Legen… Wait For It… dary
In fact, on the whole I tend not to like TV at all. I find the vast preponderance of shows to be dull and generally lacking in any real entertainment value. That, of course, is not true for all shows. HBO puts out some quality television.
But when it comes to comedy, I’ll often opt for the bottom of the barrel to just really go mindless for a period. And I mean bottom of the barrel, like King of Queens or that show with Jim Belushi bottom (though, if I can find a Cosby Show rerun on, I’m in like flynn). Opinions vary about Two and a Half Men, I put it in my “mindless” category, but some people swear by it and I wouldn’t rate it with KOQ or Belushi’s hackneyed schtick.
Every once in a while, though, a show will come along that just grabs me. Right now that show is How I Met Your Mother.
The premise behind HIMYM (as the kids refer to it) is pretty unoriginal, though the use of flashbacks and an external narrator isn’t something you come across all the time. But the young, hip friends living in New York getting into misadventures has been done more than a few times.
What gets me about the show is the writing. Call me crazy, but it is some of the smartest, sharpest, and funniest writing going right now. I mean who else would think to come up with an episode that incorporates a fictitious rule that references a line from Danny Glover’s character, Sgt. Murtaugh, in the Lethal Weapon series? The only other place you get those kinds of finely tuned pop culture references is the Simpsons (which jumped the shark some time ago).
Of course, no adoring post about HIMYM would be complete without a mention of Neil Patrick Harris’ hilarious satire of the modern male stereotype via the character Barney Stinson,
Seriously, Barney Stinson is the anti-hero to my groaning about male media stereotypes. Rather than providing a positive role model to follow, Harris’ over the top performance effectively skewers everything that is wrong with our incessant treading water in male perma-adolescence. Such a skewering is, in many ways, equally helpful to my cause. But I also enjoy the fact that, from time to time, Barney shows us that there lies the possibility for redemption when the faux ubermensche has the courage and wherewithall to drop his ego-cum-id persona and be painfully real, even if just for a moment.
The added fact that an openly gay man is lampooning such a prevalent heterosexual trope adds undeniable sweetness to that sour sauce.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, HIMYM isn’t ground breaking television like, say, The Wire or Deadwood (both of which I need to get around to watching), but its funny in a way that is interesting and engaging. There is a usefulness for that kind of humour in our lives and it is truly and sorely lacking in the current quagmire of prime time sitcoms.
And besides, on Monday night after a long day, sometimes that’s just enough to give me both what I need and what I want.
Suit up!
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9 comments
There are times when I think NPH is the most underrated comedic actor of my generation. HIMYM is, with the exception of Scrubs, the only network sitcom or drama that I’ve been able to find at all watchable in recent years, unless you count Arrested Development in the “recent years” column.
Also – this analysis sounds exactly right to me. Like you said, there’s nothing particularly original about HIMYM’s themes and concept, but the execution is just a thousand times better than most. The dialogue is more believable, I think.
And your point about Barney makes sense as well – he essentially plays the same role as Joey Tribiani, but with a huge difference. I’d express that difference as: everyone knows a Barney or a Joey, but Joey is that guy as that guy perceives himself whereas Barney is that guy as he actually is. Joey is a celebration of immaturity and infantilism, the guy that everyone loves; Barney is, well, kind of a jerk and the type of person that maybe you like and have fun hanging out with, but who you don’t ever really respect.
Great post Scott. This is the only sitcom I watch religiously. I think Neil Patrick Harris makes the show, though the entire cast is great. There’s just too many great one-liners and monologues from the show to name, although I think this one where Barney explains the 3-day Rule is probably my favorite (sorry for the quality):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flPiX5D4oKk
I just watched the Naked Man episode again and was reminded how while the overall themes of HIMYM are kind of worn, that the particulars wind up often being really novel in the same way that Seinfeld achieved. I might be struck down for mentioning the two in the same comment, but there you go.
And as they said on Family Guy, the only reason NPH got the HIMYM job is because of his beyond awesome performance in the first Harold and Kumar movie. It was trans-surreal.
There was one episode where he even did a Doogie Howser nod at the end while updating his blog. I don’t know how much input he has on his material but i think it’s fantastic.
The unicorn scene in H&K 2 simultaneously aroused and disturbed me. Wuddup?!
For my money, “Slap Bet” and “Slapsgiving” are the most hilarious television episodes I’ve seen in ages.
Huh. OK. I must admit that the one and only time I watched an entire episode of HIMYM, I thought it was painfully unfunny. (Considering the talent of the cast, I was quite surprised by how flat the whole thing fell.) The next time it’s on when I’m flipping through the channels, I’ll give it a second look on your recommendation.