Episode 9 - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap
26 November 2009
Review
Synopsis: Its thanksgiving and Marshall bequeaths his fourth Barney slap to Robin and Ted. They can’t decide who should slap him. Lily’s Dad arrives for dinner but she doesn’t want to see him.
The Good: I always like the introduction of parents for sit com characters. They should always be keys to why our characters are the way they are. Certainly Marshall benefits from Mickey’s arrival. Marshall seems sweet for falling for Mickey’s sob story and his decision to welcome him as part of his new family. It also flows from Marshall’s well established loving family background. The way the slap gets passed along as if it were some wonderful Christmas present was a nice silly idea.
The Bad: I seem to have always taken against the show’s use of puns and once more they disappoint me. So just to reiterate. Real people don’t use puns in long lists as these people do. As a result they look like they are reading a script. That makes me think about how this show has annoying writers and doesn’t help me get wrapped up in the story. Also, lists of puns aren’t funny. There is no element of surprise in them, when humour is that signposted it loses its ability to make me laugh.
I’m also no fan of the repetitious flashbacks. Lily’s Dad of course makes politically incorrect board games (an implausible idea in itself) and we have to sit through three examples of this. Followed swiftly by three shots of people becoming “dead” to Lily. We get the point, the joke doesn’t get funnier the more you say it.
The entire slap story is tiresome to sit though as it’s so familiar (309) and feels like we are just sitting around until Barney inevitably gets a slap. And Lily’s Dad does nothing to earn a second chance which is a prerequisite for a decent sit com parental reconciliation story.
Comic Highlight: Marshall ensures his continued presence at the Eriksen Sunday meals through the use of a web cam. When it comes time to say grace everyone holds hands, including Marshall, who has some homemade arms to cling on to. An amusing exaggeration.
How I rate your episode: Nothing much to get excited or angry about.
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