Central Perk, Griffith Observatory, and Venice Beach

The last final week of the program has unfortunately arrived. Let’s all cry together. This past week has been sucha  blast, though! This weekend our class was lucky enough to get general tickets to Let’s Make A Deal, but unfortunately we did not make it into the studio because there were so many people. Hopefully we will be able to go before we leave (which is in thirteen days). Or else I’m pretty sure my roommate Brandi will cry considering how much money she spend on her adorable flowerpot costume.

On Sunday, my roommate Lexi and I went to Bea Bea’s (this makes Mama’s Boy look like McDonalds). It was phenomenal, even though it was my second time going. Hint: if you go, get a waffle. Their Belgian waffles are the best waffles I have ever had. People say Mama’a Boy is good, wow. I will not be able eat there ever again without missing Bea Bea’s.

At the end of last week, out class went on a tour of the set of The Foster’s. Wow! It was amazing. I will never cease to be amazed going on television sets like that. We were able to talk to some PA’s and some people in the marketing departmnent int he show.

Goodbye, HIMYM.

My last post on the blog. Such a great experience. Eventually, we all have to say goodbye to the shows that we once knew and loved. What better way then to dedicate a post to fun facts?! Bet ya didn’t know that…

1. Neil Patrick Harris is known to be a extremely talented magician. He is the president of a magic club in Los Angeles (way to go, Neil!) That probably explains why we often saw Barney picking up girls at the bar using magic tricks…

2. Remember Scooter? Lily’s high school boyfriend? Yeah, that’s Neil Patrick Harris’s husband, David Burtka. They have two children together.

3. Speaking of significant others, Taran Killiam (SNL) is Cobie Smulders’s husband. Taran makes an appearance as Gary Blauman in the last season. Sorry, but I personally think they are the cutest couple ever.

4. “The Bro Code” and “The Playbook” were actually published into books. So yes, you can buy them. (I have personally seen the books at the store Spencer’s at the mall. If you are interested, buy it there!)

5. The theme song for the show is performed by a band called The Solids, and the co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are in the band.

6. We never find out what Barney’s job is. It’s an ongoing joke on the show that the audience has no idea what he does for a living in his office. (Edited: This is in correct! I was informed that Barney’s job was revealed S9 E15. Oops!)

7. Who is Ted’s best friend? We don’t know that either. Barney or Marshall? Ted never answers. (I like to think that it is Marshall…)

8. The show hid both Alyson Hannigan’s and Cobie Smulder’s pregnancies on the show by conveniently placing objects in front of their bellies. For example: When Alyson Hannigan was pregnant, one of the episodes had her in a beer chugging contest. This was supposed to explain why she had such a large “beer belly.”

9. The scenes involving Ted’s future children were shot in the beginning of the series in order to prevent them from aging. This means that Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie have known the ending of the series for a long time (since 2006). That is a long time to keep such a large secret!

10. Ted has dated 29 girls over the course of the series that were not the mother. (I would name them all, but…I shall not).

11. The show is filmed without a live audience. After they are done filming, the episode is shown to a live audience and their reactions are recorded. The reactions are then added to the show. I personally would have paid good money in order to view this show live.

12. Most statistics that Barney uses involve the number 83, or 8 and 3.

13. The name Barney was used from a drug dealer mentioned in James Elroy’s book LA Confiential.

14. The guy who says “It’s mine” and takes away the champagne glass with the ring from Robin actually proposed his girlfriend to marry him during the recording of the episode. (Source)

15. Josh Radnor (Ted) is allergic to dogs.

16. Maclaren’s Pub was named after the show’s associate producer, Carl Maclaren.

17. In the episode when Marshall’s father passes away, Jason Segel was not informed of this in the script. Therefore, his reaction is real.

18. There are only 12 times in the series when Barney is not wearing a suit.

19. Cobie Smulders is actually Canadian.

The gifs in this post are of each character in the first and last episode. I will miss How I Met Your Mother. Great show and a great cast. I sincerely hope that they are able to do a reunion in the years to come. Cheers to HIMYM!

Why Marshall Eriksen is the Ideal Boyfriend

Marshall Eriksen is one of my favorite characters on How I Met Your Mother. Everyone loves his attitude, looks, humor, etc. That is why I decided to dedicate an entire post to why I want to marry him; who wouldn’t? Just like any other girl on the planet, I would take either Marshall Eriksen or Jason Segel. Both seem like total dreamboats.

One of the reasons I want to marry Marshall Eriksen is because he is the ideal boyfriend. How many guys are willing to go all out and coordinate both everyday outfits and Halloween costumes? Not many, that is the answer. Basically the one and only reason why I why I would want Marshall as my boyfriend is to have bad-ass couple costumes for Halloween. Sorry, but if you claim you are not a fan of Lily and Marshall’s Halloween costumers, I don’t believe you. You are in denial. How many couples would think to dress up as a pirate and a parrot?

Another reason why I want Marshall Eriksen as my boyfriend is because his character’s ending in the series finale (and Lily, too) is the only reason I did not attempt to sue the writers of How I Met Your Mother (Aaaaand here comes my bitterness of the ending). I am aware that their characters obviously have no control over their endings on the show, but in Darby World I like to imaging that Marshall Eriksen truly exists as a person.Barney (eh), Robin, and Ted all had endings that screwed up the series finale completely. Marshall and Lily as a couple is what kept me somewhat sane after the finale. They stayed together and nothing changed with them. They simply continued their healthy, awesome relationship. I like to continue thinking that Marshall and Lily made good decisions and were smart to not make a drastic decision such as getting back together with an ex-girlfriend or get a girl pregnant. In my eyes, this is another reason why Marshall Eriksen is perfect.

Another reason why I want to marry Marshall Eriksen is because the bloopers on the show. Once again, Marshall Eriksen and Jason Segel are the same person. Watching Jason Segel’s bloopers and attempting to not laugh is extremely difficult. Boom. There’s his lovable sense of humor. On and off the show, Jason Sehel seems like such a charmer. Seriously. Watch this video and admire how charming he is.

There are obviously more than 3 reasons why Marshall Eriksen would be the best boyfriend ever. Unfortunately, I do not want to write a novel.

How I Met Your Aunt Robin

Series Finale Review. SPOILERS (obviously.) If you do not want to know the ending of the series because you have not watched the finale yet, you should stop reading at this point. Get ready for a Bitch Fest ya’ll, cause this chick ain’t happy.

I’ll go ahead and get the one good part of the finale out of my system. Well, kind of good. Barney’s ending. I disliked how Barney and Robin divorced. I understand that that is the best choice for the characters, but I was hoping that after all they went through that their characters would be successful in working their relationship out. The ending for Barney’s character was impregnating a girl and having a daughter. Seeing his daughter changed the meaning of life completely. I like that ending for Barney. It was not my first choice, but I kind of liked it.

Other than Barney, I refuse to believe that anything else that was on the finale last night actually happened. HIMYM had over 200 episodes in the series, and they did not write ONE BAD EPISODE. They chose to mess up that last one. Great job, HIMYM. Nine years of dedication, only for the worst ending possible to be used. Let’s discuss what was wrong with it. So, can we please point out that every single thing that I predicted would happen in the series finale (refer to previous post), the opposite happened instead? We spent an entire season dedicated to Barney and Robin’s wedding, only to have them announce their divorce within the last 15 minutes. Plus, they kill off the mother. Although that was already hinted that was going to happen, Ted runs back to Robin within the last scene.

THE ENTIRE FINALE WAS ABOUT ROBIN. Sorry it took this bitch nine years to figure out that she loved Ted. He’s been to hell and back for her and she messed with his heart constantly. The entire finale was about how Robin was “emotionally unstable” because she had to watch everyone she loved move on with their lives and be happy. When all the attention should have been on Ted and Tracy (the mother) on their wedding day, guess who received all the attention? Robin. She got the dramatic entrance during the wedding ceremony. Let’s completely ignore the bride on her big day and focus on Robin. Poor Robin (please note the sarcasm). The entire episode was revolving around Robin and her emotional instability. It was completely unnecessary to create a huge plot twist and have Ted run back to her within the last minute and a half of the series. Completely uncalled for.

And the entire series was built around meeting the mother and the journey it took for Ted to get to her. The show should have just ended with Ted meeting the mother and the life they had together. Done. She got cancer and died? Okay, well then let Ted continue on with his life and live for her memory. Robin’s character made it seem like Tracy (the mother) was a temporary accessory of the series. The mother did not matter, of course not. All that mattered was Robin. The entire series was about Robin. Robin, Robin, Robin. The show could have ended after THE PILOT EPISODE. THE FIRST ONE. The entire series was unnecessary. The mother of the show now seems completely irrelevant. There was no point in building up the suspense of Ted meeting the mother if she was going to meet Ted, be hit by the cancer bus, and completely forgotten about.

I was starting to like Ted. I began to thoroughly enjoy his character. Robin was supposed to be a maturing point in his life because Robin was supposed to be the love that Ted lost. We all have lost a love in our lifetime and it would have been a better ending to teach the viewers: how to deal with a lost love and to teach everyone that life moves on. Life will work itself out for you. But no. MORAL OF HIMYM SERIES FINALE: when in doubt, run back to your exes that fucked you over the first time.

Personally, when I chose to re-watch the series (whenever my bitterness has passed), I will completely avoid the last episode. Heck, maybe even the last season. The writers tried WAY to hard to please all the fans in creating a “good ending.” They tried to please both the “Tracy + Ted together” fans and the “Robin + Ted together” fans. The ending was horrible and you could obviously tell that the writers squished all that drama in the end in order to attempt to please everyone. Nice try, but the opposite happened. Look on HIMYM’s twitter, or Facebook page and you will be able to see that the majority of reviews of the series finale are complaints. After nine years of loyally watching this series, I am ashamed of the finale. I will never trust a series again.

All in all, I would like to say something to the writers of How I Met Your Mother:

You had an amazing television comedy. So many loyal fans. Great episodes. After nine years of writing amazing episodes, you messed it up. You fucked up the series just within the last 20 minutes of the finale. I have lost respect for the show due to the horrible writing of the finale. Great job, guys. I’m ashamed. After the finale that you chose to write: good luck making the suck-y spin-off “How I Met Your Father” successful.

All in all, I feel like the audience deserved a better finale. I like to think that the finale was a really good April Fool’s joke and that the actual finale will air tonight. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are slim. I highly dislike the ending that was chosen for the characters and when re-watching the series I will just completely disregard the last season.

Great series, horrible ending.

The End of the Story — 4 Hours Away

The series finale of How I Met Your Mother is tonight at 8:00pm. I think I may cry. Actually, I don’t “think”, because I “know.” This has been my favorite show for years and it is finally coming to an end. I thought I would write a post before watching the finale in order to predict my own ending of the show.

There are many theories relating to the ending of the show and whether or not the mother will die, Robin and Barney will divorce, and Robin and Ted will end up together. Lets move backwards and start with the last one: Ted is not going to end up with Robin. For Ted, getting over Robin was a part of maturing and growing up. Sometimes you do not get to be with people you are supposed to be with, because life just works out that way. You may lose someone you loved while growing up. It happens to most of us. Whether that person you loved be when you were in high school, college, or even in the real world. Ted seemed to click with Robin. He loved her and we know that. In my eyes, Robin never seemed to “click” with Ted. I’m hoping that they do not end up together. I think that it would be a mistake to have Ted and Robin be together. I think their relationship was a chapter in each other’s lives, and not the ending.

As for the second theory, Robin and Barney are not going to divorce. Hopefully. I do not think so. People think this because they think that Robin should be with Ted. No. She’s with Barney. They are perfect for each other. Sure, Barney sometimes chooses to act out and be immature occasionally, but for me he needs someone to calm him down and put him back in place. Robin is Barney in girl form: funny personality, except that Robin knows how to be serious and take control if she needs to. If Barney and Robin divorced or chose not to get married in the last episode, Barney would be back to Square 1: playing by the playbook and hooking up with every girl he can get his hands on. That may be fun for him, but it’s not healthy. Everyone thinking that Robin is going to leave Barney in order to be with Ted is not thinking the theory through. The finale will end every character’s story. Hypothetically, if Robin left Ted and they were happy together, what happened to Barney? Exactly. We would not know. That is a horrible ending because we have seen Barney mature and grow in the past number of years and it would be horrible for them to throw that away. This series was a slow process of telling a story of each characters story. They would not have built up this wedding if within the hour they were going to tell us, “LOL JK, Barney gets left at the altar and continues with his Playbook for the rest of his life.” This series was about each individual character growing up and it would not be a happy ending if Barney was pushed all the way back to his starting point because the love of his life left him. They are perfect for one another. And I think that everyone knows that in the back of their mind.

The last theory kills me the most. Will the mother die? Eventually at least? I don’t know. I really do not want her to get some sickness and die. In the back of my mind, I have to agree with other theories about this. I do not want it to happen. What I want to happen is maybe Ted’s mother dying and missing their wedding. Anyone but the mother. We spend a series building up to this point only to find out that the mother dies too early during her lifetime. At this point, I want nothing for Ted but happiness. He has worked so hard and has dealt with so many events in his life and I feel like he deserves nothing but to spend his lifetime with someone who makes him truly happy.

So far, the series of How I Met Your Mother has been better than I could have ever imagined. The writers have been successful with the show for the past nine years, and I doubt that they would mess up tonight. I trust that whatever ending that they choose to do, it will be whatever is best. Whether it be a twist, or just a happy ending, I feel as if the ending of the series will be what the audience is looking for.

Identify the Script Structure: Challenge Accepted!

Try saying “Script Structure” three time fast. Do it. Com’on, do it. I just tried and I couldn’t. Yay, tongue twisters! Seriously though, you had to know that each episode had to have SOME sort of structure. Otherwise it would be chaotic!  After watching numerous episodes (for homework, of course…), it was not hard to realize that HIMYM uses a 3-Act structure. The 3-Act structure is very commonly used in TV series, especially those with only thirty-minutes per episode. Any more acts than 3 would be crazy!

What about stories? There are never simply “one” story per episode. Every episode has different stories relating to the characters. The number of stories per episode may vary, as well as whose stories they are. For example: Robin may not have an “event” going on in an episode. In Season 4 Episode 19, “The Murtaugh List”, Robin does not have her own side story because she just helps out Barney in completing his list. Although, Lily and Marshall almost always have their own situation going on during every episode.

Do the stories every intertwine? How do they relate? Well, obviously the stories in the beginning may not seem relevant to each other at all. In “The Murtaugh List”, Marshall is coaching a young basketball team, while Barney and Ted are completing the Murtaugh List. In that example, their stories do not relate and their stories stay separate. On the other hand, in the beginning of the episode, Barney gets banned from laser tag by the manager. In the end of the episode, Ted agrees to roll the laser tag obstacle course with toilet paper. In situations like this, stories tend to come another.

It is admirable how the stories of each decide to intertwine throughout each episode. It created more fluidity with the characters and the events in their lives.

Also, please cry with me when I say that there is only one more episode of HIMYM. One. No more. Only re-runs. I cried last night during the new episode knowing that there was only the finale left. You can bet I’m going to write an episode review on the finale! Make sure to look out for it!

Dialogue of HIMYM

How do the characters of HIMYM talk? Format of the dialogue? I decided to read a couple episode scripts in order to visually see how the dialogue is.
Barney. We all love to hear Barney Stinson talk. It seems as if every word that comes out of his mouth is a sexual innuendo or talking about the Bro Code. In my opinion, he should definitely be considered the “jokester” of the group on HIMYM. The dialogue of Barney’s character is very light-hearted and humorous compared to the other characters. Not that the other characters are not happy. It just seems as if Barney’s character is constantly making jokes around his friends as if to cheer them up. After paying attention to the dialogue, I’ve noticed that he also tends to laugh at his own jokes in the episodes frequently.

Robin. Considering she ends up with Barney, they have to be alike in certain ways and you can definitely see a similarity in their characters by reading the dialogue from different episodes. Robin is similar to Barney considering how she also is making jokes and uses sexual innuendos. Some would even consider her a “bro” in which she grew up a tomboy. The character of Robin Scherbatsky is very different in certain aspects when you relate it to the other female character within the group, Lily.

Lily. How is the way she talks different from Robin? Lily is the mother figure. She worries about her friends and their well-being. While she does joke with the other characters quite often, she is not a worry wort. She takes situations more seriously than other characters by talking in a more serious tone when needed.

Ted and Marshall. I’m putting them in the same category because they have known each other for years and are such good friends that they talk similarly. The way I would describe their dialogue is that of a teenage boy (in a good way!). The jokes they use around each other are very cheesy and sometimes inappropriate. The dialogue of both of the character compliment the other.

The dialogue of each character is very specific in which it is able to compliment the other characters. Props to Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, because I enjoyed reading the scripts just as much as watching the show.

HIMYM vs. FRIENDS

How I Met Your Mother would not be a show if it were not for the audience. How well is the show received by the audience? Well, every show has people that like it and hate it. After reading numerous reviews on the International Movie Database, I noticed something: a good amount of people who disliked the show were claiming it was a “terrible rip-off of FRIENDS.”

Everybody needs to stop trash-talking How I Met Your Mother. If you simply Google “Friends VS How I Met Your Mother”, numerous articles and blogs will come up debating about the subject. Are they similar? Well…yes. There are some similarities (such as both shows have a meet-up spot, a married couple, and a guy considered a “player” among the ladies, etc.)

What are some differences? In both of the shows, the “players” are Joey Tribbiani and Barney Stinson. In both shows, a female character is more or less known for dating more often than the others. I mostly saw Robin Sherbatsky and Rachel Green being related to each other. Robin is a Canadian teen pop star, while Rachel works in a coffee shop. In HIMYM, Barney ends up marrying Robin’s character. Does Joey end up with Rachel? No, Ross does. Some of the arguments I read seemed to be illogical and compared Ross and Ted. There are many problems with this. One: Ted doesn’t even end up with Robin, but he ends up with a character that is not introduced until the last season and she is nothing like Rachel’s character. “OOH! But both Ross and Ted are teachers!” Seriously? Is being a teacher really that uncommon? How is Ted even compared to Ross? Ross is fighting for a girl the entire series, and Ted is fighting for many girls throughout the series.

To be honest, I don’t see how the story line is a “rip off” of the other. The only aspect that is relatively similar is the fact that there are a group of friends that meet up at a location every day. Which apparently is infrequent for a group of friends. This article compares both of the shows. Fans of FRIENDS seem to defend HIMYM because it has “better writing.”

I don’t know. Ultimately, I do think the shows are similar. But why can’t FRIENDS fans just take that as a complement? No one is claiming HIMYM is not similar. FRIENDS is a great show (I am a fan) that created a impressive overall plot line. Many shows have been claiming to use this plotline as their own. Why can’t it be used as a compliment?

I do think that FRIENDS is a legendary (insert “legen—wait for it—dary” joke here) show from the 90’s. I do think the two shows are similar, but I do not think they are identical.

HIMYM Hits Social Media

Off the screen, what are some ways that HIMYM fans can access the show? Like many other shows, How I Met Your Mother is using the social media on the internet: Facebook and Twitter. How are they using these, you ask?  Well, like many HIMYM fans, I am following them on many forms of social media.

Let’s start with Facebook. How do they use the How I Met Your Mother Facebook Page? What kind of things do they post on Facebook? Well, for one: try to avoid their Facebook if you are not caught up to date on their recent episodes. You think that would be obvious, but many of my friends were angry when they hadn’t seen the episode when the mom was introduced and their Facebook feed was filled with information about her on their newsfeed. What I admire about How I Met Your Mother’s Facebook page is that they post a variety of  different things. Some shows just post about when a new episode is up on their website, or any news concerning the show itself. With How I Met Your Mother, they post contests, souvenirs available for purchase online, favorite moments from the show, information about the cast, etc.

To be honest, I am not a huge twitter junkie. I try to go on it as much as I can, but when I do I typically check out the How I Met Your Mother Twitter Page. My favorite post happened recently on February 11th. They posted a photo of the series finale episode’s writer’s script draft. It’s posts like this that you cannot find anywhere other than their official social media pages. What they post is relatively similar to their Facebook page, except they post even more. Their Twitter includes more information about behind-the-scenes shooting, guest stars on set at rehearsal, moments from the show, etc. They even take the time to retweet their fans! It’s stuff like this that makes me appreciative towards the show: they are grateful for the fans and their responses to the episodes.

Next time you are watching How I Met Your Mother, I would recommend checking our their Facebook and Twitter pages during the commercial breaks. It’ll give you an insight on the effort that goes into what they post and maybe you’ll even find some links that will interest you!

What Do They Want?

What I enjoy about the show How I Met Your Mother is how each individual character strives to achieve their own goal. You can’t have a show without goals! Each character has goals. Do they change or stay the same? How are their goals different from the other characters’ goals? Well, agree or disagree, I think that each individual adds a little something to the table.

Let’s start with Ted. Ooooh, Ted Mosby. I have a love/hate relationship with Ted. All Ted’s character wants is to find his one true love. Heck, he works his butt off in order to find it. What I admire about Ted is his strong ambition and drive to find the person he is meant to be with. Heck, he even goes back to exes because he is afraid he accidentally missed his chance and made a mistake by breaking up with them. Whether it be him being left at the altar or when Victoria moved to Germany, Ted is always able to get back on his feet relatively quickly and move on. The problem with this is that it could easily be pictured as a good or bad thing: he either has a lot of ambition or he is very desperate to find love. I love him or I hate him. It matters what kind of mood I am in. At times, he seems desperate and is trying too hard to interfere with fate. Regardless of everything, the persistency and his ability to handle his love life is admirable. Many people would not be able to handle what Ted Mosby has been through.

What about Robin Scherbatsky (or as we all know and love her as–Robin Sparkles)? Robin is the exact opposite of Ted. While at times Ted seems to be relatively dependent on relationships, Robin is by far the most independent character on the show. Her main goal during the plot of How I Met Your Mother seems to be to find happiness within her self. Her dreams consist of being a newscaster and traveling the world. I think that is extremely important at her age. There is not another time in your life when you can travel the world and achieve your dreams. Sure, you could possibly do it later in life, but it will be a lot harder to find the time to do so. Why not do it when you are young? I praise Robin Scherbatsky for being able to put herself before anyone else because some people are guilty of trying too hard to find love and too early. I think it is important to put yourself before anyone else and ensure that you find happiness before you enter a relationship. There’s a common saying: if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to let somebody do it for you?

Barney Stinson. Oh, Barney Stinson. My favorite character. What does he want? Just to hook up with every pretty lady in New York City. No, but really. While that is his goal, he does change throughout the course of the show. Barney has fun. He can turn any situation into a fun and enjoyable time for everyone. I think that his friends underrate him; I think that at times he does not deserve the annoyance that his friends give him due to his crazy dating ways. Eventually he is able to realize that he can not be a “player” for his entire life. Then he is able to finally find someone that is perfect enough for him that Barney is willing to even marry her.

I’m going to put Marshall and Lily in the same category. When are they not together? Exactly. Not every person is lucky enough to meet their future spouse the first day of their college experience. Since the beginning of the show, Lily and Marshall have been considered a pair. Therefore: I consider them to have the same general goals. What is their goal, you ask? To start a family. In the beginning of the show, they get engaged. This is the beginning of the very long process of them starting their life together. We, as an audience, are lucky enough to be able to watch them as they go through their ups and downs of their relationship. We watch as they get engaged. We watch as they get married. We watch as they have their first child. This is the couple that keeps the show sane. How I Met Your Mother needs to have a long-lasting couple as an inspiration for other characters to find true love. Without Marshall and Lily, Barney, Ted, and Robin  would not be able to watch and admire Marshall and Lily’s relationship. Instead they use it as inspiration to find one just as special and passionate.

Everyone needs goals in life. I think that all of these character’s goals represent what people in their twenties should be doing. I think that a person should be like Robin and be working to be independent and find happiness in oneself. Also, I think that they should be like Barney and be able to date whoever they want and do whatever they want. Also, I think it is important to be like Ted and have a great amount of ambition to be able to finally find the person you are meant to be with for the rest of your life. Marshall and Lily represent what it’s like when you get there. It’s the process of getting there that is important. How I Met Your Mother shows all aspect of being young and in your twenties. It shows the pros and cons of all sides. I think the one of the biggest lessons of How I Met Your Mother is to enjoy being young. Enjoy your time in your twenties, because you’ll remember it for a lifetime.