The Big Bang Theory was no stranger to wild moments. Who could forget the robot arm or Sheldon spending the day with James Earl Jones? So it’s shocking that a fan-favorite couple moment almost wasn’t seen. In fact, it originally wasn’t even in the script. Imagine my surprise after learning that the wild Big Bang Theory scene with Sheldon and Amy (or Shamy) nearly happened off camera.
Before you guess, I’m not talking about the train kiss or the tiara. Mayim Bialik reveals that there are two specific scenes that fans are always asking her the behind-the-scenes secrets about. Everyone wants to know about the tiara scene and the spanking scene. So when Chuck Lorre stopped by Bialik’s podcast Breakdown, she did fans a massive service and asked the man better equipped to answer that about the spanking scene. First, she shares how the scene first came about:
What I was told was something that was just going to be audio for the end credits. I was told, and…. it was clear to me what was happening. But, originally, we were told, ‘This is just going to be audio. And we just want the sound of her being punished.’
When Amy got sick in Season 6, Episode 10, “The Fish Guts Displacement,” Sheldon had to take care of her, per the Relationship Agreement. However, when Amy gets better, she fails to tell her boyfriend in an attempt to keep him doting on her. At this point in the show, Sheldon was barely ok with hand-holding, so his girlfriend took whatever intimacy she could get. So when our favorite genius started bathing her, reading to her, and taking care of her, obviously she never wanted the attention to end.
Though when Sheldon discovered the trickery, he suggested corporal punishment (aka spanking), which, to the befuddlement of Dr. Cooper, Amy was quickly on board to receive the ‘punishment.’ Though it was intended to be audio only, they DID film it, and it is seen in the episode. The risqué scene was one of the times the show ventured into more R-rated material, and it nearly broke Lorre, as he says:
Cameras did roll, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder in my life.
What started as Bialik just needing a job to take care of two kids became a nearly 10-year role that helped transform the series into a beloved classic. Moments like that prove the sitcom was never afraid to go for it, and its legacy continues to set viewership records with streaming. Though putting humor aside, it was the charm between Jim Parsons and Bialik that made people really dig the Shamy.
Plus, if you watch the scene, you can 100% see the actress struggling to keep it together. No doubt this helped make the moment not just one of Amy’s favorites, but according to Bialik and Lorre:
- Bialik: It is some people's favorite scene of Amy and Sheldon.
- Lorre: And And let's be clear, Amy dug it.
We’re all in agreement that Amy preferred that to the tiara, right? It was Amy’s “unadulterated over-the-top celebration” of the little things that made these wilder moments work so well. This moment and more can be rewatched with an HBO Max subscription, along with the full series of Young Sheldon, the first season of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, and the first two seasons of Georgie & Mandy (Season 3 is currently airing on CBS).
Bialik has reprised her role as Amy since TBBT wrapped, reuniting on screen with Parsons for the Young Sheldon finale, and then without Parsons in Stuart Fails (which also brought back other TBBT favorites).
Ultimately, fans are glad that Lorre chose to include the moment on-screen. Though there’s one question I still want to know. How did Parsons manage to keep a straight face to get even one take?
