Top 20 Penny & Sheldon Moments on The Big Bang Theory
#20: Penny Knocks Three Times Various
Top 10 Penny & Sheldon Moments on The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon Cooper has many idiosyncrasies and his knock-three-times obsession is one of his most iconic. But, as some fans might remember, he isn’t the only one who does a triple knock. Penny also gives it a whirl on a couple of occasions. Sheldon’s reactions, while quite different, are both very funny. The first time it happens is in season 8, and the wry smile on Sheldon’s face when he opens the door is priceless - as is his advice that she not do it again or else she might never stop. Penny heeds his warning for a couple years but, in season 11, she gives it another shot. This time Sheldon’s look of annoyance says it all… But, just to emphasize it, he says it too.
#19: "A Streetcar Named Desire" “The Monster Isolation”
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Sheldon is generally not very impressed with other people and rarely praises anyone but himself. Before this, Penny’s acting career was mostly presented as a joke - made up of awful killer-ape movies, a corny commercial, and off-key singing. But, for one shining moment in season six all that was put aside and we got to see that Penny is actually very good at what she does (acting, not waitressing of course). As impressed as we all were, it was Sheldon who was maybe the most in awe of his friend, and it was sweet to see him compliment her.
#18: The Tie on the Door “The Hamburger Postulate”
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While they had plenty of book smarts, Howard, Raj, Leonard and Sheldon were quite lacking when it came to street smarts, pop culture, and the lives of all us regular folks. That was, until Penny came into their lives. For all of the guys, but particularly for Sheldon, Penny was their conduit to the non-genius world. Like, what it means when your roommate puts a tie on their bedroom door. This is a question Sheldon asks Penny when Leonard’s door handle has been accessorized in such a way. It’s kind of endearing to see Penny teach the genius about social… semiotics, as he puts it.
#17: Rent Money “The Financial Permeability”
As a waitress/struggling actress, Penny was often living paycheck to paycheck. But sometimes those paychecks weren’t enough to cover all of her expenses - as was the case in season 2’s “The Financial Permeability”. Penny lays out her financial woes on Sheldon, and while it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that she needs more money, it does take a genius to lend it to her. Without any hesitation at all, Sheldon breaks out his hidden stash of cash and offers it up to Penny who, with a little hesitation, accepts the help.
#16: Stan Lee “The Excelsior Acquisition”
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As die hard comic book fans, this episode sees the guys over the moon about Stan Lee’s signing at the comic book store. But for Sheldon, that excitement quickly turns to anger and sadness when he realizes the court date to challenge a ticket he got while driving Penny to the hospital, is on the same day. Although he misses out on the signing, he gets an even better opportunity. Would your friend get Stan Lee’s address and take you to his house to meet him? Well, Penny would! She would also run away before the cops arrive, but still… What a great friend!
#15: Acting Lessons “The Thespian Catalyst”
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In order to improve his performance as a professor, Amy encourages Sheldon to take acting lessons from Penny so that he might loosen up in front of the students. What follows is one of the best all-time Penny and Sheldon scenes. First, we have Sheldon refusing to do the warm-up exercises. Then, Sheldon’s poor improv skills are put on hysterical display. Sheldon does finally let himself go when doing a scene he wrote involving himself and Spock. However, it hits so close to home Penny has to call his mother - worried that she might’ve broken him.
#14: Morning Learning “The Line Substitution Solution”
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When they first meet, Sheldon and Penny’s areas of expertise are completely different. And, for the most part, Sheldon couldn’t care less about expanding his pop culture knowledge. Penny, for her part, doesn’t “love science”, regardless of what she told the cute scientist that one time. Come season nine, however, and the two have a great idea to spend their mornings expanding their knowledge. Who would have guessed back in season one that Penny would ever know the symbol for helium or, even more importantly, that Sheldon would be able to name a Kardashian?
#13: Teaching Penny a Little Physics “The Gorilla Experiment”
As fans will remember, the morning learning wasn’t the first time Sheldon attempted to impart some science knowledge on Penny. The first time was all the way back in season three. She was dating Leonard at the time and was feeling a little insecure about not being able to talk to him about his work. So, she asked Sheldon if he could teach her “a little physics”. While the lesson involves more frustration than actual learning, she is able to memorize what is essentially both a summary and insult of Leonard’s work. And, of course, we can’t forget the Fig Newtons.
#12: Penny Quits Her Job “The Occupation Recalibration”
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Although Penny never really makes it as an actress, she did try for years to get her career going, one time going so far as to quit her waitressing job in order to devote all her energy to her dream. This was a move that didn’t sit well with Leonard - who is much more pragmatic and careful with his life choices. While he tried to keep those thoughts to himself, he just couldn’t keep from letting his disapproval be known. Still, the initial support she didn’t get from her boyfriend, Penny found in Sheldon of all people. As confident as she was in the move, it was also admittedly scary, and that vote of confidence from her friend really meant a lot.
#11: When Leonard Is at Sea “The Hofstadter Insufficiency”
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The show’s seventh season begins with Leonard at sea, leaving Penny and Sheldon to spend a lot of time together back in California, just the two of them. During one of their many evenings together, the two friends eat, play 3D chess and have an emotional breakthrough that only helps to deepen their understanding of each other. In fact, what seems on the surface to be a rather silly revelation by Sheldon, leads to an even bigger admission, a strengthening of their friendship, and - maybe best of all - a hug.
#10: The First “Soft Kitty” "The Pancake Batter Anomaly"
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The “Soft Kitty” song would become something very special between Penny and Sheldon and in the season one episode, “The Pancake Batter Anomaly" we got to hear it for the very first time. This was still very early on in their relationship, and Sheldon was being the selfish jerk he always is when he’s sick, and yet, Penny still took care of him. Singing “Soft Kitty” and rubbing Vaporub counter-clockwise on someone's chest can be quite the bonding moment between two people, as it was in this case for Sheldon and Penny.
#9: Picking Out a Suit "The Pants Alternative"
In season one, she helped Leonard pick out a suit to wear for a conference and in season three Penny took Sheldon shopping for a suit to wear to his award ceremony. The montage that follows is a wonderful Sheldon and Penny moment as his choices get more and more ridiculous until he finally tries on the simple black suit that she suggested. Her amazed and slightly breathless reaction when Shelly walks out of the changing room, looking all dapper, is almost as good as his reaction to Amy’s wedding dress many years later. Although, can we all agree that she was wrong about the checkered suit he tried on? That one looked great also, right?
#8: The Love Test "The Intimacy Acceleration"
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It could be argued that the evolution of Sheldon and Penny’s relationship, and their understanding and appreciation of each other over the course of the series is the most important relationship on the show. Throughout the sitcom’s run, there are some key moments that are signposts of that growth and evolution, with the love test being one of them. And while they didn’t fall in love after doing the test, they did fall deeper “in like.” But did they end up going to GaryCon together? That’s what we want to know.
#7: The Scavenger Hunt "The Scavenger Vortex"
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If you were looking for the 7th best Penny and Sheldon moment, all the clues and a riddle would point to Team Community College Night School from "The Scavenger Vortex" episode in season seven. Penny’s street smarts combined with Sheldon’s book smarts, and his bowling ball, made The Lightning Sharks an almost unbeatable team. We say “almost” because Raj made sure there were no losers. Which leads us to maybe the most important question of the entire episode… how did he get the gold coins in everyone’s pockets without them knowing?
#6: Birthday Bathroom "The Celebration Experimentation"
When Sheldon gets overwhelmed at his party and runs to the bathroom to escape, it’s Penny who goes to talk to him. And while in that moment, it makes perfect sense for her to be that person, she acknowledges how she used to be the person that would have been making fun of Sheldon rather than comforting him. Sheldon loves Amy and Leonard is his best friend, but the birthday bathroom scene is a nice example of the special relationship he has with Penny - and how it, and they, changed over the years.
#5: Penny Blossoms "The Work Song Nanocluster"
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In an attempt to earn extra money, Penny starts a business making flower hair barrettes she calls “Penny Blossoms.” When she shows Sheldon what she’s doing, he does some quick math and points out that her hard work is only going to make her $2600 a year. Disappointed by that figure, Penny asks Sheldon for help, which he does by creating an assembly line process and teaching her some production-improving sea shanties. For her part, Penny introduces Sheldon to caffeine, and although she does get some orders and makes some money that first day, we never hear about the Penny Blossoms again.
#4: Emergency Room "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency"
When Penny falls in the bathtub, Sheldon takes on the role of the hero and drives her to the emergency room. While the drive there is in itself a great moment between these two, the scene in the emergency room with them filling out the paperwork is truly a top Penny and Sheldon interaction. Especially when she begs him to be sympathetic, but his efforts just come across as more creepy than comforting. Then we get back to the apartment and in a truly great turn-about-is-fair-play moment, Penny asks Sheldon to sing her “Soft Kitty.” (xref)
#3: The Flash Drive "The Terminator Decoupling"
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When the guys head to San Francisco on a train and Sheldon forgets a flash drive with his paper on it at home, Penny is his only hope of retrieving that paper. So, Sheldon calls Penny, asks her very nicely to do him a favor and Penny gets him the paper he needed. Bazinga! You fell for another one of our classic pranks. In actuality, Sheldon doesn’t ask nicely, Penny messes with him a little and Leonard has to grab the phone and do a little mediating between them. But we weren’t joking when we said Penny got Sheldon that all important paper.
#2: Solving String Theory "The Solo Oscillation"
Sometimes it just takes a new set of eyes to solve a problem. And in this case, those eyes belonged to Penny and that problem was string theory. While she usually tunes out when any of the guys are talking science, this night she actually remains focused and awake as Sheldon explains string theory to her. And with one simple word, “knots,” she opens Sheldon’s eyes to amazing possibilities that he hadn’t ever considered. And the best part of all is when she tells Leonard and Amy about it. The stunned look on their faces is priceless.
#1: The Nimoy Napkin Hug "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis"
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There’s a reason why this moment gets mentioned so often in almost any discussion of “The Big Bang Theory” moments. It’s because it really is that great. The fact that Penny thought of getting Sheldon this gift is super sweet, but we can probably all admit that we’re more impressed by the fact that she recognized Leonard Nimoy and knew who he was in the first place. Then there’s Sheldon’s overwhelmed reaction, which is not only amazing, but it also brings us to the hug! It’s a display of affection that, even in season two, we could all recognize for just how special it was.
