Not only do the actors in "Big Bang" have to take on confounding science, but they also have to contend with science-fiction. (After all, you could practically fashion an entire season's worth of episodes out of all the "Star Trek" references in "Big Bang.") And like they do with the scientific terminology, the cast members also occasionally bungle their sci-fi trivia.
In "The Thespian Catalyst" Penny helps Sheldon hone his performing skills by running lines with him. They act out portions of a play that could rival the likes of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." We're talking, of course, about the play "Where No Sheldon Has Gone Before," written by the great physicist-playwright Sheldon Cooper himself. The work is adapted from a "Star Trek" fan-fiction novella Sheldon wrote when he was all of 10, and stars the great Mr. Spock.
In the scene study, Penny assumes the role of Spock, while Sheldon plays his own mother. But when Cuoco has to perform the Vulcan salutation, she fumbles and makes a different gesture instead. The audience's laughter and Parsons' confused face cue Cuoco in on her mistake, and she quickly seeks help from a producer to get the sign right. As the audience continues to laugh at her plight, a fake-offended Cuoco yells for them to "shut up!"
