Picture Credits: Amazon.com
“And that, kids, is the kind of stupid thing you say, before you've met the person who hits the reset button on the world.”
Every romantic goes through life trying to find their soulmate, that one person to love and cherish who’ll make their life whole. But life doesn’t always present your soulmate on a silver platter.
The treasure hunt can be adventurous, overwhelming and at times, draining. By the time you meet your perfect person, chances are, you’ll be emotionally bruised in certain places. But what is it that keeps you motivated? What keeps you going?
Show Name - How I Met Your Mother
Created by - Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
Starring - Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie
Smulders, Cristin Milioti
Seasons - 9
Episodes - 208
Genre - Sitcom, Romantic Comedy
Language - English
Plot (Spoiler Alert!)
How I Met Your Mother encompasses the adventures and misadventures of Ted Mosby, a hopeless romantic by definition, presented as a retelling to his children.
The story takes place in Manhattan, New York, and as evident from the title, is a long-winding narrative of how he met his wife, ‘the mother’, as she is known for the majority of the show.
The show, spanning nine seasons from 2005 to 2014, primarily revolves around Ted and his core group of friends, the college sweethearts Marshall Eriksen and Lily Aldrin, his central love interest Robin Scherbatsky, and the borderline sociopath Barney Stinson.
Although the title of the show would suggest the majority of the story dealing with his romantic moments with the mother, it’s not quite the case. Most of the plot line delves into the story of Ted prior to meeting the mother, and the life events of his best friends, whose lives intertwine regularly with him.
This is a classic misdirection tool and can be a hit or miss for people. However, there are enough elements of the traditional love story structure, where the romantic lead dives headlong into the love interest.
Ted’s instant attraction for Robin only escalates through the show and at certain points, thrives on obsession. But at its heart, How I Met Your Mother is really a story of friendship, and being there for each other during good and bad times, as the five central characters project, whether it's sitting everyday in the same bar (McLaren’s) and sharing their daily anecdotes, celebrating one’s biggest achievements, or consoling one at their lowest points.
The show then is in its spirit, is about love, but not solely of the romantic kind.
Themes Involved
The show took time finding its tone and style, as is evident from the largely comedic elements of the first couple of seasons, and the slow incorporation of more dramatic and emotional elements as the show progressed to going on to have complex, heart-breaking and massive emotional moments, like Ted being left at the altar in Season 4, the sudden passing of Marshall’s father in Season 6, or Barney’s reunion with his father after twenty years and the succeeding emotional destruction in Season 6 as well.
So, after all these years, the legacy of the show is that of being a perfect juxtaposition of humour, drama, and experimental structuring. The latter is on full display in the episode Bad News, where throughout the episode, there is a countdown from 50 to 1, hinted subtly through various objects and information in the show to a big, important reveal.
The narrative style is unique, as the retelling of the story to Ted’s children Luke and Penny takes place in the year 2030 (the show’s “present day”), and the events take place in the actual present day (the show’s “past”).
This future-set framing device helps establish interesting perspectives and narratives, whether it is to retell events from multiple points of view; to replace euphemisms of uncomfortable practices and things like recreational drugs, sex, or obscene language.
Another integral consequence of using this narrative tool is to establish the central narrator of the show, Ted, as an unreliable narrator. This leaves room for over-the-top and outrageously hilarious elements, letting the audience analyse the show deeper and make their own conclusions, and helps the show get away with a lot of continuity issues.
Creators’ Inspiration
The series was largely based on Craig Thomas and Carter Bays' friendship when they were still living in New York City. Pamela Fryman directed most of the episodes, 196 of the 208 to be exact. Rob Greenberg (7 episodes), Michael Shea (4 episodes), and Neil Patrick Harris (1 episode) were the other directors.
After the inability of How I Met Your Dad to be the show that would retell the story from a female perspective in 2014, 2021 holds better days for fans of HIMYM, with Hulu having ordered a 10-episode sequel How I Met Your Father starring Hilary Duff and created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, that would air the story of Sophie telling her son the story of how she met his father while going through life with her friends and figuring out who they are.
Critical Reception
Throughout its run, How I Met Your Mother was a hit. When it first aired, the show received mostly favourable responses, but as the seasons progressed, the reaction became more mixed.
Alyson Hannigan received the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress in 2010. The series received the People's Choice Award for Favorite Network TV Comedy in 2012, seven years since its debut, and Neil Patrick Harris won the award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor twice.
The programme was nominated for a total of 30 Emmys, winning ten of them.
Famous Quotes
"You can't cling to the past because no matter how tightly you hold on, it's already gone."
"If you're not scared then you're not taking a chance. And if you're not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing anyway?"
“The future is scary, but you can’t just run back to the past because it’s familiar. Yes it’s tempting, but it’s a mistake.”
“Because sometimes even if you know how something’s gonna end, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride.”
“Whatever you do in this life, it's not legendary, unless your friends are there to see it.”
“Love doesn't make sense! You can't logic your way into or out of it. Love is totally nonsensical. But we have to keep doing it or else we're lost and love is dead, and humanity should just pack it in. Because love is the best thing we do.”
The Bottom Line
What the show did with the sitcom format, narrative style and incorporation of dark and hard-hitting real life issues has helped steer it to a very unique place. It boasts of a massive, global legacy with legions of ever-growing fans.
The climbing popularity and the resultant cult status has helped establish How I Met Your Mother eternally as one of the most popular American sitcoms to ever grace the screen, making it a staple for all romantics out there!
My ratings for the show - 4.5 on 5
Stream online on Disney Hotstar - How I Met Your Mother
Written By - Kristi Mazumdar
.jpeg)
.JPG)
0 Comments