If you don't watch How I Met Your Mother but are curious about why we all love it so damn much, I suggest you watch the "Slap Bet" episode. It was the one that got me hooked. And, as Joel said, it was "one of the funniest half-hours of comedy on TV in 2006". The entire episode is on the HIMYM official MySpace page and it's also embedded after the jump inside this post.Why is it so funny? Hmmm. Let me count the ways. Uh... only because there's face-slapping. And Robin Sparkles. Those two elements alone make it legen...wait for it...dary!
Seriously, though. This episode is all the characters at their best. Robin is vulnerable and ultimately humiliated. Barney is all kinds of in love with himself, Ted is obsessive-compulsive, and Marshall and Lily are at their super-cutest. Plus, this is one of those episodes where you don't need to know anyone's backstory to get a kick out of it. Watch it, then go rent the first season on DVD.
[Thanks, Mike M.!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-01-2007 @ 1:18PM
RedStarRevolution said...
I'm not gettin any sound on this, dont kno if its just me...
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6-01-2007 @ 1:21PM
Regina said...
Just in case anyone is wondering, should I? The answer is yes. I had probably one of the worst days earlier this week. Down in the dumps doesn't even begin to describe it. Was looking for something on the dvr to take my mind off things and saw I had this. Hit play and, while my problems may not have disappeared, I definitely felt better after watching. (I still giggle when I think "ha, I see my hand..." - watch, then you'll understand!)
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6-01-2007 @ 1:41PM
jake said...
All you How I met your mother fans -- your job this summer is to get one friend hooked on this show -- tell them about, tell them to catch it, buy them or rent them season 1 on DVD -- let's make this show into a hit! If not, this may be the last year this show is on the air.
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6-01-2007 @ 1:39PM
Darren said...
That will go down as one of the classics in TV History!
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6-01-2007 @ 1:52PM
Carl said...
This show (and its supposed "best episode ever") is not good -- in broadcast or online/on-demand form. Get over it. 2006 must have been a pretty terrible year for half hours of comedy if this is one of the best.
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6-01-2007 @ 1:58PM
Ryan said...
Whenever I'm feeling sad or whatever, I watch that Robin Sparkles video and I'm happy again.
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6-01-2007 @ 2:06PM
mike m said...
You must be one of those reality tv fans Carl. I can't think of many funnier shows on television, outside of peep show, which is a very different type of show.
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6-01-2007 @ 2:17PM
Kim said...
I just recently got into this show. I was looking for something to buy at Walmart and Season 1 was $20 so I said "why not??" And it was the best $20 I spent. I'm currently catching up on the season 2 episodes and I can honestly say this has become one of my favorite shows! Definitely more people should be watching!
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6-01-2007 @ 4:01PM
Doug said...
Is it snobby if you can't sit through a sitcom with a laughtrack any more?
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6-01-2007 @ 4:06PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Doug, yes it is snobby.
Sure, laugh tracks are annoying but when a show is actually funny you don't even notice it there. No laughter is forced on HIMYM. Now, for other shows that use a laugh track, I would agree.
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6-01-2007 @ 4:10PM
Dave said...
Canadian jokes? Fake boulder at a mall? When "not me when I was 9 in Ohio, that's for sure" gets a huge canned laugh I can't help but tune out.
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6-01-2007 @ 4:21PM
KMF said...
I had Lets Go To The Mall stuck in my head today. This is a classic episode! I've been trying to get my friends into this show.
I'm not a fan of laugh tracks either but with HIMYM it doesn't have tell you where to laugh like some of the lamer sitcoms who over use it. Comedies that are outside the box like Earl or Scrubs spoil you with the silence, but that said, for a straight forward 'traditional' sitcom, you can't get better than HIMYM. It is my Monday ritual!
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6-01-2007 @ 5:15PM
Richie said...
Maybe I'm just getting too old and too serious. This doesn't seem funny to me at all.
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6-01-2007 @ 5:49PM
David said...
Carl, Dave, Richie and I all most people "funny" TV hating assholes that must only watch shity TV and we are going to bring on the downfall of scripted show....
I didn't think that was funny at all, and like Carl said if that was the funniest thing all year than maybe sitcoms, all of them, should be ended. Hell EVERY episode of Boston Legal is much more funny than that.
At the end were they went "the 1980s didn't come to canada until 1993", I was thinknig that this show was filmed in the 80s, just bad.
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6-01-2007 @ 6:05PM
Dara said...
I really have to start watching this show....
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6-01-2007 @ 7:20PM
Joe said...
People raved to me about this episode, so I downloaded it a while ago. I was, to say the least, disappointed if this was the best episode this supposedly fantastic show had to offer. It's mildly amusing at best.
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6-01-2007 @ 8:43PM
PurpleSlog said...
Hey, Don't forget the robot!
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6-01-2007 @ 8:51PM
WasatchMan said...
I like even more the other episode available at My Space, "World's Greatest Couple." Much Alyson Hannigan adorableness.
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6-01-2007 @ 8:55PM
Tammy said...
This was a one of the best episodes of HIMYM. Maybe it's watching one episode completely out of context from the whole show that makes some people disappointed.
This is still saved on my Tivo and yes, sometimes just hearing "Let's Go to the Mall...... today!" is enough to bring a smile to my face.
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6-01-2007 @ 10:52PM
jake said...
I think it might be unfair to call this the best episode ever, I urge all of you to netflix the first season of How I met your mother to get a feel for the characters and come back to this episode. It's one of the best comedies on the air.
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