Pilot 

It's the year 2030 and an older Ted Mosby is telling the story to his son and daughter about how he met and will eventually marry their mother. This is where we meet for the first time Ted, Lily, Marshall, Barney and Robin.

Director:

Pamela Fryman

Writers:

Carter Bays (created by), Craig Thomas (created by)

Stars:

Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Josh Radnor	...	Ted Mosby
Jason Segel	...	Marshall Eriksen
Cobie Smulders	...	Robin Scherbatsky
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Barney Stinson
Alyson Hannigan	...	Lily Aldrin
Lyndsy Fonseca	...	Daughter
David Henrie	...	Son
Saba Homayoon	...	Yasmin
Marshall Manesh	...	Ranjit
Joe Nieves	...	Carl
Jack Shearer	...	Cab Driver
Monique Edwards	...	Producer
Sarah Loew	...	Dumped Friend
Gary Riotto	...	Waiter #1
Tony Rossi	...	Waiter #2

Storyline

In Brooklyn, Marshall Eriksen, a terribly insecure, sissy but sweet law student, pops the question to his assertive girlfriend Lily Aldrin, in an inadvertently explosive way (with champagne). This makes their year long cahoot, Ted Mosby, anxious that he may be left all alone. His overbearing 'other best friend', Barney Stinson, forces Ted to play a 'pick-up' game in the bar where he has decided to hunt for Lebanese girls. To both their surprise, Ted actually meets a suitable girlfriend, TV reporter Robin. As soon as he sees her on TV, Ted rushes to her apartment (with five dogs) to declare his love - while the others wait in Bangladeshi Rajit's cab- which startles her.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | popping a cork | year 2030 | canadian abroad | champagne bottle | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bays Thomas Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The famous Barney catch phrases, "Have you met Ted", "What up", "Wait For it" & "Suit up" all appear in the pilot episode.

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Goofs

During this episode, Ted's kids are dressed differently than they are for the rest of the series. The couch and background are also different. (The implication during the series is that, the whole show is meant to be a story being told in one sitting.)

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Quotes

Older Ted: [voiceover] The next night, I took her out to this little bistro in Brooklyn.
Robin: Wow. That is one badass blue French horn.
Ted: Yeah.
Robin: Mm-hmm.
Ted: Sort of looks like a Smurf penis.
Older Ted: [voiceover] Son, a piece of advice: when you go on a first date, you really don't want to say "Smurf penis". Girls don't ordinarily like that. But this was no ordinary girl.

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Connections

Featured in How I Met Your Mother: Something Blue (2007)

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Soundtracks

Hey Beautiful
(uncredited)
Written by The Solids
Performed by The Solids

User Reviews

Blue French horn

It's a pretty good pilot as far as television shows go. It's odd seeing Ted, Lilly, Marshall, Barney, and Robin so, I don't know, uh, scripted. They seem so odd, so unfamiliar. It makes me think of how in other sitcoms, like "Friends" or "Seinfeld", we already seem so connected to the main characters within the first minute of the very first episode.

Ted is a decent guy, but wow does he come on strong. Nevertheless, it's a good start to the show. The episode contains a lot of iconic "How I Met Your Mother" moments - the blue french horn, Barney's phrase 'Have you met so-and-so?' or 'Suit up', and the whole Robin and Ted thing. 7/10.