How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) has been on the air for years now, but I have only just crawled out from under the rock I apparently lived under to discover its hilarity. As soon as I finally got around to checking the show out, I fell in love. HIMYM has a refreshing catchy concept at the center, the familiarity of construct (including a laugh track), and a fantastic cast to recommend it. The refreshing method of telling the story from the future (in the voice of Bob Sagat no less) allows for hilariously fungible time lines—and what a great hook! Doesn’t everyone at some point ask how his or her parents met? While the show does come across as a bit of a Friends set in a bar, the concept of the show has at it center a drive that Friends and so many other sit coms lacked. The show is the story of a time when your friends are your family but it is also the story of the time when you’re ready to settle down but don’t have someone to settle down with. The character of Ted is endearing enough and Sagat’s voice over is funny enough that it makes the viewer really want to know how he meets the mother of his children. Finally, the awesome cast at the center of HIMYM. The cast includes two previously (relatively) unknowns such Josh Radnor as the central Ted, and Colbie Smolders as the perfect woman. The pair are delightful both together and separately. Each is at the center of some awesome story lines (for Ted see “The Pineapple Incident” and I’m partial to Robin in any of her turns as “Robin Sparkles” Canadian pop-star especially in “The Slap Bet” and “Sand Castles in the Sand”). Jason Segal is known from Freaks and Geeks and any number of other Judd Apatow projects. Segal plays Marshall who is a law student/lawyer and in a long-term committed relationship. Segal is the hilarious best friend to Ted and good-hearted foil to Barney. Segal has great story lines played with both heart and hilarity (see “The Duel” and “The Best Burger in New York”). The other half of Segal’s Marshall is Alyson Hannigan’s Lily. Hannigan is best known from her Buffy and American Pie days. Lily is the wannabe painter turned kindergarten teacher who is both hilarious and lovable as the gooey girlfriend and only real source of femininity in the show (for great Lily episodes see the B story in “Sweat Taste of Liberty” and “The Front Porch”). Last but most assuredly not least the one and only Neil Patrick Harris. NPH is the fantastically amusing, magic-trick performing, bro-code writing, catch phrase shouting, and man whorish Barney. There are no end of fantastic Barney episodes and the signs point to more great episodes to come (for great Barney episodes see “The Bracket”, “Zip, Zip, Zip”, “Game Night” and “Benefits”). The show is currently tying to find its way into a 5th season hook but the season is shaping up. Definitely go back to the season one because HIMYM is the kind of show that rewards its long-term viewers by inside jokes and past season references. The show is definitely worth checking out.
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