I wonder what SNT is going to say about this.... (smirks..)

Numfar PTB | February 07, 01:51 CET

Her character IS pretty two-dimensional...
As we know, she can do a lot more.

Septimus | February 07, 02:38 CET

As I cannot bear most sitcoms, I haven't watched this one much. I turned it on once and it made me wince. Still, my first urge on reading this was to take up cudgels and spring to her defense. I mean, it's Alyson! How dare he...

OK. Rational now. Looking forward to comments from those of you who, unlike me, actually have something to contribute :)

cronopio | February 07, 02:57 CET

I've been a fan since the beginning. There have been so many moments I've wanted to blurt out "We are international businessmen!", but darnit, it never seems to fit into whatever conversation I'm having. It never actually occurred to me that they never gave Lily a last name, I'll have to pay more attention to everyone else's last name now! But since this is a show I adore, I'm going to stick with it and hope that the writers see what Aly can do, and expand on her character. Otherwise, I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Danica | February 07, 03:02 CET

I also like the show. And Alyson does need more to do...a career, interests besides the fiancee and her friends. This could really be a good show. And, much as I sometimes want to slap the Globe critics upside the head, I do hope the show's writers listen to this. Because I'd like to see this show hang in there and become a hit, and be around for a long time.

sandyg | February 07, 03:11 CET

Hmmm. Its only the first season and it is a sitcom. How many dimensions did the characters in friends have in the first season? Give it time,and as I said, it is a sitcom and she's doing a fantastic job.

ChosenGuy317 | February 07, 03:38 CET

Despite myself, I am enjoying this show very much. I gave it a chance because of Aly and thought the laugh track would kill me in the beginning, but it really is a fun, touching, funny show!

I don't agree with this reviewer about Lily's character. I think she is charming and lovable, not a bit dull or "gasping."

I also don't think that this is true at all:
"just one more TV gender cliche, a woman bent on taming her man and getting him to shop with her." How is Lily trying to "tame" Marshall?

Lily and Marshall don't have a pre-fab stereotypical relationship in my opinion. They are a functional couple who are truly crazy about eachother and work well as a team. Maybe this is uncommon nowadays, but I find it refreshing, and Aly is doing great with the part, IMHO.

SaltyGoodness | February 07, 03:38 CET

I really do like this show, still waiting for a prime oppurtunity to tell someone to "'x'suit up". I've thought Aly's great in it, she's good at comedy like she proved in the lighter episodes of Buffy and the first 3 American Pies. Can't say I've really found Lilly "dull", like SaltyGoodness said, she's "charming and lovable".

She does have a carreer, we've only seen it once or twice, but if I recall correctly she's a kindergarten teacher.

Anyway, we've only seen 13 episodes, look at Friends at this stage the characters hadn't been developed much, Chandler was still "the funny one", Rachel "the spoilt one", Phoebe "the weird one" etc etc...

Look at Barney, he's a great character, and probably the funniest guy on the show, but what we've seen of his character so far is very 2 dimensional.

Ghost Spike | February 07, 03:50 CET

No more swords on the wall. Sure, Marshall might have been the one taking them down, but it was for Lily's sake (even though she got stabbed in the process). ;-)

I agree that Lily's character has had the least to do, and the least development. She is all about "fiancee." Even in her funniest ep, the Thanksgiving visit to Marshall's giant family, that was still about Lily being his fiancee. Or when she found her apartment (she had an apartment?) became a Chinese restaurant, she even let them keep her furniture -- it just seemed like they didn't have "time" to let Lily argue about it in that 22-minutes. This isn't AH's fault, of course. (I think the "gasping" part is not true; her acting is fine -- she just doesn't have enough to do!) Barney is obviously the big character (he even has "his own blog," which is pretty hi-larious if you've ever read it -- he even has charts on how to pick up bridesmaids!), but all the characters should be fully-rounded. Come on, writers, give Lily more! ;-)

billz | February 07, 04:39 CET

I watch the show when I can, originally for AH, now for Neil Patrick Harris. It's not that I don't like Aly's work, I just don't really like Lily (or Ted) (or Robin). Marshall is amusing, but the show for me is about Barney. The show is just ok, and I'm not sure that I'd stay with it just for NPH (or even a poorly-used Alyson).

pbcarl | February 07, 04:59 CET

NPH is getting all the attention because of his role, but outside of a picture of her class, we'd barely know Alyson's character works as a kindergarden teacher. Why not an episode on that?

impalergeneral | February 07, 05:22 CET

Aside from a TV commercial at the very beginning of the season, there's been practically nothing about the show in commercials. Any of my friends who I talk either love the show (Suit Up!) or have never heard of it. Also, the schedule isn't quite weekly; it's more like biweekly, which makes it harder to keep a consistent viewer base. Why do the good shows get screwed up?

Anusien | February 07, 08:39 CET

So, lemme get this straight...

With work, it could be the next incredibly obnoxious, shallow, vapid, irritating, and damn near unwatchable piece of predictable claptrap?

No thanks. Let's hope How I Met Your Mother stays far far away from being anything close to Friends, because the few times I've watched it, it's been quite enjoyable.

UnpluggedCrazy | February 07, 09:48 CET

Amen, UnpluggedCrazy.

TheZeppo | February 07, 12:38 CET

Heh. As a big fan of Friends (yep, I loved that show from S1 onwards and don't quite get why some people hate it - especially not when considering that HIMYM is very similar) I can say that, indeed, HIMYM isn't quite in that league yet. But it is incredibly entertaining. I like it much, much more than I would've guessed before it began. There's only a couple of American sitcoms I truly liked (Newsradio, Two guys and a girl, Friends) and HIMYM is quickly gaining ground. If they keep it on, it could very well become a real favorite.

And while it's true that Lilly is underused at the moment, I'm sure that'll shift when the show gets more than just one season. I'm not worried. What's more, the thanksgiving episode was already a good showcase for AH's talents. But apart from Lilly, pretty much all the characters need more depth and some work (even Ted). But it's certainly getting there and I'm hoping it stays on to fullfill its promise.

GVH | February 07, 19:03 CET

If HIMYM becomes popular like Friends then I'll have to start hating it just to be contrarian. As it is, it's okay. I stopped watching it though, because I found that while fairly amusing, I just didn't care.

And Hannigan's character is pretty annoying. Though less so after the first couple of episodes.

Gonnas | February 07, 23:12 CET