CBS's How I Met Your Mother has suffered majorly from its peak. After last season's particularly bad year, the creative team promised to give us a better one this year. They have sometimes, but not always, succeeded. As much as I love Jennifer Morrison from her days on House, as well as Kyle MacLachlan's turn as Morrison's character's husband, the entire Zoey arc has been disappointing. The chemistry between Zoey and Ted (Josh Radnor) is just not there. While I have advocated in past reviews for the show to please just wrap things up while they have some dignity left, Zoey is not the note to go out on.
This week's episode, "Bad News", was a pleasant surprise. Not because of the humor, which was a little shaky. I think I was pleased that they found Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) doppelganger just so that story would be over. And did we really need Marshall's (Jason Segel) parents talking to him through the bathroom door as he tried to provide a DNA sample to a cup? If you haven't been watching the show, Marshall is not a pervert. He was just getting his man-stuff tested as part of his effort to conceive a baby with his wife. But the emotional punch at the end sold the episode as one of the most memorable in awhile.
For sharp-eyed viewers, there was an unexplained, unmentioned countdown throughout the episode. It started with the number '50' prominently displayed in the opening shot, and smaller numbers appeared sporadically, in descending order, as the episode played out. Taking the episode's title into consideration, you may have thought that the fertility doctor telling Marshall that he was sterile was the bad news, but the countdown hadn't completed yet, so of course it was Barney in disguise, not the real doctor. No, the numbers stopped when Lily (Alyson Hannigan) broke the news to her husband that his father (Bill Fagerbrakke: Coach, SpongeBob SquarePants) had just died of a heart attack.
Article comments
1 - Jennifer
I used to love this show but find that it has become way too predictable since season 3 but kept watching it because I got attached to the characters. I think it's a good PR move to announce Katy Perry's appearance (even though it's a horrible idea) to get everyone's mind off of the last bad episode. That last episode left a sour taste in my mouth and I think the writers are way off the mark if they think they can equate the death of a parent to the reality of losing a parent in the context of comedy. I can't complain though since I haven't found the show to be funny in a really long time. It was a good show while it lasted.
2 - John
This series has started to suck big time. All of them show some unnatural behavior. Ted is becoming so desperate that he has started to manipulate with his own principle to get a girl. That is bullshit. They all are shown to be best budds but when time comes they all turn their backs at each other for petty things. Change is needed.
3 - Ralf
I am waiting to see when will Ted meet his girl. This is killing me.