How I Met Your Mother - TV Fanatic

How I Met Your Mother Review: Slam-trak

cfohara4@hotmail.com (Chris O'Hara) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:05:00 EST

About half way through this week's episode I was looking for the conductor to stop the "The Drunk Train" because I wanted off. While Barney and Ted's nicknames for the train were classic How I Met Your Mother humor as were the top ten things Marshall and Lily said on their wedding night, I felt like the episode tried to cram way too much into one half hour block and came off as a poor attempt to hot-wire the Mother storyline.

Barney messing up his trademark catchphrase was amusing, but I honestly could not believe any woman let alone someone he met a day ago could unnerve him like that. I felt like the great Barnabus's legacy was slapped in the face with such missteps or the fact that we were meant to believe that Barney honestly did not recognize Quinn from her job at his favorite strip club. It would be like if someone drew a comic book where were were lead to believe Aquaman died by drowning. Come on people.

Moving on, hey look who they decided to bring back, Kevin...and he had a ring! Kudos to Robin for coming clean about not being able to have children, but shouldn't she also have mentioned that she didn't want to have kids at all while still in the same sit down? Instead we had to endure Kevin asking her to marry him time and time again. Don't worry about Robin though because Ted went from no longer caring about "the one" to telling Robin he loved her. Are we really supposed to believe Robin is the mother? Ted and she have shared a few tender moments the last few episodes, but really? Robin put out her cigarette just in time for Ted to lay the granddaddy of all lines on her? I don't thing so, or at least I hope not.

Aside from some great Barney, Ted's line about his date whose favorite band was "Glee" and the flash forward scene with Marshall and Lily; the only other redeeming part of this episode was that it did at least try to advance what had been a stalled storyline. There was no Vin Diesel, but tonight's installment was too fast and too furious a plot.

So I throw myself at the mercy of the court. Having gotten so thrashed for liking last week's "filler" episode, if I am completely off base in your opinions once again this week, meaning you all thought tonight's episode was the bee's knees, then I am going to have to seriously revaluate my take on the show or my faith in humanity.

Perhaps I am sadly devoted to an ancient way of judging television. So here I am, my lightsaber at my side. Oppose and contradict my opinions if you must, or concur with my feelings and join me. For those of you who choose to do so, remember that as the others try to strike us down we will only become more powerful than they could possibly imagine.

How I Met Your Mother Teaser: All Aboard The Drunk Train!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:48:52 EST

Becki Newton jumps on board the How I Met Your Mother Drunk Train Monday.

On the sitcom's Valentine's Day episode, look for Barney to meet his female equivalent in this guest star, while Lily and Marshall invite Robin and Kevin to Vermont for a romantic getaway, one that involves the latter pair possibly taking their relationship to the next level.

Speaking of the next level, hey, Barney, you wanna go somewhere more comfortable with that beautiful woman at the bar? Yeah. We thought so...

How I Met Your Mother Promo: "The Drunk Train"

How I Met Your Mother Review: Was It Gouda For You?

cfohara4@hotmail.com (Chris O'Hara) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:21:04 EST

How I Met Your Mother was back with a new episode this week, as the gang was all a buzz at Lily and Marshall's house warming party.

Well before the first guest arrived, Lily and Marshall sat her dad down to implore him not to wreck all the hard work she put into preparing their big event. Mickey's foray into apiculture was a real bee in Lily's bonnet, but also showed a funny parallel between her father and Marshall.

Mickey's bee puns were rather reminiscent of Marshall's fish name routine from "Old King Clancy." What seemed to be a similarity in senses of humor was yet another example of how women tend to marry men like their fathers and vice versa, as we saw how alike Lily and Marshall's mother were last season around the time Marvin Sr. passed away.

For a half-hour episode, primarily consisting of a series of interlinked events that unfolded within a five-minute window of time, "The Burning Beekeeper" was filled with the brand of scenes and dialogue fans of the show have coveted all season long. This is not to say we have been denied such up until now, but tonight's installment was superbly scripted and will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable of the season - if not the entire series.

I'm sure there were those naysayers who would have admonished Lily for even thinking about throwing such a big party while fully pregnant, while others may have been critical of Marshall for being so self-involved with his work issues that he did little to take some pressure off his wife's back, but don't forget these are the Eriksens we're talking about here.

Lily was very excited about the cheese she purchased on the Internet and Marshall did his part to spread the word about the inbound hors d'oeuvres, such as when he told Ted "don't slept on the gouda." They always have each other's back.

Barney, despite a belly full of vegan spring rolls, dug deep into his bag of aliases and pulled out Secret Agent Gary Powers, famed CIA U-2 spy plane pilot. He may have been out of his flight gear, but was nonetheless suited up and slaying it with Hung's Rebecca Creskoff, the cat-crazy, cheese knife-wielding divorcee.

It's not often you see Barney upstaged, but when it does occur, more than not it's Robin who seems to take the spotlight. Tonight was arguably one of those episodes as she shared memorable scenes with Marshall, Barney and Ted. She brought the "Ha" with outbursts like the one about the Thin Mint-less Girl Scout, but also delivered the "Aw" moment when she and Ted put an end to their dispute and complimented each other's unique personality traits.

Now don't get me wrong, nobody puts Barney in the corner, no matter how great a performance they might deliver. Case in point: this week's funniest line came from none other than "Jack Package" telling Robin about the gender of men's junk. I must have rewound the part where he said "come on Robin, it's my penis we're talkin' about" 20 times, each time laughing harder than the last. I highly recommend trying it at home if you have the episode recorded.

Some of my other favorite moments included, the Sun Tzu misquotes, Robin's anger over the absence of spicy mustard for the pigs in a blanket and Mickey warning her about standing in his snack track. Also amazing was the reason behind Ted and Robin's fight. Robin yelling at the old woman while she fought for the last Zabar's kugel reminded me of when Jerry Seinfeld stole the Schnitzer's marble rye from the elderly woman.

I'll cut myself off here as I am very eager to hear if you all enjoyed the episode as much as I did. Be sure to check out the memorable quotes list, too, as there were plenty to commit to memory.

How I Met Your Mother Sneak Preview: "The Burning Beekeeper"

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:36:48 EST

You're invited, How I Met Your Mother fans, to the world's worst housewarming party.

On tomorrow night's new episode of the CBS sitcom, Marshall and Lily will attempt to welcome everyone to their new residence. But the shindig turns into a near-fight between Ted and Marshall's boss, as well as Barney ending up in bed with a divorcee.

See the shenanigans to come, which includes someone on fire, now:

How I Met Your Mother Promo: "The Burning Beekeeper"

How I Met Your Mother First Look, Preview: Becki Newton as... Female Barney?

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:18:32 EST

Becki Newton is about to turn Barney Stinson's world upside down. Or, perhaps we should say, inside out.

On February 13, the former Ugly Betty and Love Bites star will debut on How I Met Your Mother as Quinn, a character who "will present a real challenge to" Barney," Newton teased to TV Guide Magazine's William Keck. "She kind of has Barney figured out before he even starts talking."

Get your first look at Newton in this (naked?) role now:

Expect Barney to be truly taken aback by this new love interest, the actress previews, concluding:

"For Barney, it will be like looking in the mirror. He's not used to someone speaking his language, and it's going to rock his world."

How I Met Your Mother Review: Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

cfohara4@hotmail.com (Chris O'Hara) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:11:03 EST

Dan Gregor and Doug Mand deserve the highest of fives for this week's How I Met Your Mother episode, "46 Minutes."

While the majority of our readers here at TV Fanatic feel the season thus far has been a success, a reoccurring gripe has emerged lamenting the absence of Barney's famous and beloved catch phrases or Barney-isms. Well... fans had reason to rejoice when Barney suggested a trip to a strip club to celebrate his self appointment as the new leader of the group and capped off the scene with one of his more memorable Legen-dary quotes.

While the Eriksens were off playing house, though, the gang was left to operate at half strength. Barney, suited up as usual, came through, put the team on his shoulders and delivered as the show's comedic cynosure. His voiceover during the opening theme music was a great wrinkle, as was the Russian-themed alternate opening montage featuring "Better Lily" and "New Marshall."

Looking like he just went down on Robocop, the silver glitter-faced Barney controlled the floor like Michael Jordan in his prime.

Every great player has a great wingman. His Airness had Scottie Pippen and Barney had a great second in drunk Ted. Ted was on fire all night, from his Party of Five reference to his scenes at the poker table, which were highlighted by his Starship song parody, "We Built Chip City." Great nod to Teddy KGB from Rounders, also, with the onlooker eating a chip rack full of Oreos.

The only weak points of the episode were the awkward exchanges between Robin and Kevin at the strip club, despite the scenario being brilliantly termed "Early Relationship Chicken" by Barney. On the bright side, though, we learned that Kevin is a big fan of the high five, which gave hope that he might help inspire a much requested high five revival from Barney. I would love to see some more interaction between Kal Penn and Neil Patrick Harris.

Marshall and Lily's move to the suburbs took a back seat to the city storylines, but Marshall's epic search for the fuse box was great. I lost it every time they cut to a bug-eyed Marshall who looked like he was being watched through Buffalo Bill's night vision goggles. The whole ordeal was made that much better by Mickey (Chris Elliot), who went from acting like a Jigsaw-esque game master to talking Marshall through the various pitfalls of the basement like Professor Henry Jone's diary helped Indiana navigate the path to the Holy Grail chamber.

The episode concluded with a touching HIMYM moment, as the group of friends ate breakfast around Marshall and Lily's kitchen table/booth. While life may send the MacLarens mob down different paths, at times creating geographic or social differences, their friendship knows no bounds and will overcome any obstacle.

How I Met Your Mother Preview & Clip: 150 Episodes Young!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:35:49 EST

Late last week, How I Met Your Mother creator Carter Bays pondered the major issue of how his show would finally answer the mother of all questions.

But that's looking too far ahead. On this Monday's new episode, the sitcom celebrates a more immediate milestone, airing its 150th episode. Titled "46 Minutes," the installment will find Lily and Marshall breaking major news to their friends: they are moving to the suburbs. But this plan will hit a snag... while Ted, Barney and Robin will react to it in understandable fashion: they hit a strip club.

Watch a preview for the episode and a clip from it now:

How I Met Your Mother Promo: "46 Minutes"

How I Met Your Mother Clip: Barney and a Stripper

HIMYM Creator Ponders: Who Should Play the Mother?

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:32:33 EST

Carter Bays has a mother of a problem. Literally.

The executive producer of How I Met Your Mother addressed reporters this week at the Television Critics Association winter press tour and admitted that he isn't certain about which direction to go regarding the show's most anticipated role.

"There is one school of thought where you want her to turn around and she's Jennifer Aniston because it has to be a huge star," Bays said yesterday of casting Ted's future wife. "But maybe it should be someone we've never seen before."

It's not hard to see the dilemma. Producers don't want a really famous face to overshadow the character that's been hyped since the series outset... but can you really cast a relative nobody for, well, a character that's been hyped since the series outset?

"Because so much of the show hinges on this moment where she turns around and Ted sees her for the first time and falls in love, you want someone you've never seen before," Bays says of one option. "You want to feel like you're seeing this person for the first time, too."

Which direction would you prefer for the role of the mother?

How I Met Your Mother Review: Beers In Heaven

cfohara4@hotmail.com (Chris O'Hara) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:20:25 EST

While Marshall struck me as a guy who prefers his burgers cooked rare, this week's How I Met Your Mother, "Tailgate," was well done. Was it one of the season's best? I don't think so, but it marked a good return from the holiday hiatus and did well to catch us up on each character.

I half expected Marshall to open his own beer on his dad's tombstone so I was glad he swallowed his pride and channeled his father's hospitable spirit toward the end of the episode. I didn't recall the sibling rivalry being so heated between him and his brothers. Nor did I remember his Marcus always being that enormous. Great Galloping Ghost, maybe the Bears would have fared better had they signed him to their roster. He was like a plaid and purple eclipse.

Also, once again, great attention to detail by the show's costume designers, who outfitted Marshall in the Fran Tarkenton for President apron.

Speaking of "tying one on," I thought the MVP of the episode was the dark horse Sandy Rivers, as she provided the best quotes this week. Whether it was referring to himself in the third person, drinking on air or counting down to "two hundred and twelve," he was a nice addition, reliable for a laugh each time the series went back to his storyline.

The same could not be said for the Enigmas of the Mystical, but it did set up the emotional surprise visit from Lily's dad. So much so that I thought it overshadowed the touching close to Marshall's tailgate. If Marshall still wants some time alone with his dad, he might want to dial up Oda Mae Brown.

I'm still trying to decide whether Puzzles was a chute or ladder. Barney's red velvet rope earned him a Slappy New Year, but he and Ted harmonizing was applause worthy. As was their reluctance to take any pointers from Kevin with regard to the bar. Robin was smart though to listen to Kevin's sound advice about going back on air, but did anyone else cringe when he toasted "that's my girl," while sitting next to two of Robin's former flames?

All in all, a solid return and positive start to 2012 by the writers. I was happy to see the only ball dropped this week was in Times Square.

P.S. Did we ever find out why the hats were wet? Please help a HIMYM-brother out if we did.

How I Met Your Mother to Ring in 2012 with Slaps, Puzzles

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:23:27 EST

How I Met Your Mother rings in the new year on Monday with its first new episode of 2012.

Titled "Tailgate," the half hour will center around Marshall returning to his father's grave in order to keep up a tradition; Robin being forced to fill in for a drunk news anchor; Ted and Barney running into problems when they open up a new bar in the former's apartment; and, oh, Barney getting slapped by three women.

Check out the official CBS promo now and also prepare for the show's 150th episode. It airs on January 16.

How I Met Your Mother Promo: "Tailgate"