How I Met Your Mother – A return to what works

How I Met Your Mother does a couple of things different than your standard sitcom which is what, in my mind, sets it apart from the rest of the crowd. The show has seen a pretty uneven season, as both Deb and I have been saying since last September (OK, more her than me, but I try to be the optimist). It is episodes like this, when they get back to what makes HIMYM unique, that prove that it is still one of the funniest sitcoms around.

Non-linear storytelling? Check. Well, if you count the alternate universe that The Wedding Bride portrayed as a real story. I like stories told within stories this way. Especially how the final scene of the movie was integrated into Ted getting Royce back.

I’m also a very big fan of how the show treats its mythology. You walk into my parents’ house, and it is a series of inside jokes that only people that have been around us would get. We get the same kind of treatment here. Things that our favorite New Yorkers have experienced have a way of continuing to pop up. These are just a couple of the references I caught tonight:

• “Major development” and the duel Robin/Ted salute
• Ted’s red boots
• The butterfly tattoo
• Encyclo-pay-dia

STELLA!!!!! Considering The Wedding Bride quickly became the 5^th highest grossing movie of all time, I’m not sure Ted will ever be able to fully put his experiences with his ex-fiancé behind him. That’s the kind of thing that sticks with you, but he’s going to have to move past it sometime … right?

The running gag with the baggage worked, especially in the final scene. Getting left at the altar is bad, but three times? And a gambling addiction to boot? I don’t even need to get into the massive baggage that is living with her brother. It’s a shame, as I would love to see Judy Greer on my TV more.

Notes & Quotes:

• “Exactly, that’s the problem.” – Ted
  “Her butt?” – Barney
  “What is it, too much?” – Marshal
  “Too little?” – Lily
  “Or is it a issue of access?” – Robin
• “Kim Jong-Il said it was his second favorite movie of all time. Right behind a movie of him riding a horse in slow motion in a field of tulips.” – Robin
• “This is outrageous … Who the kiss are you?” – Barney

Clacked by Ivey West
on May 18, 2010 @ 08:32 EST5EDT