Available at Amazon.com
Creators:
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Cast:
Josh Radnor ………. Ted Mosby
Neil Patrick Harris ………. Barney Stinson
Jason Segel ………. Marshall Eriksen
Alyson Hannigan ………. Lily Aldrin
Cobie Smulders ………. Robin Scherbatsky
Bob Saget ………. Older Ted Mosby/Narrator
The Show
Somehow, someway CBS has made Monday nights THE night for comedy. Forget Thursday night. CBS’s best and biggest comedies are on Monday night and they deliver the best ratings for any comedy show on TV today. So maybe How I Met Your Mother was lucky when it got its chance to shine on CBS on Monday nights last year in its first season. Or maybe CBS knew that it had another breakout comedy hit that could keep up with Two and a Half Men. Whatever the reason was, it allowed How I Met Your Mother to thrive in its first year and the show appears to be just as solid in its second season.
How I Met Your Mother is labeled as “a hilarious love story..told in reverse!” That should pique your interestin in the show right there as it’s an unique idea. We all know love stories, and we have seen a few shows that have dealt with flashbacks to “reverse” a love story. Most of them are dramatic, though. How I Met Your Mother has some drama, but it’s more comedy than anything else and the show is not based around typical “flashback” scenes. We simply know the overall ending and we go towards that in a normal “sitcom” fashion.
The show stars an architect named Ted as in “Haaaaave you met Ted?”. Ted is played by Josh Radnor, a relative unknown in the world of television. Ted has a best friend named Marshall (Jason Segel), who is engaged to Lily (Alyson Hannigan). After seeing his two friends getting engaged,Ted longs to find his true love. He thinks it may be this woman named Robin (Cobie Smulders), but Ted’s other crazy friend, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), loves to take Ted out with him to introduce him to Miss Wrong after Wrong after Wrong.
You ask fans of the show why they watch the show and probably 75% of them will say Barney. He’s all character and this role for Neil Patrick Harris is a “career-changer”. He started out as a young doctor named Doogie on TV and has since tried to get away from that image. Actually, you could say that Barney is what Doogie might have became in 15 years. Either way, Barney is the main comic relief on the show. He even has his own language. That’s not to say that the others on the show aren’t funny, because they are. The whole cast has this unbelievable chemistry together. All of them have a lot of acting experience and most of it on other TV shows, but it takes a little luck and a lot of good decisions to get a cast like this to work together so well. That’s the main highlight of this show.
Another positive of this show is the premise as I have mentioned. It’s unique. The fact that we know that Ted gets married and has kids doesn’t ruin the story for us. We don’t know who he ends up marrying and it’s fun watching him go through crazy situations to get to his final fate. This show really provides great examples of what single life in your late 20’s/early 30’s is really like. It’s a crazy fun time.
This is usually the time for me to comment on the negatives of the show. However, I can’t think of any really. I suppose some could argue that this show does have more dramatic elements than in a typical comedy. Yes, looking for love and being heartbroken among other things is not that funny, but at the heart of this show is comedy. There is drama, but it never brings the show down far enough to ruin the comedy. And vice-versa. The show really mixes both elements extremely well. I won’t compare this show to Friends, but How I Met Your Mother really reminds me of that show when it comes to having a comedy with drama sprinkled throughout.
There’s not much to not like about How I Met Your Mother. This is a show with crazy characters and people that everyone can relate to. It’s a comedy AND a drama. It’s a love story told in an unique way. In addition, it has a near-perfect cast that works extremely well together. You add that to the fact that it’s on one of the strongest nights for a strong network and you get the proof that you really can’t fight fate. Whether that is finding your true love or finding success in the world of competitive television, How I Met Your Mother has got it all figured out.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – Pilot
In 2029, Ted tells his children the story of how he met their mother, beginning back in 2005 with Marshall and Lily’s engagement. Ted is eager to find his soul mate and soon meets Robin. He sets his sights on marrying her.
Episode 2 – Purple Giraffe
Ted throws a party in hopes of seeing Robin again, but when she doesn’t show up, he throws another party and another. Meanwhile, Lily’s heightened libido prevents Marshall from getting his work done.
Episode 3 – Sweet Taste of Liberty
Barney’s plan to meet girls at the airport backfires as he and Ted are picked up by airport security, and Lily gets jealous when Robin monopolizes the male attention at their girls’ night out.
Episode 4 – Return of the Shirt
Ted reconnects with Natalie, an old flame, and soon remembers why he dumped her in the first place. Meanwhile, Barney pays Robin to say outrageous things on the air.
Episode 5 – Okay Awesome
Robin, Ted, and Barney go to a hot new club, leaving the engaged Marshall and Lily to a more adult, but boring, evening of wine tasting.
Episode 6 – Slutty Pumpkin
Halloween fun is all around as Ted makes his annual trek to the same lame party in search of a girl he met there three years ago, while Robin joins Marshall and Lily for a double date.
Episode 7 – Matchmaker
When Ted signs up with a matchmaking service, he learns that love is not a science. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily confront a frightening creature living in the apartment.
Episode 8 – The Duel
Lily officially moves in with Marshall and Ted, and when Ted suspects that he’s being edged out of the apartment, he and Marshall decide to settle it like men.
Disc Two:
Episode 9 – Belly Full of Turkey
Thanksgiving with Marshall’s family is especially stressful for Lily because she thinks she may be pregnant. Elsewhere, Barney and Ted spend the holiday volunteering at a homeless shelter.
Episode 10 – The Pineapple Incident
After an alcohol-induced blackout, Ted awakens to find a strange woman AND a pineapple in his bed.
Episode 11 – The Limo
New Year’s Eve is a wild ride as Ted rents a limo for a night of party-hopping with the gang.
Episode 12 – The Wedding
Ted’s romantic hopes are dashed when he invites Robin to a fancy wedding, only to discover that the bride-to-be won’t allow him to bring a date.
Episode 13 – Drumroll, Please
Robin is emotionally torn when Ted meets an exciting new woman, Victoria, at the wedding. Afterward, though, he doesn’t know how to contact her.
Episode 14 – Zip, Zip, Zip
Hiding in the bathroom, Marshall and Lily wait for Ted and Victoria to consummate their relationship, and Barney typically gets the wrong idea while hanging out with Robin.
Episode 15 – Game Night
Marshall’s game night leads to some startling and very embarrassing revelations.
Episode 16 – Cupcake
Just as Ted and Victoria’s relationship is beginning to flourish, she’s offered a scholarship to a culinary institute in Germany. Should she stay or should she go?
Disc Three:
Episode 17 – Life Among the Gorillas
With Victoria in Germany, Ted faces the pitfalls of long-distance relationships, and Marshall has trouble fitting in when he takes a job at Barney’s company.
Episode 18 – Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.
With Victoria on his mind, Ted has conflicted feelings when Robin invites him over for a late-night rendezvous.
Episode 19 – Mary the Paralegal
Ted needs a date to take to Robin’s banquet, so Barney hooks him up with Mary, who may be a call girl.
Episode 20 – Best Prom Ever
With her wedding day fast approaching, Lily, along with Barney and Robin crashes a high school prom to scope out a potential band for the reception.
Episode 21 – Milk
Ted is excited when a matchmaking service claims to have found his soul mate, but he must postpone his date to help Lily, who has a surprise revelation.
Episode 22 – Come On
Hoping to get closer to Robin, Ted tries to prevent her from going away for the weekend with her co-anchor, Sandy. Meanwhile, Marshall is upset when he finds out about Lily’s fellowship interview.
The Video:
The video is given in fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Transfer is good with minimal distortion. Some say it should be in widescreen as well as you can watch it in high-defintion on your widescreen television set, if you have those options. But this is just fine. No reason to really complain here.
The Audio:
The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French. This audio is legendar…no, I won’t say it. That would going too far here. But the sound is good enough for what this show is.
The Extras:
Cast and Crew Audio Commentaries –
There are commentaries from the cast and crew on select episodes of this season. Co-creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, along with the director, Pam Fryman, and the entire cast of Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and Cobie Smulders comment on the “Pilot” episode. Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and Cobie Smulders are back to comment on the “Okay Awesome” and “Come On” episodes by themselves. Co-Creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas then comment by themselves on “The Pineapple Incident” and “Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.”. They are joined by Director, Pam Fryman, one last time for the “Drumroll, Please” episode. There are a lof of people on these and that could be distracting, but I always love the cast commentaries the best and this is no expection. Very entertaining to listen to.
Video Yearbook Featurette –
This is your standard behind-the-scenes featurette. The cast and crew talk about the show. Why they like it, how the show came to be, finding the cast, and all of that fun stuff. This is set up in an unique way with the whole “Video Yearbook” thing. It’s pretty informative.
Happy Hour Blooper Reel –
This is your gag reel. All of the mistakes made by the cast in season one are all here. The usual funny stuff here.
First Round and Last Call Clip Montages –
These are just various clips from the episodes set to music. These last maybe a minute. There is no difference between the First Round one and the Last Call one. They have different clips but they are set to the same music and First Round is listed first, while Last Call ends the list of special features. Imagine that. Nothing special really, but at certain times they are amusing.
You really can’t go wrong with this show. If you are looking for a fresh new comedy to enjoy, this is a fantastic choice. If you haven’t seen the show, then you really need to go rent a disc or two. I’m sure you’ll end up loving it and buying the entire thing. Although the extras are light, there is some good stuff there, so I can give a slight recommendation to buy this for even casual fans of the show. The only people that probably won’t like this show are people that only enjoy strict dramatic television.
