How I Met Your Mother 'Bad News' OAD - 1/03/11

I'm waiting until I see the next episode to decide how I feel about the ending of this one. If it doesn't lead to something else, then I will be upset that it was just tacked onto that one episode only for shock value. If it, however, was there to move the story along, I'll be okay with it.

-- Roger

 

This one made me LOL after watching for the subtle ways some of the numbers got slipped in because just a few scenes earlier that same file was #9. Sometimes I'm easily entertained.

 

I watched this one out of order (I'm still a few behind). Because I watched it after the posts here, I can say without doubt that "Aunt Lily" was even mentioned in the voiceover.

The countdown numbers were curious.

Regarding the death of Marshall's dad played by Bill Fagerbakke, I must rise to the defense of the writers.

I admire the gutsy writing this represents. Death is part of life and this show never avoids life. Frankly, I rarely find the show "belly laugh" funny. I don't think the difficulty in conceiving Marshall and Lily are experiencing is a funny issue - it can be emotionally tragic. Life's tragedies, minor and major, offer opportunities for humorous lines and amusing incidents.

For me that Marshall and his dad had an opportunity to tighten their bond was good. And I know that Marshall was telling the truth when he said he wasn't ready at the end. Sometimes we are ready to hear someone we love has died, sometimes we're not.

This episode affected me emotionally. But nothing like when in M*A*S*H Corporal “Radar” O’Reilly reported that Col. Henry Blake’s plane had been shot down over the Sea of Japan and that he had been killed. M*A*S*H was a well-written comedy in which death was always present, but no scene in any drama has made me cry as much as that one.

A character-development situation comedy is a really good place to inject tragedy.

I like this review:

 

On what phrelin mentioned, the show has had some other very "low points in life" moments the more I thought back. Death of loved ones is bad, but others are horrible, too. Getting left at the alter like Ted did is pretty bad. A serious break up like Lily & Marshall had is very tough. Barney's always dealing with seeing his true love Robin with other guys & potentially moving. Life ain't easy.

 

I consider this show as a non situational comedy like i said it has always had twists and turns, the death of Marshalls Dad was shocking but not surprising, it made me cry. On soap when Danny's wife Elaine got killed i did not cry I just felt bad, I was kid when I saw that But I was also a kid when Henry Blake got killed and that made me cry my eyes out, then again i was an army brat at the time so that along with the way the show announced his death may have had an impact. I love HIMYM and I hope they do not jump the shark any time soon. I wlll Never forget Lily's bridal shower and how Robin out of embarresment switched her gift with grandmas gift To me I was ROFLMAO.

 

Taken out of context of the show, you are most certainly correct.

As one that went through this (took 5 years for us to conceive our daughter, and then had a rough ride with it)... I understand where you are coming however.


BUT!!! in the context of the show, they have been trying now for what 6 months? (I think that is what they said in the episode). They haven't been trying for years on end. Haven't gone through some of the elaborate and extensive measures yet. At that point, yes, I would agree that it is no longer a funny situation.

But right now, comments like: Doing it three times a day, in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the waiting room... That is funny. It's the notion that they thought they could do it once without protection, that it was going to happen..

Yes, we did feel bad for a moment when "Barney" said there was little chance Marshal could have kids, but then laughed when the truth came out.

 

Yes, always twists and turns, but nothing on this level of personal tradgedy and always treated with a humorous twist.

All of the examples offered so far on how the show has portrayed other "serious" events are no where near the traumatic event depicted at the end of this episode. In order for this event to be handled in the same style as other "serious moments" in the show, the final scene should have been Barney hitting on Marshall's mom.

To me they didn't "jump the shark" but they are up on the skis and heading for the ramp...

 

Nothing is ever as serious as the death of a loved one, nothing... period.
Probably the only thing that woudl be higher, woudl be if one of the 4 characters was to die.

But the other issues are "serious" enough for this discussion, that this particular event wasn't "so far out there" for this series. Yes, the seriousness bar was raised.

My wife and I talked about this, and maybe they did "jump the shark" but not in the traditional context of that phrase. I do think, they are making the turn to the final stretch for the series. This is what year 6? These adults are starting to leaving their 20's entering into their 30's... which in real life, is typically a big change.... I lost my dad at 31. My brother, just purchased the engagement ring for girlfriend, just two days before he died. He did get lucky enough to tell my dad the night before my dad died, that he was going to propose..... So the context, and what was written so dead on accurate to my real life... maybe I am looking at the story in a differnent light.

But given that by many's people's argument, I should be the one totally outraged by this series (Father Died, Suddently.... had difficulty conceiving a child)... I couldn't be further away from anger or angist about the show.
In fact, it solidified that HIMYM will be in my top 5 of favorite TV shows of all time.