I told you I was going to hate Robin; how dare she make a move
on Ted when he's so vulnerable! That harpy! What I meant to say was, good episode. Not great, but good. Once again
How I Met Your Mother demonstrated why it is the perfect sitcom for the generation it's characters hail from,
Marshall had to make some tough decisions about what he wanted to do with his life, who he wanted to be and why. Not
only did they show cover both sides of the coin, but it also did so with its normal flair of humor, respect and
understanding. On with the show!The show started out with Marshall preparing for his new internship that Barney helped him lock down last episode. As soon as he gets there though, Marshall realizes that it's just a repeat of high school with the cool kids versus him the nerds. At Barney's nudging, Marshall changes his personality to "become" one of the tribe, but he quickly loses himself in the change. Marshall's unwilling to get "out of character" even at home with just Lily, something she takes great offense to. I really liked this because I thought, once again, that this was a very real world approach to this situation. You always hope that you'll grow out of the "wanting to hang with the cool kids" phase from high school, but the truth is, for most people, you never do. I like how it took not only Lily's pain but also Ted's (completely opposite) advice to get Marshall to snap out of it.
My problems with the episode lie with Ted. In the past I've said that it's been great how they've built up his supporting cast, and I continue to stand by that, but enough is enough. I'm ready to hear more about him. The last episode that was devoted mainly to Ted was the wedding episode where he met Victoria! For the past four or five episodes he's been the side-story and the castaway, and you do need that every now and then. But being a side-story causes episodes like this to lose some of the emotional punch because although Victoria was around for 4 episodes, we really didn't learn too much about her. All that we know is that they felt a "connection"-- I want to know more. It does look like this is going to be remedied shortly with Ted and Robin moving to the front burner again. This could lead to a decent amount of drama on the show, and even some split along the lines of the friends, so I'm looking forward to this. Let me know what you think.
Barneyisms of the Week:
"Excuse me, rockupied"
"I'm the best there is really, but it's the true samurai that lets his sword rest in its scabbard."
Marshall: "There's a motivational poster for 'Awesomeness'"
Barney: "Yea, I had it made"
Featured Songs:
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee
Have any questions for Rich Sommer of Mad Men? Ask them here!
Syfy's Alice -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Surprising shows, decade-end lists, and the Commenter of the Week!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-21-2006 @ 3:12PM
Mike Van Gorkom said...
I agree, it's time to get back to Ted a little bit, although the side character episodes have been a riot. The BarneyCorp scenes were funny, but not nearly as good as I expected, although this ep gave a chance for Jason Segal to really show his funny side even more. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more around Ted as the season wraps up. At the Paley Television Festival for How I Met Your Mother, they mentioned that we will also see more Buffy alums, and the only hint they gave about the season finale is that "it has rain". :) Great writeup of the ep!
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3-21-2006 @ 3:22PM
Ben R. said...
If this show has taught us anything, it's don't take anything for granted. Don't assume anything that hasn't been explicitly said.
Robin doesn't say what she wants, and Victoria never dumped him. My wife made a good point. Maybe Victoria is there with Robin. Especially since Robin looks a little sad on the phone &, as I said, nothing is ever as it seems in this show unless explicitly stated.
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3-21-2006 @ 4:07PM
Chris said...
Hey, if Victoria is at Robin's then Ted's one lucky bastard!
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3-21-2006 @ 5:16PM
stephen said...
Ben R. and I must have the same wife because my wife thought the same thing as his.
We think that Victoria got to Ted's apartment and since he wasn't there she went to Robin's.
***SPOILER ALERT)****
don't read :
i checked out ashley williams on imdb.com and yes she is scheduled to appear on the episode: "2 AM" on 3/31/06.
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3-21-2006 @ 5:39PM
BobMac said...
First of all, Barney is the best thing about this show. You can't have too much Doogie. Second, I liked that Robin invited Ted for a booty call. Of course, I like sluts.
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3-21-2006 @ 6:04PM
Dorv said...
Steak sauce, baby...
As for the Buffy Alums, Alexis Denisof has been the biggest rumor, being married to Allyson and all. (ACtually, I'm pretty sure it was announced, but I must be wrong if they just alluded to it at Paley).
Good episode. Sometimes I wonder if they defeat the purpose by getting Robin and Ted together early (I am in the camp that she ends up being the Mother), but then, its not like this is Prison Break or anything. These characters will continue to exist as friends, and hilarity will ensue. Unless, that is, the writers decieded to leave the sword in the scabbard.
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3-21-2006 @ 10:44PM
Rick said...
RE: Robin as the Mother. At the end of the pilot, Ted told his kids, "And that's how I met your aunt Robin."
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3-21-2006 @ 11:09PM
A.S.H. said...
Yes, at the end of the first ep he says that's how he met "your aunt Robin." But do we know for sure that those are his kids he's talking to? Since I didn't record the episode, I'm not ready to say for sure that those are his kids. But I'm sure someone out there was listening more closely. Any more clues?
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3-22-2006 @ 1:57AM
Dorv said...
Rick, as a fan of the show, I would have, you know, watched that episode. So, I'll just use this from an interview with Josh Radnor.
K: That she could still possibly be the mother. Is this her just wanting it?
J: I don’t know. I don’t know. I mean, they would have to do some real-- I guess, if you think about it, he’s an unreliable narrator. We don’t know for sure that he’s telling them the truth. What if Robin’s not even her real name. Like, who knows. I don’t know. I just said something crazy. That’s insane. I don’t know. I don’t know.
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3-22-2006 @ 2:08AM
Optimus Rhyme said...
SPOILER
I also noticed on IMDB that Victoria is scheduled to show up on the next episode, and for one other episode, number 21. This was episode 17.
I think the relationship will end soon, maybe even next episode when she is on the show.
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3-22-2006 @ 5:29AM
Ben R. said...
I'm pretty sure the pilot starts with something like, "Kids, let me tell you how i met your mother." That would totally remove the "he's talking to his nephew & niece" angle. And, as I posted last episode, it never says he and victoria don't end up together. All he says is long distance relationships never work out. Especially on this show, that leaves a lot unsaid.
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3-22-2006 @ 12:10PM
A.S.H. said...
"Kids, let me tell you how i met your mother" in no way eliminates the possibility that he's talking to kids that aren't his offspring. He could just as easily be a "friend of the family" who is explaining how he first met their mother. We'd need to hear one of the kids refer to him as "Dad" to settle that...
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3-22-2006 @ 4:31PM
Ben R. said...
OK, I went back. You're wrong. Here's the dialogue at the end of the first episode: Ted: "..how I met your Aunt Robin" (kids looking shocked) Boy: "Aunt Robin?" Girl: "I thought this was how you met MOM!?" Ted: "Will you relax? I'm getting to it." The 2nd episode starts with, "You were telling us how you met mom." In the 3rd episode, Ted: "So there was this one night, before I met your mother." ---which also means he hadn't met her yet & it can't be Robin. Sorry.
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3-22-2006 @ 6:10PM
A.S.H. said...
I agree that Robin isn't the kids' mother. I'm just not convinced that Robin can't be married to Ted. If Ted is friend of, say, "Genevieve," who is the mother, he's telling the kids about how he met his good friend "Genevieve," who we haven't met yet. But along the way he met Robin, who ended up being his wife. So "Uncle Ted" is telling the kids how he met "Genevieve," their mother. The question remains, do we know for sure that Ted is talking to his kids?
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3-23-2006 @ 6:02AM
Ben R. said...
Ok, I hear what you're saying, and I admit that it is actually, technically possible, but I would be disappointed. This is the scenario according to your theory: Ted decides to sit down 2 kids to tell them about how he met their mother (1-why would they care? 2-they seemed annoyed like only kids can be annoyed with ther parent(s). 3- Would they be SHOCKED if after 20 minutes, it turns out he was telling a story about his now wife. Why would they react in SHOCK to that? 4- It means they think he had a big crush on their mother "Genevieve", and that's not totally weird to sit them down and talk about it?? While there are no holes, I would be extremely disappointed if that's the case.
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3-23-2006 @ 1:16PM
Dorv said...
You know what the best part about this show is (besides Barney) is that we haven't seen those damn kids in MONTHS. They weren't important to the plot, in fact, as we've discussed, the scenes filmed and aired might actually screw with what the writers want to happened.
I like Saget as a narrator, but I can live with the fact that I can start forgetting about the kids. And I don't care what the name of the show is (just to weigh in on someone's next arguement)
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3-24-2006 @ 12:24AM
Michael G said...
Are we not forgetting the question? You are home, your friends are out at a bar, you are waiting for a call from your girlfriend in Germany, and she was supposed to call 4 hours a go. The phone rings it is 'aunt' Robin and she say come over.
What do you do, GO
Leave the cell Phone at home, (Just in case she calls) go to Robin's tell her that if she want to hook up, she will have to wait till you break up with your GF.
Call the GF in Germany from Robins and Break up, then Hook up.
Cyber High Five (Barney Style) Anyone?
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3-24-2006 @ 12:13PM
Dorv said...
Cyber High Five???
Steak Sauce.
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3-27-2006 @ 10:30AM
Joey said...
Who are the co-workers that work with Barney in "Life Among the Gorilla's"? The dark haired guy looks so familiar, but my wife & I cannot figure out where we have seen him before this episode. I think his name is Bryan Callan.
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3-27-2006 @ 9:47PM
DJ said...
What is the actresss name that plays Victoria on the show How I met Your Mother? Thanks
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