tek's rating: ½

How I Met Your Mother, CBS, Mondays 8pm
CBS; IMDb; TV.com; TWoP; Wikipedia
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Caution: spoilers.

The show is narrated from the future (2030) by Ted (voiced by Bob Saget, though he's played by another actor in the present). Ted is telling his teenage son and daughter the story of how he met their mother, 25 years earlier. We see a little bit of his kids in the future just sitting there listening to him (we never see him in the future, we just see the kids from his perspective). But anyway, mostly we see stuff set in the present. Ted's friend Marshall has just gotten engaged to Lily (played by Alyson Hannigan, who we have always very much liked), and Ted is anxious to find true love, himself. Meanwhile, his friend Barney (played by Neil Patrick Harris) is into casual flings, and wants to keep Ted from getting too serious about anyone. (Barney is hilarious, and you totally gotta read his blog.) Anyway, Ted meets this woman named Robin (who we like), and falls in love with her after one date, which kinda freaks her out, especially considering she doesn't think she ever wants to get married. But they remain friends, and she becomes part of the whole group of friends. Ted meets some other women in the course of the first season, and starts seriously dating a woman named Victoria (who we like) for awhile, but that doesn't last, I'm afraid. He never really gives up on Robin (though based on his narration from the future, we know they won't work out, either).

Still, at the end of season one, Ted and Robin get together, and Lily and Marshall break up when she goes to San Francisco to find herself. So season two starts with Marshall being miserable and Ted and Robin being happy, except for having to deal with Marshall's depression.... But the season ends with Marshall and Lily getting married, and Ted and Robin breaking up. (It's all rather symmetrical, isn't it?) Still, Robin remains friends with the group (we already know that in the future, she's like an aunt to Ted's kids; and Barney's like an uncle). Anyway, season 3 is... well, Ted dates and stuff I guess, and so does Robin. Ted actually hangs with Barney more often and acts a bit more like him sometimes, which is a bit disturbing.... But by the end of season 3, Ted had been seeing a woman named Stella (who we like) for awhile, and proposed to her. A cliffhanger which was resolved in season 4, when she said yes. And they were engaged for the first few episodes, until... well, it ended. But I won't say how. And that's as far as we've gotten so far, I look forward to the rest of the season, as always, and hope to update this again sometime....

Anyway, it's always a hilarious show, and often fairly touching. And charming, quirky, clever, with running gags that pay off really well for the dedicated viewer. And this really is a great bunch of friends. And Marshall and Lily are one of the best couples ever. And I guess that's all I can think to say for now, but it really is such a cool show....


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