How I Met Your Mother - Season Three DVD Review

Multi-camera sitcoms shot on a stage with a live audience and a laugh track seemed all but dead, but there are still a few gems among the reality television and single camera laugh-track void shows. How I Met Your Mother may use all of the traditional technical elements of these sitcoms, but there is an added element; narration. The entire show is told through the context of a father telling his son and daughter about the journey from being single to meeting their mother, only even the audience isn’t clued in to who their mother is. The show begins with a misleading pilot that introduces an attractive female lead who has the same sense of humor as our narrator in his younger years, but by the end we are informed that she isn’t “the one”.

There are plenty of women who aren’t the one our narrator Ted will marry, but that is the charm of How I Met Your Mother. The premise seems fit for an average romantic feature film, but by dragging it out in a series there are many great opportunities to examine dating in 2005. The portion of the show that has Ted telling his children about their mother, takes place in 2029, which allows us to focus on the relevance of the 2005 dating scene. Just as Friends is now a window into the 1990’s and how relationships were approached and discussed among friends, How I Met Your Mother has the same charms for a new age of dating. The situations that Ted finds himself in are likely to parallel many experiences that frustrated singles feel today, and it is done in a humorous and often thoughtful way. This seems to be a direct result of a great cast and good writers.

The role of Ted seems written for Jimmy Fallon, but Josh Radnor is an acceptable substitute and the fact that he looks like John Cusack before he lost the baby fat on his cheeks helps him seem likeably familiar. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him during the first couple of episodes, but he certainly makes for a better romantic lead than Ross ever was, and you find that he grows on you as the season progresses. Radnor is supported by Jason Segel, who was great on Freaks and Geeks and seems to be playing a variation of the same role here, and Alyson Hannigan from the American Pie series. Neil Patrick Harris is also added to the cast as the womanizing friend who always wears a suit. Bob Saget as the never seen elder version of Ted, and voiceover for many parts of the show, making How I Met Your Mother feel like the creators of Wonder Years was asked to make a Friends replacement, especially when Wendy Cooper shows up. But it works in a good way.

As for the writing, it’s creatively sweet without losing its hip edge. There is also an element of geekiness in the scripts, which seems to be in these days. In this season there is an increase in referencing of past episodes and placing context in earlier episodes for a conclusion that will pay off at a later time. In one Hitchcockian episode that has Barney trying to figure out what women keeps sabotaging his attempts at taking women home. Season three also boasts a number of great cameos. Season two was bogged down slightly by the fact that Ted was dating Robin the whole time, but season three shows a number of ups and downs as he starts dating again. He has a wild St. Patrick’s Day and an eventful birthday, and also starts dating his doctor (Sarah Chalke) who removes his tattoo from a one-night-stand with guest star Mandy Moore. Britney Spears also appears a couple of times, her name and celebrity being far more enticing than her performance. Robin also starts dating, giving the show even more to focus on, especially when she returns from vacation with a new boyfriend (Enrique Iglesias). The acting from the pop stars turned TV guest stars isn’t great, but it does show the attention this shows has been getting. It certainly won’t hurt that Jason Segel has made a successful transition to film with Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

There are twenty episodes in season three, all contained in a three disc set. There are commentary tracks on seven of the episodes. The special features also include a gag reel, two music videos and a “Ted Mosby is a Jerk” track played over an episode. The music video of Robin’s Canadian pop star years is also pretty priceless.