Milk (How I Met Your Mother)

"Milk"
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 21
Directed by	Pamela Fryman
Written by	Carter Bays & Craig Thomas
Production code	1ALH20
Original air date	May 8, 2006
Guest stars
David Henrie (Son) Lyndsy Fonseca (Daughter) Eric Allan Kramer (Rorschach) Nate Torrence (Butterfield) America Olivo (Beautiful Woman) Carter Bays & Craig Thomas (Paramedics, uncredited)
Season 1 episodes
Pilot Purple Giraffe Sweet Taste of Liberty Return of the Shirt Okay Awesome Slutty Pumpkin Matchmaker The Duel Belly Full of Turkey The Pineapple Incident The Limo The Wedding Drumroll, Please Zip, Zip, Zip Game Night Cupcake Life Among the Gorillas Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M. Mary the Paralegal Best Prom Ever Milk Come On

"Milk" is the 21st episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on May 8, 2006.

Plot

The episode opens with a celebration for Ted's 28th birthday at McLaren's. The waitress warns him that his plate is very hot but Lily has to touch it for herself to know for sure. Barney presents his gift to Ted, which is the "Greatest Pickup Line of All Time." The next morning, Ted gets a call from Love Solutions, the matchmaker service that Ted had signed up for in "Matchmaker", saying that they have found him a match.^[1] He goes and asks what is happening, since he thought that Love Solutions no longer existed. Ted finds out the company has merely changed hands, and has found him a perfect girl who meets all of the standards on his checklist. He asks them to set it up.

Meanwhile, Barney wants Marshall to help him wage a prank war against Clark Butterfield, a man who is Barney's target in such pranks. Marshall is appointed to help Barney with the mischief. Marshall realizes that even though he hates his job he would not be able to have fun like this with Barney anywhere else.

Lily has found out about an art fellowship in San Francisco, and decides to apply, even though it could ruin the wedding plans. She is forced to reveal her plans and call Ted when a tire on Marshall's car goes flat. She tells Ted that she is still having doubts about marrying Marshall and wants to see if she can get into this art fellowship and see what happens. Ted tries to convince her not to go to the required interview in New Haven. Lily knows it is a mistake but she has to know for sure if she can do it, and leaves Ted on the side of the road quite far from town. Ted sends her an angry message but reminds her to pick up milk on the way home. He calls Barney, but Barney puts Marshall on the phone and Ted claims it was a prank because he does not want Marshall to know why he was all the way out in Dutchess County.

Robin (who has gotten ill-advised highlights in her hair) eventually comes to get Ted, and takes him back to the bar so that he can be there for his date with the perfect woman. Ted daydreams about his wedding day and sees Robin trying to restrain her sadness at not being his bride, and he realizes he does not want a perfect woman anymore - he wants Robin.

Back in the apartment Ted asks Lily if she got the "Milk" - not wanting to give away to Marshall about the interview - and Lily confirms she got it but claims she does not want it.

Music

• Roxy Music - "Mother of Pearl"

Cameos

• The show creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas appeared in this episode as the fake paramedics, in the scene with "the greatest pickup line of all time".
• Sandy Rivers (played by Alexis Denisof) is one of the people featured in the photo montage at the dating agency. Denisof is also Alyson Hannigan's husband.^[2]

Continuity

• The computer from the episode "Matchmaker" gives a result for Ted.
• Marshall eventually works for Nicholson, Hewitt, & West, where Barneys rival works. He gets the job in "I'm Not That Guy" and resigns from them in "The Chain of Screaming".

References

1. ^ "Matchmaker". How I Met Your Mother. CBS. 2005-11-07. No. 7, season 1. Retrieved on 2009-10-31.
2. ^ Mary the Paralegal

External links

• "Milk" at TV.com
• Milk at the Internet Movie Database
• Milk at IGN