By Matthew Wood

It’s the oldest trick in the books. Just pretend you’re from out of town, and the ladies will be fawning all over you in no time.

At least, that’s what Ted (Josh Radner) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) think after seeing Robin’s new Argentinean boy toy Gael (played by Enrique Iglesias, who makes a cameo for a second straight week – more on that in a bit) getting all sorts of attention from the female persuasion.

Unfortunately for the boys, they pretend they’re from the south and not some exotic foreign country. All that gets them is a couple of skanky girls from New Jersey. Not cool.

Meanwhile, newlyweds Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) have their first fight over how heartfelt their letters to each other are in case the other one dies. This proves yet again how much of a struggle it is to maintain a life-long loving relationship based on trust and mutual respect. It also proves how boring it is to watch a married couple fight over nothing.

In fact, you could pretty much say that about the entire episode. Just not a whole lot to it, and not nearly enough solid laughs to keep my attention. And what are we doing with the whole Enrique Iglesias thing? This is the second straight episode he’s been a guest star, which has been promoted heavily by CBS as part of its new fall lineup chock full of special guests. But here’s the thing: A couple of special guests will only take you so far when you’ve got crappy shows that nobody watched in the first place.


And isn’t it a coincidence that the music from his new album has been featured on each of the last two shows? I’m not sayin’ that’s the only reason he’s on the show … I’m just sayin’.

I don’t mean to lump HIMYM with the rest of the crap that comes out of this second-rate network, because I really think it’s a high-quality show. But you gotta come stronger than this.

One of the few saving graces comes near the end of the show, when Robin – who is dealing with life after trip to Argentina to meet said musician/bad actor Iglesias -- has a dream that she’s about to make out with her “vacation” self. But then she wakes up to a group of Australian drifters that Gael has invited to stay with them playing the bongos. She later tells Barney that she had another dream with her other self, only she went all the way this time. Barney’s left to fill in the blanks, and so are we. But will we care enough to want to?