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| {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} | |||
| ⚫ | {{Infobox |
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| {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} | |||
| | Title = The Front Porch | |||
| ⚫ | | |
||
| {{lead too short|date=May 2014}} | |||
| | Season = 4 | |||
| ⚫ | {{Infobox television episode | ||
| | Episode = 17 | |||
| | |
| series = ] | ||
| | |
| season = 4 | ||
| | |
| episode = 17 | ||
| | |
| guests = *] as Karen | ||
| | writer = Chris Harris | |||
| | Production = | |||
| | director = ] | |||
| | Season list = {{Infobox How I Met Your Mother season 4 episode list}} | |||
| | airdate = {{Start date|2009|03|16}} | |||
| | production = | |||
| | prev = ] | |||
| | next = ] | |||
| ⚫ | | episode_list = List of How I Met Your Mother episodes | ||
| ⚫ | | season_article = How I Met Your Mother season 4 | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| ''' |
"'''The Front Porch'''" is the 17th episode in the ] of the television series '']'' and 81st overall. It originally aired on March 16, 2009. | ||
| ==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
| After Robin gets upset about the gang not watching her show, they all agree to watch ]'s 4:00am ]. ] informs them that Karen ] with him after finding Robin's earring in his bed. Ted discovers the matching earring on ]'s dresser and mutes the television to confront Marshall, believing him to have ]d his relationship. ] confesses that she was the saboteur, as she had been in some of Ted's prior relationships, including with Robin. She justifies her actions using the "Front Porch Test"—an indication of how they would all live together once they grow old. Scenes are shown of Marshall, Lily and Ted in the far future playing ], their interactions with Ted's potential partner driving Lily's present actions. | |||
| ⚫ | Robin returns home to learn that her friends missed her event-filled broadcast due to the argument, involving her giving a heartfelt tribute to her friends, dousing her co-anchor with a fire extinguisher after he catches fire, administering ] to her co-anchor after he collapses, and helping a guest ] live on-air. Lily insists she did not want to break them up, but merely to consider their future together, a suggestion that seeded ]. Ted heads into the bar the next day to find Karen waiting, having had the situation explained to her by Lily. Karen hands Ted an apology letter from Lily, who has prepared a fine dinner in Ted's apartment for him and Karen. Ted breaks up with Karen after she says he cannot see someone as manipulative as Lily again and he does the "Front Porch Test" himself, imagining what the future would be like without her and Marshall. Returning to the apartment, Ted asks Robin to be his "plus one" and they enjoy the meal Lily prepared. They wonder whether or not they would still be together if not for Lily's intervention. Ted then makes a mock ] to Robin, asking her to be his "]". She accepts. | ||
| As extreme events occur on Robin's show (she starts crying while showing a picture of the gang, she saves the host of the cooking segment when he catches fire, she resuscitates the ]man after he's had a heart attack and finally she delivers a baby live on camera), still muted, ] confesses that she has been breaking Ted up with girls who she didn't see passing the "Front Porch Test" — an indication of how they would all live together once they were old. A scene is shown of Marshall, Lily and Ted in the far future playing ] (though clearly, none of them know how to play). | |||
| ⚫ | Marshall wears a ] to the ] to watch Robin's show, while ] wears a silk suit. Barney insists his clothing choice is superior, citing the possibility of attractive women coming to his home at night and seeing how good he looks, but then admits how unlikely that is and uncomfortable the "suitjamas" are. Marshall convinces Barney to try a nightshirt instead. Barney and Marshall delight in their nightshirts, having a dream about flying together in them. Barney starts wearing nightshirts to sleep. A week later, an attractive woman shows up at his apartment at night but, upon seeing his nightshirt, she decides to leave, much to Barney's ]. | ||
| ⚫ | Robin returns |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==Barney's blog== | |||
| Barney reassesses what he considers acceptable nightwear, noting the freedom and luxury of a nightshirt.<ref name="barneys_blog">{{cite web | |||
| | first = Barney | last = Stinson | |||
| | date = 2009-03-16 | |||
| | authorlink = Barney Stinson | |||
| | title = Barney's Blog. Couture Watch: Nightshirt Makes Night Moves | |||
| | url = http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/community/barney_blog/ | |||
| | archiveurl = | |||
| | archivedate = | |||
| | accessdate = 2010-04-12 | |||
| }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} | |||
| </ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==Cultural references== | ||
| * Barney starts to make fun of Marshall wearing a nightshirt by naming him after characters in nightshirts from famous movies: | |||
| ** "So, flying to ] with ] and ], was that amazing?", referring to the children flying to Neverland in '']''; | |||
| ** "Was it nice to finally get out of that crowded bed and take ] to the chocolate factory?", referring to Charlie's Grandpa Joe in '']''; | |||
| ** "Um, something about Scrooge!" referring to the character of ] in '']''; | |||
| ** "And if Clarence the angel says it's true, it must be true," referring to the second-class angel Clarence Odbody in '']''. | |||
| * When Marshall is seen flying in his nightshirt, and later when he is joined by Barney, this a reference to '']'', in which ]' character had a similar experience. As with the film, ]'s "]" plays in the background. Differences from this episode had the movie character flying on a carpet. | |||
| * The scene where Ted is interrogating Lily about his breakup with Robin is a reference to '']'', with Ted playing the ] role and Lily filling in for ].<ref name="tvsquad">{{cite web | |||
| | date = 2009-03-17 | |||
| | author = Joel Keller | |||
| | title = How I Met Your Mother: The Front Porch | |||
| | url = http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/03/17/how-i-met-your-mother-the-front-porch/ | |||
| | quote = ... a tribute to ]. Who knew that Alyson Hannigan could channel Jack Nicholson so well? | |||
| | accessdate = 2010-04-04 | |||
| }} | |||
| </ref> | |||
| * '']'' is referenced in flashback when Lily pretends to be Ted's girlfriend and disguises herself as ] during the premier of '']''. Lily shows her ignorance of ''Star Wars'' when she says, "]," a line from the character ] in '']''. Ted and Marshall are standing in line dressed as ] and ], respectively, and Marshall even imitates Chewie's bear-like cry in sympathy when Ted gets dumped.<ref name="ign-review" /> | |||
| * Lily breaks up Ted and his girlfriend by putting a ] CD on her dresser. | |||
| ==Critical response== | ==Critical response== | ||
| {{expand section|date=May 2014}} | |||
| {{Anchor|Critics}} | {{Anchor|Critics}} | ||
| Donna Bowman of ] rated the episode with a grade A.<ref name="avclub">{{cite news | Donna Bowman of '']'' rated the episode with a grade A.<ref name="avclub">{{cite news | ||
| | date = 2009-03-16 | | date = 2009-03-16 | ||
| | author = Donna Bowman | | author = Donna Bowman | ||
| | title = How I Met Your Mother "The Front Porch" | | title = How I Met Your Mother "The Front Porch" | ||
| | url = |
| url = https://www.avclub.com/how-i-met-your-mother-the-front-porch-1798205964 | ||
| | |
| access-date = 2010-04-04 | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| </ref> | </ref> | ||
| Line 72: | Line 45: | ||
| | url = http://tv.ign.com/articles/963/963485p1.html | | url = http://tv.ign.com/articles/963/963485p1.html | ||
| | work = IGN | | work = IGN | ||
| | publisher = ] <!-- Rupert Murdoch --> | | publisher = ] <!-- Rupert Murdoch --> | ||
| | accessdate = 2010-04-04 | | accessdate = 2010-04-04 | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| Line 80: | Line 53: | ||
| | date = 2009-03-16 | | date = 2009-03-16 | ||
| | author = Cindy McLennan | | author = Cindy McLennan | ||
| | title = |
| title = How I Met Your Mother: When They're Sixty-Four | ||
| | url = http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/the_front_porch_1.php | | url = http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/the_front_porch_1.php | ||
| | work = ] | | work = ] | ||
| Line 88: | Line 61: | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| </ref> | </ref> | ||
| ⚫ | ==Cultural references== | ||
| Marshall imagines flying over New York in his night gown exactly the same way The Dude (]) flies over Los Angeles in an unconscious fantasy in '']''. It even features the same song, "]" by ]. | |||
| Lily's militaristic speech about secretly breaking Ted up with past girlfriends for his own good, while Ted demands to know if Lily was responsible for him and Robin breaking up, is reminiscent of ] and ]'s explosive exchange in the climax of '']''. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 94: | Line 73: | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * {{IMDb episode|1256178|The Front Porch}} | * {{IMDb episode|1256178|The Front Porch}} | ||
| * {{tv.com episode|how-i-met-your-mother/the-front-porch-1257490|The Front Porch}} | |||
| {{How I Met Your Mother}} | {{How I Met Your Mother episodes|4}} | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Front Porch}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Front Porch}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Latest revision as of 21:55, 4 January 2025
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (May 2014) |
| "The Front Porch" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 17 | ||
| Directed by | Rob Greenberg | ||
| Written by | Chris Harris | ||
| Original air date | March 16, 2009 (2009-03-16) | ||
| Guest appearance | |||
| |||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| How I Met Your Mother season 4 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"The Front Porch" is the 17th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 81st overall. It originally aired on March 16, 2009.
Plot
After Robin gets upset about the gang not watching her show, they all agree to watch Robin's 4:00am talk show. Ted informs them that Karen broke up with him after finding Robin's earring in his bed. Ted discovers the matching earring on Marshall's dresser and mutes the television to confront Marshall, believing him to have sabotaged his relationship. Lily confesses that she was the saboteur, as she had been in some of Ted's prior relationships, including with Robin. She justifies her actions using the "Front Porch Test"—an indication of how they would all live together once they grow old. Scenes are shown of Marshall, Lily and Ted in the far future playing bridge, their interactions with Ted's potential partner driving Lily's present actions.
Robin returns home to learn that her friends missed her event-filled broadcast due to the argument, involving her giving a heartfelt tribute to her friends, dousing her co-anchor with a fire extinguisher after he catches fire, administering CPR to her co-anchor after he collapses, and helping a guest give birth live on-air. Lily insists she did not want to break them up, but merely to consider their future together, a suggestion that seeded the conversation that would lead to their breakup. Ted heads into the bar the next day to find Karen waiting, having had the situation explained to her by Lily. Karen hands Ted an apology letter from Lily, who has prepared a fine dinner in Ted's apartment for him and Karen. Ted breaks up with Karen after she says he cannot see someone as manipulative as Lily again and he does the "Front Porch Test" himself, imagining what the future would be like without her and Marshall. Returning to the apartment, Ted asks Robin to be his "plus one" and they enjoy the meal Lily prepared. They wonder whether or not they would still be together if not for Lily's intervention. Ted then makes a mock proposal to Robin, asking her to be his "backup wife". She accepts.
Marshall wears a nightshirt to the pajama party to watch Robin's show, while Barney wears a silk suit. Barney insists his clothing choice is superior, citing the possibility of attractive women coming to his home at night and seeing how good he looks, but then admits how unlikely that is and uncomfortable the "suitjamas" are. Marshall convinces Barney to try a nightshirt instead. Barney and Marshall delight in their nightshirts, having a dream about flying together in them. Barney starts wearing nightshirts to sleep. A week later, an attractive woman shows up at his apartment at night but, upon seeing his nightshirt, she decides to leave, much to Barney's chagrin.
Critical response
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2014) |
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a grade A.
Michelle Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 8.9 out of 10.
Cindy McLennan of Television Without Pity rated the episode with a grade A+.
Cultural references
Marshall imagines flying over New York in his night gown exactly the same way The Dude (Jeff Bridges) flies over Los Angeles in an unconscious fantasy in The Big Lebowski. It even features the same song, "The Man In Me" by Bob Dylan.
Lily's militaristic speech about secretly breaking Ted up with past girlfriends for his own good, while Ted demands to know if Lily was responsible for him and Robin breaking up, is reminiscent of Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise's explosive exchange in the climax of A Few Good Men.
References
- Donna Bowman (March 16, 2009). "How I Met Your Mother "The Front Porch"". Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- Michelle Zoromski (March 17, 2009). "How I Met Your Mother: The Front Porch Review. Lily plays god". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- Cindy McLennan (March 16, 2009). "How I Met Your Mother: When They're Sixty-Four". Television Without Pity. NBC Universal. p. 17. Retrieved April 12, 2010.