SPidge Tales

Monday, May 01, 2006

How I Met Your Mother

Many people dread Mondays. It is the day you have to go begin getting up early again and go back to work, with a full five days ahead until relief. I don’t really have much problem with Mondays. It’s Sundays that I don’t like (other than, of course it being the LORD’s Day. That part of Sunday is always good. Keep the lightning bolts at bay, Yahweh!) On Sunday, you realize the weekend is almost over. What was supposed to be a relaxing, refreshing break from work almost never is. There is always something (family get-togethers, extended visits to watering holes) that does a double energy take-away. (1) You lose energy from being out and not getting sleep and rest. (2) You lose energy realizing that all the work you were planning on getting done for work Monday morning has not even been started and will not get done.

Mondays are a cake-walk compared to Sundays. The work that had weighed on my mind on Sunday, I know on Monday is not that big of a deal. Happy Hour exists for Mondays just as much as Fridays, with the same beer specials and half priced appetizers that can be found at the end of the week. Best of all is the Monday T.V. programming on CBS.

My two shows are How I Met Your Mother and Two and A Half Men. How I Met Your Mother (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/) gets brownie points before seeing a single episodes just for casting Bob Saget (who plays the effeminate Danny Tanner on Full House) and Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser from Doogie Howser and Neil Patrick Harris/Doogie Howser from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle). The premise of the show: Older Ted who we never see (voiced by Bob Saget), in the year 2030, is telling his teenage children the story of how he met their mother. The episodes consist of the Ted from 2006 and his buddies living as young mid to upper 20 something’s figuring out their place in life. Presumably, the duration of the series will lead us to seeing who ends up being the woman that Ted settles down with.

Our cast includes Ted, his best friend Marshall, Marshall’s fiancée Lily (played by Alyson Hannigan, who played Band Camp Girl Michelle in the American Pie movies), Ted’s best female friend and Lily’s best friend Robin, and, in my opinion, the star of the show, Ted’s other best friend Barney (played by Mr. Doogie Howser himself, NPH). Marshall and Lily are the typical happy, in love couple, but they are really cool about it. They always hang out with their friends, and are not That PDA Couple who makes everyone else feel awkward and uncomfortable. Barney is the shameless rich playboy who has no qualms about being who he is, and makes the show always funny and entertaining. Robin is a local television anchor, really pretty, and really sweet. She is the perfect girl. Ted has had girlfriends, but just cannot seem to find the right relationship or the right girl. And, of course, Ted and Robin like each other as more than friends, everyone else can tell, but they will not tell each other. And, yeah, Ted does not know Robin likes him and Robin does not know Ted likes her.

The story arc thus far has gone something like this: Marshall and Lily are working out living together and planning the wedding, but more important, serving as friends for Ted and Robin. Barney is the comic relief, and always keeps everyone loose. Near the beginning of the season, there is a wedding they all are attending. Barney goes alone (fear not! He never has to go home alone). Marshall and Lily go together. Ted does not have a date, so he asks Robin. At the last minute, she cancels because of a big opportunity to anchor the local news. So, Ted goes alone, where he meets a really great girl. Robin changes her mind, but shows up just in time to see that Ted has met a girl. A few episodes go by, and the new girl is in Germany, but still dating Ted. Ted is waiting for her to call but she hasn’t yet, and he gets a call at 2 AM from Robin, who is sitting around, heartbroken, lonely, and she invited Ted over. “Nothing good ever happens after 2 AM” runs through his head, but he goes anyway. Ted finds out on the phone from Marshall and Lily that Robin really likes him, so he should not go over, but he does anyway. He tells Robin that he and his girlfriend broke up. They start making out, Ted feels guilty, so he goes to the bathroom to call his girlfriend and officially break up before doing anything with Robin, but he has taken Robin’s phone by mistake. Robin answers Ted’s phone, and gives Ted the phone with his girlfriend on it….

Anyways, the question is up in the air whether Robin is going to be The One, or if the story is leading elsewhere. The show may seem chick flick-ish, but it resonates. We all have friends like Marshall and Lily, the happy couple. We also have friends like Barney, the guy who sleeps around a little too much, and is not afraid to brag about it, but is really a good guy who cares about his friends (even if that concern sometimes consists of “I need to get you laid so you can forget that one who got away”). And, I am like Ted right now, a young 20 something trying to figure things out when it comes to women, always having it feel like things are just going slightly the wrong way at just the wrong time when it had seemed like it was a turn for the better.

My review of Two and A Half Men to come later…

Wait a second! If you think about the show's premise, it is kind of creepy that Ted is telling his teenage children about his whole pre-meeting their mom sex life. There are some things people should just not tell their children. Oh well. It's just a show.

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