- Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Transporter Malfunction
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After Penny (Kaley Cuoco) gets both Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) mint in box Star Trek transporter collectibles Sheldon struggles over the thought of opening the box to play with the toy.
A dream of his Spock action figure (voice by Leonard Nimoy) convinces him to play with the transporter, but when he accidentally break the toy he decides to swap his broken version for Leonard’s still mint in condition transporter. Feeling guilty over his actions eventually he has to come clean with both Leonard and Penny about what really happened when Leonard opens his toy to find it already broken.
The episode’s B-story involves a lonely Raj (Kunal Nayyar) who gives into his parents by allowing them to arrange a date for him, but despite the double-date with Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) going well, Raj runs into an unexpected complication when the woman (Chriselle Almeida) he’s considering for an arranged marriage turns out to be gay.
Aside from Nimoy’s involvement in the episode, which is a clever way to write him in, the episode works well in showcasing Sheldon’s internal struggle with a mint toy by giving us some fun Star Trek inspired dream sequences. Raj’s decision to still consider marriage to a lesbian gets Howard and Bernadette into action to help talk some sense to their friend, as well as offering him something to tide him over until the right woman comes along.