How I Met Your Mother

"The Yips" is an entertaining How I Met Your Mother episode. I love how the gang decides to join the gym. I love how Barney is excited that he sees a woman named Rhonda and that he remembers that he lost his virginity to her. It was kind of sad that she reveals that James slept with her so that she would sleep with Barney. I love how Barney goes to Victoria's Secret Fashion Show after-party and he gets The Yips. I love how Heidi Klum convinces him to go back to Rhonda and gain back his confidence. I love how he sleeps with Rhonda and she said that was best sex she's ever had and Barney gets his confidence back. I love how everyone decides that they are never going back to the gym by the end of the episode. I give this episode a 8/10.

Something very strange about the character Barney for me. He's always the best as a side character, a wing man, and he's probably the funniest of the group. But for some reason, when he's shoved center stage, I get nothing from his plot. It's the same feeling I had when I watched last year's Barney-centric episode: "Single Stanima". I get that feelings, I'm pretty sure no one else does, but that's the problem I had with this episode. I didn't get much laughs from it, and the attempt to have some sort of revelation for Barney failed since nothing has changed in the end. All he did was mope, and get back on top again. The Victoria Secret guest star models didn't do much for the episode. The only remotely enjoyable plot was the gym scenes. The funniest was when they realize Ted wasn't even working out, and he ended up having to pay for it by the end. I'm liking the playful friendship Robin & Ted now have since the last episode. I loved Lilly's phone conversation with Trish. Probably the most hilarious line from the episode in fact. This episode just wasn't that great when you looked at the big picture, especially since HIMYM has been setting the bar high with previous episodes. Hopefully the next episode is better.

After four good episodes in a row, HIMYM returned back to its usual third season mediocrity with a boring and unfunny 10th episode. It had its moments however, especially with Ted and Robin apparently relieving any sexual tension that may have lingered. Also Wayne Brady made a welcome return as Barney's formerly heterosexual gay brother. His lines about women were actually funny, and it's not hard to surmise that 'the man-maker' Rhonda ultimately turned him gay Other than that, the sequences involving a gym instructor punishing Marshall and Ted were unoriginal and Barney's attempts at displaying 'the yips' followed suit. NPH tried hard to stumble and fall when he was picking up, but it just wasn't convincing and not even amusingly silly. His character is usually so full of ego and arrogance that he's unable to represent the full dichotomy of human emotions. It seems that the writers have finally run out of ideas, where the great storytelling of season two has disappeared and the Barneyisms have really dried up. HIMYM is in real danger of not making it into a fourth season, and on the basis of this season's performance, it doesn't deserve to either.

Ted decides to joina gym. The crew follows suit. Marshall and Lilly go together. Marhsll woefully out of shape struggles, his trainer is a hottie that is a taskmaster. Robin likes that you don't have to look beautiful at the gym and a few good lines/zingers come from this. Ted we learn has been going but hasn't exercised one bit always finding an excuse.



For me it's about Barney becoming Barney. At the gym he meets the woman (older woman) to who he lost his virginity too. SHe of course barely remembers him and we flashback to when Barney was a dork. He hasn't done it yet and he seeks the advice of his older brother (who is black and gay played by one of my favorites Wayne Brady). He sets up Barney with the "man-maker". Barney does it, he thinks he was wonderful, finds out he wasn't but it's a cute ride getting there.



The "Yips" is that tongue tied state when around a beautiful woman. We see Barney get to this point at a Victoria Secret party with supermodels about including the fetching Heidi Klum.



Not great, not bad, but I like how it got some background on Barney.

Ted decides to join a gym and drags the rest of the gang along with him. Barney reconnects with the woman he lost his virginity to, only to find out that it was all a lie. Not my favorite storyline, but it was not THAT bad, but just okay. It is hard to follow up something as funny as "Slapsgiving" but it was still ok. It had it's funny moments, expeccially Barney at the Victoria's Secret Party. It did not contribute much to Ted finding his future wife, but it did follow previous storylines (Barney's gay black brother James from "Single Stamina" and Barney's story of losing his virginty from "First Time in New York") I hope for a better one next time (December 10!?!?!)

This episode was dissappointing, especially compaired to last week's, which was a stone cold classic. The whole gym storyline has been done before and the use of stereotypes for the gym partners was really uninspired and weak. Barney's storyline was funny, especially the parts involving his gay brother who doesn't quite realise he's gay yet (but all the signs are there :-)). All things considered, the premise was good but I think they could have done more with both storylines.



Sadly, this was one of the worst episodes of the season. Seeing that it's HIMYM, the episode was still pretty good. It still holds the title of best comedy show of the moment and I don't see that changing anytime soon if the writers keep up their present standard...



C.