How I Met Your Mother

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

SPOILERS!



What did you guys think of the finale?

I could tell that it was the first time they'd done an hour-long episode, since the pacing was way off. It somehow felt rushed and drawn-out at the same time. It seemed like they were trying a little too hard to give everybody their moment, and it just came out as a muddled mess

I'm also still not sure how I felt about the ending. The first 55 minutes of it were pretty good storywise, but then it just threw out everything that we've been told since the very first episode to go with a 'surprise' ending. I'm okay with the mother being dead; I might even be okay with it having been 6 years (meaning she died in 2024, so she and Ted only knew each other for 10 years, or roughly the same amount of time we've known the characters in this 9-season show). However, I'm not okay with the kids telling Ted to go after Robin. Their reaction from the pilot told us that the mother wasn't Robin, and that she wasn't even really a romantic consideration by 2030. I call shenanigans.

Also, I was disappointed that there was so little time spent with the mother in this episode. We've known the other characters for so long that I'm ready to say goodbye to them. We hardly knew the mother at all, yet we didn't really get to know her better, or get a chance to say goodbye to her. It just didn't balance or flow well for me

Considering that the entire last season took place over the course of a weekend, it seems like they had a lot of ideas of what would happen to the characters beyond that. Unfortunately, it seems like they didn't edit any of it out, and we got a jumbled hodgepodge as a result


And what exactly is the deal with Barney's kid? Does he have full custody? Is he in some sort of relationship with #31? Perhaps if they'd have sped up the rest of the season and allowed more time for the loose ends it would be more clear

I'm also somewhat surprised that they didn't do a musical number at all this season. I know they're not all that common, but they're among the most memorable episodes so I would have thought they would have tapped into that

 

Originally Posted By dagobert

I guess I'm one of the few who never liked this show. I gave it atry a few years ago, but for me it always felt like another FRIENDS.

Maybe I should give it another try, since it is over now.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

There are definitely some similarities to Friends, with the ensemble cast of 20/30-somethings living in New York City, but I think that HIMYM skews more toward a male demographic, while Friends has a female slant. Still, there's a lot of similarities

One of the things that I really liked was how the stories were told as memories, so they were able to do some over-the-top stuff without it feeling too fake. Stories always get exaggerated over time, so it sort of fit. I also liked the occasional censoring that he did, to hide "bad things" from his kids (sandwiches, thumbs up, etc)

I really enjoyed the show, but after such a long run I was ready for it to end. Especially with how tedious this last season has been, I was hoping for a really good conclusion; I just don't feel like that's what we got

 

Originally Posted By ecdc

I really enjoyed last night's finale, but then, I'm pretty new to HIMYM. I just watched the first season on Netflix and have been catching reruns when they air on syndication. I can see how after nine seasons it could drag.

 

Originally Posted By dagobert

>>>There are definitely some similarities to Friends, with the ensemble cast of 20/30-somethings living in New York City, but I think that HIMYM skews more toward a male demographic, while Friends has a female slant. Still, there's a lot of similarities

One of the things that I really liked was how the stories were told as memories, so they were able to do some over-the-top stuff without it feeling too fake. Stories always get exaggerated over time, so it sort of fit. I also liked the occasional censoring that he did, to hide "bad things" from his kids (sandwiches, thumbs up, etc)

I really enjoyed the show, but after such a long run I was ready for it to end. Especially with how tedious this last season has been, I was hoping for a really good conclusion; I just don't feel like that's what we got<<<

I grew up with FRIENDS. When I was a teenager we watched it every day and it always will be my most favourite tv show besides SCRUBS.

One reason I never really liked it was the hype around it. Everyone was watching and praising the show. I don't know why, but that kept me away from it.

I guess I have to give it another try.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

>>...and it always will be my most favourite tv show besides SCRUBS.<<

Not sure if it makes a difference, but Sarah Chalke (who played Elliot on Scrubs) played one of Ted's long-term relationships. I'm not sure exactly how long she was on HIMYM, but it was the better part of a season. I think it may have been his longest-lasting relationship in the series (other than the friendships with the immediate characters)

 

Originally Posted By Autopia Deb

The part I hated was how they jumped from the tear jerker ending to the mindless and somewhat crass new show. I think CBS would have been better off airing a rerun of an established show to help the viewer transition a bit before airing the HIMYM replacement, which I disliked enough to turn off before it ended.
As for season 9, yes it was a bit of a disappointment.

 

Originally Posted By Autopia Deb

>>>Their reaction from the pilot told us that the mother wasn't Robin, and that she wasn't even really a romantic consideration by 2030. I call shenanigans<<<

If there are shenanigans they've been planned for quite awhile, they taped the kids' scenes back in '06.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

>>The part I hated was how they jumped from the tear jerker ending to the mindless and somewhat crass new show.<<

Yah, that other show was pretty bad. It's obviously trying to cash in on the fanbase who may be looking for a similar show, but it just wasn't very good

>>If there are shenanigans they've been planned for quite awhile, they taped the kids' scenes back in '06.<<

I read an interesting review yesterday that said that they had it all planned out nicely so that this ending would make sense, but the show stayed popular and kept getting renewed for new seasons. Then they showed us all these different characters who had great chemistry, and the fans fell in love with their stories. The writers then held firm to the old ending, despite the fact that the journey had been so different than what they had anticipated (which is ironic for a show that's so much about the journey rather than the destination)

I also have a tough time believing that this was the only ending that they filmed. When you have a big surprise like this, especially one that's been in the works for years, I would expect that they had at least 2-3 different scenes filmed so that they would have options if someone spilled the beans

The more I think about this ending, I don't completely dislike it, I just dislike the way they built up to it. I'm also okay with the mother being dead, I just wish it was more recently (like 2 weeks ago) than 6 years ago

 

Originally Posted By dagobert

What I always found strange about HIMYM was, that the show wasn't filmed in front of an audience, like The Big Bang Theory, Friends or Home Improvement, but the episodes still contained the laughters.

I know that they also add the laughters to the shows filmed in front of an audience, but at least you get the impression that the actual studio audience is laughing.

Scrubs was more like HIMYM than a traditional sitcom and that show didn't have any added laughters.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

Generally speaking, I hate when shows have recorded laughter. It works for live talk shows and things like Saturday Night Live (where you're aware that there's an in-house audience), but it's always bugged me on traditional sitcoms. It seems like an excuse for lazy writing; if it's well written, I won't need anybody to tell me that something was supposed to be funny

 

Originally Posted By dagobert

>>>Generally speaking, I hate when shows have recorded laughter. It works for live talk shows and things like Saturday Night Live (where you're aware that there's an in-house audience), but it's always bugged me on traditional sitcoms. It seems like an excuse for lazy writing; if it's well written, I won't need anybody to tell me that something was supposed to be funny<<<

That's true. I don't need them as well.

I've seen a Making of a Big Bang Theory episode and the audience was laughing all the time, even when it wasn't funny at all. So I guess the laughters you hear when watching the episode on TV aren't the ones from the actual audience. It would be quite annoying to hear them laughing all the time. I think that's why they use laugh tracks to highlight the parts that the audience enjoyed the most.

 

Originally Posted By Autopia Deb

I used to HATE laugh tracks, MASH was especially bad, but I've actually stopped hearing them.

 

Originally Posted By ecdc

>>MASH was especially bad, but I've actually stopped hearing them.<<

Fortunately, the M*A*S*H DVDs give you the option to turn off the laugh-track. One of my favorite DVD features ever!

 

Originally Posted By Autopia Deb

^LIKE!