RIP, How I Met Your Mother

An end is come; the end is come.

Few series finales have been as eagerly awaited as the one for How I Met Your Mother.  I mean that in both senses of “eagerly awaited,” in that fans of the show have been waiting for the answer to the title question for nine years, and that after the past few years a lot of people just want it to be OVER.

When How I Met Your Mother (hereafter HIMYM) began, it seemed like a concept with a short shelf life.  How long could they maintain the framing device that this was an old guy telling his teenaged kids the long and rambling story about how their parents met?  And there were many, many times when the framing device strained credulity.  Would a father really tell his kids about all the women their “Uncle Barney” slept with?  There were many times when I wanted the son to interrupt and say, “Wait a minute, dad! You mean you nailed Aunt Robin?  Cool!” 

But the show was helped by the fact that the creators were self-aware about the artificiality of the concept.  A year or so ago they even produce a short clip for the internet where the kids rebel and start yelling about how long the story is taking and how they’ve been living off water trapped in cobwebs under the couch.  It was also helped by the fact that the show’s dedication to continuity made the claim that the producers had an end game planned more credible than, say, the claim of Lost’s producers that they knew how that show would end.

If fans of the show have been frustrated that recent seasons were somewhat lower in quality, they should take solace in the fact that HIMYM was always trying.  Few sitcoms have attempted to push the envelope of the form than HIMYM.  When you are constantly trying to be innovative, it is going to get harder and harder, and after 8 years it will be nearly impossible.  Fans want their shows to take risks, but they don’t want them to fail. 

What always was consistent was the quality of the cast.  If you had asked me at the beginning of the show’s run to rank the cast in order of breakout potential, I would have ranked Jason Segel dead last.  But he has starred and co-wrote what I think is the best comedy of the past few years (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), co-wrote and starred in the movie return of the Muppets, and been in several other solid but unspectacular comedies like I Love You, Man and Jeff, Who Lives at Home.  Cobie Smulders has invaded the Marvel film universe in The Avengers.  Neil Patrick Harris now hosts almost every entertainment industry award show.  Allyson Hannigan hasn’t done much outside of HIMYM, but coming off of a much-loved 7 year stint on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer she can afford to be selective.  Josh Radnor has written and directed a couple of small indie films.

And, in a very pleasant surprise, season nine cast addition Cristin Miloti as The Mother has fit right into the ensemble.  There was some grumbling at one comment board about her being made to be just like Ted (mispronouncing “Renaissance,” wearing driving gloves) but how else can a TV show short hand that two characters will have a good relationship?  At least they have things in common, unlike some TV couples (see the previous post on Grimm).  Even more, she seems to imbue the character with special qualities that make Ted’s journey to find her worth the wait.

HIMYM probably contributed more to the modern lexicon that any TV since Seinfeld.  The show created The Bro Code, the Slap Bet, the Slutty Pumpkin, Haaaave you met . . ., the Devil’s Tricycle, Legend . . . wait for it . . dary, and Suit Up! 

The show made some typical sitcom mistakes.  It massively overused Neil Patrick Harris after he struck a collective nerve thanks to his talent and the fact that Harris was an openly gay man playing a womanizer.  HIMYM seemed to be playing the Friends hook up game, pairing up regular cast member just because they were there.  Of course this was more limited than it was on Friends due to the fact that HIMYM had only five regular cast members instead of the six on Friends, and that Marshall and Lily were unavailable to hook up with the others (although Lily’s vague sexual attraction to Robin was my favorite of the show’s many running jokes).    Robin marrying Barney after being with Ted, and then watching Barney trawl through most of the under-25 female population of New York City for eight years, does seem unlikely, but neither one was looking for a permanent relationship which gives them something in common.

So au revoir, How I Met Your Mother.  You never got the Emmy love of other sitcoms (although the show has won an impressive number of Emmies in tech categories like editing and art direction), but you took more risks, and had a higher batting average when taking risks, than any show in this century.  By the way, a quick note to CBS: I will NOT be watching How I Met Your Dad.