Marshall was first shown performing his routine in Season 4's Old King Clancy as an example to show Ted that sometimes it's okay to lie to your friend; in this episode, Marshall calls the routine "The Fish List." He reuses the routine in Right Place, Right Time when he needed to buy some time during an important presentation. In Season 7's Field Trip, Marshall was on the verge of delivering his routine after a presentation goes awry, but his bosses cut him off before he gets into it.