The Chain of Screaming
Encyclopedia
"The Chain of Screaming" is the 15th episode in the third season of the television series How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...

and 59th overall. It originally aired on April 14, 2008.

Plot

Marshall fears being yelled at by his boss, who is nicknamed "Artillery Arthur," after failing to complete a report on time (which is nicknamed the "Ninja Report" for easier understanding for the gang). Robin, Lily and Ted each describe how they would deal with Arthur's aggression, and Barney explains that Marshall shouldn't deal with it - the way that the chain (or circle) of screaming works is that one person screams at someone "below" him, then that person screams at another person, and so on. Barney and Marshall go to a diner and Barney urges Marshall to scream at the waiter, but Marshall cannot do it - the waiter screams at Marshall instead. The next day, Marshall finally lets out his feelings towards Arthur and, in the end, quits his job at Nicholson, Hewitt & West.

Meanwhile, Ted has bought himself a new car, a blue Toyota Camry Hybrid. All of his friends think a nice car is totally unnecessary in New York City and proceed to eat ice cream and smoke cigars inside the car, despite Ted's protests. Eventually, Ted sells the car and gives the proceeds to Marshall to help pay for the apartment since he no longer has his high-paying job.

Continuity

  • Arthur Hobbs appears again in the season 5 episode "Last Cigarette Ever
    Last Cigarette Ever
    "Last Cigarette Ever" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 99th episode overall. It aired on December 14, 2009.- Plot :...

    ".
  • Blauman, who Barney describes as trying to urinate on a conference room table during a board meeting, had previously been seen in the episode Life Among the Gorillas
    Life Among the Gorillas
    "Life Among the Gorillas" is the 17th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on March 20, 2006.- Plot :...

    . In this episode, Barney says that he became a janitor and then died, however since Blauman is seen in the subsequent episodes Sorry, Bro
    Sorry, Bro
    "Sorry, Bro" is the 16th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 80th overall. It originally aired on March 9, 2009.-Plot:At 1:45 am, Robin gets up so she will be in time for her 4 am talk show that she now anchors...

     and Jenkins
    Jenkins (How I Met Your Mother)
    "Jenkins" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 101st episode overall. It originally aired on January 18, 2010...

    , it's more than likely that Barney was simply exaggerating his colleague's misfortunes. It's also been suggested by fans with this and several other repeated characters whose stories include continuity errors, such as Marshall's friend Brad and Lily's student Doug, that Future Ted is just using them as a stand-in for someone whose name he no longer remembers.
  • While yelling at Barney, Marshall says that Bob Barker
    Bob Barker
    Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...

     is not Barney's father. Barney claimed that Bob Barker was his father in Showdown.
  • Marshall bringing food into Ted's car, and Ted's reluctance to allow food in his car, is reminiscent of Marshall's "No food or drink in the Fiero" rule, which Ted claimed was insane in Arrivederci, Fiero
    Arrivederci, Fiero
    "Arrivederci, Fiero" is the 17th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on February 26, 2007.- Plot :...

    .

Cultural references

  • Ted is wearing a sweater with the coat of arms of the Swiss city of Geneva
    Geneva
    Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

     on it.

Critical response

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...

 rated the episode with a grade A.

Michelle Zoromski of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

gave the episode 7.4 out of 10.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK