How I Met Your Mother

[KALEL114]

....ekiM ,ouy rof gnimoc er'eW

 

[KALEL114]

Co-creator Carter Bays Interview about the countdown and ending of the last episode.

Spoiler

Just days after the world counted down to the start of a new year, CBS’s How I Met Your Mother this week surprised viewers by — we now realize in retrospect — counting down to the end of Marvin Eriksen Sr.’s life. It was a stark twist served up at the end of an otherwise light episode. Series cocreator Carter Bays spoke with TVLine about the comedy’s decision to follow in the footsteps of some revered sitcom predecessors by dipping into the drama well.
TVLINE: Had you decided heading into this season that Marshall (played by Jason Segel) would lose his dad (Bill Fagerbakke)?
This was a sort of right of passage that we knew we wanted to take the characters through. We structured the season as the “before” and “after” – the first 12 episodes of the season were setting up the situation, and now it will all unfold. We’ve explored a lot of other big mileposts — most of them are pretty happy, some of them are sad. This is certainly one of the saddest, but it felt like something we wanted to see our characters grapple with.
TVLINE: What TV comedy precedents did you have in mind as you approached this episode?
Definitely Cheers. And Family Ties, especially. When [HIMYM cocreator] Craig [Thomas] and I were first developing this show, those were two that we wanted to emulate in that regard. On Family Ties, you could do an episode where a character deals with alcoholism or Alex’s friend dies in a car accident…. Or Coach [dying] on Cheers. What made those stories heartbreaking is that you love these characters so much, and our goal with this show was to create characters you love. The great thing about Cheers is that all of the comedy came from character. As a result, all the drama, when they did it, came from character as well.
TVLINE: How do you keep a darkish cloud from looming over the next episode? What will you put on our screens?
The cloud doesn’t lift right away; that’s another thing that we didn’t want to do, make this a one-off sad moment and then go back to normal. This show is a journey, and this is something Marshall and all the characters are going to deal with. It’s part of life, and the next episode (airing Jan. 17) is about trying to find humor in these moments. The next episode is thematically about how when something like this happens, you turn to your friends. So the rest of the group tries to figure out how to be there for Marshall.
TVLINE: You counted down to the big moment by “hiding” descending numbers throughout the episode. Was that device a way to soften the blow by letting viewers know that something was coming?
The countdown, for us, was a way to clue the audience in early on that something momentous was going to happen. It’s obviously dark subject matter for a sitcom, but your life can change in an instant. It’s not the most fun thing to write a sitcom about, but for all of who have felt loss, when you look back on those times you realize how little time you had. Jennifer Hendriks was the writer on the episode, and she did an excellent job with it.
TVLINE: What more typically funny-happy moments can viewers look forward to?
Actually, the next episode is very funny. Danny Strong — who Buffy fans will remember as Jonathan, but more recently has been on Mad Men – has a funny bit as an old high school classmate of Marshall’s. We go back to Minnesota for the funeral and we run into this guy who was a bully that picked on Marshall. That presents a very funny dynamic.

http://www.tvline.com/2011/01/inside-how-i-met-your-mothers-sad-dad-twist/

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Oh my mistake, she would have been 16 or 17... Yep, still creepy.

I used to feel really bad about fancying the character of Stephanie on the kids show Lazytown until I found out she was 17! Children and teenagers on TV and in movies are nearly always played by older actors, can work longer hours and fewer restrictions on the scenes they can be in, Charisma Carpenter was nearly 30 when she played 16 year old Cordy on Buffy.

Speaking of which, another Buffy alumni to look forwards to, excellent! They HAVE to have Nic Brendon sometime, maybe as Lily's boyfriend during her summer in San Francisco?

 

[Neptune]

Is it me or is this season really mediocre? The last episode could have been a soap. I feel like they're focusing too much on the characters story arcs and not enough on the comedy. It's nothing like seasons 1, 2 and 3.

 

[HighFivingMF]

If you keep comparing shows to the seasons from their prime you'll never enjoy them.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Is it me or is this season really mediocre? The last episode could have been a soap. I feel like they're focusing too much on the characters story arcs and not enough on the comedy. It's nothing like seasons 1, 2 and 3.

Actually I thought 1 was pretty weak, i'd never have kept watching if it hadn't starred Alysson Hannigan. The last few seasons have really hit the mark frankly

 

[MadVillainy]

How was last ep a soap...seriously it wasnt even that dramatic until the end.

All that stuff before was no more dramatic than Stella leaving Ted at the alter.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

I've enjoyed this season quite a bit, the Barney puts the moves on Ted episode is one of my favs all-time.

 

[Neptune]

How was last ep a soap...seriously it wasnt even that dramatic until the end.

All that stuff before was no more dramatic than Stella leaving Ted at the alter.

I just miss the humor from the previous seasons. Especially the first 3, each episode had me laughing out loud. This season i find the humor really stale. I get that they wanna develop the characters but it takes away from the humor. Do you guys honestly think the last episode was funny?

 

[Neptune]

Actually I thought 1 was pretty weak, i'd never have kept watching if it hadn't starred Alysson Hannigan. The last few seasons have really hit the mark frankly

Season 1 pretty weak? How? Season 1 has so many brilliant episodes. To me Lilly is the most boring character of the 5. Alysson is a good actress but i could never watch this show just for her.

 

[BlackLantern]

to me its always been an ensemble show....ive never watched it for just ONE character

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Season 1 pretty weak? How? Season 1 has so many brilliant episodes. To me Lilly is the most boring character of the 5. Alysson is a good actress but i could never watch this show just for her.

I'd actually put Marshall as the most boring and my least favourite character. After season 1 the show begins to build in it's own mythology and begins to be brilliant, when we meet Robin Sparkles it's the turning point for me.

Just watched the ep where Barney puts the moves on Ted, it was ok although you kinda wonder why Don doesn't get Robin arrested?

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

Had a crazy theory yesterday that I'm gonna share on the oft-chance I'm right. The marriage they've been teasing this season is not Punchys but Robin and Barney only the twist is they're getting married so Robin can get a permanent green card.

 

[Longshot777]

ok


i'm confused


Stella left him at alter and he was telling his kids that she wouldve been their mother if she hasn't done that or something like that.


But then....On the episode where they finally showed their mother on that "Umbrella and Charts Episode"....

...it's Stella!! WTF!!

Am I missing something??

 

[HighFivingMF]

ok


i'm confused


Stella left him at alter and he was telling his kids that she wouldve been their mother if she hasn't done that or something like that.


But then....On the episode where they finally showed their mother on that "Umbrella and Charts Episode"....

...it's Stella!! WTF!!

Am I missing something??

Do you mean the flashforward where Stella came into the room? That was the "what if" thing. Notice that the kids are blonde in that flashforward too.

 

[Longshot777]

yeah...


I know it was a "What If?" on the flash forward.


But wasn't it confirmed on a future episode THAT Stella was the mother???

 

[HighFivingMF]

yeah...


I know it was a "What If?" on the flash forward.


But wasn't it confirmed on a future episode THAT Stella was the mother???

Nope. Absolutely 0 chance that Stella is the Mother.

 

[KALEL114]

Plus, Stella is married Tony and started a practice on the West Coast. The Mother is Cindy's roommate in New York. They are for sure not the same.

 

[Longshot777]

ok because i was just watching the re-run last night.

"Right Place, Right Time" is the 22nd episode of the fourth season of How I Met Your Mother and 86th overall. It aired on May 4, 2009.



I rememeber when that episode premiered...there was ALOT of hype in Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight that FINALLY they will reveal the MOTHER!!!

Then at the end....It was Stella!!

Do you guys remember that episode??

Ted talks about how fate is a funny thing, and that has control over your life, which is scary, but also beautiful, and that if anything had happened differently, the children wouldn't be there. He says that if he knew where all those circumstances were leading him, he would have gone back and thanked everyone involved, and in a montage Ted imagines going back and hugging everyone in the episode. The camera then turns to reveal that Stella is the woman behind Ted at the crosswalk.

 

[RaZaTrOn]

Yes but then the next episode reveals why.

Tony is the reason Ted gets the Architect Professor (one 'f' or 2?) job. Which is where Ted teaches his future wife in the Home Economics 101 class. This may be where the mother first got a crush on him? Plus at this college is where he meets Cindy and sees his future wife at her apartment. Obviously these two things have a role in Ted meeting the mother, maybe he meets her at college.

So Ted is right if anything happened differently then the children wouldn't be there because Ted would have never have become a professor.

 

[KALEL114]

Yeah he sees her foot at Cindy's apartment. Stella would not be taking an Economics class at the University, but we know the Mother was there when Ted mistakenly started to teach it.

Longshot, you need to see the rest of the season and the next. The next episode in fact starts right after "Right Place, Right Time" and Tony walks up right behind Stella at the crosswalk in the beginning of it (As Fast as She Can 4x23). They are together and she is for sure, 100%, not the mother.
http://how-i-met-your-mother.wikia.com/wiki/Stella

 

[RaZaTrOn]

I wonder if we actually see the mother at all in the class, that would be brilliant because I'm pretty sure we get a shot of the class from the back in the episode.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Had a crazy theory yesterday that I'm gonna share on the oft-chance I'm right. The marriage they've been teasing this season is not Punchys but Robin and Barney only the twist is they're getting married so Robin can get a permanent green card.

Yeah, very possible, I think it could well be Barney's wedding but it has to be the real deal otherwise Ted wouldn't be so nervous. It's not Stella much as I love Sarah Chalke, otherwise Ted's moppets would be blonde. I always had the theory that Ted married Barney after a sex change but that seems more unlikely as time goes on.
Given what big Buffy fans the shows producers are I think the mother is probably Sarah Michelle Gellar or a blonde Eliza Dushku

 

[KALEL114]

For those who missed some of the numbers from the countdown last episode:

http://himymcountdown.tumblr.com/

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

For those who missed some of the numbers from the countdown last episode:

http://himymcountdown.tumblr.com/

Is that real or is it photoshop? I remember one season of Buffy where fans tied themselves in knots over the numbered t-shirts the characters were wearing?