Apart from the brilliance of "My brain is crying!" and Troy's upset dork run, my favourite thing about this episode is the fact that they take the pop-locking entirely for granted. Jackets come out of nowhere, there doesn't seem to be any rehearsal, but they're clearly on the same page with the choreography. AND THEY DON'T CARE.

Any time Annie goes off the deep end is good times. And distraught Troy is gold. And they go together like butter and noodles.

Singing and dancing in unison

yes, I am watching the Glee episode

Again

Annie just chloroformed the janitor, again. She is SO my favorite.

You guys are hauling ass through the episodes. No commentary on "Modern Warfare?"

No commentary on "Modern Warfare?"

Too busy laughing.

I have lent a friend my Community DVDs. Tonight I showed him the first episode I saw - "Remedial Chaos Theory" and told him while he wouldn't necessarily get all the character interactions, it was a great introduction to how off-the-rails wacked the show could be. I also told him it reminded me a bit of Sealab 2021 (of which we are both big fans) in that each episode has a bit of a different feel/style/homage to it, That was something I realized the other day much to my delight (though Community is way, WAY kinder to it's characters and there's a lot more - as in any - continuity).

I think he's hooked. It worked for me as a gateway episode, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Plus - at 22 minutes, not much to lose. If he'd hated it the time loss would have been close to nil.

The TV was on, and I was doing computer stuff, so I let two episodes of HIMYM run--I'm tickled pink that there was Denisof in these (that's some Bomer-fabulous hair, dude), but...

It was stupid of me to not watch AD or Better Off Ted because "I don't really do sitcoms any more" (I swear there was a point at which I'd seen at least one ep of every sitcom every season--what??/ why???, but I seem to remember drifting away partially because of HIMYM--multiple camera sitcoms don't have to have that static feel. I know there's only so much movement you can have without messing up the shots of the other cameras, but I swear the script feels multiple-camera. Which is stupid.

Now I need to work out which multiple camera sitcoms I've liked recently. Single camera doesn't mean it won't suck, just the short list (Community, Better Off Ted, Arrested Development, Raising Hope) that I've enjoyed recently fall on the one side of the divide.

What I love about HIMYM is that it's a multiple-camera sitcom that is in general written like a multiple-camera sitcom, but within the confines of that medium, it manages to be incredibly creative with its storytelling.

I've given it 4 episodes, from 2 different sections (the two last night were when he was going to hook up with Robin but hadn't broken up with his GF yet, and I saw one about slutty pumpkin and...one other) didn't feel incredibly creative.

In fact, the first time round when I checked it out and it completely failed to resonate either currently or with potential, it felt quite a bit like "all the shows". I'd known technically about the single/mult differences, but that really felt like coasting on the format. You've not just got standard locations, you've got standard angles in standard locations, and....that doesn't have to sap the comedy out of the lines and delivery, but it sure felt like it had.

HIMYM gains something in later seasons, but if you got no enjoyment from Sandy Rivers and the slutty pumpkin episode it probably isn't worth sitting around for the show to improve; its unlikely to ever blow you away. I just finished season 1 with my wife, and I know it improves in Season 2 but I still had a fabulous time rewatching the first season. If it's not your thing, it's not your thing.

Frankly, I kind of find Ted boring and agree that the creativity is lacking in the camera angles et al; I watch for Lily and Marshall, who fill me with love. Barney is also amusing sometimes. Plus, Robin is pretty.