The Big Bang Theory: 10 Of Sheldon’s Best Meltdowns
Sheldon is known for the laugh-out-loud moments he provides us. And when it comes to his meltdowns on The Big Bang Theory, Dr. Cooper is hilarious!
For 12 long seasons, we came to mildly understand and respect the one and only Dr. Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory. As a theoretical physicist with an IQ of 187, Sheldon has a hard time asking for help when he needs it because he assumes he knows everything, thus being able to handle most situations. But the reality is, Sheldon does need an immense amount of help. He’s a smart man but doesn’t have the same compassion his lower-IQ friends have.
He doesn’t pick up on sarcasm, he doesn’t know how to help people cope through a hard time, and he doesn’t know how to deal with those who aren’t as bright as he is. He is definitely self-righteous but many of his friends have a soft spot for Shelly. It’s due to his high IQ that Sheldon has frequent meltdowns when things don’t go his way. From being hacked to someone interrupting his routine, Sheldon has a hard time coping. Let’s take a look at 10 of his best meltdowns.
WHEN HE ADOPTED 20 CATS
Sheldon’s only romantic relationship on the show is with his wife Amy Farrah Fowler. It took them a long time to get to become husband and wife but everyone was thrilled when the time came to be.
Before they were married, Sheldon and Amy met with the help of Howard and Raj. But when they disagreed on their professions, the two decided to break up. Not knowing how to cope with this relatively new loss in his life, Sheldon decided to adopt 20 cats instead of vent about it. Once his mom came to town and snapped him out of his unknowing sadness, he had to, sadly, give the cats back.
WHEN PENNY TOOK A ONION RING OFF HIS PLATE
In “The Panty Piñata Polarization,” Penny stops by to talk to the guys when Sheldon excuses himself from his spot. Penny decides to reach down and take on of Sheldon’s onion rings but when the guys see her touch one of his onion rings, they freak out.
She gently places the onion ring back on the plate not understanding why it’s a big deal. When Sheldon comes back to his plate, he immediately notices one onion ring is out of place and demands to know who touched his food. This leads him giving Penny her second strike.
WHEN HE NEEDED PENNY’S ASSISTANCE WITH HIS FLASH DRIVE
In “The Terminator Decoupling,” we see Sheldon, Howard, Raj, and Leonard on a train to San Francisco. While on the train, Sheldon realizes he forgot a very important piece for the conference: his flash drive.
Not knowing what to do, Leonard suggests Penny going into his room, finding his flash drive, and emailing the information over to him. It seems easy enough, right? Well, with Penny in Sheldon’s room unsupervised, she begins to snoop around and deters her actual quest, which leads to an amazing Sheldon meltdown.
WHEN A NEW NEIGHBOR MOVED IN UPSTAIRS
When Penny sees the neighbors upstairs moving out, she tells the gang that they’re getting new neighbors. Sheldon is quickly traumatized by the news. He loved the neighbors upstairs because he never heard them, saw them, or spoke to them.
Just the way he likes it! When he meets his new neighbor (a woman around the same age as Penny), he’s fine with her as long as she doesn’t make loud noises and uses area rugs. It was his meltdown before meeting his new neighbor that was one of his best.
WHEN HE OVER-DRANK TO OVERCOME STAGE FRIGHT
In “The Pants Alternative,” Sheldon wins the Chancellor’s Award for Science and can only keep the award if he gives a forthcoming speech to the audience. It’s here that we learn of Sheldon’s intense stage fright and isn’t sure if he can accept the award.
Thanks to a few drinks to calm his nerves, Sheldon felt very comfortable accepting his award when the time came. He felt so comfortable, in fact, that he dropped his pants in front of everyone. The entire meltdown landed him on YouTube.
WHEN RAJ WON THE PEOPLE MAGAZINE AWARD
Sheldon finds it hard to be genuinely happy for other people when they reach milestones in their professional careers because he feels like he’s more deserving — even if he hasn’t found anything worth noting for science.
Sheldon exhibited the same behavior when Raj won People Magazine’s “30 visionaries under 30 years to watch.” He didn’t understand who the people were that voted for Raj and why his work was so worth knowing… He put on a fake smile throughout the entire episode and wasn’t the kindest or most supportive to Raj in his happy time.
WHEN A BIRD FLIES INTO HIS APARTMENT
Sheldon made it clear a few times in the earlier seasons that he had a fear of birds. In “The Ornithophobia Diffusion,” his worst fear comes to life when a bird flies into their apartment. Sheldon ran for his life and tried to get the bird out of his apartment but this bird wasn’t just an ordinary bird, it was someone’s pet.
Bernadette realized the bird was lost and helped Sheldon overcome his fear of birds. He had the chance to hold it and pet it, which was a big deal for him. But when the bird flew away, Sheldon’s meltdown returned. He was now fond of birds and was annoyed it flew away.
WHEN HIS WORLD OF WARCRAFT ACCOUNT WAS HACKED
Sheldon doesn’t seem to have the best luck in terms of theft. Someone burglarized their apartment in one episode and they got away with their prized electronics. The only reason why Sheldon wasn’t as devastated as Leonard is because the thief didn’t touch his comic books.
He had a bigger meltdown when he realized someone hacked his World of Warcraft account and took all of his important things. He eventually finds out who hacked and stole his virtual world from him but it was Penny who really got his virtual things back for him.
WHEN HE MEETS WILLIAM SHATNER AND STEPHEN HAWKING
Fans are lucky enough to see some iconic guest stars on The Big Bang Theory. It’s always a treat every time we see Sheldon meet someone he looks up to and respects. Seeing him lose his cool when he meets William Shatner in “The D & D Vortex” was legendary.
As a guest on Wil Wheaton’s show, Sheldon had the chance to meet him and refused to leave him alone. He acted similarly when he met Stephen Hawking. He felt incredibly embarrassed when Hawking found something wrong in his paper and called him out on it, causing Shelly to faint in his office.
WHEN PENNY SHOT ‘HIS SPOT’ WITH A PAINTBALL GUN
Penny and Sheldon may have misunderstood each other in the beginning but they go on to have a very beautiful friendship. Sheldon’s wife Amy was even bothered that Sheldon told Penny more things than her.
But when Penny accidentally shot Sheldon’s spot with a bright green paintball, we thought he’d never talk to her again. She did her best to clean it herself (which made it worse) but Sheldon noticed and it caused a serious disturbance. Penny had to send the cushion out for professional cleaning, leaving Sheldon without a “spot” to sit for a few days.
