TVSquad

I've been rooting for HIMYM since episode #1. The series is entertaining and the characters are fun. It's sad to see that CBS is not advertising this series more, especially since it is the lead in of their Monday night comedy line-up.

I do hope that if CBS decides to cancel the series, that they give a chance for the show to insert at least a final shot with the "old" dad saying the name of the "mother" or have a scene with the kids, "old" dad and "mom"... I know, I'm dreaming... :( I just want to have more closure than I had for FOX's Reunion or John Doe, etc.

Reply

I have always thought that this show had the best sitcom writing on TV today, and I really hope that CBS doesn't cancel it. I'm dying to see the next couple slaps from the slap bet.

Reply

It's a typical 3 camera show, 3 wall setup. Same writing style, same characters, same, same, same. There's nothing new or interesting about it. It's Seinfeld or Friends all over again. Snooze.

Live audience/laugh track = no reason to EVER turn it on.

Reply

BTW, saying something is as good as Friends is like saying, "It's written for the LCD." Strong selling point there!

Reply

I'd have to agree with bgdc. It isn't awful, but it is kind of "been there, done that." I've caught it a few times, but it just isn't one of those comedies that I would tune into every week. I often get it confused with "The Class" or whatever it is that stars a bunch of people of about the same age that all went to school together, etc, etc. I mean, same age group, same jokes, same everything right down to the character development.

Both aren't horrible shows... they are both the same show.

Reply

bgdc: What's a three-camera show? Do you mean four-camera?

Well, guess what, it's not one of those either! One of the things that is so innovative about "HIMYM" is how it riffs on four-camera staples without being one itself.

I think it's under-appreciated for the same reasons "The Office" and "Scrubs" are underappreciated: Viewers want their sitcoms to be of the fat-guy-crashing-onto-the-coffee-table variety, and smart shows don't do as well.

Reply

Porchland - it follows the same conventions. That's a basic 3 wall, with a 3 camera setup:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NiqTCiIpxmU

It's not original and it's not smart. Most egregious, there's a laugh track/audience.

I especially like how they're in a bar, yet there's zero background noise. It's basically Saved By the Bell but with solid actors who should be doing far better things than a basic sitcom copy of Seinfeld/Friends.

Reply

cynics who think that HIMYM is just another 3 camera/3 wall show or "just like friends" have never really watched an episode imo.

Sure it falls into some fairly standard staples of sitcom production but the proof is in the pudding as it were. The writing is smart and funny and makes you use both your brain and be able to turn it off at the same time.

Reply

Honestly - this is the only program I watch on CBS. The writing is fresh and witty - the characters are well drawn and fleshed out by the superior cast. And who doesn't love Neil Patrick Harris??? He's tremendous! CBS would be stupid to let this show go...

Reply

Anyone who doesn't like this show hasn't really watched it. Sure there is the occasional "off" episode, but I have watched since episode 1 and it is definitely funnier than 2 and a half men, king of queens, christine, and any other cbs sitcom. I don't see how anyone who watches the show can disagree with that. It is genuinely funny. How can someone say that a show that is "just like Friends and Seinfeld" isn't good. If Seinfeld came back on the air right now, I'm sure people would tune in.

Reply

NPH is great. He owned both "Harold and Kumar" and "
Undercover Brother." But...

****Scoot wrote: "but I have watched since episode 1 and it is definitely funnier than 2 and a half men, king of queens, christine, and any other cbs sitcom."***

Holy crap, you're using shows like King of Queens and 2.5 Men to prove a show is funny? That's like claiming to be valedictorian of the summer school class.

**" I don't see how anyone who watches the show can disagree with that. It is genuinely funny. How can someone say that a show that is "just like Friends and Seinfeld" isn't good."**

Because they were typical of the genre too and not worth watching?

**" If Seinfeld came back on the air right now, I'm sure people would tune in."**

You are probably right. People tune into 2.5 Men too...doesn't mean it's good. It simply appeals to the style of "comedy" people seem to prefer in the US: obvious, simple, compartmentalized.

Reply

This show is consistantly fantastic. It's truly funny, and the story lines are entertaing.

I've got season 1 on DVD and I watch it constantly. Season 2 is even better.

Reply

bgdc, can you please let me know what shows you watch?

Reply

I have to agree with everyone who says if someone doesn't like or get the show has not watched it. There is no way this show is not original. It is not like any other comedy on TV. It is very well written, very well acted and very well portrayed. I hope the show can continue at least one more season so we get a proper ending. Best would be to go another 3-4 seasons so it gets to syndication. A bad rerun (which are very, very few for this show) is better then almost anything else on Monday nights!

Reply

"It's a typical 3 camera show, 3 wall setup."

Don't most shows have 3 walls?? It's been that way since the beginning! That is a poor argument for canceling the show!

Reply

I too wonder what bgdc find humorous.

Reply

Current sitcoms worth watching, imho: Entourage, 30 Rock, The Office.

Past: Arrested Development, The Tick, Andy Richter Controls the Universe.

Darren, yes most have the 3 wall setup. From Dick Van Dyke to Family Ties to Seinfeld to According to Jim. Almost 60 years after The honeymooners most Americans still embrace the classic setup. Why? It's outmoded and confining. A live audience? Do we really need queues when to laugh?

Reply

Basically all bgdc is saying is that he/she only likes single camera shows. So when those get too "popular", will you just automatically stop watching any show that is filmed like that? You obviously haven't watched more than one or two HIMYM. You left out Scrubs too, thats a great show.

Reply

I do find it odd bgdc that you seem to be a fan of smartly written comedies yet you find HIMYM below you just because of a laugh track and the camera/stage set up.

As for the live audience, in HIMYMs defense, that is put in place by CBS IIRC. It is also not a live audience but rather an audience who watches the taped final product and the laugh track is put in place for broadcast. So technically not a true live audience. But thats just semantics.

Reply

I hated US sitcoms for a long time, aside from the likes of Scrubs and now Earl. I preferred my sitcoms as britcoms. Then I saw HIMYM and have watched it ever since. I'm around the same age as the creators so it's a show that I actually can connect to. That's rare for me. I hated Friends, and maybe because I never watched that show I don't see any resemblance. All I know is they use Violent Fems, and even Roxy Music's 'Mother of Pearl' as music in episodes, and that's the type of show I like.

How can anyone say it's unoriginal after Robin Sparkles' Lets Go To The Mall?

I never likede NPH until I saw him as Barney. He's great!

If CBS is stupid enough to cancel the show and leave knock offs like Rules of Engagement on, then I hope they give us closure so we know who the heck 'Mother' was.

Reply