The Big Bang Theory - Amy ruins the Indiana Jones franchise 

How long do you think this issue was bugging the episode's writer? Like they’ve spent their whole life being irritated by Raiders and saw this as their opportunity to make everyone else feel their suffering?

"He collected the ark and delivered it to the proper authorities, like a hero". I love when they all settle for that (delivery guy) and realize he even failed at that.

The comment section is like a real-life continuation of this episode.

This doesn’t ruin the story for me, it makes me rethink it. The Indiana Jones series follows Indiana Jones’ adventures. Even if he didn’t have an outcome on the plot it still is a good and enjoyable movie to me.

I've never had a movie ruined for me in such a funny way

Sheldon, for being such an intelligent being, chooses his words... "poorly".

There was a deleted scene that would've made up for Amy's point. Remember how Indiana told Marion to close her eyes when the Arc was opened? The deleted scene was an extended version of the medallion translation scene. The translator tells him there is a warning on the medallion that warns against looking at the Arc when its opened. So if Indiana wasn't there, the Nazis would've gotten the Arc, and might not have looked at the contents. Of course, it's possible they might not have heeded the warning.

Who else thinks Leonard played a bigger role in ruining it than Amy? 😂

As someone that loves Indiana Jones, this made me laugh so hard. She has a great point, but I'll still love the series.

For those who say they never would have found her without Indy, remember that the government only came to Indy because the Nazis were already looking for Abner. Given the scope of their resources, it is probably they would have found her anyway in time. That said, without Indy, the gestapo dude would almost definately have killed Marion. He saved her life. Like a hero.

Actually the reason why Indy and the others put the ark in the warehouse was because they figured it was too dangerous to keep in a museum. So I think THAT deserves the "Like a hero!" line.

The name “Indiana Jones” was never in the title of “Raiders of the Lost Arc”, but the name was in all of the other movie titles

After pondering about how wrong Amy is I realize how right she is. And I think that just might be the point of the story. It's not about how our hero saves the day or how he stops the bad guy, but it's about how he grows as a character and saves the one person he cares about(at least until the next movies). So in a way it actually enriches the story a bit more. Thanks Amy.

I love how people start discussing this in the comments hahaha

It wasn't exactly ruined because only Indiana Jones knew about the location of the medallion to begin with. Toht found out only by following Indiana Jones to the bar. Plus, Marion is living only because of Indiana Jones being there and telling her to keep her eyes closed which helped them 2 survive the Ark.

0:45 the way sheldon laughs is hilarious, jim parsons is such a good actor

0:08 My girlfriend's response to every movie she watches with me

Or the story isn't about the Ark at all, but about Indy realizing that maybe the mystical world does exist and it deserves a little respect. AND, it brings he and Marion back together again. The Ark has it's own agenda...Indy or no.

I'm pretty sure if Indy didn't go on the adventure Marian would have tortured, assaulted, and maybe even killed. He saved someone. I am pretty sure that is pretty important as well.

This actually is something that occurred to me when I watched Raiders the first time. As compared to the next two films, Indy has no hand in defeating the villain. In both Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade, he very directly kills the villain while in Raiders he basically lucked out. It doesn't bother me much but it is true.

I'd say Indie was very vital to the movie. Imagine how boring the story would've been without him.

i love that leonard is the only one who did the "well actually"

1:00 Anyone else notice Sheldon had watched it 36 times (Raiders takes place in ‘36) before Amy ruins it for him?

Indy's character development is what makes him important to the story. He starts the movie dismissive and doubtful of the legends surrounding the Ark. But by the end he knows not to look at it because he believes in its power.

Never have I been so offended by something I 100% agree with

I love this, and it doesn't take anything away from me enjoying Raiders.

Epic Rap Battles of History brought me back to this clip 😅

The moral of the entire Indiana Jones trilogy is that, *the more we value things outside of our control, the less we have control of.* This is not a plot hole; this is the underline genius behind the writing. Both sides Good and Evil failed to control events that are outside of our realm.

Indiana saved Marion and probably quite a lot of future people, since he and Marion were the only people who survived a magical WMD and likely gave instructions to the Allies to close their eyes, when using the Ark.

ERB anyone? I’ve seen the show but completely forgot about this part lol

What Sheldon and Amy don't realize is that the movie isn't about the Ark. It's about Indy and Marion.

3:07 That's Indy's character arc. He learned of the true power the ark contained and knew that it shouldn't belong to those who would use it to further there own agenda, and so he had it locked up in the modern equivalent of an impenetrable tomb.

Someone should get Spielberg & Lucas to do a new audio commentary to address this!

Moot point. The Germans didn't know where Abner Ravenwood was. They needed Toht to follow Indy from the US to Nepal where Indy expected Ravenwood to be, but only Marion was there. They needed Indy. Could they have eventually found it on their own- possibly but by the time they were close, the war would have already started- end of search.

1:45 sheldon.exe has stopped working

Lmao I will always love the Indy trilogy but this is HILARIOUS! 😂😂😂 “Like a hero!!!” and “just like they did.” lines were perfectly delivered. 😂😂💜💜

Lets review the facts. If Indiana did not get involved, the Nazis would not have been able to locate Ravenwood. It was through Indiana that they did. Hence why he was followed on the plane to help find the medallion. Point two. Originally, once the the Ark was found, it was originally going to be flown to out of Cairo directly to Berlin. Not sure what the outcome would have been, but it would have stayed in German hands even if another wrath of god took place. So due to Indiana's interference and the damage and trouble he caused, Belloche was able to convince the Nazis to test the Ark on the island to make sure the effort was just and that no more fuck ups would have taken place in front of Hitler.

The only difference there would be without Indy is that Marion would have looked along with everyone else and gotten killed. I'm assuming that Belloq would have still held Marion captive but have gotten her sooner as Indy would have never saved her at the bar she was working at.

We don't watch Indiana Jones because of his impact on the chain of events but because he goes on cool adventures! He's gotta be the most interesting man on earth!!

0:25 I love the way Sheldon phrased this,”I chose my words poorly” is 100% a Last Crusade reference

Why are 90% of the comments here completely ignoring what was said in the video?

Wait a minute! The Nazi would have never known where the medallion was without Indie because he led them to Marion!

I came back here after watching Epic Rap Battle of history between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones hehe

Fun fact: One of the whiteboards in the apartment in this episode has the same formula written on it as the one on Indiana Jones blackboard at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost.

She didn't ruin it, she just didn't understand. It's not the destination, it's the journey. Exactly the plot of TBBT as well.

WIE EIN HELD!!!

Wow, i love how after Sheldon tells Leonard Howard and Raj Amy’s news, Leonard is always the one to prove Howard’s theories incorrect

I know this is a sitcom, but still... Indiana Jones playing no part in the plot is not a story problem. An inconsequential hero is not a story problem.

I honestly wouldn't mind watching Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj's reactions to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" entirely. I think it would be funny watching them realizing throughout the entire movie to see if Indy has no impact on the story.

Actually, those two guys who came to the university hired Indiana to get the ark and bring it back to them so they could put it in the warehouse (without him knowing or they just decided to put it away at the last second). He thought that he was going to get it to bring it back to them, so it could be studied and put in a museum. Even though the Nazis still would've found the ark, taken it to the island, open it up, and all die, the two men actually still needed Indiana to get it from the Nazis, so Indiana Jones DID actually play a role in the movie. Those two guys either just lied to him about putting it in a museum, or they decided to put the ark in the warehouse at the last second.

This is hardly a movie ruining factor, especially not a franchise ruining one

I'm not much of a BBT fan, but this episode was great! I haven't watched that many, but if more of them were like this one I would have been hooked.

Without Indy: -Marion dies -Ark is opened in Berlin killing milions of people.

Funny episode, even though it's incorrect. By the way, for Indiana Jones fans, when the German agent tails Indy on the plane to find the headpiece, that agent is played by the screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan .

Episode?

Incorrect. If Indy wasn't in the film, the Nazis would end up with the Ark after the end of the movie. Other Nazis on the island who weren't at the opening, or who come to the island later to find out why no one is responding open the Ark and get fried. More Nazis respond, process repeats. Eventually Hitler is present at one of the openings and gets fried. Hitler, less competent than his generals as a military strategist, was instrumental in not prolonging the war. If Hitler died, his generals would have done a better job of running the war, possibly repelling/delaying D Day, the war would have been prolonged, and more people would have died.

it doesn't matter I still like the movie

She actually does make a good point and I love the Indiana Jones films.

Wouldn't the ark still be in the hands of the Nazi's, though? At some point, they would go investigate the island, find everyone dead, pack up the ark, and discuss what to do next. In theory, they could still have used it as a weapon at later date.

I don't know - Indy still goes on a journey and is a different character by the end. He starts off as someone who doesn't believe in "superstition" but by the end recognizes that the only thing to do with the Ark is respect it and the supernatural power it represents. Indy's goal was to get the Ark but, the story's goal was to change Indy as a person 🤷‍♂️

Indiana Jones is not great because of any great effect he has on the plot but because he can survive anything. He is the supreme adventurer, and that is heroism enough for me.

A German guy was on the same plane as Indiana going to Nepal. It was there that Indiana got the medallion from Marion, and the image of the medallion was burned into the German’s hand. If Indiana and the German being on the same plane was a coincidence, then Amy was right.

Imagine the director thinking of the story for this episode. He musta been shocked himself 😂

I really enjoyed it. Especially when the four guys are in the midst about how Raiders was ruined.

Well they were going to put the arc on the flying wing and fly it to Berlin, but instead Indiana Jones destroyed the flying wing, so therefore he saved Hitler

Doesn’t change my mind in how much I love Raiders of the Lost Ark. It still among Spielberg’s best movies and is still to my eyes the best one out of the five movies.

Indiana kept the Ark out of Germany. That was the most important part. Losing 100 soldiers was nothing to the Nazis. They would have tested it by having more expendable people open it to the point where they figured out not to open it. Having a university study it would have been just as problematic because the first thing they would have done is open it in the middle of NY or London or something equally stupid. Reburying it ultimately was the smartest thing.

It’s actually way worse than they even think. If Indy hadn’t blown up the plane that was supposed to take the ark straight to Berlin, Hitler would have opened it and been melted, so really, Indy kind of started WWII.

I agree with you Josh White. It all depends on your interpretation of the character, Indiana Jones. You can either see him as an archeologist on an adventure with an opportunity to discover a long lost relic, or as a hero who is supposed to save the day. Indiana Jones never said he wanted to prevent the Nazis from getting the arc. He said discovering the arc is the main reason why he got into archeology in the first place. So good job Josh White and GreenGoblinsOckVenom!

Love this show, he has such a cute funny, nerdy, smart personality ❤️

Putting all the scenes together makes it even more funny! Love it! Even if it did ruin my childhood.😂😂

Hey this was actually funny. I'm impressed, most of Big Bang Theory after the first season, especially the first few seasons, bores me.

And here is the problem. The Nazi's would maybe have found the Ark over time. The fact they had the wrong coordinates for the Well of Souls was a big problem. Perhaps they would have just given up and called the location a failure. But let us assume that they find the Ark. The first thing the Nazi's wanted to do was fly it to Berlin. NOT take it to the island. The island ONLY came into play when they were forced to bring it there after the Ark was put on the submarine. And yes opening the Ark would have still killed everyone on the island but the Nazi's would have still come for it and had possession of it. Without Indy's interference the Ark would never have been on the island in the first place nor would it have been in American hands at the end of the film.

So...how many people are watching this after watching Lara Croft vs Indiana Jones on Epic Rap Battles of History? 😳😳

The only reason the ark was taken to the island was because indy blew up the plane it was supposed to be carried on to be taken to berlin. Also, the nazis would have known not to look at the ark because they would have translated the headpiece (which is how indy knew not to look at it) if indy hadn’t saved marion

“That’s one Big Bang you can’t hide in the fridge from.”

How many of y’all are here from ERB 😂

Sheldon really didn't have cause to be upset by Amy's observation because he urged her to explain herself regardless that she was aware how much he loved the movie and tried to keep criticism to a minimum.

I will always love (most of) the Indians Jones franchise but this is one of the most brilliant bits the show ever did.

Uh, that doesnt exactly ruin the whole franchise. It only "ruined" Raiders.

makes me want more movies where the person we follow isn't directly tied to the outcome but more like a POV

Who was the genius that wrote this episode? It's brilliant!!!

Indiana Jones may be irrelevant to the outcome of the story. However, the whole story is not irrelevant to the character development of Indiana. In Temple of Doom (that takes place before Raiders..) Indy is looking for fame and Glory. However, by the end of the Last Cruzade movie the character has evolved a lot. Raiders of the lost Arc plays a big role in that evolution.

What language are the subtitles?

I think I can disprove Amy's claim! Indy moved the plot further along. The Nazi's followed him to find Marion, they would have been digging for a much longer time if they didn't notice Indy digging in the right place, and a few characters such as Marion would have been killed if it weren't for him!

Good thing my favorite is Temple of Doom. The only film where Indy's actions matter. Not to mention it was the only film where he went through a character arc/development.

Yeah this didn’t ruin it. The movie is not about getting Ark, it’s about Indiana Jones adventures and his growth as a character. I really feel like this whole argument doesn’t effect my viewing of the movie. It’s super fun

how does aol...work and RU-vid. video don't?

ERB got me here.

The ravenwood headpiece is different from the nazi obtained headpiece with rougher edges as the ravenwood one which Indiana jones is after first has markings on both sides. The marking on one side translates to a warning about disturbing the ark and the 6 kadam=72 in height for the staff which belloq did but the other side marking wants 1 kadam removed to honor the Hebrew God who's ark this is. Indy Uses the correct height of the staff in the the map room scene where he also later breaks to prevent belloq from correctly locating it. From what I understand the nazis don't know about 2 headpieces with 1 having more inscriptions or where Dr ravenwood is so they sent Arnold Toht following Indy to find then retrieve a headpiece and any other information about Tanis. I assume they gave up on that specific headpiece and following Indy as belloq found the other head piece and had enough information from that one side incorrectly starting excavation of Tanis in the wrong place. Dietrich is doubting belloq due to the requirement of constant updated progress for hitler. We won't know how long belloq would focus on that incorrect area before switching, Going to other faster meathods like the bulldozers then accidentally finding it, or if the nazis would abandon the search to focus on other things like the Holy Grail in 2 years. I would need to research if Toht right hand is burned with the other marking side of the headpiece from the Nepal Bar fight and if it's readable. Indy does things outside of saving Marion who goes along as a partner to Cairo like knock over the black cat statue, shooting the sword fighter, causing the first truck to explode in the Cairo street chase, fighting the plane mechanic, knocking out the soldier to impersonate one, crashing through the water integration system and the building scaffolding in the truck chase, ectetra along with killing some nazis like pushing the machine gun car off the tall cliff in the truck chase. If they did have the correct headpiece and Indy wasn't involved there would be no incidents like I mentioned above even if it's minor things. I don't know if the ark ritual is mandatory, necessary or if it was at belloq personal request but we won't know if Hitler would attempt for fear of disappointing him like the sand it seemed at first or the ark powers would uncontrollably do harm. Maybe Amy is exaggerating for Indy having absolutely no impact on the outcome due to Sheldons misleading information but I sorta thing maybe she didn't pay attention to details. Raj each filmgoer version of perfect is different from one another as mine is absolutely no flaws in plot, characters, effects, cinatography, usage of time, motivation, etcetera as no film will ever reach perfect by my standards even in the highest acclaimed. But some do count perfect as their highest near flawless film like the godfather and want other films to reach that standard or compare it. Like many movies on Rotten tomatoes getting 100% but IMDb is more realistic the highest it got is 9.1 out of 10. Godfather isn't perfect for me due to the unrealistic world of its gangsters compared to the realism of goodfellas. I can accept people not liking films even Indiana jones for tastes but if they point out flaws, plot points, nit picks, etcetera it must be true and or backed up or your just hating it without fully understanding it like some of Man Of Steel criticisms like Zod death scene. I had no problem watching the ark opening scene but that's maybe due to the heart removal scene in Temple Of Doom as that desenceistised me to violence and gore unless it reaches or surpasses that scene. I personally enjoy Temple Of Doom and Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull equally but I can understand people not liking it. Just because Indy is claimed that he had no impact in this movie it doesn't make it the same in other appearances or make him hatable to abandon the franchise as you don't want to see him continue. Sheldon if it's your all time favorites, an adult that watched it 36 times, and have supposedly photographic memory wouldn't you remember the scene with the old man reading the other side markings right before Indy was almost poisoned but Sallah saved him while he sang. Also how can the ark be studied by experts or museums even in present time without it possible going wrong like from touching it as warned before or abusing its power. I don't clearly remember if anybody in the movie calling it a medallion but the staff of Ra headpiece. Im maybe overthinking it to deep but it's my favorite childhood action movie and her point I just disproved.

How to fix the last bit: it would've been too dangerous in a museum so locking it away was a better choice

This point is completely valid in retrospect, but neither Indy nor the Nazis knew that the ark would destroy anyone who tried to use it. What’s more important is the heroic goal to stop them from ever opening it. Just because there’s a chance that a higher power might intervene and destroy the bad guys doesn’t mean that the good guys should do nothing to stop them. There might have been a chance that when they opened the ark that it didn’t kill them and that it instead gave them the ultimate power. So I don’t think it ruins the plot and stakes from what the characters and what you as a viewer know and feel at the time of watching. You feel all the stakes and tension up and until the ark’s power is finally revealed. The most important point is that Indy was heroic in intervening in the chance that evil did manage to get away with ultimate power. Yes they would have been destroyed had he not intervened anyway, but what matters is that a hero stepped up and did something in the chance that instead of destroying them, it was in fact the ultimate weapon. The point is you do the heroic and right thing no matter what - you are proactive and don’t just hope that everything will work out - you have to make the choice to take action! That’s what Indy stands for - taking action in a universe where actions may not matter in the grand scheme - but still you do them simply because it’s the moral and right thing to do!

Always remember CinemaSins:"No movie is without sin" Every movie will have mistakes or plot holes there can't be a perfect movie.

This episode really did ruin Raiders of The Lost Ark for me as well

Indy was the one that made archeology cool again. How many little boys and girls watched Raiders and decided one day to professionally become the finders of rare antiquities. As others in the comments have said, he saved Marion, got with Marion later, and made a Mutt (I think that was Shia LaBeouf's character's name) who was key in making the movie that destroyed the Indiana Jones franchise. . . AWWWW.

I mean Amy's right, but that wasn't really the point of the story. The real point of the story was the metaphysical journey where Indiana learned to believe in a higher power beyond what he could comprehend as well as learning to love and value the human beings around him. That's the real story of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indy wound never have learned all that if he didn't go on this amazing adventure. That adventure is why taught him to be a better person. It was never about the Ark, it was about Indy's character _arc._

Sometimes heroism is like that. Sometimes a hero is thwarted again and again and sometimes has to face the seeming fact that his efforts are futile because they have not accomplished anything. But Indy did deliver the Ark. And don’t ever discredit the value of getting the girl! 😘❣️❤️

Amy is wrong about the movie, Indiana Jones is essential because the movie is about him!! and the other "Raiders" (the other people) searching for the ark, not the ark itself. The title is after all "RAIDERS" of the Lost Ark (aka: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark). The Ark of the covenant is just a plot device (a mcguffin) that drives the characters in the story.

Actually Leonard the reason how the Nazis were able to find the medallion was because they followed Indy to Marion Ravenwood. They thought Abner had the medallion but didn’t know where he was nor even knew he was dead so if Indy never was in the story, the Nazis would’ve kept digging until they hit the center of the Earth and probably flew back to Germany embarrassed in front of Hitler. So Indy actually did kind of have a hand in the story

Honestly, this episode is wrong: 1. Marion would have died if Indy wasn't there. 2. It's Indy's fault that they landed on the island in the first place. 3. It was a good thing that Indy had it put in storage instead of taking it to be studied, he realized the danger.