Episode 14 - The Perfect Week
7 February 2010
Review
Synopsis: Barney is waiting to learn if he still has a job. As he waits he imagines himself being interviewed by Jim Nantz. He recounts the story of the past seven days where he has slept with a different woman every night. Meanwhile his friends are all discussing their own problems each day. Ted embarrassed a student by making fun of her name, Robin had a bad date but the guy doesn’t call her back and Lily and Marshall lose out on a new friendship because they share a toothbrush.
The Good: By having a strict theme for the episode and going all out to get Jim Nantz to guest star this was a fun episode from start to finish. The baseball analogy grew a little tiresome as most of How I Met Your Mother’s concepts do because they stick to them so religiously that they become implausible. But in general this one worked out well; largely because men do use a lot of analogies when talking about women and so sports based ones seem a natural fit.
Nantz was a very good sport saying “Respect” and “Over the hump” while sucking up to Barney and staying in character the whole time. He even contributed to the best joke in the episode (Comic Highlight) as well as being yet another layer of a storytelling device which allowed his surprise at Lily and Marshall sharing a tooth brush to be a fun echo amongst other moments.
Speaking of which, it’s one of those ideas which is kind of gross and unexpected, yet at the same time not implausible for a couple as exceptionally close as Lily and Marshall. The way Ted and then Robin got dragged into the ickyness was pretty fun. Similarly Cook Pu was a funny and believable name. For once I had no problem with the relentless puns. Partly because Ted had embarrassed himself and friends do mock one another for irrelevant mistakes like that. And also because Pu lends itself to puns that anyone might think is funny. Robin claiming she needs to hear the full name because she knows a lot of people called Cook was pretty funny as a result.
The very unexpected flashback to Marshall using Viagra was a fun moment as was future Ted finally admitting the obvious: that he shouldn’t be telling his children these stories.
The Bad: As I say the baseball analogy makes things needlessly unrealistic, with Barney being held up as a champion while his date stands outside alone. Robin, a news reader, would know who the stars of the New York Yankees were. Finally Lily and Marshall used separate toothbrushes in the episode where they were stuck in the bathroom while Ted and Victoria hooked up in the living room (114). All three of these points demonstrate that the writers are more concerned with getting a laugh now more than the consistency which leads to greatness. But I admit none of them ruin this episode by any means.
Realistically of course Barney could have just gone to another bar after Nick Swisher walked in. And this episode didn’t do much for Robin. Once an intelligent, attractive woman who withheld her emotions, she now seems incredibly needy. This story may have just been a silly gag for her but it’s a pattern of storylines recently.
Comic Highlight: Ted and Marshall are zealous about protecting Barney from anyone saying the words “perfect week.” Within the sporting analogy it’s easier to buy into that than it might have been otherwise. As Barney chats up his seventh girl Lily foolishly says “there’s no such thing as a jinx.” Everyone freaks out including Nantz back in Barney’s head and of course Nick Swisher walks into the bar to prove Lily wrong and steal attention from Barney. Soon Lily realises how important it is to everyone that Barney succeed. So she stops his girl from talking to Swisher and Marshall foolishly exclaims “I guess there is no such thing as a jinx.” Cue more horror from everyone including Nantz who gets up out of his chair and kicks it over. A brilliantly timed overreaction. Credit all round.
How I rate your episode: A fun theme episode which delivers plenty of entertainment.
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