How I Met Your Mother 9.14 Review: The Simple Pleasures of Anticipation

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra’, then now would be a good time to go and do that. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This one’s going to be short and sweet, so here goes. I really enjoyed that this episode was mostly told in flashback sequences because I’m still not completely sold on the whole wedding weekend season. As long as they stay away from the inn the wedding is being held at, I’m happiest.

So, there’s only one slap left after this episode, and this episode basically went through the torturing of Barney and his anticipation with the second last slap. I have to say I love this whole slap bet thing that this series came up with, they’ve managed to come up with so many great things over the years – including the infamous Challenge Accepted. I’m going to miss this series when it’s gone; it’s my second favourite sitcom (behind Friends), so it will likely live on like my first favourite and be watched numerous times.

All in all, this was a nice and funny episode. I love how the whole gang enjoys torturing Barney and making him feel like he misheard what was said. This series really is such a brilliant thing, again behind only Friends in its sitcom-y brilliance. It’s funny how I’ve actually been able to watch the last few seasons as they aired, and it’s still almost as great as Friends.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Think of it as a high five, (pause) for your stupid face.” – Marshall tells Barney.

“In the far off mystical land of… Cleveland.” – White Flower explains to Marshall.

Okay, so I’m off to watch Bones now, so check back later for that.

How I Met Your Mother 9.11: Everything in Rhyme

All those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘Bedtime Stories’, here is where I suggest you go do that before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, I have to say that I thoroughly did not enjoy that. That may have been the worst episode this series has ever done. That the entire episode was done in rhyme ridiculously annoying, and that it focused entirely on the Marshall half of this tale (plus his flashbacks) was utterly disappointing.

There’s not much more I have to say concerning this episode other than how much of a failure an entire episode dictated in rhyme was. Honestly, some of the stories could have been good, had they not been spoken the way they had. This really made me angry that they thought this was creatively good for the story. What on earth made them think this was good?

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Okay, folks, I’m off to watch Almost Human now. Afterwards it’s Sleepy Hollow and The Blacklist. Stay tuned.

How I Met Your Mother 9.10 Review: Delusional Thinking

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘Mom and Dad’, now would be a good time to go do that. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed at your own discretion.

Well, I think I’ve finally come to the point where I’m just trying to appreciate this season’s final season – that or I just found this episode good and funny. More than likely, it was a bit of both. There’s a limited amount of new episodes this series is going to have, and I’m trying my best to enjoy seeing this series on my television every week.

This season still does feel a bit like an extra season we were lucky enough to get, and in ways I am quite appreciative of this season. We get to see these five people together, as close as they are, and get to say goodbye to these beloved characters as they bid us farewell. That being said, I am still a bit disappointed in the wedding weekend long season, but I think it is just because I miss more of the year long pacing that this series is more familiar with. Plus, this means we probably won’t get to see these people celebrate Christmas one last time (and Christmas is my favourite holiday; only 36 days left).

Am I the only one that thinks Alyson Hannigan looks better this season than she has in years? I absolutely love her hair, it suits her perfectly, and I no longer think she looks like a new mom – you know, the kind that always looks exhausted. I’m loving getting to see her and Ted spend this much time together, being that her husband is still on the road to the wedding. They’ve had a lot of quality episodes together, and I think that’s great, although I would like to see more of the full group together, especially as soon as Marshall finally gets there.

I just want to mention some of my favourite funny moments of the episode. The first one was definitely the stairs sign, very much something Barney would do. Also, I loved watching Barney and his brother fighting like girls with their hands the way they did; these two are such awesome brothers. Another thing was the song that played during the scene where Ted and Lily realize Zabka framed Ted; nice to know they can throw in some quality rock music. And finally, I really enjoyed Barney’s rendition of a suicide note as his dad read it to the police; he didn’t even spell Cheryl right.

All in all, I am enjoying this season. I do wish a little more would happen and that it wasn’t so concentrated on the wedding as much as it was about Ted meeting the Mother, but it is still good. Maybe it’s just sad knowing there’s an end date for this series.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I now pronounce your asses saved.” – Reverend Gibbs proclaims.

“I win!” – James shouts.

“I’m telling all of y’all, it’s Zabka-tage!” – Ted exclaims.

All right, folks, I’m off to watch Almost Human now, and after that Sleepy Hollow, so stay tuned.

How I Met Your Mother 9.09 Review: Only One Real Challenge to Accept

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘Platonish’, now would be a good time to go and do that. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

We’re now up to thirty-one hours before the wedding, and we’re up to episode nine of the season. I have to say that this week’s episode was a much more solid episode than most of this season so far. Maybe it’s because the narrative of it relied heavily on flashbacks to sixth months before when these characters were all still in New York City in their usual haunts, or maybe the writing was just more solid, but either way this was a good episode.

The way Ted was written this week, Josh Radnor was really killing it with the humour. His phone conversation with Hammond Druthers was just plain hilarious, and his and Marshall’s yelling at the ref and team with all those remarks was just great. Plus, I really enjoyed his whole speech about having time with Robin, which he really didn’t have because Barney was already beginning his play for her. But then, those two really are better suited for each other when Ted really wants kids. I think my whole issue with the flash-forwards with the mother and him together is the fact that he hasn’t really gotten over Robin yet in the present, so it’s hard to see that change in direction with the flash-forwards. But otherwise, this guy is just great and has developed so intriguingly over the series.

This week, we saw how Barney met the mother, which technically – so far – means that he met the mother first time wise. I was really happy with their interactions, a lot more so than I was when Lily met her. The scenes between Barney and her were just really well written, and I finally saw more depth to the character that made me understand how her and Ted fell in love. The fact that she inadvertently set the path for her and Ted to be able to end up together by helping Barney set his eyes back on Robin was perfect. It just helps this series wrap its characters into one another so brilliantly. I love the way this show is able to do that.

All in all, I really enjoyed this episode. Marshall’s song about the five dollars was great, and all these challenges were very old school Barney. While I think this series should’ve concentrated more on flashbacks and flash-forwards rather than the twenty-ish hours that have been spent in only nine episodes, it does seem to have a track in mind. I’ll just have to try my best to trust the creators of this series to know what they’re doing. That’s something that is hard for me, as a writer myself; I often think I know a better way to do something than the individual that created it when it begins to disappoint me. But it is their baby, so I’ll try to put my faith in their vision.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Boogedy boo!” – Lily shouts. “Lily, it’s not the hiccups.” – Ted explains to her, relating to Robin’s crying.

“Yeah, ‘cause it’s 1994 and I’m going to pick up a call without knowing who’s on the other end.” – Ted sarcastically remarks to Lily.

“Yeah, but then we could haunt the bar for all eternity like we always planned.” – Marshall states to Ted.

“More challenges, more challenges!” – Barney exclaims like a child wanting to continue the game.

All right, ladies and gents, I’m off to watch Bones now, so stay tuned for that. Later on, my reviews of Sleepy Hollow and The Blacklist.

How I Met Your Mother 9.08 Review: Never Settle for Less than What Makes You Happy

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘The Lighthouse’, that are hoping to do so devoid of spoilers, now would be the time to stop reading and go watch the episode. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed with caution.

So, we’ve finally made it to Saturday morning, with thirty-three hours to go before the wedding. I’ve made it eight episodes into this season of the longest wedding weekend ever, and I’m calling it now, this is not working. The way this is being written is completely ridiculous. I can’t keep track of time, Daphne is an annoyingly useless character, and none of these characters really feel like their getting to interact with each other. This is not the same series that I fell in love with; I am thoroughly disappointed with its farewell season.

On the road, Marshall and Daphne stopped in at Ted’s old house, and stayed the night under Ted’s mom and Clint’s roof. All fine and dandy to want to stop in with these characters for the last time, but it’s kind of uselessly written in there. Was this the best reason the writers could come up with to get these actors back on this show? It seems pretty pathetic, and aggravates the writer in me.

Ted, on the other hand, decides to accept the advise of a woman angry at her significant other, and takes the woman he can barely stand, aside from her looks, up a lighthouse. Anna Camp’s character is also the seemingly last, annoyingly useless roadblock in the way before Ted meets the titular Mother, and that can’t come soon enough. Seriously, I was expecting she’d at least meet someone other than Lily by now, because even with the flash-forwards, I’m not really feeling like her character fits in Ted’s life. She’s almost too much like him, and that scene at the end; I know I’d get bored with someone that was almost exactly like me. I’m very disappointed with the way they’re going with the Mother we waited eight seasons to finally meet. She’s cute as a button, sure, but I’m not seeing the connection yet between her and Ted. But maybe I’m the only one.

There was some sweetness to the Robin and Barney situation, but I find it kind of hard to believe that someone’s own mother wouldn’t attend their daughter’s wedding, with such short notice. What was the point of even becoming a mother if you didn’t want to be there for your child? Still, it was nice to get a sweet moment between Robin and Barney’s mom, when Robin broke down a bit. And we learned that Barney did know Robin couldn’t have kids, but then I could’ve sworn she’d told him in that bathroom last Thanksgiving. Again, I could be wrong, I haven’t watched that episode since then, and it’s drawing mostly a blank.

The other nice thing about this episode was Lily. I enjoyed her seeing judge related terminology in everything she hears that morning, although it was a little farfetched that she didn’t cut her hands with how many glasses she broke. This temperament seemed very Lily, and a nice personality trait to be able to depend on. Also, did anyone else think Alyson Hannigan looked great in this episode, better than she has pre-baby? Her hair and dress were both amazing this week.

Alas, I may stay disappointed in this series’ final season until the end. The whole set up is proving to be too much of a creative change; trust me when I say that changing a series’ dynamic for a show’s knowledgeable final season was not a smart decision. They took a gamble this year, and it’s proving to have failed, at least in my books.

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Morning, bitches. Like my new blouse?” – Robin says to the room.

“Drivin’ a car, Clint.” – Marshall states, in regards to not being able to do trust falls.

“I hate this song.” – Daphne whines. “Give it time.” – Marshall replies, regarding his and Ted’s road trip song ‘500 Miles’.

Okay, so that’s going to be all for tonight. I have watched Bones, Sleepy Hollow, and The Blacklist, but I won’t be writing those reviews tonight, after my seventh shift of work in a row. I’m tired, and I’m going to go sleep or watch Buffy, not sure yet which will come first. I wasn’t going to do any, but I wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep after checking my email, and I’d just watched three and a half hours of television and needed a break from that, so here this is. Goodnight and see you tomorrow.