The fourth season of the Americantelevision comedy series How I Met Your Mother premiered on September 22, 2008 and concluded on May 18, 2009. It consisted of 24 episodes, each running approximately 22 minutes in length. CBS broadcast the fourth season on Monday nights at 8:30 pm in the United States. The complete fourth season was released on Region 1 DVD on September 29, 2009. In the United Kingdom it aired on E4.[1]
Ted and Stella make the decision to get married in three days. So when the day comes, it turns out to not be all they had imagined because of the presence of their exes.
When Ted unexpectedly runs into someone from his past whom he would rather forget, the gang starts wondering how they would handle it, if it happened to them.
Lily and Marshall receive different views on whether they should have a baby. When Lily asks, Ted and Marshall turn to Robin for advice. Barney creates his own holiday for single men.
A depressed Robin joins a group of overindulging single party girls known as the "Woo Girls." Meanwhile, Barney receives a submission for design of the new company headquarters from Ted.
Ted walks into his apartment to find Robin's date sitting naked on his couch. He learns about a technique that could revolutionize dating for the whole group, and everyone thinks about whether or not they should try it out that night.
Ted tries to prove to the gang that he's not a loser after being left at the altar. Meanwhile, Barney and Ted decide to pick a fight with the guys sitting in their favorite booth to impress Robin. Robin gets turned on by the fighting.
When Ted and Robin decide to be "friends with benefits" to end conflicts around the apartment, Barney tries to fix their problems so they will stop sleeping with each other.
Lily comes back from a trip to Seattle only to run into a blizzard, which may threaten an airport ritual of meeting Marshall. Meanwhile, Ted & Barney offer to keep watch over the bar at MacLaren's while awaiting their dates, since Carl wants to close up early.
When Lily and Marshall get wind of the fact that Ted's college girlfriend Karen (Laura Prepon), who they always hated, has moved to New York, they try to persuade him not to contact her.
When Karen comes across another woman's earring in Ted's bed, he learns that Lily put it there on purpose. Ted discovers this isn't the first time she's covertly meddled in his relationships.
When Barney learns Ted has a list of things he thinks the gang is too old to do, he sets out to do every task within 24 hours in order to prove Ted wrong.
When Ted loses his job and decides to form his own architectural firm out of his apartment, he hires an intern to help get his company off the ground, but the intern gets too close for comfort with some of Ted's friends. Meanwhile, Marshall tries to make himself more valuable at work with a gimmick.[23]
When Ted breaks Barney and Marshall's "three-days rule" by having a "text" relationship with a girl he just met, they play a cruel joke on him by pretending to be her.
Tony, Stella's fiancé, makes an attempt to ease the burden he feels for "ruining Ted's life," by helping him find a job. Meanwhile, Barney wants to prove that he can get out of a speeding ticket.
Ted is trying to keep his architecture firm afloat by working all night, but Marshall tries to lure him to the roof for a surprise 31st birthday party. Robin finally learns about Barney's secret feelings for her.
U.S. viewership
Episodic Viewership of Season 4
Episodic Demo Ratings of Season 4
Viewership and Demo Rating for Season 4 episodes
This season is currently the second highest rated season of How I Met Your Mother in terms of viewership, at an average of 9.42 million viewers.[29] However, it is currently the highest rated in terms of the important Adults 18-49 demographic, which is what advertisers use to determine how much a 30-second advertising spot costs. Season 4 averaged 4.0/10 in terms of rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic.
Critical response
Season 4 received highly positive reviews and is often considered to be the best season of the series. Michelle Zoromski of IGN gave Season 4 an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10. Michelle stated, "This fourth season seemed to settle down the chase for the titular mother. While Ted was busy dating Stella, the gang settled into many stand alone episodes which were every bit as entertaining as episodes devoted to Ted's love life," later going on to say, "A stellar Robin-Marshall episode, titled "Little Minnesota," makes it clear that these two do not get enough screen time together. With Robin homesick and unemployed (and at risk of being deported), this pairing brought out the best Robin Sparkles reference of the season, when Marshall leads a rousing karaoke version of "Let's Go to the Mall!"[30]