himym-related stories
Posted Oct 19th 2009 11:58PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews
(S05E05) Sometimes an episode of
HIMYM is full of "mythology" advancement. Sometimes it explores the romantic relationships between the characters. Sometimes there's a goofy website or video to accompany the episode. But sometimes,
HIMYM just tells one or two semi-isolated stories. Last year, many of those episodes weren't all that great. But this season is different; everything's been funny, including the mostly silly episode we got tonight.
Which reminds me... I have to figure out where to get a hold of some Tantrum. That stuff is more powerful than 12-Hour Sudafed.
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - Duel Citizenship
Posted Oct 5th 2009 11:22PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E03) Well, it seems like Bays and Thomas are batting about .750 to this point in the season. Of the first three episodes, they made solid contact on each one, only really missing with the "double date" A-story of last week's episode. This week stood out not just for the fact that it was a heavy Brobin (Rarney? I'm still trying to find a nickname I'm comfortable with) episode, but it showed that even Ted can see the dark sides of the cartoons and balloons perspective he brings to relationships.
Oh, and I've seen the Robin nostrils-flaring look. It's different on every woman, but it means the same thing. It means: Run like the wind! No time to go back for your things! Run! Hopefully, Barney will get less of this look and more of "You're an idiot."
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: Robin 101
Posted Sep 21st 2009 8:33PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E01) Fans of
How I Met Your Mother had reason to worry that, with last season's ratings success, the funny little show that they'd been watching for four years would get away from what made it fun.
Fungible timelines, comedic head fakes, the burgeoning relationship between Barney and Robin, and Ted's eternal search for The One were all there last year, but the show's syndication-friendly embrace of more self-contained stories forced a lot of that into "subtle reference" territory. But
the fourth season finale reassured fans that Bays and Thomas are going to continue to explore these issues, even as the show approaches its 100th episode and beyond.
The fifth season premiere does a good job of reinforcing this. Everything's there, including Indiana Jones' bullwhip. And it's funny, to boot. And as Bays and Thomas assured me,
the location of the Mother revealed in the finale is reinforced... sorta.
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: Definitions (season premiere)
Posted Aug 4th 2009 11:57AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
During last night's CBS party at the Huntington Library, I spoke to
How I Met Your Mother honchos Carter Bays and Craig Thomas about the upcoming season. They wouldn't reveal much -- besides the fact that Carter is the only single person left on the staff ... he's available, ladies! -- but what they did tell me was that we'll see the mythical "mother" on the first episode of the season.
We already knew from the season finale that Ted's designated "one and only" took the Columbia University architecture class that he started teaching. But we didn't know when she'd be in that class. Bays clarified it for me: "Oh, she'll be there, in the first scene of the first episode back is Ted and the mom in the same room together."
Of course, that could mean anything, since Ted teaches in a huge lecture hall. Bays wouldn't clarify more than that; all he would say was that "we've narrowed the field tremendously. Up until this point, this woman was somewhere out there in the greater New York metropolitan area. Now, she's in a fifteen-block radius."
Continue reading HIMYM scoop: The Mother will be in the first episode... somewhere - TCA Report
Posted Jul 15th 2009 12:27PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, The Daily Show, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Chuck, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
The Outstanding Comedy Series category is one of the toughest of the big Emmy categories to predict. Why? Well, if you look at the list of nominees the last few years, you'll see why: What's considered a comedy? In 2005,
Desperate Housewives was nominated; with what's gone on during the show this year, you'd be hard pressed to nominate it as a comedy this year. Same could be said of
Ugly Betty, which got a nod in 2007.
In addition, the Emmy committee has a tendency to nominate the same shows repeatedly despite signs of decline --
Two and a Half Men is still funny, but does it deserve a nod every year? -- leaving less slots open for new blood.
So, between
Men,
30 Rock, and
The Office, all of which should get nominated, that leaves two (or three?) slots open. Who should go in there? Well, I can think of two right off the bat... and they're both on CBS.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Outstanding Comedy Series
Posted Jul 14th 2009 6:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Chuck, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
I know what many of you are thinking. Alec Baldwin is probably gonna win for
30 Rock again so what does it even matter? Hollywood is in love with that show. Which is true, but not entirely undeserved. Baldwin still commands a scene like almost no one on television. But I don't think he was as dominating a comedic force as last year, and he was part of a
30 Rock sweep, so I don't think Emmy intends to repeat that.
Pushing Daisies was still sweet in its last year, but I'm going to have to snub Lee Pace and replace him with
Chuck's Zachary Levi on the ballot. He balances comedy and drama so convincingly you can't help but root for him.
But there was a looming shadow in comedy this year that no one could escape. I don't see how Emmy could ignore the work of Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper on
The Big Bang Theory. He's so convincing in the role that when you see him in interviews you fully expect him to demand his spot on the couch and condescend the host at every turn.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Posted May 16th 2009 2:00PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Spoilers Anonymous, How I Met Your Mother, Casting, Reality-Free, Gossip Girl
This is
Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at
TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our
tips form or by emailing us at
tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at
(775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have:
Desperate Housewives, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, and Brothers & Sisters (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)Continue reading Spoilers Anonymous
Posted May 14th 2009 8:33PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Ladies and gentlemen alike know that Neil Patrick Harris has got it all: Perfect comedic timing,
a hit show, old-fashioned song-and-dance skills, a ridiculously diverse audience, and a body built for suits. With such overwhelming levels of snazzy, is anyone surprised that NPH has been asked to
host the 63rd Annual Tony Awards?
Some of the theater-literate out there may know that NPH has done his fair share of musicals onstage, from
RENT to
Sweeney Todd to
Cabaret. Most of you are probably most aware of his Joss Whedon project,
Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog, which provided us with endless joy (and by "endless", I mean "three installments' worth"). Regardless, NPH has the knowledge, the background and the charisma to pull this off.
Continue reading Neil Patrick Harris to host the Tony Awards
Posted May 5th 2009 7:30PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: TV Squad Polls, Watercooler Talk, How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free
This week's episode of
How I Met Your Mother was huge. No, the episode didn't exactly end with, "and that's how I met your mother," but it was definitely leading up to that point. Ted had the yellow umbrella and threw around a lot of phrases like, "if it weren't for that, you kids may never have been born."
While the woman who tapped Ted on the shoulder wasn't revealed until the final moments of the episode, it doesn't necessarily mean that she's the mother.
HIMYM executive producer
Carter Bays recently spoke to Michael Ausiello about the surprise ending and what exactly it means for the last two episodes of the season.
Continue reading So did we meet the mother or not? HIMYM creator weighs in
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 6:25PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free
Really?
Ausiello seems to think so, but I have my doubts. I can see how he might think that to be true when he says Carter Bays told him the central mystery of the show is going to be (sort-of) resolved. However, I noticed that Ausiello didn't quote Bays here. Now, what he did quote Bays as saying is:
"At the end of the season, we will address the title of our show," reveals Bays, adding that the last four episodes will feature "big events in the lives of our characters -- specifically Ted (Josh Radnor). We're going to wrap up some things that have been left dangling."
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother will reveal "the mother" this season?
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 7:50AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E15) We've waited about three weeks to see this episode, since President Obama decided to inconvenience
HIMYM fans by holding his first primetime press conference on the night this was originally supposed to air. Was "The Stinsons" worth the wait? Definitely. And not just because we met Barney's mom.
It was just plain ol' laugh-out-loud funny. And Bays and Thomas were able to explore how Barn's ability to deceive could be used for sentimental reasons as well as self-serving ones. It also gave us a chance to see Ted overact, Marshall call himself the runt of the family, and Lily and Robin hide under coats and loose tops.
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: The Stinsons
Posted Feb 18th 2009 11:30AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, 24, American Idol, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, TV Squad Lists, TV Squad Ten
Bromances have been around, well, forever really, but you'd never use the term for say, Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte (
48 Hours) or Paul Newman and Robert Redford (
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). That just wouldn't be right! And besides that, when do "buddies" turn into "bromantic pals"? Would love to hear your thoughts on that.
At any rate, "bromance" is part of our language now, and it's even the title of
an MTV show starring Brody Jenner and his buds.
I'm not ashamed to say I have girl-crushes on a few TV babes (
True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse springs to mind), so it's not unfeasible for a guy to have a man-crush on another guy. I don't know if that's true for all these pairings, but since I'm writing this, we'll say it is. Take a look at my top ten bromances on TV right now:
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Top Bromances on TV right now
Posted Feb 16th 2009 11:09AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, American Idol, How I Met Your Mother, Judges, TV Squad Lists, Chuck, Reaper, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory, TV Squad Ten
So what's a second banana? Well they're certainly not second best. No, in fact they're often the main reason to tune into a particular show. Not because the show's major plotlines revolve around them, in fact they generally don't, but because they liven up every scene they're in. Virtual show-stealers, a good second banana can turn a generic sitcom or drama into television gold. The ultimate wingman on television, there was no greater second banana than my man Barney Fife, brilliantly played by Don Knotts on
The Andy Griffith Show, and later
Mayberry R.F.D.
When it came time to put together this list, I wondered if I'd be able to find ten viable and qualified bananas on the airwaves today. But I guess I needn't have worried. It looks like Barney was an inspiration (in more ways than one) to the current crop of second bananas. They litter their peels all over the television landscape, leaving us to trip over in laughter time and time again at their antics. But how do they stack up? Who's the biggest fruit in the tree? There's only one way to find out!
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: TV's top second bananas
Posted Feb 2nd 2009 11:48PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Web, How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E14) This week we got a bit of a stealthy episode. There were two overt storylines -- Robin's efforts to get a job and stay in the country and why three of the gang still have "weak-ass crap" on their resumes -- but the
real storyline was simmering just underneath.
It all had to do with Barney and his feelings for Robin. And the fun of Barney's video resume is only a small part of what you
really saw, if you looked hard enough.
Oh, and we got two new websites out of Bays and Thomas this week. But you know that with those two guys at the helm of a show, anything is possimpible ...
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: The Possimpible
Posted Jan 2nd 2009 9:00AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
How can we enter a new year without celebrating the last year's best and worst TV? Not a lot of the new shows were impressive, but I've been entertained for the last year, so I can't complain.
In making out my lists, I realized I must be a half-full type of gal, because even my worsts aren't that bad, and I had a heck of a time coming up with them.
So, here are my lovin'-life, lovin'-TV best and worst lists for 2008:
Best new show -- Leverage Man, I love everything about this show -- the chemistry between the characters, the quotable quotes, the clever jobs, the flashbacks. It's the most entertaining hour on television right now. Thank you, TNT!
Continue reading Best and Worst of 2008: Debbie's list
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