Today I received fanmail an email from my friend, Amanda Williams. Amanda writes,
“I have recently discovered the CBS smash comedy How I Met Your Mother and am amazed by the awesomeness. Any program that makes reference to Kim Deal is going to have if not great at what they do, very cool writers. I know you are an avid TV watcher so I searched your Website and found only a listing saying that it would be on your Fall TV line-up. Perhaps this subject has been touched upon Podcast style, but if not I’d like to get some JO thoughts on the program and where it fits into your line-up of must see TV now that we are halfway into the second season. Yours truly, Amanda Williams”
Thanks for the email, Amanda. And yes, How I Met Your Mother is part of my must-see lineup. In fact, How I Met Your Mother is one of several shows assembled by Hollywood that contributes to Monday night currently holding the title of “Jeremy’s favorite TV night.”
For those not in the know, How I Met Your Mother is a sitcom revolving around a group of friends living in New York City, Ted (Josh Radnor), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). Each episode begins with an adult Ted’s voice, provided by Bob Saget, telling his children a story about how he met their mother, beginning in the year 2005.
When How I Met Your Mother debuted in 2005, I had basic cable, lacked a comfortable television viewing environment, had no DVR and the networks had not yet figured out that by streaming their primetime content over the Internet, they would find additional viewers and in fact, further monetize the programming that they had spent millions producing. Subsequently, I didn’t watch the first season until Short encouraged me to download Season 1 during the painfully dull summer television season of 2006. After the first couple of episodes, I was hooked.
Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, the creators who also write many of the episodes, have to be in their late 20’s or early 30’s. I was unable to find out just how old they are, but with the various 80’s and other timely popular culture references littered throughout each episode, as well as their ability to write situations that nail some of the thoughts of people in that age group, they have to be writing from their own experiences. A piece of triva I did find, the writers are in the band “The Solids,” who perform the catchy theme song, “Hey Beautiful“, which is one of the only in primetime that I don’t fast-forward through. The fact that the writers are musically inclined probably explains their reference to Kim Deal. In any case, the writers do an excellent job of capturing that age, and many of the issues faced in relationships, careers and sort-of-but-not-really growing up.
The other ingredient in the How I Met Your Mother recipe for success is the characters, both how they are written and the actors that give them life. Neil Patrick Harris deserves an Emmy for his excellent portrayal of Barney, the womanizing, suit-wearing bachelor, who almost exclusively uses the word awesome and sees every part of life as his for the taking, including every female he meets. No one knows what Barney does for a living, at least we as the audience aren’t privy, but we know he earns enough to wear expensive suits, watch a gigantic television and enjoy a serious gambling habit.
While Barney’s character is the most fun, each character holds their own in the ensemble, exposing character traits and flaws through their actions in everyday occurrences as well as stupid fun stuff, like slap bets, waiting for the Slutty Pumpkin and odd theories, metaphors and revealing stories. In one of my favorite episodes, Robin expresses her hatred for shopping malls. We later learn it’s because of her role as a Canadian teen idol, “Robin Sparkles,” who recorded the smash Canadian hit “Let’s Go to the Mall.” Incidentally, the video in its entirety can be viewed on Myspace or Barney’s blog on the CBS Website for How I Met Your Mother. Be advised, if you watch it on the CBS Website you’ll have to install Real Player to use CBS’ video application, Innertube. Also be advised that it’s totally worth it wherever you watch it, but it’ll stick in your brain all day long.
Although I love the show, I’m frightened of my inevitable disappointment in the Ted and Robin romance conclusion. Each time I think there’s some way that the writers are going to have Ted and Robin be together, and that Robin will be revealed as the kids’ mother, there’s another reference to “Aunt Robin,” or most recently that if Ted would’ve moved to Chicago, he never would’ve met the kids’ mother later. As perfect and hot as Robin Scherbatsky has been written and portrayed, I hate that their relationship is going to hit the skids. The writers are going to have very large shoes to fill when trying to cast a Mrs.-Ted-Mosby-to-be. And I just know that the end of their relationship isn’t going to be pretty.
For now though, I’ll just enjoy the awesomes, high-fives, slap bets, bar conversations and memories that Ted shares with his children in 2029, week after week.
Oswald…wait for it…out.
Alyson Hannigan is hot.
Neil Patrick Harris is hot.
Good job on discussing what your readers want to know. I am pleased as punch that my new favorite fits into your Monday night must-see. It is like they are all my friends and share the same insane conversations that I have with you wierdos. Sending you an internet high-five for the write-up.
I’d have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this show. At a glance of the cast and format you don’t tend to expect a whole lot but it does seem that the writers have a trick or two up their sleeves… On the other hand I think when they run out of those tricks, the let down will be inevitable.
Fifty dollars says we don’t meet their mother until the final episode and learn nothing about her character. She will just show up as a friend of a secondary character in one of the final scenes, we will get a freeze frame of her from the waist up, and hear Bob’s voice, “And that, my children, is How I Met Your Mother.” It’ll be the disappointment and frustration of the jail cell all over…but the journey that took us there makes it all worth it…
Fifty dollars? What are we in pre-school? Ten thousand dollars says we meet her this season and Barney nails her.
Actually, I can see your scenario playing out, and while at first I didn\’t like it, as I thought about other ways it could play out, that seems like the best scenario, and could be totally justified. At this point, all we know is that the children know the short version of how their parents met and as it is going now, this would definitely be the long version. And the show isn\’t called \”How I Fell in Love with Your Mother.\” All the writers really owe us is an explanation as to how they met.
When I think about other series finales, your scenario sounds better than a jail cell. It sounds better than the Friends saying good-bye to their rent-controlled phat pad and going for coffee one more time. It sounds better than the absolutely nothing that happened on the Dukes of Hazzard finale and better than Sam telling a random bar patron that he\’s closed while Diane flies off to write a cable show. Not sure what The O.C. will offer me, but I\’m not expecting much.