Tonight might have been the best How I Met Your Mother yet. I can't believe that they combined "Charlie Brown," Top Gun and Pirates of the Caribbean. Genius. Love that dopey Ted — who reminds me more of Charlie Brown than the ever-hopeful Linus — waiting up every Halloween for a chance to reconnect with his soul mate, the slutty pumpkin. Still adoring Barney. His horny-devil costume paired with the angel who wanted weed was the best. But how cool is it that he donned a penguin outfit in order to stop his friend from making a fool of himself again? "I penguin-suited-up to show you the error of your ways." But the line of the night came from Marshall who said, "Penguins are cool, kind of like black and white ewoks." So geeky, yet that big marshmallow is just so lovable.... And speaking of lovable, I was more than happy when I tuned in to the retro I Love the '80s 3-D flashback and saw my favorite current TV sidek
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Question: Last night (Oct. 17), I watched the most recent installment of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, and I've got to say I was pleasantly surprised. Although I have enjoyed the previous episodes, I always thought there was something missing. But last night felt more whole than ever. After thinking about it, I believe that it's because of Josh Radnor's character, Ted. For the past couple of episodes he's been kind of boring and whiny. Don't get me wrong, I love Ted, but he's been missing something. But last night, when he was flirting with that coat-check girl (who I also loved, by the way), he had a certain confidence and a sense of humor that has been hinted at previously but never shown. I hope that the writers focus more on that side of Ted from now on. What did you think —did you notice anything different about Ted?
Answer: I agree, this was probably the best episode since the pilot, which may have something to do with the fact that it was probably the least silly episode since the
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Question: What do you think about situation comedies this season? I gave up on them a few years ago. The canned laughter and over-the-top one-liners on Will & Grace are excruciatingly awful, so I was overjoyed when shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development etc. came to TV. The subtraction of annoying laugh track and the genuinely fresh and addition of talented casts made my week. As a big Buffy fan, I looked forward to Alyson Hannigan's How I Met Your Mother, but after three tries, I can't make it through the first 10 minutes without being bored, put off by the sterile laugh track and the wasted talent of Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris. Will the situation comedy ever get good writers, talented actors and good time slots, or will I have to keep hoping Fox and HBO will keep good shows on the air even when they don't get stellar ratings?
Answer: Seems to me you've made up your mind that if a comedy is done the old-fashioned way, in front of an audience with laughter on the
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Question: Since I am a huge fan of Two and a Half Men, I keep watching CBS after it ends every week. I have been watching Out of Practice these first weeks, and although it isn't the best comedy ever (not even close), it gets me through the hour. Practice's first episode was watched by 13 million viewers, and its second broadcast was enjoyed by 11 million viewers. On the other hand, How I Met Your Mother (which is better) reached only 10 million viewers in the first two weeks of the season. However, a lot of experts are calling Mother a keeper and Practice a possible casualty of the season. I don't get it. How can Practice be in more danger than Mother if it has better ratings? Also Out of Practice is not that bad. I'd rather watch Stockard Channing than Still Standing's pathetic cast and stories any day of the week.
Answer: I'd rather watch a clip reel of Elisabeth Rohm's scenes from Law & Order than Still Standing, so that's a pretty low bar, don't you think? But here's the deal with
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ABC scored a win on the first official night of the new TV season with Monday Night Football and its flip-flopping coverage of the Giants-Saints and Redskins-Cowboys games. But the network's cheerleaders weren't the only ones whose chants of "Gimme a... chance!" did some good. NBC's sea-monster mash Surface hooked 10.9 million viewers, and CBS' more-promising-than-its-commercials-led-me-to-expect How I Met Your Mother actually improved on its lead-in, The King of Queens. (Mother attracted an audience of 10.6 million; Queens, only 10.4 million, proving once and for all that Alyson Hannigan is way cuter than Leah Remini.) CBS also killed the competition with the fourth-season premiere of CSI: Miami (which slayed 18.6 million viewers).
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