How I Met Your Mother - Season 1

I haven't seriously followed a multi-camera sitcom in years, let alone one with a laugh track, so it took some convincing for me to check this one out. That convincing came in the form of everyone I know who's watched it calling it one of the funniest shows on TV, and the hard to deny the fact that it stars two Whedonverse alums and an Apatowcolyte. Those three stars are genuinely enjoyable as always, and the other two are a cute enough will-they-won't-they (which the narrator has said they ultimately don't) that it was easy enough to keep watching. The basic premise is that the show is actually in the future where the protagonist tells his kids the story of how their parents met, which takes place in the past, which happens to be our present. He takes the role of narrator (voiced by Bob Saget, which is odd because the character is 27 when the show starts and the actor already has his big boy voice), and begins the confusingly long-winded story.

Ted is an architect who is spurred to step up his attempts to find a mate for life after his friends Marshall and Lily, played by Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan, get engaged. He meets and quickly falls for Robin, although things don't quite work out and he spends a lot of time bouncing between trying to land her again and going after other girls and generally making a big ass of himself. I'm actually surprised I liked him at all considering the amazingly moronic things he does in the name of love. Some of it isn't just idiotic, it's downright awful and hurtful to other people, and I'm still waiting for him to really get nailed at some point. I really can't dislike a show with Neil Patrick Harris in this form though, and he could probably carry it all by himself even without his other recognizable costars. He plays Barney, extreme womanizer and corporate dick, and is actually probably a worse person than Ted, but you can't not like him. Definitely the reason to stick with the show. I have three more seasons to work through before the fifth premiers on my birthday, so I'm gonna get to it.