How I Met Your Mother

Mike says I should really like How I Met Your Mother. And I do; but oddly, not for all of the reasons I should. Let me explain.

1.Alyson Hannigan--It's really wonderful to see her on TV again after Buffy and flexing those comedic muscles. Alyson is adorable and is absolutely funny in the show.

2. Serial Storytelling--As I've said before, I'm an addict. Yet the serialized format leading to a conclusion that I don't fully believe was planned makes this show what most serialized shows are accused of: a cheap trick to hook viewers. If it works, the promised ending never comes due to the producers stretching the show and story to last more seasons. When this happens, the story starts breaking down. It's happened many times before, such as with Lost.

3. Nonlinear Storytelling--I'm actually a fan of jumbled timelines. But in this show, while extremely funny, I can't help but feel that it's ripping off Family Guy, and again, it requires the viewer to catch every episode. Now, admittedly, it's odd that I'm arguing this angle of things. While I love serial story telling, I feel that a good deal of planning is required, and I just don't feel this happened with HIMYM. Blindly flying toward an unknown destination that you may never reach will, well, result in something eerily resembling the last eight seasons of Smallville.

4. The Actors--There are actors I love and hate that are a part of this show-yet here they all work, and I enjoy them all.

I really do enjoy HIMYM a lot. It funny, sharp, and goofy. A lot of great moments, including the slap bet and accompanying song, Barney's musical moment praising suits and that narration all make this something worth watching for me. The show also lives up to the promise of its fantastic pilot. Strongly written and a fun and fast introduction to the cast. Oddly though, the main reason I SHOULD watch this show is the main reason I don't. Go figure.

Kate says this is an incredibly cute sitcom. I've kind of lost touch with it over the years, but when it first came out, I was a steady viewer.

It has a surprisingly simple premise. Really, it's just another Friends (although the tone is completely different). But like with Scrubs, the narrator adds another dimension; unlike Friends, there's a single point of view and single purpose. The audience doesn't have to pretend that this ISN'T a sitcom about dating. The whole point is "how he met his wife."

By the way, Mrs. Ted Mosby could still turn out to be Robin. The "dad" is obviously the type of dad who would deliberately throw off his kids, only to come around at the end and say, "But actually, Aunt Robin is someone else! I changed the names to make it interesting!"

In terms of what makes the sitcom work: the actors! I enjoy Friends (which we will review in two weeks), but Friends worked largely due to its script. The actors were largely untried when Friends aired (can you imagine getting a gig like that? wow!).

The H.I.M.Y.M. actors are all tried and true and extremely good. They also, surprisingly enough, fit each other tone-wise. In fact, it's an interesting contrast to Friends because the Friends' friendship is built on proximity and links (Ross knows Chandler who knows Joey) while the H.I.M.Y.M. friendship is built on similar interests and viewpoints (yes, even including Barney). The one type of friendship isn't better than the other or worse, just different. Consequently, the tone and humor is different.

In both cases, the writing is good. One things I like about H.I.M.Y.M is the off-lines. In one episode, Barney refers to the group as "my little friends," and Radnor says deadpan, "We're the same height." I actually think few long-term comedies can work without these small additions. The (smiling) devil really is in the details.