| “Matchmaker” | ||
| ← | HIMYM episode 1x07 (7) | → |
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| First aired: November 7, 2005 | ||
| Director: Pamela Fryman | ||
| Writer: Chris Marcil Sam Johnson | ||
| Barney's Blog | ||
Barney and Ted visit a matchmaker who tries to find Ted the perfect woman. Marshall and Lily find a strange creature in the apartment.
Recap
Robin does a story on a matchmaking service with a 100% track record called Love Solutions. Robin and Barney recommend Ted try out the service but he is not interested so Barney tricks Ted into going by telling him that his boat is sinking. Ellen Pierce, the woman in charge of the matchmaking service sees straight through Barney, knowing full well that he was not looking for a soul mate but was only seeking a one-night stand with a desperate woman (the alias he wrote on the registration form, "Jack Package," gave him away). On the other hand she states that she "can work with" a skeptical Ted and convinces him that she can truly help him find a soul mate in 3 days. After 5 days Ted wants to go back to Love Solutions and find out what the problem is. Everyone tells him not to "Ted out" about it (explaining that Ted's name is also a verb, which means to over-think). He returns to Love Solutions, only to find that his chances for finding a soul mate are zero. The closest match compatible with Ted has already been matched up. Ted sneaks back in and finds out she is a dermatologist and makes an appointment to see her. He learns that she is engaged and will be getting married in a few days. He tells her that if things change, he'll be available. She calls him up, and while he thinks things have changed, she merely informs him of something she spotted after his appointment. He reveals why he's been coming there, and she tells him to not believe in matchmaking services. He then returns to Love Solutions, and finds that because he has no soul mate (according to the computer), the company is ruined, as the 100% success rate no longer exists. Ted, however, has hope that he will find his soul mate and says she can help as she is now doing it for free.
Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily have spotted an unusual creature in the apartment. When they first see it, they run away, with Lily believing it to be a cockroach, while Marshall believes that it is a mouse. They spot it again, and try to kill it with bug spray and a phone book. They run away again when the phone book starts moving (meaning that the creature isn't dead), but got a good glimpse of the creature. The creature is described as having six legs, antennae, and an exoskeleton, but also has tufts of fur, whiskers, and a tail, and is roughly the size of a potato. Marshall and Lily call it the "cockamouse". Robin is skeptical of them, but eventually they catch it, and Marshall takes it to the Columbia University Biology department. When Marshall arrives, he finds the "cockamouse" has escaped, and must still be in the apartment. Robin finally sees the creature, and throws a drink at it when the only way she can think of subduing it is by trying to get it drunk. Marshall arrives and grabs it and throws it out the window and to their surprise the "cockamouse" flies away until it tries to get back in the window.
Continuity
- Marshall and Robin's respective belief in and skepticism about the paranormal is first established.
Future References (Contains Spoilers)
- While Love Solutions is unable to find Ted a match here, they eventually find one in Milk.
- Ellen mentioned that there were eight women for Ted within five years plus and minus his age. Tracey was six years younger than Ted.
- Ted mentions that his perfect woman can play the bass guitar as well as "any cool Kim from any cool band". In Little Boys, Ted likes the fact that Stacy, the girl he and Barney are competing over, plays bass in a reggae band, and in Girls Versus Suits, it is revealed that the Mother plays bass.
- Marshall and Robin argue about the supernatural again in Miracles, and in No Tomorrow, Lily says she will only believe Marshall's story about a ghost living in their new apartment if Robin corroborates it, because she's "a skeptic".
- In Natural History, Zoey gets an anti-Goliath National Bank op-ed published in The New York Times, which also includes an article about the cockamouse. Ted and Zoey also find the cockamouse living in the Arcadian in The Perfect Cocktail.
- In Tailgate, Marshall mentions getting his beliefs about the paranormal from his father, while Lily, on the other hand, despite saying she's a "believer" like Marshall here, points out that, unlike Marshall's, her father was never around to teach her anything of the sort growing up.
Gallery
- For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:Matchmaker images.
Memorable Quotes
| Ted: | This isn't hopeless. You're going to find someone for me. |
| Ellen: | No, I won't. You're going to die alone. |
| Ted: | I'm not going to die alone. Look at me. I'm bright, I'm attractive. You just got to get back out there and keep looking. |
| Ellen: | No, you're never going to find anybody. And every year you're just getting older and it's getting harder and harder. |
| Ted: | You're being ridiculous. I'm going to be up on that wall one of these days. |
| Ellen: | No, you won't! |
| Ted: | Yes, I will! |
| Ellen: | How do you know? |
| Ted: | I don't know, but I believe. Hell, if a cockroach and a mouse can find love in this crazy city, then, damn it, so can I. |
| Ellen: | You're losing me. |
| Ted: | The point is, something good's going to happen to me. Maybe your computer will help, maybe it won't, but it'll happen. |
| Ellen: | So I should keep looking? |
| Ted: | Of course you should. And now, you're going to do it for free. |
| Ted: | My God, this is incredible. We're like the same person. Sarah O' Brien loves brunch. She wants to have two children. Her guilty pleasure song is "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Croft. |
| Barney: | Wow, Ted, sounds like you're her perfect woman. |
| Lily: | He's a whole new species. The cockamouse. |
| Marshall: | And it's the size of a potato. |
| Robin: | So, what, now it's a cockapotatomouse? |
| Marshall: | Don't make it sound ridiculous. It's a cockamouse. |
| Marshall: | For as much as we know about the cockamousse, there are still so much we don't know. |
| Robin: | Well, we know that there's no such thing as a cockamouse. What we don't know is what you guys have been smoking. |
| Ted: | OK, this is getting weird, the similarities go on and on. She hates phonies. I totally hate phonies too. She's a dermatologist. I have skin. |
| Barney: | You wanna be her boyfriend. She already has a boyfriend. It's uncanny. |
Notes and Trivia
Goofs and Errors
- Marshall describes the Cockamouse as being hermaphroditic like a seahorse, but since there are male and female seahorses this statement is not true.
- Ted says that a 9.6 compatibility rating is 11,45% better than a rating of 8.5, and goes on to brag about having done the math. He was incorrect, 9.6 is 12,94% higher than 8.5.
Allusions and Outside References
- Robin compares "The Cockamouse" to the Loch Ness monster, insulting Marshall in the process. It is shown in later episodes that Lily and Marshall went to Scotland on their honeymoon to hunt for Nessie and that eventually Marshall was the one to capture Nessie in a newspaper clipping from the future.
- Love Solutions, the dating service Ted uses, has many similar characteristics to the matchmaking site eHarmony, as well as other matchmaking sites and local services. In particular, Love Solutions boasts a 100% success rate, which is similar in nature to eHarmony showing the numerous happy couples.
- When teasing Lily and Marshall about their trap for the cockamouse, Robin says, "You think the Road Runner's gonna fall for it?" referencing the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons.
- In discussing strange phenomena, Marshall names the Bermuda Triangle, Bigfoot, Area 51, and Stonehenge.
- Ted is described as looking a bit like John Cusack by a potential date who was a big fan of the film Say Anything.
Music
- Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts
- Parallel or Together? - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
- At My Most Beautiful - R.E.M.
Other Notes
- Jason Segel claims this to be his favorite episode.
- Alyson Hannigan revealed that there was one take where the 3 of them (Cobie, Alyson and Jason) were piled on top of each other like dominos when they were at the window and the Cockamouse was heading inside of the apartment.
Guests
- Camryn Manheim - Ellen Pierce
- Beth Lacke - Dr. Sarah O'Brien
- Joe Nieves - Carl MacLaren
- Nick Jaine - Sudeep
Reception
References
External Links
- Matchmaker at the English Wikipedia
- Matchmaker at the Internet Movie Database
- Matchmaker at TV.com
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