Throughout The Big Bang Theory‘s many seasons, Sheldon Cooper had the opportunity to meet several of his greatest pop culture and scientific heroes. Several times this blew up in his face. But his meeting with the iconic James Earl Jones in Season 7, Episode 14, “The Convention Conundrum” went in a much different direction. It became an evening out that included pranking Princess Leia actor Carrie Fisher.
For Sheldon, pop culture was an escape from reality. His passion for movies, TV shows, comic books and video games provided him refuge from a world he didn’t understand or even really want to understand. There was a reason he took any conversation about it all so personally. He was also an obsessive stickler for details, which his best friend Penny was reminded of constantly. That led him into awkward moments with the stars… except for Jones.
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Sheldon Mostly Alienated Celebrities
Sheldon sought out any opportunity to meet his idols, but it frequently didn’t go very well. Bill Nye, Leonard Nimoy, Carl Sagan and Marvel legend Stan Lee all took out restraining orders against him. And while those are were only ones mentioned in The Big Bang Theory, given his inability to let things go and his incapability to understand even the simplest social norms it’s quite likely that there were plenty of other celebrities who went the legal route to keep him away.
Fortunately for Sheldon, his meeting with James Earl Jones in “The Convention Conundrum” went much better. Sheldon was trying to create his own Comic-Con, tracking down potential guests who didn’t have restraining orders against him. When he found out the voice of Darth Vader was going to be at his favorite sushi spot, Sheldon naturally went to meet him. Much to his surprise, Jones invited Sheldon to sit down and talk Star Wars.
From there, the evening turned into a rollicking adventure that Sheldon was completely uncomfortable with. He was probably okay with the ice cream parlor and the carnival. The karaoke would have been survivable but the sauna would have been pushing it. And there was no chance that Sheldon enjoyed the strip club Jones took him to. The strangest moment of the evening was the duo going to Fisher’s house, knocking on the door and running away.
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James Earl Jones Treated Sheldon Differently
This episode was a notable change for The Big Bang Theory. Most celebrities responded to Sheldon rather poorly, which had a lot to do with his acerbic, detached demeanor. The bigger issue was the sense of entitlement he brought into these encounters. He rarely respected their personal space and always took things too far. But some reason, Jones immediately connected with him. There was something about Sheldon that Jones just seemed to like. He even brought Sheldon and the rest of the guys to Comic-Con as his guests.
“The Convention Conundrum” was definitely an atypical celebrity experience for Sheldon, but it was also a welcome one. The Big Bang Theory never said whether Jones and Sheldon remained friends after their evening. Considering how nice Jones was, it’s not hard to imagine that they did. That being said, the version of Jones seen on the show was probably not as nice to Fisher. Everything she yelled at him and Sheldon as they ran away seemed to indicate that Jones pranked her all the time. Maybe that’s an episode for the potential revival.
The Big Bang Theory is now streaming on HBO Max.
