# So I finally watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453 "2012-01-24T01:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/21 "2012-01-24T16:11:42Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Sad story - [Lesley Jordan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Jordan) (plays the really short, southern, overly gay guy in Will and Grace) spoke at my workplace last year as part of an LGBT month event. He talked about the niche that an openly gay actor like him has to accept that they’re in, even in this supposedly enlightened time we live in. HIMYM had offered him a role where he played a neighbour of Jason Segel who they wanted him to be constantly leering at and making moves on. In the episode they pitched to him he was going to ask Jason Segel for help moving a piece of furniture “because he’s such a strong young man” and gave him a beer as thanks for the work. Segel later wakes up, clearly having been drugged, with Jordan’s character implying he’s had his wicked way with him whilst he’s unconscious. > > I’ve never been a great fan of HIMYM as I found it derivative and a text book Friends wannabe clone, but being told how the writers of the show decided they wanted to portray an older, openly gay man as an automatic rapist ensured that I never wanted to watch it again (and naturally Jordan was pretty insulted that this is the role he was being asked to play, generally as a gay man and specifically as him). Ironic considering Neil Patrick Harris is a cast member, but then he’s okay because he’s playing a raging heterosexual douchebag. :rolleyes: I don’t think there’s a big enough eye roll for this (directed at Jordan). First off I don’t think that just because you’re gay means you have to accept rolls portraying gay characters. At least that’s what I’m getting from the statement “He talked about the niche that an openly gay actor like him has to accept that they’re in, even in this supposedly enlightened time we live in”. Maybe he got pigeon holed on Will & Grace, maybe it’s his fault for doing the same roll over and over (has he? He played a similar character on Desperate Housewives, but DH and W&G is all I know him really well from), but he can’t blame society for his acting gigs. Secondly, “writers of the show decided they wanted to portray an older, openly gay man as an automatic rapist”…I really don’t like statements like that. When you see a movie about a man who rapes a woman do you say “Well, just because he’s a man, he’s automatically a rapist…I’m not going to watch this!” When you watch a movie about a female drug smuggler do you say “Well, this is just awful, just because she’s a woman, she’s automatically a drug smuggler…that’s terrible!” No. Same here, do you really, honestly think the writers are calling the character a rapist _because_ he’s gay…if you do, you’re probably not smart enough to watch the show. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/22 "2012-01-24T16:32:24Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > That doesn’t sound remotely like a story HIMYM would do. Or there would be a twist at the end where the neighbor character isn’t even gay and it’s all in Marshall’s head. Yea, I can’t really picture the actual rape of a main character played for laughs in HIMYM. The show is no where near that dark. Jordan is exaggerating at best. Plus it seems kinda silly to say that gays are typecast, and then point to NPH and say he doesn’t count because he’s a “heterosexual doochebag”. What does count? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/23 "2012-01-24T17:13:46Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > The most important question for a prospective viewer of either show is, “Do you like sitcoms?”. Both are straight-up three-camera sitcoms; IMO they’re well-executed, but many people don’t like the genre. I don’t like many, but there are a few. My three favorites are: -Seinfeld -Curb Your Enthusiasm -It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Other than that, in general, I think the best comedy on TV these days is animated, such as: -South Park -Family Guy -Simpsons -Futurama > [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > I’ve never been a great fan of HIMYM as I found it derivative and a text book Friends wannabe clone… That reminded me of [this amusing comparison](http://imgur.com/a/JuGpD), that I just saw the other day. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/24 "2012-01-24T18:41:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Secondly, “writers of the show decided they wanted to portray an older, openly gay man as an automatic rapist”…I really don’t like statements like that. When you see a movie about a man who rapes a woman do you say “Well, just because he’s a man, he’s automatically a rapist…I’m not going to watch this!” When you watch a movie about a female drug smuggler do you say “Well, this is just awful, just because she’s a woman, she’s automatically a drug smuggler…that’s terrible!” No. Same here, do you really, honestly think the writers are calling the character a rapist _because_ he’s gay…if you do, you’re probably not smart enough to watch the show. Why thank you **Joey**. Well, that’s me well and truly smacked down by everyone. Next time I run into Jordan I’ll tell him what a lying little shit he is. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/25 "2012-01-24T18:51:03Z")
I don’t know Jordan and how honest he is, but that sounds a lot more like a “Two and a Half Men” type story than “How I Met Your Mother.” I don’t know all the behind the scenes stuff at HIMYM either, though (but I have watched almost every episode, repeatedly). I don’t think you can get an accurate feel for the show by watching one episode, seven seasons in. The show and characters have developed for seven years now, and this is a show that is very big on call-backs and continuity. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/26 "2012-01-24T19:06:25Z")
I haven’t watched _many_ episodes of HIMYM, but the ones I’ve seen I’ve liked. If you can you should watch the episode Slap Bet (season 2, episode 9). The show is all on Netflix streaming if you have that. From what I’ve been able to tell, that episode epitomizes the show. If you like the episode, you should give the rest of the show a chance. If you don’t, you probably won’t like the rest of the show. Not only that, but it sets up one of the show’s long-running gags that appears from time to time in future episodes. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/27 "2012-01-24T19:33:10Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > That reminded me of [this amusing comparison](http://imgur.com/a/JuGpD), that I just saw the other day. Admittedly, I haven’t watched a lot of Friends, but some of those comparisons seem pretty specious. Like “they always hang out and drink, and rarely go to work”–there have been entire episodes of HIMYM centering around the gang at their jobs, each and every one. I really don’t remember seeing the Friends crew at their jobs very much at all. Also, comparing Joey to Barney? Come on. “The womanizer guy” is an extremely shallow comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/28 "2012-01-24T19:46:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > well, now you know why I despise sitcoms of any sort. along with every other pile of shit hollywood shovels out there. Thank you so much for sharing this pertinent and important piece of data. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/29 "2012-01-24T21:38:41Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > That reminded me of [this amusing comparison](http://imgur.com/a/JuGpD), that I just saw the other day. Marshall is \*definitely \*not the Best One. Even the Bengali cab driver is better than him. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/30 "2012-01-25T00:06:37Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Sad story - [Lesley Jordan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Jordan) (plays the really short, southern, overly gay guy in Will and Grace) spoke at my workplace last year as part of an LGBT month event. He talked about the niche that an openly gay actor like him has to accept that they’re in, even in this supposedly enlightened time we live in. HIMYM had offered him a role where he played a neighbour of Jason Segel who they wanted him to be constantly leering at and making moves on. In the episode they pitched to him he was going to ask Jason Segel for help moving a piece of furniture “because he’s such a strong young man” and gave him a beer as thanks for the work. Segel later wakes up, clearly having been drugged, with Jordan’s character implying he’s had his wicked way with him whilst he’s unconscious. This is so not a storyline HIMYM would do…they don’t do that sort of nasty stereotyping, nor would they drug and rape a character. Overall, it’s a rather sweet show. Even though Barney does some horrible things in some episodes, he is revealed to be a kind, generous person (who tries to hide it) in others. One of the best things about the show is the storytelling, the interwoven plots, the playing with chronological order, and the excellent continuity. I like the characters more than I’ve liked most of the characters in any other show, and I think it is way better, in terms of characterization, writing, wit, than Friends ever was. And, yes, characters are shown at work frequently, and their work and careers play large parts of the plots. I don’t assume that they are at the bar every day. As many have said, Ted is an unreliable narrator, and you only tell the stories about times when something outrageous happens, the event growing a tad more outrageous for the sake of the story, and you leave out the dull, everyday bits. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/31 "2012-01-25T00:09:28Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > (who tries to hide it) in others. Heheheheh. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/32 "2012-01-25T00:53:25Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > Admittedly, I haven’t watched a lot of Friends, but some of those comparisons seem pretty specious. Like “they always hang out and drink, and rarely go to work”–there have been entire episodes of HIMYM centering around the gang at their jobs, each and every one. I really don’t remember seeing the Friends crew at their jobs very much at all. > > Also, comparing Joey to Barney? Come on. “The womanizer guy” is an extremely shallow comparison. Plus, HIMYM subverts a lot of the ideas from friend. Ross and Rachel were destined to end up together, Ted and Robyn are destined to NOT end up together. Joey is a lovable oaf, Barney is an evil genius. And Monica and Chandler hooked up halfway through the show, Marshall proposed to Lily in the first episode. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/33 "2012-01-25T01:10:13Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Well, that’s me well and truly smacked down by everyone. Next time I run into Jordan I’ll tell him what a lying little shit he is. Sounds like something got lost in the translation, considering how gay friendly the show has been both on and off the screen, and how that sort of plot has never shown up (were they writing it only for Jordon?), nor does it bear resemblance to anything that’s been on the show before. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/34 "2012-01-25T01:33:09Z")
You can hear it from the horse’s mouth at [http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/podcasts/2011/01/well-well-well-leslie-jordan-the-stage-podcast-79/](http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/podcasts/2011/01/well-well-well-leslie-jordan-the-stage-podcast-79/) Around the 22 minute mark. Not sure what to make of it. Sounds like it was a flashback in a B story in a very early draft of a script. I’m having trouble even thinking of what episode it eventually morphed into. Sounds like a half baked idea from one of the junior writers that never would have made it to the final draft. Certainly doesn’t seem like something we would see on the show unless as another poster suggested, it turned out to all be Marshall’s misunderstanding, which would fit in with the unreliable narrator theme. In any case, not a reason I would use to not watch the show. It’s one of my favorites, and usually one of the more lgbt friendly sitcoms out there. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/35 "2012-01-25T02:18:53Z")
I recall a recent episode where Ted and Marshall went to a concert and proceeded to light up a huge “sandwich” (Ted’s code for marijuana since he occasionally remembers to censor things for his kids), and then spend the rest of the episode showing how everything got completely distorted because they were so baked. I can see the unreliable narration being mis-understood. Truly, I don’t want to call Jordan or you a liar, **Illuminatiprimus** - it would just be so very unlike what the rest of the show is like, to have Marshall possibly raped by a rampaging gay neighbour. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/36 "2012-01-25T02:22:24Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > You also have to keep in mind that the entire show, with the exception of when we see the kids, is told as a flashback from Future Ted. He admits in several episodes he gets things wrong, embellishes, and so forth, so keep that in mind. > > Haven’t you ever embellished when you told a story? Or had a “wacky friend” in college that most of the time really wasn’t that wacky, but why tell anyone else the non-wacky stuff when that’s boring? You concentrate on the zaniness! > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I think what the OP is discounting in his critism, or outright missing, is the premise of the unreliable narrator. That’s the beauty of the show to me. It’s not that I’m expected to believe that people like Barney operate like that on a day-to-day basis, but that when we are confronted with a character like that - like, say, on a sit-com - we are to realize that it is a way over the top, and unreliable, retelling. > > It’s taking the construct of a sit-com (and all the unbelievable shit that goes down in one) and turning it into a plot-point; the fact that Future Ted is way the fuck off on all the stories he’s telling his kids … so much so, that it almost sounds like he describing a sit-com and not the things that he and his friends went through. > > Anyway … it’s the only sit-com I’ve paid attention to in quite a while (and poorly - I’m up on all my re-runs, but behind on the current season) Ahh, thanks for the insights, guys. I’ll bear it in mind should I decide to check up on my real life girlfriend Ms. Smulders. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/37 "2012-01-25T03:06:42Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > You can hear it from the horse’s mouth at [http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/podcasts/2011/01/well-well-well-leslie-jordan-the-stage-podcast-79/](http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/podcasts/2011/01/well-well-well-leslie-jordan-the-stage-podcast-79/) > > Around the 22 minute mark. Not sure what to make of it. Sounds like it was a flashback in a B story in a very early draft of a script. I’m having trouble even thinking of what episode it eventually morphed into. Sounds like a half baked idea from one of the junior writers that never would have made it to the final draft. > > Certainly doesn’t seem like something we would see on the show unless as another poster suggested, it turned out to all be Marshall’s misunderstanding, which would fit in with the unreliable narrator theme. > > In any case, not a reason I would use to not watch the show. It’s one of my favorites, and usually one of the more lgbt friendly sitcoms out there. Just listened to that bit from the podcast and if it really was true, then the fact that it was a flashback definitely sounds like a “Marshall misinterpreted what happened” story. Whenever there’s a flashback on HIMYM you can basically say to yourself “things are not how they appear.” ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/38 "2012-01-25T09:47:17Z")
I’m happy to be corrected by people who are more familiar with the show, and due to \*\*jackdavinci’s \*\*investigation it seems like, yes, that story was kind of in the offing but never got close to happening (probably for the obvious reason that it’s vile). Anywho, Jordan was still pretty insulted to be offered such a role, and I can see a scenario where him making clear why might have made the writers realise this wasn’t quite as funny as they thought. Whether it would ever have made the final cut or not (particularly with NPH on the cast who I imagine would have had something to say about it) I suppose is a separate matter, so I think I’ll go back and retract some of my apoplexy. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/39 "2012-01-25T18:35:40Z")
I was looking for the episode “Singles Stamina” (check it out, **Illuminatiprimus** - it’s an episode with Barney and his gay brother), and I ran across this - [bloopers from seasons 1 to 5.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnz24Z7ukro&feature=related) I’m not sure how they actually get any episodes filmed with Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel on set. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453/40 "2012-01-25T19:55:31Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I was looking for the episode “Singles Stamina” (check it out, **Illuminatiprimus** - it’s an episode with Barney and his gay brother), and I ran across this - [bloopers from seasons 1 to 5.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnz24Z7ukro&feature=related) I’m not sure how they actually get any episodes filmed with Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel on set. 🙂 Well THAT’S 40 minutes of productivity down the crapper!😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-watched-an-episode-of-how-i-met-your-mother/610453.md?page=3)