Bad News (3 Jan. 2011)

Marshall suspects that he is the reason Lily can't get pregnant after meeting a fertility doctor who also happens to be Barney's doppelganger. Meanwhile, Robin's embarrassing past is revealed at work by her former co-anchor.

Director:

Pamela Fryman

Writers:

Carter Bays (creator), Craig Thomas (creator),

Stars:

Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Josh Radnor	...	Ted Mosby
Jason Segel	...	Marshall Eriksen
Cobie Smulders	...	Robin Scherbatsky
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Barney Stinson / Dr. John Stangel
Alyson Hannigan	...	Lily Aldrin
Alexis Denisof	...	Sandy Rivers
Bill Fagerbakke	...	Marvin Eriksen Sr.
Suzie Plakson	...	Judy Eriksen
Artemis Pebdani	...	Anna
Paul Schackman	...	Dr. Mitchell Friedman
Americus Abesamis	...	Chaz
Matt Dwyer	...	Syd
Bill Suplee	...	Marty
Jay Brian Winnick	...	Ronald
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elena Levon	...	Dominatrix (as Elena Melnikova)

Storyline

Despite only having tried for six days, Marshall and Lily are worried about not yet having conceived a child. So their doctor sends them to Dr. John Stangel, the best reproductive endocrinologist in New York City. He ends up being Barney's doppelgänger, although Lily is convinced that he's actually Barney in disguise. Both Lily and Marshall have problems going through the tests with Dr. Stangel for different reasons. They are both on tender-hooks as they await news from Dr. Stangel if there are any issues in them being able to conceive a child. Other news in their life may overshadow whatever Dr. Stangel might have to say. Meanwhile, Robin has just started her new job at Worldwide News. She hates it primarily because the anchor, her old co-host Sandy Rivers, divulges some facts and not so facts about Robin to the rest of the staff which make her the laughing stock among her colleagues. Ted helps her come up with a way to deal with this new embarrassing situation.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

3 January 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bays Thomas Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the shooting of the cab scene, Jason Segel's (Marshall) script didn't tell him the real news, but instead it said the Lilly was going to say she was pregnant. Therefore, Marshall's reaction is actually Jason Segel's very real reaction. The producers of the show did this because the show focuses on milestones of young adult life, and they wanted to make the shock and dismay of unexpected events such as that scene very real.

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Goofs

Just after Barney impersonates Dr. Stengal and is thrown out of the office (after the number in the "8" countdown passes), the painting/poster behind the door of the office door changes.

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Quotes

Marshall Eriksen: I'll give my dad a call after Dr. Stengal gives me the thumbs up.
Ted Mosby: Ew! He has to do that?

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Connections

Features How I Met Your Mother: Glitter (2010)

User Reviews

Was that a shark?

I have loved this show since the beginning. I have seen every episode. However, THIS episode was the worst ever. This is supposed to be comedy folks. We watch this stuff to ESCAPE reality. This episode completely let's us down. When it is over, and you are over the anger of what the writers have done, you realize this was little more than one of those old "Special Episode of Blossom's" where the haughty writers felt compelled to send us a message or teach us how hard life can be. Well I say, yuck. Keep it. No thank you.

On a side note, think how inconsiderate this was from a timing perspective. Everyone loses loved ones all of the time. But there are people out there who get a double whammy and lose someone during the holidays. So, what does this show decide to do? Just as these folks may be recovering from their shock and grief and are finally ready to sit down for a good bit of escapism with one of their favorite shows, they air a show that throws that reality back in their face. If they were going to air this schlock, they could have had the decency to wait until later in the season. Geesh. (For the record, I did not lose a loved one this holiday season. My rage against this episode is purely subjective.) If this is where the show is headed, we will look back on this episode of the moment when Fonzie jumped the shark. Let's get back to comedy folks and leave the tragedy for real life.