Intervention (How I Met Your Mother)
Encyclopedia
"Intervention" is the fourth episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother
and 68th overall. It originally aired on October 13, 2008.
unless she sleeps with him. He then comes back a moment later and hooks up with the woman. Soon after, the gang is packing their things for Lily and Marshall's move to the new apartment and Ted's move to New Jersey
. Robin states that she does not understand all the gang's sentimentality about their stuff, saying she packed for Japan
in just half an hour the other day. Ted and Marshall end up arguing about who should pay the security deposit for the apartment.
Marshall says that Ted should pay it, citing a piece of missing plaster in the wall (it fell off when Ted put his shelf of World Book encyclopaedias on it) and a chip in the ceiling (made when Ted recklessly swung his Renaissance flail). He also counts a piece of damage which he blames on Robin: Robin was very drunk and acting extremely Canadian, speaking with a heavy accent and reenacting great Vancouver Canucks
moments in full costume with stick and puck. She tried to make a play through the door, but Lily stopped her and they got into a fight. Ted broke up the fight just as Barney was about to record it on his phone; he was extremely angry because the Bro Code states to never break up a girlfight. As a result, he punches a hole in the wall.
They then get to a scorch mark over the fireplace. Future Ted first has to explain the story of their friend, Stuart, last seen in Bachelor Party: He has since become an alcoholic (presumably as a result of his difficulties with his wife Claudia), and his friends held an intervention
for him (which Barney ruined by bringing in a bottle of Tanqueray as he thought it was Stuart's birthday). After this, frequent interventions began to take place at the apartment, such as the intervention for Marshall's Seussian hat, Lily's fake British accent that was a product of watching all the James Bond movies, Robin's tanning addiction, and Barney's excessive use of pyrotechnic magic tricks. The last caused the "INTERVENTION" banner to become scorched as well as the fireplace. Soon afterward, there was an "intervention intervention", which consisted of Ted saying "We're having too many interventions."
Ted finds in a box a new, unscorched "INTERVENTION" banner; he asks the others why it is there. After a little hedging, they admit they were planning an intervention for his engagement to Stella. Ted demands that they hold it and asks them to read their letters: Lily mixed hers up with a student's, Robin did not write one because she thought, as his ex-girlfriend, she would be biased, and Barney accidentally sets his on fire before getting past the "marriage is the biggest mistake of your life" part. Marshall then reads his letter, which feared that Ted and Stella were rushing into things and did not know each other well enough. He says that he doesn't feel that way anymore and that Stella is "awesome".
After this, Ted ends up getting caught up in a bout of nostalgia and says he'll never leave the apartment. Marshall and Lily at first oppose him but then quickly jump onto the bandwagon. Robin tries to stop them and then repudiates moving to Japan. They then enthusiastically go down to McLaren's to order the usual.
At McLaren's, Barney is trying to attract young women while in old man makeup to prove to Marshall that he will still be hooking up with 22-year-old women when he is 80. Ted says that he will pay the security deposit because each of those damages represents a precious memory, and they all decide to move to the places they will move to. They then kick a couple out of their usual booth and swear to each set aside ten dollars a week and, this time next year, have a $2500 bottle of scotch (which they tried to buy earlier in the episode). The show then flashes forward to that time in 2009, where they drink the scotch and decide it is no different from $10 scotch. Future Ted notes that in that year, while some things did change, some things remained the same... as the gang take the scotch to continue the get-together at the apartment.
At the end, Barney enters the apartment in his old man makeup to see the group with letters and the "INTERVENTION" banner up. They tell him to stop doing the old man thing, at which Barney pretends he is hard of hearing.
Michelle Zoromski of IGN
gave the episode 9 out of 10.
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
and 68th overall. It originally aired on October 13, 2008.
Plot
The episode begins with Barney in old man makeup telling a woman that "young Barney Stinson" cannot solve global warmingGlobal warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
unless she sleeps with him. He then comes back a moment later and hooks up with the woman. Soon after, the gang is packing their things for Lily and Marshall's move to the new apartment and Ted's move to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Robin states that she does not understand all the gang's sentimentality about their stuff, saying she packed for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in just half an hour the other day. Ted and Marshall end up arguing about who should pay the security deposit for the apartment.
Marshall says that Ted should pay it, citing a piece of missing plaster in the wall (it fell off when Ted put his shelf of World Book encyclopaedias on it) and a chip in the ceiling (made when Ted recklessly swung his Renaissance flail). He also counts a piece of damage which he blames on Robin: Robin was very drunk and acting extremely Canadian, speaking with a heavy accent and reenacting great Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
moments in full costume with stick and puck. She tried to make a play through the door, but Lily stopped her and they got into a fight. Ted broke up the fight just as Barney was about to record it on his phone; he was extremely angry because the Bro Code states to never break up a girlfight. As a result, he punches a hole in the wall.
They then get to a scorch mark over the fireplace. Future Ted first has to explain the story of their friend, Stuart, last seen in Bachelor Party: He has since become an alcoholic (presumably as a result of his difficulties with his wife Claudia), and his friends held an intervention
Intervention (counseling)
An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one, or often many, people to get someone to seek professional help with an addiction or some kind of traumatic event or crisis, or other serious problem. The term intervention is most often used when the traumatic event involves addiction to drugs...
for him (which Barney ruined by bringing in a bottle of Tanqueray as he thought it was Stuart's birthday). After this, frequent interventions began to take place at the apartment, such as the intervention for Marshall's Seussian hat, Lily's fake British accent that was a product of watching all the James Bond movies, Robin's tanning addiction, and Barney's excessive use of pyrotechnic magic tricks. The last caused the "INTERVENTION" banner to become scorched as well as the fireplace. Soon afterward, there was an "intervention intervention", which consisted of Ted saying "We're having too many interventions."
Ted finds in a box a new, unscorched "INTERVENTION" banner; he asks the others why it is there. After a little hedging, they admit they were planning an intervention for his engagement to Stella. Ted demands that they hold it and asks them to read their letters: Lily mixed hers up with a student's, Robin did not write one because she thought, as his ex-girlfriend, she would be biased, and Barney accidentally sets his on fire before getting past the "marriage is the biggest mistake of your life" part. Marshall then reads his letter, which feared that Ted and Stella were rushing into things and did not know each other well enough. He says that he doesn't feel that way anymore and that Stella is "awesome".
After this, Ted ends up getting caught up in a bout of nostalgia and says he'll never leave the apartment. Marshall and Lily at first oppose him but then quickly jump onto the bandwagon. Robin tries to stop them and then repudiates moving to Japan. They then enthusiastically go down to McLaren's to order the usual.
At McLaren's, Barney is trying to attract young women while in old man makeup to prove to Marshall that he will still be hooking up with 22-year-old women when he is 80. Ted says that he will pay the security deposit because each of those damages represents a precious memory, and they all decide to move to the places they will move to. They then kick a couple out of their usual booth and swear to each set aside ten dollars a week and, this time next year, have a $2500 bottle of scotch (which they tried to buy earlier in the episode). The show then flashes forward to that time in 2009, where they drink the scotch and decide it is no different from $10 scotch. Future Ted notes that in that year, while some things did change, some things remained the same... as the gang take the scotch to continue the get-together at the apartment.
At the end, Barney enters the apartment in his old man makeup to see the group with letters and the "INTERVENTION" banner up. They tell him to stop doing the old man thing, at which Barney pretends he is hard of hearing.
Continuity
- In Brunch, Ted states that Barney always uses 83 percent when he makes up a statistic. In this episode, he says his age is 83 while he's pretending to be an old man.
- In Spoiler Alert, it is mentioned that Ted has a bad habit of correcting trivial details. In this episode, the flashback that explained the damage to the back wall also showed Ted correcting Marshall on how to pronounce encyclopedia in the same annoying manner.
- In Little BoysLittle Boys"Little Boys" is the fourth episode in the third season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 48th overall. It originally aired on October 15, 2007.- Plot:Lily tells Robin she can set her up on a date with a guy named George...
, Barney says that Marshall's idea of "game" is "slapping on a Dr. SeussDr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
hat and flashing two tickets to a Spin DoctorsSpin DoctorsSpin Doctors is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits, "Two Princes," and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," which peaked the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #7 & #17 respectively....
concert." This foreshadows the Dr. Seuss hat Marshall wears in this episode. - The flash forward to 2009 reveals that they still live in the apartment.
- The photo taken towards to the end of the episode sees Marshall and Barney out of their photograph positions shown in Say CheeseSay Cheese (How I Met Your Mother)"Say Cheese" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 106th episode overall. It originally aired on March 22, 2010.- Plot :...
. - Robin is wearing the butterfly necklace as was worn in I Heart NJI Heart NJ"I Heart NJ" is the third episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 67th overall. It originally aired on October 6, 2008.- Plot :...
by Robin, Lily in World's Greatest CoupleWorld's Greatest Couple"World's Greatest Couple" is the 5th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on October 16, 2006.- Plot :...
, and Abby (Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
) in Everything Must GoEverything Must GoEverything Must Go may refer to:* Everything Must Go ** "Everything Must Go" , the title song* Everything Must Go * "Everything Must Go!", a song by The Weakerthans from Left and Leaving...
.
Errors
- When Ted orders the couple to leave their booth at the bar, the woman takes her cell phone with her. She then comes back saying she thinks she forgot it, and it is back on the table.
Cultural references
- The Canucks jersey Robin wears during her re-enactment has Roberto LuongoRoberto LuongoRoberto Luongo is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League . Born in Montreal, Quebec, he is of Italian and Irish ancestry. He employs the butterfly style of goaltending...
's name and number on it. - R2-Sweet-Tooth is a reference to the character R2-D2R2-D2R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
from Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Ted's favorite film. - Marshall mentions that Ted treated the apartment like John Bonham treated his central nervous system (the famed drummer of Led Zepplein, who died of alcohol poisioning).
Critical response
Donna Bowman of The AV Club rated the episode A.Michelle Zoromski of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode 9 out of 10.