How I Met Your Mother

As a kid, I used to love Thursday nights. They heralded the beginning of the end of the week, my weekly acting classes, and lots of TV shows I didn't really understand at the time but laughed at nonetheless. Well the first and the last points still stand! It used to be that I'd watch stuff like Las Vegas (don't laugh! It's a highly enjoyable show!) and The Amazing Race. Those however are now off the air and the sit-com double-team that's got my attention now are How I Met Your Mother and My Name is Earl. I won't wax lyrical on Earl simply because so many other people already have.

How I Met Your Mother features five twenty-somethings living in NYC, main guy Ted (Josh Radnor), his best friends Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan - Willow!), another friend Barney (Neil Patrick Harris - Doogie Howser!), and the girl that Ted is infatuated with, Robin (Cobie Smulders). An explanation of the plot is here.

Part of the reason I like this show is it's similarity to The Wonder Years - each episode features narration from Future-Ted (Bob Saget). While as a kid I could laugh along with the tribulations of Kevin Arnold despite the fact I'm obviously not a boy growing up in the '60s, now that I'm in the same age frame and point in life, I can really sympathise with Ted! Not in the frantic *must find someone to settle with* way he has, but in the *20s are coming to an end, time to get a bit serious with what I want in life*. I suppose it helps that Radnor is kinda cute in that clueless way.

Some reviews I read of Mother said that the humour seemed strained, but I disagree. The jokes and situations the characters find themselves in are still similar to me - trying to decide if you're too old to go clubbing and if you should start finding *mature* entertainment, blowing off studying for exams to go drive somewhere, the perils of dating and where to find single people, the effects of too much alcohol...etc. Because the situations are ones where I can identify with, so too the humour seems totally normal BECAUSE IT'S TRUE! Ok, maybe not the time that Barney spends the entire night dirty dancing with a girl in a club only to find its his cousin - EUW!
While it's not brilliant the way Earl or Supernatural is, I think Mother is one of the better shows to have come out this year. And I know when Ted finds the right girl, she's gonna be awesome. ;)