The entire premise of HIMYM was the shows problem. If you don't address the title, you go the way of Cougar Town.
The show declined as it got away from the central point of the show which was supposed to be how he met the kids' mother.
I never liked the types of characters like Barney. It is why Rules of Engagement is not interesting to me despite some interesting characters. It is why I don't like 2.5 men. A prominent character like that is a turn off, male or female. It is why I never was interested in B in 23 and why 2 Broke Girls has only recently become interesting. As MF doesn't have any of those type of characters which put it in the possible list from the first scene. That the writing is better than most other shows is a bonus. That and Phil.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc. All sitcoms are based on fairly flimsy narrative premises. It doesn't matter as long as the show is funny. HIMYM spent 4 years going nowhere and nobody really cared because the plots were just an excuse to make jokes. The problem is, when it stops being funny it's just bad drama.
That is the problem with sitcoms that are romance based: when they actually get into the romance, the show fades. This is why MF manages to have plot advancements but still be funny - the plot is not romance based. Thus, when Haley goes off to college, it is funny. When she gets kicked out of college, it is funny. If you read the Big Bang Theory thread, it is the same type of complaint. When all the guys started getting into relationships, there started to be more and more complaints. In terms of MF, the romance is a side issue: Haley's on-off with Dillan; Manny and his wooing, or lack of; Alex being introduced to guys/dating; Looooooooook still thinking girls are gross.
Your reasoning is faulty. Plenty of shows have romance that develops and they stay funny. The setup is irrelevant. What is relevant is when the writers start running out of jokes. Regardless of what the show is based around, most sitcoms experience a drop-off after three or four seasons.
I agree and disagree with this. I agree that when situational comedies forget they are comedies, they aren't funny. I mentioned the premise as one of the many differences between something like HIMYM and Modern Family because HIMYM is relatively rigid from the start while Modern Family is more open. HIMYM is supposed to be about how a man met his kids' mother. It's not the adventures of five friends in New York. Several seasons of no progress towards meeting the mother is not funny. Modern Family is about a family. Unless they all die or disappear, it is always about a family.
That was the finale? ********. I need to stop reading this board. It's nothing but disappointment this time of year.
I actually thought the finale was one of the better episodes of the season, even though it had a limited amount of real laughs. Best bit was Ed O'Neill's delivery of the Lyndon Johnson line. BTW, that wasn't actually Ann Margret who played his old love interest, was it?
Yeah, I thought the last two eps finished the season strong. And I had plenty of laughs. The gag with Gloria not looking like "the kind woman who would run a bordello" was so money. I also loved Jay's "ass of a young Ann Margaret... Yes, that was me" scene and Phil's comment about the best part of your wife dying was not having to think before you speak.