Between 2005 and 2014 there was a comedy that positioned itself as one of the public’s favorites, in the competitive category of sitcom. With witty humor, a snappy narrative structure, and endearing characters, How I Met Your Mother It left a mark on the history of the genre, although that did not prevent it from also being the cradle of several conflicts.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Carter Bays Y Craig Thomas they were the star duo behind the scripts Late Show by David Letterman. The sharp sense of humor that both showed in each of the segments of that program led them to gain the recognition of many of their peers, and for that reason an excellent opportunity soon came to them. From the CBS channel, they were told that they were interested in developing a series if they had a proposal in mind. Faced with this offer, the writers did not waste a minute and got down to work to create their own story.
After shuffling some premises that didn’t quite excite them, Bays and Thomas decided to delve into their memories, into the common past that united them as great friends and partners. In this way, they outlined a script about the friendship between two students during the late nineties. In that year, Bays spent most of his time in the apartment of Thomas, who lived with his teenage girlfriend, Rebecca. Bays spent his time complaining about how frustrated he was by his singleness and his desire to meet a great love. And that’s how Bays became Ted Mosby, Craig Thomas became Marshall Eriksen, and his girlfriend Rebecca became Lilly Aldrin. The leading trio was completed by a woman named Robin, future romantic interest of the protagonist, and an inveterate womanizer named Barney Stinson.
In How I Met Your Motherthe premise revolved from Ted’s memories of the thousand dates he had until finally meeting the mother of his children, who patiently listened to all the paternal anecdotes. Thanks to this structure, Bays and Thomas proposed a comedy of fast times, which played with the flashbacks inside the flashbacks, with steps of humor from distortions in memories, and all kinds of resources based on softening the tenor of forbidden anecdotes because, after all, this was a story that an adult told his children. Of course, those narrative resources that were innovative did not undermine the true appeal of the proposal, which was centered on the difficult process of this group of twenty-somethings who were reaching their thirties, and were going through a series of personal crises, but also joys for dreams achieved. and goals achieved. Carter and Bays proposed a solid cocktail, which they decorated with a true machine gun of gags.
As in any television project of this caliber, the producers knew they had to find the right actors and actresses. The possibility of having a strong name was key to promoting the project. Initially, the writers wanted scott foley to play Ted, but the star of happiness he turned down the offer. The second option was Jason Biggsone of the protagonists of american piebut he also preferred to let the role pass.
Regarding Robin, the chosen one was Jennifer Love Hewitt, who was initially interested in the project. But those plans also stalled when the actress Party of Five changed his mind and opted for the leading role from the series ghost whisperer. At that time, the casting director he found by zapping a young interpreter named cobie smulders, that you liked for that character.
As big fans of the cult series Freaks and GeeksCarter and Thomas hired Jason Segel to compose Marshall and for Lily, the chosen one was Alyson Hannigan, a face well known for her role as Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When Alyson was confirmed, actor Jason Biggs (who had worked with her on american pie), he regretted not having confirmed his participation in the show, and thus appeared on the scene Josh Radnorwho was chosen for Ted. To compose Barney, the casting team watched several auditions and rejected several candidates (among which was Jim Parsons). eventually appeared on the scene Neil Patrick Harrisa musical artist and well remembered by viewers in the United States, who had seen him in a popular series of the late eighties called the little doctor. Originally, Barney had been described in the script as a man “in the line of Jack Blackeither John Belushi”, but the freshness of Patrick Harris made the writers redirect the style of that character. With the cast complete and the pilot finished, everything was ready for How I Met Your Mother will come to the screen.
In September 2005 the fiction had its premiere on the CBS channel. The saga of Ted and how he told his children step by step until he met his mother, viewers liked it, but as usual, it took several seasons for the title to find success. Although the comedy worked and the public followed it closely, the rating numbers were not what they expected, and Carter and Thomas assumed that the story would not make it past the second season. For this reason, they prepared to give an end to the plot, in which Ted married his great love, Victoria (Ashley Williams). But CBS trusted the proposal and allowed them to go ahead for another year.
On the other hand, some voices denounced a supposed similarity with friendssince this series was also focused on a group of friends (something that, in fact, is a basic proposal for countless sitcom). With a lot of humor, from How I Met Your Mother They laughed at this criticism by taking the characters to a coffee shop, instead of the historic bar where they used to meet, and in that place one of them exclaimed: “Yes, it’s official: getting together for coffee is much less fun than going on a date. cups”.
The third season, this time yes, it seemed the final. The rating did not go up and the production knew that they had to play it all or nothing, and with that idea in mind, decided to introduce Stella, a new girlfriend for the protagonist. And to interpret it they could not have a better candidate. Britney Spears I was a self-confessed fan of How I Met Your Mother and her enthusiasm led her to sit down and negotiate the possibility of making an appearance on the show. The producers offered her the role of Stella and Britney accepted. However, when the singer read the script, she found it much more fun to compose Stella’s secretary, Abby, a minor role but with great potential for comedy. The producers accepted the change and Stella unexpectedly fell into the hands of Alice Silverstone. The actress had planned her great return to a fiction, after years of projects of very little importance, but everything stalled. When Silverstone representatives learned that Britney was going to play another character, they didn’t want that to overshadow Alicia and suggested she reject this project.
Thus, Ted’s girlfriend was left in the hands of Sarah Chalka well-known face for fans of the sitcom scrubs. Despite all these changes, the story had a happy ending. The episode in which Britney debuted, entitled “Ten Sessions”, rudely boosted the fiction rating and was for years the most watched episode of the series. For all this, it is considered that this third season of How I Met Your Mother was key in the growth of the show, allowing her to position herself as one of the public’s favorites. And to a large extent, it was all thanks to Britney, who unintentionally saved this sitcom of cancellation.
After eight seasons of sustained success, albeit with some notable low points (Marshall’s father’s death was one of those moments of unnecessary drama that many sitcom they don’t know how to avoid), Carter and Thomas decided that the ninth year would be the last and that finally “the mother” of the title would make her long-awaited debut. Fans theorized endlessly what the identity of Mrs. Mosby could be, if she had already appeared or if it would be someone new, while in all the polls the possible reappearance of Victoria was still the favorite option. On March 31, 2014, the last episode, entitled “Last Forever, part two”, was broadcast, and the resolution caused a deep stupor in the fans. The public was fervently against the closure of the story and the internet became a hive of anger and outrage. Some fans began compulsively sending letters to CBS demanding a new conclusion, and in changer.org one initiative reached several thousand signatures.
Faced with this pressure from the fans, Carter Bays announced that in its release on DVD and bluraythe last season of How I Met Your Mother I was going to have an alternative closure. But the damage was already done and that final second was not enough to calm the waters. In this way, a bittersweet goodbye was given to a fiction that left innumerable joys, an infinity of phrases immortalized by Barney, and endless anecdotes that managed to move the public.
On the other hand -and luckily!-, time erased the wound of that ending and the fans returned to see and review the best episodes of this fiction (“The Playbook”!). The unexpected even happened, and that is that eventually that closure began to be slightly accepted and even received the approval of Neil Patrick Harris himself when on one occasion he assured: “I think that the hatred of people for that ending, in a way a little crazy, it ends up being a compliment. All this showed that many grew up alongside these characters and that is why they wanted things to happen in a certain way, and that is beautiful. And as the show matured, and we matured with it, it all ended in a more adult, nice and thoughtful, if somewhat sad way. But without a doubt, it ended in a happy way for this very, very long story.”
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How I Met Your Mother: a hated ending, Alicia Silverstone’s sit-in and why Britney Spears saved the series