iWin a Date is the 24th episode in the 1st season of iCarly.
When Gibby is too shy to ask out a girl he likes, the gang makes him and his crush contestants on a dating gameshow during the webcast. But when the girl's friends don't show up last minute, Carly and Sam are forced to play, and Carly is chosen instead of the date to her shock.
Meanwhile, Spencer visits a dating website to get someone to date him.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Don’t try and be someone else to make someone like you. Just be yourself, and the right person will like you for who you are.
- Answer Cut: When Sam disappears during the first question of the game show, Freddie asks, "Where's girl number 3?" Cuts to downstairs, where Sam is mooching on some chili.
- Big "WHAT?!": Carly lets out three in a row when Gibby accidentally chooses her instead of Shannon.
- Continuity Nod: Spencer is once again bad at keeping fish, as seen when he accidentally kills one by accidentally throwing a baseball at it.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: What this episode ends on. Regarding one of the people responding to his latest video, Spencer says that "she" looks pretty, only for Carly to point out that's a dude.
- Foreshadowing: Carly's answers during "iWin a Date" are more reckless than Shannon's, which are close enough to Gibby's personality. This foreshadows who he's going to pick at the end and Shannon running out on him during the date.
- Innocently Insensitive: When Carly is feeling sympathy for Gibby not getting Shannon.Carly: Aww, poor Gibby! It must feel horrible when someone you love doesn’t love you back.
Freddie: (glares at Carly)
Carly: Sorry. - Insulted Awake: Carly's answer to the question "If one day we were married, how would you wake me up In the morning?"Carly: I'd yell, "GET UP AND GO GET A JOB, YOU LAZY SACK!" And then I'd pour hot soup on your face!
- Motor Mouth: When Carly is explaining to Sam why she set up this triple date with herself and Gibby after Sam is angry at her for pairing her up with Reuben.
- On Ice: Shannon's friends Celine and Julia can't participate on "iWin a Date" because they got tickets for "Girly Cow On Ice".Carly: Why is it that whenever there's a popular TV show, they just gotta go put it on ice?!
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Carly and Sam's clue to which girl is Shannon:"If you really want TWO go on a date with Shannon, then you need TWO choose carefully! That's all you have TWO do!"
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Gibby dances on a table shirtless, Shannon's response is to quietly flee the restaurant.
- Shout-Out:
- "iWin a Date" is a parody of The Dating Game.
- The Cheesecake Warehouse is an obvious take on the Cheesecake Factory.
- One of the videos Spencer sends on whynotdateme.com is a nine minute video of him eating cereal. This could be a reference to the video of Andy Warhol eating food.
- That Came Out Wrong: When Freddie is explaining to Sam, who just joined him and Carly, that she will be with Reuben as part of a triple date, Sam thinks that he was the one who set her up with Reuben in the first place. This causes her to furiously attack Freddie, only for Carly to pry her off him and clarify that SHE was the one who set her up with Reuben.
- Too Much Information: Carly messes up Spencer's hair. She then looks confused, and asks what gel he put in his hair. He replies that is chicken fat, much to her disgust.
- Vocal Dissonance: The date and three choices have their voices electronically disguised, so no one recognizes each other. Gibby's disguised voice is deep and husky, Carly and Shannon have chipmunk-pitched voices though Shannon's is more feminine than Carly's, and Sam's voice is the most recognizable due to having a deep masculine voice.
- Written-In Absence: An In-Universe example: Shannon's friends Celine and Julia are unable to attend the game show because they got tickets to see Girly Cow On Ice, thus Carly and Sam have to fill in.
