How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother
Howimetyourmother.jpg
Title card (series 2 - present)
Format Situation Comedy
Created by Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Starring Josh Radnor
Jason Segel
Cobie Smulders
Neil Patrick Harris
Alyson Hannigan
Narrated by Bob Saget (uncredited)
Opening theme "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 112 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Carter Bays
Pamela Fryman
Rob Greenberg
Craig Thomas
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 20–22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Picture format 480i (4:3 SDTV)
1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original run September 19, 2005 (2005-09-19) – present

How I Met Your Mother is an American situation comedy that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. The show was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.

As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor),[1] with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to him meeting their mother, which explains the title and allows for a narration in the past tense. How I Met Your Mother's other main characters are Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan).[1]

The show was renewed for a sixth season by CBS, set to premiere on September 20, 2010.[2]

Contents

Production

Inspired by the idea "let's write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York,"[3] How I Met Your Mother is Bays' and Thomas' idea. The two drew from their friendship in creating the characters, with Ted based loosely on Bays, and Marshall and Lily based loosely on Thomas and his wife.[4][5] Thomas' wife Rebecca was initially reluctant to have a character based on her, but agreed if they could get Alyson Hannigan to play her. Fortunately, Hannigan was available, and was looking to do more comedy work.[4]

The bar "MacLaren's", in which some of the show is set, is based on a bar in New York City called McGee's.[6] It has a mural that Carter Bays and Craig Thomas both liked and wanted to incorporate into the show.[7] The name for the bar is from Carter Bays' assistant Carl MacLaren; the bartender in the show is also called Carl.[8]

Usually each episode is shot over three days, where most other sitcoms are typically shot in a single day, and features upwards of 50 scenes an episode with quick transitions. The show uses a laugh track and flashbacks are frequently featured in the story. The laugh track is later created by recording an audience being shown the final edited episode. Due to the larger scope of the show, co-creator Thomas claims that shooting in front of a live audience would be impossible, and doing so "would blur the line between 'audience' and 'hostage situation'".[9] Later seasons were filmed in front of an audience on occasion when smaller sets are used.

The theme song is a portion of "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids, of which Bays and Thomas are members. Episodes from the first season generally started with the opening credits. A cold opening has been used since season two. Viewers then occasionally see Ted's children on a couch and hear him talking to them, telling the story of how he met their mother. Alternatively, scenes from previous shows or shots of New York City with Ted narrating over the top are shown. Thomas has explicitly said that Future Ted is an unreliable narrator since he is trying to tell a story that happened over 20 years earlier, and therefore tends to misremember events.[10] A scene directly relating to the identity of the mother, involving Ted's future children, was filmed near the beginning of season two for the show's eventual series finale.[11] This was primarily done because the teenage actors portraying them will be adults by the time the final season is shot.[12]

During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, How I Met Your Mother shut down production, but once the strike ended the show returned on March 17, 2008, with nine new episodes.[13] A change in timeslot was also announced, to 8:30 ET/7:30 CT, flip-flopping from the summer schedule with The Big Bang Theory.[14] The show was renewed for a fourth season by CBS on May 14, 2008,[15] which premiered on September 22, 2008.[16]

In September 2008, it was announced that Lifetime Television purchased the right to rerun How I Met Your Mother at a rate of about $725,000 per episode.[17] The four-year syndication contract stipulated that the studio must deliver at least 110 half-hour episodes by the year 2010, and allows for up to eight seasons of the show. At the end of the fourth season only 88 episodes had been produced, and a further 22 episodes were required ensuring there would be a fifth season.[18] On May 19, 2009, the fifth-season renewal was announced.[19] On May 20, 2009, CBS announced that How I Met Your Mother would move back to 8 pm, leading into the new comedy, Accidentally on Purpose. On January 12, 2010, first season the show hit the milestone of its 100th episode. It was also announced that the series will return for a sixth season on CBS.[20] In response to being syndicated Co-creator Craig Thomas said "We're thrilled that it will live on in other forms" and that they are proud of the show and it is great to see there is a strong desire for it.[21] However, cast members have suggested that the show will run for no more than 8 seasons. [22]

Cast

Main characters

Recurring characters

Season synopses

Season One

In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) sits his daughter and son down to tell them the story of how he met their mother.

The story begins in 2005 with Ted (Josh Radnor) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from college; Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), a law student, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher, who have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his self-appointed best friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), whom he met in a restroom in a bar. Barney is known as a womanizer.

Ted begins his search for his perfect mate and meets an ambitious young reporter, Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), with whom he quickly falls in love. Robin, however, doesn't want to rush into a relationship and the two decide to be friends. Future Ted reveals that Robin is not the mother after referring to her as his children's "Aunt Robin".

Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria, whom he meets at a wedding, causing Robin to become jealous and realize she does have feelings for him. Victoria moves to Germany for a culinary fellowship, and she and Ted try a long-distance relationship. Once Ted learns Robin has feelings for him, he tells her that he has broken up with Victoria, even though he hasn't. They almost have sex when Victoria calls and Robin answers by mistake. Ted and Victoria then break up and Robin becomes mad at Ted, but they eventually make up and decide to date.

Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she's missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking up with Marshall in the process. The season ends with Ted coming back to the apartment, the morning after spending the night with Robin for the first time, to find Marshall sitting in the rain with Lily's engagement ring.

Season Two

Ted and Robin are now a couple, and a heartbroken Marshall tries to continue his life without Lily. Realizing she is not an artist, Lily returns to New York. She is reunited with Marshall, and the season culminates in their marriage. Barney loses a "slap bet", which permits Marshall to slap him in the face five times at any given time in the future, whenever Marshall chooses, which he does twice during this season. It is revealed that Barney has a gay, black brother (Wayne Brady). Barney believes that Bob Barker is his father and takes a trip to California to be a contestant on The Price is Right. Everyone discovers Robin was a Canadian teen pop star in the early 90s, with a hit single "Let's Go To The Mall". The music video is viewed by Barney hundreds of times.

In the season finale, Ted reveals to Barney that he and Robin have been broken up for some time due to their conflicting views on marriage. They didn't tell anyone in order to avoid taking attention away from Lily and Marshall's wedding. The season ends with Barney excited at the prospect of Ted and himself being single guys on the town again, and ends the season with the phrase "This is going to be legen- wait for it"

Season Three

Barney begins the season with the word, "-dary!" Robin returns from a trip to Argentina with boyfriend Gael (Enrique Iglesias) and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they can't afford. Marshall learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping. Despite this, they are able to finally secure their dream apartment, only to discover it's in a bad location and more poorly constructed than they thought. Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving".

Ted tells his children that he met their mother through a story with her yellow umbrella. He finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party where his future wife was, although they did not meet. Ted attempts to woo Stella (Sarah Chalke), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date", which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, two cab rides, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up, which is followed by Ted's disapproval and decision to stop being friends with Barney. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. His saboteur is revealed to be Abby (Britney Spears), Stella's receptionist, with a vendetta against him for not calling her after they had sex.

In the season finale, after Ted and Barney get into separate car accidents and end up in the hospital, they renew their friendship. It is revealed that Barney has true feelings for Robin, while Ted proposes to Stella.

Season Four

Stella says "yes" to Ted's proposal. Robin takes a new job in Japan, but quickly resigns, returning to New York to attend Ted's wedding. Stella leaves Ted at the altar to get back together with Tony, the father of her daughter. Barney struggles with his feelings for Robin as his company shifts him to the management team of a new acquisition, Goliath National Bank (GNB).

Marshall and Lily move to their new apartment and debate over whether or not they're ready to have children. Robin becomes roommates with Ted and gets a job as an anchor for a 4 am news show after Barney sends out her video resume. Ted finds out about Barney's feelings for Robin when Ted and Robin sleep together constantly so they won't fight over each others bad co-living habits.

Ted finds out Lily has sabotaged all of his relationships with anyone she doesn't approve of and indirectly may have inspired his breakup with Robin. Robin and Ted end up talking about it, causing their friendship to begin moving towards a positive note. As Barney finally sleeps with his 200th woman, after rubbing it in the face of the childhood bully that taunted him into pursuing it, he questions what the rest of his life would be about now, leaving him more certain of his feelings for Robin.

Ted, while carrying the yellow umbrella, bumps into Stella and Tony. Tony later decides to visit him, sympathizing with Ted over his loss of Stella. Tony offers him a job as a professor of architecture, which Ted initially turns down.

In the season finale Robin finds out about Barney's love for her, which she cautiously reciprocates. Ted decides he is done being an architect and finally decides to instead teach architecture classes. The finale ends with Ted preparing to teach his first class and Future Ted revealing that one of the women in the class is their mother.

Season Five

Ted begins his job as an architecture professor, standing in the middle of a classroom – although the mother was present, it turns out to be an economics class as he's in the wrong lecture hall. Barney and Robin have had a sexual relationship throughout the summer and Lily locks them in a room, forcing them to come to terms with their relationship. After a rough patch they decide to break up. Robin describes it instead as "two friends getting back together". Barney immediately goes back to his old ways, using the playbook to score with women. Throughout the season Barney and Robin show feelings of regret of their break-up.

Ted dates a graduate student named Cindy (Rachel Bilson) and it is revealed that her roommate is his future wife. Robin meets Don, her new co-anchor on her 4 am TV show. Though she initially dislikes him, the two start dating and eventually she moves in with him. At the end of the season they break up when Don takes a job in Chicago, after Robin declined the same job to stay in New York with Don. Marshall uses his fourth slap on Barney, once again at Thanksgiving. Ted buys a house, which needs to be fixed up badly, but is later revealed to be the future home for Ted and his kids.

Lily and Marshall discuss the idea of having a baby, though Lily is unsure. The couple decide to leave it until they finally glimpse the last of the group's doppelgängers. Eventually, Lily sees a man she believes to be the final doppelgänger, which, although disputed by the remainder of the group, proves that both members of the couple are ready to have a baby.

Season Six

The show was renewed on January 25, 2010, for a sixth season to air in 2010 and 2011.[23] It was announced that the sixth season will begin airing on September 20, 2010. Executive producer Carter Bays said the season will be more like the first two seasons in terms of storytelling and would feature more "game-changing" elements to the plot, starting with the first episode, "Big Day."[24]It has been confirmed that Rachel Bilson will return as Cindy.

Tie-ins

Books

The Bro Code: stated by Barney many times throughout the series, is a set of written rules for bros to follow, and has been published as a tie-in novel and an audiobook.[25] Barney alleges it was written by Barnabas Stinson, a contemporary of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin (and assumed relative of Barney).

Websites

Phone numbers

Reception

The show has received generally favorable reviews, and has a 69% rating on Metacritic based on a weighted average of 25 reviews.[35] During the first season of the show, the reviews were very mixed. The New York Times said of the show, "How I Met Your Mother is not perfect. The writing does not yet live up to the show's premise, but the series has potential to improve," later adding, "This is not the kind of sitcom that revolutionizes the genre, or creates a pop culture buzz, but they are pleasant to watch. And that is nothing to sneer at."[36] Popmatters were less favorable, saying, "The comedy that does occur in How I Met Your Mother isn't enough to compensate for its inconsistencies. The jokes are often predictable or lame. For instance, Barney's insistence that Ted dress up in a suit to go out ("Suit up!") was instantly tired. Likewise, when Barney plants a kiss on Marshall to make a point to Ted, the joke is too evident to be amusing—look, the ladies' man is kissing another guy. With the increased presence of gays on television, the shock value of such a scene has long passed. Maybe How I Met Your Mother should have tried to be more like Friends after all."[37] After season one Craig Thomas noted they were happy to get away from the Friends comparisons.[5]

USA Today gave the show a more positive review, reflecting on the cast as well. They said, "The script is humorous, though not hilarious, and the show boasts a fine cast that could, with time, gel into a great one. Harris sparkles in a change-of-pace role as a clueless would-be player, and Hannigan is as delightful here as she was in Buffy, which is high praise indeed."[38] Orlando Sentinel praised the show, critic Hal Boedeker, said, "Romantic comedies depend on appealing actors, and these five are irresistible. In this adult show, series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas shift easily from risque material to tenderness before supplying the biggest surprise on any new fall series. That twist should keep viewers coming back to How I Met Your Mother."[39]

Nielsen ratings

Season Timeslot (ET) Season premiere Season finale TV season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
1 Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 19, 2005 – May 15, 2006) September 19, 2005 May 15, 2006 2005–2006 #43[40] 9.47[40]
2 Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 18, 2006 – October 2, 2006)
Monday 8:00 P.M. (October 9, 2006 – May 14, 2007)		 September 18, 2006 May 14, 2007 2006–2007 #61[41] 8.50[41]
3 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 24, 2007 – March 10, 2008)
Monday 8:30 P.M. (March 17, 2008 – May 19, 2008)		 September 24, 2007 May 19, 2008 2007–2008 #70[42] 8.21[42]
4 Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 22, 2008 – May 18, 2009)
 September 22, 2008 May 18, 2009 2008–2009 #49[43] 9.42[43]
5 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 21, 2009 – May 24, 2010) September 21, 2009 May 24, 2010 2009–2010 #42[44] 8.60[44]
6 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 20, 2010 – May, 2011) September 20, 2010 May 2011 2010–2011

The show had an average of 9.42 million viewers for season 4, and episode 12 hit a season high of 11.85 million viewers, the show's highest ratings since Season 1 (February 2006). Episode 18, which aired at 8:00 instead of the show's usual 8:30 time-slot, hit a season low of only 7.40 million viewers. This was the lowest rated episode of How I Met Your Mother since the "Showdown" episode.

Awards and nominations

Year Result Category Award Show Recipient(s)
2006 Won Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Emmy Awards Crew
Won Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series Crew
Nominated Favorite New Television Comedy People's Choice Awards Cast and crew
2007 Won Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Emmy Awards Crew
Nominated Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series Crew
Nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris
Nominated Choice TV Actor: Comedy Teen Choice Awards Neil Patrick Harris
2008 Won Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Emmy Awards Crew
Nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris
Nominated Favorite Scene Stealing Star People's Choice Awards Neil Patrick Harris
Nominated Choice TV Show: Comedy Teen Choice Awards Cast and crew
Nominated Choice TV Actor: Comedy Neil Patrick Harris
2009 Nominated Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy Awards Crew
Nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris
Won Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Crew
Nominated Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series Crew
Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Golden Globe Awards Neil Patrick Harris
Nominated Favorite Scene Stealing Guest Star People's Choice Awards Britney Spears
2010 Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Golden Globe Awards Neil Patrick Harris
Won Favorite TV Comedy Actress People's Choice Awards Alyson Hannigan
Nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy Awards Neil Patrick Harris

DVD release

Season releases Region 1
DVD name Release date Episode # Additional information
Season 1 November 21, 2006 22 This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 1. Bonus features include commentaries on six episodes, Video Yearbook (20:29), two music videos: "First Round" (1:13) and "Last Call" (1:45), and Gag Reel (9:00). The episodes on the DVD have been cropped from the originally broadcast widescreen to a full frame 4:3 format. At present there is no widescreen version available.
Season 2 October 2, 2007 22 This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 2. Bonus features include commentaries on seven episodes, How We Make Your Mother (17:10), two music videos: Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go To The Mall" (3:17) and The Solids' "Hey Beautiful" (3:51), three "How It Really Happened" scenes (5:28), Gag Reel (7:10), and an Easter Egg.
Season 3 October 7, 2008 20 This three-disc box set includes all 20 episodes of Season 3. Bonus features include commentaries on seven episodes, Series Retrospective (2:42), Lily & Marshall's Honeymoon Videos (10:37), Cast Favorites (4:59), Behind the Scenes of "We're Not From Here" (5:43), six "How It Really Happened" scenes (8:33), two music videos: Marshall Eriksen's "You Just Got Slapped" (1:52) and Robin Sparkles's "Sandcastles in the Sand" (3:39), "Ted Mosby Is A Jerk" Audio Track for "The Bracket", and Gag Reel (11:12).
Season 4 September 29, 2009 24 This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of Season 4. Bonus features include commentaries on four episodes, A Night With Your Mother: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Panel Discussion, Season 3 Recap, Eriksen's Fight Club, music video for Barney Stinson's "That Guy's Awesome", and Gag Reel. Also available on Blu-Ray outside of the UK.
Season 5 September 20, 2010 24 TBA

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "How I Met Your Mother cast". CBS. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/bio. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  2. ↑ "CBS reveals fall premiere dates". ew.com. 2010-07-22. http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/07/22/cbs-reveals-fall-premiere-dates/. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  3. ↑ "TV Summer School: How to Create and Run a Successful Sitcom". E!Online. August 6, 2007. http://www.eonline.com/print/index.jsp?uuid=ae969501-d9e3-4679-900e-28fd88bbe95d&contentType=watchWithKristin. Retrieved 2009-11-11. "let's write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York."" 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Alyson Hannigan – "How I Met Your Mother" Sitcom – William S. Paley TV Fest". Whedon.info. 2006-03-28. http://www.whedon.info/Alyson-Hannigan-How-I-Met-Your,14745.html. Retrieved 2010-02-13. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Maureen Ryan (April 27, 2006). "Craig Thomas: 'Sitcoms used to be about something'". Chicago Tribune. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/04/craig_thomas.html#more. "I’m like the Marshall character, I’ve been with my wife since freshman year of college." 
  6. ↑ "TV Guide Editor's Blog: Video Q&As: I Hit the How I Met Your Motherlode!". tvguide.com. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Tv-Mattrs/Met-Mother-Cast/800041252. Retrieved 2008-11-23. 
  7. ↑ How I Met Your Mother 1st Season DVD Commentary
  8. ↑ Keller, Joel (2007-05-11). "Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview". Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20070513030858/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/11/carter-bays-of-how-i-met-your-mother-the-tv-squad-interview/. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 
  9. ↑ "The Watcher: How 'How I Met Your Mother' is not a traditional sitcom". Chicago Tribune. 2007-01-15. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/01/how_i_met_your_.html. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  10. ↑ "'How I Met Your Mother's' Craig Thomas on Ted & Barney's Breakup, Eriksen Babies and The Future of Robarn". Zap2it.com. http://blog.zap2it.com/korbitv/2008/05/how-i-met-your-mothers-craig-thomas-on-ted-barneys-breakup-eriksen-babies-and-the-future-of-robarn.html. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "[He is] a guy who is telling the story so many years in the future, and he jumbles it up in his memory a little bit. He can be an unreliable narrator." 
  11. ↑ "Barney writes a book, Barney + Robin, Ted + Stella and other 'How I Met Your Mother' news". Chicago Tribune. 2008-07-19. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/07/barney-writes-a.html. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "He did reveal that more than two years ago ... With only the two kids who play Ted's future children ... they shot a scene that directly relates to the identity of the mother. That scene will be included in the show's series finale, which Thomas said he hopes "people will see in 2012."" 
  12. ↑ "'How I Met Your Mother's' Craig Thomas on Ted & Barney's Breakup, Eriksen Babies and The Future of Robarn". Zap2it.com. http://blog.zap2it.com/korbitv/2008/05/how-i-met-your-mothers-craig-thomas-on-ted-barneys-breakup-eriksen-babies-and-the-future-of-robarn.html. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 
  13. ↑ "CBS Sets Series Return Dates". http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-cbsreturndates,0,7656374.story. Retrieved 2008-02-13. 
  14. ↑ "Breaking News – "The Big Bang Theory" And "How I Met Your Mother" To Swap Time Periods". TheFutonCritic.com. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080220cbs01. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 
  15. ↑ "Upfront: CBS Releases Full Schedule". http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6560732.html?industryid=47172. Retrieved 2008-05-14. 
  16. ↑ "CBS Announces 2008–2009 Premiere Dates". CBS. http://futoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080626cbs01. Retrieved 2008-07-26. 
  17. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (September 24, 2008). "'Mother' reruns nest at Lifetime". Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i6981db61c01d2a4deec48edaedd4cde9. "Lifetime's four-year licensing deal includes up to eight seasons of "Mother," should the CBS comedy run that long. "Mother" had a big fourth-season premiere Monday, jumping 21% in the ratings over last season." 
  18. ↑ "How I Met Your Mother: Syndication Deal Ensures Season Five for Sitcom". September 17, 2008. http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/how-i-met-your-mother-syndication-deal-ensures-season-five-for-sitcom. 
  19. ↑ "Exclusive: 'Without a Trace,' 'Privileged,' canceled, 'Gossip' spin-off DOA". May 19, 2009. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/05/exclusive-witho.html. 
  20. ↑ "'How I Met Your Mother' meets Season 6". January 25, 2010. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iab98e96f89cc5a36341b1e5e5ec23dbc.  (registration required)
  21. ↑ http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/the_craig_thomas_interview.php?page=10
  22. ↑ http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/how-i-met-your-mother-continue-cancelled-jason-segel/
  23. ↑ "How I Met Your Mother Renewed For Sixth Season". TVbytheNumbers.com. 2010-01-25. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/25/how-i-met-your-mother-renewed-for-sixth-season/40110. Retrieved 2010-02-13. 
  24. ↑ http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/29/how-i-met-your-mother-scoop-2/
  25. ↑ Stinson, Barney (2008). The Bro Code. New York: Fireside. ISBN 9781439110003. 
  26. ↑ Stinson, Barney (2009). Bro on the Go. New York: Fireside. ISBN 9781439173138. 
  27. ↑ "The Playbook". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Playbook-Barney-Stinson/dp/1439196834/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272734349&sr=8-1. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  28. ↑ "Boning Up on the 'Bro Code'". 2008-08-22. http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/blink/2008/08/boning_up_on_the_bro_code.php. "show writer Matt Kuhn (of the infamous "Slapsgiving"), who also writes Barney’s Blog for CBS’ Web site." 
  29. ↑ "slapcountdown.com as it appeared on August 22, 2007". Web.archive.org. 2007-08-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20070822144119/http://slapcountdown.com/. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 
  30. ↑ "Super Bowl: Call Barney Stinson at 1-877-987-6401 – From Inside the Box – Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/02/super-bowl-call-barney-stinson-at-1-877-987-6401.html. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 
  31. ↑ "Call Barney Stinson!". TV Squad. 2010-02-08. http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/02/08/call-barney-stinson/. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 
  32. ↑ "How I Met Your Mother: Barney Stinson Reveals Number on Super Bowl Ad". Buddytv.com. 2010-02-07. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/how-i-met-your-mother/how-i-met-your-mother-barney-s-34340.aspx. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "'How I Met Your Mother': Rabbit or duck? – It Happened Last Night – Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. 2010-02-09. http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2010/02/how-i-met-your-mother-rabbit-or-duck.html. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 
  34. ↑ ""Super Bowl: Call for Barney" at How I Met Your Mother Source". http://himym.fan-sites.org/?p=1718. 
  35. ↑ "How I Met Your Mother reviews". Metacritic.com (CBS Interactive). http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/howimetyourmother. Retrieved 2009-10-31. 
  36. ↑ Stanley, Alessandra (2005-09-19). "How I Met Your Mother reviews". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/19/arts/television/19stan.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  37. ↑ Michael Abernethy (2005-10-03). "How I Met Your Mother reviews". Popmatters. Archived from the original on 2005-12-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20051222044109/http://www.popmatters.com/tv/reviews/h/how-i-met-your-mother-051003.shtml. Retrieved 2010-05-24. 
  38. ↑ Bianco, Robert (2005-09-19). "How I Met Your Mother reviews". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2005-09-18-how-i-met-your-mother_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  39. ↑ Hal Boedeker (2005-09-18). "How I Met Your Mother reviews". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2005-09-18/news/TVCOMEDY_1_hates-chris-ted-jason-segel. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "How I Met Your Mother ratings". ABCmedianet. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20070310210300/http://www.abcmedianet.com/pressrel/dispDNR.html?id=053106_05. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "How I Met Your Mother ratings". ABCmedianet. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 "Season Program Rankings from 09/24/07 through 05/25/08". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052808_06. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Season Program Rankings from 09/22/08 through 05/17/09". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/full-series-rankings-for-the-2009-10-broadcast-season

External links

How I Met Your Mother
Characters
Ted Mosby · Marshall Eriksen · Robin Scherbatsky · Barney Stinson · Lily Aldrin
Episodes
Season 1 · Season 2 · Season 3 · Season 4 · Season 5  · Season 6