The Big Bang Theory Episode That’s A Love Letter To Star Trek Fans

The long-running Chuck Lorre sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” is a series about a group of super nerdy friends trying to survive adulthood despite the fact that adulthood really isn’t kind to nerds, and one episode in particular is a love letter to a specific corner of nerd-dom. The season 9 episode “The Spock Resonance” is one of the most important in the series because it highlights just how much “Star Trek” can mean to its fans. Indeed, it’s a celebration of fandom and the people who love these stories so much that they make them part of their lives, like Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons).

Sheldon is, of course, an awkward adult who has a tough time with relationships when the show starts, but he grows over time and eventually even gets married to a brilliant scientist in the form of Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik). In fact, it’s in “The Spock Resonance” that we first learn that Sheldon is planning on proposing to Amy, although the two are broken up at the time. This is revealed when he goes into his wall safe to retrieve a napkin signed by his hero, Leonard Nimoy, along with some other prized possessions, including a little figurine of Wil Wheaton and the ring.

Wheaton is also present in non-figurine form in the episode. The main plot follows Sheldon after Wheaton asks him to be in a documentary about Spock, Sheldon’s hero. Though Wheaton originally didn’t want to play himself on “The Big Bang Theory,” he’s a lot of fun here and makes for a great enemy (and, later, frenemy) for Sheldon. Meanwhile, the episode itself really depicts what life’s like for certain “Star Trek” fans.

In the episode, Wheaton is making a documentary (or a “Spockumentary,” as Sheldon jokingly calls it) with Nimoy’s son, Adam Nimoy, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his father. (Nimoy ended up making an actual documentary about his father and the character he played, “For the Love of Spock,” in 2016.) Sheldon is understandably excited and a bit nervous about the situation. After all, Spock is his ultimate life hero and “It’s not every day I get to meet someone whose life’s journey began in my hero’s scrotum,” as he hilariously tells Adam.

Since Spock is the character who first helped Sheldon understand and process the world (something that’s depicted in greater detail in the “Big Bang Theory” prequel spin-off series “Young Sheldon”), Sheldon is stoked to share his love of “Star Trek” and everyone’s favorite half-Vulcan Starfleet officer with the gang. He’s also excited to show off his napkin, which was used by Leonard Nimoy when he visited the Cheesecake Factory restaurant where Sheldon’s friend Penny (Kaley Cuoco) was working. Penny had him sign it and gave it to Sheldon as a Christmas gift in Cuoco’s favorite episode of “The Big Bang Theory.” As such, the sharing of all of Sheldon’s “Star Trek” swag makes “The Spock Resonance” fairly warm and fuzzy … until it isn’t.

Sheldon explains to Wheaton and Adam Nimoy that, as a child, his Christian mother would encourage him to ask himself, “What would Jesus do?” However, since he really wasn’t buying into religion, it didn’t click. Instead, Sheldon would ask himself, “What would Spock do?” Unfortunately, he usually concluded the answer was behaving logically and without emotion.

Penny, thankfully, calls him out on this. She notes that the important thing about Spock was that he was half-human and had feelings, hinting that Sheldon is perhaps hiding his own feelings over his break-up with Amy. He then proceeds has a bit of a meltdown over this and the whole thing is caught on camera, much to Wheaton’s pleasure. Sheldon subsequently decides to try and embody Spock’s courage by proposing to Amy, only to discover she’s on a date with someone else (whom she kisses).

Dejected, Sheldon returns home to watch some “Star Trek,” commenting that Spock’s claims about his own lack of emotions is a lie. In response, his best friend and roommate Leonard (Johnny Galecki) tells him that maybe he needs to focus on the people in his life instead of trying to emulate characters on television, which is pretty sage advice. It’s also not the easiest thing to hear for many fans, as TV characters (especially “Star Trek” ones) can help us feel seen and understood when the rest of the world seems utterly alien. Still, it’s an important lesson for many fans, and learning it helps Sheldon grow into the kind of adult who actually does end up marrying Amy.