anything to do with your opinion. I still think the consoles were integrated perfectly fine and well given the history of them enjoying video games.

Though it probably would have been more relevant closer to the date the consoles were available, like the show after the XBox One came out since both consoles would be available at that time. But still worked in the context of the show, as you noted.

Agreed, that was the only thing that came to my mind too about the show airing a few months earlier would have been better. Like South Park

Honestly, I'd expect them to have MORE name-brand battles over things like hardware, operating systems, etc. Have they ever had a Marvel vs. DC talk?

I wouldn't doubt it.. though I can't recall at the moment.. I know that it seems, at least from what I can recall, they gravitate more towards DC. Sheldon has often wore a Green Lantern logo shirt. He imagined himself as The Flash once. For a Halloween party at the comic book store, they dressed up as various DC superheroes.

Which makes sense, the show looks like its produced by WB.

I had no problem with them showing the dilemma, but it did seem a bit product placementy. Like they were constantly hitting you over the head with it. Or maybe it just felt like lazy writing.

Usually when they name drop a product it's done very well. My fav is when Sheldon goes on about the new Windows 7, talking about how its much more user friendly ... only to state he hates all of those features.

Most of the visuals are DC but they occasionally talk about Marvel as well. There was the one episode where the girls debate the Hulk and Thor's hammer.

Supermallet talks about how much he hates doing QC for this show, so it obviously must be owned by WB, so I'd assume DC gets mentioned more often as a result.

Supermallet works for BBT?

The way Mayim Bialik stole the scene reminded me of when Sheldon gave Amy a tiara a few years ago. She nailed it.

He works for WB doing him video QC from what I can tell.