Sheldon had another love in his life before Amy Farah Fowler – Tandy 1000XL. Yes, Young Sheldon vowed his love for a computer before he vowed a love for any human that wasn’t his mother. The cost of computers hasn’t really changed in the last 30 years, unless you count the prices going up in the last 10 or so. Something Sheldon didn’t know back then (and doesn’t much take into account now) is the way technology can interrupt someone’s life in a negative way. Such was the case with Sheldon’s first computer.
Meemaw offers to buy the computer for Sheldon as a loan, and Mary thinks about cutting back on some expenses to pay her mother back. George won’t allow anyone else to support his family, but his irritation with Meemaw isn’t nearly as strong as his irritation towards his wife. George is not happy when he finds out Mary has her own money set aside separately from the family accounts. This stretches into a ‘his and her money’ argument that takes Mary and the twins over to Meemaw’s house.
Meemaw calls the whole thing for the over-dramatized moment that it is. Georgie blames their parent’s problems on Sheldon, which is only partly unfair. To be honest, it’s startling how Georgie can explain the entire sequence of events to an unobservant Sheldon in one moment, and then sniff the chemicals in the laundry by the end of the day. Meanwhile at Meemaw’s, Sheldon’s dreams come true when Mary gets him that computer.
Little known fact about 1980’s technology: they had their own version of A.I. Before Siri, there was Eliza. Sheldon tries to use Eliza to fix his parent’s marriage, but the best she can come up with is asking if Sheldon has issues with his mother. That’s a whole different conversation not relevant to this situation. Mary and George work out their issues on their own, without any assistance from the computer. The new device in the Cooper house is addictive for everyone. Mary tracks how much George spends annually on beer, Mary plays games, and Georgie tries to ask Eliza out on a date.
What does the Tandy 1000XL say about technology today? Obviously it’s advanced, but are the main functions still the same?
Follow Us
