Murtaugh (How I Met Your Mother)
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| "Murtaugh" | |
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| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 19 |
| Written by | Joe Kelly |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Original airdate | March 30, 2009 |
| Season 4 episodes | |
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"Murtaugh" is the 19th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 83rd overall. It originally aired on March 30, 2009.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The episode begins with Barney recalling the events of the previous night to the rest of the gang, in which he is accused of being too rough during laser tag by the game's owner. He then reveals plans to break into the laser tag arena and throw toilet paper everywhere. He is shown arguing with the owner in a parody of a scene often used in crime shows. Ted brushes it off, informing Barney that he is too old for laser tag. Ted then reveals "The Murtaugh List", a reference to the Roger Murtaugh character from the Lethal Weapon series, whose signature phrase is "I'm too old for this shit". Throughout the episode the narrator Ted replaces the word "shit" with "stuff" as he retells the story to his children. Ted's use of the list is to keep a record of the things he believes he has become too old to do anymore. Barney accepts Ted's revealing of the list as a challenge, and makes a bet with him that he can perform every item on the list within the following 24 hours. If he cannot, he will spend three hours listening to Ted talk about architecture, an idea so horrible even the thought of it causes him to twitch involuntarily.
Meanwhile, Marshall has taken on the role of coaching Lily's kindergarten's basketball team. He is extremely aggressive in training the children, doing such things as forcing them to run and throwing basketballs at them when they don't conform to his standards. A flashback shows his father relentlessly training Marshall, yelling at him aggressively. Lily is shocked by this, as her usual training tactics involve playing a guitar and allowing the children to do whatever they like.
Barney continues to try to perform every action on the Murtaugh List, contracting an ear infection and spinal injuries in the process, from self-ear-piercing and sleeping on a futon, respectively. During a conversation with Robin, Ted reveals that he would prefer being older to being younger. Upon hearing this, Robin and Barney make Ted his own list of things he would do when he was older. Another bet is made between him and Barney to see who can complete their respective lists first, thus introducing the "gentleman's agreement".
Lily grows tired of Marshall's over competitive coaching and tells him off - fearing he will be father as he is a coach - forcing him to be less like his father and treat go easier on the children. During the game, they lose without scoring a single point, but Marshall realizes the value in playing for fun and makes good with Lily.
After being drugged at a rave, Barney is finally forced to accept the reality that he is growing older and gives Ted the victory. However, Ted, having re-watched the complete Lethal Weapon series and realizing that Murtaugh still did the things he claimed he was too old for, decides that he has more to live for than waiting to grow older. As a result, he agrees to accompany Barney in covering the laser tag arena with toilet paper, regardless of winning the bet. Ted, Robin, and Barney are discovered by the laser tag arena owner, who pretends to be accepting of the situation before going to call the police.
[edit] Cultural references
- During the kindergarten basketball game, Ted mentions that Marshall's subsequent retelling of the events became more ridiculous each time. At first, the opposing team consisted of grown men, but eventually, Marshall told the story to include a werewolf player. The flashback then includes several shots of the wolfman slam dunking the basketball, as a homage to Teen Wolf.[1][2]
- After Barney and Robin return from the rave, Ted says he found some Russian beer in the basement. The beer is Švyturys Ekstra Draught, a Lithuanian beer.[3]
[edit] Critical response
The AV Club rated the episode giving it a B grade.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Donna Bowman (2008-03-30). "How I Met Your Mother: Murtaugh". The AV Club. The Onion. http://www.avclub.com/articles/murtaugh,25964/. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ Joel Keller (2008-03-31). "How I Met Your Mother: Murtaugh". TV Squad. Weblogs, Inc.. http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/03/31/how-i-met-your-mother-murtaugh/. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ Moacir P. de Sá Pereira. March 31, 2009. Švyturys on CBS
[edit] External links
- Murtaugh at the Internet Movie Database
- Murtaugh at TV.com
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