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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 8
"The Playbook"
November 16, 2009 - 08:11p.m.
Last week's episode proved rather divisive, didn't it? For the record, I'm generally against makeup-based comedy. But the tone was so spirited, the action so light on its feet, and the overall effect so genial that I ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 7
"Rough Patch"
November 9, 2009 - 10:11p.m.
Hi everyone. Your regular guide to How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Donna Bowman, is currently jetsetting through the world of academia, so I’ve been asked to fill her immense, Shaquille O’Neal-sized recapping shoes. (For the record, they ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 6
“Bagpipes”
November 2, 2009 - 08:11p.m.
Professor Bowman’s in the midst of a two-week stretch of evening classes and out-of-town conferences, so I’ll be serving as her graduate assistant for the next two weeks, leading our seminar on How I Met Your Mother.
Tonight ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 5
"Duel Citizenship"
October 19, 2009 - 09:10p.m.
Tonight's episode is all about style -- bro-style, Canadian-style, and comedy style. At its best, a great sitcom will surprise you a dozen times in a half hour, taking the jokes to places you never expected. Now I can't ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 4
"The Sexless Innkeeper"
October 12, 2009 - 08:10p.m.
I'm not against ringing the changes when a sitcom introduces a new premise. When Robin and Barney became a couple, for example, it's to be expected that the writers would try to wring every bit of humor from ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 3
"Robin 101"
October 5, 2009 - 10:10p.m.
So how is the HIMYM crew going to get Barney into relationship mode, you ask? Straightforwardly, I answer. The premise for this week's episode is that in order to turn from a philandering cad into boyfriend material, Ted enrolls ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 2
"Double Date"
September 28, 2009 - 08:09p.m.
How I Met Your Mother is mostly about alternate universes in the future of the show's present, if that makes any sense. As we follow Ted through the late oughts, he points out forks in the road -- moments when ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 5, episode 1
"Definitions"
September 21, 2009 - 08:09p.m.
Last season we had to make several long journeys. From Barney and Robin apart to Barney and Robin together. From Ted the failing architect to Professor Mosby. From Stella to the mother, who is somewhere in that big lecture hall ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 24
"The Leap"
May 18, 2009 - 08:05p.m.
Why was Ted hugging everyone in sight two weeks ago? It wasn't because he met Stella under a yellow umbrella. (Songwriters of the Gay Nineties, there's a lyric you can have for free.) It was because he met ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 23
"As Fast As She Can"
May 11, 2009 - 08:05p.m.
What are the magic words that will get you out of a speeding ticket? Ease your conscience? Bring back true love? This episode was about the search for that secret formula. The lesson? There are some things that just can ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 22
"Right Place Right Time"
May 4, 2009 - 08:05p.m.
When Ted picked up the yellow umbrella on his way out of the apartment to get a bagel, did your heart start beating faster? Mock me all you want, but I am seriously invested in the masterplot of this show ...
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How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 21
"The Three Day Rule"
April 27, 2009 - 08:04p.m.
The Three Day Rule? What is this, 1995? It's a flimsy excuse for a sitcom plot in the twenty-first century, my friends. But damned if HIMYM nearly makes it work by throwing in a few delightful twists. We're ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 20
Mosbius Designs
April 13, 2009 - 09:04p.m.
HIMYM's got a lot of work to do before the end of the season, and it's laboring under several handicaps. Alyson Hannigan is unavailable, and Cobie Smulders' baby bump is growing between takes, it seems. Ted has a ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 20
"Mosbius Designs"
April 13, 2009 - 09:04p.m.
HIMYM's got a lot of work to do before the end of the season, and it's laboring under several handicaps. Alyson Hannigan is unavailable, and Cobie Smulders' baby bump is growing between takes, it seems. Ted has a ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 19
"Murtaugh"
March 30, 2009 - 08:03p.m.
Tonight's episode appears to have been inspired by one too many cop movies. Oh, and maybe a rant heard down at the local comedy club about kiddie sports that don't keep score. In other words, there wasn't ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 17
"Old King Clancy"
March 23, 2009 - 08:03p.m.
True confession: If I appeared at a comedy open-mike night, my act would be very much like Marshall's fish list. By which I mean it would be a list of some sort. Because I'm a sucker for lists ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 16
"The Front Porch"
March 16, 2009 - 05:03p.m.
Writing about these shows week after week, you tend to zero in on what you want out of them. And guys, for How I Met Your Mother? This is what I want. Acknowledgment of the premise. Tension about how that ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 15
"Sorry, Bro"
March 9, 2009 - 03:03p.m.
Editing. We watch Oscar-telecast montages about it. We clumsily practice it by hacking up videos of our children at birthday parties. But do we ever think about how essential it is to a show like this one? Probably not until ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 15
"The Stinsons"
March 2, 2009 - 09:03a.m.
For what were we waiting all these weeks? What did our president pre-empt when he failed to notice the guy beside the camera making the slashing motion across his throat? (Although actually the Secret Service probably hustled that guy out ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 14
"The Possimpible"
February 2, 2009 - 02:02p.m.
Sometimes it feels like Barney's love for Robin is a secret that's only for us. Tonight it manifested in momentary upstage kneeling, a look of unfeigned concern, and a brief stroking of her hair. That's it. No ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 13
"Three Days Of Snow"
January 19, 2009 - 02:01p.m.
In my house, when someone accidentally clangs a glass, they have to shout, "Round Two!" That's our little ritual, or one of them. And this is round two of my TV Clubbin' tonight. If you missed the first installment ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 12
"Benefits"
January 12, 2009 - 02:01p.m.
"I love you."Has a sitcom ever passed over that moment so quickly and so poignantly? Barney impulsively blurts out his feelings to Robin, and without missing a beat, she interprets it as his expression of Ted's romantic side ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 11
"Little Minnesota"
December 15, 2008 - 09:12p.m.
Woooo! Second blog of the night! Turns out Noel is stuck in Chicago, so there's no reason to rush this one. Well ... there's one reason. It wasn't really great. But maybe I'm just worn out from ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 10
"The Fight"
December 8, 2008 - 08:12p.m.
Finally, an answer to the question I've been asking all my life: Why do men fight? Seriously, I want to know. Despite growing up with two brothers, I remain blissfully ignorant of testosterone and all its ways. Why must ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 9
"The Naked Man"
November 24, 2008 - 10:11p.m.
Has anybody out there tried the Naked Man? It seems like it would take some, uh, cojones to pull it off. How many people can just "ta-da!" their nakedness, even to longtime loved ones? The sheer preposterousness of the Naked ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 8
"Woooo!"
November 17, 2008 - 08:11p.m.
Last week there was a disagreement in the comments about my statement that "Not A Father's Day" wasn't "transcendent." I meant that the particular episode didn't knock me for a loop with some kind of revelation about ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 7
"Not A Father's Day"
November 10, 2008 - 10:11p.m.
Most of "Not A Father's Day" is about changes that the gang is going through -- just not right now. Robin is between houses, living on Lily and Marshall's couch. Lily and Marshall are thinking about having kids. And ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 6
"Happily Ever After"
November 3, 2008 - 08:11p.m.
Sorry, folks who thought we'd seen the last of Sarah Chalke. You didn't really think that ferry ride was enough closure, did you? Tonight's episode is the real capper to the Stella storyline, and it's a ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 5
" Shelter Island"
October 20, 2008 - 09:10p.m.
So that's that, huh? Five episodes into the season and Robin's already gone to Tokyo and back (leaving two jobs in her wake), and Ted's made multiple life-changing decisions that all come to naught when his fianc ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 4
"Intervention"
October 13, 2008 - 09:10p.m.
In this week's Popless, Noel writes about whether experimentation is better than conventionality. It's a discussion that's applicable to our sitcom blogs here at the TV Club. Every once in a while one of the non-believers will ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 3
"I Heart NJ"
October 6, 2008 - 08:10p.m.
It's been awhile since we put the gang into a crucible and watched the fireworks. This week feels like a watershed of sorts, as Ted has to choose under pressure between New York and Stella, and Robin tries to ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 2
The Best Burger In New York
September 29, 2008 - 08:09p.m.
Since Donna's already slacking–and only one week into the new season!–I'll be hosting this week's How I Met Your Mother coverage. But first, let me put on my big underpants….
Ah, that's better. Also ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 4, episode 1
"Do I Know You"
September 22, 2008 - 08:09p.m.
I had a jolt when I read Tasha's wonderful interview with Neil Patrick Harris last week. In the comments, some readers expressed two particular thoughts that aren't really prevalent in the circles in which I've been traveling ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 20
"Miracles"
May 19, 2008 - 08:05p.m.
Do you believe in miracles?
It's a measure of how convinced I've become of HIMYM's centrality in the CBS lineup that I didn't even think to be worried about its being renewed. If it weren't ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 19
"Everything Must Go"
May 12, 2008 - 09:05p.m.
I hate to say I told you so. But it turned out to be impossible to ameliorate the Britney factor the second time around. This clunky episode had few laughs and an overly earnest tone all around. And my God ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 18
"Rebound Bro"
May 5, 2008 - 08:05p.m.
Britney's coming back next week, and all of us who care about the show are already dreading it. (What are the chances that the team can minimize her collateral damage for a full hour?) But as if to prospectively ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 17
"The Goat"
April 28, 2008 - 09:04p.m.
It's fallout time. Duck and cover, everybody.
So we had several theories espoused by faithful commenters about how the Barney-Robin thing would work out. Here's the rundown:
Theory number 1: One night stand. I'll attribute this one ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 16
"Sandcastles In The Sand"
April 21, 2008 - 10:04p.m.
When I was a tweener, I fancied myself a bit of a contrarian. It seemed like all the good ones were taken -- so I decided to devote myself to the also-rans, the ones nobody wanted. I hung up pictures of ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 15
"The Chain Of Screaming"
April 14, 2008 - 09:04p.m.
There's been plenty of weight to this season, in retrospect. Marshall and Lily's life together has gone downhill fast, snowballing as it went. First Marshall took a job defending corporate polluters, instead of dedicating his legal knowledge to ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 14
"The Bracket"
March 31, 2008 - 09:03p.m.
WARNING!!! CBS isn't done with the tie-ins yet. This week: a March Madness themed episode focused on Barney's search for the girl who's warning potential conquests away from him. When I started watching HIMYM, I never thought ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 13
"Ten Sessions"
March 24, 2008 - 08:03p.m.
The CBS promotion machine has been all over the special guest star on this episode, and you regulars are probably primed to mock her. But I don't care what anybody says -- I think Sarah Chalke is funny and talented ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 12
"No Tomorrow"
March 17, 2008 - 08:03p.m.
The writers' strike was tough on all of us. So it was nice of the HIMYM crew to give us a mythology episode right off the bat. That yellow umbrella really warms my heart.
Score this one 1/3 shaky ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 11
"The Platinum Rule"
December 10, 2007 - 09:12p.m.
For all you Ted hair fans, this episode features several extended scenes of him tousling it in front of a mirror. I finally get it: He's single! That's why the hair has been rising like a hot air ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 10
"The Yips"
November 26, 2007 - 11:11p.m.
Good evening, Mr. Stinson. Your assignment this week: Synergize with fellow CBS property Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. This blog will self-destruct in five ... four ...
If I said tonight's episode had a beautiful body, would you hold it against ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 9
"Slapsgiving"
November 19, 2007 - 11:11p.m.
I suffered through Pacific Time, with its unnatural three-hour delay of prime-time television, to bring you Slapsgiving. Now that's the kind of perseverance usually seen only on heartwarming airline commercials. (I'm afraid my trip home tomorrow, through the ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 8
"Spoiler Alert"
November 12, 2007 - 10:11p.m.
Consider "Spoiler Alert" a palate cleanser -- moving along a tiny bit of plot (will Marshall pass the bar and become a real lawyer?) while engaging in another round of Seinfeld-esque girlfriend-of-the-weekism -- while we watch slapcountdown.com until next Monday ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 7
"Dowisetrepla"
November 5, 2007 - 09:11p.m.
If one scene in tonight's episode sums up the whole HIMYM aesthetic, it's the one where the gang toasts Lily and Marshall's purchase of an apartment by clinking champagne flutes together: "Here's to your momentous step ... -
How I Met Your Mother: episode 6
"I'm Not That Guy"
October 29, 2007 - 10:10p.m.
We've had tantalizing hints of the future this season, but here's an episode that really moves the plot along. Why does Marshall have all that money? Well, because he sold his soul to work for an evil law ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 5
"How I Met Everyone Else"
October 22, 2007 - 10:10p.m.
Next week I'm going to do an experiment. I'm going to give the episode a grade based on the cold open before the titles. Because sixty seconds into "How I Met Everyone Else," after the open that featured ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 4
"Little Boys"
October 15, 2007 - 10:10p.m.
Note to the whole HIMYM team: When your signature gag is a squadron of miniature Barneys dancing around on a girl's torso in British mountaineer garb, it's time to for a rethink. "Little Boys" is the first real ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 3
"Third Wheel"
October 8, 2007 - 09:10p.m.
Stardate: Three episodes into season three. 3.3, if you will. In an episode titled "Third Wheel," HIMYM explores the perennial male fantasy of the three-way. If that all seems like a lot of artificial sitcom synergy, prepare to have ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 2
"We're Not From Here"
October 1, 2007 - 11:10p.m.
There seems to be some polarization among commenters regarding HIMYM's quality. For the record, I'm a bit of a sitcom junkie. I grew up on Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart (just about the only primetime television my ... -
How I Met Your Mother: season 3, episode 1
"Wait For It"
September 24, 2007 - 09:09p.m.
Picking up at the same narrative instant when last year's season finale faded out? It's been done. Resuming the story with the second half of a word whose first half ended the previous season? Legendary. Or "--dary!", which ...
