How I Met Your Mother

[Timothy]

I really enjoyed this show until the last season. I still think I would have liked it more if

Spoiler alert

Barney had married Norah, Robin should have become a world wide journalist and the Ted story should have stayed the same, without him marrying Robin at the end. I would have liked more episodes with the mother and really disliked the Barney Baby and Ted and Robin getting back together storyline. And the whole wedding arc dragging on and on only for the marriage to be ended a few episodes later was awful.

[close]

[A Hat Like That]

I have warmer memories of watching it the first time round than it might deserve.

The finale? Stop watching when they're under the umbrella on the train station. Easy.

[Bad Ambassador]

HIMYM wasn't filmed in front of an audience, but shown to them later and their laughter dubbed on, this being because of the complexity of the episode structures, with the jumping between sets and flashbacks and flashforwards.

[Timothy]

Are you sure? Because there was always one high pitched weird laugh in every single episode.

This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YguljAFU3Bc

Seemed they had just one laugh track they used througout all seasons.

[thelittlemango]

I always hated this show because it seemed to be entirely based around the worst part of sitcoms; when the comedy is sidelined in favour of a more soap-based thing focusing on an on-off relationship (or plural). Funny moments skewered by anxiety inducing parts of people arguing or being upset or angry and not very fun to watch. On top of that Ted is a woeful character, at least Ross Geller had lots of weird and interesting moments to balance the morose face, Ted just seems like a fun-vacuum.

[Thomas]

Are you sure? Because there was always one high pitched weird laugh in every single episode.

This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YguljAFU3Bc

Seemed they had just one laugh track they used througout all seasons.

From watching a behind-the-scenes thing about Friends, sometimes audience laughter is trimmed or outright replaced.[nb]Indeed, some of the commenters under that video say they've heard the same hoot in Friends.[/nb] The audience's real response might smother the actor's next line, or amount to a lacklustre titter if they've done fifteen takes of the same joke, and so they slap on a canned reaction to amend it.

That awful Wilhlem laugh must surely have been repeatedly dropped in as a joke by the sound editors, though. a-hoo-hoo-hoo. Depressing noise.

[DrGreggles]

at least Ross Geller had lots of weird and interesting moments to balance the morose face

And a monkey!

[thelittlemango]

And a monkey!

Micky Dolenz wasn't it? Remember his 'how YOU doin' catchphrase.

[mippy]

I've got up to season 3 now, feel like it's sort of revolving around the same point a bit, the soapiness has got a little wearisome, really. Mainly, though, I've gone from finding Barney an entertaining bastard to just uncomfortable to watch, a kind of relic that the show can't seem to decide is cool or pathetic. Keep wondering how they'd write that character if they were doing these days.

[notjosh]

Mate. Get out while you still can. If you want a wrap up, just watch the last 10 minutes of the finale. They wrote it in season 2 anyway so you'll gain nothing from ploughing on further.

[BritishHobo]

Yeah, if you think Barney is bad now, then the show is about to become absolutely unbearable for you. If the show had been cancelled around season 5, I would bet money that someone would have tried to pitch a Barney spin-off.

[mippy]

It's very good to have on in the background whilst pottering around doing other things, but - and I know what the finale was about because I remember the rage about it at the time - I can't see what else they can really do with the characters at this point. And I say that as someone who enjoys Corner Gas, a sitcom in which the whole point is that nothing new really happens.

[Famous Mortimer]

It's not like Lily and Marshall were much better. The show specifically said at one point that Lily was a "settler" and Marshall a "reacher", but the reality of their characters never bore this out. Lily - fuckup, failed artist, doesn't seem great at her job, leaves Marshall twice, openly lusts after Robin. Marshall - incredibly loyal, decent, a fucking Judge, patient and kind.

[frajer]

I've only ever seen a handful of episodes but it was strange and upsetting to see how they'd taken lovely warm Alyson "Willow" Hannigan and apparently made her a selfish piece of shit who resents her partner's very existence.

[Mister Six]

HIMYM wasn't filmed in front of an audience, but shown to them later and their laughter dubbed on, this being because of the complexity of the episode structures, with the jumping between sets and flashbacks and flashforwards.

I think this is a big part of my issue with it. The performances don't have the joyous theatrical flamboyance of those in, say, Frasier (where the actors can pause to accommodate audience laughter, which adds to the fun), but the faux live studio audience set-up means that the pacing can't be as zippy and controlled as something like 30 Rock, so you end up with a weirdly flat, cheap, maudlin vibe to the whole thing.

Then, as mentioned, you have the tonal dissonance of the contrived, cartoony plots and characterisation - which would fit in on a "bigger" show like 30 Rock - coupled with kind-of-naturalistic dialogue along the lines of what your fairly clever mate might at down the pub (which might be why they mix the laugh track so low, because it's not big gurning Friends-type wackiness, but that just adds to the ghastly pallor).

Just feels like it's at war with itself, and I find it actively uncomfortable to watch.

[Glitch King]

This one is killing me, goodbye

[BritishHobo]

It's not like Lily and Marshall were much better. The show specifically said at one point that Lily was a "settler" and Marshall a "reacher", but the reality of their characters never bore this out. Lily - fuckup, failed artist, doesn't seem great at her job, leaves Marshall twice, openly lusts after Robin. Marshall - incredibly loyal, decent, a fucking Judge, patient and kind.

Lily is awful. Really nasty, hateful character. Always found it bizarre that she's based on the wife of one of the creators - and the real woman allowed herself to be used only if they cast Alyson Hannigan. How can you put your wife in your show as a character, and then make her just the worst person ever?

The most satisfying episode is the one where Ted calls her a cunt.

[Bad Ambassador]

Lily is awful. Really nasty, hateful character. Always found it bizarre that she's based on the wife of one of the creators - and the real woman allowed herself to be used only if they cast Alyson Hannigan. How can you put your wife in your show as a character, and then make her just the worst person ever?

The most satisfying episode is the one where Ted calls her a cunt.

That points to something about the central logic. Why does Future Ted use euphimisms when he can just not mention it? "We were, er, eating sandwiches", why bother mentioning that at all? He's a terrible father. His wife probably faked her death to get away from him.