The fourth season of Young Sheldon explains how Sheldon Cooper got the idea for the Mobile Virtual Presence Device(MVPD), one of his strangest inventions on The Big Bang Theory. Although being a spin-off, Young Sheldon was initially running as a stand-alone series. However, it was after the 2019 finale of The Big Bang Theory, that Young Sheldon started to establish a relationship with its parent show.
In some cases, these relations are explicitly drawn, such as when a voice cameo of Amy Farrah-Fowler was done in the premier of the 4th season of Young Sheldon. Nonetheless, in other cases, the approach is more subtle. A good example of this would be when it was revealed that Sheldon developed a dislike for Geology after a heartbreak and an unpleasant experience in the first year of his college which made him develop a contempt for engineers, and hence it being the reason he always ridiculed Howard in The Big Bang Theory.
This subtle take by the directors is also seen in the 13th episode of season 4,titled “The Geezer Bus and The new model for education”. This episode focuses on an outing where the young genius and Meemaw meets with a minor car accident. This disturbs Sheldon,making him anxious of getting on a vehicle again. This particular incident stopped him from going to school but being extremely eager to learn, he coerced Dr. Linkletter to teach him over landline calls in one on one sessions. Everything was going fine but Sheldon decided to take these sessions to a next level by adding a video feature to the traditional communication mode.
Sheldon comes up with the Mobile Virtual Presence Device (MVPD) years later in The Big Bang Theory after being struck with the realization that he will not be able to live long enough to download his consciousness into the body of a robot. The viewers then witness Sheldon operating the robot(from the safety of his own house) on its first time outside the apartment towards Caltech. Sheldon claims how easy it is to ride a car when one removes the possibility of fiery vehicular deaths.
How MVPD is relevant in recent times.
During a pandemic when social distancing becomes one of the greatest requirements, a device like MVPD can come as pretty handy. No matter how ridiculous this invention seemed back in the day when TBBT first premiered, it would be a very useful invention in today’s day and age. As revealed in the prequel Sheldon has always been a germaphobe and is also known for having over exaggerated fears, which is why he wears mittens before holding hands to pray before meals. Thus we can claim that Sheldon was always ahead of his times.
It is often criticized that Young Sheldon doesn’t carry forward the continuity or legacy of its iconic parent sitcom. But there are chances that the fans of The Big Bang Theory may eventually start liking the prequel if the writers continue to incorporate such subtle plotlines from the original sitcom. Given the fact that Young Sheldon is all set to run for 7 seasons, it is extremely important for the series to have a larger viewership in order to sustain monetarily.
