Previously on Young Sheldon...
Why was Veronica Duncan hugging you?
I'm tutoring her in trigonometry.
Just between us, she's a little slow.
That's not what I heard.
There's nobody at my house.
You want to come over? Yes.
What's that? Some stupid haunted house
my mother's doing for the church.
ADULT SHELDON: Mr. Lundy's scene about lust
made a deep impact on my brother's date.
She asked to be saved by Jesus.
(crying): I don't want to live like this anymore.
ADULT SHELDON: And as it turns out, she was.
Dear Lord Jesus, set me free.
(music playing over TV)
ADULT SHELDON: In Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,
we learned how humans taught the apes to become civilized.
Which I think should start with potty training,
but I'm not a screenwriter.
Can you help me with my math homework?
No.
Please. It's really hard.
"It" isn't the problem.
Sheldon.
Fine, what are you working on?
There's a number, then there's a line,
then there's another number under it.
Fractions?
Yes, fractions.
ADULT SHELDON: At that moment,
it occurred to me if I could teach mathematics
to someone as dull-witted as my sister,
I could create a race of superhumans
that would do my bidding.
And who wouldn't want that?
Please, Sheldon.
You know what, Missy? I'd be happy to help you.
Thank you.
♪ Nobody else is stronger than I am ♪
♪ Yesterday I moved a mountain ♪
♪ I bet I could be your hero ♪
♪ I am a mighty little man ♪
♪ I am a mighty little man. ♪
Try thinking of it this way: imagine a pie.
The number on the bottom of the fraction
is how many pieces the pie has been sliced into.
What kind of pie is it?
Doesn't matter.
But it would help me picture it
if I knew the kind of pie.
Fine, it's banana cream.
I don't like banana cream.
Okay, what kind of pie would you like it to be?
What about those little apple pies from McDonalds?
Sure. I burned my mouth on one of those.
Didn't stop me. I still ate it.
(doorbell rings, door opens)
Veronica. Hi.
Hey, Georgie.
You-you changed your hair.
I did.
It's shorter.
It is.
I like it.
Thank-thanks.
You here to see me?
I-I'm here for your mom's Bible study.
Oh, sure, of course.
I'm glad you could join us.
Come in, won't you?
(chuckles) You're part of the group, too?
Faith, the Bible, God, I'm nuts for that stuff.
(laughs softly)
So one-fourth of the 12 pieces of pie is...?
Three?
Yes.
And one-third of the 12 pieces is...?
Four?
Yes. Now how much is one-third of the pie plus
one-fourth of the pie?
Well, three plus four is seven, but there's 12 pieces,
so seven-twelve-iths.
It's twelfths. And yes.
I did it.
ADULT SHELDON: Actually, I did it.
In less than ten minutes, I taught fractions to a monkey.
Welcome, Veronica. We're so glad to have you.
What are you doing?
What's it look like? I'm here for Bible study.
Did you just take a shower?
No.
(sniffs) You did, too.
So I want to be clean for Jesus. Get off my back.
Interesting.
Georgie, if you want to be a good Christian,
maybe you should stop lying through your teeth.
Just be happy I brushed them, okay?
Hmm... MISSY: Okay.
All done. Thanks.
While we're here, would you like me
to introduce you to algebra?
Al who?
Oh, boy.
It's not a person, it's an ancient Arabic method
of finding the value of variables.
Oh. Nah.
ADULT SHELDON: Clearly, I needed a more sophisticated technique
to motivate my simian sister.
Are you sure?
If you learn a little algebra, I'll give you a banana.
All right, now we're reading from Matthew 4.
Georgie, why don't you get us started on verse 17?
Me?
Yes, you.
Oh. Okay.
Um... Verse 17...
(quietly): Verse 17...
Give me a minute.
Here.
Bless you.
Okay, here we go. "From that time,
"Jesus began to preach and say 'Repent,
"c-change your inner self, your old way of thinking,
"regret past sins,
"live your life in a way that proves repentance:
seek God's purpose for your life."
Powerful stuff.
Can I get an amen?
ALL: Amen.
Need any help there, Sheldon? I'm looking
for some books on education theory.
What for? I'm trying
to develop a technique to teach someone
who falls into the conventional category of "stupid."
Oh. Well, now, there's a wide range of stupid.
Can you narrow it down?
She wrote a fan letter to Alf.
Got it. So you're looking to make a pretty radical change.
Well, ideally, I'd like to wipe my sister's brain clean
and start over, but my mom wouldn't like that.
Yeah. Moms are no fun.
Hey, Veronica.
Georgie. So, listen,
I was doing my prayers last night and, uh,
you won't believe it, but I think God spoke to me.
Really? What did he say?
Well, I couldn't understand
all of it, 'cause it was in an ancient language,
but the part I did understand
is he wants us to spend more time together.
Doing what?
Oh, you know, praying, helping the needy.
Your usual Christian activities.
Well, I'm okay with that.
Good. So you, me and God, we'll hang out.
Sounds good.
Okay. See you later.
(chuckles) See you.
I may be going to hell.
(exhales sharply)
So you're hoping to create an army
of super-intelligent children who will do your bidding?
In a perfect world, yes.
You should spend more time with my mother.
That's her goal, too.
SHELDON: Ooh, this is interesting.
According to Socrates, all knowledge exists
within the student and just needs to be drawn out
through skillful questioning.
Are you saying I knew that before you even said it?
I don't know, did you? Well, according
to Socrates, you do know and the answer's inside you.
Well, then, ask me a skillful question to draw it out.
Do you know if I knew before I knew?
No.
Hey, it works.
It does.
(camera beeps, whirs)
I'm recording my findings
so that future generations of mankind can understand
the steps I took to create homo novus, "new man."
Of course, there's a strong likelihood that my homo novi
might've wiped out all future generations,
so I have no idea who's watching this.
What are you doing in here?
I'm keeping a video diary of my experiment to create homo novus.
Homo what?
Novus. It's Latin. It means "new man."
Oh. I guess that's okay.
Y-Your mom's at church. W-What do you want for dinner?
I believe you know what I want for dinner.
Is that right?
It's Thursday.
What does Mom always make me on Thursdays?
Spaghetti and hot dogs?
Socrates. Got to love him.
CONGREGATION: ♪ Then sings my soul ♪
♪ My savior God to Thee ♪
♪ How great Thou art ♪
♪ God to Thee ♪
♪ How great Thou art ♪
♪ How great Thou art ♪ ♪ Then sings my soul ♪
♪ My savior God to Thee ♪
♪ Then sings my soul ♪
♪ How great Thou art ♪ ♪ My savior God to Thee ♪
♪ How great Thou art. ♪ ♪ How great Thou art. ♪
PASTOR JEFF: And now,
why don't we take a moment to pray,
uh, keeping in mind that our prayers
should not be for our own benefit,
but for our family, friends,
fellow Texans, Americans of all races and religions
and the world.
Well, most of the world.
Y'all know what countries to pick.
MARY: Lord, please look after my family.
Give them everything they need to be happy and healthy.
And this lovely young girl with me tonight,
help her stay on the path of righteousness.
VERONICA: God, please look after my sister.
You can find her at the women's correctional facility
in Lubbock.
Help her seek salvation in you
instead of cocaine, marijuana and bass players.
GEORGIE: Jesus, I'm sure, even from Heaven, you can see
how hot the girl sitting next to me is.
And I know I'm not supposed to pray for myself,
but here's the deal: if you can get her
to fall in love with me, and you know,
make some bad decisions,
I swear I'll come to church every Sunday.
MARY: And thank you for bringing Georgie tonight,
even though you and I both know why he came.
Speaking of which, whatever he's praying for right now,
ignore it.
VERONICA: And please protect me from impure thoughts,
and teach me to respect the sanctity of my body.
GEORGIE: Now if for instance she and I were to go skinny dipping
and one thing were to lead to another
under the moonlit sky, get this:
not only do I become a devout Christian,
I will also bug everybody I meet to do the same.
And you know I can be real annoying
when I set my mind to it.
MARY: Amen.
VERONICA: Amen.
GEORGIE: I'm gonna take your silence as a yes. Amen.
What are you working on?
A list of possible boyfriends for my Cabbage Patch doll.
How do you think Celeste would look next to Joey Lawrence?
I don't know who that is.
He's Blossom's brother.
I don't know who that is.
It's a show. She wears hats.
Anyway, I've been doing some research,
and I've come to the conclusion that I don't need
to teach you anything.
You already know everything.
Cool.
Your brain already contains all the math
that will ever be known.
I heard you and I said "cool."
Well, wouldn't you like to explore
that great treasure trove of knowledge?
That depends. What's a trove?
We'll circle back to that. True or false?
At times, you have referred to yourself as being dumb.
True.
And do you enjoy feeling that way?
No.
Well, let me change that.
I'm presenting you with an opportunity
to achieve the full potential of your mind.
Are you gonna do some experiment where we switch brains?
No.
'Cause I've seen it on Gilligan's Island
and I've seen it on The Flintstones
and it never goes well.
(exhales sharply)
Ooh. Gilligan.
♪ Then sings my soul, my savior God... ♪
Oh, who do you think you're fooling here?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Listen to me. Veronica has a rough family situation,
and she's trying to improve her life.
And I admire that. Very inspirational.
Georgie,
believe me, I'm glad to see you in a church,
but I do not want you taking advantage of that girl.
Taking advantage? Veronica and I are Bible buddies, nothing more.
I'm serious. Right.
Maybe you should ask yourself what's in you
that makes you see sin in the hearts of others.
Okay, now you're pushing it.
Lord Jesus, please help my mother with her anger.
Can I get an amen? No.
Why do we need the camera?
So people in the future can see your transformation.
(camera beeps)
Where are you going?
To put on a dress for the future people.
Hello, people of the future.
My name is Missy Cooper and this is my best friend Celeste.
(whispers): She's dating Joey Lawrence.
(sighs)
You want to hang out Saturday?
Can't. I signed up to get baptized.
Oh, yeah. I've been meaning to do that.
Well, why don't you join me? We could do it together.
Sure. You and me, getting double dunked. I like it.
Can you imagine afterwards?
All of our sins will be washed away.
Yeah, and we can start cranking out fresh ones.
I just don't know where I went wrong.
Are you sure your questioning was skillful?
I thought so, but after two hours of interrogation,
all I could extract from my sister's brain
was that there was some sort of block with new kids on it.
Sheldon, how's your educational project going?
Poorly. I've hit a wall.
Have you considered B.F. Skinner's behavior modification?
What's that? It uses punishment
and reward to get the results you want.
Ooh, punishment. I like the sound of that.
(quietly): In the right context, so do I.
I took a real beating at the craps table,
and then I won it all back playing Caribbean Stud Poker.
Well, how does Caribbean Stud Poker work?
I have no idea. I was drunk off my ass.
(both laugh) MARY: Way to go, Mom.
Way to lead a Christian life.
Oh, does my daughter think poorly of me?
Yes.
Good. I can die happy.
Hey, Mom, just a heads-up, I'm getting baptized tomorrow.
Good Lord.
That boy's randiness knows no bounds.
What are you talking about?
He's only doing it
'cause of that Veronica girl.
Oh, sure. That makes sense.
What do you mean, it makes sense?
When I was his age, I hitchhiked to Florida
'cause I had a friend that had a girlfriend
who knew a girl who might be willing.
But then you met my daughter and you didn't have
to travel so far. (laughs)
(bottles clink)
SHELDON: According to B.F. Skinner,
if I can find the appropriate punishment to motivate Missy,
there's no limit to what she might be able to learn.
But what might that punishment be?
Whip her with a rubber hose?
No. That sounds like a recipe for tendonitis.
Administer small electric shocks?
Tricky.
If I get the voltage wrong, I could spend the rest of my life
in an institution for the criminally insane.
Or I inflict harm
on the object she loves more than life itself.
Celeste, you're about to become part of scientific history.
All right, everybody, welcome to the 1990
East Texas Baptist Olympics.
(laughs)
'Cause we're in the pool of water.
Anyway, I want to welcome
our little sister Veronica Duncan,
who I will be dunkin'. (chuckles)
Sorry.
I can't turn it off. And I also want to welcome
George Cooper, who has recently found
his way to the Lord.
Howdy. Praise Jesus.
(sighs)
Are you ready to learn some advanced calculus?
Nope.
Be right back.
Take your time.
Veronica, do you trust in Jesus Christ
as your personal Lord and savior?
(laughs softly): I do.
JEFF: It's upon your profession of faith
that I baptize you, my sister,
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
♪ Wade in the water ♪
♪ Wade ♪
♪ In the water, children, wade ♪
♪ In the water ♪
♪ Washing me down, washing me down ♪
♪ Wade... ♪
Dang.
All right, let's try this again.
Would you be ready to learn some advanced calculus
if it saved Celeste's pigtails?
What are you doing? Put her down.
Not until I modify your behavior.
In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
♪ Drop me in the water... ♪
Sheldon, I'm warning you.
ALL: Hallelujah!
(laughs) We did it!
♪ Tease me... ♪
Ooh, I'm so happy.
I love you.
Is it working? Are you feeling motivated?
Very.
(animal growling)
(Georgie grunts) (all gasping)
Care to explain yourself?
I was trying to motivate Missy
to expand her intellectual horizons.
By torturing her Cabbage Patch doll?
Well, it's not like I shocked her with electrodes,
which was an option. Enough.
To be clear, I meant to shock Missy, not the doll.
That would be ineffective.
Enough! And you.
Getting baptized just to kiss a girl? What were you thinking?
Sounds like you know what I was thinking.
Well, you are both grounded.
I like you because you're an alien but you're funny,
unlike my brother who's an alien but just a jerk.
Anyway, I hope you're enjoying your time here on our planet
and have found things to eat other than cats.
I recommend chicken nuggets.
Sincerely, Missy Cooper, age ten.
ALF: "P.S. My favorite color is pink. What's yours?"
Ha. What a cutie pie.
Hey, hey, Barbara, we got any more of those pink T-shirts
with my face on them?
I want to send one to this Missy Cooper kid.
Oh, oh, and get me some chicken nuggets, huh?
Hello? Anybody out there?
Apparently not.
Barb! ntly not.