Showdown (How I Met Your Mother)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Showdown
Series = How I Met Your Mother
Season = 2
Episode = 20
Airdate = April 30, 2007
Production = 2ALH20
Writer = Gloria Calderon Kellet
Director = Pamela Fryman
Guests = Charlene Amoia (Wendy), Bonnie Joyce Johnson (Claire), Bob Barker (Himself), Rich Fields (voice/Himself), Sharon Madden (Milly), Tanner Maguire (Young Barney)
Episode list =List of 'How I Met Your Mother' episodes
Prev = Bachelor Party
Next = Something Borrowed

"Showdown" is the 20^th episode in the second season of the television series "How I Met Your Mother". It originally aired on April 30, 2007.

ummary

As the date of their wedding approaches, Marshall and Lily suggest spending the two weeks before living away from each other, but think that their bond might be too strong, as they are shown sharing sensations such as stomach ache and following each other everywhere. Robin suggests Lily come live with her, while Marshall helps Ted with his best man's speech.

While living with Robin, Lily tries on her dress, only to find she has lost so much weight that it no longer fits. Since fixing the dress is too expensive, Robin puts Lily on a diet where she is forced to eat as much as possible before the wedding. Lily enjoys it at first, but finds that she has actually lost weight, causing Robin to put more pressure on her, until she gives up.

Meanwhile, Ted is having trouble writing a best man's speech which Marshall is happy with, as he wants no mention of sex or drinking. Ted then tries a funny story about how Marshall accidentally first said 'I love you' to Lily, but Marshall doesn't want her to hear it. Finally, Ted tries to censor a night out by replacing shots of alcohol with chocolate milk, and sex with holding hands. When Marshall complains this story is boring, Ted states that this is the best he can do with Marshall censoring him. The episode then cuts to Marshall and Lily's wedding, where Ted is making his speech, and is telling them about his difficulties writing the speech, until he found Marshall coming back to the apartment in the middle of the night. It is revealed that Lily and Marshall had been sneaking out every night and meeting at a hotel to spend time together, and also for Lily to eat enough to fit into her dress.

At the same time, Barney has got a place on the T.V. show 'The Price Is Right', and is practicing by learning the prices of various items, and preparing his entrance. When asked why this matters so much, Barney explains that he wants to impress Bob Barker, who his mother told him was his father when he was young. When on the show, his knowledge of prices is shown to be excellent, to the point where, during one game, he spends most of the time he is given showing Bob pictures of himself. He goes on to win every game, and the showcase to the exact price, but doesn't tell Bob about his belief that he is his father, as he believes this would upset Bob. He then gives most of his winnings to Marshall and Lily for their wedding.

Trivia

* Megan Mullally again provides the voice of Barney's mother in this episode.
* Scenes of this episode were filmed immediately after a taping of "The Price Is Right" using the audience from the show.
* The music from "The Price is Right" was slightly remixed for use in this episode.
* No contestant has ever entered a perfect bid in the Showcase round on the daytime version of "The Price is Right".
* The scenes in Robin's apartment were refilmed to remove the blue French horn from her mantle after the writers broke the story for the season finale. [ [http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/11/carter-bays-of-how-i-met-your-mother-the-tv-squad-interview/ TV Squad's interview with Carter Bays] ]
* Neil Patrick Harris submitted this episode for an Emmy nomination
* Barney refers to "The Price is Right" as "TPIR" while Neil Patrick Harris is often referred to in pop culture as "NPH".

Cultural references

* The episode title refers to a regular segment of "The Price Is Right", the "Showcase Showdown".
* Barney gets angered at Ted and Marshall and says that he will only give them "Rice-a-Roni and turtle wax" from his winnings on the show. These items have a reputation as frequent game show parting gifts.
* After finding out she lost a pound, Lily comments that she has been eating nothing but McDonalds, a reference to Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me, and adds that she knew he was lying.

Errors

*When Barney starts showing Bob the pictures, he has 20 seconds left, then he tells Ted that he's spending "quality time with his dad". Then, when they go back to the TV, the clock is back on 20 seconds again, but at least 5 seconds would have passed.

Continuity

*Ted and Robin's marinara sauce-stained clothes are finally explained in "Something Blue."
*Marshall wearing a hat with his wedding attire is explained in "Something Borrowed."
*Marshall complains about one of Ted's toast speeches involving eating junk food, particularly Funyuns, but in "Belly Full of Turkey," Marshall's family indulges in a homemade salad, which includes Funyuns in its recipe.
*Lily is supposed to be allergic to dogs, as Robin states that as the reason why Lily can't live with her in a previous episode, forcing Lily to stay with Barney instead.

External links

* " [http://www.tv.com/how-i-met-your-mother/showdown/episode/991587/summary.html Showdown] " at TV.com
* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0969965/ Showdown] " at the Internet Movie Database

References