The Big Bang Theory recap: 'The Mystery Date Observation' 

'The Big Bang Theory' recap: 'The Spock Resonance'

Gird your loins people of Pasadena. Sheldon Cooper is officially on the dating scene and looking for an intelligent girl he can blissfully ignore. Here’s hoping a few good ones are trolling Craigslist tonight, searching for the scientist they can’t live without. 

Sheldon believes finding another girlfriend is going to be a piece of cake. Howard and Raj did it for him once, so he enlists them to do it again. The friends go full

by creating a series of puzzles which women will have to fight to the death in order to claim their place as victor. Sheldon posts the battle of wits challenge on Craigslist, eager to meet the intelligent, tenacious, socially awkward girl who has nothing better to do on a Saturday night. Then he waits patiently for Amy 2.0 to walk through his door. 

When Raj counts down the final five seconds of the deadline, Sheldon is visibly disappointed that neither his soulmate nor Jennifer Lawrence met the challenge. A knock at the door startles everyone. The fact that an attractive girl stands on the other side is equally surprising. Sheldon opens the door and Vanessa Bennett (played by the wonderful Analeigh Tipton) praises him for rescuing her from a boring symposium. She was drawn to the man whose clues had to be translated from Klingon to ancient Sanskrit. Sheldon thanks her for playing before shutting the door in her face. That’s what you get for missing the deadline. I will always be a fan of The Shamy, but I would love to see a few episodes featuring Sheldon and Vanessa. 

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Speaking of Amy, she’s on date No. 3 with the mysterious Dave (guest star Stephen Merchant). He’s tall, he’s a math nerd, and he’s British! Penny and Bernadette are dying to know more about Dave, so they spy on Amy in the restaurant. And since marriage is all about compromise, Leonard unwillingly tags along. 

While Bernadette and the Hofstadters use military-grade binoculars to see what’s going on from the car, Amy learns that Dave left England because the country reminds him of his ex-wife: cold, gloomy, and has easy access to French men through a tunnel. Amy shares that she’s been in one long-term relationship with a physicist. When she mentions Sheldon by name, Dave goes nuts. He’s basically a fanboy who spends the rest of dinner quizzing Amy about the wonder that is Dr. Sheldon Cooper. 

Amy decides to end the night early. Dave does not pick up on her signals. Instead, he asks if she can arrange for him to meet the great Sheldon Cooper. That would be a no, Dave. She storms outside only to find Bernadette, Penny, and Leonard standing by Bernadette’s crashed car. In her haste to make a quick getaway from Amy, Bernadette reversed directly into Dave’s parked car. Instead of being mad, Dave is over the moon that he is meeting Leonard Hofstadter face-to-face. Sweet Dave. His geek flag is flying tonight. Amy can do better. 

Sheldon: I think of my time with Amy as a stick of Fruit Stripe gum. Sweet and enjoyable at first, but ultimately a flavorless lump of sadness.

Sheldon: No one does a better job of pretending to be a person than I do. Siri comes close, but I know more jokes.

Sheldon: By that logic, I should be with someone who is short, dull, and needy. I can’t shake a stick around here without hitting that.

Penny: No one bought me drinks at a bar because my brain popped out of my shirt.

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