The Naked Man

Season 4, Episode 9, Aired

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The gang learns a new way to get their dates to sleep with them after Ted walks in on Robin's date sitting naked on the couch.
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • The gang tries The Naked Man.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Jon_MW_14, Aug 23, 2011
    "The Naked Man" is an awesome episode. I love how Ted asks out a woman named Vicky in the elevator and she accepts. I love how Ted comes home, he finds a naked guy sitting on his couch. I love how he shares with Ted about The Naked Man, which means if you're date isn't going so well, get naked and you'll increase your chance of getting laid because the other person will think it's adorable. I love how everyone tries The Naked Man, and everyone, but Barney succeeds. I give this episode a 10/10.moreless

  • Robin's blind date, Mitch, tells the guys that posing naked to a girl will get you laid 2/3 times guarenteed. The Group try it to see if it actually works.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By huntercal, Jul 23, 2010
    This ep has probably been the best of the season in the comedy stakes with a great premise that sees all the gangs get a few laugh out loud moments.

    Ted gets over Stella by asking Vikki, a girl he meets on the elevator, out to dinner. Things get interesting when Ted opens up to his apartment to see a naked man that Robin has invited in. Mitch (the naked man) tell Ted that if a date is going bad you strip naked and this will help you get the girl into bed, he guarentees that it works 2/3 of the time.

    Barney decides he will undertake the challenge of naked man and tries to convince Ted to do the same. Meanwhile Lilly is trying to find 50 reasons to have sex as Marshall believes the only good reason is love. This is only a minor arc in the story but I think it was a good one as Marshall finally got his best lines since the burger episode.

    When Ted realizes that Vikki is all wrong for him he attempts the naked man as the way of getting over Stella. Mitch tells the gang that it works 2/3 of the time and he is right with Ted, Barney and Lilly giving it a go. One fails and holds up Mitch's rule, a truely funny ep and I can only hope that this ep starts a trend for the rest of the season.moreless

  • Ted meets Mitch, who is naked in his apartment as a ploy to sleep with Robin. The gang then discusses all the reasons to have sex.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By JayMc416, Jul 23, 2010
    So I want to start off by saying that I was walking through the bookstore yesterday and purchased "The Bro Code", and so far it is great and funny.

    So this episode started with a montage of awkward moments Ted has witnessed entering his apartment over the years, including May's goat incident. The funniest for me was watching Barney in a water tank, mainly cause I had to ask why and how.

    What I loved about this episode is in a way it paid homage to the Ugly Naked Guy from Friends. Then there was Robin who made an effort to not be looked down upon by her friends and pursued a relationship with Mitch, who was totally not into Robin.

    Ted was all about moving on, and that is when he met Vicky, a woman in the elevator. Vicky seemed nice, until she freaked out about the waiter spilling something, then Ted realized he could pull off 'The Naked Man' but then he noticed she liked architechture and the same poetry he does, and quickly re-robed, then disrobed once again when he learned the book belonged to a friend.

    The best was the list Lily was determined to list the 50 reasons to have sex, it was great to hear the gang list them out, and in the end she and Marshall decided that number 50 was because you love someone. Funny because in the beginning Marshall was chastised for his belief that you have to be in love to have sex. While that technically went against the initial reason for the list, it again reminded of the Friends episode where Ross had to name all the 50 states.

    Overall, this was a pretty funny episode, I think what topped it off was the fact that I had begun to read The Bro Code.moreless

  • Ted arrives home to find Mitch, Robins date, naket on his couch

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By TedMosbyManiac, Jul 23, 2010
    I loved this episode! It was a fine example of what makes How I Met Your Mother great. There was a good storyline the whole way through (unlike the burger episode), great jokes and a slight advance in the overall plot.

    This was one of the first episodes of How I Met Your Mother that had me in stitches laughing. I loved the way that Barney said The Naked Man and it made it even better by the fact that he was the only person who it didn't work for. Lily's list was a great idea (maybe another book for next Christmas like The Bro Code?) and Marshal calling Robin a slut was priceless.

    Even though this was a great episode I still feel aggrieved that Barney has just forgotten that he is in love with Robin. Surely he should have been jealous about the Naked Man? Even with this I still really enjoyed this episode but just hope the Barney-Robin Storyline will be progressed in future episodes.moreless

  • The gang meets NAKED MAN.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By sequoa84, Jul 23, 2010
    Wow. Finally, a masterpiece from HIMYM. After a lot of lackluster episodes this season, this one really made me wonder what had gotten into the heads of the writers all these days. This was exactly how the show started.

    There was no dearth of laughs right from the elevator scene till the super man type finish. The naked man concept where a guy who has had a bad date can get laid 2/3rd of the time, if he bares it all to the girl was a little gross at first, nevertheless- the way the carried on the story on those lines was unbelievable. Ted, Lily, and Barney try to use this tactic, and Ted and Lily get laid, while Barney get kicked out his date's place.

    There were some portion that really make you laugh your guts out. One would include Ted and Barney's conversation over the phone, as to what pose they'll strike when their dates see them naked. The hyper-dramatization of the 'naked man' was one other part I loved. Lily wasn't very funny this time around, with all her list-making scenes. Well, the less screen time she got justifies the ends.

    Sweet.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (5)

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    • At the end when Mitch is walking down the street, he has two shadows: one projected on the pavement and another projected onto the wall behind him.

    • When Lily is about to write down the "50 reasons to have sex," she takes her pen out of her purse, takes off the cap, then grabs her cocktail napkin. But two camera shots later, she is again taking off the pen cap.

    • When Ted is describing all the crazy stuff he had walked into at their old apartment, they show the goat with date May 8, 2009. However, from previous references to the goat, the first time Ted saw the goat was some days before Ted's 31st birthday which, as stated on "The Goat", is April 25th, 2009.

    • When Barney's date yells at him and throws him out, as she turns back towards the camera her lips are visibly not moving, even though her voice can be heard.

    • When Ted is explaining the weird things he has walked in on at the apartment, a scene is shown from dated from 2004 in which he walks in on Lily painting several gymnasts posing. If this had taken place in 2004 Lily would have still had red hair.

  • QUOTES (11)

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    • Marshall: (On Lily doing "The Naked Man) You just wanna do it to change the subject.
      Lily: Maybe. Hey, that's 49! Did it work?
      Marshall: Like I just flossed.
      Lily: I love you.
      Marshall: That's fifty.
      Lily: Oh, yeah! (they kiss)

    • Lily: (working on her reasons-to-have sex list) I'm stuck. I can't think of the last two.
      Marshall: (reading over her shoulder) "To reestablish good behavior, like shaving and dental hygiene?" Now you're conditioning me? Well, that's great! That explains why I always get an erection when I floss!

    • Lily: How can you be excited about this? Mitch slept with Robin, who you claim to be in love with!
      Barney: Lily, this is bigger than me and Robin! I mean, I've been working for years with my disguises and my gadgets...I'm like Batman. But this Mitch is like Superman. He just rips off his clothes, and he's good to go.
      Lily: What kind of gadgets are we talking about?

    • Robin: (reasons to have sex) He said he loves you, but you're not ready to say it back. Lily: 43. Ted: Wingman diving on a friend grenade sex. Lily: 44. Barney: The condoms are about to expire. Lily: 45. Wow, this is getting a little hard. Barney: 46. Lily: Oh! 47, you drop a Cheeto in his lap and when you went to pick it up he thought you were making a move so you just went with it! Marshall: Well, thank you for ruining the memory of our six month anniversary! Lily: You got me Cheetos!

    • Marshall: You befouled our marital bed because you couldn't get to sleep? Lily: You're the one who said, "That shadow on the ceiling looks like a scary toothless clown. Night, Lily!"

    • Ted: There is no way that will work on Robin. She'll just laugh at him and throw him out. Lily: Maybe she'll kick his ass first. Marshall: Maybe she'll shoot him with her gun.

    • Mitch: The Naked Man is best used as a last resort. Sort of a Hail Mary pass on a first date when you know there's not going to be a second date. Ted: How do you know there isn't going to be a second date? Mitch: Ted, look at me. Ted: I'd rather not, Mitch.

    • Ted: He may not fit society's definition of a hero, but he is the hero I needed, the hero who helped me recover from the disaster of my failed almost-marriage and get back into the game. He lives in the shadows. Is he a dream? Truth? Fiction? Damnation? Salvation? He is all these things and none of them. He is... the Naked Man.

    • Ted: I just had decent sex with an awful human being. I am back!

    • Barney: All these years I've been suiting-up when I should've been suiting-down.

    • Vicky: And then his cane missed the top step and I swear he was falling for, like, two minutes. Oh, I love old people.

  • NOTES (4)

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    • The German episode title is "Nackter Mann", and the Italian title is "L'uomo nudo", both exact translations. The French title is "Ciel, un homme nu", meaning "Oh, My God, a Naked Man!".

    • Music: The song during Ted and Vicky's elevator montage at the beginning is Marching Band's "Gorgeous Behaviour".

    • According to DVD commentary, "The Naked Man" is a real concept that one of the writers performed "ten to twelve times" when he was younger.

    • International Airdate: Australia: June 10, 2009 on Channel 7; Germany: January 2, 2010 on ProSieben; United Kingdom: February 4, 2010 on E4; Czech Republic: November 4, 2010 on Prima COOL

  • ALLUSIONS (2)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • The idea of 'The Naked Man' is actually first described in Doogie Howser, M.D.'s "Spell It...M-A-N!". The description parallels what Ted does with Vickie, but in Doogie Howser, the guy isn't as fortunate as Ted.

    • The ending of the episode is similar to that of Christopher Nolan's 2008 film, The Dark Knight, where Commissioner Gordon provides a narration of how Batman is the hero Gotham deserves, but doesn't need.

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