Pilot (How I Met Your Mother episode)

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“Pilot”

How I Met Your Mother episode

Episode no.

Season 1
Episode 1

Written by

Carter Bays and Craig Thomas

Directed by

Pamela Fryman

Guest stars

Lyndsy Fonseca (Daughter), David Henrie (Son), Joe Nieves (Carl), Jack Shearer (Cab Driver), Gary Riotto (Waiter #1), Monique Edwards (Producer), Saba Homayoon (Yasmin), Sarah Loew (Dumped Friend), Marshall Manesh (Ranjit), Tony Rossi (Waiter #2)

Production no.

1ALH00

Original airdate

September 19, 2005

Episode chronology
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–	"Purple Giraffe"

List of How I Met Your Mother episodes

"Pilot" is the 1^st episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on September 19, 2005.

1 Plot
2 Continuity
- 2.1 Barney's Blog
- 2.2 Recurring elements introduced in this episode
3 Trivia
- 3.1 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Marshall proposes to Lily, which causes Ted to start searching for his soulmate. However, he decides to hang out with Barney, who tells him to dress up. Barney tries to help Ted through the situation, starting the "Have You Met Ted?" game. While the first time the game didn't work out (Barney introduced Ted to the bartender's girlfriend), the second time he is introduced to Robin, which lands him on a date, even though Robin throws a drink in his face to impress her friends. The date goes very well, but he doesn't kiss her, as she is called away to report on a story. Ted thinks that she didn't give the signal, but Barney proves that no signal is necessary by kissing Marshall. Ted decides to do something on the spur of the moment, and steals the blue French Horn at the restaurant and goes to kiss Robin. Things go well for him there, at least until he says, "I think I'm in love with you," which causes Robin to grow scared and the date to end. However, Ted misses the "signal" and doesn't kiss Robin. However, he tells them that's how he met "Aunt Robin."

Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily are now engaged, but Marshall accidentally hits Lily in the eye with the cork from a bottle of champagne, which means that Lily is forced to wear an eye patch. Marshall is unhappy, but reveals to Barney that the Olive Theory (one person in a couple likes olive while the other doesn't) isn't true as he likes olive as well. Lily isn't at all concerned when he tells her this. After everything, Marshall, Lily, Ted, Barney, and Ranjit the cab driver go back to the restaurant and celebrate, and Marshall finally pops the cork on a bottle of champagne without hitting Lily in the eye.

[edit] Continuity

Robin's recently dumped friend reappears in "Zip, Zip, Zip", again recently dumped.

[edit] Barney's Blog

Barney tells Ted that his suiting up will be going in Barney's blog; it is indeed the first entry made in the blog. In the same entry, he also talks of his new love of Lebanese girls.

[edit] Recurring elements introduced in this episode

The blue French Horn, which is referenced when Ted brings a whole musical ensemble with blue instruments to Robin's apartment as a surprise in "Come On"
Ranjit, the cab driver, who later drives a limo for them on New Year's Eve. Ranjit is one of several cab drivers whose name Barney reads on their cab licenses.
Marshall doing the robot
Barney's phrase "Suit Up!," which has been modified and used in many later episodes
The "Have You Met Ted?" game, which is used by Barney and Robin to introduce women to Ted, and later is adapted for other characters (Robin, Marshall and Barney)
Barney insisting that he is Ted's best friend
Dibs -- Marshall calls dibs on a Pop Tart and later a pudding cup and he, Lily, and Barney call "no dibs" on cleaning up after Ted if he vomits
Barney breaking up words by saying "wait for it" in between syllables
Barney's phrase "What up"
References to Barney's blog
Barney's love of laser tag
Ted holding his heart as if it is in pain

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

MacLaren's restaurant and Carl the bartender are named after executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas's assistant Carl MacLaren.
In his audition, which included the laser tag scene, Neil Patrick Harris did the dive roll that he does in the episode. Alyson Hannigan, who was in the next room during Harris's audition, asked Harris to bump the wall when he did the dive so that she knew that he had done it. Harris misjudged the space and he hit the wall harder than he intended knocking himself out.
Lily shaking her head at Barney when he raises his hand for a high five -- an exchange that became a recurring element -- was ad libbed by Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris.
Another recurring element, Marshall doing the robot, was suggested by Jason Segel on the day of filming.
The champagne that the group drinks at the end of the episode was real champagne, but the actors -- including Marshall Manesh who doesn't drink alcohol because of religious reasons -- didn't know that fact until they drank it.
In the scene where Lily first has her eye patch, when she jumps after Marshall says "Lily?", you can see Jason Segel almost break character
Robin is pulled away from her date with Ted to cover a potential suicide live for her TV station. It is standard practice at virtually all television stations NOT to cover anything that could be a suicide attempt as breaking news.