Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This show takes the audience on a bit of a backwards journey down memory lane. The premise has the narrator (Ted) telling his two children the story of how he met their mother. Along the way we meet Lilly and Marshall (known to each other by the sickeningly sweet nicknames Marshmellow and Lillypad) who are a funny, picture perfect cute couple (well...they are now, anyway, after their relationship trouble in season 1). We also meet Robin (Ted's on again, off again girlfriend who turns out *not* to be his future wife) and that rascally womanizing egomaniac, Barney.
I think the casting in this show was outstanding. Neil Patrick Harris shines as Barney, and Alyson Hannigan puts forth a brilliant performance each episode as Lilly. The character of Ted is a good fit for Josh Radnor (who we have thus far only seen in small bit parts in various films, such as Not Another Teen Movie (Unrated Director's Cut). Jason Segal and Cobie Smulders round out the cast nicely as Marshall and Robin. (and if you think you might recognize the voice of the "older Ted Mosbey" during the narrating portion of the show...it's probably because you do. The narrator is actually Bob Saget).
Season 2 pretty much picks up where season 1 left off. In a bizarre case of cold feet, Lilly breaks off her engagement with Marshall and moves to California for an art internship. Marshall is left in New York, alone and heartbroken, while Robin and Ted strike out in their new relationship (despite the fact that they both know they want very different things out of life). Barney, as always, provides much of the comic relief throughout the show, and remains his usual womanizing self. Season 2, from start to finish, is hilarious. I particularly enjoyed the episodes "Ted Mosbey, Architect" and (my all time favorite episode so far) "Robin Sparkles". When you watch them, you'll see why (I seriously couldn't erase the episode Robin Sparkes from my TiVo for like a month, because I just kept re-watching it!).
The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the interpersonal relationships within the group are really fun to watch. I can't ever get through an episode without laughing out loud at least once, and I think thats a good sign for a comedy sitcom. This is situational comedy at it's finest, and while the storylines and situations aren't believable in an apply-it-to-real-life sort of way, it's nonetheless entertaining and humorous, which is sort of the point.
The season 1 box set contained at least 5 episodes with writer/director/producer commentary (with the season finale episode containing commentary from the 5 principle actors). Hopefully season 2 will have the same, because a lot of the commentary is really entertaining!
Bottom line, this is a great show. I'm going out on a limb here (a very high, terrifying limb) but I think this show has the potential to at least partially fill the shoes of shows like "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond", as far as filling the half-hour comedy sitcom void is concerned. Give it a try, and I promise you won't be disappointed.
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A love story in reverse: A fresh new comedy about Ted and how he fell in love. The series is narrated through flashbacks from the future about the 5 friends and their dating misadventures.
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