The Conjugal Configuration

"The Conjugal Configuration" is the season premiere of the last season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Monday, September 24, 2018.
==Summary==
Sheldon and Amy's honeymoon runs around in New York, while Penny and Leonard discover they are uncomfortably similar to Amy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler. Also, Koothrappali insults physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and starts a Twitter war.https://www.spoilertv.com/2018/08/the-big-bang-theory-episode-1201.html
==Extended Plot==
Lying in bed together, Sheldon leans over and tells Amy, “Good morning, wife.” Amy wakes, smiles and replies, “Good morning, husband.” Sheldon then suggests that they follow the tradition of hanging their sheets outside the window so that the “villagers” can see that they have consummated their marriage. Sheldon opens up the curtains revealing that the Coopers are visiting Legoland on their honeymoon. Then Sheldon offers Amy the breakfast he ordered from room service composed entirely of Lego bricks which causes Amy to laugh.
Walking up the stairs Penny is happy that with the Coopers away, she has some alone time with her husband, Leonard. Raj quips that they aren't alone since both he and the Wolowitz's are with them having take-out dinner. Raj announces that channel 3 news invited him to talk about an upcoming meteor shower. Howard adds that that was how Neil deGrasse Tyson got started with guest shots on the local news. At the top of the stairs, Raj hears noises coming from Penny's old apartment. Leonard is sure that Sheldon and Amy aren't back because they posted a picture of them in front of the Statue of Liberty – made of Lego. Penny runs over and bangs on the door. Mr. Fowler opens the door saying that Amy had asked him to water her plants. Penny tells him that Amy doesn't have any plants. Mr. Fowler admits that he was caught in a lie and leaves. Raj asks if that was weird and Leonard says that he can't even tell anymore. After the gang is inside Leonard and Penny's apartment, Mr. Fowler runs back into Apartment 4B. 
The Coopers are escorted into their hotel room in New York City where they are going to be very busy. The Harry Potter play parts one AND two, the Nikolas Tesla tour and, of course, coitus. Amy was happy to do it again until she sees that Sheldon has it on his schedule. At the moment they could steam their Harry Potter robes or “make vigorous socially sanctioned love”.
Leonard and Penny sit down to see Raj appearance on the news, though Penny is peeved that they are missing “Vampire Diaries”. Amy's mother is pounding on the door across the hallway demanding that her husband let her in. The Hofstadters come out and ask her if everything is okay. She feels that Penny should worry more about her husband. Leonard doesn't think that Mr. Fowler is in the Cooper apartment, though Mrs. Fowler looks at him with contempt. She calls Leonard naive and tells him that “Blondie” is going to chew him up and spit him out. She makes Leonard open up the door with his extra key and she begins to search for her husband. He's not in the living area or the bedroom. She pulls aside the bathtub curtains and doesn't find him in one end of the tub. He is hiding in the opposite end. 
Howard and Bernadette are waiting to watch Raj on TV while Howard mentions that the weather girl is hot. Bernadette says that he can call her hot if he wants, but Howard resists it thinking that he'd just give her an excuse for not having sex that night. Raj is introduced to discuss the upcoming meteor shower and first jokes that Neil DeGrasse Tyson must have been unavailable. The weather girl (woman) asks about what is going to occur and Raj says that there will be a lot of flaming gas, like Neil DeGrasse Tyson. She asks if there is no love lost between Raj and Neil. Raj quips that he loves Neil like Neil loves Neil. Raj can't add anything else because he used up all their air time insulting a fellow astronomer. 
Sheldon and Amy return from the theater wearing their robes. Sheldon likes live theater because it is so interactive. He yelled to Harry to look out and the actor looked right at him much to Amy's embarrassment. Sheldon is ready to jump into bed again with Amy, but she wants to wait till the morning. Sheldon then goes over their schedule which disturbs Amy that their coitus can't be more spontaneous. She wonders why the two of them can't mix it up a bit. Sheldon then calls her Betty Crocker. And it bothers Sheldon that they might have sex at any time. Amy adds that they are not having it that night. 
In apartment 4B, Mrs. Fowler is lecturing her husband that he shouldn't leave without a message or a note. Leonard thinks that she should let him talk once in a while. She asks her husband to say something and all he can do is shrug his shoulders. She then tells him to go home, however; Mr. Fowler wants to stay. Mrs. Fowler also plans to stay. Leonard tells Penny that they are leaving even though Penny isn't ready. 
Entering their apartment, Leonard is feeling sorry for “the little guy”. Penny quips that after they had Amy, she should have devoured them like the animal on that nature show. She doesn't know what Mr. Fowler saw in his wife. Leonard smiles and says that some guys think strong women are sexy and that opposites attract. Penny gets offended that Leonard thinks that they are like the Fowlers and that she is like Amy's mother and storms off.
At the Wolowtz's Raj reads a Tweet by Tyson saying that some random nobody on the evening news took a cheap shot at him. Bernadette thinks that he should apologize, while Raj thinks that a good tweeter feud would help his career. “Dear Dr. Tyson, much like epithelial tissue, I have gotten under your skin.” Tyson shoots back that epithelial tissue is skin – GENIUS! Raj is set to keep up the Tweeter war. 
In New York City on the Tesla walking tour, Sheldon wants to correct the guide. Amy tells him to let it go. Sheldon thinks that something is bothering his wife. He asks if she is sexually frustrated. No just testy. Sheldon adds that she wouldn't be if they adhered to their schedule. Amy replies that everyone is listening to them. Sheldon feels that that is because he is interesting unlike their guide. Amy walks away from him.
The next morning at the Hofstadters, Leonard walks in and tells Penny, “Good morning, Sunshine.” Penny is still pissed. She is making espresso so she have the extra strength for ball busting all day. Penny explains that Leonard compared the two of them to the strangest couple they know and that includes the Coopers, the Wolowitzes and Raj and his dog. Leonard describes Mrs. Fowler as angry and vindictive while Penny is warm and loving and – quick to forgive, while Leonard can't get away from sounding like her mousy husband. Penny is worried that they'll be like that in thirty years. 
 
Playing a game with Howard and Bernadette, Raj is still engaged with his Tyson feud. Bernadette thinks that it's silly. Raj feels that it is two respected scientists debating in an open field even though Raj called him Mike Tyson's little sister. Now the fighter is angry with Raj. 
Mrs. Fowler is now visiting Penny. Her husband is taking a break from their marriage and says that she is overbearing. Penny meekly says that she is just the right amount of bearing and that she is sure that Mr. Fowler will come back to her. Mrs. Fowler thinks that Penny is a good person and that she hopes that they can spend a lot of time together. Penny marches over to 4B and demands that Mr. Fowler go home because she doesn't want to spend time with Mrs. Fowler. 
Finding Amy on a park bench, Sheldon delivers two hot dogs to her from a nearby street vendor that would normally disgust Sheldon. She is not hungry. Sheldon does want to be a good husband to Amy. He knows that intimacy is part of that, but he wants it on his schedule so that he'll remember to be intimate. Amy doesn't want anyone other than Sheldon, but the idea of scheduling their coitus needs a compromise. Sheldon can schedule all the things he wants, just don't tell Amy about it. That is fine with Sheldon. He plans on generating a random producing algorithm to make it look like their intimacy is spontaneous. The randomness is not really genuine because ...”the true randomness of numbers is an unsolved problem in computer science” adds Amy. Wow! Sheldon then takes her back to the hotel so she can repeat that to him...naked.
Raj is driving and gets a personal phone call from Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Raj asks how he like their Twitter feud. Tyson doesn't find him funny. Then he invites Raj to a Pasadena book signing and tells him to say those things to his face. Raj declines which Tyson considers a smart move since he was the guy that kicked Pluto out of the solar system. Raj thanks him and hangs up. Neil wonders who next needs a good deGrass kicking. Calling Bill Nye the Science Guy, Neil tells him that they need to talk. Bill immediately hangs up on him.
==Credits==
* Guest starring:
**Kathy Bates as Mrs. Fowler
** Teller as Larry Fowler
** Neil deGrasse Tyson as Himself
** Bill Nye as Himself
** Giovanni Bejarano as Bellman
** Ciara Renee as Sunny Morrow - weather woman
** Andy Kim as Tour Guide
* Teleplay: Steve Holland, Maria Ferrari & Jeremy Howe
* Story: Chuck Lorre, Eric Kaplan & Tara Hernandez
==Notes==
*Title Reference: The title refers to Sheldon and Amy's making their new marriage work.
*Taping date: August 21, 2018
*This episode was watched by 12.92 million people with a rating of 2.5 (adults 18–49).
*Total viewers including DVR users 18.22 million. 
*This episode aired in Canada on September 24, 2018.
*Chuck Lorre's vanity card. 
*Goof: In this episode, Rajesh Koothrappali makes reference to Mama Mia 2 where the actress who plays Leonard's mother, Christine Baranski, is also a part of the movie.
==Critics==
* Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - The Conjugal Configuration is only the first episode of this swan song, so it might be silly to judge the season on its ups and downs, but it is not a promising start...We check back with our newlyweds as they begin their honeymoon, and it's as offbeat as you'd expect. Starting off in Legoland before moving on to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and other ultra-nerdy activities, tension only really sets in when Amy grows frustrated with Sheldon's over-scheduling of their love life. Despite it being something she's known about him since they met, she is shocked that his approach to love-making is strangely clinical...A different argument between Leonard and Penny is slightly more intriguing, if only for its promise that we might get to see some tension between the show's original couple after years of treading water. When they find that Amy's father has opted to hide in his daughter's apartment rather than go home to his wife, Leonard accidentally compares their marriage to his and Penny's. 
* IMDb user reviews 
==Trivia==
*Chuck Lorre Productions announced that this will be the last season of the series on August 22, 2018.
*This is the first episode that Sheldon and Amy will fully deal with married life. Their honeymoon is at Legoland and in New York City.
*It was announced at San Diego Comic Con that Shamy's honeymoon will take place in this episode.
*Amy's parents will return in this episode, as announced by Steve Holland via TVLine.
*Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye make their last appearances in this episode, their most recent appearances being "The Apology Insufficiency" and "The Proton Displacement", respectively.
* Amy and Sheldon are seen married for the first time (less just after their wedding) even though they were seen in the extra footage released by the production company showing Stephen Hawking's wedding gift to them.
* This episode premiered on the eleventh anniversary of the original Pilot.
*Neil deGrasse Tyson again brings up the down-grading of Pluto as to a minor planet he did in "The Apology Insufficiency". In the previous episode he apologized for it, but in this episode he bragged about it.
*Amy tells Sheldon to "Let it go" even though they didn't go to see Disney's "Frozen" on Broadway. "Let it go" was another plot theme in "The Comic Book Store Regeneration". Penny tries to teach Sheldon to "let it go".
* The actress "Ciara Renee" that portrays the weather woman is "Hawkgirl" in the Warner Brothers' DC Comic "Flash" and "Green Arrow" shows.
* Mrs. Fowler and Mr. Fowler are similar to Leonard's parents Beverly Hofstadter and Alfred Hofstadter.
* The style of dress change seen in Amy (hair up and no plaids) in the unused Stephen Hawking present memorial clip did not carry over into season 12.
* Sheldon proves again that discussing science with Amy turns him on.
* Penny mentions the closure of the cult series "The Vampire Diaries." Their final episode was released a year and a half before the premiere of this episode.
==Quotes==
Sheldon: Good morning, wife.
Amy: Good morning, husband. I can't believe we're actually married.
Sheldon: It's official. According to tradition we should hang the bed sheets outside so the Villagers can see that we consummated.
*Sheldon makes his way over to the curtains.*
Amy: I don't think that's appropriate considering where we're starting our Honeymoon.
Sheldon: Well, I suppose you're right...
*Sheldon opens the curtains, revealing LEGOLAND California outside.*
Sheldon: Although when you think about it, Lego is the perfect metaphor for marital congress; two pieces that interlock together with a satisfying snap.
Amy: Oh, that's the sound you were making.
Sheldon: Oh, I almost forgot. While you were sleeping I ordered room service.
Amy: Really?!
*Sheldon lifts the lid off the plate, revealing bacon, eggs, and pancakes made out of Legos.*
Sheldon: Viola! You thought it was going to be food, didn't you?
----
Sheldon: I'm just worried that if I don't schedule our bedroom endeavours, then I may not think about them, and you'll grow cold and distant and seek solace in the arms of a heavily muscled longshoreman. 
Amy: Where would I find a longshoreman?
Sheldon: Along the Shore. It's in the name.
Amy: Sheldon, I couldn't be with anybody but you.
Sheldon: That's good to know. I wouldn't want to have to fight a man who's brave enough to touch a fish.
Amy: How's this for a compromise; make all the schedules you want. Just don't tell me about them.
Sheldon: Excellent. I'll create an algorithm that'll generate a pseudo-random schedule. And do you know why it won't be a true random schedule?
Amy: Because the generation of true random numbers remains an unsolved problem in computer science.
Sheldon: Come with me.
Amy: Where are we going?
Sheldon: To the Hotel room. And when we get there I'm gonna need you to say that again, except naked.
----
Penny: You know, you compared us to the strangest couple we know, and we know Amy and Sheldon, Howard and Bernadette, Raj and his twitchy little dog.
==Gallery==
Social Group.jpg|Opening photo.
Season12C2.png|Last season.
Season12B.png|Mayim back at work.
Season12A.jpg|First press day.
ConCon1.png|Kathy Bates and Lenny.
The Conjugal Configuration BTS cast.png|Gang back for #12.
ConCon3.png|Kunal and friends.
ConCon4.png|First episode clapper.
Jim and Mayim at Comic Con.png|Shamy filming their NYC honeymoon.
Shamy honeymoon 12x01.PNG|Amy is perturbed with Sheldon.
Penny x Teller.jpg|I'm here to feed the plants.
Sheldon-Season 12.jpg|Scheduling their coitus.
Popocorn.jpg|Shocked at Raj's comments on TV.
TECC-1.jpg|Shocked at Raj's comments on TV.
TECC-2.jpg|Watching Raj on the television.
TECC-3.jpg|Watching Raj on the television.
TECC-4.jpg|Penny.
TECC-5.jpg|Bill Nye talking to Neil deGrasse Tyson.
TECC-6.jpg|Bill Nye the Science Guy.
TECC-7.jpg|Neil deGrasse Tyson returns.
TECC-8.jpg|Neil deGrasse Tyson knocking Raj.
TECC-9.jpg|Planning coitus.
TECC-10.jpg|Sheldon's coitus schedule.
TECC-11.jpg|Honeymoon Lego breakfast.
TECC-12.jpg|Sheldon brings apology hot dogs.
TECC-13.jpg|Leonard compares them to Amy's parents.
TECC-14.jpg|Getting back at Neil deGrasse Tyson.
TECC-15.jpg|Men like strong women.
Amy-Season 12.jpg|Amy getting offered sex.
Shamy honeymoon 12x01.PNG|Ready for love making any time.
Hm1.png|Good morning, wife.
Hm2.png|Ready for love making any time.
Hm3.png|Ready for love making any time.
Hm4.png|Loves her Lego breakfast. 
Hm5.png|Penny hears someone.
Hm6.png|Mr. Fowler appears.
Hm7.png|Larry sneaks back into the apartment.
Hm8.png|New York City hotel room.
Hm9.png|Have good coitus.
Hm10.png|Ready for coitus anytime.
Hm11.png|Mrs. Fowler banging on their door.
Hm12.png|Penny.
Hm13.png|“Blondie” is going to chew you up and spit you out. 
Hm14.png|On the Tesla tour.
Hm15.png|Raj talking about meteorites.
Hm16.png|Couple not talking.
Hm17.png|Men like strong women.
Hm18.png|Striking back at Tyson.
Hm20.png|Striking back at Tyson.
Hm21.png|We can be good friends.
Hm28.png|Apology hot dogs.
Hm29.png|Schedule our coitus, but don't tell me.
Hm30.png|Say that again, but without clothes on.
Hm32.png|Bill Nye talking to Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Hm33.png|Shamy honeymoon.
Hm35.png|On the Tesla tour.
Hm36.png|On the Tesla tour.
Hm37.png|Amy is getting testy.
Hm38.png|Coming to talk to Amy.
Hm39.png|Sheldon embarrassed her.
==References==
Category:Leonard Hofstadter
Category:Sheldon Cooper
Category:Howard Wolowitz
Category:Rajesh Koothrappali
Category:Penny
Category:Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz
Category:Amy Farrah Fowler
Category:Mrs. Fowler
Category:Apartment 4B
Category:Season 12 (The Big Bang Theory)
Category:Shamy
Category:Halley Wolowitz
Category:Penny has a job
Category:Raj Talks Without Alcohol