How I Met Your Mother "Field Trip" Review

The gang's united by their discontent for the majority of "Field Trip." Ted wants to inspire his classmates in the same ways his professors inspired him; Barney wants to date a woman under the age of 30; Marshall needs to know his law firm's in the business of actively saving the planet; Robin wants a relationship with her therapist; Lily wants cake. Each story's rather hollow and more a collection of jokes and sight gags than meaningful storytelling. HIMYM is in the business of laughter, though, and many were probably content with the laid-back episode. I, however, will continue to complain about the series.

I suppose the series used to be better at balancing the comedy with its heartfelt narrative. I'm not sure how writers expect the audience to respond to these beats, though. Ted's adventures around Manhattan with his class begin as a way for Ted to tap into the professors he admired, and then halfway through it becomes a competition between him and Barney about who's right in various debates. The B story concludes in McClaren's where a disappointed Ted wonders why he hadn't inspired a single student to become an architect. One student raises his hand and states his desire to become an architect because the hours seem lax and the other jobs in America suck. Ted joyously embraces his student because he got through to one; however, Future Ted reveals the student became a DJ.

The story didn't work because it was directionless and it failed to portray Ted as a competent college professor. I've expressed issues with the show when the writers blatantly ignore the fundamental rules of creative writing: show and don't tell. I wondered why the university hadn't fired Ted when it ended. The glimpses of Ted's academic life have been seldom and lazy in the past. One class revolved around a personal problem of his. The field trip he planned was actually not planned. Ted merely instructed his students to meet at the building site, forgetful that he needed to arrange for the class to walk the grounds for a field trip. The field trip was a waste because it lacked any insight into Ted's professional life. If Bays and Thomas expected fans to embrace the story because of a few scenes in the middle in which Barney and Ted settled debates using their quasi-focus group, I do wonder how they'll ever conclude the series in a satisfying way. The jokes are fine. The consistent laziness of the series is its biggest problem. I now know that Ted's a shitty professor who has no impact on his students (I didn't buy Marshall and Barney's argument about intro courses. I learned a great deal in my intro classes because the professors were, you know, good).

The Marshall storyline failed for the same reasons: sight gags and jokes with a half-assed meaning at the end. I should've expected Marshall's environmental career to become more than just "this is how he earns money." I didn't because I don't think about the series beyond the hour or so I spend writing about an episode. Marshall wanted to quit the firm because his boss (portrayed by Martin Short) seemingly gave up the fight to save planet Earth. A billion dollar company wiped out a population of trout, and they offered only $24,000 for the damages, which Martin Short accepted. Marshall believed his boss was a larger-than-life personality, someone with enormous influence on the companies who routinely damage the environment through eco-systems; however, the boss doesn't fight. The law firm's content to celebrate a $24,000 settlement because the earth's doomed. Martin Short tells Marshall about the inevitable end of planet Earth when explaining why he meekly accepted the billion dollar companies $24,000. Marshall responds a day later with a photograph of his child growing inside of his wife's uterus--the child's the reason Marshall won't stop his fight to save the planet. Future Ted remarks that Marshall and Martin Short did, indeed, save the planet.

I would've been content knowing that Marshall's company stopped taking it in the rear from corporate fat cats. The promise that Marshall and Short save the world together is rather excessive for HIMYM. The phrasing of Future Ted's line doomed its meaning, and Saget's delivery didn't help. The tone isn't consistent within a singular story. I can't take the law firm seriously after witnessing the employees' affinity for piñatas and cakes. If the writers say something will happen, though, it's useless to question it. The HIMYM writers room is a tell-and-don't-show place.

Fans wanted more Robin in the seventh season. The writers have delivered, though she and Kal Penn became lost in this busy episode. Robin's entered yet another unhealthy relationship. I see no difference between her relationship with Don and this one. Robin wants to break the cycle of abandonment and pain of past relationships. Her friends reminded her how poor an idea it is to date one's therapist. The consensus is it won't work. And it won't work, and Future Ted will tell us exactly that during the dramatic break-up scene as Robin confronts a bleak romantic future, or it will lead her to Barney. I just know Kal Penn's not sticking around long-term, and since the show's proven it sucks with superfluous relationships.

Meanwhile, Alyson Hanigan continued to perplex me. She broke my heart weekly on Buffy and she irritates me weekly on HIMYM. The woman just needs Joss writing for her and directing her each week. Every actor or actress Joss touches turns to gold.

I didn't the episode. I hope the show's tonal consistency improves; however, I'm probably not in their target demo. Martin Short entertained me, though, so there's that.

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