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The Stamp Tramp
HIMYM episode 8x07 (167)
The Stamp Tramp 6
First aired:
November 19, 2012
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Tami Sagher
Barney's Blog

Images (26)

Marshall recommends his old law school classmate Brad for a job at his firm, but the interview goes awry, leaving Marshall to do damage control with his boss. Meanwhile, Robin helps negotiate Barney’s return to the strip club circuit.


Recap[]

While the gang are sitting at MacLaren's, Marshall walks in and tells them that he met Brad, his old friend from law school, outside his law firm. After finding out that Brad has been unemployed for two years, Marshall recommended him to his boss, Honeywell, which the rest of the gang disapprove. Marshall says that there is nothing wrong with him giving Brad his stamp of approval, but Robin tells him that he is a "Stamp Tramp"; he gives his stamp of approval to everything. Lily adds that Marshall sees the good in everything and everyone and that is why his stamps are total crap. Robin suggests that he should be more like his wife Lily, whose "stamp" is gold. Ted points out that he is the one with the "Golden Stamp", but Barney says that Ted is a "Piggyback Stamper": someone who gives their stamp of approval to something after someone else has already recommended it.

At his interview with Honeywell, Brad keeps talking about how he takes advice from his psychic, numerologist and astrologist on cases, which puts off Honeywell. When Brad makes fun of Honeywell's height (Honeywell has a short stature), Honeywell asks him to leave. Angry at Marshall for recommending Brad, he takes Marshall off the upcoming Gruber Pharmaceuticals case, as he can't trust his judgement. When he tells this to Lily and Ted, they tell him to earn Honeywell's trust by "putting his stamp" on little things and working his way up. This works and Honeywell puts Marshall back on the case.

At the hearing of the Gruber Pharmaceuticals case, Honeywell and Marshall are stunned to see Brad there. Marshall thinks that he was recently hired by the Gruber Pharmaceuticals legal team, but Brad tells him that he has been working there for two years. He tricked Marshall to get an interview at Honeywell and Cootes, where he stole their case strategy. Infuriated with Marshall, Honeywell tells him that if he doesn't win the case, he will be fired.

Wanting to prove that he is not a "Piggyback Stamper", Ted digs up his video diaries from Wesleyan. After watching the tapes, Ted realizes that he is indeed a "Piggyback Stamper" and is disappointed. However, Lily notices a tape of Ted talking to Marshall after his third date with her. Marshall tells Ted that he thinks that he is falling in love with Lily, and thinks he should see other people as everything is happening too fast. However Ted convinces Marshall that Lily is the one for him. After watching the tape, Lily is touched that Ted gave her his stamp of approval.

Meanwhile, Barney has come across a problem, Quinn, his ex-fiancée, has gone back to working at the Lusty Leopard, and now he has to look for another strip club. He tells the gang that all the strip clubs in town are after him and are sending him merchandise to woo him. When Robin suggests that Barney go visit a few strip clubs in Long Island and New Jersey so the strip clubs in NY can give him bigger stuff to woo him, Barney hires her as his strip club agent. When Robin picks a strip club with elderly women as strippers called "The Golden Oldies" - a strip club which they had already rejected - Barney realizes that the club had been bribing Robin and fires her. Robin apologizes by buying Barney his first lap dance, and Barney then announces that he decided to choose "The Mouth Beach" as his new strip club. After coming back from The Mouth Beach with Barney, a drunk Robin tells him that she missed her single life. She also tells Barney that she had a fun time and he tells her that he always has fun with her. Barney then kisses Robin, who seems to be in to it for a moment but then pushes him away, telling him that "this can't happen" and leaves.

Continuity[]

  • Marshall's law firm first negotiated with Gruber Pharmaceuticals in Field Trip​.
  • Ted is forced to admit that he is Doctor X, a radio DJ at Wesleyan University that was first revealed in The Possimpible.
  • One of Ted's video entries touches on the origins of Marshall and Lily's love story, which was detailed in How I Met Everyone Else​.
  • Ted giving his early approval on Lily back in college is first seen in Say Cheese.
  • Marshall makes some jokes from his Fish List stand-up comedy routine, first seen in Old King Clancy.
  • Marshall lies about his height to Honeywell to avoid offending him, claiming that he is 7' tall. Throughout the series, Marshall claims that he was the shortest of the Eriksen family at 6'4".
  • Marshall brought soup for everyone in the office from the Blue Bowl Restaurant: the same place from which Lily got him soup in Challenge Accepted.
  • During a flashback (in Ted's videos) two students are eating a sandwich in Ted and Marshall's dorm room. "Eating a sandwich" is Future Ted's way of saying someone was smoking marijuana.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

Gallery[]

For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category: The Stamp Tramp images.

Memorable Quotes[]

Brad: I got fired from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for telling inappropriate jokes. I mean, get a sense of humor, LaShawda. You know how they are.
Marshall: "They" meaning Bed, Bath, and Beyond employees, right?
Brad: Nah. Women.
Marshall: That still could've been worse.

Robin: Wow, you're the LeBron James of strip clubs. Actually, you're probably tied with LeBron James for that title.

Robin: Oh you see this is what I missed about being single! Cutting loose at a strip club, drinking some beers, seeing some boobs, getting thrown out for being too hands-y.
Barney: Yeah you were a little out of control tonight.
Robin: I really thought that that bouncer was bluffing with the taser. Man, everything's going to taste like pennies for a week. I had a fun time tonight though.
Barney: Me too. I always have fun with you. (He kisses her. She kisses him back before pulling away.)
Robin: Woah, woah! I..I..I've got to, uhm. We can't...we can't do this. This can't happen. Uh, I've got to go.

Barney: Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the decision! Ladies, my brodium. Ha ha, look at this! Man, this whole free agent experience... it's been an unbelievable experience, a real humbling experience. First of all, the Lusty Leopard is where I developed my game. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you skanks!
Ted: He's just gonna stay at the Lusty Leopard. They have loyalty. And heart. I bet you he rewards that.
Marshall: LeBron moved on, Ted, so should you.
Barney: But Barney Stinson has to do what's right for Barney Stinson's penis. In this fall... this is tough, umm... in this fall, I'm going to take my talents to Mouth Beach.

Barney: Guys, I'm going through something kind of hard. Since Quinn and I broke up she's gone back to dancing at the Lusty Leopard. And it's just really tough...
Ted: Because you have to find a new strip club?
Barney: I have to find a new strip club! I've been going to the Lusty Leopard for seven years.
Lily: Wow. That's like forty-nine in perv-years.
Barney: Sixty-nine. Self five!

Lily: Oh, so you're saying the credit goes to Dr. X then, not you.
Ted: Okay... I'm gonna tell you guys something right now.
Lily: Take a sip. Follow my lead.
Ted: (Breathes heavily) I'm Dr. X,.
Robin, Lily and Barney: (spit take) NOOO!

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • When Barney walks in the apartment to tell Lily and Robin about strip clubs vying for his attention, Lily is holding a sushi takeout tray. The camera briefly focuses on Barney then when it focuses back on her, she is suddenly holding a polystyrene container. 
  • When Barney and Robin were dating she hated strip clubs as seen in Double Date, but she has a good time at this one in this episode and in Belly Full of Turkey.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • Ted claims that Doctor X promoted the band Dishwalla back in college, especially their hit single Counting Blue Cars.
  • Ted claims his mother enjoys watching a movie only if Richard Dreyfuss is in the cast.
  • Robin compares Barney's pursuit of a new strip club to LeBron James' "Decision Special," right down to his formal announcement. Ted says the Cavs are a better team without James; Marshall retorts that LeBron has moved on and he should too.
    • At Barney's Decision, the manager of the Lusty Leopard is wearing brown and orange, probably as a reference to the Cleveland Browns because the Lusty Leopard is Cleveland in this parody.
  • Lily states Ted just started doing video diaries because of Winona Ryder's character in the film Reality Bites.
  • Brad calls Honeywell Bilbo.
  • The first strip club recruiter interviewing Barney mentions the club is named "Moneyballs" and that they use Sabermetrics to perfect their roster. A direct reference to the 2011 film Money Ball and the method of Sabermetrics popularized by Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • The owner of The Mouth Beach was played by The Amazing Race 1 winner Brennan Swain.
  • Although Joe Manganiello has made several appearances on How I Met Your Mother in the past, this is the first time he is billed as a "special guest star," presumably due to the actor's rise in popularity after the TV series True Blood.

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • The episode received 7.45 million viewers.[1]
  • Todd VanDerrWerff of AV Club gave the episode a B, saying that the episode "is one of the better half hours of the season, though it still features some of the show’s recent comedic problems." He also said that Marshall's storyline "elevated the episode from merely pleasant to downright enjoyable" for him. [2]
  • Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode 5.3 out of 10, saying, "Even with Nick and Victoria out of the picture, this week's How I Met Your Mother was still pretty drab -- noticeably more tolerable than before, but still generally lacking in overall entertainment value." He also called Ted's storyline the most enjoyable. [3]
  • Ethan Alter of Television Without Pity gave the episode a C, saying, "I'd complain that this moderately funny episode was largely a time-waster that didn't advance the overarching plot in any significant way, but considering how terrible the overarching plot has been of late, I'd almost rather the show just keep spinning its wheels". [4]
  • Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly described the plot involving Barney and Robin as "silly" and the story involving Ted and Lily as "sweet". With the story involving Marshall she commented that the return of Brad to the show was a "reason to be excited". [5]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 7 out of 10 stars. "...The Lusty Leopard is hurting without Barney's business..."

References[]

External Links[]


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