411 How I Met Your Mother Review: S04E02 'World's Greatest Burger'

Posted by Michael Tyner on 09.30.2008

Regis Philbin is a bad ass!



The episode starts of with Ted telling his kids about how different is in 2008 than it was when he moved there in 2000. All of the scummy, seedy bars and clubs have been replaced by discount drug grocery stores and huge corporate banks like Goliath National Bank. The company Barney works for, famous for making the fuzzy yellow stuff on tennis balls amongst other things, has just bought out the bank there are thousands of locations in New York now it seems.

Marshall is still unemployed, and his mirror pep talks are getting progressively less inspiring but Ted's voiceover sets up the episode for a Marshall-centered story-- "The Night of the Burger." The gang debates on where to eat, Barney telling them that Chinese, Indian, and Mexican food are all the same; Robin is starving and desperate to eat, but the gang can't decide as usual. They end up ordering burgers at the bar and, as Robin continues to wait for hers, the others dig in and they all love the new cook's burger. . . everyone except Marshall, because he has had "the best burger in NYC." When Ted & Marshall first moved into an apartment together, Marshall was too afraid of the city to even leave. But Ted eventually convinces him, and the first place he finds after discovering that the city isn't so bad is a little burger joint with a green door, red neon sign, and a picture of Regis Philbin on the wall.

The rest of the night is spent trying to track down this burger place, every restaurant they are led to turns out to be a previous location of the infamous burger joint or an admitted knockoff. Everyone suggest Corner Bistro, the Zaggat's Guide highest rated burger in New York but Marshall has tried every place he can find in the past 8 years. Barney mentions that Regis Philbin works out at his gym, and they all go to ask Reg (who is pumping iron and acting like a badass). He can't remember where the place is, but he gives Marshall his cell number and demands that they call anytime, day or night, when they find this burger place.

Robin remembers walking by this place nearly everyday and tells them where it is, and they head off to find it. Barney sends Regis a text message telling him the address, too scared to call him; Reg is busy hosting Million Dollar Heads or Tails and runs out on the gig when he gets the message. Once again everyone is impressed with the burgers, but again Marshall says this isn't the right place. Robin says that its just a burger, but Marshall plunges into a minute long poetic piece about the greatness of the burgers. Lily knows it isn't just about the burgers because Marshall has been so out of it due to his unemployment and the fact that Barney keeps talking about Goliath National Bank and singing their jingles doesn't seem to help. The waitress at this place tells them that the real place is uptown on 106th.

Regis and the gang all hightail it to 106th but the restaurant has been replaced with a Goliath National Bank ATM. Robin is so starved she demands that they eat here, but Ted tells her they can't. . . because its an ATM. Lily is enraged, and she starts preaching to the people on the street about how horrible Goliath National Bank is and that no one should ever use it. But Barney reveals that hes been going on and on about GNB because Marshall got a job there. They finally find the right place, and they all sitdown to have a burger with Regis, going on about how much they all love the burgers in explicit description.

You'll notice that my comments in this review are next to none, and thats because I really couldn't think of much to say. A few episodes into every TV season I except an episode or two that just kind of lulls because of the way stories advance on TV; but, really, an entire episode about Marshall getting a new job centered around burgers? Really?! The show took another shot at the stunt casting that worked so well last season with Britney Spears and the season before with Wayne Brady, but this time it just fell flat. Regis as an angry, weight lifting badass could have been funny but he absolutely couldn't pull it off.

After a strong premiere, this week's episode really seems a lot worse than it is although it certainly ranks low on my list of favorite episodes. With news, though, that syndication rights for HIMYM is reaching $350 million the chance of this show lasting the whole season and beyond seem good. There are several plot lines that have already been seeded that should be sprouting up soon (like Robin and Ted living together as hinted last season).

LINE OF THE NIGHT: "Its like an angel from heaven landed in the kitchen of McClaren's... where the chef killed it and ran it through the meat grinder." - Ted after tasting the burger at McClaren's

The 411: A lackluster follow-up to a strong season premiere, this one just falls short all over the place. This episode is the first bit of proof we have that Sarah Chalke (who plays Ted's girlfriend Stella) working a dual schedule with Scrubs and HIMYM is going to wreak havoc on the flow of the main story. How was the engagement, and Stella, not even mentioned in the second episode? A poor episode from a great show this week, lets hope that next week things will get back to normal.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]