Melissa Rauch
American actress (born 1980)
Melissa Ivy Rauch (; born June 23, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" from 2009 to 2019, for which she was nominated for the Critics Choice Television Award in 2013. From 2004 to 2008, Rauch worked as a regular contributor on the VH1 series "Best Week Ever".
Rauch's other acting credits include playing Tina on the American remake of "Kath & Kim", Summer on the HBO fantasy horror drama "True Blood," and currently plays the lead role on NBC's revival of "Night Court".
Rauch also starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced the 2015 sports comedy-drama film "The Bronze" and provided the voice of DC character Harley Quinn in the 2017 animated film "Batman and Harley Quinn". Rauch also had supporting roles in "I Love You, Man" (2009), "" and "Flock of Dudes" (both 2016), and "Ode to Joy" and "The Laundromat" (both 2019).
Early life.
Rauch was born to David and Susan Rauch in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. She is Jewish. She has a younger brother, Ben. She developed an interest in acting while attending Marlboro High School. Her Bat Mitzvah had a "Melissa’s Comedy Club" theme. Rauch earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City in 2002.
Career.
Some of Rauch's early work was as a regular contributor to VH1's "Best Week Ever" television show.
In 2009, Rauch began playing the recurring role of Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, a co-worker of Penny's at The Cheesecake Factory who began to date Howard Wolowitz, in the third season of CBS's "The Big Bang Theory". The following season, her character became Howard's fiancée, and Rauch was promoted to a series regular. The characters married in the season five finale. In December 2011, Rauch and fellow cast members of "The Big Bang Theory" received the first of six nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Other acting credits include "True Blood" (in which she had a recurring role in 2010 as Summer, a girl who likes Hoyt), "The Office", the American remake of the Australian TV series "Kath & Kim", "Wright v Wrong", and the film "I Love You, Man".
Rauch is also part of the comedic stage show "The Realest Real Housewives" cast with Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael, Jessica St. Clair and Danielle Schneider. The show began running at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2011.
Rauch co-wrote and co-produced the film "The Bronze", in which she starred as Hope Ann Greggory, a bronze medal-winning gymnast clinging to her glory days of 12 years earlier. It opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. "Variety" said, "Rauch, who co-wrote the screenplay with her husband Winston, has never carried a film before. But she delivers the best breakthrough comedic performance by an actress since Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"." Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film in September 2015.
In 2017, Rauch voiced Harley Quinn in the animated film "Batman and Harley Quinn" and she voiced Light Thief in "Light Riders" from "Blaze and the Monster Machines".
She currently stars in the "Night Court" revival series playing Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of Judge Harold T. Stone and Gina Stone from the original "Night Court" series. Season 1 premiered on NBC on January 17, 2023, and is co-produced by Rauch and her husband Winston Beigel, in association with Warner Bros. Television Studios and Universal Television.
Personal life.
Rauch is married to writer Winston Beigel, who collaborated with her on "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush" and other projects. Rauch announced that she was pregnant on July 11, 2017, and disclosed that she had a miscarriage previously. On December 4, 2017, Rauch announced on Instagram that she had given birth to a baby girl. On May 4, 2020, Rauch announced the birth of her son.
Rauch modeled the voice of Bernadette after her parents: the "sweet, high-pitched purr" is modeled after her mother, while the "eerie, haranguing imitation" of Mrs. Wolowitz is modeled after her father. Both are "very different" from Rauch's real voice.
References.
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette (film)
2019 American comedy-drama film by Richard Linklater
Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a 2019 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater from a screenplay by Linklater, Holly Gent, and Vince Palmo, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Maria Semple. It stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, and Laurence Fishburne.
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette" was released on August 16, 2019, by Annapurna Pictures through their United Artists Releasing joint venture. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot.
Architect-turned-agoraphobe Bernadette Fox is settled down with her husband Elgie Branch and their 15-year-old daughter Bee in a dilapidated former schoolhouse in Seattle. After an award-winning house Bernadette constructed was demolished, she developed severe depression and became reclusive. Despite her close relationship with Bee, Bernadette seldom leaves home and harbors a deep fear of human interaction, including with the other parents at Bee's school and especially their neighbor, Audrey Griffin.
Bee requests a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for good grades, to which her parents reluctantly agree. As the trip approaches, Bernadette’s behavior becomes increasingly odd. She considers using various prescription drugs to control her worsening anxiety and insomnia. Audrey continually implores Bernadette to remove an invasive blackberry plant from the hillside above her house; when Bernadette complies, the hillside collapses into Audrey's garden and house during a rainstorm. Elgie claims Bernadette knew that the hill would collapse without the blackberries to hold it in place. Audrey later dishonestly accuses Bernadette of driving over her foot, escalating the tension between them.
One day, Bernadette returns home to find Elgie, his assistant Soo-Lin, psychiatrist Dr. Kurtz, and FBI Agent Strang at her home for an intervention. They reveal that Manjula, Bernadette's “personal assistant” in India with whom she has shared all of her personal and financial information, is actually a front for a Russian criminal organization that the FBI has been watching. Dr. Kurtz and Elgie want to commit Bernadette to a psychiatric hospital while Elgie and Bee go to Antarctica. Feeling ambushed and misunderstood, Bernadette sneaks out of the house and hides at Audrey's, who makes amends with her and helps her fly to Antarctica alone.
Elgie and Bee pursue Bernadette after Agent Strang tells them that the Russian criminals, who were on their way to Seattle to defraud Bernadette while she and her family were away, have been arrested and are no longer a threat. In Antarctica, Bernadette befriends Becky, a researcher who tells her that the research station at the South Pole must be completely rebuilt and needs an architect. Bernadette sneaks off her cruise ship and into Palmer Station, and convinces the team leader to give her a spot on the next convoy to the South Pole.
Elgie realizes that he has failed Bernadette by not being more supportive of her creativity. He and Bee catch up with Bernadette at Palmer Station and, seeing that her passion for architecture has been reignited, give her their blessing to spend five weeks at the Pole.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>* Cate Blanchett as Bernadette Fox
Production.
In January 2013, Annapurna Pictures and Color Force acquired the rights to the film adaptation of the novel and set Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber to write the screenplay. Semple, Bryan Unkeless, and Ted Schipper executive produced. In February 2015, Richard Linklater was announced as director of the film, and Cate Blanchett was cast as Bernadette in November. In April 2016, it was announced that Holly Gent Palmo and Vince Palmo had taken over writing duties on the film, with Linklater also receiving credit.
In March 2017, Kristen Wiig joined the cast, and Billy Crudup was added in May, marking his second collaboration with Blanchett, after appearing with her in "Charlotte Gray" (2001). In June, Judy Greer, James Urbaniak, and Laurence Fishburne joined the cast of the film, and Troian Bellisario came on board in July. Emma Nelson's casting was announced in June 2018.
Principal photography began on July 10, 2017. Set in Seattle, filming took place in Pittsburgh and Vancouver. Scenes set in Antarctica were filmed in Greenland.
Graham Reynolds was announced as the film's composer in September 2017.
Release.
Originally scheduled for release in the USA on May 11, 2018, the film was later pushed back to October 19. The release date was then pushed to March 22, 2019, and then August 9, before finally settling on August 16, 2019.
The film was significantly delayed for release in the UK for two years due to the film’s huge under-performance, before eventually appearing on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services on 15 March 2021.
Reception.
Box office.
In the United States and Canada, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" was released alongside "Blinded by the Light", "", and "Good Boys", and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,404 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up making $1.2 million on its opening day, including $200,000 from Thursday night previews, and $3.5 million for the weekend, finishing 11th at the box office. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $9.2 million domestically and $11 million worldwide on a budget of $18 million.
Critical response.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Where'd You Go, Bernadette" offers dispiriting proof that a talented director, bestselling source material, and terrific cast can add up to far less than the sum of their parts." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average of 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 60% "definite recommend".
Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and wrote: "Filmed in a solid but straightforward style, populated by troubled characters who are aggressively off-putting, frustratingly passive and/or easily lampooned clichés, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" is one of the most disappointing movies of 2019." In his 1/4 star review for "The Globe and Mail", Barry Hertz said, "There is, buried deep somewhere in Linklater's film or however many edits it may have undergone – the thing reeks of indecision – an insightful, even invigorating story about what happens to a creative genius once they stop creating. But the actual work presents a good argument that, for some artists, it might be best to quit while you're ahead."
Architecture.
Two of Bernadette's structures — the fictitious Twenty-Mile House and Beeber Bifocal House — were compared to the first two of 18 visions of Bernadette Soubirous.
Her final conception in the film was based on the Halley Research Station, designed in real life by Hugh Broughton Architects.
References.
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The Big Bang Theory season 3
The third season of the American television sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" aired on CBS from September 21, 2009 to May 24, 2010. It received higher ratings than the previous two seasons with over 15 million viewers. The third season saw the first appearances of future main cast members Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik as Bernadette Rostenkowski and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler respectively.
Christine Baranski was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards for the episode, "The Maternal Congruence". Jim Parsons won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the episode "The Pants Alternative".
Cast.
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Episodes.
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Reception.
The third season received critical acclaim. Maureen Ryan of "Chicago Tribune" who wrote that ""Big Bang Theory," which is in its third season, is doing many things very right", Alan Sepinwall of "The Star-Ledger" wrote "the Penny/Sheldon interaction was gold, as always", and Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly", who wrote that "what lifts "The Big Bang Theory" into frequent excellence is its one constant from the start: the brilliantly nuanced performance of Jim Parsons".
The American Film Institute ranked season three one of the ten best television seasons of 2009.
References.
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The Big Bang (2011 film)
The Big Bang is a 2011 American action thriller film written by Erik Jendresen and directed by Tony Krantz, starring Antonio Banderas and Sienna Guillory.
Synopsis.
Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas) is a Los Angeles private investigator trying to find Lexie Persimmon (Sienna Guillory). The reclusive and eccentric billionaire Simon Kestral (Sam Elliott) is obsessed with finding "the god particle" by recreating the exact situation in which the universe may have formed. As the mystery unravels, Ned becomes unsure about whether Lexie actually exists. The film makes many references to particle physics and famous scientists. The character Fay Neman's name is a reference to physicist Richard Feynman.
Plot.
Detectives Poley (William Fichtner), Frizer (Thomas Kretschmann), and Skeres (Delroy Lindo) are interrogating Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas), a Los Angeles private investigator, who tells them that five years earlier, Russian mobster Skinny Faddeev gave $30 million in blood diamonds as an advance to Anton (Robert Maillet), a boxer, to intentionally lose a fight against his nephew. However, during the fight, Anton unintentionally killed the nephew. When Skinny was found dead, Anton was sentenced to life in prison. While Anton was in prison, he received over 200 letters from a woman named Lexie Persimmon.
Anton gives Ned the job of finding Lexie. Ned is skeptical about his job, since he doesn't have a photo of Lexie. As he starts investigating the various clues, people start dying mysteriously. Ned also notices that a black Lincoln is following him, which he assumes is the Russian Mafia. He finds a clue that leads him to believe that Lexie might be in San Celeritas, New Mexico.
Ned then meets a waitress named Fay Neman (Autumn Reeser)—a particle physics buff—who helps him and sleeps with him. Ned meets Simon (Sam Elliott), his wife Julie (Sienna Guillory), and Niels Geck (Jimmi Simpson), a physicist who is conducting an experiment for Simon. Simon is interested only in finding the "God particle" and feels indifferent when Julie tries to warm up to Ned. Ned suspects that Julie might really be Lexie and decides to tell her what is happening. Meanwhile, Anton tracks down Ned to Simon's bungalow. Ned confronts Julie with his suspicions about Lexie's true identity, but Julie has no idea what he is talking about. Ned and Julie hear gunshots, causing Ned to suspect that Anton is at the house.
Realizing that he and Anton have both mistaken Julie for Lexie, Ned tries to save her. When the duo head toward the basement, Ned is astonished to find Niels dressed like a woman, and in a blonde wig. A box containing cosmetics has the phrase "Lex Parsimoniae"—a Latin phrase meaning "When all things are equal, the simplest solution is the best"—printed on it. Ned realizes that Niels had written the letters to Anton, who becomes angered when Niels tries to convince Anton to accept him. In a shootout, Ned is injured and passes out.
The story cuts back to the present day, where it is revealed that Niels and Anton killed each other while the detectives, who had followed Ned to Simon's house, held Ned and Julie hostage. Julie is kept bound and gagged with duct tape. Ned accuses the trio of following him and killing the people he met, also stating that Skinny was killed for diamonds, which his killer never recovered. Ned proves that Frizer killed all the people who could have known about the diamonds. Frizer admits his crimes, for which the other detectives scold him. Ned looks at a glass tank containing a gecko and realizes something; he tells the villains that he knows where Niels stored the diamonds.
The detectives take Ned and Julie to the spot where he had confronted Julie after she had shown him a hidden shoe box. While Julie and Ned are in the car, Skeres and Frizer go to get the shoe box. Meanwhile, Poley spots Julie and Ned signaling each other. He attacks them, but they overpower him and manage to drive the car towards Skeres and Frizer. Skeres and Frizer are disappointed when they discover the diamonds are not in the box. When they see the car coming towards them, they realize what is happening and start shooting. Ned shoots them both dead. Meanwhile, Simon the physicist's experiment destroys his lab and creates a giant crevasse. Ned and Julie speed away in the car, and later pick up Fay, who in a non serious tone complains that Ned solved the case, got the girl, the diamonds, while she gets a gecko (Its assumed that her fling with Ned is over much to her chagrin now that he is with Julie) and mockingly suggest they give the diamonds to Angola or Liberia, before lamenting she loves the car as the three drive away.
Reception.
The film received negative reviews. , the film holds approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews with an average rating of . On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 25/100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavourable reviews".
References.
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Bea Benaderet
American actress (1906–1968)
Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that spanned over three decades. Benaderet first specialized in voice-over work in the golden age of radio, appearing on numerous programs while working with comedians of the era such as Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, and Lucille Ball. Her expertise in dialect and characterization led to her becoming Warner Bros.' leading voice of female characters in their animated cartoons of the early 1940s through the mid-1950s.
Benaderet was then a prominent figure on television in situation comedies, first with "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" from 1950 to 1958, for which she earned two Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. In the 1960s, she had regular roles in four series until her death from lung cancer in 1968, including the commercial successes "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Flintstones", and her best-known role as Kate Bradley in "Petticoat Junction". She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring her work in television.
Early life.
Beatrice Benaderet was born on April 4, 1906, in New York City. Her mother, Margaret (née O'Keefe), was Irish American, and her father, Samuel David Benaderet, a Sephardic Jewish emigrant from what is now Turkey, was a tobacconist who relocated the family from New York City to San Francisco in 1915 after his participation in the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The same year, he opened a smoke shop that operated for 65 years, making it the oldest such retailer in California at the time of its closure in 1980.
Benaderet was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and attended grade school at a Dominican convent. She studied voice and the piano; her first acting performance came at 11 when she portrayed a bearded old man in a school play.
The following year, her participation in a children's production of "The Beggar's Opera" resulted in a local radio station manager inviting her to a one-time performance on one of his programs, for which she was paid $10. Benaderet made her professional theatre debut at 16 in a production of "The Prince of Pilsen," and, after graduating from the Academy of St. Rose, a private, all-girls' high school, she attended the Reginald Travers School of Acting and joined his stock company The Players' Guild, appearing in stage productions of works such as "Polly", "Lysistrata", and "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
Career.
Radio.
In 1926, Benaderet joined the staff of San Francisco radio station KFRC, which was under the new ownership of Don Lee and where her duties included acting, singing, writing, and producing.
Initially seeking work as a dramatic actress, she switched to comedy and performed on multiple programs, in particular the "Blue Monday Jamboree" variety show, where her castmates included Meredith Willson, Elvia Allman, and future "I Love Lucy" producer Jess Oppenheimer. Benaderet honed a variety of dialects such as French, Spanish, New York City English, and Yiddish, the latter from voicing a character named "Rheba Haufawitz". She additionally hosted the musical variety show "Salon Moderne" and gained attention for her work as a female announcer, a rarity in 1930s radio.
Benaderet relocated to Hollywood in 1936 and joined radio station KHJ, making her network radio debut with Orson Welles for his Mercury Theatre repertory company heard on "The Campbell Playhouse". The following year she received her first big break in the industry on "The Jack Benny Program", where she played Gertrude Gearshift, a wisecracking telephone operator who gossiped about Jack Benny with her cohort Mabel Flapsaddle (Sara Berner). Intended as a one-time appearance, the pair became a recurring role starting in the 1945–46 season, and in early 1947, Benaderet and Berner momentarily took over the NBC switchboards in Hollywood for publicity photos. She performed in as many as five shows daily, causing her rehearsal dates to conflict with those of "The Jack Benny Program" and resulting in her reading live as Gertrude from a marked script she was handed upon entering the studio.
Other recurring characters Benaderet portrayed were Blanche Morton on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show"; school principal Eve Goodwin on "The Great Gildersleeve"; Millicent Carstairs on "Fibber McGee & Molly"; maid Gloria on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"; and Iris Atterbury on the Lucille Ball vehicle "My Favorite Husband", opposite Gale Gordon. Benaderet voiced various one-time parts before joining the main cast as Iris, neighbor and friend of Ball's character Liz Cooper. The 1950 CBS program "Granby's Green Acres", a perceived spinoff of "My Favorite Husband", was her one radio lead role and reunited her with Gordon as a husband and wife who abandon city life to become farmers, but it lasted only eight episodes.
Voice acting.
Beginning in 1943, Benaderet became Warner Bros.' primary voice of adult female supporting characters for their "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" animated shorts, initially sharing duties with Sara Berner. Her characterizations included an obnoxious teenaged bobbysox version of Little Red Riding Hood in "Little Red Riding Rabbit" (1944); Witch Hazel in "Bewitched Bunny" (1954); the spinster hen Miss Prissy in several Foghorn Leghorn cartoons; Tweety's owner "Granny" including the Academy Award-winning "Tweetie Pie" (1947); and Mama Bear in a series of Three Bears shorts, which animator Chuck Jones called one of his favorite portrayals. Benaderet did not receive onscreen credit for her work because she was employed by Warner Bros. as a freelance actor who voiced peripheral characters, and unlike Mel Blanc, was not under contract with the studio. In 1955, she was succeeded by June Foray as Warner's premier female voice artist.
Television.
Benaderet was Lucille Ball's first choice as Ethel Mertz for the sitcom "I Love Lucy"; Ball said in a 1984 interview that she had "no other picture of anyone" for the role. However, Benaderet had to turn down the offer since she was contracted to the television adaptation of "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", so Vivian Vance was eventually cast. Benaderet guest-starred on the January 21, 1952, first-season episode "Lucy Plays Cupid" as the character of Miss Lewis, a love-starved spinster neighbor.
Benaderet continued her "Burns & Allen" radio role of the Burns' neighbor Blanche Morton, Gracie's friend and staunchest supporter in her escapades. She was the only secondary cast member who appeared in every episode and the first six shows were shot live in New York, resulting in Benaderet commuting to Los Angeles, where she was working several radio assignments at the time.
Blanche Morton's long-suffering husband, Harry, was played by four actors over the show's eight-year run; the last, Larry Keating, was introduced on the October 5, 1953 fourth-season premiere when George Burns entered the set and halted a scene of an angered Blanche preparing to hit Harry with a book. Burns introduced Keating to Benaderet and the audience, and she broke character to exchange pleasantries with Keating. The segment then resumed and Benaderet struck Keating with the book. Benaderet and Gracie Allen regularly shopped for their own on-set wardrobe and she developed a high-pitched laugh for Blanche that became a staple of the character and was used for comic effect: "When we had a scene with some silent spots in it, George would say to me, 'Laugh there, Bea.'" Benaderet garnered two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1954 and 1955. Following Allen's retirement in 1958 at the end of the eighth season, the program continued as "The George Burns Show" in 1958–59 with Blanche repackaged as George's secretary, but it was canceled after one season due to low ratings. Benaderet worked sparsely in 1959, filming one-time appearances on "General Electric Theater" and "The Restless Gun".
Benaderet became a fixture on television in the 1960s, which included working on two shows simultaneously from 1960 to 1964. She played housekeeper Wilma in the lone season of the 1960 sitcom "Peter Loves Mary", a part she received because of references from Burns. Benaderet considered herself "lucky" to be cast in another series out of fear that she had become too closely associated with "Burns & Allen". The same year, she was then cast as the voice of Betty Rubble in the Hanna-Barbera primetime animated series "The Flintstones". Benaderet auditioned with past radio coworker Jean Vander Pyl for Betty and Wilma Flintstone by exchanging dialogue before the show's co-creator Joseph Barbera, who asked afterward what part they preferred. Vander Pyl recalled in 1994: "I said, 'Oh, I want to be Wilma!' [and] Bea said, 'That's fine with me.'" Benaderet voiced guest spots on the side for fellow Hanna-Barbera productions "Top Cat" and "The Yogi Bear Show" during 1961 and 1962. While filming the debut season of her show "Petticoat Junction" the next year, she continued voicing Betty by recording her part alone or with her "Flintstones" castmates during evening hours until scheduling conflicts forced her to drop the role at the end of the fourth season in 1964. She was replaced by Gerry Johnson.
Collaboration with Paul Henning.
In the late 1940s, Benaderet befriended Paul Henning, a scriptwriter on the radio production of "Burns & Allen". She appeared on the 19 episodes of the show he had written between 1947 and 1951. She became one of his regular players in the first two seasons of "Burns & Allen", a two-episode guest appearance on "The Bob Cummings Show" in 1956–57, and her involvement in three of the most successful sitcoms of the 1960s. After reading the 1961 first script for "The Beverly Hillbillies", Benaderet wanted to audition for the role of Granny. Despite considering her to be too buxom for his vision of the character as a small and wiry woman, Henning allowed her to test anyway. Irene Ryan ultimately won the role; according to Henning, "Bea took one look at the way Irene did the part and said to me, 'There's your Granny!'" He additionally took Benaderet's suggestion of casting Harriet MacGibbon as Granny's rival Margaret Drysdale. Henning created for Benaderet the supporting character of Cousin Pearl Bodine, the middle-aged widowed mother of Jethro Bodine (Max Baer Jr.) and cousin of main character Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen), whom she convinces to move from his humble home in the Ozarks after he strikes oil on his property and becomes a millionaire. Prior to shooting the pilot, Benaderet enlisted a dialect coach to help her learn a hillbilly accent. Impressed with her performance while screening the pilot to potential sponsors, Henning made Cousin Pearl a recurring character in the 1962–63 first season as she moved into the Clampetts' Beverly Hills mansion, feuded with Granny, and pursued oil tycoon Mr. Brewster (Frank Wilcox) as a love interest. Bluegrass duo Flatt and Scruggs, who performed the show's opening theme, recorded a comedic serenade in 1963 titled "Pearl Pearl Pearl" and Benaderet was pictured on the single's cover. Benaderet described Pearl's curly hair as "just my mental image of the character. ... Pearl played the piano for the silent movies and she saw such high fashion and ridiculous hairdos. She could read and write, and the curled hair seemed to Pearl the height of smartness."
Henning had long admired Benaderet's talents and strove to create a starring vehicle for her, as he felt she was worthy of headlining her own series after years of supporting parts. When CBS granted him an open time slot after the massive success of "Beverly Hillbillies", he crafted the 1963 rural sitcom "Petticoat Junction" around Benaderet, starring as Kate Bradley, the widowed proprietor of the Shady Rest Hotel. Cousin Pearl was consequently written out of the "Beverly Hillbillies" storyline as having moved back home. The character of Kate represented Benaderet's first straight role: "Kate Bradley is different from the characters I've played in the past. She has to walk a fine line between being humorous and tender. The other women I've played were strictly for laughs." Benaderet and director Richard Whorf auditioned the young actresses who would play Kate's three teenaged daughters; she persuaded Henning to let his 18-year-old daughter Linda read (successfully) for the role of Betty Jo Bradley. Linda Henning and Benaderet's son, Jack Bannon, were members of a young actors' theater group at the time. CBS promoted the show's September 22, 1963, premiere with a print ad featuring an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Benaderet as Cousin Pearl. "Petticoat Junction" was an immediate hit, peaking at fourth in the Nielsen ratings, and remained in the top 30 during Benaderet's four full seasons on the show from 1963 to 1967. Her former "Flintstones" costars Alan Reed and Jean Vander Pyl filmed guest spots in later seasons.
Henning was again given free rein for a new show with no pilot needed, which he bestowed to colleague Jay Sommers due to his busy schedule. Sommers created the 1965 sitcom "Green Acres", adapted from his 1950 radio program "Granby's Green Acres" that had starred Benaderet, thus making it a spinoff of her own television show. Benaderet filmed six appearances as Kate in the first season as both shows' casts intermingled on several episodes in a process dubbed "cross-pollination".
Film and other works.
Benaderet played bit parts in six motion pictures from 1946 to 1962, four of which were uncredited. She was chosen from 200 actresses for the part of a government file clerk in Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946) and completed filming in half an hour, but her scenes were cut from the final print. She told "Radio Life" magazine that year that after having struggled to remember her lines, "Mr. Hitchcock looked me right in the eye and asked 'You want to go back to radio?' I said yes". Her first onscreen appearance, also uncredited, was in the film "On the Town" (1949), as one of two women whom the main characters (played by Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra) encounter while riding the subway.
In 1945, Benaderet and fellow voice actresses Janet Waldo and Cathy Lewis were to appear on a televised fashion show on her former KFRC employer Don Lee's W6XAO network before the project fell through. On Irving Taylor's novelty album "Drink Along with Irving" (1960), she duetted with Elvia Allman and Mel Blanc, respectively, on tracks titled "Sub-Bourbon Living" and "Separate Bar Stools".
Personal life.
Benaderet and her first husband, actor Jim Bannon, met while employed at KHJ in Los Angeles. They married in August 1938 and had two children: Jack (1940–2017), and Maggie (b. 1947). However, Bannon's heavy filming and touring schedule required for his portrayal of fictional cowboy hero Red Ryder took a toll on their marriage and she filed for divorce in September 1950. In 1958, Benaderet married Eugene Twombly, a sound-effects technician for movies and television who had worked on "The Jack Benny Program", and they remained together until her death in 1968. Her son Jack became an actor, making his television debut in bit parts on "Petticoat Junction" (and working on the show as a dialogue coach), later appearing in "Lou Grant".
In 1961, Benaderet dressed in a "Flintstones"-inspired leopard-print costume to collect donations for City of Hope and March of Dimes and worked with Welcome Wagon in the San Fernando Valley. On February 5, 1964, she was named an honorary sheriff of Calabasas, California, with her daughter Maggie accepting a badge on her behalf that was presented by her "Petticoat Junction" co-star Edgar Buchanan in a public ceremony.
Illness and death.
During a routine checkup in 1963, a spot was discovered on one of Benaderet's lungs. It was no longer visible at the time of her follow-up visit, but by November 1967, it had returned and grown in size. She resisted immediate exploratory surgery, as she was filming the fifth season of "Petticoat Junction" and feared the show would be affected by her absence. On November 26, she underwent the surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, when it was discovered the tumor could not be removed. Diagnosed with lung cancer, Benaderet underwent six weeks of radiation treatment via a linear particle accelerator at Stanford University Medical Center. A longtime smoker, she cut down her multiple-pack-a-day habit following her initial checkups and quit entirely after her surgery.
Benaderet's treatment was initially successful and concluded in January 1968. She had missed 10 episodes of the show as she recuperated, during which her character of Kate Bradley was vaguely described in the storyline as being out of town. Expectations were that Benaderet would eventually recover and be able to resume filming. Rosemary DeCamp (Kate's sister Helen) and Shirley Mitchell (Kate's cousin Mae Jennings) filled in as temporary mother figures during her absence; Mitchell had previously worked with Benaderet on "The Jack Benny Program" in 1954–55 as Mabel Flapsaddle. Benaderet returned for the March 30 fifth-season finale "Kate's Homecoming", but five months later, after shooting the first three episodes of the sixth season, she took leave from the series due to being too ill to continue. Initial plans were for her to record her voice to be inserted into future episodes. However, her condition dramatically declined; on September 26, chest pains related to her illness forced her to return to the hospital for the final time. The fourth show of the sixth season, "The Valley Has a Baby", marked Benaderet's last episode and featured only her voice with her stand-in filmed from the rear.
Benaderet died on October 13, 1968, of lung cancer and pneumonia, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. She was entombed in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood. On October 17, four days after her death and the day after her funeral, her husband Eugene Twombly died at the age of 54 from a massive heart attack and was interred beside her.
Acting style and reception.
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"I think it is the most wonderful profession in the world. I can walk on the set in the morning not thinking I can put one foot in front of the other, and then on stage, something happens. You come to life right away. I would die if I didn't work."
—Benaderet in 1965 on her love of acting.
When Benaderet was cast in "Petticoat Junction," she was hailed as having "finally" become a star. She had previously played supporting roles throughout her career, usually as a next-door neighbor, and had been openly averse to leading roles. However, in January 1963, following CBS' acquisition of "Petticoat Junction", she enthused to columnist Eve Starr of "The Mercury": "Isn't it nice? After all these years. ... [It] just never occurred to me that it might...golly, my own show!" Benaderet often discussed facets of the acting profession in promotional interviews for the show, and believed that leading a series required a "feeling of responsibility", including her being more observant of on-set activity and her costars' performances, while continuously evolving her character.
Benaderet garnered praise for her mastery of dialects and her work as a comedienne and character actress, while she is recognized for her voice characterizations in animation. MeTV considered her an "icon" of 1960s television. Donna Douglas said, "Watching her timing is like watching a ballerina. She's so effortless." Benaderet credited George Burns with mentoring her in comedy acting, but claimed that television scriptwriters focused more on her voice and delivery than her characters, which she believed stunted opportunities for her to play more dramatic roles. For her contributions to television, Benaderet received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, on 1611 Vine Street, and she was the recipient of a Genii Award in 1966.
She is credited with over 1000 combined radio and television episode appearances, which earned her the nickname of "Busy Bea" from members of the press. "The Pantagraph" columnist Ernie Kreiling remarked in 1965 that "probably no Hollywood personality has spent as many hours in our homes". Benaderet was good friends and a frequent collaborator with Mel Blanc, who wrote in his 1988 biography "That's Not All Folks!:" "[We] spent so much time together in studios that I used to refer jokingly to her as the 'other woman' in my life."
Keeping the spelling of her surname, which has been misspelled as "Benederet" or "Benadaret", was a choice she insisted on. She first resisted requests to change it early in her radio career: "[T]hey'd say, 'Anything's better than Benaderet—How about Smith?'" When she was introduced to Orson Welles in 1936, he remarked that her name "sounded like something you ad lib in a mob scene." It was misspelled in a 1946 press release created specifically about its proper spelling, and "Radio Life" wrote in 1947: "If someone were to conduct a survey to decide the radio personality with the most frequently misspelled name, Bea Benaderet would probably win hands down." Early in the first season of "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", her full name appeared as "Bee Benadaret" in the closing credits.
Awards and honors.
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Notes.
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References.
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Bibliography.
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Andrée Bernard
English actress
Andrée Bernard is an English actress best known for her major role as Liz Burton in the British soap opera "Hollyoaks". She was a recurring guest artist in Holby City and has had West End lead roles in Hair and Kiss Me Kate. She has also worked with Steven Berkoff, playing Sarah in "The Actors Lament" and Eve in "6 Actors In Search of a Director".
Born as Andree Barnard, she started acting in her early teens and, by the age of 17 in 1983, was appearing in episodes of "The Two Ronnies" and playing one of the two leading characters in the 1984 television film "Sharon & Michelle". She also starred in "Only Fools and Horses" as Nervous Nerys
In 1991 she played Gordon Brittas' secretary Angie throughout the first series of "The Brittas Empire" and appeared as Nervous Nerys, a barmaid in the Nag's Head, in "Only Fools and Horses". In 1995 she appeared as Terri Gordon in "The Black Orchid", an episode of "Taggart". She appeared in episodes of "Lovejoy", "Silent Witness" and "Agatha Christie's Poirot", and has made various, multiple appearances in "The Bill". She appeared as Dolly in the "Doctor Who" episode "The Shakespeare Code". Most recently, she appeared in Steven Berkoff's play "6 Actors in Search of a Director", with Neil Stuke. Bernard also provided the voice of Nancy Hamilton in the video game "Clock Tower 3."
She has also starred in "Emmerdale" (1989), "Holby City" (2015–2017), "Playing Dead" (2018), "The Bill" (playing various roles between 1992 and 2009), "Crossroads" (2002), "Casualty" (1993 and 1997), and "Taggart" (1995).
References.
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The Big Bang Theory season 4
The fourth season of the American television sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" aired on CBS from September 23, 2010 to May 19, 2011. Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik auditioned and were promoted to the main cast during this season as Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler respectively.
Johnny Galecki received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards for the episode "The Benefactor Factor". Jim Parsons won the same award for the episode "The Agreement Dissection".
Production.
During the season, Kaley Cuoco's character Penny was absent from episodes 5 and 6 after Kaley fell off a horse and broke her leg. When returning to the series, she was shown working as a bartender instead of waitressing at her usual workplace, The Cheesecake Factory, to hide her injury.
Cast.
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Episodes.
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Reception.
The fourth season received particular praise for character developments. Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx praised the additions of Bernadette and Amy to the cast, writing that "With Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette promoted to semi-permanent status, the show is now able to spend large chunks of each episode focusing only on the women, and in the process has made Penny a much more well-rounded character rather than just a foil for the nerds". Emily VanDerWerff of "The A.V. Club" wrote that "Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco's interplay remains the show's secret weapon", and Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic wrote: "Really though, everything about the main story worked amazing. Mayim fits in perfectly in "The Big Bang Theory" cast and played off of Kaley Cuoco just as well as Emmy Award-winning Parsons".
References.
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Laura Spencer (actress)
American actress
Laura Spencer (born May 8, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for playing Jane Bennet in the 2012 web series "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" (an adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice"), intern Jessica Warren in seasons 9 to 12 of "Bones" and Emily Sweeney in seasons 7 to 10 of the CBS comedy series "The Big Bang Theory". She had a guest role on fellow Oklahoman Sterlin Harjo's FX on Hulu's TV series "Reservation Dogs".
Early life.
Spencer was born on May 8, 1986, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and grew up in Edmond where she attended Santa Fe High School, graduating in 2004. She went on to the University of Oklahoma, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2008.
Career.
Spencer played Jane Bennet in the web series "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries". She had a main role as Emily Sweeney, Raj Koothrappali's girlfriend on "The Big Bang Theory", which began in that show's seventh season, in the March 6, 2014, episode "The Friendship Turbulence". That same year, she began a recurring role as Jessica Warren on "Bones."
Personal life.
Spencer married Michael Jack Greenwald on January 5, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
References.
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette
2012 novel by Maria Semple
Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a 2012 epistolary comedy novel written by Maria Semple. The plot revolves around an agoraphobic architect and mother named Bernadette Fox, who goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica. It is narrated by her 15-year-old daughter Bee Branch, and is told in a series of documents (emails, memos, transcripts, etc.) with the occasional interlude by Bee.
Synopsis.
15-year-old Bee Branch lives in Seattle with her father Elgin, a computer genius who works for Microsoft, and mother Bernadette, an agoraphobic stay-at-home parent. Bernadette delegates the task of making their arrangements to a personal assistant in India named Manjula, and has ongoing feuds with some of the other mothers at Bee's private school, the main instigator being their neighbor Audrey Griffin. Their tension worsens when Audrey accuses Bernadette of running over her foot with her car - which Bernadette does not dispute, though it is untrue - and when the hillside above Audrey’s house, recently cleared of blackberries by Bernadette at Audrey’s request, collapses during a rainstorm and slides into Audrey’s house. Bee's parents had previously promise her a reward of her choosing in exchange for good grades - upon presenting them with a perfect report card, she requests a family vacation to Antarctica.
After Bernadette goes missing, Bee begins to gather correspondence relating to her mother in order to ascertain what has happened to her. Bee learns that Bernadette was once a famous architect who earned a MacArthur "Genius" Grant after creating the 20 Mile House in Los Angeles, so called because it was made entirely from materials sourced from within 20 miles of the house. After winning the grant, Bernadette sold the house, only to realize that it had been sold to a hostile neighbor who demolished the house immediately upon obtaining it. This caused Bernadette to lose her creative passion and prompted her relocation to Seattle, where she suffered four miscarriages before becoming pregnant with Bee.
Soo-Lin Lee-Segal, a friend of Audrey’s and an admin at Microsoft, goes to work for Elgin. After she informs him of Bernadette's "attacks" on Audrey, he begins to consider admitting Bernadette to a psychiatric institution. As Soo-Lin and Elgin begin an emotional affair, the FBI contact Elgin to reveal that "Manjula" is a front for a Russian crime organization who plan to defraud Elgin and Bernadette. Elgin stages an intervention at their home with the FBI and police present, in the midst of which Bernadette excuses herself to go to the bathroom, but does not return.
Bee, who has been admitted to Choate Rosemary Hall, is sent there early after Bernadette disappears. A miserable Soo-Lin reveals to Audrey that she is pregnant by Elgin as a result of a drunken one-night stand which Elgin regrets, and that he has bought them a family home. Elgin and Soo-Lin learn that Bernadette went to Antarctica by herself, and go there to confront her, only for her to disappear again.
At Choate, Bee receives a package containing the bulk of the correspondence used in the novel up to that point. It is revealed that, after discovering that the accusations she leveled against Bernadette would result in her being hospitalized, a guilt-ridden Audrey helped her escape from home, showed her all the correspondence between Soo-Lin and Elgin, and sent the package to Bee in the hopes that she would then understand what happened to Bernadette.
Bee is expelled from Choate, in part because of the manuscript she is putting together. She convinces her father to go to Antarctica with her under the guise of receiving closure, though she secretly believes her mother is hiding there. After nearly giving up hope, Bee learns of Palmer Station, an American base where scientists work and research. Bee and Elgin steal a boat and go to the station where they find Bernadette.
Upon returning home, Bee finds a letter sent to her by Bernadette while she was at Choate, where Bernadette explains that she went to Antarctica in the hopes of reconciling with her family and decided to stay for the cruise. While there, she met a scientist who told her about Palmer Station and an architectural project for the South Pole in which every material would have to be shipped from the U.S. Bernadette snuck on board Palmer Station hoping to work on the project and sent the letter to Bee asking for her blessing and promising to return home if she did not get it within a set period of time.
Reception.
According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on nine critic reviews: three "rave", five "positive", and one "mixed". "The BookScore" gave it an aggregated critic score of 8.4 based on an accumulation of British and American press reviews. On "The Omnivore", in an aggregation of British and American press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.0 out of 5.
Film adaptation.
Annapurna Pictures and Color Force acquired the rights to the film adaptation of the novel in January 2013. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber were initially set to write the screenplay. Maria Semple and Ted Schipper executive produced. Richard Linklater directed the film, and Cate Blanchett starred. Linklater, Holly Gent, and Vince Palmo are credited for the finished script. Kristen Wiig, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Troian Bellisario and Judy Greer co-starred. Production began in July 2017. The film was released in August 2019.
References.
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The Hot Troll Deviation
"The Hot Troll Deviation" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the US sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" and the 67th episode of the show overall. It first aired on CBS on October 14, 2010. In the episode, Howard and Bernadette go on a date following their breakup a few months prior. Sheldon and Raj engage in a series of "tit for tat" exchanges when working together. The title refers to Howard's virtual affair with a troll on "World of Warcraft".
The episode features guest appearances by actors Katee Sackhoff ("Battlestar Galactica") and George Takei ("Star Trek"). They appear during Howard's fantasy and later, when Howard and Bernadette are "making out" in her car. Melissa Rauch became part of the main cast in this episode.
"The Hot Troll Deviation" was watched by 12.57 million viewers with a Nielsen rating of 7.6/13 in the U.S. It received mixed reviews and ratings.
Plot.
The guys go to the Cheesecake Factory and when Bernadette arrives, Howard hides under the table to avoid her. Later, Howard, to the theme music of Francis Lai's score from the 1966 film "A Man and a Woman", is having a sexual fantasy with Katee Sackhoff wearing a flight suit from "Battlestar Galactica". Bernadette then appears in the fantasy; Sackhoff says he still has feelings for Bernadette. George Takei then appears, making Sackhoff question Howard's sexuality. Sackhoff and Takei begin discussing their acting careers and the fantasy ends when Howard's mother starts shouting at him.
Penny agrees to help Howard if he reveals why he and Bernadette broke up. Bernadette caught him having cybersex with a World of Warcraft player, later revealed to be a male Caltech janitor. Howard and Bernadette go on a date at the Cheesecake Factory, with Penny eavesdropping on them. Although they never had sex, Bernadette claims this was because Howard never "made the move". They decide to give the relationship another try, and after a miniature golf date, make out in Bernadette's car. Sackhoff and Takei appear, giving Howard conflicting advice about whether to "make the move". He does, but Bernadette says she needs to get to know him again, reassuring him that they will get there.
Meanwhile, Raj insists he should get a desk, while Sheldon claims he does not need one, or have the money for one: As pointed out by Raj, Sheldon has money for a marshmallow rifle, drawer full of Red Vines and a phosphorescent ant farm. They compromise: Raj is allowed to purchase a desk with his own money. The desk is huge and ornate, deliberately chosen to irritate Sheldon. This begins a series of "tit-for-tat" exchanges; Raj brings a budgerigar into the office; Sheldon loudly plays Indian music; Raj turns the heating up; and they start shooting at each other, Sheldon with marshmallows and Raj with a Nerf gun. Sheldon tries making foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gases to force Raj out; Raj attempts to counter the smell with scented aromatherapy candles, but accidentally ignites the hydrogen sulfide. A scorched and singed Raj walks out of the office with the budgerigar, vowing revenge on Sheldon.
Reception.
Ratings.
On the night of its first broadcast on October 14, 2010, the episode was watched by 12.57 million households in the U.S. It had a Nielsen rating of 7.6/13, with a 4.3/14 rating in its target demographic of ages 18–49. In Canada, the episode had 2.84 million viewers and a weekly ranking of 2.
In the UK, the episode aired on November 25, 2010. On E4 it had 0.72 million viewers and 0.26 million watched on E4 +1. The episode ranked second and third on the channels, respectively, with a total of 0.98 million watches. In Australia, the episode was first broadcast on February 8, 2011 and had 0.92 million viewers. This gave it a nightly ranking of 11.
Reviews.
Emily VanDerWerff of "The A.V. Club" gave the episode a C+. She complimented the cast and the "rare" Raj and Sheldon storyline filled with "mostly funny sight gags". However, the writers were criticized, as was how the show "rarely takes chances" (perhaps because it is "such a big hit"), and how it is filled with "lazy" and "easy" jokes.
The TV Critic rated the episode 52 out of 100, concluding that there were "two good stories" but that "neither was well told". The recurring story arcs were said to "[reward] fans for paying attention" and the guest stars were complimented, George Takei for his "camp" acting and Katee Sackhoff for reappearing after a similar fantasy scene in "The Vengeance Formulation". However, the Sheldon and Raj plot "did not have time to develop properly" and Howard using his father abandoning him to pressure Penny was described as a "cheap joke".
Jenna Busch of IGN rated the episode 9 out of 10. She was "thrilled" to get a "Howard-centric episode", although sad that Leonard had such a small role. The masturbation scene was complimented, particularly for the "good cop/bad cop" roles of Sackhoff and Takei.
Eric Hochberger from TV Fanatic gave the episode 3.7 out of 5 stars. He also mentioned Leonard's lack of storylines. Bernadette's character was praised for fitting in better than on "True Blood" and George Takei was described as "fantastic". However, he points out that the show is "[playing] its storylines and jokes very safe", unlike in the first seasons.
References.
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The Stag Convergence
"The Stag Convergence" is the 22nd episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory". The episode premiered on April 26, 2012, on CBS. In it, the main characters go to the bachelor party to celebrate Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette's (Melissa Rauch) upcoming marriage. At the party, a drunk Raj (Kunal Nayyar) reveals some information about Howard's past sexual encounters. When Bernadette picks them up from the party, Howard and Rajesh find out that Bernadette learned about Howard's sexual history from a video posted on the internet.
The story and concept of the episode was written by series co-creator Bill Prady, and writers Steve Holland and Eric Kaplan. The teleplay was written by co-creator Chuck Lorre, and writers Steven Molaro and Jim Reynolds. Peter Chakos served as director. Upon airing, "The Stag Convergence" garnered 12.65 million viewers in the United States and 4.1 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics, noting that it was not as heavy on jokes compared to other episodes in the series.
Plot.
Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj discuss Howard's bachelor party, with Howard reaffirming to Raj that strippers are banned from the party. Raj then suggests a wine tasting train trip through Napa Valley but, despite Sheldon's approval, this idea is rejected as well. Meanwhile, Amy is filming Bernadette and Penny making wedding party gifts. She begins to ask a question about consummation but Penny tells her to ask something normal, such as what Bernadette's married name will be.
The bachelor party proves to be a failure, with Sheldon's jokes falling flat and Barry Kripke complaining about the lack of strippers. A drunk Raj then begins his speech by saying that he was lonely when he first moved to America until he met Howard. He then tells embarrassing stories about Howard's sexual history, including how Howard lost his virginity to his second cousin, had a threesome with Raj and a "Sailor Moon" cosplayer at ComicCon and slept with a prostitute.
Later, Bernadette comes to drive Howard and Raj home and reveals that Wil Wheaton (playing himself) put a video of Raj's speech on YouTube. Howard had previously claimed that he told her about every girl he had been with, but had not done so. Back at her apartment, she questions whether she can marry him. She is also upset at Penny, who originally set her up with Howard.
Howard shows up at Bernadette's apartment and asks Penny to give Bernadette his heartfelt and genuine apology, which reduces Penny to tears. Bernadette overhears this and forgives him. Amy is relieved that she is still a maid of honor and the four hug. Leonard later meets Penny in the laundry room and wants to have sex, but Penny declines.
Production.
The story and concept for "The Stag Convergence" were written by series co-creator Bill Prady, and writers Steve Holland and Eric Kaplan. The teleplay for the episode was written by series co-creator Chuck Lorre and writers Steven Molaro and Jim Reynolds. It was directed by Peter Chakos and filmed on March 27, 2012. Guest stars included Kevin Sussman as Stuart Bloom, John Ross Bowie as Barry Kripke, and Wil Wheaton as himself. Ian Scott Rudolph returns as Captain Sweatpants along with actors Jesse Heiman and Zack Sonnenberg at the bachelor party as guests in non-speaking roles.
Reception.
Ratings.
The episode was originally broadcast on April 26, 2012, followed by "Rules of Engagement". Upon airing, "The Stag Convergence" garnered 12.65 million viewers while airing simultaneously with "American Idol" on Fox, "Community" on NBC, "Missing" on ABC and "The Vampire Diaries" on The CW. With the exception of "American Idol", which had 14.87 million viewers, it beat all other programs in its timeslot. Under the Nielsen rating system, the episode received a 4.1 rating and a 13 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.
In Canada, the episode aired on the same date on CTV Total and 3.17 million households watched it; the episode was the most watched TV show that week. In the United Kingdom, it aired on May 24, 2012, and garnered 1.444 million E4 viewers. On E4 +1, the show was watched by 0.403 million viewers, giving the episode a total of 1.847 million viewers on the night of its first broadcast and making it most watched that night on both channels. In Australia, it aired on Nine Network on May 22, 2012, and 1.27 million viewed the show; the episode was ranked second on the network and second overall that night.
Critical reception.
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Oh my god, Howard! That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. And it came out of you.
Penny: her quote was praised by Carla Day of "TV Fanatic"
The episode received mixed critical reception. Oliver Sava of "The A.V. Club" graded it a C, claiming that Amy "gets some of the episode's best lines". Sava noted that it "has a lot of Jew humor, and Mayim Bialik and Simon Helberg are the perfect people to deliver it", although disliked Barry and Wil and said that "their jokes wore thin fairly quickly". R.L. Shaffer of IGN also gave the episode a mixed review, saying that "The Big Bang Theory" has become more "cynical and chauvinistic" towards female characters. Shaffer also noted he was more frustrated about "the revelation that Bernadette wouldn't allow strippers at Wolowitz's bachelor party", as it is never explained why. Shaffer claimed that there were "only a few laughs here and there" and scored the episode 5.5 out of 10, classifying it as "mediocre".
Carla Day of "TV Fanatic" gave a more positive review, rating the episode 4.5 out of 5, and praising Penny's response to Howard's apology and claiming that it "provided a nice chuckle." Jill Mader of "Inside Pulse" also gave the episode a more positive review, praising "that the episode ended with a really sweet moment for Howard as, after all, he is a character who doesn't often get to be sweet" and claimed that it was "definitely about people changing and moving forward, and "The Big Bang Theory" has done a great job of emotionally maturing many of their characters over the past couple seasons". Despite this, she said that "the episode wasn't as funny as [she had] hoped it would be" and "felt like there was more potential in Howard's bachelor party than just revealing some unflattering secrets to Bernadette." Robin Pierson of "The TV Critic" rated the episode as 56 out of 100, describing Howard's "little speech" as "very well written and performed". However, he considered most of the comedy "generic", especially in regards to the jokes about Jewish stereotypes and Penny's dismissal of Leonard. Overall, Pierson said it "wasn't the strongest episode of comedy" and "wasn't a particularly interesting episode until the end".
Notes.
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References.
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The Big Bang Theory
American television sitcom (2007–2019)
The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes.
The show originally centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California: Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's similarly geeky and socially awkward friends and coworkers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). Over time, supporting characters were promoted to starring roles, including neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch), and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman).
The show was filmed in front of a live audience and produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, with Warner Bros. Television handling distribution. It received mixed reviews throughout its first season, but reception was more favorable in the second and third seasons. Despite early mixed reviews, seven seasons were ranked within the top ten of the final season ratings, and it ultimately reached the No. 1 spot in its eleventh season. It was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2011 to 2014 and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for Parsons, totaling seven Emmy Awards from 46 nominations. Parsons also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series in 2011.
The series' success launched a multimedia franchise. A prequel series based on Parsons' character Sheldon Cooper, "Young Sheldon", aired from 2017 to 2024, with Parsons as the narrating adult Sheldon. The third series in the franchise, a sequel series to "Young Sheldon" titled "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage", premiered in October 2024 and follows Sheldon's older brother, Georgie, and his wife, Mandy. A fourth series, following Stuart, his girlfriend Denise, and geologist Bert Kibbler, is in development for Max.
Production.
The show's pilot episode premiered on September 24, 2007. This was the second pilot produced for the show. A different pilot was produced for the 2006–07 television season but never aired. The structure of the original unaired pilot was different from the series' current form. The only main characters retained in both pilots were Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), who are named after Sheldon Leonard, a longtime figure in episodic television as a producer, director, and actor. A minor character, Althea (Vernee Watson), appeared in the first scene of both pilots that was retained generally as-is. The first pilot included two female lead characters - Katie, "a street-hardened, tough-as-nails woman with a vulnerable interior" (played by Canadian actress Amanda Walsh), and Gilda, a scientist colleague and friend of the male characters (played by Iris Bahr). Sheldon and Leonard meet Katie after she breaks up with a boyfriend, and they invite her to share their apartment. Gilda is threatened by Katie's presence. Test audiences reacted negatively to Katie, but they liked Sheldon and Leonard. The original pilot used Thomas Dolby's hit "She Blinded Me with Science" as its theme song.
Although the original pilot was not picked up, its creators were given an opportunity to retool it and produce a second pilot. They brought in the remaining cast and retooled the show to its final format. Katie was replaced by Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The original unaired pilot has never been officially released, but it has circulated on the Internet. On the evolution of the show, Chuck Lorre said, "We did the 'Big Bang Pilot' about two and a half years ago, and it sucked ... but there were two remarkable things that worked perfectly, and that was Johnny and Jim. We rewrote the thing entirely, and then we were blessed with Kaley and Simon and Kunal." As to whether the world will ever see the original pilot on a future DVD release, Lorre said, "Wow, that would be something. We will see. Show your failures..."
The first and second pilots of "The Big Bang Theory" were directed by James Burrows, who did not continue with the show. The reworked second pilot led to a 13-episode order by CBS on May 14, 2007. Prior to its airing on CBS, the pilot episode was distributed on iTunes free of charge. The show premiered on September 24, 2007, and was picked up for a full 22-episode season on October 19, 2007. The show is filmed in front of a live audience, and it is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Production was halted on November 6, 2007