507 - The Good Guy Fluctuation Aired October 27, 2011

The Good Guy Fluctuation


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Guest Stars: Courtney Ford as Alice, Aarti Mann as Priya, Kevin Sussman as Stuart

Writers: Chuck Lorre (Story), Dave Goetsch (Story), Maria Ferrari (Story), Bill Prady (Teleplay), Steven Molaro (Teleplay), Steve Holland (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Viewers: 14.54 million Households Rating: 9.6/15 Adults 18-49 Rating: 4.6/13

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to Leonard's description of himself as a good guy and the fluctuation as he considers cheating on Priya with Alice.
  • This episode was taped as the sixth episode of the season, but aired as the seventh episode of the season to air closer to Halloween.

> Bazinga

After finally getting his own back on Leonard with a prank involving him jumping out of a couch cushion dressed as a zombie, Sheldon exclaims "Bazinga, punk. Now we're even."

Episode Quotes

Leonard: More Halloween candy. Didn't you just buy a bunch of it yesterday?
Penny: Oh, yeah. That's gone. It's a rough month when Halloween and PMS hit at the same time.

Sheldon: Bazinga, punk. Now we're even!

Raj: (Talking to the snake) Let's go to the biology lab and find you some nice yummy mice.
Sheldon: I tried to scare an Indian with a snake. Come on, Cooper. You're better than this.

Sheldon: "See you in hell Sheldon"? The most frightening thing about that is the missing comma.

Penny: Leonard, you're looking for a way to sleep with both women and have everybody be happy about it.
Leonard: Now we're getting somewhere.
Penny: What does your gut tell you?
Leonard: Go ask Penny; she'll know what to do.


Sheldon is working late in his office, frustrated by the quality of his work so late in the day. After the power goes out, Sheldon ventures out of his office to hear a ghostly moan, a rattling of chains and a witch's cackle. A ghostly voice calls out his name and a bloody message appears on the Wall - "See you in hell Sheldon" - but the scariest part of that to Sheldon is the missing comma. A glowing skeleton rushes towards him, causing Sheldon a slight fright. Sheldon urges his merry pranksters to come out and take a bow. Raj and Howard try get Sheldon to admit he scared them, but he claims they would be unable to scare him as he's so much smarter. As we walks back into his office, Leonard appears in a Balok mask, causing Sheldon to scream and fall to the ground.

At the comic book store, Sheldon promises the guys that as a Texan he knows how to settle a score. An attractive woman walks into the comic book store. Stuart attempts to chat to her but fails. The girl approaches Leonard to ask if he's getting the rare Next Men comic, which he is. The girl asks if pretending to hit on him would let her steal it away, but Leonard cautions that she'd be using her powers for evil. The girl introduces herself as Alice and tells Leonard he's very cute. Alice asks if Leonard would be open to trading his magazine, so she gives him her number.

As Sheldon and Leonard arrive at the apartment building, Sheldon urges Leonard to check his mail. Penny arrives with more Halloween candy, telling Leonard it's a rough month when PMS and Halloween hit at the same time. Sheldon again urges Leonard to check the mail, which he does. Sheldon holds his fingers in his ears as Leonard opens his mail box, but nothing happens. Penny wonders what's wrong with Sheldon, but Leonard tells her to hang on. As Sheldon goes to inspect the mail box, a loud horn blows and a balloon with Leonard's face pops out. Sheldon faints again, prompting Leonard to say "You might be from Texas, but I'm from New Jersey."

Leonard and Alice are on the couch in his apartment when Alice shows him a comic she draws. Alice asks to trade her own comic for the Hellboy issue, although Leonard says she can have his car. Elsewhere, Sheldon creeps into his and Raj's office carrying a box. Sheldon puts a snake into Raj's top drawer and waits for him to arrive. When Raj sits down at his desk, Sheldon pretends to be out of staples and asks him to open his drawer to get some. When Raj opens the drawer, he's anything but terrified and carries the snake away to get some mice from the biology lab.

Leonard goes to Penny's apartment to ask for advice on what he should do with Priya/Alice. Penny realizes Leonard is just looking for a way to sleep with both women without upsetting anybody. Leonard returns to the apartment to ask Sheldon's help. Sheldon quotes the German philosopher, Fredrich Nietzsche, who believed that morality was just a fiction used by the herd of inferior human beings to hold back the few superior men. Though, as Sheldon points out, it's important to note he died of syphilis.

Sheldon goes to Howard's house with a hand buzzer and tries to get him to shake his hand. When Howard eventually shakes his hand, he gets shocked and clutches his heart, falling to the ground. Bernadette tells a shocked Sheldon that Howard has a heart condition and that they need to inject him with adrenaline. Bernadette says she's not strong enough to get through his chest plate, so Sheldon will have to deliver the injection. When Sheldon finally injects Howard, he wakes up and says "Trick or treat, bubbeleh." Sheldon wonders how he could be so stupid not to realize it's a ruse, slapping his hand on his forehead - forgetting about the hand buzzer he's still wearing.

At Alice's apartment, Leonard and Alice are kissing when he realizes he can't go through with this. He finally comes clean about having a girlfriend, causing her to be angry that he's just like all the other men. Leonard claims he is a good guy as he didn't go through with sex, missing the fact he led her on and ultimately still cheated on his girlfriend. Back home, Leonard video chats Priya to tell her about his misdemeanor. Priya is very understanding and admits she's cheated on him, though she actually did sleep with somebody else. Leonard is disappointed that not only has Priya cheated on him, he missed his chance as well. When Leonard ends the conversation, Sheldon jumps out of the couch cushions, proclaiming "Bazinga, punk. Now we're even."