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7.7
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When Ted violates the 'three days rule' by continually texting with a girl he's just met, Barney and Marshall retaliate by impersonating her.
  • Barney explains to Ted the "Three Days Rule" to Ted, but will Ted take his advice?

    9.0
    "Superb"
    "The Three Days Rule" is a funny How I Met Your Mother episode. I love the beginning of this episode when Ted gets a phone number from a girl named Holli and Barney has to explain the "Three Days Rule". I love how Ted decides to text Holli instead and their text messages become very dirty. I love how it's revealed that Ted has a laugh for when he sees naked women. I love how we find out that Barney and Marshall have been pretending to be Holli, so all this time Ted has been having dirty conversations with Marshall and Barney. I love how Robin tells Ted about Barney and Marshall posing as Holli, so Ted decides to play with their heads and tell them that he had a gay sex dream. I love how Barney and Marshall argue over who Ted might be more attractive to. I give this episode a 9/10.moreless
  • Quite hilarious! I'll give you that much!

    9.0
    "Superb"
    This was perhaps not the best episode of HIMYM out there, but it was a highly interesting one. There was a relatively interesting storyline, but it wasn't 100% amazing, in my opinion, although it certainly was good.

    I thought the episode was quite ufunny, with all the texting that was going on! They definitely had some interesting moments out there, and it was really funny!

    I must admit, I enjoyed it more the first time round that watching it again afterwards, which is not always the case, ad that is another reason why I didn't give it a 10.

    Overall, amazing job, though. Keep it up guys, because this is one mazing show!moreless
  • Marshall and Barney pretend to be a girl over text message that Ted likes so he will respect the three day rule to call a girl.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    Season 4 has been a mixed bag some eps have been really funny and others have been just terrible. In this way this season has teased us with some real promise then crippled us with some terrible plot lines. This ep is one that I personally found very funny with a great premise but inevitably falls short in the how ted meets his wife plot.

    This week begins with Ted getting a girl's number at McLaren's (Holli) and him desperately wanting to call her right away. But Barney tries to tell him that the three day rule can't be crossed as it dates back to Jesus. This leads to an ultimately great rant by Barney refering to the resurrection, without a doubt this was the highlight of the ep.

    Ted sees that texting doesn't count as a call so he texts Holli and proceeds to text all night and into the next day. What he doesn't know is that he actully isn't talking to Holli but rather Marshall and Barney who have switched the number for Barney's work cell. They do it so that he won't jump the gun and tell Holli that he loves her too soon, well that and they think its hilarious.

    This ep doesn't lose anything with Lilly notbeing their with the laughs consistent throughout. But like I said at the top, this season has seriously lacked a bit of forward movement in the story and even a short reference to it at the end didn't really deliver what the fans want. This season has shown glimpses of moving forward but every chance it gets it seems to jump back into the safety of filler episodes.moreless
  • Utterly hilarious. One of the best of the season for sure. A series classic IMO.

    10
    "Perfect"
    Ted meets a new girl, Holly, and the gang insists that he wait three days before calling to ask her out. Ted reluctantly agrees, but decides that texting her before then is fine, and he strikes up a text conversation with Holly that lasts several days. However, he soon discovers that he is actually texting with Marshall and Barney, who had swapped Holly's number in Ted's phone for Barney's to keep him from calling her before the three days was up. Furious after discovering the truth, Ted goes ahead and calls Holly to ask her out, and discovers that the three day rule is more apt then he once suspected.moreless
  • Three days........yawn........get to the mother already.

    3.5
    "Bad"
    This episode just continues the massive slide in quality since the early series. I suggest going back to these episodes and realising how much better they were than this one. The story was silly just a set up to show that Ted broke the so-called rule and oh look she's crazy. It is no longer possible to care much about the characters. Robin, just in the series as a fake out for who the mother is, quick create teen singing sensation past and milk it far too often. Marshall, a whipped gentle giant, Lily who is only funny when she is being kinky. Barney, suit up!!!! Or not, now he 'loves' Robin, give me a break. How to copy the Friends style of sitcom, everyone ends up doing every one else. Does anyone have a group of friends all of whom have slept with/secretly fancied each other? These stresses would rip friendships apart. I was a real fan of this at the start I found Ted endearing as he pursued his search for true love. Now, I'm bored, get to the mother, hopefully not in a love at first sight kind of way, that would kill my interest completely. Any 'love' at first sight is pretty unrealistic and in the real world such relationships that work and last for any meaningful length can probably be counted on one hand.

    The three day rule comes from Jesus????????? Come on people, give me The Harpers from 2 and a half or the geeks from BBT and skip to the mother already.moreless
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  • QUOTES (9)

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    • Marshall: Ted's got a lot of crazy stored up. We thought we'd get him to say 'I love you' before he even makes contact with this girl. Barney: And he's exhibiting all the tell-tale signs. Marshall: One: he joked about getting married. Barney: (Reading Ted's text) You like architecture? We should get married. Haha. LOL. Just kidding? Marshall: Two. He made a crazy way-too-soon trip suggestion. Barney: (Reading Ted's text) I like beer too. We should totally go to Germany together! LOL! JK. LOL! Marshall: Three. He got way too personal way too soon. Barney: (Reading Ted's text) Yeah, my parents got divorced a couple years back. It was really tough. LOL. Robin: And he clearly doesn't know what LOL means.

    • Holly: (In Ted's text) I do not ask of the night explanations. I wait for it. It envelops me. And so you and bread and light and shadow are. Stan: That's Pablo Neruda. Marshall: I, um, don't know what bread was doing in there, but that touched me. Here (taps chest) and here (Taps head) Barney: Well if Ted won't say it, I will. I love you. Stan: That's cool.

    • Barney: If there's one thing we know about Ted, it's that he likes a nice body. This body would rock his world! Marshall: Ted and I have a history. I know what he likes. There are things I could do to him that blow his mind... why do we keep trying to have sex with Ted? Barney: I don't know, it's weird.

    • Barney: Seriously, Jesus started the 'wait three days' thing because he waited three days to come back to life. It was perfect. If he had only waited one day, a lot of people wouldn't have even heard that he died! They'd be all, "Hey, Jesus! What up!" And Jesus would probably be like, "What up? I died yesterday." And they'd be all, "Uh, you look pretty alive to me, dude." And Jesus would have to explain how he was resurrected and how it was a miracle. And they'd be like, "Okay, whatever you say, bro." Robin: Wow, ancient dialogue sounds so stilted now. Barney: And he's not gonna come back on a Saturday! Everybody's busy! Doing chores, working the loom, trimming their beard. No. He waits the exact right number of days. Three. Ted: Okay. I promise I'll wait three days, just please stop talking. Barney: (Waits five seconds) Plus it's Sunday, so everyone's in church already! They're all "Oh no, Jesus is dead." Then bam! He bursts through the back door, runs up the aisle, everyone's totally psyched! And FYI, that's when he invented the high five. We wait three days to call a woman because that's how long Jesus wants us to wait. True story.

    • Ted: The three days rule is insane. Who even came up with it? Barney: Jesus. Marshall: Barney, don't do this. Not with Jesus.

    • Marshall: Ted, you know how at some point in the future machines will rise against us? Ted: Sure. Marshall: Now the machines have killed everyone, and all that's left is you, me, and Barney. Which one of us would you like get with? Ted: Why would I have to get with one of you? Barney: The machines are forcing you. They want to watch. That's just how they get down.

    • Barney: Look at me! Now look at you. A still-in-the-closet 80-year-old wouldn't be into that mess. Marshall: Here's the thing, Barney. I'm snuggly. You're not. Who wouldn't want to snuggle up next to this business on a Sunday morning, wrapped in a comforter, and it's raining outside and there's muffins warming in the oven - I'm cuddly, bitch, deal with it!

    • Robin: (reading Holly's text message) "Hey, baby, I picked up some take out from Gennaro's, be home soon." Okay, this sounds bad, but let's think about this. It could be for a brother, or maybe her sick dad... Ted: Scroll down. Robin: "And then I want you to do me on the couch..." Okay, maybe not a sick dad, or a VERY sick dad, am I right? (laughs) Sorry.

    • Barney: Nice! Girls whose names end in LY are always dirty: Holly, Kelly, Karly... Lily. Marshall: Hey! Oh, yeah, I know it's true.

  • NOTES (3)

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    • The German episode title is "Die Dreitageregel", and the Italian title is "La regola dei tre giorni", both exact translations. The French title is "J'ai fait un rĂªve", meaning "I Had a Dream".

    • International Airdates: Australia: June 8, 2009 on Channel 7; Germany: February 13, 2010 on ProSieben; United Kingdom: April 29, 2010 on E4; Czech Republic: November 25, 2010 on Prima COOL

    • Although credited, Alyson Hannigan does not appear in this episode due to her pregnancy.

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