Anyway, the show is kind of in a bad rut for me now; sort of the way Friends would be periodically. Where the little quirks of the characters become more bent and twisted by comic necessity until the characters become sort of revolting.
I am almost incapable of criticising the show 'cause I love it so much, but even I'm getting tired of this. Taking likeable characters in a fun situation and making them parodies of themselves is dull. I won't be giving up on it, but I want the writers to pick themselves up.
Mostly, I think the show does best what it says on the tin - setting Ted up to meet the mother. If this season can get back to that, it might be redeemable.