The Brain Bowl Incubation Season 10, Episode 8 -  Aired November 10, 2016

The Brain Bowl Incubation

When Sheldon and Amy successfully combine their genes and cultivate brain cells, Sheldon thinks they should go a step further and have a baby together. Meanwhile, when Raj meets a woman at work he finds himself embarrassed to tell the guys about her job at the university.

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Guest Stars: Maria Canals-Barrera as Isabella

Writers: Chuck Lorre (Story), Steve Holland (Story), Saladin K. Patterson (Story), Steven Molaro (Teleplay), Maria Ferrari (Teleplay), Tara Hernandez (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Viewers: 14.47 million Households Rating: 9.4/16 Adults 18-49 Rating: 3.4/13

Available on iTunes

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to Amy and Sheldon's experiment to grow brain cells mixed from their DNA.

Episode Quotes

Bernadette: Still, I can't believe you can turn ordinary skin cells into functioning brain cells.
Amy: Well, I turned this one into a functioning boyfriend, so sky's the limit.

Raj: Maybe there are other things we have in common. Come dinner-time, do you enjoy eating food?

Raj: Well, I can't eat like a ten-year-old all the time.
Penny: You're dating somebody! Who is it?
Raj: What? What are you talking about?
Penny: You only watch what you eat when you're afraid you might have to take your shirt off.

Sheldon: Yeah, I have to say, it is nice to share this experience with someone who's on the same journey. Although right now ours is testing off the charts while yours is floating around in its own waste.
Bernadette: Mine has a fully developed immune system.

Amy: Sheldon, that's enough.
Sheldon: Oh, yeah, no, fine. Let's just agree that both creations are special in their own way and it is foolish to try and compare them. Although, we didn't need to have sex with Howard for ours, so we win.


Amy is taking a sample of Sheldon’s skin so they can synthesize a neural network from their skin cells. Sheldon wants Amy to warn him before she takes the sample, but as she counts down from three she skips “one”. Although the procedure didn’t hurt Sheldon, he is bothered by the incomplete countdown. 

As he eats alone at his desk, Raj notices a warble on his screen which could indicate the existence of a planet. When Raj is interrupted by the cleaning lady, he gets chatting to Issabella. As she tries to clean up Raj helps her out and they have a moment, albeit an awkward one. Back in Amy’s lab, Sheldon wants to know if their skin cells have turned to brain cells. When Amy gives Sheldon the positive news that their cells have formed a primitive neural network, he feels a profound sense of creation. Sheldon wants to start doing experiments on the cells right away. 

In the apartment, Howard is unpacking food as he, Raj, Penny and Leonard sit down to eat. Howard thinks the restaurant screwed up their order by including steamed broccoli, but Raj admits that it’s his. Seeing Raj trying to watch his figure and eat better better leads Penny to guess he has met someone. He admits he met a woman called Isabella, but lies about her role at the university. When the guys say they want to meet her, Raj says it’s too early for that. 

When Bernadette joins Sheldon and Amy in their apartment for tea, Sheldon shows her photographs of their creation. After Amy asks about Bernadette’s pregnancy, Sheldon compares Bernadette carrying a human life to his and Amy’s creation of a few brain cells. When Bernadette is insulted, Amy tells Sheldon that’s enough. He still thinks they “won” because they didn’t need to have sex with Howard for their creation. 

Raj helps Issabella clean bathrooms at the university. When Raj starts to ask about her personal life, she tells him she thinks his sweet, but she works two jobs and doesn’t have time for dating. Issabella says goodnight to Raj. When Sheldon joins Amy in her lab, they look at reports on their brain cells. Sheldon is happy he participated in this as their brain cells are showing remarkable results on tests. Sheldon suggests the next step is obviously for them to conceive a baby together. 

In the lab, Amy is stunned at Sheldon’s suggestion. Sheldon thinks the combination of their DNA is incredible and their successors could be the next evolutionary step for mankind. Amy tells Sheldon she is not ready to have a baby. Undeterred, Sheldon starts flirting by dropping a pen and picking it up, exposing his bottom to her. Elsewhere, Raj has set up a table in his lab for a romantic meal with Isabella, who wheels in her cleaning cart. Raj has already cleaned up his room and all the other rooms in the hall, so she will have time off her work to join him for dinner.

Meanwhile, Leonard carries food up the stairs of the apartment building with Penny and Amy, who are talking about Sheldon’s desire to make a baby. Amy admits there’s a genetic component which could make their baby more likely to be intelligent, but there are no guarantees. When they reach their floor, Amy is disappointed to find Sheldon has laid out a trail of rose petals leading to their apartment. Leonard and Penny go inside and leave Amy to go to Apartment 4B. Inside the apartment, Amy finds Sheldon dressed suavely, drinking brandy, with romantic music playing and the lights dimmed. Despite Sheldon's advances, Amy says she's had enough and leaves the apartment.

Back at the university, Raj and Isabella are talking over dinner when they’re interrupted by Howard. When Howard introduces himself to Issabella “the astronomer”, she figures out Raj’s deception. When an upset Issabella leaves the room with her cart, Raj goes after her. He says he didn’t think her job would bother him, and he hates himself for that.  Raj says there’s a lot about him that would bother her. When he offers to make it up to her, Isabella tells him to take her to dinner at a nice restaurant on Sunday. 

In the apartment, Amy is telling Leonard and Penny about Sheldon’s advances when he comes in with his final move. Sheldon dances the flemenco to try seduce Amy. Amy storms out of the apartment saying he’s ridiculous, but it’s clear she almost fell for this one.