The Gorilla Dissolution Season 7, Episode 23 -  Aired May 8, 2014

The Gorilla Dissolution


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Guest Stars: Wil Wheaton as Himself, Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Wolowitz, Laura Spencer as Emily, Steve Valentine as Kenneth, Beau Casper Smart as Travis, Kalika Kauahi as Marta

Writers: Chuck Lorre (Story), Jim Reynolds (Story), Jeremy Howe (Story), Steven Molaro (Teleplay), Steve Holland (Teleplay), Eric Kaplan (Teleplay)

Director: Peter Chakos

Viewers: 14.42 million Adults 18-49 Rating: 3.8/13

Available on iTunes

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to Penny being fired from the gorilla movie, "Serial Ape-ist 2".

> Sheldon's Beverage Protocols

When Sheldon and Raj return to the apartment after Raj saw Emily out with another guy, Sheldon tries to make chai tea for Raj but doesn't have the necessary ingredients.

Sheldon: Well, sorry, I don't have all the ingredients to make chai tea.
Raj: You don't have to make me anything.
Sheldon: No, I do. You're upset about Emily and you're Indian. I need to make you chai tea. Now, I have all the ingredients except cardamom seeds. Do you happen to have any on you?
Raj: Sorry, I left them in my turban.
Sheldon: Oh, I'll make English breakfast tea. They destroyed your culture. That's close enough.

> Serial Ape-ist

On the set of Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill, Penny thinks she could do a better job in a scene and asks the director if they could do it again. When the director insults Penny and Leonard steps into help, she finds herself fired, along with Wil Wheaton, as they've filmed all the scenes where the actually see Penny's face.

Episode Quotes

Howard: You mean a fork lift?


Amy: Good for you.

Bernadette: After two days of taking care of her, excuse me for stopping to get a mocha?
Howard: A mocha?! Well, it must be nice to be Queen.

Leonard: Oh, I know. This might help. *Gets a ring out of his wallet*
Penny: Where did you get a ring?
Leonard: I've had it for a couple of years. Not important.


As Howard and Raj lift a heavy box up the stairs in Mrs. Wolowitz's house, they accidentally let go and it falls down the stairs, injuring Mrs. Wolowitz. Later, in the apartment, Raj tells the guys she's going to be laid up for at least six weeks. Penny fills Leonard in on her day at work on Serial Ape-ist 2. Although the movie is just as bad as Penny expected, she's not going to complain, she's going to go in each day and give it her all.

At Mrs. Wolowitz's house, after Bernadette helps her get set up in the guest room, Howard admits he can't deal with taking care of her right now. Howard suggests they should get a nurse to take care of her instead. Elsewhere, when Raj and Sheldon go to the cinema, Raj is unsure how to feel when he sees Emily there with another guy. On the set of Serial Ape-ist, when Penny asks to shoot a scene again so she can do it better, the director calls the movie garbage and insults Penny. When Leonard steps into defend her, the director fires Penny from the movie. Later, at a bar, Leonard, Penny and co-star Wil Wheaton, who was fired after he tried to stop the director firing Penny, drown their sorrows.

Back at the apartment, Raj thanks Sheldon for skipping the movie as he couldn't say there wondering about Emily and the guy she was with. As Sheldon makes Raj a hot beverage to comfort him, he wonders why Raj is so upset seeing Emily with another guy. Raj accepts that he and Emily haven't been together long and aren't in an exclusive relationship. Meanwhile, when Mrs. Wolowitz calls for food again, Bernadette points out to Howard that this is what having a kid would be like, and Howard shouldn't expect her to do all the work if they do have kids.

Back at the bar, Wil Wheaton encourages Penny to get over being fired and just move onto the next thing. Wil leaves when he gets a text message to say he's got an audition for Sharnado 2. Penny wonders what she's doing with her life. Elsewhere, Raj asks Sheldon why women don't want to be with him even though he's a nice, well-educated guy with a great job. Sheldon tells Raj his problem is that he can't stand to be alone and so views every women he dates as his perfect companion.

When Bernadette returns to Mrs. Wolowitz's house after a trip to the grocery store, Howard is angry she's been gone so long. Bernadette admits she stopped for a mocha and, after Howard insults her, tells him she got him a brownie but ate it in the car. Emily goes over to Raj's apartment to apologize for the night. Emily tells Raj the guy was her tattoo artist who's been asking her to go out for months. Emily just agreed to the date to get it over with. When Raj tells Emily he's okay with it, she admits she'd be pretty upset if she saw Raj with another woman. Raj is interested to see Emily's tattoos and she agrees to show him if she can see his piercing.

When Penny and Leonard arrive back at her apartment, she decides it's time for her to start making some smart decisions with her life. When Leonard wonders what sort of decisions she means, Penny says they should get married. Leonard is a little insulted that Penny wants to marry him because he's a smart decision, like a bran muffin. Leonard says he doesn't want to be a bran muffin, he wants to be something you're excited about even though it could give you diabetes, like a Strawberry Pop-Tart. When Penny tells him to forget it, Leonard tells her he does want to marry her, but she's only doing this because she got fired and she's feeling sorry for herself. Penny says it may appear that way, but she says getting fired made her realize she doesn't need to be famous or have a big career to be happy, she needs him. Leonard tells her he guesses he's in. When their engagement feels a little anticlimactic, Leonard pulls a ring out of his pocket and gets down on one knee to propose to Penny, who accepts.

At Mrs. Wolowitz's house, Bernadette and Howard are feeling better and realize they're going to get through this. When Mrs. Wolowitz calls for her pancakes, a nurse goes to help her.