Give 'Your Mother' a welcome-back hug ontv
TV Goddess
Published: September 14, 2006
Last Modified: September 14, 2006 at 05:00 PM
Despite series-altering cliffhangers in last spring's finale that might doom a lesser comedy, returning hit How I Met Your Mother appears ready to avoid falling into a sophomore slump. If anything, the comedy seems reinvigorated -- smarter, sassier -- for this second go-round.
"How I Met Your Mother" returns at 7:30 p.m. Monday as part of CBS' best night of comedy in years: New ensemble series The Class premieres at 7 p.m., Two and a Half Men returns at 8 and The New Adventures of Old Christine is back for a second season at 8:30.
Nothing important to "How I Met Your Mother" -- meaning, Barney, played delightfully by Neil Patrick Harris -- has changed, but nearly everything else has. Ted (Josh Radnor) was a likable enough guy last season, but his whining and pining for Robin (Cobie Smulders) got old. So did Robin's supposed desire for independence even as she lived with five dogs and dated her smarmy co-worker.
If "How I Met Your Mother" is the new "Friends" -- which is arguable, what with its ensemble cast, love triangles and laugh track -- Ted and Robin were set up in Season 1 as the Ross-Rachel couple that fans should root for. The problem with that, of course, is that viewers already know they don't end up together -- we learned at the end of the first episode that Robin isn't the titular "Mother."
By the end of the season, and especially with this season's premiere, our couple to root for has emerged in Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Josh Radnor), who actually broke up at the end of last season.
Lily and Marshall might have seemed too cute to root for last season, but as soon as they separated they automatically became an audience favorite. Hopefully we won't have to wait several years before they get back together. After all, who really cared about Ross and Rachel by the time they reunited at the end of "Friends"?
"How I Met Your Mother" has a good thing going with its couples -- especially Marshall and Lily -- as long as the producers don't fall into the old routine of believing that comedy doesn't work once you put the couple together (or, in this case, back together).
Throw in Barney, who adds almost nothing in the way of depth but provides much of the show's laugh-out-loud moments, and "How I Met Your Mother" has a surefire recipe to keep audiences laughing for many more seasons -- even if the identity of the "Mother" is never revealed.
• TV reviewer and Portland, Ore.-based freelance journalist DeAnn Welker can be reached at deann@tvgoddess.com. To read more of her TV ramblings, visit www.tvgoddess.com.
Six Degrees
8 p.m. Thursday, ABC: This slick drama takes on the premise that everyone is connected by no more than six degrees of separation. Keep your fingers crossed that Kevin Bacon eventually appears as himself.
The Amazing Race
7:30 p.m. Sunday, CBS: The 10th season of this four-time Emmy-winning reality show kicks off from Seattle with a 90-minute premiere. Viewers still trying to wash the failed family edition from their memory should tune in this season, which promises mayhem and adventure on par with some of the series' best seasons.
America's Next Top Model
7 p.m. Wednesday, CW: The fledgling network kicks off in style with a two-hour premiere of what should be one of the channel's biggest hits. Why not? Nothing else draws viewers like cat-fighting supermodels and a screaming Tyra Banks, for good measure.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
9 p.m. Monday, NBC: This drama rises above a heap of promising new ensemble dramas debuting this fall. Its only weak spot is Amanda Peet. She's not bad, but it might be hard to buy her as a network• executive.
Adult Swim
10:30 p.m. Sunday, Cartoon Network: Six comedies return to late night this fall, starting with the premieres of "Robot Chicken" and "Squidbillies." Seth Green's "Robot Chicken" brings back a vengeful Lance Armstrong, E.T. finally returning home, and Mario and Luigi caught in the wrong video game. On "Squidbillies," the Cuyler squid family has adopted the hillbilly ways of north Georgia.
-- DeAnn Welker How I Met Your Mother
airs at 7:30 p.m. Mondays on CBS (Channel 11).
Online: www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother
