Mikey D

With the writers' strike, there are no more new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" for me to enjoy every Monday night. At first this made me very sad, as it is one of my two favorite shows on television right now. I do own the first and second seasons on DVD, and anytime Grace and I want to watch something good, we pop those puppies in. We've made it through both seasons, and have cycled back to the first. It's just damn good.

The more I think about it though, if "How I Met Your Mother" never returned to the television airwaves, I would be completely okay with it for these two simple reasons:

1) After two full seasons, the show was perfect. In episode one of season one we started with Ted stealing the blue french horn for Robin, Marshall proposing to Lilly, and Barney...being Barney. As far as pilots go, it was top-notch (minus the terrible laugh track). In the last episode of season two, everything was tied nicely together with a beautiful bow. Marshall and Lilly, after breaking up and recommitting to one another, finally got married with their closest friends around them. Ted and Robin ended their love affair, and Ted ended up giving back the blue french horn to the restaurant he stole it from. Barney...was still the same Barney (which is great, because that's how his character should be- the same). It was a great two-season story that ended perfectly in my opinion. It was awesome, legendary, or whatever other Barney catchphrase you'd like to use.

2) Where would you go after season two? From the few episodes of season three they've show, it doesn't look like the writers know either. There is no developing storyline. Ted, Robin, and Barney, although different in their own ways, are essentially the same character now- single, and hooking up. Marshall and Lilly are married, so their couple drama has lessened significantly. Of course we'd all like to know who Ted's future wife is- right? The more I think about it, the less I do. If it's not Robin, then it's someone else. That means they have to introduce a new character to the show who will be a part of their group. I'm not sure I want that after two seasons of the five amigos. Perhaps that's the me who's resistant to change, but I like the show the way it is. And please, no more Enrique Iglesias.

So if "How I Met Your Mother" never came back with a single new episode and was canceled, I would be okay with it. I have two fantastic seasons of the best sitcom I've ever seen. Yes, I like it better than Friends and Seinfeld. And part of the reason is because it hasn't been watered down with extra characters, multiple hook-ups, and lesbians (Friends), and there is a romantic element to the show that other sitcoms don't have (Seinfeld). It, thus far, has been the perfect blend of romance, humor, and for me, dynamic characters that I can relate to.

And now everyone knows that I will not cry if it gets cancelled.

~Mikey D