How I Met Your Mother
2711314
226133790
2008-07-16T23:37:27Z
69.116.49.250
{{Infobox Television
| show_name = How I Met Your Mother
| image = [[Image:Himymtitlecard.png|250px]]
| caption = The title card of ''How I Met Your Mother''.
| format = [[Sitcom]]
| camera = [[Multi-camera]]
| picture_format = [[480i]] ([[Standard-definition television|SDTV]]),<br>[[1080i]] ([[High-definition television|HDTV]])
| audio_format =
| runtime = 21 minutes (approx.)
| creator = [[Carter Bays]]<br>[[Craig Thomas (screenwriter)|Craig Thomas]]
| developer =
| executive_producer = Carter Bays<br>Pamela Fryman<br>[[Rob Greenberg]]<br>Craig Thomas
| starring = [[Josh Radnor]]<br>[[Jason Segel]]<br>[[Cobie Smulders]]<br>with [[Neil Patrick Harris]]<br>and [[Alyson Hannigan]]
| narrated = [[Bob Saget]] (uncredited)
| opentheme = "Hey Beautiful" by [[The Solids]]
| endtheme =
| country = {{Flagicon|USA}} [[United States]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| network = [[CBS]]
| first_aired = [[September 19]], [[2005]]
| last_aired = present
| num_seasons = 3
| num_episodes = 64 <!--As of May 19, 2008-->
| list_episodes = List of How I Met Your Mother episodes
| website = http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/
| imdb_id = 0460649
| tv_com_id = 33700
}}
'''''How I Met Your Mother''''' (or '''''HIMYM''''') is an [[United States|American]] [[situation comedy]] that premiered on [[CBS|CBS Broadcasting]] on [[September 19]] [[2005]]. The show was created by [[Craig Thomas (screenwriter)|Craig Thomas]] and [[Carter Bays]]. The series is based around the main character, [[Ted Mosby]], telling his son and daughter about the events that led to his meeting their mother. ''How I Met Your Mother''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s other main characters are [[Marshall Eriksen]], [[Robin Scherbatsky]], [[Barney Stinson]], and [[Lily Aldrin]]. Thomas and Bays drew from their friendship in creating the characters, with Ted based loosely on Bays and Marshall and Lily based loosely on Thomas and his wife. The character Barney Stinson, a source of many of the [[How I Met Your Mother#Catch Phrases|Catch Phrases]], has been compared to [[Fonzie]] in ''[[Happy Days]]'', in which a secondary "[[breakout character]]" often takes over much of the focus of the episodes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20061225_138541_138541|title=Why Barney is the new Fonzie, by Jaime Weinman|accessdate=2008-03-11}}</ref>
On [[May 16]], [[2007]], [[CBS]] executives announced at the annual Upfront presentation that ''How I Met Your Mother'' was renewed for a third season. While airing ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation|CSI]]''-style promos for the show, it was announced that the show would be moving to the 9:30 ET/8:30 CT Monday timeslot for summer reruns, after reruns of the highly-rated ''[[Two and a Half Men]].'' The show shifted back to 8:00 ET/7:00 CT at the beginning of the third season, which premiered [[September 24]], [[2007]] but it has since been moved to the 8:30 PM ET/7:30 PM CT slot.
During the [[2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike]], ''How I Met Your Mother'' shut down production, but once the strike ended the show returned on [[March 17]], [[2008]], with 9 new episodes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-cbsreturndates,0,7656374.story|title=CBS Sets Series Return Dates|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref> It was also announced another change in timeslot to 8:30 ET/7:30 CT, flip-flopping from the summer schedule with ''[[The Big Bang Theory (TV series)|The Big Bang Theory]]''.<ref>[http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080220cbs01 Breaking News – "THE BIG BANG THEORY" AND "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" TO SWAP TIME PERIODS | TheFutonCritic.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The show was renewed for a fourth season by CBS on [[May 14]],[[2008]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6560732.html?industryid=47172|title=Upfront: CBS Releases Full Schedule|accessdate=2008-05-14}}</ref>
Season Four 4 is said to begin on the 22nd of September 2008 according to TV.com <ref>http://www.tv.com/how-i-met-your-mother/show/33700/episode_guide.html?season=4&tag=season_dropdown;dropdown;3</ref>
==Production==
<!-- introduction, letterman etc. -->Inspired by "our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York," ''How I Met Your Mother'' is Bays and Thomas' idea. The duo's first concept about "an [[Enron]] executive who gets sentenced by the judge to go teach at an inner-city high school" was discarded because neither writer wanted to research the subject.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=ae969501-d9e3-4679-900e-28fd88bbe95d | title=TV Summer School: How to Create and Run a Successful Sitcom | accessdate=2008-01-26 | publisher=EOnline.com}}</ref>
The theme tune to the show is from the song ''Hey Beautiful'' by [[The Solids]], of which Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are members.
Episodes generally start with the opening credit screen. However, a [[cold opening]] has been used more often recently, especially in season three. Viewers then occasionally see Ted's children on a couch and hear him talking to them, telling the story of how he met their mother. Alternatively we can just see scenes from previous shows or shots of New York City with Ted narrating over the top.
The show explores the concepts of stories and storytelling usually with multiple flashbacks occurring each episode, a technique similar to that often employed in the earlier UK sitcom [[Coupling (UK TV series)|''Coupling'']]. This effect has been dubbed "deep frying" the story, a reference to the show's director, Pamela Fryman. This structure necessitates many more scenes than the average sitcom; therefore the show is not filmed before a live studio audience despite being shot in the traditional sitcom format. Laughter is not recorded until the episode is shown to an audience after it has been completely edited together. Sometimes, scenes would incorporate a studio audience depending on the set structures.
The bar "MacLaren's" in which some of the show is set is based on a bar in New York called McGees. It has a mural that Carter Bays and Craig Thomas both liked and wanted to incorporate into the show.
==Cast==
{{Main|List of characters from How I Met Your Mother}}
===Main characters===
* [[Josh Radnor]] as [[Ted Mosby]]
* [[Jason Segel]] as [[Marshall Eriksen]]
* [[Cobie Smulders]] as [[Robin Scherbatsky]]
* [[Neil Patrick Harris]] as [[Barney Stinson]]
* [[Alyson Hannigan]] as [[Lily Aldrin]]
* [[Bob Saget]] (uncredited) as Future [[Ted Mosby]] (voice only)
===Recurring and guest stars===
* [[Adriana Lima]] as Herself
* [[Alessandra Ambrosio]] as Herself
* [[Alexis Denisof]] as Sandy Rivers
* [[Amy Acker]] as Penelope
* [[Ashley Williams]] as Victoria
* [[Bob Barker]] as Himself
* [[Britney Spears]] as Abby
* [[Bryan Cranston]] as Hammond Druthers
* Charlene Amoia as Wendy the Waitress
* [[Cristine Rose]] as Virginia Mosby
* [[Danica McKellar]] as Trudy
* [[David Henrie]] as Future Son
* [[Emmitt Smith]] as Himself
* [[Enrique Iglesias]] as Gael
* [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]] as Himself
* [[Heidi Klum]] as Herself
* [[James Van Der Beek]] as Simon
* [[Jane Seymour (actress)|Jane Seymour]] as Professor Lewis
* [[Joe Manganiello]] as Brad
* Joe Nieves as Carl
* [[John Cho]] as Jeff Coatsworth
* [[Lindsay Price]] as Cathy
* [[Lyndsy Fonseca]] as Future Daughter
* [[Mandy Moore]] as Amy
* [[Marisa Miller]] as Herself
* [[Marshall Manesh]] as Ranjit
* [[Megan Mullally]] as the voice of Barney's Mother
* [[Michael Gross]] as Alfred Mosby
* [[Miranda Kerr]] as Herself
* [[Monique Edwards]] as Robin's News Program Producer
* [[Morena Baccarin]] as Chloe
* [[Orson Bean]] as Old Bob
* [[Rich Fields]] as Himself
* [[Sarah Chalke]] as Stella
* [[Selita Ebanks]] as Herself
* [[Wayne Brady]] as James Stinson
* [[Taran Killam]] as Blouman
==Main Crew==
* [[Carter Bays]]
* Pamela Fryman
* [[Craig Thomas (screenwriter)|Craig Thomas]]
* [[Chris Harris]]
* Suzy Mamann-Greenberg
* [[Rob Greenberg]]
* Stephen Lloyd
* Greg Malins
* [[Sam Johnson]]
* [[Chris Marcil]]
* Eileen Heisler
* DeAnn Heline
* [[Jonathan Groff]]
* David Hemingson
* Ira Ungerleider
* [[Gloria Calderon Kellett]]
==Season synopsis==
===Season One===
In the year 2030, [[Ted Mosby]] (voiced by [[Bob Saget]]) gathers his daughter and son to tell them the story of how he met their mother.
The story begins in [[2005]] with Ted ([[Josh Radnor]]) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from [[Wesleyan University]], [[Marshall Eriksen]] ([[Jason Segel]]), a law student, and [[Lily Aldrin]] ([[Alyson Hannigan]]), a kindergarten teacher, who have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his friend [[Barney Stinson]] ([[Neil Patrick Harris]]), a womanizer with an unnamed corporate job. Ted begins his search for his perfect mate. He is introduced to the ambitious young reporter [[Robin Scherbatsky]] ([[Cobie Smulders]]), when Barney plays the game he invented to introduce Ted to women: "Hi, have you met Ted?" Ted quickly falls for Robin, though she doesn't feel the same as he does.
As the series progresses, Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria, whom he meets at a wedding, causing Robin to become jealous and realize she does have feelings for him. When Victoria moves to Germany for a fellowship, Ted almost cheats on her with Robin. The two then break up, and after a rough patch, he begins to date Robin at last. Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she's missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking up with Marshall in the process.
===Season Two===
Ted and Robin are finally a couple. The heartbroken Marshall must now go on and try to continue his life without Lily, and begins dating other people. Realizing she is not an artist, Lily returns to New York. She's reunited with Marshall, and the season culminates in their marriage. Barney loses a "slap bet," which permits Marshall to slap him in the face five times at any given time in the future, whenever Marshall chooses, which he has done two times through the course of this season. Ted and Robin decide to just be friends when they realize that they both want different things. It is revealed that Barney has a gay, black brother. They eventually find out that Robin was a Canadian teen pop star in the early [[90s]].
===Season Three===
Robin returns from a trip to Argentina, and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they can't afford. Marshall learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping. They are able to finally score their dream apartment despite this, only to discover the neighborhood is next to a sewage treatment plant. Coming to terms with this, they later also realize that the apartment is crooked. Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving."
Ted attempts to woo Stella ([[Sarah Chalke]]), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date," which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up, which is followed by Ted's disapproval due to the breaking of the "Bro Code." After that, Ted decides not to be friends with Barney anymore. Barney's [[saboteur]] is revealed to be Abby ([[Britney Spears]]), Stella's receptionist, with a vengeance against Barney for not calling her after they had sex. She still wields a pseudo-psychotic fixation on Ted and does all she can to pursue him with the help of Barney who also still holds a grudge against Ted. In the last episode, "Miracles'" Ted and Barney renew their friendship after both Ted and Barney are involved in accidents (Ted is in a cab accident and comes out of it without a scratch. Barney is run over by a bus while rushing to find out if Ted's all right). At the end of the episode, Ted proposed to Stella. It has not been revealed whether Stella is the woman Ted marries. However, in the Episode
"10 sessions," Stella reveals that she attended and left a party on St. Patrick's Day, which may have been the same one Ted attended. Old Ted, while talking his children, said he found out 'years later' that their mother attended the same party he did on St. Patrick's Day, while Stella told him not too much later.
It is also heavily implied that Barney has feelings for Robin. And in the episode "[[The Goat (How I Met Your Mother episode)|The Goat]]", we find out that, in the following year (when Ted turns 31), Robin will be living in Ted's apartment.
== Catch phrases ==
A feature of the show is the use of recurring [[Catch phrase|Catch phrases]], with the most notable being.<ref>http://www.fanpop.com/spots/how-i-met-your-mother/picks/show/12501</ref>
===Barney===
*Awesome
*Have... you met Ted?
*High Five (variations on this theme)
*Legendary (often with "Wait for It" or other phrases interposed between "Legen..." and "...dary")
*Suit Up (often with various versions, such as snow-suit up in the winter, etc)
*True Story
*Wait for it...
*What up!?
===Marshall===
*You've been Lawyered
== Episodes ==
{{Main|List of How I Met Your Mother episodes}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Season !! Ep total !! First airdate !! Last airdate
|-
| [[List of How I Met Your Mother episodes#Season 1: 2005-2006|Season 1]]
| 22
| [[September 19]] [[2005]]
| [[May 15]] [[2006]]
|-
| [[List of How I Met Your Mother episodes#Season 2: 2006-2007|Season 2]]
| 22
| [[September 18]] [[2006]]
| [[May 14]] [[2007]]
|-
| [[List of How I Met Your Mother episodes#Season 3: 2007-2008|Season 3]]
| 20
| [[September 24]] [[2007]]
| [[May 19]] [[2008]]
|}
==Cultural References==
===To ''How I Met Your Mother''===
In the episode "[[No Chris Left Behind]]" of the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] [[list of animated television series|animated series]] ''[[Family Guy]]'', a short clip from a [[pastiche]] TV show "How I Met Your Father" is seen. [[Josh Radnor]] and [[Neil Patrick Harris]] make cameo appearances voicing their characters Ted and Barney, with the name of the show and the gay kiss a reference to Harris's then-recent [[Neil_Patrick_Harris#Personal_life|outing]]. The clip also introduces a rather different meaning to Barney's "Suit up!" catchphrase.
===Used in ''How I Met Your Mother''===
In the [[Moving Day (How I Met Your Mother episode)|''Moving Day'']], the episode closes with a scene in "MacLaren's" where Barney reads out a Top Ten list, in the style of [[David Letterman|David Letterman's]] [[Late Show with David Letterman|Late Show]]<ref>http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/top_ten/</ref>.
In episode 19 of season one, Barney used Fez's "I said good day" from the [[That 70's show]] (Originally a quote from [[Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory]].)
In Season 2, Episode 7 (Swarley), Barney gains the unfortunate nickname Swarley. The end of the episode features all of McLaren's Bar calling him Swarley, to which his friends respond "Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name," a reference to the "[[Cheers]]" [[theme song]]. This episode ends with "Cheers"-esque theme while the credits are rolling. In that same episode the men are in a coffee shop and comment on how it is cooler to hang out in a bar than a coffee shop, a reference to [[Friends]].
The Season 3 Episode "[[The Bracket]]" closes with an allusion to [[Doogie Howser, M.D.]], which starred Neil Patrick Harris. It also used the [[CBS Sports]] [[NCAA Final Four]] basketball anthem [[One Shining Moment]] in a montage that parodied the regular post-game montage.
==Nielsen Ratings==
Based on average total viewers per episode of [[CBS]] [[sitcom]], ''How I Met Your Mother'':<ref name="HRwrap2005-06">{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393|source=Hollywood Reporter|date=[[May 26]] [[2006]]|title=Hollywood Reporter: 2005-06 primetime wrap}}</ref><ref name="HRwrap2006-07">{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f|source=Hollywood Reporter|date=[[May 25]] [[2007]]|title=Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Season
! Timeslot (EDT)
! Season premiere
! Season finale
! TV season
! Rank
! Viewers<br />(in millions)
|-
! [[List of How I Met Your Mother episodes#Season 1: 2005-2006|1]]
! style="background:#F9F9F9;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;text-align:left;line-height:110%" | Monday 8:30 P.M. <small>([[September 19]], [[2005]] - [[May 15]], [[2006]])</small>
| [[September 19]], [[2005]]
| [[May 15]], [[2006]]
| <small>[[2005-06 United States network television schedule|2005–2006]]</small>
| '''#53'''
| 9.5
|-
! [[List of How I Met Your Mother episodes#Season 2: 2006-2007|2]]
! style="background:#F9F9F9;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;text-align:left;line-height:110%" | Monday 8:30 P.M. <small>([[September 18]], [[2006]] - [[October 2]], [[2006]])</small><br>Monday 8:00 P.M. <small>([[October 9]], [[2006]] - [[May 14]], [[2007]])
| [[September 18]], [[2006]]
| [[May 14]], [[2007]]
| <small>[[2006-07 United States network television schedule|2006–2007]]</small>
| '''#61'''
| 8.5
|-
! [[List of How I Met Your Mother episodes#Season 3: 2007-2008|3]]
! style="background:#F9F9F9;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;text-align:left;line-height:110%" | Monday 8:00 P.M. <small>([[September 24]], [[2007]] - [[March 10]], [[2008]])</small><br>Monday 8:30 P.M. <small>([[March 17]], [[2008]] - [[May 19]], [[2008]])</small>
| [[September 24]], [[2007]]
| [[May 19]], [[2008]]
| <small>[[2007-08 United States network television schedule|2007–2008]]</small>
| '''#70'''
| 8.2<ref>http://televisionista.blogspot.com/2008/06/tv-ratings-2007-2008-season-top-200.html</ref>
|}
==Awards==
* [[Emmy Award]]: Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series (2006).
* [[Emmy Award]]: Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series (2006).
* [[Emmy Award]]: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ([[Neil Patrick Harris]]).
==DVD release==
'''Season releases'''
{| class="wikitable"
! DVD name !! Release date !! Ep # !! Additional information
|-
|Season One || [[November 21]], [[2006]] ||align="center"| 22 || This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 1. Bonus features include commentaries on select episodes, gag reel, and video yearbook. The episodes on the DVD have been cropped from the originally broadcast widescreen to a full frame 4:3 format though. At present there is no widescreen version.
|-
|Season Two || [[October 2]], [[2007]] ||align="center"| 22 || This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 2. Bonus features include commentaries on select episodes, gag reel, and several featurettes.
|-
|Season Three || [[October 14]], [[2008]] ||align="center"| 20 || This three-disc box set includes all 20 episodes of Season 3. Bonus features include commentaries on select episodes, gag reel, and several featurettes.
|}
==References==
{{reflist|3}}
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
<!-- ==============================({{NoMoreLinks}})============================== -->
<!-- DO NOT ADD MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A COLLECTION OF LINKS -->
<!-- If you think that your link might be useful, instead of placing it here, put -->
<!-- it on this article's discussion page first. Links that have not been verified -->
<!-- WILL BE DELETED -->
<!-- ============================================================================= -->
* [http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/ Official Website]
* {{imdb title|id=0460649|title=How I Met Your Mother}}
* ''[http://www.tv.com/show/33700/summary.html How I Met Your Mother]'' at [[TV.com]]
===Other links===
* [http://www.tedmosbyisajerk.com/ Tie-in Website]
*[http://www.tedmosbyisnotajerk.com Ted Mosby is NOT a Jerk] - website supposedly set up by Victoria in response to the above webpage. This site is the work of HIMYM fan Timothy Kirschenheiter.
* [http://lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com/ Lily and Marshall sell their stuff (charityauction.com)] - website on which you can buy a lot of stuff from the show. The money raised is for the children's hospital of Los Angeles.
{{How I Met Your Mother}}
[[Category:CBS network shows]]
[[Category:2000s American television series]]
[[Category:2005 television series debuts]]
[[Category:American television sitcoms]]
[[Category:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[Category:Television series by Fox Television Studios]]
[[Category:Television shows set in New York]]
[[bg:Как се запознах с майка ви]]
[[ca:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[cs:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[da:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[de:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[es:Cómo conocí a vuestra madre]]
[[fr:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[ko:아이 러브 프렌즈]]
[[it:E alla fine arriva mamma!]]
[[he:איך פגשתי את אמא]]
[[lt:Kaip aš sutikau jūsų motiną]]
[[nl:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[pl:Jak poznałem waszą matkę]]
[[pt:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[simple:How I Met Your Mother]]
[[sv:Hur jag träffade din mamma]]
[[tr:How I Met Your Mother]]