Raj and Howard look at models (the miniature flying machines type, not the Campbell or Brinkley type). Penny and Leonard are headed out so that Leonard can give a high school commencement speech. Sheldon, as usual, is worried about stuff that will never happen. They talk about pretty girls and t-shirt cannons, which every sitcom viewer will know never ends well. Opening credits.

Penny and Leonard depart on their trip, which will take them to New Jersey (insert tired jokes about orange people here). They're going to visit his mother, too, a painful experience at best. Unfortunately, they get the news that a storm on the East Coast has cancelled their flight, and the trip is off. They are sad for three seconds and go upstairs to have sex.

Howard and Sheldon work on Raj's helicopter-drone. If this were five seasons ago you know Wolowitz would have devious plans. However, they soon realize that the task is far beyond them. Meanwhile, Raj gets an unexpected Skype from his dad, who is annoyed at all the money spent on models, and is cutting him off. Wait, is that a thing? I haven't heard of this in all eight seasons. Surely Raj makes enough money as a physicist to support himself? Does he have gambling debt? Totally gambling debt. Anyway, he plays the child of divorce card, but Daddy stays strong. YOU GO RAJ'S DAD, YOUR SON IS LIKE 30 NOW.

Penny has a surprise for Leonard to cheer him up about the trip they really don't seem to mind missing. She's bought him graduation robes (er, but the costume shop only had Sexy Graduate outfits), and gotten the school to let Leonard give the speech via Skype. Meanwhile, in trying to repair the drone-thing, Sheldon and Howard accidentally destroy it. Raj, upon seeing the device that lost him his cushy lifestyle, is heartbroken.

They try to figure out how to fix the helicopter-drone-thing, since Raj needs to return it for the money. Fortunately, Raj has a plan up his sleeve - he calls Mummy and tells her that Daddy won't pay up because of his "active social life". At first Mrs. Koothrapali falls for it, and pays him way more. I'm sure this won't last.

Leonard wear his sexy graduate outfit, which will not actually be all that scandalous when he's on Skype. Apparently, he's also wearing nothing underneath, like roughly a third of the kids I graduated with. Our robes weren't assless, though. Ooh la la.

Howard proves adept at fixing the helicopter, so Sheldon eagerly gets him to fix all his other toys. Bernadette arrives with some tools. She suggests calling Tech Support, which is met with horror all around. However, they keep stumbling into road blocks. Mr. Koothrapali calls to scream at Raj for pitting his ex-wife against him. Sadly, he is just as prone to Raj's manipulation as Raj's mom is, and falls for some flattery. Raj is going to Vegas!

Leonard is beamed in to his old high school. Even Penny gets to say something ("don't do drugs and stay in school"), but the rest of the speech is interminably boring. Eventually, even Leonard gets tired of it, and he essentially recites the "It Gets Better" speech. It is quite touching, mostly about how the nerdy ones turn out to be interesting in the end. (And how everyone else has just peaked.)

In the end, the guys are forced to call Tech Support. Howard moans that he's old. Just then, they get the machine running - and destroy the apartment with it. Geniuses at work, you guys.

Tag scene - Penny praises Leonard's speech. They are attacked by the copter-drone, and are forced to run for their lives.

I'd call this episode thin but cute. Raj had a great showcase tonight, despite his plot being a little unbelievable, and Kunal Nayyar really pulled the whiny spoiled part off. Leonard's speech was also pretty good, with just the right amount of humour and genuine pathos. I think the writers must have crafted it very carefully. Heck, even the drone story gave a good laugh or two, especially with the drone-splosion at the end. Ultimately, it won't go down in history, but I enjoyed it. Two more until the end of the season! (Heh, yeah, I've been miscalculating this whole time.) Can they ramp it up?

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