The Big Bang Theory

I watched an episode of the Big Bang Theory a show I have never watched from beginning to end.  My husband watches this program.

The show opens with Sheldon and another man entering a barber shop.  They are greeted by a barber Sheldon says something to the barber and the barber says something back.  Sheldon seems upset and even irritated by what the barber said to him.  He begins talking to the man he walked in with.  The barber walks away.  Sheldon then walks over to the barber who is standing near his chair.  The barber waves Sheldon over to his chair.  Sheldon sits in the chair and the barber begins to talk, then Sheldon jumps up grabs his jacket and runs out of the shop.  I was not sure what the barber said to Sheldon, but whatever he said changed Sheldon’s mood.  It seemed as though he were angry at the barber.  Once I watched with the sound, Sheldon’s regular barber was not in he was terribly sick in the hospital.  Sheldon did not want the other barber to cut his hair because he did not have “hair cutting history” as he put it.  I had assumed correctly that the barber had said something to upset Sheldon, but from the body language alone I could not decipher what was being said; I thought he was angry with the barber.

In another scene of the show Howie and a woman are communicating through a webcam so Howie appears on her laptop and they are communicating.  Howie looks disheveled his hair is sticking up he has dirt or something all over his face and he looks tired and is talking to this woman with a smile on his face.  I could not figure out why he was smiling while he spoke to this woman he looked as though he had been in an accident or something.  When I watched with the sound on Howie had spent the day in field training to become an Astronaut it was grueling training and he was smiling to show that he is a trooper and the training did not get to him.  This scene was confusing because Howie’s physical state conflicted with his non-verbal communication.

The next scene the woman Howie was talking to through the webcam arrives at his door.  She walks in with a suit case.  They embrace and begin talking.  I assumed this woman was his wife or girlfriend.  When I watched with the sound on I was correct in my assumption she is his girlfriend.

I think my assumptions were correct even though I did not know the characters or anything about the show.  The non-verbal communication helped me figure out relationships and state of mind.  The scene where Howie appeared disheveled would have been confusing to anyone watching; because his non-verbal communication did not match what he had just went through that day.

Reference:

Kristy Cecil, Mary Quigley, Kelly Anne Lee (Producers), Steven Silver (Director). (2012).  The Big Bang Theory (Series).