We all know the old saying of “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” This saying could be applied to the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. If you have watched the show from the beginning, you know what the ending will be. We may not know all the details yet, which is the main reason this show has continued to last and gain popularity, but we know that Ted does eventually get married. Those that just care about the destination, though, likely won’t see the beauty of this show. The journey to the “big reveal” is what makes this show fun going into its fifth season. Now it’s time to look back at season four of the series on DVD, and see how much gas is left in How I Met Your Mother‘s car.
If don’t know already, How I Met Your Mother is set in both current days and in 2030, where a now middle-aged Ted Mosby (the voice of Bob Saget) decides to tell his teenage children how he met and fell in love with their mother. The identity of the mother will likely continue to be kept a mystery until the series finale. But meanwhile the series is filled of episodes with often indirectly related misadventures featuring a late 20-something Ted (Josh Radnor) and friends Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin (Cobie Smulders).
Season four starts off where the cliffhanger finale of season Ted left off.
Ted has successfully proposed to Stella (Sarah Chalke), and they begin to plan their future together in New Jersey. But their spontaneous wedding plans erupt when their exes are both invited to the wedding. Ted also later gets laid off from his job, and he decides to begin his own architecture firm. Ted’s career storyline is as important as the storyline regarding Ted’s love life, for reasons that can’t be revealed any more without spoilers being involved. Meanwhile, Barney continues to struggle with growing feelings for Robin. But that doesn’t mean Barney doesn’t continue his usual womanizing ways, because Robin’s job takes her to Japan for awhile. In fact, Barney celebrates his 200th sexual conquest this season. But soon tension between them builds when the feelings for each other start to come out. Finally, Marshall and Lily move into their new apartment and struggle with the big decision on whether or not they’re ready to have children. This is especially interesting, since both Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders get pregnant in real life while filming this season. The writers certainly had to create some interesting ways to hide those prenancies this season. Other memorable storylines included numerous “interventions” for a few different characters for a few different but hilarious things.
The cast has really developed great chemistry together, and the best part of this show is how they play off each other. The character of Barney might have stolen the show in the beginning, but each of the remaining main cast members have grown to have their own identities and funny personality quirks. Jason Segel continues to get funnier. Even Barney’s catchphrases don’t feel overused by this point. The only complaint you could have is that some of the jokes are starting to become inside jokes that only hardcore fans who watch the series every week would likely get. There are still plenty of laugh-out-loud moments this season, though. There were not any notable guest stars this season, besides Sarah Chalke, but she is only around for a little bit. She would have been a good choice for the mother of Ted’s children, but since the show is still going, it’s not a big spoiler to say that she is not. Really after you realized she wasn’t the mother, you stopped caring about her character. That’s a sharp contrast to the character of Robin, who you know is not the mother either, but viewers have grown to still care about her anyways.
The finale of the fourth season of How I Met Your Mother did provide a major revelation of how Ted meets the future mother of his children. Other than that, and the short-lived Stella relationship, you don’t hear much about the “Mother”. That doesn’t mean it was pointless to have Stella around, because as most of us know, everything happens for a reason. Stella is able to enlighten Ted on a few things that will eventually help him meet his future wife. These underlying messages are on the main reasons this series as become so addicting. Still after fours year, though, the comedy is mostly as fresh and funny as it ever has been. The fifth season could likely be the final one, but there is still more fun to be had in the journey to get to that end.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – Do I Know You?
Stella has to give Ted an answer. Barney wants to say something to Robin.
Episode 2 – The Best Burger in New York
A “burger-mad” Marshall is on a quest to find the place where he ate the first hamburger he ever had in New York.
Episode 3 – I Heart NJ
When Stella’s babysitter cancels, a night out turns into the gang hanging out at her place, and Ted talks up New Jersey—until he learns Stella wants him to move there after marriage.
Episode 4 – Intervention
When Ted is packing his stuff for his move to New Jersey, he discovers that the gang was going to hold an intervention for his engagement to Stella and demands they hold it anyway.
Episode 5 – Shelter Island
Deciding to wed in three days, Ted and Stella suddenly see their plans shattered by exes.
Episode 6 – Happily Ever After
A chance sighting of Stella leads to the gang contemplating ways in which they’d handle an unwanted encounter with a person from their past.
Episode 7 – Not a Father’s Day
Barney creates a holiday to celebrate not being a father. Meanwhile, Lily and Marshall are considering having a baby, but Lily first wants advice from Ted and Robin.
Episode 8 – Woooo!
A birthday party for one of Lily’s co-workers leads to Robin connecting with a group of single partiers known as the “Woo Girls”. Ted presents a plan for Goliath National Bank’s new HQ.
Disc Two:
Episode 9 – The Naked Man
The gang learns a new way to get their dates to sleep with them after Ted walks in on Robin’s date sitting naked on the couch.
Episode 10 – The Fight
Ted—to prove he’s not a milquetoast—and Barney—to impress Robin—pick a fight with a group of guys sitting in the gang’s favorite booth at MacLaren’s.
Episode 11 – Little Minnesota
Marshall takes Robin to a bar with a Minnesota theme. Ted attempts to keep his visiting sister away from Barney.
Episode 12 – Benefits
Robin and Ted explore “friends with benefits” while living together. Marshall has trouble with a few reality TV stars.
Episode 13 – Three Days Of Snow
A blizzard hits New York City, threatening a tradition of Marshall and Lily’s and leaving Ted and Barney to keep MacLaren’s doors open.
Episode 14 – The Possimpible
Robin relies on a video résumé prepared by Barney to land a job in broadcasting before facing deportation back to Canada. Marshall suffers from ‘dancer’s hip’.
Episode 15 – The Stinsons
Suspecting he has a secret girlfriend, the gang follows Barney when he leaves MacLaren’s and discovers he seemingly has been keeping a family secret from them.
Episode 16 – Sorry, Bro
Ted’s college girlfriend reenters his life and leaves Marshall and Lily remembering how much they hated her, while Barney tries to steer the storytelling towards Marshall’s forgetting his pants at work that day.
Disc Three:
Episode 17 – The Front Porch
Ted is shocked to learn that Lily is responsible for many of his breakups with ex-girlfriends-including Karen. Meanwhile, Marshall defends his wearing of a nightgown to bed.
Episode 18 – Old King Clancy
Marshall and Barney lie to keep Ted from finding out the headquarters he’d been hired to design for GNB has been cancelled. The gang try to decipher the story of a celebrity encounter Robin once had.
Episode 19 – Murtaugh
Barney attempts to complete in a single day all the tasks from a list Ted made to prove the gang’s not too old to do them. Meanwhile, he challenges Ted to complete a list of things they’re too young to do yet.
Episode 20 – Mosbius Designs
Ted goes out on his own as an architect and hires an intern to help get things started, but all he helps himself to is Robin. Meanwhile, news of impending layoffs at GNB has Marshall looking for a schtick to make him indispensible.
Episode 21 – The Three Days Rule
When Ted violates the ‘three days rule’ by continually texting with a girl he’s just met, Barney and Marshall retaliate by impersonating her.
Episode 22 – Right Place Right Time
Ted explains to his future kids how a series of unrelated events led to a chance encounter with a former girlfriend. Barney makes the 200th notch in his bedpost. Marshall goes overboard when he discovers GNB has a department that can make him charts and graphs.
Episode 23 – As Fast As She Can
Ted continues trying to land a client for Mosbius Designs, and when Tony tries to help nothing goes as planned—for either of them. Barney tries to smooth talk his way out of a ticket.
Episode 24 – The Leap
As his 31st birthday nears, an all-nighter to try to get business has Ted realizing he may need to pursue another career than architecture. Meanwhile, Marshall tries to get him up to a rooftop surprise party.
The video is given in widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Audio is English 5.1 Surround sound with optional subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Mandarian (that’s a first!) as well. Both the audio and video are free of any major problems, retaining the quality of the previous three seasons on DVD.
Audio Commentaries –
There are the full-length commentaries for three separate episodes from this season. Creators, Carter Bays & Craig Thomas, comment on the “Do I Know You?” episodes. They also come back to comment on “The Best Burger in New York” episode. David Ellis Duncan and Evan Rock comment on the “I *Heart* NJ” episode. Chuck Tatham, Joe Kelly and Josh Radnor comment on “The Naked Man” episode.
Season 3 Recap –
This runs 3 minutes and it’s quick summary of what happened during season three to get you ready for this season. Good enough if you are new to the show.
Gag Reel –
This runs 7 1/2 minutes and it’s pretty funny actually. The cast look like they have more fun making this show.
“Barney Stinson: That Guy’s Awesome” Music Video –
This is the full music video that Barney used with his resume when he applied for jobs. Pretty funny.
“A Night With Your Mother” Discussion –
This runs 15 minutes and it’s the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Panel Discussion with the cast and crew of the show. They get questions from the audience and they answer them. It took place in January 2009. Pretty insightful.
Another solid season for How I Met Your Mother. You probably still want to start with the earlier seasons, but if you happened to watch this season first it will likely hook you in to watch all the previous seasons. This is one of the funniest sitcoms on TV today, so rent it at least, if you haven’t already.
20th Century FOX Home Entertainment presents How I Met Your Mother: The Complete Fourth Season. Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Starring Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders, and Bob Saget. Running time: 513 minutes. NOT RATED. Released on DVD: September 29, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
