I've never been a big TV lover. In fact, I don't even have my own Netflix-- my best friend is generous enough to allow me to mooch. One show that I've always loved, however, is How I Met Your Mother. The show originally aired on CBS and lasted for nine seasons long. Throughout these nine seasons, Ted Mosbey narrates the tales of his memories with his friends with the intent of telling his children the story of how he met their mother.
This show, in my opinion, is one of the greats because it includes relatable characters, hilarious plots, and recurring story lines throughout all nine seasons. Throughout its duration, we follow the love triangle of Robin, Ted, and Barney, the relationship goals that are Marshall and Lily, and the close-knit friendship of this group of friends.
One of my favorite things about HIMYM would have to be the running gags throughout the show. My personal favorite one is The Slap Bet. The episode "Slap Bet" (season 2, episode 9) the initial slap bet is made between Marshall and Barney. Marshall may slap Barney 8 times whenever he sees fit. This is a running gag throughout the entire show, up until the final season on the altar at Barney's wedding.
Another great recurring gag is the rubber ducky tie, which belongs to Marshall. He and Lily make a bet with Barney, and when he loses he is required to wear the tie for an extended period of time. This time is documented in season seven when he is seen wearing the tie for several episodes in a row.
Keeping in mind that Ted is telling this story to his kids, it is important that he keeps it as appropriate as possible. He goes about this in several ways. Rather than telling the kids that someone gave the middle finger, he calls it a thumbs up. Smoking marijuana is referred to as eating a sandwich. Sexual activity is playing the bag pipes. These euphemisms have come to be known as core elements of the show.
Another great running gag in the show was Robin's Canadian pop star personality, Robin Sparkles. Inspired by the real world singer, Alanis Morrisette, the character has three episodes dedicated to her two pop songs followed by one very serious break up song. The initial mystery was that Robin had a secret but no one knew about it, until finding a mysterious tape. The group speculated what it could be until remembering that Ted had a VCR and they found out it was a Robin Sparkles music video.
Barney also had a blog and an email blast he spoke frequently of. After the show became increasingly popular, a copy of "The Playbook" even became available in The App Store, as well as Amazon, as well as the popularized use of the BroCode.
Throughout all nine seasons, the group held an intervention for one of their friends, using the same banner each time. They also set out to find ddoppelgangersof each of their group members, and continually used the line "Haaaave you met Ted?" It also may or may not be accredited with the mainstream-ization of high fives and the use of the word "legendary"!
The most iconic reoccurance in the show, however, is the use of the yellow umbrella. Ted found it one episode in a club, and he eventually found out the night of Barney and Robin's wedding that the yellow umbrella belonged to his eventual wife.
