HIMYM : Bad News
**mild spoilers**
This week’s How I Met Your Mother (S06E13 ‘Bad News’ ) was interesting – who would have thought this comedy can get fans tearing up at the end of the show ! I almost thought ‘Bad News’ referred to the couple’s pregnancy results but surprise! The ending was a gloomy scene that came as a surprise to most of the viewers, it was a loss that everyone would feel for. I think this episode was one of Jason Segel (Marshall)’s best performance.
Marshall: “We’ve had unprotected sex 203 times in the past four months. Obviously, I’m the problem.”
Barney: “Problem? That’s the dream. I’d give my first born to not be able to have children.“
Finally we see Barney’s doppleganger ! It was quite a funny scene to see paranoid Lily and Marshall refusing to believe that the fertility specialist doppleganger isn’t Barney himself. Though I must say the second visit to ‘Dr. Stangel’ the doppleganger, Barney really got Marshall and many of us fooled when he impersonated him (the doctor) ! NPH can really pull off the beard and dark hair eh ? I love how Lily and Marshall high-fived over the number of times they tried to conceive and places they have been doing it (coughs..ideas ? haha) The part where Marshall’s parents were interrupting his ‘hair drying’ moment was really funny too.
Marshall: “I’ll give my dad a call after Dr. Stengal gives me the thumbs up.”
Ted: “Ew! He has to do that?“
Robin’s subplot wasn’t too interesting but I love her thumb-down moments. Enjoyed the short snippets of her embarrassing moments, Robin Sparkles rocks! I thought it was sweet of Ted to pay a visit to Sandy Rivers’s house as well but the main plot and the distracting countdown stole the attention. I honestly thought that the countdown was for a special ‘New Year’ gimmick but apparently it’s meant for counting down to the sad ending. I would have thought that it was rather attention-seeking since I noticed the numbers right from the start but I actually enjoyed looking out of the next number during the show. In conclusion,I appreciate the sudden seriousness in the comedy and Jason Segel’s brilliant acting. Oh, not forgetting Ted’s “Sensory Deprivator 5000″ from S02E14 ‘Monday Night Football’ !
If you missed the countdown in the show, here’s a nice HIMYM countdown recap I found !
So how did you find this episode ? I’m looking forward to the lasertag game that Barney is bugging everyone about !
[UPDATE] You can also view my bff’s review here at The Picture Radio ! That’s right, his blog is full of reviews on TV shows that you might have missed out! So check it out !]
2010 in Moving Images
TV has taken my life over like an imperialistic regime, let’s just say I spent at least 8 hours in a week catching up on TV shows. Let’s see some of my personal favorites of this year.
1) How I Met Your Mother – This comedy is like a huge mystery to us fans – WHO IS TED’S WIFE ?! This season has its basic humor and a little surrealism to elevate it above the past seasons. New schticks and the usual awesome Barneyism. Looking forward to the end to find out (I) who is the wife ? (II) will Robin and Barney end up together eventually ? (III) Will Lily and Marshall have tons of kids? – but not quite looking forward to the last episode as well since this is apparently the last season.
2) The Big Bang Theory – Needless to say, these 4 brainiacs are as adorable as ever since the past 3 seasons. Interesting addition to the group is Amy Farrah Fowler, a girl who is a friend, but not Sheldon’s ‘girlfriend’. I love how she’s the female version of Sheldon. Sadly I find that Leonard’s story is dying down alil but always good to see Raj and Howard getting more lines. Will be interesting to see how Amy and Sheldon gets into a relationship and whether Leonard and Penny will get back together.
3) The Walking Dead – Rise of the zombies ! For those of you who have yet to read the comics (Neither have I, but soon!) will most likely to find it convincing, both visually and emotionally. I love how realistic and established the scenes were and it is definitely one of the most intriguing shows this season. Looking forward to more brains, guts, hearts and the undead.
4) Lie To Me – Tim Roth is really magnetic and charming as Cal Lightman, the soul of the story. I enjoy the acting of the cast but not quite the plot which tends to digress into not-so-important details. It is still fascinating to watch how the Lightman group solves these crimes nonetheless.
5) Community – Meta-sitcom structure aside, Community has wonderfully drawn characters and remarkable cast. I totally love Abed and Troy, they never fail to bring a blast to the end of the show which happens to be the best last few minutes of each episode. Not sure how long can they last in college but will be looking forward to more.
6) Raising Hope – Very similar to ‘My Name Is Earl’ as they are both created by Greg Garcia. I like how it is built around the working class and how ‘screwed up’ life can be. Likable characters (The grandma character is hilarious), fun plot and you really can’t resist the charm of the baby. A simple yet very homely off-beat comedy.
7) Running Wilde - Slapstick humor, another way to describe the style would be ‘Arrested Development’ as it is co-created by its producers. There are flaws but some episodes get the humor. I like Kerri Russel enough to watch the show and I’m still amused by how shiny and ‘plastic’ Will Arnett’s forehead is.
8) The Office – This season has been funny so far and probably it’s all thanks to a good cast. Steve Carell has his ways when it comes to ‘mockumentary’ – of course, clever writing helps. I am still lovin’ it.
9) Nikita – After Alias, I think this gotta be the best female kickass show on screen after a long time. Maggie Q is ever so hot and seductive in her character and I’m glad the plot gets better. A fair balance between sub-plots and action, what more can I ask for ?
10) The Vampire Diaries – Guilty pleasure. I really think Damon (on the right) is the hottest vampire around, who really gives a damn about sparkling Edward. Plot aside, gorgeous cast and excellent OST.
Not forgetting I’m always a fan of Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, singing from Glee (not so for the plot), Tower Prep (I know, it’s aired on Cartoon Network and I’m way overage for that..but Drew Van Acker is too cute to resist and anything with supernatural powers is pretty awesome to watch). Hellcats is another guilty pleasure as the story really sucks but the cast is worth watching, based on looks that is. Criminal Minds and NCIS have been interesting but it gets just alil boring after episodes and episodes of similar predictable endings. I catch a glimpse of Parenthood once in awhile but it gets too sappy for me. Not forgetting the ‘to-catch-up-on’ list of Modern Family,Weed, Futurama and Mad Men.
Oh boy, I sure need more time for TV in 2011. Looking forward to Jan when all my shows return !
Where’s The Poop ?
-mild spoiler alert-
While How I Met Your Mother S6E03 “Unfinished” tried hard enough to coin the phrase “where’s the poop” and tried another bro-out episode – it wasn’t exactly ‘there’ on the comical level. Somehow it was emotionally relevant to me as Robin finally learnt to let go of Don. The other storyline of this episode revolves around Robin and her break up with her ex-boyfriend Don (from last season).
Robin’s ‘bad behavior’ of contacting her ex and unable to let go of the past , reminded Lily of her family dog’s behavior/expression after secretly pooping somewhere in the house. Ergo – “where’s the poop?” Funny enough, going through the same phase as Robin made me realized how much your friends *actually* know you so well – to know that it’s all nothing but a lie when you said that you’re done and moved on. On a side note, I think I have really wonderful friends who are always there for me – whenever I start to feel lonely or upset, they fill in those empty spaces in my life and make sure I’m ok. It has been a rough patch for me but getting back on track =)
From this episode, the takeaway I got is that no matter how ‘insignificant’ or how ‘unimportant’ the contact is, you are giving up a part your life/memories you’ll never get back again. Like how Robin puts it “And no matter how much I try to forget that it happened, it will have never not happened.” I don’t think it is easy to let go of something that meant the world to you once. Certainly,a little closure goes a long way. Like what Ping has told me once (and many other times) – closure begins with a capital ’C’ that will never be closed anyways. (sometimes i don’t understand her strange logic though it makes sense at times.lol) In Robin’s words “Closure doesn’t exist.” Feelings fade, but the soft spot for the person and the feelings will always be there.
On a lighter note, best part of the show ? Robin’s threats to Don, I laughed out loud thinking of the killing and eating his face – not forgetting the facebook slut. I, for one, would never have the guts to do such a thing but hey! Always fun to be able to relate emotionally to something on TV I guess.
Unfinished dreams, unfinished relationships, unfinished deals – some others move on faster, some takes their time, in other cases (ie. me) takes forever because they are too stubborn to let go of what’s not worth holding on to anymore. Whatever it is, I believe that someday – something will trigger the idea of letting go and moving on. That ‘something’ can be another round of heartaches or a proper happy end to things – whichever it is, I think it’s time. (Suddenly I can see my friends going ‘Where’s the poop, Ingrid!’ lol)
‘Rough Patch’ vs ‘Relationship Chicken’
Marshall: If they can’t stand each other, why don’t they end it?
Ted: Neither one wants to be first. They’re playing relationship chicken.
Disclaimer : I really love HIMYM and I am actually re-watching episodes from the 5 seasons when I have the time to, so bear with my random quotes/reviews of the episodes. 
I think in ‘How I Met Your Mother” season 5, Barney and Robin’s relationship was mainly to satirize everything couples go through – from the mushy stage to hating each other’s guts. The episode mentioned the term ”relationship chicken” which refers to the situation when neither person wants to admit the relationship isn’t working out. On the other hand, Lily pointed out that all couples go through the ‘rough patch’ – getting used to each other and understanding each other better.
So when do you know you’re being ‘relationship chicken(s)’ or just going through a ‘rough patch’ in a relationship ? If there are times when you feel unhappy about everything – but that not exactly bad enough to kill the relationship – are you just undergoing this so-called rough patch? Or are you playing the ‘relationship chicken’ by refusing to see the depth of the problems and brushing it off as it is probably just the usual lows that couples go through and that you should be working out over? When do you know you should hold on to that faith in the relationship ?
Sometimes you have 3rd parties who comment (be it knowing the details, or not) and you stop to ponder if they have a ‘clearer view’ over the situation than the deluded self you’re being. In chinese, there’s a saying that goes ‘當局者迷，旁觀者清’ which roughly means ‘the onlooker sees more of the game’. However, I think it is really up to the two parties involved to actually see for themselves for what they truly are. Like Barney and Robin, both of them were starting to lose themselves and you could tell that they were unhappy – even if they seem to be happy in each other’s companionship. They were better off as friends – and the breakup ? We know that it was not the end but just returning back to how it has always been for them – friends.
Would that be possible to happen in reality ? Does it really means happiness when Barney returned to say ‘Daddy’s home.’ ? (Of course in later episodes, we see that Barney isn’t entirely truly happy after returning to his old single self.) It’s really kind of hard to tell isn’t it ?
