CBS promised a whole generation of theater nerds, internet dweebs, and pop culture dorks an "all dancing, all singing" episode of How I Met Your Mother. If you don't believe anybody got ripped off, this post will prove you wrong.

Sitcoms with gimmicks used to be all the rage. Who can forget the backwards episode of Seinfeld? Or the live Drew Carey Show episode? The list goes on, but just because the themed sitcom episode is no longer considered a cash cow is no reason to promise a theme and not deliver. The following is the extent of singing and dancing in last night's how I met your mother:

A newcomer to the program might not be that put off by the fairly decent musical number, but those of us in the know were expecting something a little more daring, especially during a 100th episode. Why? Because of what the show's stars, and the show itself, have already been willing to offer.


Exhibit A: The Robin Sparkles "Let's Go to the Mall" video from HIMYM episode 35

But this only takes care of two of the show's cast members, at least a third member of the ensemble cast would need to have some musical talent for a really worthwhile musical sitcom episode. This leads us to...


Exhibit B: Jason Segel performs "Dracula's Lament" from Forgetting Sarah Marshall

But let's put these singular issues aside, and analyze the issue of format. Do any of the people involved with How I Met Your Mother really understand the concept of the long form musical production? I'm glad you asked because I happen to love...


Exhibit C: Neil Patrick Harris performs "Slipping" from Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

But let's say the HIMYM cast was ready, willing, and able to perform a completely musical episode. What of the production team? Well, executive producers Phillip Lord and Christopher Miller are the brains behind another television show with a massive cult following. Their animated swan song, Clone High, did an entire show in the format of a psychedelic sixties musical.


Exhibit D: Clone High episode 8 "Raisin' the Stakes"

And so, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I propose there is no proper excuse for the fact that an "all dancing, all singing" episode of How I Met Your Mother was merely a three minute number. I rest my case.