All of Your Questions About Last Night’s Big Bang Theory, Answered

Cheerio, British Dave? While it certainly seemed that Stephen Merchant came as quickly into our Big Bang Theory lives as he went out of it, Mayim Bialik confirmed to Glamour earlier this week that we will in fact see more of Dave in future episodes. While it remains to be seen if it’s in a romantic capacity or if he’s stalking Sheldon Cooper, he’s not quite out of the picture yet. But what about Analeigh Tipton’s darling Vanessa Bennett? And what wasn’t in last night’s script that the writers picked up on during the taping?

We peppered Mayim Bialik (Amy) with plenty of those questions after watching the hilarious “The Mystery Date Observation.” It turns out that information regarding the future of Shamy (either apart or together) is so sensitive that when asked if we’ll see Amy date other people in the future, Bialik carefully explained that that’s something “I don’t know if I should say.” What Bialik doesn’t know for sure though is if Analeigh Tipton will be back for future episodes. Noting that she “did a great job and is a very talented actress—she had to recite sanskrit and Klingon in one sentence!” there’s been no announcement pertaining to Tipton or Vanessa’s future.

Regardless of what happens, Bialik thought it was hilarious how the writers decided to have Sheldon slam the door in Vanessa’s face only because she arrived seconds past his ridiculous deadline. But can you imagine if Vanessa ends up sticking around and she and Amy come face-to-face? It’s a scenario that Bialik herself finds extremely intriguing. “I find it very interesting that Amy dates someone that’s geeky and a math teacher (Dave), but when Sheldon finds someone, not only is she a brilliant scientist, but she’s stunning! I think Amy would have a lot of feelings about that too!”

Speaking of model good looks, Bialik can soon be seen playing opposite a real male model in the upcoming Lifetime holiday movie, The Flight Before Christmas. “It is my first Lifetime movie, and it’s my first time playing a lead in something,” reveals Bialik. “As a character actress, to play opposite [someone like] Ryan McPartlin is unheard of. I never pictured I’d be cast opposite a former Abercrombie model, and it’s not that I don’t think I deserve a society-deemed attractive male, [but] that is a lot of how our culture frames male/female relationships. I totally get that, but I do think it’s interesting.” (You can read more of Bialik’s thoughts on this topic in an upcoming GrokNation post closer to the TV movie’s premiere on December 5). And in case the name Ryan McPartlin rings familiar, the actor has also had major roles on Chuck, Passions, Hart of Dixie, and more.

But let’s get back to last night’s Big Bang Theory. What was it like taping those dinner date scenes with Stephen Merchant while Melissa Rauch’s sleuthing Bernadette was hilariously walking by in a trench coat and sunglasses? “I never got to see what she was doing [during the scenes] because I wasn’t supposed to be looking at her, so I only saw it when they replayed it [during breaks on tape night]. Her physical comedy is so good.” So good in fact that Bialik reveals Bernadette was only supposed to do one of those walk by’s until the producers saw the gold mine they had in front of them. “They were like, ‘This is too much! We have to do two [walk by’s].’ So they did another one for Melissa because she’s a riot.”