Someone Besides Me Thinks How I Met Your Dad Should Be Judged On Its Own Merits!

Let's celebrate the fact common sense is not completely dead on the Internet!

The Culture and Media Institute published an article that suggests that we shouldn't be so hasty in judging How I Met Your Dad. Sure, sequels, prequels, and spin-offs may be lazy, but who among us has never watched one?

The one gripe I have about the article is that it states the title is a mistake. I don't agree, but my argument invovles taking the logic train all the way back to the station. If Ted is telling his children how he met their mother, then he is The Father. If the new show has new characters, you wouldn't want to confuse them with already existing characters, so the new parents would be The Dad and The Mom. I mean, if CBS goes really crazy, they could have How Mama Met Papa, but I really hope they stop by then.

Zap2It's From Inside the Box Talks HIMYD, HIMYM 200th Episode

Zap2It blog From Inside the Box has some revealed some details about the 200th episode of How I Met Your Mother and the spin-off, How I Met Your Dad. I'm going to start with the series this blog is named after first.

According to the HIMYD article, Emily Spivey is at the center of it, and the reason Bays and Thomas want to work on it is because they're still enjoying working on How I Met Your Mother. Bays goes on to tell a story about a Cheers writer who didn't break down over the show's cancelation until a week after it wrapped and he thought of a "Norm walks into a bar" joke before realizing Norm would never walk into a bar again. Bays says that may have influenced his decision on some level. Gee, then it's totally awesome that How I Met Your Dad is a fresh story that stands on its own and HIMYM is getting a clean ending. You won't be distressed by thinking of a perfect challenge for Barney before realizing he will never say "challenge accepted" again.

I'm an equal opportunity bitch. That's a pretty stupid reason to agree to a spin-off. I mean, if Norm walked into Cheers guy had gone on to work on Frasier, he would have had the same problem. Yes, I know I forgot Frasier on my successful spin-offs list. I watched it sporadically, and it was still more often than Cheers because I was 9 when that was canceled and it came on past my bedtime. I almost forgot Daria and I actively watched that and Beavis and Butt-Head. The point is, spin-offs can work.

Anyway, How I Met Your Mother fans that wanted HIMYD to focus on Cristin Milotti and her character's journey to find Ted, you will get a taste of your dreams in the 200th episode, "How Your Mother Met Me." Yep, her journey is told in one episode. One. It took Ted nine freaking years. No wonder his kids revolted.

 

I choose to see that as canon.

HIMYD: The Week Comes Up With 8 Alternate Spin-Offs

There's sort of a theme with my blog entries. I get that the mere existence of a How I Met Your Mother sequel means picking a side in the "let it end/9 more seasons" battle. I even get expressing that you have picked a side and why. It's just, so many are so bad at making their point. The Week is no different, proposing 8 alternate spin-offs instead of How I Met Your Dad.

I actually have to give them a C- for effort. Titles like How I Met Fox Mulder, Bluh I Bit Your Mother, and Wow! Is It Not Butter earned a few giggles from me. However, tone cost them greatly. This article had the potential to be genuinely funny, but the unnecessarily bitter tone killed it for me. Seriously, what happened to giving things a chance?

For the record, I don't automatically assume HIMYD will be brilliant. In fact, I have told friends in real life that it's a special kind of Stockholm's to deliberately throw yourself in the same trap. But I am curious, and there's no real reason to think the show will be a disaster other than it's a spin-off. I'm willing to give it a chance.

Jezebel Believes How I Met Your Dad Will Be Boring

I seriously hate everything about this article. So why am I sharing it? Because I need to tear it apart. Jezebel believes HIMYD will be boring, for the stupidest reasons.

One of the reasons it comes up with is that the How I Met Your Dad will be like "every woman show ever." It says that HIMYM was interesting because Ted was in the woman's role. Because there has never been anything ever where the dude chased the girl? Aladdin? The Wedding Singer? 50 First Dates? I can keep going, but you get the idea. The male-centric romance does exist. What made How I Met Your Mother unique is we started from the end - we know Ted gets married and has a son and a daughter that are teenagers in 2030. The show is the journey that puts him on the path to that ending.

Another reason is if "Ted [is already] reamed by fans for being whiney and irritating," then what chance does a woman character fare? Are there no women on HIMYM? Fans love Robin, and though they have mixed feelings on Lily, what does being a woman have to do with anything? The How I Met Your Dad protagonist is probably not going to be Ted 2.0 with boobs. Also, fans hate Ted because he refuses to let go of Robin and is a know-it-all that pronounces encyclopedia the way he does - not because of any perceived woman traits.

Overall, the entire article is completely sexist and it misses the point of what made How I Met Your Mother amazing. They certainly aren't in any position to decide what a sequel will be like, especially before they see anything.

Defamer Declares How I Met Your Dad Proves Hollywood Is Lazy

Head's up - I'm probably going to use this gif a lot until there's real How I Met Your Dad promotional images.

Gawker property Defamer published an article that uses unecessarily choice words right in the title. So edgy. The article blames How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, but never thinks the role that CBS may have played in all of this. No network wants to lose its money cows, but seriously look at CBS. Two and a Half Men, anybody? If they're not going to let a little thing like losing stars get in their way, why would something like a show ending bother them?

And remember, Internet fans are a vocal minority, and even that vocal minority is splintered. Maybe CBS doesn't want to give up a franchise that makes them money - that doesn't mean HIMYD will be bad. Everyone should just wait and see.

Six Successful Spin-Offs That Give How I Met Your Dad a Chance

In a very snarky article on The Observer, the writer claims How I Met Your Dad will be a disaster because except for Private Practice, the spin-off to Grey's Anatomy, there have never been any successful spin-offs. Really? Never? Only one you can think of? It's not even the only spin-off on the air.

I love snark, but the secret to succesful snark is don't be wrong. I can do this from memory, but maybe the writer should have done 30 seconds of research. I have a list of six successful spin-offs. I'm sure there's more, but I, too, could not be bothered to do 30 seconds of research.

1. Happy Days

Happy Days lasted 11 seasons and spun-off from a segment of Love, American Style. The show went on to launch six spin-offs of its own.

2. Laverne & Shirley

Laverne & Shirley, one of the Happy Days spin-offs, lasted for 8 seasons and launched the careers of Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, and Michael McKean.

3. Mork & Mindy

To be fair, Mork & Mindy - another Happy Days spin-off - only lasted four seasons, but that's not the only measure of success. The show became iconic, can be found in reruns to this day, and launched the career of Robin Williams.

4. The Facts of Life

The Facts of Life lasted for 9 seasons. That's one season longer than its predecessor, Diff'rent Strokes.

5. Family Matters

At nine seasons, Family Matters lasted one season longer than its predecessor Perfect Strangers. Yes, Steve, you did do that.

6. The Simpsons

I saved the best for last. Currently in its 25th season and renewed for a 26th, the longest running and most iconic show on television, which has an empire to its name, was a spin-off of The Tracey Ullman Show.

Six spin-offs that weren't just successful, but many were more successful than the show it spun-off from.  And then there's The Simpsons, to which nothing can compare.

At this point, I would like to give an honorable mention to Daria, which lasted five seasons. It's not that I think it's less deserving, it's that I forgot it was a spin-off to Beavis & Butt-Head until right this second and I'm too lazy to re-do the list.

Again, if you're going to be snarky, don't be wrong. How about we judge shows on their own merits?

Life & Style Lists 5 Reasons How I Met Your Dad Could Be Awesome

They missed an opportunity with legend - waitforit - DARY! I hope they know that. Even plain legendary would have sufficed.

Anyway, Life & Style came up with a list of five reasons How I Met Your Dad could be legendary. On the surface, four of the five reasons makes it seem like what they really want is How I Met Your Mother 2: The Daddening. Once you actually read the article all five reasons seem that way. Did they miss the tweets that this was going to be its own thing?

One of the things they mentioned was a female Barney. You may remember that I mentioned something similar, except she was watered down with parts of Marshall. I don't think society could handle a full-on female Barney. Barney's slept with half of New York. The real world is a boys' club, so that can be played for laughs. A female Barney would be slut-shamed by critics.

But, seriously, they couldn't think of one reason How I Met Your Dad might be awesome on its own? Not one? That's disheartening.