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How I Met Your Mother Season 6 Episode 11

The Mermaid Theory

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AIRED: Dec 06, 2010

8.4

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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As Ted and Zoey test whether a guy and a married woman can be friends, he tries to befriend her husband as well. Marshall and Robin try hanging out alone. Barney and Lily have a spat.

Fan Episode Reviews (8)

Marshall and Robin have an awkward dinner.

9.0

By Jon_MW_14, Sep 04, 2011

"The Mermaid Theory" is a great How I Met Your Mother episode. I loved Ted's plot in this episode. It was funny. The Captain was really creepy with inviting Ted on his boat but it was funny how Ted thought The Captain was going to murder him. I love how Future Ted got the Barney/Lily story mixed up because it actually shows his age. I love how Lily actually is pregnant in the future and I really want to see why Ted was wearing a dress. The Mermaid Theory was entertaining when Marshall has to explain it to Robin during their awkward dinner. I know it's weird, but I kind of wish Marshall viewed Robin as a mermaid instead of a manatee. I give this episode a 9/10.

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the first joke about the jonas brothers is kinda lame... but..

9.0

By AnthonyVicto, Jun 07, 2011

the first joke about the jonas brothers is kinda lame... but.. overall the episode was superb... don't get me wrong, i'm not a fan of the jonas brothers but that joke made me think if i wanna watch this episode because of that opener joke? so i let it go, and see the entire episode and i may say its on the top episode this season. and zoey is hot.. buut Cobie Smulders is getting matured physically... why is that? is she stressed? and miss Alyson Hannigan also getting dull.. they must show more skin so they can be more interesting to look at.. about the jokes, we can see that there is an effort in coming up with those punch lines and situations.. but the opener, poster of the captain, jokes are all lame... ok, my word count is 140+ now so i will end this by saying zoey is hot!!!moreless
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Classic HIMYM

9.0

By Bobinho26, Jun 07, 2011

This was a classic How I Met Your Mother episode like the ones we were used to in the first few seasons.

There was (finally) a theory again, one of the features that make this show so epic in the first place. Things like the olive theory, slapsgiving, the bro code et cetera. I really miss these elements.

I also really enjoy the twists and turns that change and evolve according to the storyteller's memory, like in this episode, when the background of the fight between barney and lilly is slowly but surely revealed.

Finally, the intelligently humorous scene with ted and the captain definitely stole the show, rivalled only by the closing scene with barney and marshall as pirates. All in all, a great episode.moreless
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9.0

By Canogaparkcindy, May 15, 2011

Another superb episode of How I Met Your Mother. Wow, this season surpasses season 5 in so many ways, and I'm so happy that the writers still have what makes this show great. The episode was just so realistic with the unreliable narrator and strangely the mermaid theory, which I weirdly found reasoning in.

We've got really great pairs in the story lines, with Ted/Captain/Zoey, Lilly/Barney. and Marshall/Robin. The fact that one story line was told in a completely different time zone was wildly unexpected and it tied together perfectly with his story telling in the beginning.

I loved the fact that the setting kept changing and so did the storyline. Ted coming in with a green dress saying "Now we're even" was thought provoking and it just reminded me of the goat bit this show did a couple years back. There is no denying that How I Met Your Mother is finding it's roots, and it shows with classic episodes like these.

The ticking at the end just tied together so perfectly with Ted/Zoey which foreshadows that someday they will have feelings for each other. Just a superb episode overall. Wow, I was absolutely blown away by this episode. Keep it coming, HIMYM, seriously, keep it coming.moreless
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very good episode with though provoking finale

10

By Erekle_var_ra, May 15, 2011

okay it was really that good

I mean Captain is veeeery good character

so is zooey

episode was funny

I loved lily and barney story and to be blond - I'm happy they made some upcoming directions...

mermaid theory itself was very funny, interesting and pretty believable you know...

I'm really happy How i met your mother is starting to recover so much from the last season...

it was one very good episode

and the finale oh... clocks started ticking you guys : ))) think it's very interesting how their relationship will end up (guess with zooeys pregnacy)

10/10 maybe not the best one

but damn... I'm happy they try so hard to redeem!moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Josh Radnor	Ted Mosby
Neil Patrick Harris	Barney Stinson
Alyson Hannigan	Lily Aldrin
Jason Segel	Marshall Eriksen
Cobie Smulders	Robin Scherbatsky

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Tamara Lynn Davis	Iris	Guest Star
Angus McClelland	Angus	Guest Star
Bob Saget	Voice of Ted, 2030	Recurring Role
Jennifer Morrison	Zoey Pierson	Recurring Role
Kyle MacLachlan	George "The Captain" Van Smoot	Recurring Role

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Featured Episode Clip

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'The Mermaid Theory' Podcast

12/9/10 (14:51)
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'The Mermaid Theory'

12/3/10 (00:43)

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Episode Photos

Ted's (Josh Radnor) and "The Captain," (...

© 2010 CBS Corporation
Ted's (Josh Radnor) and "The Captain," (...

© 2010 CBS Corporation
Ted's (Josh Radnor) and "The Captain," (...

© 2010 CBS Corporation

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Marshall told Robin that they never hang out together and today's dinner is the first time when there is just two of them. This is not true, because in "Little Minnesota" Marshall took Robin to his favourite pub with a Minnesota theme and then to Hoser Hut, a Canadian bar.
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QUOTES (7)
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- Marshall: Captain, what do you think of ice cream? (Covers the top half of the poster of the Captain's face) Oh, he loves ice cream!
  Barney: Captain, what do you think of rainy days?
  Marshall: (Covers the top half of the Captain's face) Oh, he hates em!
  Robin: Captain, question. How do you feel about the Jonas Brothers? (Marshall covers a vertical half of the Captain's face)
  Ted: What is that?
  Marshall: He hates that he loves them.
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- Lily: Rule number one: Don't go anywhere that has candles.
  Marshall: Excuse me captain, how do you feel about Ted and Zoey having an intimate chat by candlelight? (Covers the bottom half of the Captain's face) It'll be the last dinner they ever have.
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- Lily: [Zoey] lied to her husband?
  Barney: Please, you lie to her your husband all the time. (imitating Lily) "That's a great shirt." "I love your mom." "I don't secretly fantasize about Barney while we're doing it." Sound familiar, Pinocchio?
  Marshall: What's wrong with this shirt?
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- Lily: Rule number two: no sharing food. In fact, anything involving saliva is off limits: toothbrushes, thermometers, lipstick.
  Ted: Well, if I can't share her lipstick there's really no point in even going.
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- Lily: Anytime a single guy hangs out with a married woman there are rules that must be followed. Rule number one—
  Barney: Don't use the husband's condoms. That's just rude.
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- Marshall: (on The Captain) That man is terrifying.
  Barney: Everything he said was nice, but I'm profoundly scared.
  Ted: Keep smiling, he can still see us!
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- Ted: Hey, guys, Zoey just told me about this great Frank Lloyd Wright retrospective. Who's in?
  Lily: Sorry, I'm, ummmm, I don't know, washing my hair.
  Marshall: Running the water.
  Robin: Holding the towel.
  Barney: I'll be home trying to get over the fact that no one invited me to the big hair washing party.
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NOTES (1)
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- International Airdates: Australia: March 10, 2011 on Channel 7; United Kingdom: May 12, 2011 on E4; Germany: October 12, 2011 on ProSieben; Czech Republic: January 31, 2012 on Prima COOL
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- When Barney says that a women, when she becomes pregnant, heads straight back to Manatee City, where the grass ain't green and the girls ain't pretty, he was playing on the lyrics of the song "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses.
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