Columns (How I Met Your Mother)

"Columns"
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 13
Directed by	Rob Greenberg
Written by	Matt Kuhn
Production code	2ALH13
Original air date	January 22, 2007
Guest stars
William Schallert (Brady) Preston Bailey (Kindergartner) Bryan Cranston (Druthers)
Season 2 episodes
Where Were We? The Scorpion and the Toad Brunch Ted Mosby: Architect World's Greatest Couple Aldrin Justice Swarley Atlantic City Slap Bet Single Stamina How Lily Stole Christmas First Time in New York Columns Monday Night Football Lucky Penny Stuff Arrivederci, Fiero Moving Day Bachelor Party Showdown Something Borrowed Something Blue

"Columns" is the 13th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on January 22, 2007.

Plot

Ted is trying to deal with his former boss, Hammond Druthers, but when he can't, he decides to fire him. The first time he attempts to fire him, he is interrupted by fellow employees bearing a birthday cake for Hammond. The second time, Ted comes into the office one night and finds Hammond in boxers and a pajama shirt; his wife has left him, and he has been sleeping at the office. Once again, Ted's plan is thwarted, and he takes Hammond home to sleep on his couch.

Despite Ted's altruism, Hammond continues to belittle his ideas in the office. He tries to fire him again, but just as he is, Hammond is handed his divorce papers and learns that his dog is dead. Then, the employees approach with another birthday cake, since they were in Montreal during his real birthday celebration days before. Ted decides to fire him anyway, but Hammond suffers a heart attack in the process. Ted thinks he is faking it to keep from getting fired, and continues to mock him. Hammond is taken away in a stretcher. Everyone in the office initially hates Ted, but forgive him when he comes up with the idea of "Margarita Fridays," replete with margarita machines.

Meanwhile, Marshall is tormented by the picture Lily painted of him posing nude as a freshman at Wesleyan. Ted, Barney, and Robin find the painting behind the piano and have the bartender hang it up behind the bar at McClaren's. Marshall manages to snatch it away by jumping at it.

Marshall wants to spend his honeymoon on a tour of the country's caverns, but Lily - who is up all night thinking about Barney's offer to have her paint him nude - says they can stay in Scotland using money from painting Barney. Marshall finds a more expensive castle in Scotland to stay at and tricks Barney into paying another $5000 by pretending to argue with Lily about painting another man in the nude. Barney is unhappy with the finished painting, complaining that Lily gave him the "Ken Doll" (not painting his genitals).

Music

• Ben Lee - "Whatever It Is"
• Guided by Voices - "Twilight Campfighter"

Continuity

• Ted is the boss because of the building he designed in "Aldrin Justice".
• In this episode Lily explains that she painted Marshall nude for her art class, but in "Sorry, Bro" she says that it's because he ate her bowl of fruit.

Cultural references

• Marshall tells Ted to ask himself Who's the Boss?, a reference to the 80s TV show. Barney is the only one who answers Mona.
• In the Wesleyan scene where Lily proposes to Marshall about the nude painting, Marshall is seen playing Super Mario World.
• In the scene where Ted finds out Druthers is sleeping at his office, they both drink from a bottle labelled "J. Buckley" A reference to the singer Jeff Buckley

Critical response

Staci Krause of IGN gave the episode 7.7 out of 10.^[1]

References

1. ^ Staci Krause (2007-02-13). "How I Met Your Mother: "Columns" Review. Barney pays for Lily and Marshall's honeymoon and Ted makes the best decision of his career in this funny, if not stand-out, episode.". IGN. News Corporation. http://tv.ign.com/articles/757/757794p1.html. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 

External links

• Columns at the Internet Movie Database
• Columns at TV.com