I think it depends on what you watch the show for; early on, it’s more of a celebration of geek culture and the 4 guys interacting, with Penny as sort of a group foil for comic effect.
As time goes on, it gradually becomes a couples show, more or less, with less overtly geeky stuff, and more relationship-based stuff. So rather than jokes about the guys, their quirks and stupid stuff they do, it’s more about the couples’ lives and interactions to group related occurrences, such as the effects of their work on their SOs and the group in general.
To a degree, yeah. But probably fairly realistic; when groups of guys all end up pairing off and getting married, the group dynamics really change. Then when they start having children, they change again.
Probably less funny, certainly less fun for the participants.
HIMYM SPOILER:
I do have to say that HIMYM’s treatment of pregnancy and new parenting was pretty damn funny. At least one of the writers had to have had a new kid sometime close to that point, as their jokes about that stuff were dead-on to new parents. My wife and I howled at some of the new baby jokes, as we had a 1 year old at the point when Marvin was born.
I like watching it on my computer and my flatmate likes to collect the DVD’s. My wife can’t stand watching it at all even when I tell her that it is apparently the most popular comedy on TV.
I’ve watched probably a majority of episodes, but like every other popular sit-com that comes out, I never paid attention to it until several years after its debut. So I usually end up watching re-runs in willy-nilly order and I’m never really certain of what the story line is.
That said, I have a theory. Kind of a Grand Unification of Sit-Coms thing. It is this: all sit-coms start to suck in their fifth season. I don’t know why this is, but every sit-com I’ve ever followed just seems to start to coast after four years. I think it’s the complacency. That’s usually when we start to see guest stars and very special episodes and “the whole gang goes to Bora Bora” type entries.
Therefore … it’s great, right up to season five; then ditch it.
I had a huge problem with Barney/Robin’s break up after two years of non-stop buildup and about 4 more years of on-and-off buildup. It wasn’t just mom’s death, it was the whole “Golly, in the real world, couples split up so after 9(?) seasons, let’s suddenly be realistic.” crap. Mom’s death sucked too, of course but the whole ending with everyone grows apart, Robin/Barney split up, Robin disappears, Ted–uber-romantic–can’t manage to get married for 5 years and THEN mom dies and Ted/Robin hook up after 9 seasons of the show telling and showing us why they suck so badly as a couple. YMMV
From Season 9 episode 11: “Then it’s settled. Amy’s birthday present will be my genitals.”
BTW if I had a daughter my number 1 name would be Amy. (partly from “Amy Grant” and from other Amies(?) I’ve known.)
When they said something about “We can find out together” I was in tears a bit. Then Sheldon said they will do it again for her next birthday and she said “that works for me”. I’m glad they finally did it. Though Sheldon is an atheist he is a bit of a prude like I am. I am talking about the things I’m willing to try, not how outspoken I am.
That may be part of it, but I think the real reason is that five seasons is about 100 episodes.
Think about your real-life friends. Are there 100 funny stories you can tell about them? Not just funny stores, but funny stories that fit into a general setting, that involve most or all of them, that get tied up neatly at the end, and that do (or don’t, depending on your preference) involve a major change or realization for your friends.
Try it. I’ll bet that trip to Bora Bora starts looking pretty good after awhile.
I still recall the first time I saw Big Bang Theory listed and then switched to it. What a shock when I quickly discovered that it wasn’t about the big bang theory.
And I’ve never really watched it since.
I don’t need to watch a “realistic” (which is what BBT has turned into) sitcom about four geeky guys and their girlfriends/wives. I have friends. We’re all geeks. Some of us are married or in relationships. BBT is not exactly new territory for me.
I want more of the bat-crap craziness BBT used to have. Not on a constant basis, mind you, but occasionally. Let the guys be geeks, let them get excited about the newest issue of whatever or random scientific discovery or whatever.
And, for God’s sake, don’t punish the guys for their geekyness. It’s one thing for a girlfriend to say, “I don’t understand why you’re interested in that” and another for her to say “I can’t believe you’re wasting your time…” The way the girls treat the guys sometimes is rather demeaning.
In response to those who say, “well, the characters just grew up/matured/whatever, just like in real life”: Some of us are not watching TV sitcoms to see real life. We get enough of real life as it is. Make me laugh, make me care. But please don’t make me yawn. :rolleyes:
