“I don’t care how good it is, I’m not going to have a third piece of cake.” – Marhsall
Recently, I made a point of saying that regardless of the relative quality of any one individual episode, How I Met Your Mother is the kind of show that I just like hanging out with on a week-to-week basis.
As long as the jokes are funny, an episode doesn’t necessarily have to have a coherent structure or make a grand point about life as a young professional in a big city.
My issue with “Field Trip” is it had neither a coherent structure nor effective jokes.
Let’s start with Robin (Colbie Smuthers) and Dr. Kevin (Kal Penn). Last week I assumed that Penn was just stopping by the show for a one-episode cameo, but I was wrong. It appears that he’s here to stay, at least for a little while, as Robin newest love interest. Normally, this would be fine. For the most part I like Kal Penn; I’ve found him to be funny and amiable in other projects. However, Kevin and Robin have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. I’m not buying them as a couple one bit. Not to mention, it is creepy for a therapist to date a patient.
The other guest star in “Field Trip” is Martin Short, as Garrison Cootes, Marshall’s (Jason Segel) big shot environmental lawyer boss. Short’s character, formerly a pit bull at the negotiating table, has lost his passion for the job. He’s letting polluters off the hook, demanding they pay only pennies for their settlements. We find out that Short has basically given up because he knows the environment is doomed. But by the end of the episode, Marshall’s enthusiasm rubs off and Cootes gets his mojo back. This whole story line made very little sense and the only take away for the audience is that Marshall single-handedly saved the environment. Sure, whatever. Tell that to the people in Terra Nova.
The effectiveness of the rest of the episode really depends on how much you enjoy Star Wars gags. Don’t get me wrong, I like Star Wars as much as the next guy, but this material just wasn’t working for me. The gist of the main joke is this: People born before 1973 hate Ewoks, people born after 1973 love them. Nora (Nazanin Boniadi) falls into the former category, so Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) assumes (incorrectly) that she is lying to him about her age. The whole business does little more than highlight the fact that Barney is completely shallow and kind of a jerk to the women he dates. But you already knew that.
The one saving grace of “Field Trip” came in the form of an easy to miss, throwaway line from Marshall in which he jokes about Friday Night Lights’ bad second season. Here’s a tip for all of you sitcom writers out there: less Star Wars, more Friday Night Lights. Actually, that rule of thumb is applicable to not only to sitcom writers, but pretty much anyone with a DVD player and a lot of free time on their hands.
Some stats and info about How I Met Your Mother, “Field Trip”
TV SHOW – How I Met Your Mother
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 7, Episode 5
AIRED ON – October 10th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – HBO, Max
GENRE – Comedy, Relationship Shows
CREATED BY – Charter Bays, Craig Thomas
CAST – Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Cristin Milioti
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.