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February 11, 2012
 
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How I Met Your Mother: The Possimpible

by Joel Keller, posted Feb 2nd 2009 11:48PM

Barney's video resume(S04E14) This week we got a bit of a stealthy episode. There were two overt storylines -- Robin's efforts to get a job and stay in the country and why three of the gang still have "weak-ass crap" on their resumes -- but the real storyline was simmering just underneath.

It all had to do with Barney and his feelings for Robin. And the fun of Barney's video resume is only a small part of what you really saw, if you looked hard enough.

Oh, and we got two new websites out of Bays and Thomas this week. But you know that with those two guys at the helm of a show, anything is possimpible ...

The two new websites are a site that contains Barney's video resume, complete with a video for "Barney Stinson: That Guy's Awesome," sung by Barney himself (though he'd deny it ... barely). On the video he showed the gang, it's less obvious that it's Barney singing, mainly because NPH does a good job singing a little differently than we're used to hearing from him. But it didn't seem to get past Ted, probably because of Barney's more-obvious narration using a suspiciously various British/Scottish accent. Only Barney can create excitement out of the attribute "Punctual."

The other website is Ted's 1998-era website for his "secret" radio identity, Dr. X. There you can hear the Doctor's takes on the Jockrocracy, the Ivy League, and sweatshops. I'd listen to all of them, but both sites got slammed after the episode aired; the folks at the show assure me that they'll be getting some more bandwidth for the sites sometime this evening. Anyway, it's typical of Ted's college toolishness that a) he thought he was being profound with his campaigns like "Meal Plan = Racism" and that b) anyone was listening to him. Even Marshall and Lily, who knew who he was, called him a "douche" and a "tool" when he was on the air.

Back to the video resume. As most of you probably noticed, when Marshall speculated that Robin could marry to stay in the country, we saw Barney in the background get up and get down on one knee, only to sit back down when Marshall dismissed the notion. Anyone who's been watching the show over the last year knows how far Barney will go for Robin. So he suggests she make the video; he still makes it after she bails on him; he completes it and sends it; he turns down jobs and negotiates raises for her. We all know why he's going the extra mile; having Robin up in the supposed "worst place in the world" would break his heart. It was a nice subtle way to extend the Barney/Robin storyline without creaming us over the head with it.

More fun stuff:

  • Lily's forays into competitive hot dog eating was a good excuse for Alyson Hannigan to show her pregnant belly ... twice. It even took me a second to make the connection after she did it the second time around.
  • The jokes about Marshall and his dancer's hip were priceless. Though the better line is when he soberly tells Lily that "I dance more than you know." Looks like 'Nilla Thunder didn't injure the hip making any of those rim-bending dunks of his, did he?
  • Though the video was good, Barney's fake words were the Best Barneyism of the week. My favorites were "possimpible" and "visitivity."
  • One of these days, an anchor will have "wear a condom" as his or her killer sign-off line.
  • The ribbing on Canada continues; no one knows where Alberta is, for instance.

It was an interesting episode, with funny moments and a nice push of the storyline, something we haven't seen as often this season. The standalone-ish episodes Bays/Thomas have been writing this year have tended to venture into Sitcomland cliche more than in past years, but when the underlying story between the members of the gang is there, things work well. This episode had elements of both. It could have been better, but it wasn't bad.

How I Met Your Mother' Photos

    Actor Neil Patrick Harris arrives in an Audi to the Entertainment Tonight Emmy Party at the Disney Concert Hall on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles.

    Kevin Parry/WireImage.com

    Presenters Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris on stage at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the NOKIA Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

    Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com

    Presenters Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris on stage at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the NOKIA Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

    Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Presenters Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris speak onstage during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kristin Chenoweth;Neil Patrick Harris

    Getty Images

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Actor Neil Patrick Harris (R) and David Burtka arrive at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** David Burtka;Neil Patrick Harris

    Getty Images

    Actor Jason Segel attends CBS Comedies

    Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com

    Actress Cobie Smulders attends CBS Comedies

    Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com

    Actress Cobie Smulders attends CBS Comedies

    Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com

    Actor Neil Patrick Harris attends CBS Comedies

    Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com

    Actress Alyson Hannigan (R) and her husband, actor Alexis Denisof attend CBS Comedies

    Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com

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21 Comments

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Fred

Great Show ! To see real Video Resumes go to http://resumetube.com

March 03 2009 at 3:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Usama

Wait, I don't think the joke about not knowing what city/state Robin did her first reporting was solely one to poke fun at Canada. Couldn't it also be interpreted as simple American ignorance?

February 04 2009 at 1:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brian

I think this episode would be even funnier to all of you once you watch the actual video resume that this episode was based on. Yes this is an actual video resume...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/268703/impossible_is_nothing/

February 03 2009 at 1:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Brian's comment
Bobby

Haha...as soon as Barney mentioned his video resume, I was hoping it would spoof the "impossible is nothing" video. It did not disappoint.

February 03 2009 at 2:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joe

I thought it was a good episode. How much did you love Barney's Resume? And I'm always a fan of college Ted.

http://www.joeonthetube.com

February 03 2009 at 11:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Martin

And Ted's lifegaurd job stayed on as well.. Very relevant to being Ted the Architect. Wonder how many girls Barney can score saying he is Ted the Lifegaurd!

February 03 2009 at 11:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Martin

You missed out on the other lame things on their resumes that they showed at the end when they were deleting the talked about ones. Loved Marshall's achievement of Camper of the Year being on there right after Dunkmaster...

February 03 2009 at 9:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alicia R.

I rather enjoied this episode. Barney dropping the letter was the best.

February 03 2009 at 7:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Paul

I don't live in the worst place in the world. :( Winnipeg rocks. Damnit, you're so awesome, Barney Stinson. But you hurt me so much.

Also... blizzard in August?! Okay, that was kind of funny. :P

I enjoyed the episode. As for the unrealistic nature of the resumés and crap... this is a SITCOM, PEOPLE! My God.

February 03 2009 at 5:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
WhoElseButME

This episode was 'totally~awesome'.
Checked out the website. Nothing beats Ted being the tool he was (sometimes still is) as Dr.X
Nice touch, as has come to be expected of this show.

February 03 2009 at 4:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brian

Not a terrible episode, but it is funny how the reviewer said this was a change of pace from the "sitcomland" episodes when, in reality, this was about as sitcom as it gets.

Nothing about this episode was the least bit "universal." I laughed at a lot of it and enjoyed watching it, but it was a complete detour from what the show's about. It's supposed to be a slice of life, but this was a slice of your average multicam sitcom.

Something like "Naked Man," yeah, it's absurd, but it's more authentic for this type of show. "How I Met Your Mother" is about a commentary on life; the best sources of comedy on the show are the ones that take on the Seinfeld-esque policy of creating "rules" for how to live life (Lemon Law, Mendoza Diagonal/Gillespie Zone, Have you met......, etc). While you'd never really try the Naked Man, at least it makes you think - someone who had the balls to pull that move PROBABLY would get laid more often. I like ones that try to make the How I Met Your Mother characters and "world" relatable to the average viewer. The resume thing is a funny concept, but it was a poor plot device for the whole "growing up" motif.

Aside from "Benefits," the best episodes this season HAVE been the sitcom-y ones (Intervention, The Fight, Naked Man). The ones that, in the mind of some people, 'further the plot' have been weak because they're not really furthering any plot we care about (The Best Burger episode did further Marshall's job plot, but after re-watching it last week, I can conclude it was one of the worst in the history of the show).

February 03 2009 at 3:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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