How I Met Your Mother: Old King Clancy
By fred | March 24, 2009
(S04E18) They did it again! It’s something with this show, and its writers, they have the ability to take four people talking at a bar and turning it into the most creative, inventive, and hilarious 22 minutes of the day (or more) like no one else can, they can really do some magic, or they can also resort back to traditional sitcomesque plot and deliver an episode that is merely average, not really bad but yet barely funny.
And this week, sadly, it was the later. I don’t know what’s going on, maybe they do have some crazy freaking hilarious ideas but they’re all piling them up for the long awaited goat episode (which I thought was due for March, but I guess I was wrong on that one…), and in the mean time we get “let-overs.” Again, this episode was bad in itself, and it was better than past ones like Barney and his fake family, but it wasn’t good enough, not for HIMYM, and not for me to laugh out loud.
Problem is, it did feel very new. I mean, on the one hand we had this plot about Ted, who I have to say gotta be the worst architect ever, I mean seriously, what were those “inspired designs” he was presenting there? How could be think for one second that was what a bank, fulled of Barney-like people at that, would be looking for? Anyways, so there was Ted, being Ted. And being fired, deservedly so.
When they found out about it, Barney wanted to tell him the truth, but Marshall couldn’t and at the last minute went in the opposite direction, all the way. I’m not sure when it was or what it was about, but I’m fairly certain we have seen this (exact) plot before, it had a big impression of déjà-vu to me, which didn’t help to make it any funny. And even the Guy Ritchie-like title cards (I’m not sure if it was one movie in particular, maybe Snatch, but I don’t remember for sure. Since you mention it though, here’s two great movies you need to watch if you haven’t: Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch) couldn’t make it better, because it wasn’t pushed far enough.
Same could be said about Robin and the Canada jokes, we’re so used to them and expect them, that unless they’re actually really good it feels a little old. Case in point, except for Barney claiming it all on Canada and wondering why the Hell we let it be a country, it wasn’t all that funny: we knew how this one would end (Though, I loved that in the end, the dirty one was Robin… she’s so made for Barney).
Actually, as soon as he mentioned canadiansexacts.org I hit pause and went to check that website out. Seems there were some “technical difficulties” or something, but I have to admit that this was not only funny, but the funniest thing of all things HIMYM tonight. Which, again, is a testament of how not funny this episode was : funniest bit weren’t even in it, but on some Canadian website!
Not a very good episode, and when you add on top of that how despite deciding to let Ted in on that huge secret (Barney caught feelings for Robin) they never did anything, anything at all, about it, and that was months ago (wasn’t it?), sometimes this show ends up being very disappointing…
Question: I feel that this season, quite often I’ve been feeling like “the show can be great, but this episode not so much” and the likes, like there might have been more episodes in the “disappointing” category, than in the classic “legen… wait for it… dary” one, something that didn’t used to happen in the past… What’s going on, show?
What did everybody else think?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: How I Met Your Mother
I kind of liked this episode. The grainy black and whites of barney firing people was great. barneys rant on canada was great and marshall getting the spanish word for meatballs wrong was great as well. All in all a decent episode for me.
Well, those were nice alright, but not laugh-out-funny, at least not to me. And really, even if you really loved those, don’t you feel that’s a little light for one 22-minute episode??
Compared to the recent Sorry Bro for instance, this episode feels pretty flat to me. And I feel that Sorry Bro shouldn’t be an exception, but the rule. Actually, I feel that during its first years, such awesome episodes were the rule… no?
True, but as with my other fav LIFE, maybe the writers are hamstrung with all this pregnancy flying around. Not an excuse but maybe one reason for some things.