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.

How I Met Your Mother 9.06 Review: Friday Night Launches the Weekend

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘Knight Vision’, then I suggest you go and do so immediately. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, we’ve finally gotten to Friday night of the longest wedding weekend ever, and there were definitely some interesting points to the episode. I really loved how Sherry brought up the whole subject of why is Marshall’s dream more important than Lily’s, and what gave him the right to choose before consulting with his wife. Also, getting to see Richard Gilmore – I mean Edward Herrmann – back on the acting scene was nice.

While I did like Anna Camp in Pitch Perfect and the first time she showed up on True Blood, I was not a fan of her character in this episode. For a sitcom, she was just way too unrealistic and annoying. That and the fact that she was basically just thrown in there to keep Ted safe until he meets the Mother – and where is she by the way?

Still, I think way too much has happened for this to be considered a wedding weekend; it’d have been more appropriate for it to be a wedding week. I’ve been to a few weddings, and been behind the scenes of one or two, they were nowhere near this jam packed with events. It’s a little too much for me; I don’t think the creators really thought it all the way through. Plus, next week the previews are Halloween related, with a possible haunting in Lily’s room, nowhere near the weekend, yet somehow it can be tied in. It’s a little too much.

My rating: 6 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“It was the Holy Grail.” – Ted answers. “…Of cups, I know.” – Barney replies.

“Unless… Wedding at Bernie’s!” – Barney exclaims. “We’re not doing Wedding at Bernie’s.” – Robin logically retorts.

"Prayer five." - Barney murmurs, before Robin and him act it out.

Okay, I’m off to watch the wedding of the decade, or at least the build up has been that long, over on Bones. Then it’s The Blacklist. No Sleepy Hollow tonight or next week, because it’s been pushed back to November 4^th for the next new episode for baseball… ugh, baseball. Anyways, stay tuned.

How I Met Your Mother 9.05 Review: Marriage is about Partnership

All those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘The Poker Game’, then now would be a good time to do so. As with all my blogs, there is a chance that this, and previous episodes of the series, could be spoiled below. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed with caution.

Last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother was a rather pleasant episode to watch. There were some throwbacks to previous episodes, like the Slutty Pumpkin, and just after Marshall and Lily’s wedding that were like nice little Easter eggs for the longtime fans of the series. Welcome little tributes that help signify that this really is the last season of the series – enjoy it while you can.

So there’s forty-eight hours to go before the wedding, and we’re five episodes into the season. Despite how ludicrous it would be that all of the stuff that has happened would happen in such a short period of time – especially last week’s episode where Ted went around doing all these Best man tasks – this is still a funny series. I loved the scene where Lily pops out from under the table, and then Ranjit and Zabka follow suit soon after. The other hilarious moment was when Barney breaks the vase before leaving his brother and mother in the room, as well as when Robin’s won Barney’s mom’s shirt off her. So there are definitely a lot of laughs going on.

While it still doesn’t completely feel like the previous seasons, particularly because it encompasses such a short period of time, this is still one of the better sitcoms of the ages. I’m proud to have been a fan for the last few years, and wonder what television will look like next year without new Ted antics, finding out who the mother is, Barney’s “awesome” ways, Lily and Marshall’s life entanglements, and Robin’s man-like ways. I’m trying to treasure these final few episodes as they come, because I wasn’t quite old enough to be able to treasure the final first airing of the Friends finale.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Let’s go get to the bottom of this.” – Zabka says in reference to finding out whether it was Ted that bought Marshall and Lily the coffee maker.

“See ya losers.” – Barney yells at his mom and brother, before breaking the vase.

All right, folks, that’s all for now. Check back in about an hour for my review of the latest Bones episode. Then it’s Sleepy Hollow and The Blacklist to round it all out.

How I Met Your Mother 9.01 and 9.02 Review: The Beginning of the Longest Wedding Weekend Ever

For all those of you that have yet to watch the first two episodes of How I Met Your Mother that premiered almost six hours ago consecutively, titled ‘The Locket’ and ‘Coming Back’ respectively, please divert your eyes now. As with all my previous reviews, there may be spoilers. Again, THIS BLOG REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS AHEAD! You’ve been warned.

Despite this being a review of two episodes, I’m going to keep it short. One, because I find it more difficult to review sitcoms in great detail, and two, because I don’t think I have much to review in this series. Now let’s get to what you came here for.

Regardless of the fact the show creators, that have obviously been there from the beginning and nursed this series to the point it’s gotten to, have stated this final season of the show will be wrapped up in Barney and Robin’s wedding, and after having watched the first two episodes, I’m not as excited about it. I’ve given them an hour of my time to demonstrate that this will be good idea, and from a writers standpoint, I can understand the logistics behind that idea, but I just don’t feel as much pizzazz in the show that it used to have. I’m still feeling as though this season will disappoint. I know that a lot of the core characters were separated, and we had to see them come together, but that was done in one episode. I can’t see an extreme amount of things interestingly happening over the next fifty-fourish hours. I’m desperately hoping the writers can change my mind over the course of the season, although let’s hope it doesn’t take them too long.

My other only real problem with these two episodes is the whole nonchalant way in which they approached the whole James cheating thing. This man loved his husband, they adopted two kids together, they’ve been together how many years, and he just cheats on him? And then expects that not to be a despicable way to get out of a marriage? Couldn’t he have just worked on his marriage, without having to go chase tale somewhere else? If he was so unhappy in a monogamous relationship, why didn’t he just get out? As someone who’s known someone close to me to be cheated on, I can only help but dislike James immediately. There’s no good reason to cheat. I know this is a sitcom, but does he know the trust he broke with his husband? And the ramifications of that man not being able to trust another man anytime soon? Honestly, couldn’t the writers have come up with a better reason to have them divorce? His two kids, when they grow to find out why they’re daddies aren’t together, will only despise him for it, at least for a time. I don’t think that’s right to them.

One final side note before I get too blown up about the whole cheating element and sign off with my favourite lines, was anyone else a little bored by the Marshall storyline? I just thought it was a little tedious, and maybe overdone. I get that he’s from Minnesota, but the niceness is a little boring.

My rating for the two-episode hitter: 2.5 out of 5.

Best Lines:

“Pick it up, grandma.” – Lilly to Ted after she finds him driving 40 in a 65 zone and lays into the horn.

“They are Canuckin nuts.” – Robin, telling Barney about her relatives.

Alright, I think I’m going to have to call that it for tonight. I’m exhausted, and my brain is so not going to let me review anymore until tomorrow. So check back then to see my reviews of Bones, Sleepy Hollow, and The Blacklist. And tomorrow night, check back for reviews of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Agents of Shield, New Girl, and Trophy Wife, and possibly Lucky 7, if I don’t just decide to scrap that altogether.