Archive for the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Category

Okay, I wanted to like How I Met Your Mother, truly I did. Going by the national critical response, from the professionals, the show has settled into a groove in its sophomore season. I’ll admit that what kept me away initially was the fact that Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel were on the show. To me, they’ve already peaked and will be perfectly encapsulated in the High School Hurts and is Both Heaven and Hell Hall of Fame. It isn’t the fact that I dislike Alyson or her previous roles; quite the opposite, actually. More specifically, I liked her work on my personal favorite, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, until her character was completely ruined in the “Crazy Witch Has a Bad Day and Is Saved by Crayons” plot arc. Still, her excellent turn stands out on that show as one of the most textured, funny, scene-stealing television characters of all-time. I’ll put her on the same wavelength as, say, Estelle Getty’s Sophia Petrilo, of The Golden Girls.

And then there’s Jason Segel signature role as Nick Andopolis on the much-adored (and I’ll go on record by saying it was Judd Apatow’s critical peak) television show Freaks and Geeks. I don’t think Segel will ever do anything better in his career, period. His character was the most changed by the end of the first and only season; he was simultaneously sweet, dorky, clueless, supportive and creepy who totally went from embracing the power of power rock bands like Rush to polishing his boogie shoes on the dance floor at *just* about the same time the maligned music genre was slinking out the back door of pop culture. Segel’s Andopolis WAS every guy I dated in high school. I’m still a huge fan of this show and bring it out from time-to-time to pass along to a friend who needs the show in his/her life at that point in time. It’s a salve, of sorts, for the soul. Who am I kidding? It just makes you feel better about being a loser in high school. Speaking of feeling like a loser, I still cannot get through his rendition of Styx’s “Lady” without giggling and cringing. Good Christ, it’s genius. 100% Pure Joy.

To recap, close-mindedness kept me away from How I Met Your Mother for quite some time and then a few of my friends told me it was “okay” and sometimes “borderline good” so I decided to check it out over the past few weeks. I could see why people enjoyed it. But, I’ve realized why Seth Rogan, one of Segel’s costars on Freaks and Geeks, was fast on his way to becoming a huge star and why Segel was stuck on a middle-of-the-road sitcom: Rogan has cracker-jack comedic timing, no doubt, but what he clearly excels at is elevating the material he’s been given, no matter what. He knows when to play earnest and when to be low-key. He never seems to sweat the small stuff.

Segel was intense and sincere on Geeks because the role called for it, but now he seems stuck in that mode. Granted, his character on HIMYM is cut from the same idealistic cloth as Nick Andopolis, but when you watch Segel’s performance, you coul see the wheels turning; you could practically smell the extreme effort through the television screen. It’s grating and uncomfortable which took away the small enjoyment factor the show provided. Alyson Hannigan just looked above-it-all. To borrow a Willow-ism, she seemed to be thinking “Bored now.” When she finally did show any sort of life as Lily, she usually resorted back to previous Willow character-tics: the beautifully stumbling, stuttering delivery and subsequent muttering of a particularly sarcastic barb, pratfalls, and a few well-placed eye rolls.

Yes, it appeared that Doogie/Neil Patrick Harris was as good as they say he was on the show and in my opinion, provided the only bright moments. His Barney was the drollest of the droll and almost pathologically terrified of doing the right thing. He played brilliantly against every single other character, including random bartenders and whoever portrayed his dame-of-the-week. Harris appeared to be the oil moving the cast engine along and the most adaptable in the various genres in which the show dabbled. In other words, he took the weak material he’d been given and improved it. (And, let’s just end the talk of how this show is just “Friends-lite.” Friends was never my favorite sitcom. Overrated, stretched-out-for-too-long and more about padding the bank accounts of higher-ups at Universal and the actors on the show. Yet, when I caught repeats in syndication it only confirmed that it had wicked rhythm and some genuinely inspired comedic moments. HIMYM can be a cute show, but I don’t see it standing the test of time and it will really be outdated in just a few years. Really? Bob Saget?)

So, the two actors who peaked too soon were ultimately overshadowed by the slow-and-steady improved work of a former child actor? Instead of spinning his wheels in place to make the material work (Segel) or feigning above-it-all tendencies (Hannigan), Harris just coasted along, finding the beats and twisting as much charm out of the material as he could. As it stands, How I Met Your Mother is just another standard C-list sitcom with faded B-list talent. Although, I’m disappointed that I can’t continue to cherish the outstanding work of Hannigan and Segel in their respective television genius past completely untainted, I’m still damn glad I have those *Time Capsule* DVDs.