Many things change throughout How I Met Your Mother's seven seasons. Ted goes through a string of relationships that all end. Both Ted and Marshall try to find jobs that won't be a disappointment. Lily undergoes a (early) mid-life crisis and moves away for a while, and Robin slowly decides that her job maybe shouldn't be the center of her life, but rather there's a little room for serious relationships. Finally, Barney learns about what he truly wants out of life and realizes that it may just be Robin.
As you can see, the show goes through loops and tunnels that lead the viewers on an ever-changing fantastic journey. This keeps the show refreshing and new. On the other hand, somethings, like the set, don't change such as the bar, MacLaren's Pub, and Ted's apartment. These create a comfortable and familiar setting where the viewers feel welcome in. Sometimes it seems so recognizable that one feels like they've even been in the Pub or the apartment. That's another mark of a TV show well done.
How I Met Your Mother also excels in its ability to create situations where viewers can easily relate to. There are a myriad of episodes where when I go back and watch them, I think to myself, "Wow that could really be me in his/her shoes." For example, in the sitcom's pivotal events like marriages and career paths, everyone wants it to go according to plan. Everything has to be perfect and there can't be any surprises. The characters slowly learn that the process will never be flawless, but there's always a lesson to be learned. They should focus on the important aspects like being able to marry "the one" should trump those miniscule marriage details, and how failures in life help guides people towards their intended path. For Ted, that road might just lead him to his wife.
Finally, since Monday was the next season's premier, I feel I should touch on that too. Right off the bat, this season has a new approach. With this final season wrapping up this momentous show, frankly they have a lot to cover. They wasted no time in the first episode. Instead of a casual, storytelling meander of most episodes, this one got the ball going with how Barney and Quinn won't work, and at the end of the episode, Ted's future wife stands a mere ten feet away from him, and we almost see her face.
For you How I Met Your Mother fans, what do you think? Will the mystery mother appear soon?
I'm a noob at American TV shows, but I did see around 10 episodes of HIMYM Season 1 with my friend over the summer. Unlike the Korean dramas that I am so addicted to, HMIYM and other ongoing shows have a very nice episodic quality. I can watch a random episode of The Office on a plane ride without having any former encounters with the show, and still get a good laugh out of the established characters. I've tried similar things by watching the middle episodes of Asian dramas that I don't want to watch from beginning to end, but I end up giving up within 10 minutes. Different styles, I guess, but I think both styles of TV can amass hefty fanbases.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed what little I've seen of HMIYM (and what I've read on Wikipedia about the other seasons), so I look forward to reading more about your insights!
Interesting analysis Bryan. I agree with what Gloria mentioned about the pleasure of having such episodic TV shows. HIMYM is a pretty quality TV show, as they go. It's interesting how so many shows nowadays revolve around relationship dramas and intricacies. Definitely appreciate your take on the show! Can't wait to read more!
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