WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Okay, so our job, 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:05.179 as always, is to take all those sources you send 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:07.400 us, the articles, fan wikis, interviews, you 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.880 name it, and really boil it all down for you. 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:13.039 Okay, cut through the noise. Exactly. And today, 00:00:13.259 --> 00:00:16.460 we are suiting up, it's going to be, wait for 00:00:16.460 --> 00:00:20.239 it. We're diving deep into How I Met Your Mother. 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:23.300 Oh, yeah. This is a big one. Nine seasons, over 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:28.420 200 episodes. It ran from 2005 to 2014. And honestly, 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.199 it kind of redefined the network sitcom in a 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:33.159 lot of ways. It really did. So our mission today 00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:34.960 is to go beyond, you know, the yellow umbrella 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.280 and the catchphrases. We want to look at the 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:39.799 surprising structure, the real life stuff that 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:42.340 inspired it. Yeah. And yeah, the legacy, including 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:44.979 that ending. Right, that ending. We'll definitely 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:47.439 get there. But first, the core concept. It's 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.219 unique, isn't it? Future Ted, Bob Saget's voice 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:53.539 in 2030, telling his kids this epic story about 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:55.799 how he met their mom, Tracy McConnell. Covering 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:58.420 the years 2005 to 2013, basically. And it's not 00:00:58.420 --> 00:01:01.880 just jokes. It blends sitcom, rom -com, and honestly, 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:04.230 some pretty heavy dramatic moments, too. For 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:06.430 sure. And what's immediately interesting when 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:08.730 you break it down is how it looks like a standard 00:01:08.730 --> 00:01:10.650 hangout show, you know, like Friends. Yeah, on 00:01:10.650 --> 00:01:13.709 the surface. But that narration, that frame story, 00:01:13.989 --> 00:01:17.189 it immediately blows that up. It allows for all 00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:20.069 this nonlinear stuff jumping back and forth in 00:01:20.069 --> 00:01:22.269 time. They built this whole mythology over like 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:25.170 a decade. It really rewarded the people who stuck 00:01:25.170 --> 00:01:26.810 with it. Okay, let's start at the beginning. 00:01:27.129 --> 00:01:31.840 The creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Where 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:34.879 did this idea even come from? Well, it wasn't 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:37.760 some, like, abstract concept. It was super personal. 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:39.920 They were writers together on Letterman. Right, 00:01:40.019 --> 00:01:42.920 in New York. Exactly. And they basically just 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:45.540 wanted to, quote, write about our friends and 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:47.620 the stupid stuff we did in New York. It came 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:49.879 directly from their own lives, navigating their 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:52.540 late 20s, early 30s. That's where that authenticity 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:54.879 comes from, I think. And that translates directly 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:57.280 to the characters, doesn't it? Ted is kind of 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.420 based on Baze? Loosely, yeah. the sort of hopeless 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:04.340 romantic architect, and Marshall and Lily, the 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:06.959 rock -solid couple. They're based on Thomas and 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:10.060 his wife, Rebecca. Right. Which leads to this 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:12.599 amazing little casting story. Yeah. Rebecca, 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:16.000 Thomas' wife, she was okay with having Lily based 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.919 on her, but she had one condition. Only one. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.439 What was it? They had to cast Allison Hannigan. 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:25.740 No one else. Wow. That's specific. Super specific. 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:29.039 Yeah. But Hannigan was perfect. Coming off Buffy, 00:02:29.139 --> 00:02:31.939 American Pie, she was looking for a comedy, and 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:34.379 it just clicked. Imagine pinning your show on 00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:37.460 getting one specific actress. But it worked. 00:02:37.979 --> 00:02:40.240 She and Jason Segel had that chemistry. Yeah, 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:42.039 you totally believed them as a couple from day 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:44.460 one. And you needed that. You needed that stable 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:46.659 anchor with, you know, Ted's endless searching 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:49.560 and Barney being, well, Barney, hashtag, tag, 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:51.580 tag, tag, be behind the scenes production decisions. 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:54.110 Speaking of casting coups. Robin Scherbatsky. 00:02:54.849 --> 00:02:56.710 Ted's big love interest for most of the show, 00:02:56.810 --> 00:02:58.969 but explicitly not the mother. That casting was 00:02:58.969 --> 00:03:01.909 apparently make or break, too. Oh, huge. So Jennifer 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:04.310 Love Hewitt was offered the part first. Big star 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:06.050 at the time. Really? I didn't know that. Yeah, 00:03:06.090 --> 00:03:08.129 she turned down. So they ended up casting Cobie 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:10.509 Smulders, who was pretty much unknown then, especially 00:03:10.509 --> 00:03:13.129 in the U .S. Yeah. And Baze and Thomas later 00:03:13.129 --> 00:03:16.169 said this was like a massive stroke of luck because 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:18.810 she was unknown. The audience discovered her 00:03:18.810 --> 00:03:21.319 with Ted. Their quote was something like. When 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:24.139 Ted's seeing her for the first time, America's 00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:27.039 seeing her for the first time. Huh. That makes 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.560 sense. It adds to the mystery, the intrigue. 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:31.240 Exactly. It wasn't like, oh, there's Jennifer 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:34.000 Love Hewitt playing Robin. It was, who is this 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.020 person Ted's so obsessed with? Helped keep people 00:03:37.020 --> 00:03:39.840 hooked. Okay, but production -wise, the show 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.800 itself, it looks smooth, but behind the scenes, 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.379 it sounds like it was kind of nuts to film. You 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:47.539 hear laughs, but it wasn't a live audience show. 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:51.000 Not even close. Your typical sitcom. Multi -camera, 00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:53.419 live audience, boom, boom, boom, H -I -M -Y -M. 00:03:53.460 --> 00:03:56.659 Single camera, much more cinematic. And the reason, 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:59.039 that structure we talked about. Flashbacks and 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:01.240 flash -forwards. Constantly. They'd have sometimes 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:04.379 like 50 different scenes crammed into one 22 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:06.740 -minute episode. Little quick cuts, fantasy bits. 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:08.500 You couldn't possibly do that line. Impossible. 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:10.659 Craig Thomas joked it would blur the line between 00:04:10.659 --> 00:04:13.400 audience and hostage situation. You'd be there 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.620 all night. Huh. Okay, so the laugh track. It's 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:18.709 there, but it was added later. They'd finish 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:20.990 editing an episode, screen it for an audience, 00:04:21.129 --> 00:04:23.269 and record their laughter. So you get the feel 00:04:23.269 --> 00:04:26.370 without the production nightmare. Clever. Now, 00:04:26.470 --> 00:04:28.410 this next bit about controlling the narrative. 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:31.629 This is wild. They knew the ending years in advance. 00:04:32.269 --> 00:04:34.810 And filmed part of it. This is probably the craziest 00:04:34.810 --> 00:04:37.509 bit of long -term planning in TV history. Back 00:04:37.509 --> 00:04:40.310 in 2006, during season two. Season two. Yeah. 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:42.649 They realized the actors playing Ted's kids, 00:04:42.829 --> 00:04:45.949 Luke and Penny, were teenagers. By the time the 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:48.170 show ended, potentially eight, nine years later, 00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:50.569 they wouldn't look right. Oh, good point. They'd 00:04:50.569 --> 00:04:53.629 be adults. Exactly. So they filmed the kids part 00:04:53.629 --> 00:04:55.649 of the final scene, the big reveal on the couch, 00:04:55.769 --> 00:04:59.519 way back then. In 2006. No way. They filmed the 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:01.800 series finale ending eight years early. Just 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:03.959 the kids' reactions on the couch, yeah. Got them 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:06.879 to sign NDAs, lock the footage away. It meant 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:08.879 they were committed to that specific ending from 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.800 incredibly early on. Talk about sticking to your 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.540 guns. Hashtag to hashtag C. Setting and sound. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:16.519 Okay, let's talk about the vibe. McLaren's pub. 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.459 The gang's hangout. It feels so real, but it 00:05:19.459 --> 00:05:21.759 wasn't actually one specific bar, right? Right, 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:23.560 it was more of an homage. Yeah. A composite. 00:05:24.569 --> 00:05:27.490 Bays and Thomas based it on like four different 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:30.209 bars they actually went to in New York. McGee's, 00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:32.910 McHale's, Chumley's and Fez. They apparently 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:35.649 took inspiration from a mural in McGee's for 00:05:35.649 --> 00:05:38.269 the look. And the name McLaren's. Any significance? 00:05:38.689 --> 00:05:41.129 Yeah. A nice little inside joke. It was named 00:05:41.129 --> 00:05:43.430 after Carter Bays assistant at the time, Carl 00:05:43.430 --> 00:05:47.069 McLaren. And they named the bartender Carl, too. 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:49.480 Doubling down. It's that kind of personal touch 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:51.480 that makes the world feel lived in, you know? 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.339 Totally. And the theme song, that short, catchy 00:05:54.339 --> 00:05:56.339 bit at the start. Instantly recognizable, right? 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.120 Just 12 seconds. It's a clip from a song called 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:02.120 Hey Beautiful by a band called The Solids. Okay. 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.360 And here's the kicker. Bayes and Thomas. They're 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.180 in the solid. Look out. They wrote their own 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:09.600 theme song. Pretty much. Yeah. Just reinforces 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.699 how much of their own DNA is baked into this 00:06:11.699 --> 00:06:14.100 show, right down to the music. Yeah. And they 00:06:14.100 --> 00:06:15.899 were super involved in picking all the songs 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:18.480 throughout the series, too. Lots of key emotional 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.939 moments hinged on specific tracks. Hashtag tag 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:24.579 two. The unreliable narrator and narrative devices. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.180 Hashtag, hashtag, tag A. The framing device and 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:30.639 unreliable memories. Okay, let's really get into 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:34.069 the structure. Future Ted in 2030 telling the 00:06:34.069 --> 00:06:37.329 story. We mentioned Bob Saget's voiceover. But 00:06:37.329 --> 00:06:40.550 the sources hammer this home. He is an unreliable 00:06:40.550 --> 00:06:43.889 narrator. That changes everything. It's absolutely 00:06:43.889 --> 00:06:45.949 crucial. Like it's the master key to understanding 00:06:45.949 --> 00:06:49.189 the show. He's telling this story decades after 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:52.139 it happened. So memories fade. Details get fuzzy. 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:55.060 Exactly. He misremembers things. He exaggerates. 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.899 He leaves stuff out. He frames things to make 00:06:57.899 --> 00:07:00.040 himself look maybe a little better. Or just to 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:02.560 suit the story he wants to tell his kids. Precisely. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:05.259 And that unreliability does a few key things. 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:08.500 One, it papers over some of Ted's less flattering 00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:11.100 moments. Let's be honest, Ted could be kind of 00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:13.439 pretentious or self -bidding sometimes. Future 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.379 Ted sands those edges down a bit. Makes himself 00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:19.000 the slightly more heroic protagonist of his own 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.170 story. Okay, that makes sense. What else? Two, 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:23.970 it justifies all the crazy structural jumps. 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:27.029 The conflicting accounts of the same night, the 00:07:27.029 --> 00:07:29.750 nested flashbacks, the stories changing slightly 00:07:29.750 --> 00:07:32.689 each time they're told. His unreliable memory 00:07:32.689 --> 00:07:35.410 is the perfect excuse for that narrative playfulness. 00:07:36.089 --> 00:07:38.129 Think about the goat episode where everything 00:07:38.129 --> 00:07:40.290 is out of order. Right. You're piecing it together 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:42.529 with him almost. And third, it's how they got 00:07:42.529 --> 00:07:45.230 around network sensors, especially with stuff 00:07:45.230 --> 00:07:47.149 Ted wouldn't want to explicitly tell his kids 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:50.509 about. Ah, the euphemisms. The best ones. Sex, 00:07:50.649 --> 00:07:53.709 drugs, swearing. He substitutes things like the 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:55.949 famous eating a sandwich euphemism for smoking 00:07:55.949 --> 00:07:58.410 pot. Or sometimes literally showing an animal 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:00.550 instead of a person during an awkward story. 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:04.149 Yeah. It's funny, but it also fits the frame. 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:06.779 Dad trying to keep it relatively clean for the 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:09.600 kids. It serves the comedy and the premise. Hashtag 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:11.519 tag tag be the core five and the mother's delayed 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.000 entrance. So let's talk about the main gang, 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.300 the core five. They obviously grew over nine 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:18.860 years, but those core personalities were there 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:21.920 from the start. Absolutely. You've got Ted Mosby, 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.459 played by Josh Radner, the architect searching 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:27.680 for the one. That's his whole deal. And we know, 00:08:27.819 --> 00:08:31.420 spoiler alert, he finds Tracy, the mother. But 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:34.360 she passes away in 2024, which sets up the controversial 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:36.759 ending where he might go back to Robin. Okay. 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.600 Then Marshall and Lily, the established couple. 00:08:39.820 --> 00:08:42.899 Marshall Erickson, Jason Siegel, Ted's best friend 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:45.659 from college. He's the heart. The Minnesota nice 00:08:45.659 --> 00:08:48.039 guy, but obsessed with Sasquatch. Starts wanting 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:49.980 to save the world as an environmental lawyer. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.600 Takes a detour into corporate law hell at GNB. 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:55.100 Goliath National Bank. Right. Before eventually 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:56.960 getting back to his dream and becoming a judge. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:00.100 Big arc for him. And Lily Aldrin. Allison Hannigan. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.159 She seems sweet, the kindergarten teacher, but 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:05.039 underneath, she's kind of the master manipulator 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:06.980 of the group, isn't she? Totally. Pulling strings 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:09.200 behind the scenes. And dealing with her own stuff, 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:11.539 like the secret credit card debt from compulsive 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:14.659 shopping. That becomes a huge plot point. Forcing 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:17.559 Marshall into that GNB job he hates adds real 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:19.440 friction to the perfect couple. Then there's 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.539 the breakout character, really. Barney Stinson. 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:25.100 Neil Patrick Harris. Iconic. Sued up. Legendary. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.179 The playbook. He's the ultimate playboy, but 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:31.779 it all stems from these deep -seated abandonment 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:34.000 issues from his childhood. Right, his dad leaving. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.299 Exactly. The suits, the rules, the playbook, 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:38.860 it's all armor. He does marry Robin, briefly. 00:09:39.059 --> 00:09:42.019 Is it? The divorce. But his big change comes 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:44.799 when he has his daughter, Ellie, totally by accident. 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:47.379 That finally breaks through. And rounding out 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:51.019 the five, Robin Scherbatsky, Kobe Smulders. The 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:53.940 career -focused Canadian news anchor. She's fiercely 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:56.220 independent, doesn't want kids, loves scotch, 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.399 cigars, guns. She's positioned almost as one 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:01.120 of the guys in some way. Which makes her dynamic 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.879 with Ted, who wants the exact opposite, wife, 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.179 kids, white picket fence, so compelling. And 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:09.100 so frustrating for him. Now, the biggest structural 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:11.600 gamble. holding back the mother, Tracy McConnell, 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:14.059 until the very end of season eight. Insane, right? 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:16.200 A show called How I Met Your Mother, and you 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:18.259 don't meet the mother for eight years. Kristen 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:21.259 Milioti comes in, and she's perfect. But the 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:23.519 whole show, up to that point, is technically 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:25.240 about not meeting her. It's about the journey. 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:27.750 But they did leave clues, didn't they? Like her 00:10:27.750 --> 00:10:29.690 name. Yeah, a little Easter egg for the super 00:10:29.690 --> 00:10:32.269 fans. Her first name, Tracy, was actually mentioned 00:10:32.269 --> 00:10:36.149 way, way back in Season 1, Episode 9. A stripper 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:38.850 tells Ted her name is Tracy, and he jokes, and 00:10:38.850 --> 00:10:42.190 that, kids, is how I met your mother. Just a 00:10:42.190 --> 00:10:45.289 throwaway line, but they knew. It shows the long 00:10:45.289 --> 00:10:48.610 game they were playing. Hashtag Tag 3. Deep dive 00:10:48.610 --> 00:10:51.139 into the subplots and running gags. What made 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:53.340 him so rich, I think, was its commitment to its 00:10:53.340 --> 00:10:55.600 own running gags. These weren't just one -off 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.320 jokes. They built over seasons. The prime example 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.399 has to be the slap bet. Oh, the slap bet. The 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:04.519 gold standard of long -form sitcom gags. It started 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:07.320 simply enough in season two. Why does Robin hate 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.759 malls? Barney gets porn. Marshall gets she got 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:11.840 married there. Right. And Marshall introduces 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.299 the slap bet. Winner gets to slap the loser. 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:16.799 Lily naturally becomes the slap bet commissioner. 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:19.399 And the answer was Robin Sparkles. Teenage Canadian 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:22.200 pop sensation. Legendary reveal. So Marshall 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:25.019 wins. But here's the genius twist. Lily gives 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:27.580 Barney a choice. Ten slaps right now, or five 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:30.559 slaps, delivered by Marshall anytime, anywhere, 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.659 across eternity. And Barney, being Barney, took 00:11:33.659 --> 00:11:35.840 the five slaps spread out. Which kept the gag 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.740 alive for seven more seasons. It became this 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:42.009 recurring event, slapsgiving. Marshall built 00:11:42.009 --> 00:11:44.529 up this whole mythology around the slaps. The 00:11:44.529 --> 00:11:47.429 anticipation was incredible. They really milked 00:11:47.429 --> 00:11:49.809 those last few slaps. Absolutely. And the final 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:53.110 two, slaps four and five, delivered right before 00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:55.110 Barney and Robin's wedding in the final season. 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:57.830 Perfect payoff, tying it all together after all 00:11:57.830 --> 00:12:00.169 those years. Hashtag, hashtag, be Robin Sparkles 00:12:00.169 --> 00:12:02.049 in the Pop Star Pass. And the Robin Sparkles 00:12:02.049 --> 00:12:04.409 reveal itself just opened up this whole other 00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:07.570 world of jokes. It was amazing. First, let's 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:10.220 go to the mall. An instant classic within the 00:12:10.220 --> 00:12:12.600 show's world and kind of for the fans, too. But 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:14.759 it wasn't just silly. Right. It had plot significance. 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:17.620 Totally. The second song, Sandcastles in the 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:20.100 Sand, the power ballad. That's what brings Barney 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:21.580 and Robin together for the first time, really. 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:24.039 They bond over watching her embarrassing music 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.679 video. It showed vulnerability. And then they 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:29.159 explored her darker phase, too. Yeah, trying 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:31.539 to break away from the pop image. Her grunge 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:34.659 phase is Robin Daggers with P .S. I love you, 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:38.080 mocking Alanis Morissette a bit. It was all just 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.799 so well observed, playing on those Canadian stereotypes, 00:12:40.940 --> 00:12:43.600 too, in a fun way. Always reminding us she was 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.200 slightly the outsider. Hashtag tag tags tag C. 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:48.500 The pineapple incident and the captain. Okay, 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:51.299 next iconic mystery. The pineapple incident. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.039 Season one. Ted wakes up drunk, sprained ankle. 00:12:55.450 --> 00:12:57.549 girl in his bed he doesn't remember, and a pineapple. 00:12:57.990 --> 00:13:00.590 Why did that stick with people so much? Because 00:13:00.590 --> 00:13:02.850 they never explained it. It was the one loose 00:13:02.850 --> 00:13:05.389 end they deliberately left dangling for the entire 00:13:05.389 --> 00:13:08.389 run of the show. For nine years. Yep. Ken even 00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:10.250 says in a later season, we never found out where 00:13:10.250 --> 00:13:12.490 the pineapple came from. It became this symbol 00:13:12.490 --> 00:13:14.389 of unexplained drunken nights and the random 00:13:14.389 --> 00:13:17.149 chaos of youth. Fans obsessed over it. So did 00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:19.909 they ever explain it? They did, but not in the 00:13:19.909 --> 00:13:21.769 show itself. It was in a deleted scene on the 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:25.029 season nine DVD from the episode Daisy. Ah, OK. 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:27.549 So what was the big secret? It involved the captain. 00:13:27.669 --> 00:13:30.330 You know, Zoe's weird boat of fest ex -husband 00:13:30.330 --> 00:13:32.950 played by Kyle MacLachlan. Oh, yeah, him. Apparently, 00:13:32.950 --> 00:13:34.950 the captain followed some old naval tradition 00:13:34.950 --> 00:13:37.730 of putting a pineapple outside his house as a 00:13:37.730 --> 00:13:40.450 sign of hospitality. Ted, completely wasted, 00:13:40.610 --> 00:13:42.769 just walked by and stole it on his way home. 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:45.769 That's it. He just stole it. That's it. Anticlimactic, 00:13:45.809 --> 00:13:48.429 maybe. But they filmed the explanation. They 00:13:48.429 --> 00:13:50.330 just chose not to include it in the final cut, 00:13:50.470 --> 00:13:52.830 maybe thinking the mystery was better left unsolved. 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:55.679 Hashtag tag tag D, the playbook, and Barney's 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.460 philosophy. Can't talk about Barney without talking 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:01.200 about the playbook. The legendary leather -bound 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:04.179 book of scams. First shown in detail in season 00:14:04.179 --> 00:14:06.860 five, I think. It wasn't just pickup lines. It 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:09.759 was these incredibly elaborate, sometimes sociopathic 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:12.600 schemes to pick up women. Like the Lorenzo von 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.480 Matterhorn. Exactly. Creating fake websites, 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.220 elaborate backstories, it was the physical manifestation 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:20.919 of his refusal to be vulnerable, his shield against 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:23.200 genuine connection, all tied back to his dad 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:25.360 issues. But he had to give it up, symbolically 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.399 at least, for Robin. Had to. The season 8 finale, 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.000 his proposal to Robin is the final play, The 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.559 Robin. And as part of it, he burns the playbook. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:36.100 It signifies him finally being willing to ditch 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:38.580 the games and be sincere. Even though he maybe 00:14:38.580 --> 00:14:41.779 had a backup copy. Well, yeah, it's Barney. But 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:44.299 the symbolic act was key. And, you know, the 00:14:44.299 --> 00:14:47.200 playbook and Barney's whole philosophy, it spun 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:49.799 off into actual books. Well, yeah. The bro code, 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.259 bro on the go. Bro code for parents. And a cool 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:56.080 little tidbit. If you watch this show in syndication, 00:14:56.340 --> 00:14:58.860 sometimes they'd put little excerpts from the 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:01.639 bro code on screen as vanity cards at the very 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:05.100 end. Extra content for the fans. Hashtag, hashtag, 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:07.659 taggy, the doppelgangers. And signs from the 00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:10.059 universe. Another great running gag that evolved. 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:13.779 The search for the doppelgangers. Started as 00:15:13.779 --> 00:15:16.559 just a funny visual thing in season five, seeing 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:18.500 people on the street who looked exactly like 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:21.419 the main five. Lesbian Robin, Mustache Marshall, 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:24.419 Stripper Lily. Mexican Wrestler Ted. Can't forget 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:26.879 Mexican Wrestler Ted. But then Marshall and Lily 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.299 turned it into something more. They decided they 00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:31.480 wouldn't start trying for a baby until they saw 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:34.399 the fifth and final doppelganger, Barney's. It 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.700 became this, like, sign from the universe they 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:38.360 were waiting for. Which created real tension 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:40.460 because they kept thinking they saw him. Right. 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:43.500 They saw a street magician. A cab driver. Yeah. 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.000 Even Barney himself in disguise once. It was 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:48.899 frustrating for them. But the actual payoff was 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:51.360 so perfect. Who was it in the end? It wasn't 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.299 a random lookalike. In season six, when they're 00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:55.879 struggling to conceive, they go to see a fertility 00:15:55.879 --> 00:15:58.899 specialist. Dr. Stangel. And he looks exactly 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:03.240 like Barney. No way! Yes. So, the final doppelganger 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.620 wasn't just a random sighting. He was the actual 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:07.720 person who could help them start their family. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:10.980 The sign they needed was literally the help they 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:14.399 needed. Beautiful writing. Hashtag tag 4B. Season 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.019 highlights, the finale, and mixed reception. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:19.879 Hashtag tag tag yes. Key narrative moments by 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:22.480 season. Okay, looking back, you can see how they 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.740 built the stakes season by season. Season one 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:27.259 sets up the core dynamics. Yeah, Marshall proposes 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:30.330 to Lily. Ted meets Robin. Aunt Robin, crucially. 00:16:30.470 --> 00:16:32.970 And then, bam, the season ends with Lily leaving 00:16:32.970 --> 00:16:34.710 Marshall to go to San Francisco for art school. 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:36.509 That moment of Marshall sitting on the steps 00:16:36.509 --> 00:16:38.889 in the rain, that was heavy for a sitcom. Sure, 00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:40.769 they weren't afraid to go there. And season three 00:16:40.769 --> 00:16:43.389 introduces some key recurring elements. Definitely. 00:16:43.610 --> 00:16:45.830 Marshall and Lily buy that awful apartment in 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:48.269 Delwes, Trebla. Downwind of the sewage treatment 00:16:48.269 --> 00:16:51.429 plant. The slanted floors, the constant problems. 00:16:51.970 --> 00:16:54.309 It became a physical symbol of their financial 00:16:54.309 --> 00:16:57.820 issues. Mostly Lily's shopping debt. And crucially, 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:00.799 season three is when Ted gets the yeller umbrella. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:03.419 At that St. Paddy's Day party he wasn't even 00:17:03.419 --> 00:17:06.059 supposed to be at. A huge moment, even though 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:07.920 we didn't know its full significance yet. Season 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.500 four felt like a big reset for Ted. Massive heartbreak. 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:15.319 Stella leaves him at the altar. Ouch. But career 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:17.839 -wise, things shift. Marshall gets sucked into 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:21.059 GMB. Goliath National Bank. The evil empire. 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:23.400 And Ted ends up designing their new headquarters, 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:26.460 which he hates. It forces Marshall to compromise 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:28.700 his environmental ideals to pay off Lily's debt. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:30.980 Again, real conflict for the perfect couple. 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:33.720 Ted eventually escapes GNB and becomes a professor, 00:17:33.859 --> 00:17:36.000 which feels much more like him. Fast forward 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.140 to season seven, babies and big relationship 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:41.220 moves. Huge season. Marshall finally gets his 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:44.460 environmental law dream job. Lily has Marvin 00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:48.000 Wafer Erickson. Adorable. And the Barney -Robin 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.019 relationship really heats up, despite Quinn getting 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:51.880 in the way for a bit. Then the season ends for 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.160 that flash -forward bombshell. Barney's bride 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:56.779 at the wedding is Robin, setting up the endgame. 00:17:56.940 --> 00:17:59.279 Which brings us to Season 9's unique structure. 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:01.539 Almost the whole season is just one weekend. 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:05.380 Pretty much. 22 out of 24 episodes cover just 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:08.039 the 56 hours leading up to Barney and Robin's 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:11.220 wedding in Farhampton. It was a bold move. How 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:13.160 did that work? It let them do really intricate, 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:15.539 non -linear stuff. jumping around within that 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.900 weekend. And most importantly, it allowed the 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.400 mother, Tracy, to meet each member of the gang 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.079 individually before she finally meets Ted. We 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:25.220 got to know her and see why she was perfect for 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:27.740 him through their eyes first. Hashtag to hashtag 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:30.539 B, critical response and the finale backlash. 00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:33.299 Now, the show wasn't always a critical darling, 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:35.920 was it? The reception changed over time. Yeah, 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:37.880 the early seasons, especially season two, got 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:40.119 a lot of acclaim. Critics loved it. But as it 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.539 went on, maybe seasons five, seven, definitely 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:45.200 eight, the reviews got more mixed. Was season 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:48.279 eight considered the weakest? Often, yeah. There 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.460 was a feeling they were treading water, delaying 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:52.980 the inevitable meeting with the mother. Getting 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:55.160 that ninth season renewed was apparently tough, 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.440 especially getting Jason Segel back on board. 00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:00.539 Once they locked season nine, though, they could 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:03.000 finally cast Kristen Milioti and execute the 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.519 endgame. The endgame being the finale, March 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:10.779 31st, 2014. An hour long, and oh boy, the reaction. 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:13.660 Overwhelmingly negative, like viscerally negative 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:16.099 from a huge chunk of the fan base and critics. 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:18.380 Why? What was the core issue? It all came down 00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:21.630 to the last maybe... 15, 20 minutes after spending 00:19:21.630 --> 00:19:24.230 the entire final season building up to Barney 00:19:24.230 --> 00:19:26.569 and Robin's wedding and finally introducing Tracy, 00:19:26.789 --> 00:19:28.970 who everyone loved. You revealed Barney and Robin 00:19:28.970 --> 00:19:31.109 get divorced after just three years. Yep. And 00:19:31.109 --> 00:19:33.930 then the gut punch. Tracy gets sick and dies 00:19:33.930 --> 00:19:37.210 in 2024. And the very final scene using that 00:19:37.210 --> 00:19:40.690 footage filmed back in 2006 has Ted's kids telling 00:19:40.690 --> 00:19:42.650 him mom's been gone for six years. It's time 00:19:42.650 --> 00:19:45.109 to move on. Ask Aunt Robin out. Yeah. And he 00:19:45.109 --> 00:19:47.369 does. So after nine years of being told Robin 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:49.609 isn't the mother, Ted ends up with Robin anyway. 00:19:49.990 --> 00:19:52.650 Exactly. Fans felt like nine years of character 00:19:52.650 --> 00:19:54.630 development, especially for Barney and Robin 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:56.710 learning to commit and all the emotional investment 00:19:56.710 --> 00:19:59.569 in Tracy was just thrown out the window to stick 00:19:59.569 --> 00:20:01.630 to an ending plan back when the show was completely 00:20:01.630 --> 00:20:04.089 different. It felt like a betrayal of the journey. 00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:07.539 That was the word used a lot. It ended up on 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:10.500 all those worst TV finales ever lists almost 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:13.099 immediately. It really soured the legacy for 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:15.119 a lot of people. And the backlash was so strong 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:17.299 they actually released another ending. They did 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:20.220 on the season nine DVD. An official alternate 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:22.400 ending. It basically cuts out the whole final 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.460 section. No divorce for Barney and Robin. No 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:28.539 mention of Tracy dying. It just ends happily 00:20:28.539 --> 00:20:32.099 with Ted meeting Tracy at the Farhampton train 00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:35.569 station under the yellow umbrella. Wow. So viewers 00:20:35.569 --> 00:20:37.529 could choose their own preferred ending, essentially. 00:20:37.829 --> 00:20:40.470 Pretty much. A tacit admission, maybe, that the 00:20:40.470 --> 00:20:42.130 original ending didn't land the way they'd hoped 00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:45.069 for many viewers. Hashtag tag tag V. Hashtag 00:20:45.069 --> 00:20:47.990 tag tag A. Tie -ins in music. One thing H -I 00:20:47.990 --> 00:20:50.549 -M -M did incredibly well was extending its world 00:20:50.549 --> 00:20:53.470 beyond the TV screen, especially online. Oh, 00:20:53.470 --> 00:20:57.009 yeah. That was brilliant. Almost every fake website 00:20:57.009 --> 00:20:59.630 mentioned in the show, they made it real. Like 00:20:59.630 --> 00:21:03.099 what? Goliath National Bank had a site. TedMosbyISJJerk 00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:05.880 .com was real. You could watch Barney's ridiculous 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:09.200 video resume. There was a slap bet countdown 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:13.779 website, Puzzles the Bar, LilyEyesInLabor .com. 00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:16.559 Tons of them. That's amazing. Are they still 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:18.460 up? Some of them actually are, believe it or 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:20.480 not. It made the world feel so much bigger and 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:22.859 more interactive. A really smart way to build 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:24.759 the mythology. And the music continued to be 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:26.819 important right to the end. Absolutely central. 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:29.140 We mentioned Baze and Thomas being in the band 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:30.980 that did the theme. They poured that same care 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:33.500 into the whole soundtrack. Original songs like 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:35.559 Barney's Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit became 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:37.819 huge moments. That was an Emmy -nominated song, 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:40.380 right? It was. And they licensed tracks perfectly 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:43.220 for big emotional beats, using the Shins' simple 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:46.920 song when Ted finally sees Tracy or Band of Horses 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:48.880 at the funeral during a particularly low point. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:51.019 They knew how to use music. They even released 00:21:51.019 --> 00:21:53.759 two official soundtrack albums. Hashtag, hashtag, 00:21:53.819 --> 00:21:56.599 B spinoffs. And the continuing quest. With that 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:59.000 level of success, spinoffs were inevitable, right? 00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:01.680 People wanted more. Totally predictable. The 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.400 first big attempt was right after HLNY ended 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:08.160 in 2013, 2014. It was called How I Met Your Dad. 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:11.059 Okay, same concept, female perspective. Exactly. 00:22:11.099 --> 00:22:13.740 It was set to star. Greta Gerwig, believe it 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:16.079 or not, with Meg Ryan doing the teacher voiceover. 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:20.319 Greta Gerwig. Wow. What happened? CBS filmed 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:22.900 the pilot, but they didn't love it. They asked 00:22:22.900 --> 00:22:25.660 Baze and Thomas, who were involved, to reshoot 00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:27.859 it. They refused, said their vision was right. 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:31.880 So CBS passed. Dead on arrival. Ouch. But they 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:34.799 kept trying. The idea wouldn't die. Different 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.759 writers took stabs at a How I Met Your Father 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:38.779 concept over the years. Eventually, Hulu picked 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:40.420 it up. Right, the one with Hilary Duff. That 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.039 actually made it to air. Yeah, it launched in 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:44.819 2021. Hilary Duff, as Sophie, telling her son 00:22:44.819 --> 00:22:46.799 how she met his dad. It had a similar structure, 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:49.240 modern setting. It even had cameos from Kobe 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:51.920 Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris, tying it loosely 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:54.420 to the original universe. How'd it do? It ran 00:22:54.420 --> 00:22:56.960 for two seasons, but Hulu canceled it in 2023. 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:00.460 It just didn't quite capture that same magic, 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:02.680 I guess. It kind of proves how hard it is to 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.039 replicate that specific formula. The original 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.140 really caught lightning in a bottle. Hashtag 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:11.009 tag outro. So wrapping up this epic deep dive, 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:14.210 what are the big takeaways? It wasn't just a 00:23:14.210 --> 00:23:16.589 sitcom. The structure was incredibly ambitious. 00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:19.089 Definitely. No live audience, the sheer number 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:21.589 of cutaways, the long -running gags like the 00:23:21.589 --> 00:23:24.009 slap bet, the pineapple mystery, the doppelgangers. 00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:27.170 They built a really dense, rewarding world. And 00:23:27.170 --> 00:23:29.250 that world even spilled over onto the internet 00:23:29.250 --> 00:23:31.849 with the real websites. Right. But I think the 00:23:31.849 --> 00:23:33.849 absolute key thing for you to remember, the thing 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:37.690 that unlocks it all, is future Ted. as that unreliable 00:23:37.690 --> 00:23:39.829 narrator. That's the lens through which we see 00:23:39.829 --> 00:23:41.789 everything. It justifies the style, the humor, 00:23:41.930 --> 00:23:44.230 the timeline bending, everything. It let them 00:23:44.230 --> 00:23:46.430 tell this sprawling story about finding the one, 00:23:46.630 --> 00:23:49.230 while Ted was mostly focused on Aunt Robin. But 00:23:49.230 --> 00:23:52.170 that dedication to a specific structure, a specific 00:23:52.170 --> 00:23:55.450 ending locked in years before, that's also where 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:58.130 the controversy comes in? Absolutely. Filming 00:23:58.130 --> 00:24:00.750 that final scene in season two committed them 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:04.140 to an outcome. And the sources suggest the backlash 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:07.000 against that finale ending was so intense that 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.059 it actually made studios nervous about greenlighting 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:13.160 similarly complex pre -planned sitcoms for a 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.099 while. It had a real chilling effect, apparently. 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:17.569 Wow. So that leaves us with a final thought, 00:24:17.670 --> 00:24:20.089 doesn't it? Did that intense commitment to their 00:24:20.089 --> 00:24:22.029 original ending, the one locked in the vault 00:24:22.029 --> 00:24:25.670 from 2006, ultimately become a cage? Did it stop 00:24:25.670 --> 00:24:27.970 the show from evolving naturally with its characters? 00:24:28.269 --> 00:24:30.369 It's the big question, right? The legacy isn't 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:32.549 just the nine seasons of laughs and romance. 00:24:32.690 --> 00:24:35.569 It's also about that final divisive chapter and 00:24:35.569 --> 00:24:37.670 whether sticking rigidly to the plan, no matter 00:24:37.670 --> 00:24:39.930 what, was the run of call. Something for you 00:24:39.930 --> 00:24:40.470 to chew on.