Would the story of how you met your children’s parent make a great sitcom? Maybe you’re sitting on TV gold.
You remember the original, How I met Your Mother (HIMYM) – when an adult Ted (voiced by the recently dearly departed Bob Saget) told his kids the chain of events that would eventually lead him to meet their mother. Between the years 2005 – 2013.
I mean, let’s just put a pin in the idea of an adolescent actually wanting to sit through any long and tedious tale an adult wants to tell, let alone one that takes place over 8 years!?
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Luckily for this adult, Ted – the stories of how he got up to antics with his motley crew of friends were entertaining. Some of the antics have aged badly – and I don’t mean that they could do with botox, I’m talking about the misogynistic and borderline cringe womanising, playboy strategies of the Legen- (wait for it) dary Barney Stinson, redeemed only because he’s played by Neil Patrick Harris, who we know in the greater scheme of the real world to likely be satirising the toxic bro culture.
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How I Met Your Mother was great, it was popular, it was beloved. So why wouldn’t Hollywood try and capitalise on that? We know they churn out sequels to every popular movie – even when they certainly SHOULDN’T. I mean, you’ll think I’m joking but they even made a Titanic II. And it’s as bad as you think – it’s set 100 years after the Titanic sank with a (wait for it) surfer riding waves in the water caused by icebergs collapsing… Anyway, see the rest for yourself. Or don’t. You have been warned.
Enter “How I met your Father” (HIMYF). Assuming it’s more than “he was hollerin’ out the passenger side of his best-friend’s ride” you’ve got the makings of a pretty entertaining show. Throw in the lovely Hillary Duff voiced by the iconic Kim Cattrall as her older self and you’re on the right track.
But – As much as we all adore a classic love quest, the times they have a-changed since Ted’s was televised and female lead characters have evolved into more nuanced creatures than “A hopelessly romantic photographer who is looking for her soulmate” as they bill the lead as. If you’re still keen – let me add that they have gone full retro with the remake even adding a laugh track. Which has people who have watched the first 3 episodes taking to social media to complain. It’s 2022 and a show is still giving cues as to when things are supposed to be funny? As we say in comedy, if you have to explain that something is a joke, it wasn’t funny to begin with.
We don’t like our faves being messed with and How I Met Your Father is already being panned with 32% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.. BUT it has a hopeful 68% from the audience.
It’s currently streaming on Hulu, which we don’t get in South Africa. So unless you have a VPN, it’s still going to be a while before you can watch it and decide if you fall into the critic or audience category.
If you want my opinion – If you’re desperate for the nostalgia of How I Met Your Mother, with Ted and the gang. Rather rewatch the original than encounter the attempt at it from a modern era.
