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| HIMYM for threeeee! YESSS!!! | Credit: IMDB |
“How I Met Your Mother has been one of my favorite shows through the recent years but I have criticized the show a lot recently. It was shaky at the start of the year when the writer’s made a horrible tease at the season opener. They have been teasing us about the mother excessively that there would be a 99% chance that the audience will get disappointed once they introduce Ted’s future wife. Then, the next few episodes featured sloppy writing and uninspired comedic scenes. I had to re-watch HIMYM Season 1 just to reminisce how amazingly funny the show was then. Upon watching the first season, I get to laugh a lot even if I already knew/remember the outcomes. The punchlines were damn witty. The recent seasons were more about forced or crude humor. For instance, how realistic is a monkey mugging someone? HIMYM has liberties because of its storytelling form (making exaggerations acceptable) but because the show once was about making witty lines or scenarios, it was disappointing to watch such nonsensical humor in place. This season almost hit rock bottom when it featured the episode about Marshall and Robin not being able to hang out with each other. HIMYM has had a consistent writing crew through the years but I could not believe how they missed the fact that Marshall and Robin bonded in the Minnesota restaurant a few years back.
Of course, there were some brilliant episodes this season. Marshall’s dad’s death was a huge shocker. I almost teared up when I watched the scene unfold. That episode (even if it was a bit mediocre for most of its parts) steered the show into a better direction. It had HIMYM Season 1’s drama aspect. A huge reason why HIMYM had a huge following (other than Neil Patrick Harris’ portrayal of Barney Stinson) was because it tugged the heartstrings of its viewers. Ted’s romantic attempts to win Robin’s heart was stupendous. The central story of the show always moved in the first few seasons. It stopped the past few years. Even if it was fun to watch episodes about the Playbook, Streak, “I’m Old Enough For This…Stuff,” it was still better to watch HIMYM with a progressing storyline. Marshall’s dad’s death shook the whole show and brought it back on track.
Then, Barney’s storyline started progressing. I have to admit though that even if I am a huge fan of Barney Stinson, I had little interest on his storyline. HIMYM, after all, still circulates on Ted Mosby’s love life. Barney is too jovial to be taken seriously. He was too cool for me to empathize to him. I would be more moved if Ted’s storyline progresses. My storyline interest was like this:
1) Ted
2) Robin
3) Marshall
4) Barney
5) Lily
The writers vastly improved Marshall’s and Barney’s storylines this year. As for Barney, I was not feeling it yet by the middle of the year. It was really hard to connect emotionally with a soulless person. However, Barney transformed little by little this year. He wanted to meet his father and he started to have real feelings on a girl. This climaxed last week when Barney met his…wait for it…daddy.
At first, I was not a 100% interested in following Barney and his father’s storyline. It had various previews before. I also knew two weeks ago that the Legendaddy episode would be shown last week. Heck, I even saw Barney’s father’s picture from a spoiler. Thanks to the writers, “Legendaddy” was well-executed. It still featured Barney’s cool attitude which eventually transformed into a human emotion by the end of the episode.
Before I get to the meat of the story, I have to say that “Legendaddy” had HIMYM Season 1-esque qualities. The wit was back. Jerry (Barney’s Dad) was amusing when he was trying to impress Barney with his boring life achievements. It was also hilarious when Marshall mentioned that “Phantom Menace” was the best of the Star Wars movies. There were some head-scratching jokes like Robin’s cluelessness on the North Pole and Ted’s chameleon pronunciation but at least these had some sense of truth. Note: I could relate to Ted’s mispronunciation because I also made several mistakes on pronouncing words that I learned from reading. My classic case was pronouncing vegetable as “ve-je-ta-bol” when I was in Grade 1. Although, “chameleon” is a word that a thirty year old American should know how to pronounce correctly. But since the word has a larger meaning to the context of the episode, I guess it should just be fine to have Ted’s fundamental flaw.
“Legendaddy” was a great episode in moving the show’s central plot. Yes, Ted’s storyline barely progressed but this episode showed the long-term effect of Marshall’s dad’s death. Without it, Marshall would not have been able to convince Barney to give his father a second chance. I can see HIMYM pulling off the “Marshall’s dad is dead” card or some realization brought forth from it in the future that would also signal some of the characters to mature. The gang has been partying with their carefree lives for so long that one by one they get to realize that they have to mature and have families of their own.
With regard to the serious side of the recent episode, I have to say that Neil Patrick Harris can easily submit this for an acting nod in the Emmy’s. The sequence after Barney found out that JJ was named after Jerry was remarkable. Barney has always been able to keep his feelings set aside but the fact that his father grew to be a decent father for some kid broke his heart. It was heartwrenching to see Barney try to pull out the basketball rim out of frustration. No matter how awesome he thinks he is, he realized that he has this large wound through the years. He was never blessed with a happy family. He was never fortunate to have a father guide him through the years. I cannot fully relate to Barney because I was fortunate to have a father but I was drastically moved when I saw his pain. He uttered “Legendaddy’s” famous words:
“Because if you were going to be some lame suburban dad, why couldn't you be that for me?!”
Suddenly, the Barney that I cared less about became a very empathic character. This episode made me realize why Barney was that awesome guy. It was his mask. Deep inside, he is a vulnerable guy with father issues. A huge reason why he became this soulless was because he did not have a father who could teach him to use a screwdriver. He did not have a dad who he can play hoops with.
The writers hit it dead on when they had Barney say, “a kid needs a hoop.” If I were going to reminisce the best moments of my childhood, “playing basketball outside the house” would be near the top of that list. And the person who taught me to play hoops? My dad. Fathers and sons do not often converse a lot but being there for your kid is a very critical piece in one’s childhood. Playing basketball is one of those special father-son bonding moments and Barney was not even fortunate to have that.
And that, kids, is how you make an awesome TV episode.
TV This Week
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| It seemed that Casey was the no-brainer safe contestant here...NOT! | Credit: People.com |
As for “American Idol,” all I can say is WOW! I almost got the prediction order super wrong this week. Shockingly, Haley survived another week. More shockingly, Casey Abrams received the lowest votes. His performance was not even bad. He just got the first spot. I never really saw Casey winning the whole gig but for him to receive the lowest vote count this early? That was shocking. I thought Jacob had fewer fans so I thought that he would be the contestant who the judges will use the save on.
This week’s Elimination Night was easily the best episode this year. It was memorable because of Stevie Wonder. It was shocking because of the results. It was calming because of the save (at least, they finally used the save to a contestant that I liked). It was suspenseful because Casey’s reaction was so scary that I was hoping that he won’t die on the spot. Fortunately, he did not. Unfortunately, he was rushed to the hospital after the episode. I hope he is fine. As for the Idol producers, please be sensitive the next time. Give him the heads-up if he is in danger of being eliminated. It’s not like this was the first time the guy was rushed to the hospital because of stress or blood problems.
By the numbers, this is easily the best TV week of the year. Legendary, indeed.
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