' How I Met Your Mother': The Naked Man

Last night's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," the Naked Man, was kinda funny, kinda creepy.

I still love the show, and look forward to it every week. OK, so this season has been just all right so far. The episodes have not been as consistently special as they were during the first three seasons. But hey -- the characters are still likable, the scripts are still tight, and unlike some other sitcoms (cough, "30 Rock," cough), the writers aren't leaning too hard on the guest-star gimmick and ignoring the regular cast. Also, while the "How I Met" stories can get so comically specific -- almost fetishistic, as in ("Woooo girls"!) -- the big ongoing mystery of Ted and his search for "your mother" remains dramatically interesting.

The creepiness last night wasn't the nudity. Fans of "How I Met Your Mother" know that the writers LOVE to show Neal Patrick Harris's body as often as possible. It has become one of the show's many in-jokes. The creepiness was just the whole idea of stripping down naked in an attempt to salvage a blind date, which was the new seduction technique that Barney, Ted, and Lily learned from one of Robin's dates. I don't know about you, but I think most people would be running for the streets if a date stripped down uninvited.

I know, it's a sitcom, and the Naked Man is a joke, and I'm not worried about corrupting minds or the downfall of civilization, and I like risque humor. And I stand by the series. But still -- the whole "indecent exposure" aspect made the episode a little hard to love. Am I alone in this feeling?