'How I Met Your Mother': What made the sitcom special
It has been 18 years since the first season of the popular American sitcom How I Met Your Mother premiered on television. Time passes by and how! It has an immense fan following with some claiming it to be the best sitcom of all time. Let's take a look at what makes the show so popular or as its fans say, "Legen-wait for it-Dary!"
About 'How I Met Your Mother'
As the title suggests, How I Met Your Mother recounts the romantic journey of its main character Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) as he narrates to his children the story of how he met their mother. Created by Craig Thomas, it follows Mosby and his friends as they navigate love, careers, and the ups and downs of adult life in New York City.
Relatable characters
Relatable characters are what make a sitcom feel like home. When you see characters with the same flaws, recognize your friend in one of the characters, or get reminded of an annoying habit of your ex, you resonate with it on a personal level. That's what HIMYM does! Like Mosby's quest for a soulmate or Barney Stinson's (Neil Patrick Harris) dating complexities.
Storytelling
There are several aspects of storytelling that How I Met Your Mother got right including its narrative structure and framework. The show also nailed the technique of recalling how specific it is with dates and locations to set a scene. It knows its timeline. It hardly disappoints you with its jokes. It's filled with anecdotes and brings your wildest thoughts to life.
Lessons on love
It provides you with a number of love lessons. Through the contradictory love lives of Mosby and Stinson, the show tells you about both aspects- what works and what does not work- in a relationship. It also gives an important lesson on how perfect relationships are never easy and needs years of effort and a failed relationship is also equally important in life.
Lessons on life
Among the several life lessons the show has given, one of the most popular and true is how no good happens after 2:00am, so one must go to sleep before that. Through subtle anecdotes, it showed how life never really goes as planned and you might not be where you imagined yourself in three years. And that you must accept what comes your way.
