Season 3 Episode 15: The Chain of Screaming Discussion
Tonight we were caught up on what LAME have been up to (that’s Lily Aldrin and Marshall Erikson for new readers.) Turns out Marshall hates his job and Lily is randier than a band geek on prom night. Ted has a girlfriend and a new car, Barney faces his demons, and Robin eats a Canadian sized ice cream cone. All that and more in “The Chain of Screaming”.
What Was Good
Let’s start at the top. Stella and Ted are dating now? When did that happen? I’m glad, and the part of me that thinks these are real people is high-fiving Ted for landing a girl as great as Stella but I’m also surprised and curious to see this develop. Thank god Sarah Chalke wasn’t available or we’d been subjected to another montage clip that ended with Ted feeding her a taste of red sauce off a wooden spoon.
Ted’s new car. This was good for a couple laughs. There callbacks to Arrivederci, Fiero (suddenly Marshall is OK with food in the car) and Ted selling the car made for a nice ending so that he could loan Marshall some money. I thought that was the kind of moment you don’t usually see in a sitcom—the characters always have plenty of money, and if they ever need any it’s always the exact amount a local talent show is offering for first prize. This felt real, and when Ted ripped off the check, it felt like how two real friends would be.
Robin continues to look great. She must have majored in being freaking beautiful at college because she looks better each week. I might have to do a side-by-side comparison of her through the seasons to figure out what exactly is different. Lily looked good too, hard-up for sex as she was. We’ll get to that in a minute.
First, Robin and Barney are hilarious. From arguing over the rules surrounding the calling of shotgun to belittling Marshall for crying after he was yelled at, to sharing ice cream and a cigar in the backseat of Ted’s car, these two are better bros than anyone else on the show. Her story of what Marshall should do with the gun and the threats was almost as good as the shit-eating grin on her face as she told it. Great call back to her John Woo action movie obsession from Moving Day last year as well.
Lily’s advice was funny too. Mostly with her randy description of what “Marshall” was going to do to her when he got home. I especially like the crotch grab. Nice touch. Momma needs some sugar indeed.
I love that when Ted pretended Marshall was Stella Marshall felt the need to play along, complete with Gingerbread Man from Shrek voice and saying “I love you”.
Finally, it was nice to see Blauman and the other guys Barney works with. Good thing Marshall didn’t take them up on their offer to work there back in “Life Among the Gorillas”.
What Was Bad
I’m the first to admit I’m not the biggest Bob Odenkirk fan. He’s funny enough, but whenever I think of him I think of David Cross, and whenever I think of David Cross I think of Arrested Development and then I just get nostalgic. He did a good job tonight. His scenes with Robin and Lily I thought were the best. Otherwise I just wondered if R Lee Emry wasn’t available.
Favorite Moments
- “Oh, I love stories” - Robin sitting in the backseat, ice cream dripping down her chin, puffing on a cigar = HOT
- Empty briefcases
- “I was a boy again.”
“Is boy the right word?” - “This is corporate America. Screaming is a motivational tool. Like Christmas bonuses or sexual harassment. It’s just good business.”
- “Are we good? Then why are you still in my office?”
- “You made our friends, the North Koreans, feel bad.”
- “Lily, control your woman”
- “Aww, you guys are saying the ‘L’ word. You hittin’ that?”
- Tonight was full of call backs: It may have seemed weird that Marshall was working on The Ninja Report at a diner but consider, if you will, Purple Giraffe and you’ll understand that with a sex-hungry Lily at home, Marshall cannot get any work done.
- “Your mom’s a slut. You and your brother clearly have different fathers because your mom is a slutty slut.” Also, how happy Barney was during all of that.
- “Is that ice cream cone big enough?”
“Umm, it’s delicious enough.” - Not a quote, but the best call back yet. The tag at the end of this episode showed Marshall and Lily sitting up on the kitchen floor in the exact same framing as in the Pilot when it returned from the first c-break. My, how far we’ve come.
Barney’s Vocab Word of the Week
The Chain of Screaming (also known as the circle and pyramid of screaming) - When the big boss yells at their underling. Then their worker gets yelled at by them, on down the line to the new guy’s wife, her kindergarten students, and finally the big boss’s kid yelling at him. Notice the always liberal Bays and Thomas showing a woman as one tier above Artillery Arthur.
Closing
I re-watched Ten Sessions today and noticed something I can’t believe I missed before. When Ted is explaining the two-minute date to Stella he uses the words “so this is what I propose”. Subtle foreshadowing? If we get to see Ted turn 30 in two weeks it’d make sense. It was this time last year he was supposed to meet Mrs. Right. How funny would it be if we find out that this time last year Stella had joined a matchmaker service only to be stood up by her perfect match? I think Ted needs to take her to the roof.
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meghana | April 15, 2008 @ 12:04 am
First comment
I think Ted saying, “I propose” is a bit of a stretch. And I don’t think Stella’s the mom. Buuut… we shall see.
Mallorymike | April 15, 2008 @ 12:29 am
Again, a great episode with more Robin/Barney awesomeness. They’re made for each other! They should be sharing more than just a cigar and an ice-cream cone!
I think Carter and Bays are setting up Barney to have some kind of psychological breakthrough. I think Marshall yelling at Barney (calling him out on all his childhood crap), is the one of the first steps in an emotional turnaround for the Barnacle.
Andy | April 15, 2008 @ 12:52 am
Barney’s immediate “YES!” reaction to Marshall yelling how his mom was a slut completely cracked me up for some reason. Also a great callback to the Bob Barker being his father plotline from Showdown. Great episode tonight.
AF | April 15, 2008 @ 12:58 am
This was a great episode!
It was nice to see an A plot with L.A.M.E and the scene where Marshall yelled at Barney was too priceless.
Lily makes a great horny teenager.
And the Robin and Barney scenes kept me content. I would have loved to see a kiss over ice cream and cigars, however.
john d'arc | April 15, 2008 @ 1:37 am
the opening was a little jarring, with the Stella thing.
Robin
natsirt | April 15, 2008 @ 1:38 am
I think there were a couple more hints at a possible Robin/Barney hook up in the future. When Barney was explaining the Chain of Screaning he said that the guy goes home and screams at the wife. Barney then screamed at Robin. Probably me just wanting it to be, but seemed like a subtle hint. Also the scene with them in the back of the car with the ice cream cone and cigar highlighted one of their common interests.
Horny little was funny as all hell. And I agree that the callbacks to Arrivederci, Fiero were great. So glad we are back to decent episodes and no more of the pre-strike crap.
natsirt | April 15, 2008 @ 1:39 am
Horny Lily, not little.
john d'arc | April 15, 2008 @ 1:41 am
whoa, my comment got cut off!
I said Robin was whoa, this week.
also, i didn’t dig the episode all that much, and that I don’t like that they keep putting LAME in debt. Is this a running gag now?
This show might as well be Lost. Just show LAME in the future, broken and dead, and have us know that in the future, their lives all go to shit.
Also, jarring open. Stella? What? What changed?
Mallorymike | April 15, 2008 @ 1:56 am
^ In my original comment, I meant to say “Bays and Thomas”, not “Carter and Bays”. Proof that it’s way past my bedtime. Sleep makes my english speaking good.
toomuchfreetime | April 15, 2008 @ 8:43 am
As a young associate at a top NYC law firm, BEST EPISODE YET!
2 reasons:
1. I had the briefcase conversation nearly word for word (mine was the empty one).
2. My heart stops whenever a partner walks into my office because I am waiting to see if he is going to yell at me or wants to ask where some is to yell at them.
dckatiebug | April 15, 2008 @ 9:12 am
I thought it was a highly amusing episode, and one with the emotional heaviness and sweetiness that I expect to see from HIMYM. And just when I’m starting to think that Robin is being under-utilized, we get a Robin Sparkles episode next week. Yay!
By the way, there’s an interesting article about CBS sitcom snobs in the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/14/DDJN104SEP.DTL
(Which I found through the HIMYM review on TV Squad)
Marcy | April 15, 2008 @ 9:18 am
Nice episode. Not as good as “The Bracket” though.
As for Marshall and Lily falling more and more into debt- land, we have seen Marshall´s office in “We’re Not from Here” and it seemed not to be some poor guy´s office. It clearly had this entire “I´m important and rich” auro to it. Also in “How I met everyone else” Marshall asks Lily if the can grow sandwiches by the garage. Garage in New York? In my opinion, this screams “house” at you. So, I´m simply going to believe, that everything will be all right for them eventually 
The Barney/ Robin chemistry getts better and better and Ted and Stella dating seems quite logical. What woman could resist Ted after that 2 minutes date? Horney Lily was adorable and Marshall screaming at Barney just made my day. I totaly agree with Mallorymike, maybe Barney is heading towards some major change. I´m still thinking about that last scene from “Game Night” where Barney sits alone in the Pub, seemingly thinking that maybe his life is not that wonderfull after all, before he falls into his routine again and picks up some woman. Well, o.k, that´s my interpretation
JD | April 15, 2008 @ 9:42 am
@Marcy good point about LAME in the future. I think Marshall might save some gorillas and win a Nobel Prize. I also think you’re on to something with Barney’s upcoming changes.
@Mallorymike I do that every time. I always write “Carter and Bays”. Damn him for having a last name for a first name!
@toomuchfreetime I didn’t know if it was actually like that! Shouldn’t you be finishing your ninja report instead of commenting here? I don’t want you to get yelled at
Marcy | April 15, 2008 @ 10:16 am
@JD: Damn, we forgot. Marshall captured the Loch Ness Monster. He´s a celebrity!
JD | April 15, 2008 @ 10:46 am
Now with pictures!
Courtney | April 15, 2008 @ 11:58 am
My theory: Stella is ONLY the mother if this is the last season. If they get another (has that been announced yet and I missed it?) then she won’t be.
Seriously, to echo everyone, I was totally jarred by the beginning. He’s suddenly dating her? Random.
Geri | April 15, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
Last night I thought I might have been the only person to not really enjoy this episode. I just wasn’t feeling it. It felt like “filler” to me. Like they threw Marshall an episode because they had to catch us up on LAME. Also because it was perfect timing for the release of Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Then I read everyones comments here and I feel ok about it now. I still didn’t love the episode. It’s definitely one of my least favorites this season, but I understand why they did it.
It was great for the throwbacks and little jokes. I too was questioning the whole Ted suddenly dating Stella thing. I didn’t like the way it was introduced, but I suppose it had to be done that way. At least we know that Ted hasn’t lost his romantic touch, cause if he took ME on a date like that, i’d be asking HIM to marry me!
I loved Barney’s chain/circle/pyramid of screaming theory. By the way the words Pyramid of Screaming are now trademarked as per Barney’s Blog. Check out Barney’s own office Pyramid of Screaming™.
Since I haven’t said it on here yet: Legen…..DARY!
Robin and Barney, you guys have pretty much said it all. They’re great together!
I did love the end shot with LAME on the kitchen floor as in the pilot. I think Marshall needed to let off all that steam from being yelled at and Lily, well Lily needed her sugar, so in my opinion it was a perfect wrap up to that episode.
I kind of want the yellow umbrella to come back. Has anyone spotted it in the apartment at all? I also wish they’d address what ended up happening with Ted’s cell phone.
Geri | April 15, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
Oops! Sorry for making the second half of my comment look like one long link! I must have a typo in the HTML.
JD | April 15, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
@Geri All fixed!
The Mix | April 15, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
“If we get to see Ted turn 30 in two weeks it’d make sense.”
Alls I’m sayin is….if there isn’t a goat in that episode, Mr. Bays and Mr. Thomas will be hearing from me.
Mallorymike | April 15, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
The Mix: According to Wikipedia, Ted’s 30th birthday episode is slated to air on April 28th. It’s called “The Goat”. Wikipedia being what it is, take this information with a grain of salt, but I’m feeling good about it.
Natalie | April 15, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
loved the parts with Barney and Robin!
oh yeah, and the part where everybody was pretending to be marshall was hilarious!
lionel | April 16, 2008 @ 8:17 am
I really like the ninja report because the whole gang play along when there is clearly no ninja report. So silly yet funny. Reminds me of “The Wedding” when Ted wished he was a ninja so he could sneak Robin into a wedding.
And for Ted to self-correct himself during his big speech. nice.
Tyler B | April 16, 2008 @ 2:55 pm
The throw back to the pilot episode at the end was terrific.
I had to yell out “Is that a pop tart?”
While my girlfriend responded with “Dibs!”