How I Met Your Mother

[Avaitor]

Well Robin's the one barren area in Manhattan, so of course it isn't.

[Kiddington]

what

[Avaitor]

If you can handle the Shins.

[Avaitor]

Really though, season 9 sounds interesting.

[Avaitor]

http://www.cbs.com/shows/how_i_met_your_mother/video/3061A7E6-E7A7-5861-665E-F93CBD0DFEB2/how-i-met-your-mother-ted-s-kids-like-you-ve-never-seen-them/

wow.

[Avaitor]

I got the EW issue with the big article on the show, and they went so far to rank the best episodes of the show from each respective season.

S1- The Pineapple Incident
S2- Slap Bet
S3- The Bracket
S4- Three Days of Snow
S5- Girls vs Suits
S6- Last Words
S7- Symphony of Illumination
S8- The Final Page, parts I & II

What does anyone on here think? There's a lot of overlap with my personal choices on here, but not everything.

[Avaitor]

Fuck it, I'm doing it for HIMYM anyway.

Season 1
7/10

There's some really good stuff in here, from very strong pilot to a finale with an ending that you know becomes a happy one by the end, but is still crushing. But it still has that stench of first season roughness. I'd argue that it gets better as it goes along though, as the show's penchant for flashbacks becomes integrated more seamlessly while Barney slowly grows from a funny side character to a serious persona who holds some damn fine A plots. There's also the first couple of Victoria episodes, which contains not just some of the show's best writing, but arguably Ted's bet non-Mother/Robin girl to date. Still, the first season is merely a taste of better things to come.

Season 2
9/10

A step up in just about every conceivable way. The only real complaint that I can come up with is that the opening stretch of episodes where Marshall and Lily remain separated drag, but I think they were supposed to drag, plus there were still some good episodes in that mix. Ted and Robin's relationship was well-done, as it allowed the audience to feel more for both characters and, ultimately, realize why she just isn't The One. The show's formula wasn't completely perfected yet, but there's still enough great moments that make this season worth sticking out for, leading up to Marshall and Lily's wedding, which, in HIMYM, was completely satisfying but not in the way you'd expect. Also in HIMYM fashion, it's the aftermath of the event that really matters, as you get in the finale.

Season 3
7/10

I was going to give this an 8, but honestly, this year doesn't stick out for me a whole lot. The writer's strike seemed to affect the show in a couple of ways, besides just the episode count. Some storylines seemed to go nowhere or came out forced, like Lily's bankruptcy thing, or went a little faster than it probably should've, like Stella. But the formula was really starting to grow into its own around this point, making for a couple of bona-fide classics. But then there's also Britney Spears, who was fine in her first episode, not so much her second.

Season 4
10/10

Pretty much perfect. There's a reason that the critics and the public started to come around to the show at this point. By now, its blend of varied comedy, tough heartache, and insights into life were blended like the dream cocktail, with a lot of storylines here would build up how the rest of the show would turn out, from Barney and Marshall joining GLB to Barney's love for Robin becoming painfully present to Ted's saddest moment. You also have Karen's return, Marshall's gift to Lily, the gang's constant interventions, and the holiness of the naked man. Such a strong year, and to many fans, it was the show's peak.

Season 5
6/10

Man, there are some REALLY good episodes here. If you don't love the show's gala 100th episode, you're doing life wrong. Another classic is "The Wedding Bride", where we learn a little more about baggage than we need to. But if you ask just about anyone involved with the show, they'll tell you what was up with this season quick- they were just padding for syndication at this point. The show was just becoming a big hit and was getting into syndication numbers, which helped the show's fanbase to grow even more, so the creators decided to cut back on overlapping storylines and make more arcs that could be finished quickly. I don't think this is more apparent than in "Robots Versus Wrestlers", where after Robin told the gang that she's taking a break in the previous episode, she COMES RIGHT BACK AT THE END OF THIS ONE WITH NO EXPLANATION LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED. Super cheap.

The season also messed up Barney and Robin's first crack at a relationship in its start. But to be fair, Bays and Thomas have admitted that if they knew just how strong Neil and Cobie's chemistry would be, they would've had these episodes turn out differently.

Season 6
10/10

Bays and Thomas caught onto how off the last season was, so they quickly set things up for this year to come out differently, and boy, does it show. Everybody has tight development this season! Lily's resent towards how she and Marshall have been growing up and changing too fast becomes a big issue early on, which becomes temporarily resolved but comes back as the show goes along. Meanwhile, Marshall deals with his own issues after losing his father, which makes for some of the show's saddest contrast. Robin gets a step closer towards her dream job, Barney meets his real dad, and Ted... well, to be honest, the one weak link of the season comes from Ted- Zooey sucks. Her actress was fine, but it became very apparent very fast that their relationship was doomed and that she was only a step in the way from the Mother. But I gave the season a 10 anyway because she was responsible for the Captain. You can't go wrong with Kyle McLaughlin. And even Katy Perry was fine in her episode!

Season 7
7/10

Not one of the show's better years, but it still pulls out its A-game this late on, which is commendable. While Marshall and Lily are prepping for their first born, Barney and Robin get the most development here, as they handle separate relationships as well as rekindling the flame. I also have to say that both Nora and Quinn were quite likable, although moreso Nora (Barney and Quinn fought too much for my liking- her actress was cute, but it never felt like they would really last, even with the proposal). She had good chemistry with Neil and was able to match wits with him, enough so that I could safely say that if it wasn't becoming more obvious that Barney belongs with Robin, I would have been rooting for them. Kevin... not so much.

Ted got on my nerves this year, however, as he just really didn't seem to do anything. It seems as if it was intentional for Ted to have a slow couple of years before he meets Her, but the show still boarded on padding when we came back to him doing nothing.

Season 8
7/10

I'm not so sure about this season. It had a very off start, which makes sense since there were 3 relationships that had to be sabotaged in a short amount of time. While I feel that Barney and Quinn's break-up was done well enough, Nick never felt like a real character, as the idea that he was just... very stupid came off as lazy to me. And Victoria! What the hell happened to her? I don't get why they decided to make her such a slob when she's a chef, who should have to adhere to some standards of decency. Her ultimatum also came off as fake, and as some have pointed out, too familiar to a particular plotline in Friends. I'm also annoyed that the show just keeps on coming back to Ted's unrequited love for Robin, when it's also tried to make it very clear that it just won't work out. I get it, Ted swears that Robin is The One. They have a lot in common. But she isn't right for you, bro. It just happens, and I'm sorry.

But when it's good, the show can really knock it out of the park. Barney's play to win Robin back basically summed up the show in a few episodes. Every little thing in the scheme turned out far better than it should, which is just too true to the series. Lily also had some incredible development, her mixed feelings towards being a mother in particularly being a killer. There's no doubt that she loves Marvin, but it's been clear for a while that her life isn't where it's supposed to be just yet, and by the end of the season, there's hope that it will be. There's also a genuine classic in "The Time Travelers", as well as that wonderful final scene of the season.

It seems like HIMYM has Star Trek syndrome with its run, having every even season being stronger than its previous odd one, although the most recent one seems to be the show's Nemesis if anything. I'm really excited to see how the last one turns out

[LumRanmaYasha]

Hmm... I'd agree with those rankings myself, except I would give season 5 a 7 since it was still a pretty decent season, and season 7 a 9 because I thought it was fairly strong myself.  I haven't finished season 8, but the episodes I watched from it were okay but not some of the best the show has done, so it is firmly in 7 territory for me.

[Avaitor]

I only own the first 6 seasons, so 7 is actually the rustiest for me. I usually get 2 seasons for Christmas, so I'll get the most recent 2 then and I'll give 7 another go. I do remember liking it, but not as much as most of the earlier years.

[Avaitor]

Season premiere was last night.



And she's fitting in well.

[Avaitor]

I hope you don't mind me bumping the thread (not like I ever needed to apologize before), but I do think that I'd bump season 5 up to a 7. As a narrative, it was not that strong, but we're still talking about a sitcom, and there are plenty of funny episodes.

I've also been rewatching 7 and 8, which I got for Christmas, and I'm sticking to my rankings for them. Season 7 has its own great moments, but it's at this point that the humor started becoming broader. There's still enough of the show' killer insight which is a big part of what makes it appeal to me, but more weak poop jokes are making it into their scripts, among others. Eight meanwhile has easily the worst bath of episodes with the first handful (although I'd argue that the premiere is fine and I have a soft spot for "Nannies"). The show becomes a little more fun again when Robin and Nick break up, and especially when it gets to "The Final Page", but yikes, those early episodes kill it for me.

As for season 9, I don't think that it has hit the worst that the show is capable of so far, but the best episodes are clearly the ones where the Mother shows up, some are possibly among the show's finest. Maybe it's because the writers know that they have to pull out their A-game for her appearances, or Cristin Milioti just gives the show an extra batch of energy that has been missing lately, but the episodes without her range from above okay to just there. Personally I hope this last stretch of episodes just tries to give the series some closure and bring the fun back. With Marshall back with the gang and next week's episode promising to be the return of the slap, I think it's doable.

[Avaitor]

Here we learn a little about the spin-off[.url]

I think it's cool that we're getting a gay couple in the main cast, but so far the characters sound a little too similar to the main ones on HIMYM itself. I just hope that I'm wrong here and it turns out charming though.

[Avaitor]

Guess what tonight is! I'll probably make a bigger post later.

[Daxdiv]

So.... I'm going to go out on a limb and say the finale to this show is a bit of a touchy subject?

[Dr. Insomniac]

I just read on what happened.