Whedonesque : Comments on 11608 : Why we watch "How I Met Your Mother".

I started watching because of AH but have turned into a Barney fan. Suit Up!

Same with me. Started watching due to Alyson, but stayed because of Barney. But now I'm still watching because of the whole ensemble. It really is a good sitcom that's not afraid of trying to tell stories in different ways.

unscrewed | October 17, 01:50 CET

Wouldn't have expected to see this in a BBC publication, especially when they messed around with it in the schedules like they did.

My Sunday dinner time was constantly reworked around the different times the Beeb showed Alyson's show.

Simon | October 17, 02:05 CET

I've just gotten started on season 2 of How I Met Your Mother. Season 2, episode 2, the last ten minutes. Alyson Broke My Heart.

gossi | October 17, 02:13 CET

Alyson Broke My Heart.

She does this quite a lot, huh? Sigh. I hope this show becomes the really big hit that it deserves.

unscrewed | October 17, 02:21 CET

The following is lame but true: I honestly started watching because of that interview that got posted here with the creator dude about how they're all big Whedon fans who get very excited about Buffyverse alumni being on the show. I figured, surely anyone with that much good taste can't make too bad of a TV show. I stayed because somehow the show makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like I'd just spent a half-hour having a comfortably engaging conversation with people I really like.

Or what the nice writer said:
Before you know it, 25 minutes have glided past and you're in a sunnier mood than you were before.

Also, Barney has a tendency to make me chortle.

omnie | October 17, 02:57 CET

I was never much of a Friends fan, so comparisons of HIMYM to that show never meant much to me. I've simply enjoyed it from the start because it just hits on all cylinders, despite (as the column acknowledges) the cheesy laugh track, which I simply ignore.

Oh look--it's 8:00 EST on Monday! Must turn on CBS right now!

Maeve | October 17, 04:02 CET

"Chortle"...ha! That's a funny word...

[ edited by stevekaw on 2006-10-17 02:28 ]

stevekaw | October 17, 04:28 CET

FWIW, ISTR HIMYM (pardon my acronym overload) - anyway, I read somewhere that while the show is recorded on a closed set, sans audience (due to the non-linear nature of the script) the laugh track is recorded live while the audience views each completed episode on closed-circuit TV.

This may make little difference to anyone who deems the laugh track is cheesy, but I appreciate the distinction vs. using a canned laughter machine.

napua | October 17, 05:07 CET

I don't really go out of my way to watch it. I won't go crazy if I miss and episode, like I do with Veronica Mars. As far as sitcoms go, it's no Scrubs, Arrested Development or Malcolm in the Middle.

But!

It's just so damn irresistable. And fun!

Gouki | October 17, 05:50 CET

FWIW, ISTR HIMYM (pardon my acronym overload) - anyway, I read somewhere that while the show is recorded on a closed set, sans audience (due to the non-linear nature of the script) the laugh track is recorded live while the audience views each completed episode on closed-circuit TV.

That explains a lot, and makes the laugh track seem slightly less annoying. Because the fact that a good portion of HIMYM's laughs rely on surprising cuts and the likes has always made the laughter seem doubly artificial (as in: how could a live audience find that funny?)

Still, the laugh track doesn't really fit with the style of the show, for me. I've always wondered if it was network-mandated.

VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt | October 17, 06:47 CET

Laugh tracks are usually distracting and cringe-worthy for me, but I hardly notice it on the show, probably because it's more natural than the canned stuff you hear.

I certainly agree with Gouki. It's silly and fluffy, but I can't get enough of it. It's addictive.

buffy_kitten | October 17, 13:46 CET

The Radio Times loves HIMYM. There always seeems to be little tidbits about it in there.

Little tidbits that need to be turned into big tidbits in my opinion.

[ edited by Angelite on 2006-10-17 12:28 ]

Angelite | October 17, 14:12 CET

While its not The Best Show Evar!!™, I do enjoy it quite a bit. I love Alyson and Jason Segel and I am enjoying Barney and the rest of the crew more than expected. A nice escape from whatever ails ya.

zeitgeist | October 17, 16:06 CET

Tried to like it, i've given it a couple of chances but it just doesn't really make me laugh. Not sure why (I do like Barney though, guy is truly legendary ;) though I think it's partly that I just find Ted a bit 'bleh', bit wishy-washy.

And i'm not a big fan of laugh tracks either (though as we've discussed before, if the show's good enough, it doesn't really matter, the oft cited example being 'Fawlty Towers' which SNT had to remind me actually had a laughter track at all, must've tuned it out).

Reckon i'll take another (probably final) look, maybe the third time'll be the charm.

Saje | October 17, 19:46 CET

Yep. Hugely entertaining fluff!

Mild Mike | October 17, 22:53 CET

October 17 2006