One last gift. CBS released an unaired tribute to the late Stephen Hawking from The Big Bang Theory season 11 finale on Friday, May 11.
The scene, which was cut for time from the Thursday, May 10, episode of the hit comedy, shows Jim Parsons’ Sheldon and Mayim Bialik’s Amy receiving a wedding gift from the fame theoretical physicist before his death.
“It’s a pocket watch. It’s beautiful,” Amy says in the clip, which was posted to the Big Bang Theory’s official Facebook page.
After Sheldon points out there is an engraving on the timepiece, Leonard (Johnny Galecki) jokes that it might be Hawking’s last formula.
“If it’s super asymmetry, I’m gonna be so mad,” Sheldon quips before reading the real message. “Sheldon, I’m so glad you finally married Amy. It’s about time. Ha ha ha, love, Stephen.”
Hawking died on March 14 at the age of 76. The visionary scientist appeared on multiple episodes of the CBS sitcom before his death.
“When we heard of Hawking’s passing, we wanted to do something to honor him but we had already shot the next three episodes,” Big Bang Theory showrunner Steve Holland explained to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday. “It’s hard for us to be super timely because we shoot ahead of our airdates, so this seemed like a really nice opportunity.”
The cast and crew sent a final message to Hawking at the end of the unaired scene, which read, “To one of the greatest minds in the universe and dear member of our family. We will miss you deeply. With love, from everyone in The Big Bang Theory family.”
