The List: #35 How I Met Your Mother

#35
Number Of Seasons (To Date): 3
Years Active: 2005 - Present
Network: CBS

This one may come as a bit of a surprise. How I Met Your Mother is the first "traditional" sitcom that I've praised on The Other Worlds, and, at least for the first season, there were plenty of comparisons to the show Friends (which I have no love for). So how did I start watching it? The Joss Whedon (and Judd Apatow) connections. A few friends of mine started quoting the show and imitating some of the activities, which seemed funny. But it wasn't until two other friends of mine, completely independent of each other, told me that they also watched it. And the factor that finally got me to relent was the fact that numerous alumni of Joss Whedon's shows, as well as some alumni from Judd Apatow's work, are present in the series.

As of this writing, I have only seen the first season, and though I'm told that Season 1 is the most uneven, it was good enough to continue. Despite the outward appearance of "traditional sitcom", including a multi-camera set-up, Mother has plenty of aspects of the newer, single-camera comedies (and as this list will show, not all traditional sitcoms are, well, traditional). For the most part, there is a good sense of continuity and the running gags are logically worked into the story (I haven't gotten to the slap bet yet, but I love the way the joke is set up). And there appears to be a definite story behind the series as opposed to just a premise (however, since there is a definite endpoint, this could act as a detriment, since we may begin to wonder what the beginning of the series has to do with meeting the mother).

From what I've seen so far, the biggest criticism I have is Ted, the main character. Of the main group of five, Ted is the least likable and there are times when his friends seem to have no purpose other than to support him (he's kind of like a whinier J.D. from Scrubs). But when Ted is off-screen (and sometimes in spite of his presence), Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney (the character my friends imitated and quoted the most) shine as one of the best groups of sitcom characters since the Seinfeld 4.

The show is not perfect, but it is a great way to spend half an hour.

Up next: #34...