How I Met Your Mother

The Television text that i have chosen to research for my summer media project is a Tv show Called 'How I Met Your Mother' which is currently in its 6th season, and is going to air its 7th season later this month online. The show had began in 2005 and premiered in september on the CBS Network. The show has been very popular, hence it is still in production. The show was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, who had the inspiration of the show and decided to create characters that are simmilar to them.
The show is a comedy set in new york, about 5 friends. The show is centered around Ted Mosby(Josh Radnor) who is primarily the main character as the show is forscene is a flashback of his time with his friends before he is married and older. He narrates the begining and end of most episodes to his children in the year 2030, hence the title 'How i met your mother'.

The other main characters include Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segal), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), Barney stintson (Neil Patrick Hariss) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan).

I feel that a big question for How I Met Your Mother fans has always been “Who is the mother?” And while we don’t have a definite answer, we can take what we do know so far and begin to formulate some ideas. This is a long one so go grab a drink and pull up a chair.

Robin is not the Mother. We learn this in the first episode and and it is reconfirmed countless times in all 3 seasons. No matter how much people “want it to happen, ” it just won’t. Get used to disappointment. In fact, for those still

http://www.beawesomeinstead.com/television/2008/about-the-mother-from-how-i-met-your-mother/

Media Representations
The show represents the 5 main characters in thier new york lifestyle. Each character is represented differently. The main Protagonist Ted Mosby is represented as the nerdy member of the group, where as Barney stintson is represented as a mysogonist as his character seems to enjoy using woman for his own pleasures before discarding them. Marshal Eriksen is represented as more of a feminine character which is ironic as he is male. Although as he is married to Lily Aldrin, its indicating that he is not the dominant figure in thier marrage, which some audiences could relate to. This shows that Lily Aldrin is the solid figure and the dominant member of the marriage as she is shown to be very strongly opinionated and very tough mentally. Then theres also Robin Scherbatsky who is in some points of views represented as the outsider of the group, as she was originally jus another girlfriend of Ted's before she begins to click with the group and get along with them. Her character is portrayed as more of a typical female stereotype of an american female adult as is she is shown to be very open, outgoing and almost slutty.
Although as the whole show is a narration given by Ted Mosby himself, therefore the way he represents himself and his friends may be seen to be as slightly biased.
There are opportunitys for the other co-stars to represent themselves in thier own way, when it comes to them telling the story of the episode and thier events and activitys in the episodes.

Media Languages and Forms
You can identify that the tv show is a comedy as each episode has elements of sarcasm and humor. Also through the unique relationships that are formed within the group of 5 individuals who personailty wise are very different. When looking at some of the over acting that is done by the likes of Neil patrick harris, you can identify the comic view of the show through his facial expresions and body language.
Also the way each episode is a flashback of a different memory leading up to the eventual day in which the main character Ted mosby finally meets his soulmate shows that the show is majorly based from his opinion and that he has the power to twist and tell the stories in his own view and perspective to makehim self look good. Although his character is not one to do so. As he is very gentlemanly and sincere. As he even tells about embarrasing stories about him. sometimes in which he pauses to narrate a different feeling then that to of that particular time in the show.

Narrative
The narrative is structered in a simmilar way for most episodes as the group of friends have 2 locations where they would usually meet up as a group and conversate about thier day or something new they have learned. They would usually meet up at thier local bar which is called 'Maclarens' and also Ted's appartment. This is simmilar to the popular Tv Show 'Friends'. As they used the coffee house and 1 of the apartments.
The audience would usually always have the same few angles of both locations when viewing the programme, as its easier and relevant to both the setting and the narrative.
In the narrative each character usually has thier own role within the group, in terms of what they bring to the group and how they interact with eachother.
The mise en scene of the narrative helps to identify each characters role and personality in a way. such as the clothing, as barney stintson always wears a suit and in 1 episode even choses suits over girls. which is a very tough choice for him to make as he loves woman. The narrative for most episode is usually very interesting as episodes about individual members of the group help to identify more about them, and give audiences an insight to who they are.
There are a variety of values and ideologies that are represented in each episode, such as the values of marriage as the 2 characters Marshal and Lily are married and the Tv show, gives an insight to thier unique relationship and how they make thier marriage work. There are also a few ideologies in terms of dating, and how americans in new york socialise and date, within the 20's to 30's age range.

Genre
The genre of the Tv show is Comedy. The basic generic conventions of the genre show that the programme is a comedy. The introduction music by 'The Solids - Hey Beautiful' gives an idea to the genre as the tempo of the song along with the moving credits with it can show audiences the type of show it is.

Media Institutions
The show was premiered on the CBS network, and it currently airs on E4 in the Uk.

Media Audiences
The Show is open to a few audience groups, although the primary audience would be teenagers to young adults from 16 - 25, as the show contains adult humor which younger viewers may not understand and which older viewers may not find as funny and humourus as younger viewers do. Also the fact that the show airs at 9:30 pm and repeats at late times, indicates that the show is not intended for younger audiences as some parents may find the content to explict for kids. Even though the content is generally harmless and genuinly funny.




Additional information
Reviews
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/usercomments
I love this show!! It's one of the best sitcoms on the air and one of the best CBS shows!!! I disagree with the other comment - Barney is the best character. He's the funniest person on the show. I love how the entire ensemble has chemistry together!! It actually feels like they're friends in real life. And I don't think they need new writers, they just need to grow a little more. This show gets better with time. I laugh so hard with the show that my sides hurt every time I watch. I recommend this show to anyone that has a great sense of humor and wants to laugh until their sides hurt. I hope that this show has a long run on the air.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/usercomments?start=10
A smarter and hipper "Friends" for the next generation, 17 March 2007
How I Met Your Mother" has all the makings of a generational hit show. It has a well balanced cast of characters sure to appeal to a wide range of viewers and an interesting mix of plot lines to keep the audience intrigued. The general premise of the show, a love story in reverse, is a truly novel and interesting take on the stereotypical network sitcom. Ted's journey to find the love of his life and get married has an interesting type of suspense, we already know he is married and has children 25 years in the future, so we have to wonder, with each new girl he meets, is she the one, much as Ted is doing himself. The added dimension of Robin being dangled in front of both Ted and the audience leads us through a series of cleverly crafted ups and downs with their relationship, always wanting them to end up together, much as we all wanted Ross and Rachel to end up together in the 90's, but knowing they can not if Robin is the children's "Aunt Robin".

Much as we all enjoyed following the life and times of everyone's favorite "Friends" through the 90's, and before them, going somewhere everybody knows your name with "Cheers", the characters of "How I Met Your Mother" will draw you in and leaving you craving more every time. The true brilliance of the concept is that the story is perfect to run either as long or as short as the ratings will allow, we have no idea when Ted actually met his wife, and the kids are early to mid teens 25 years in the future, giving the show the possibility of running 2 years or 10, it all depends on how long we enjoy the show and keep it alive.

Finally, a truly biased note here. In this day and age of more, faster, better, it is a wonderful feeling to find a show that is devoted to such a bohemian concept as true love. I personally revel in following the ups and downs of Ted's heart fluctuations and can very well relate. Its nice to find a show that can be this great combination of funny, romantic and serious all without missing a beat. I recommend a good healthy dose of "How I Met Your Mother" for anyone with a broken heart, a healing heart, a completed heart, or pretty much anyone with any type of heart (which is pretty much everyone but Barney), trust me, it will do you a world of good.