Drat! it was new episode? I missed it.
Brian
I’ve been getting caught up on this show over the past month or two and I’ve enjoyed it. My wife and I were fans of “Mad About You” back in the day, and the Marshall and Lily relationship, in particular, reminds us of it. We watched the season 2 episode “Spoiler Alert” and just laughed our heads off. We both said we could totally picture that as a Mad About You episode with virtually no dialog changed. The only thing that bugs me is that they’ve spent so long dragging out Ted’s relationship issues and introduced so many ho-of-the-week characters that I’m beginning not to like him very much. He’s just starting to seem like a sleezebag with all the one night stands and desperation. It’s turning into the Marshal and Lily show, with a nice side of Barney, and occasional interludes from Ted and Robin(although the Robin Sparkles shows always deliver, “Space Teens” was hilarious). They’ve found a cast with great chemistry and they’re milking it, which is great for them. Mad About You did the same thing. I think eventually it will go the same way Mad About You did and have to face a fact that in order to keep it realistic they have to make the characters deal with big life-changing stuff before they get too much older. Ted buying a house was part of that, but they were able to keep him in the apartment by making it an unlivable house which needs lots of work. They can’t keep that kind of stuff up forever. The longer they keep him a single 30-something the less realistic it will be and it will lose the edge it has.
Of course the major life-changing event in Mad About You was also when the show jumped shark, so there’s that to worry about.
Enjoy,
Steven
They did have 44 twice but they didn’t skip 45. There was a sign for 45-cent hot wings on the table in front of Barney before the guy walked by with number 44 on his jersey (in addition to the “44 beers on tap” sign).
45 cent wings. They got every number in.
Edit: Damn you, Gus!
Yes, damn me all to hell!
That’s why I missed it. I was looking between the return from commercial and the appearance of “44 Beers on tap.”
But that’s the beauty of it!
Someone on another forum I frequent said it better than I:
We were expecting something good from the countdown (assuming you didn’t see the episode title on your DVR, cable guide, online, etc…) like Lily finally getting pregnant, or Marshall finding out he had good swimmers. But to get a sucker punch to the guy that is a main character’s father dying, it feels even worse because you were expecting something fun, good, or grandiose. Marshall just got good news and was on top of the world, and then he came crashing down with one simple sentence.
I wonder how the baby plot will play out now…I imagine that Marshall won’t feel like having a kid right away anymore…probably not until at least the end of the season, if not next season. We already saw a shot of Future Lily pregnant in the ep. where Narrator Ted couldn’t remember any details, and we only have 2 seasons most…so I’m thinking Lily gets pregnant towards the start of next season, that episode is towards the end, and her birth is the season finale of S7, and then we only have to deal with one season’s worth of “Babe 2: Pig in the City” crap.
M-O-O-N, that spells dead Eriskson dad…
OK, I laughed.
If that’s why they did it, it totally worked.
I noticed the 50 & 49 and wondered what it was about, then promptly forgot it. I was paying attention to the “Bridges” and “Buildings” on Ted’s books, and missed the numbers entirely. I saw the 7 on the wine bottle and thought “Good product placement, but the bottle looks kind of odd.” And I saw the 6 on the folder, but having missed the majority of the numbers, I didn’t connect it with anything. Not having noticed it, it didn’t distract me. If I had been counting down, I think I would have liked the episode less. It’s one thing to have death come from nowhere - that makes sense in the show, with these characters, where they are in their lives. But counting down just seems too something. I’m not sure what.
I really liked Bill Fagerbakke as Marshall’s dad. I hope he gets flashback episodes.
I hated the countdown. I must have just enough OCD in me that I wasn’t able to pay attention to the actual episode. Once I saw “50” and “49”, it was over for me, as I was looking for the next number.
Gimmicky. Bah.
Man, it makes me sad when I totally miss the gimmick. I must be getting old.
I missed the countdown. Had no idea it was going on, so I had to watch it again after it was mentioned on another review website.
I often will “watch” a show only half-glancing at it, though I’m thoroughly listening to it, so I don’t think I would’ve picked up on it even if it was more blatant than it apparently was for so many others.
Luckily CBS has teh show online so I could watch it.
I was very afraid that Marshall and his dad would not have talked at all before the death. All the missed calls and such. Whew!
Brian
Same here. I also watched without my glasses on and with my young child chattering away.
I loved the Doppelganger arc. I liked Robin in her glasses and while I don’t like Sandy, I liked that arc too.
I was furious about the ending. I really wanted to watch a comedy last night. The fertility stuff was heavy enough for me as it was (even though it was done funny). It seemed so random and unnecessary. Marshall’s having a kid. He’s growing up. We don’t need more layers of character development just to screw with things. I almost never like serious topics in comedies so if they go to a funeral next week, they better put the FUN in funeral for Dauber. Like have Jerry Van Dyke be a minister, have the coffin decorated in starfish and M-O-O-Ns. Have that freaking goat show up or something. Have the Marshall brothers have a fistfight to “Mother.”
The episode breezed along reasonably well, but by the end my roommate and I couldn’t help but think it was really mostly just lazy writing, from the flashbacks (particularly with Robin - these added nothing but minutes) to the jerk-with-your-emotions tacked on ending. It seemed weird to me when Marshall’s parents came down to visit at all (saying something like “We hadn’t heard from you in a few days and were worried!”- seriously? You came from Minnesota? You didn’t think to, say, call?). It was like this was the writers reminding us these people existed so that we (as audience) would be suitably broken up if something were to happen to one of them.
Mad About You was generally before my time, but I agree largely with the points raised by **MtgMan **
Wow, some of the replies here bring back memories of an exchange between Fry and Leela on Futurama about tv:
The ending was a downer, for sure, but that’s why it was good. I thought it had depth and didn’t see it coming. I get that people watch comedies for the lightheartedness, but for me, any tv I watch has to have a good story, and the ending was as good as any to tell a story.
Anyway, I missed most of the countdown, but when I saw Dr. Barney holding the 9 folder, I do remember thinking “Why does his folder say 9?” That was the only part I found jarring.
E! Online Interview with Carter Bays, executive producer, discussing this episode and the last half of the season
That articles states that we know Ted is going to meet the mother at the wedding. When did we learn about that?